Xu Hui took out two items and placed them on the table. One was a small silk pouch. The other was a cushion made of cloth.

  “Look at this one first.”

  What Xu Hui pointed to was the silk pouch. Li Xin carefully loosened the string and peered inside.

  The moment the pouch was opened, a faint yet clear fragrance spread around them. Inside were roughly thirty items that looked like dried pine needles.

  “It’s Warm Spirit Incense.”

  Xu Hui added her explanation.

  “When this incense is burned, the mind stabilizes, and the speed of qi recovery becomes much faster.”

  Incense blending, classified as one of the Hundred Auxiliary Immortal Arts. At present, along with alchemy, it was highly valued among cultivation support skills. Medicinal pills produced rapid effects, but they were harsh on one’s constitution and carried severe side effects. By contrast, incense crafted by a skilled perfumer had gentle effects, was not heavily restricted by constitution, and had almost no side effects.

  At this level, it’s something a capable perfumer made with great care.

  Li Xin compared it to the low-grade incense commonly seen in markets. Those merely smelled pleasant, with almost no real effect. At best, they calmed the mind; expecting qi recovery from them was unrealistic. But with this Warm Spirit Incense, he could feel the circulation of his qi change just from inhaling its scent.

  “…..Thank you.”

  Xu Hui merely gave a slight nod and pointed to the next item. It was a cloth cushion that looked ordinary at first glance. However, when her fingertips brushed across it, the color slowly began to change. From red to blue, then green and gray, and finally yellow.

  “This is an Array Plate.”

  “An Array Plate?”

  Noticing the question in Li Xin’s eyes, she continued her explanation.

  “You can think of it as a portable formation. An Five-Element Converging Array is engraved inside.”

  Formations usually had to be established in a fixed location to be effective. Their efficiency dropped while moving, and simplified formations had only minor effects. Yet this was an item that could be easily carried while still producing effects close to a full-fledged formation.

  “You respond well to water qi and wood qi, but you’re not familiar with the other attributes. This Array Plate will help broaden your fundamental affinity itself.”

  The Warm Spirit Incense alone had been surprising enough, but the Five-Element Converging Array Plate was something whose value he could not even begin to estimate. A treasure possessed by the Xu clan, which was based in Daejin Immortal City.

  Li Xin carefully lifted the cushion with both hands and spoke.

  “Is it really alright for me to accept this?”

  “This is something you naturally deserve to receive.”

  Xu Hui’s tone was calm as usual, but there was weight behind her words.

  “Do you know what is most important to a cultivator?”

  What’s most important to a cultivator…

  Under normal circumstances, he might have thought of talent or realm, but she gave a more fundamental answer.

  “Lifespan.”

  “Lifespan…”

  “No matter how outstanding one’s talent is, once their lifespan ends, everything becomes meaningless. You are receiving the Xu clan’s support at the cost of your lifespan. In that case, items like these are naturally yours to take.”

  Li Xin read an extremely subtle emotion in Xu Hui’s gaze.

  Is her relationship with the Xu clan not very good?

  There seemed to be complex feelings toward the Xu clan, but there wasn’t enough information to guess the details.

  “I understand.”

  Li Xin no longer refused. As Xu Hui had said, this was his share. All the more reason to devote himself even more deeply to talisman crafting, which was the role given to him.

  ***

  After finishing his conversation with Xu Hui, Li Xin returned and opened the front gate as usual, stepping into the courtyard. The late afternoon sunlight warmly covered the yard, and everything looked peaceful.

  However, the moment he was about to move forward, Li Xin suddenly felt a sense of unease. He quietly stopped and looked around. Every stone and every tree was exactly as usual. But something felt off. It could have been his imagination, but Li Xin did not brush such feelings aside lightly.

  Without delay, he activated the Art of Tracking Fragrance. When he opened his eyes again, his vision was dyed in completely different colors. The scents drifting in the air transformed into streams of light, as if they had taken physical form, drifting about. Most of them originated from himself, so their colors were similar.

  However, among them—just one. A strand of scent with an alien color was shining distinctly. Li Xin infused it with spiritual power and traced its source. The fragrance extended like a thread, leading into a deep shadow in one corner of the courtyard. Li Xin realized that it resembled the effect of a Concealing Fragrance Talisman.

  “For what reason have you come?”

  Li Xin muttered softly. His gaze was already fixed precisely on the shadowy corner that appeared to be empty.

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  At that moment, a young man emerged from the darkness. So natural it was, as if he had been standing there from the beginning.

  “Oh, I got caught?”

  A familiar voice. It was Xu Yul. The young man who had first taught Li Xin the true meaning of the Concealing Fragrance Talisman.

  Xu Yul shrugged with a playful smile.

  “You’ve improved quite a bit in just a month.”

  When Li Xin silently stared at the uninvited guest, Xu Yul chuckled and held out the talisman in his hand.

  “What I used is called an Invisibility Talisman, one of the four-stroke talismans.”

  Throughout his explanation, his expression was filled with ease. He casually continued explaining the talisman he had used himself.

  “The Invisibility Talisman deceives the senses to hide one’s form. It doesn’t merely conceal qi. It tricks the five senses and disrupts perception itself—that is the true meaning of the Invisibility Talisman.”

  Li Xin narrowed his eyes as he listened to Xu Yul. There was no way he had come all this way just to explain how the Invisibility Talisman worked. As if reading Li Xin’s thoughts, Xu Yul laughed lightly and continued.

  “But even this kind of Invisibility Talisman has its limits. Just like how you discovered me.”

  With his smile still intact, he quietly nodded.

  “In the end, the only thing that can perfectly conceal one from a demonic beast’s keen senses is the Demonic Beast Talisman.”

  Then, as if reminding Li Xin of his role once more, he added,

  “Remember that there are great expectations placed on you.”

  Li Xin sensed that there was another intention behind Xu Yul’s visit. The reason he had personally come, hidden himself as if testing him, and observed his reaction. At that moment, Xu Yul let out a snort of laughter.

  “I told you when we first met at the Archive Pavilion. That we might meet again someday. That time just came a little sooner.”

  Xu Yul slowly stepped forward. His footsteps crossed the courtyard as quietly as shadows, and before long, he was standing in front of Li Xin.

  “You must have heard from Xu Hui. That our Xu clan was a demon-hunting family based in Daejin Immortal City.”

  Xu Yul’s eyes shone sharply. They were beast-like eyes, possessed only by someone who had crossed the boundary between life and death countless times.

  “There is only one reason I came to find you. To teach you about demonic beasts.”

  “About demonic beasts…”

  Without waiting for Li Xin’s response, Xu Yul continued.

  “All the demonic beasts you’ve seen so far must have been dead ones. Do you think staring at those all day would let you grasp the true meaning of the Demonic Beast Talisman?”

  His voice was firm and sharp.

  “The most important thing in learning the Demonic Beast Talisman is directly facing living demonic beasts. Their killing intent, their movements, even the final breath bursting from their throats. You must feel and remember all of it.”

  Li Xin closed his lips. Facing living demonic beasts directly meant stepping into real combat where life and death were on the line, not mere training.

  A heavy silence passed. Reading the hesitation in Li Xin’s eyes, Xu Yul grinned and added a playful tone to his words.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you.”

  That smile was brimming with confidence. There was an ease about him, as if he even enjoyed Li Xin’s unease.

  Xu Yul slowly raised his hand and pointed somewhere. Where his fingertip pointed was beyond Qingshan Valley, toward an unknown place Li Xin had never once visited.

  “Now then, let’s go outside Qingshan Valley and hunt demonic beasts together.”

  Unlike Xu Yul’s bold declaration, Li Xin remained silent for a moment. Then he lightly shook his head and carefully spoke.

  “I apologize. Could you give me some time?”

  At the unexpected response, Xu Yul’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Judging by his expression, he had not expected his proposal to be refused on the spot.

  Li Xin straightened his posture and spoke firmly.

  “In a situation where I am unprepared, I have no intention of offering up my life so easily.”

  At those words, Xu Yul’s expression stiffened slightly. It was not the answer he had expected.

  “Then why would someone who cherishes their life so much attempt to draw a Demonic Beast Talisman, something that requires accepting death?”

  “Because it is the path with the highest possibility of survival for me.”

  Xu Yul frowned and asked again.

  “…What do you mean by that?”

  Li Xin continued calmly. His voice was steady, his emotions restrained.

  “If I had refused the Xu clan’s offer, Elder Xu Hui and you might have felt regret and let it pass. But the judgment of the main family behind you would have been different. In a situation where a secret tied to the clan’s survival has been revealed to an outsider, there is no reason to leave that outsider alive. Even if I were in that position, I would have made the same decision.”

  His words were realistic. So cold and precise that Xu Yul could no longer refute them.

  “In the end, the only way for me to live is to help the Xu clan. To share interests with the clan and create justification for my survival.”

  Li Xin smiled bitterly.

  “Other than that… there’s only waiting for death.”

  A brief silence followed.

  Xu Yul seemed about to say something, but instead simply closed his mouth. The boy’s words were not wrong. He understood exactly how the structure of a clan operated. And he knew what he had to choose to survive.

  “…Fine. I’ll wait.”

  “Thank you for your understanding.”

  “So, how much time do you need?”

  Li Xin did not answer immediately. There was something he had to confirm first.

  “When will we be leaving Qingshan Valley?”

  “At the shortest, one year. At the longest, two.”

  The moment he heard Xu Yul’s answer, Li Xin’s expression hardened. It was far too short. Within that time, the Demonic Beast Talismans he could draw would be limited to three strokes, four at best. The fundamental question he had held all along.

  “…Will the Demonic Beast Talismans I draw really help in escaping the Daejin Domain?”

  Xu Yul nodded firmly.

  “They will help.”

  “But wouldn’t it be difficult to conceal a large group with just one or two Demonic Beast Talismans?”

  “That’s right. A single Demonic Beast Talisman can’t hide everything.”

  “Then—”

  “But the Demonic Beast Talisman is the ‘core medium’ that disrupts a demonic beast’s senses. It can be combined with other talismans to amplify its effect.”

  At that moment, Xu Yul’s eyes flashed.

  “That is called a Talisman Array.”

  “Talisman Array…?”

  “It’s a method of arranging multiple talismans in a specific order to create powerful effects that a single talisman cannot achieve alone. Just like how small streams gather to form a river.”

  Xu Yul continued explaining while making a motion as if drawing something in the air.

  “If one Demonic Beast Talisman disrupts a demonic beast’s senses, then on top of that, you layer talismans that disperse qi, blur vision, and so on.”

  Xu Yul concluded calmly, but with conviction.

  “In this way, the talismans influence one another and form an organic formation. The Demonic Beast Talisman is its center and starting point, and if the talisman array is properly constructed, it’s possible for dozens of people to escape a demonic beast’s detection.”

  Li Xin slowly drew in a breath.

  Only now did it make sense. What had been impossible with just one or two Demonic Beast Talismans. Within the concept of a Talisman Array, it became achievable. The power contained within small pieces of paper could determine the life and death of dozens of people.

  At that moment, Li Xin clearly realized what he needed to do.