Chapter 123 – The First Test

After hauling a pile of things back home, Wei Yang was immediately surrounded as soon as he stepped through the door. Lao Ye, who had been pretending to be deaf and mute and sleeping for days, seemed to have gone mad for some reason. It suddenly rushed straight toward Zeng Jingxuan and bit down on the man’s neatly pressed pants, its front claws even attempting to scratch him fiercely. Wei Yang was instantly embarrassed. He shoved the travel bag he was carrying into Zhang Xiuqi’s arms and rushed forward to pull the turtle away.

Zeng Jingxuan, however, stopped him with a gesture. “Don’t panic. It probably senses that there’s something valuable here.”

With that, Zeng Jingxuan bent down and placed the two wooden boxes he was holding flat on the ground. Oddly enough, as soon as the boxes were set down, Lao Ye’s attention immediately shifted. It stopped biting and turned to crawl toward the boxes, sniffing one and then the other. It even tapped one of the boxes with its claw and let out a loud “Ah!” toward Wei Yang.

Wei Yang, of course, couldn’t understand what it meant, but Zeng Jingxuan smiled faintly. “It’s quite the connoisseur.”

With that, he opened the box that the turtle had tapped. Inside was an ancient-looking feng shui compass. Unlike other compasses, which were often ornate, this one had only three layers on the inner disk, and the outer disk didn’t even have the traditional crosshairs. It was essentially a lump of iron, perfectly round in shape, unlike the usual feng shui compasses that followed the principle of “round heaven and square earth.” Wei Yang, having grown up in the feng shui business, knew exactly what a proper feng shui compass should look like. This thing was neither a “Yang Compass” nor a “Lai Compass,” so how could it be a treasured heirloom from the Zeng Family of Sanliao Village?

However, upon seeing the compass, Lao Ye seemed to grow excited. It stretched its neck toward the box, moving so quickly that Wei Yang didn’t have time to stop it. When the turtle’s head touched the compass, something incredible happened. The outer disk of the compass and the turtle’s shell both began to glow, and faint runes appeared, forming two nearly identical Great Derivative True Technique patterns!

Even Zeng Jingxuan was startled. Ignoring the light, he carefully picked up the compass and examined the turtle for a long while before sighing softly. “I didn’t expect this. Ah Yang, did your ancestors practice feng shui?”

Wei Yang’s mouth hung open. He had seen Lao Ye in action before, but this was the first time he had seen such a complete Great Derivative True Technique pattern on its shell, let alone one that could react with the compass. After a long pause, he finally managed to reply, “Yes, they did. My grandfather was a fortune-teller, but my ancestors must have known feng shui. Both the old family home and the ancestral graves were well-maintained. Brother Qi has seen them.”

Zeng Jingxuan didn’t bother confirming with his nephew. Instead, he said directly, “This compass was used by Master Lai in his early years. Although it’s a feng shui compass, it doesn’t have the 72 Dragons of the Yang Compass or the 28 Constellations and Five Elements of the Lai Compass. It only has three layers: Heaven, Earth, and Man, making it a ‘Little Three Talents’ configuration. However, the Lai Family later shifted toward divination, and since this compass was too peculiar, it was rarely used, only brought out during major disasters or calamities. The Lai Family called it the ‘Life-Saving Compass.'”

Zeng Jingxuan had had his fortune told by Lai Yunyi several times before, and each time the outcome had been extremely ominous. Only the last time had it changed to “uncertain.” Perhaps because of this, she had taken out this compass, hoping to use the Life-Saving Compass to help him overcome his difficulties. Who would have thought that it would coincidentally match up with such a unique object?

With a slight shake of his head, he continued, “The reason this Life-Saving Compass is so peculiar is tied to a legend. It’s said that Master Lai encountered a great master during his travels, which inspired him to create such a strange object. Later, Master Lai improved the ‘Yang Compass’ and created his own ‘Lai Compass,’ so this one was stored in the family shrine and rarely used. From the looks of it, the master of this turtle might have been the great master that Master Lai met back then.”

“But what does that have to do with my ancestors? And I didn’t see Lao Ye when I was a kid,” Wei Yang said, his eyes wide. Given his grandfather’s shrewd and cunning ways, it was hard to imagine that his ancestors had ever produced a true master, let alone something as strange as Lao Ye, which had been picked up along the way.

Zeng Jingxuan smiled faintly. “Turtles are creatures with extremely strong spiritual power. Once they recognize a master, they will protect that master’s family for generations. The Great Derivative True Technique on the turtle’s shell couldn’t have naturally grown there. The fact that it’s willing to stay in your concrete house isn’t just for a few shrimp. Moreover, this is the only explanation for why your Wu Family bloodline suddenly awakened. After all, someone who could create the Great Derivative True Technique wouldn’t be an ordinary person. The mixing of the two bloodlines naturally led to changes.”

“So my ancestors were that impressive? Did Lao Ye show up because I was too much of a disappointment?” Although his tone was teasing, there was a hint of self-deprecation in his words. Wei Yang had never imagined that someone like him, a parentless child, would suddenly inherit such an impressive bloodline. It felt like a cruel joke.

But the thought passed quickly, and he immediately perked up, smiling as he said, “So if Lao Ye encounters this Life-Saving Compass, maybe it can be a big help?”

“Perhaps,” Zeng Jingxuan said after some thought. He bent down and placed the compass on the turtle’s back.

As soon as it was placed there, Lao Ye became visibly happy. The Great Derivative True Technique on its shell directly sank into the turtle’s carapace, and at the same time, the compass’s needle began to rotate slowly in the Heavenly Pool, ignoring the Earth’s magnetic field, before finally settling on the precise mark. Once the compass had completely calmed down, Lao Ye, now steadily carrying the compass on its back, stretched out its neck and swaggered away, much like the stone tortoises that carried steles in ancient temples.

Zeng Jingxuan couldn’t help but praise, “The Great Derivative True Technique on the turtle’s shell can isolate all external interference, which means it enhances the power of the outer disk. Having this turtle carry the compass might allow it to exert greater power than an ordinary person.”

It was truly impressive, but where on earth had it learned such behavior? Watching Lao Ye’s haughty demeanor, Wei Yang really wanted to pretend he didn’t know this turtle. However, Zeng Jingxuan didn’t pay any attention to this. Instead, he turned to Wei Yang and said, “Let’s start preparing to infuse talismans with your Wu Family blood. Ah Yang, get ready. We’ll start with simple talismans.”

Hearing this, Wei Yang immediately became serious. Over the past few days, he had been slowly learning to draw talismans. Perhaps due to his natural talent, he could already draw simple talismans like the Clear Mind Talisman and the House Protection Talisman with some skill. However, infusing talismans with Wu Family blood was completely different from what he had done before. No one could predict whether the blood would amplify the talisman’s power or alter it entirely, so testing had to be done with extreme caution. After all, it involved the essence of his blood, and he couldn’t test endlessly.

Zhang Xiuqi’s expression was even more serious than Wei Yang’s. He spoke up directly, “Uncle, let me go first. I’ll use Wu Family blood instead of my own essence to draw the talismans or as the final activation point. It’s safer that way.”

Some talismans required essence blood as a catalyst, meaning that blood was mixed into the cinnabar during the drawing process. The activation point, on the other hand, was the final step in activating the talisman, and only certain powerful talismans required it. Whether it was used as a catalyst or an activation point, it was best to use the talisman artist’s own blood. Otherwise, the energy wouldn’t match, and the talisman might fail or even harm the artist or user. There was still some danger involved.

Zeng Jingxuan was well aware of the risks. However, seeing his nephew’s resolute expression, he ultimately nodded. “Alright.”

The subtle differences here were considered advanced knowledge in the talisman world, so Wei Yang naturally didn’t understand. He obediently followed the two into the study. Walking over to the desk, Zhang Xiuqi poured a small pile of prepared cinnabar into the inkstone box and handed Wei Yang a small plastic cube. “Use this. Two drops will be enough.”

Taking it, Wei Yang realized it was a painless blood lancet. He had no idea when Brother Qi had learned to use such high-tech tools. With a light chuckle, he pricked his finger with the needle and squeezed out two drops of blood into the cinnabar.

Zhang Xiuqi glanced at the small red dot on Wei Yang’s fingertip but said nothing. He sat down and began drawing the talisman. The talisman he was drawing wasn’t simple, and it took him a good seven or eight minutes to finish. The moment he lifted the brush, Zeng Jingxuan said, “It’s usable.”

Indeed, there was nothing wrong with the talisman. Zhang Xiuqi set down the brush and said in a deep voice, “The Wu Family blood channels energy very quickly. The strokes were smoother than usual, with no blockages. It might also have a calming effect on the mind.”

Drawing talismans required intense focus, which was something everyone knew but few could achieve. If Wu Family blood could stabilize the mind, it would make drawing talismans much easier. More importantly, it wouldn’t require the talisman artist to expend their own essence blood, which was a great boon for any Daoist practitioner.

Zhang Xiuqi’s expression, however, wasn’t very good. He picked up another talisman from the table and walked over to Wei Yang, extending his hand. “Give me some more blood.”

The puncture wound on Wei Yang’s finger, though small, hadn’t completely closed yet. He squeezed his finger and managed to produce another drop of blood. “Is this enough?”

Zhang Xiuqi directly wiped the drop of blood with his fingertip and then drew it across the talisman paper. With a soft hiss, the talisman burst into flames without any fire, and outside the window, a thunderclap echoed out of nowhere. This was the Five Thunder Righteous Heart Talisman, one of the most effective talismans against evil spirits and malevolent ghosts, and a signature talisman of the Longhu Mountain Sect. However, the speed at which it activated was even faster than when Zhang Xiuqi used it himself.

Wei Yang wasn’t aware of the details, but a look of joy appeared on his face. “So it works, right? In an emergency, you can just give me a few talismans, and I can use them directly!”

This Wu Family blood was like universal ammunition—it could be used in any gun, making it incredibly convenient! It’s as if it wasn’t even his own blood, Wei Yang thought gleefully. Beside him, Zhang Xiuqi glanced at his uncle, his eyes filled with anxiety. Zeng Jingxuan sighed. He knew exactly what his nephew was thinking. Bloodlines like the Wu Family had always been excellent materials, but who could have expected it to be this good?

After some thought, Zeng Jingxuan said, “Since there’s no problem with infusing the talismans, next you’ll need to draw some talismans yourself, Ah Yang. The bone formation is based on the Three Talents framework, so the talismans you practice should also be related to the Three Talents. I’ve been thinking for a while that perhaps the method Sun Yunhe came up with back then was to use the Extinction Script as talismans to activate the power of the witch bones, allowing an ordinary person to use them. We don’t have much time left, so let’s prepare as much as we can.”

This was a complete stopgap measure. Wei Yang nodded, then seemed to remember something. “I think there might be more than one way to activate the witch bones. Like what I saw in my dream, Sun Yunhe never used talismans as a catalyst but directly controlled the bone formations. And the two Jiangtou masters at the hospital didn’t use talismans either—they used things like Soul Dolls. Could it be that soul-attaching spells can amplify the power of the witch bones even more?”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiuqi’s expression immediately changed. He said sternly, “Soul attaching is out of the question. The harm is too great. They used evil methods—you can’t use them!”

As if he had expected the Little Celestial Master’s reaction, Wei Yang ignored him and turned directly to Master Zeng. Zeng Jingxuan hesitated for a moment but ultimately shook his head. “The circumstances are different. We can’t act recklessly. Let’s try using talismans first. Steady and methodical is better.”

Wei Yang glanced at the expressions of the two men and didn’t press the matter. He smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll listen to the professionals.”

Zeng Jingxuan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and didn’t waste any more words. He said directly, “Among the Three Talents, ‘Heaven’ is the strongest, ‘Earth’ comes next, and ‘Man’ is the weakest. However, the eye of the formation is also placed on ‘Man,’ so when studying the Three Talents, you must start there. Adding the variables of Yin and Yang, the Three Talents can be divided into eight formations. Xiao Qi, you draw a Three Officials Soul Guiding Talisman first so Ah Yang can see…”

With that, the three of them—one teaching, one drawing, and one learning—began to work diligently. However, as Wei Yang watched the uncle and nephew pair, he firmly remembered one thing. The ‘Man’ in the formation’s eye, the ‘Human Path’ within the bone formation, was precisely the witch bone that could house a living soul.

If it really came down to it, he might still have a trump card to play…