Chapter 12: The use of spiritual awareness

Master saw my shock and said, “A peace talisman can block many things. I cannot use the art of changing fate to add years to your uncle Li’s life, but a peace talisman can keep him free of illness and pain, free of accidents, and very smooth. This is also a way to preserve life. A normal peace talisman can only dispel some minor inconveniences, but a peace talisman with great effect can be used for a long time to block many bad things. I want to draw a peace talisman for your uncle Li that is not the art of changing fate, but is very contrary to fate.”

I was a little speechless. Could Master really be sure of the silver talisman? In fact, I knew that the bond between the two brothers was extremely strong.

But I don’t need to comment on what the master does. After a moment of thought, I simply stopped dwelling on the topic and said to the master, “Master, why is cinnabar mixed with things like gemstone powder?”

“Gemstone powder? That’s nothing. Real gold powder is sometimes used. If you ask me why, I really don’t have a strong theoretical basis to tell you. After all, I have said that some things are just handed down from my ancestors, and I am just told to do them. But there is one thing you can think about. Do you know about Western wizards? Or they are called magicians. When they use their powers to communicate with the five elements, they need a staff. The head of the staff is often a gemstone. The better the quality, the better. The purer the better. The bigger the better. What do you think about this? The master looked at me with a piercing gaze.

I looked up and said, “Maybe a gemstone can better gather the qi and amplify this effect?”

Indeed, talismans are ever-changing and their effects are complex, but the reason why a large part of them work is that they either concentrate or disperse the qi. The reason why cinnabar is the first choice for drawing talismans is because it has an inexplicable affinity for the qi.

To put it simply, the red color of the cinnabar is so glaring and eye-catching that even after looking at it for a long time, you will still feel like you want to escape, or even feel dizzy. This is the feeling of being affected by a qi field, which is an effect that no other red pigment can achieve.

Some things are simple to explain, but also subtle, indescribable, and can only be understood by intuition.

The master heard my opinion on precious stones and said, “Well, you understand it well. So a precious stone is a stone. Why is it so hard for everyone to resist? Do you like it? It is not given monetary value like gold, but it is also held up to the sky. Is it because it is rare? Obviously not! There are also various rare ores that are rare. Can you sincerely like those things? Obviously not! This is the aura of the precious stone itself that affects humans.”

“Well, that’s true, but Master, I would prefer the iron to have an aura.” I said seriously.

“Why?” The master was puzzled. He was originally going to drink, but after hearing my words, he stopped drinking and stopped holding the bottle in mid-air.

“Because women love precious stones. They’re so expensive. If I marry a wife in the future, what if she asks me to give her a ring with a big precious stone?” I made a fist with my hand and sighed, “If it’s an iron block, I don’t mind if she’s covered in it.”

This question is really annoying. I’m not a rich man. Looking at the master, I don’t think I’ll be rich in the future. If that’s the case, I won’t have to ask Chengzhen for money in the future? The most wealthy are the Xiangzi.

The master looked at me blankly for a long time, and suddenly kicked over the stool under my buttocks. I didn’t react, and I fell face-first. The master scolded and said, “You son of a bitch, you dare look down on the Shan Zi pulse, crying about being poor, right?”

I wasn’t crying about being poor, but now my butt hurts so much that I’m about to cry.

After returning from Tianjin, the master entered a state of seclusion. He already had so many talismans to draw, and this was indeed a heavy burden.

Chengxin, who lives in another city, has been coming to visit me frequently, four or five times a month, each time bringing me some pills.

These pills are for replenishing blood and qi, and for replenishing the spirit and mind. They are all for the Master.

As for Chengzhen, he also came by and gave a lot of money, meaning that during this time, precious ingredients should be used for my master according to the prescription given by Uncle Chen, and there is no need to worry about money.

I know that these brothers have joined forces and made up their minds to make a talisman for Master Li.

I couldn’t help much, but I practiced more diligently. I felt that I was really weak and couldn’t help my master at all.

A month later, my school work was basically finished, and my defense went well. During this month, my master’s work also became more abundant.

20 yellow talismans.

7 blue talismans (in addition to the 5 bought, Master had 2 saved from before)

3 purple talismans.

The remaining ones are the silver ones.

On this day, the master called me very seriously and said, “Sanwa, you are my disciple. Do you know what your greatest talent is?”

“Yes, I know. I have a strong spiritual sense, but I don’t think it’s useful except for opening my eyes,” I said.

Indeed, I think that apart from being able to open the heavenly eye, it is really not very useful. Hand gestures, drawing talismans, and formations all require time to accumulate, to learn, to comprehend, and to improve. There is no shortcut.

“Wrong. I teach you things step by step, starting from the basics. But some things, if I have the heart to teach you, you will be luckier than many people and you will pick it up quickly.” The master said very seriously.

“Then why don’t you teach me?” I was a little dissatisfied and couldn’t understand what the master was thinking.

“Only because you are too young and immature, teaching you is like the analogy I once gave you. It is like putting a knife in the hands of a child. Do you understand?” The master said to me very seriously.

“I’m not a bad person!” I didn’t like this, and I couldn’t help but get a little impulsive and pouty.

“This has to do with good and evil, but in fact, I’m not worried about that. I’m worried that you’re still inexperienced, and if someone takes advantage of you, what will you do? And if you get angry and don’t think about the consequences, you know, my metaphysics has many taboos. If you’re not careful, you’ll get caught up in karma and regret it. The damage caused may sometimes be worse than a bomb. Have you forgotten about the Hungry Ghost Tomb?” This time, the master was very serious, more serious than ever.

I lowered my head and thought about it, but I also knew that my master was serious. Just like when I was fighting everywhere in the streets and alleys of Beijing, if I got angry, I might use what I had learned to harm people. Would it be useful to regret it afterwards?

Not to mention other things, after I hurt others, I would also suffer a strong backlash. Plus, I was born a child…

I couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Master had let me go during that period of time, but wasn’t that also a test of my character? At that time, I didn’t know any powerful magic, but I could have tried to attract a wandering ghost.

But I didn’t, and I just got through that period of time!

In addition, my master really protected me. What if I had a little less troublesome magic?

Fortunately, after going through so much, my character has probably been tempered better. At least I don’t get provoked into fighting like I used to.

“Do you understand what I mean?” The master saw that my face had turned pale and asked.

“Master, I understand. I really understand what you said to me about cultivating my heart all those years ago.” Yes, a transparent stone will always be transparent in the stream. What if you throw it into the ink? If it can still be cleaned and return to transparency after being picked up, then it can be said that the heart has been set.

Master really had a hard time. Those years, he endured the pain and pressure to let me practice!

This is a kind of harshness in Taoism, but it is also unavoidable. Of course, some people who originally did not focus on their minds and only sought to achieve their goals cannot be included.

“Now that you understand, I can tell you the importance of spiritual awareness! At least in Taoism, there are several very powerful and important methods, and spiritual awareness is the most crucial. These methods can be ranked behind as long as you can withstand them.” The master said lightly.

“What is it?” I couldn’t help but ask anxiously.

“Like the art of summoning spirits, like the art of the three mausoleum levels!” The master said seriously.

I was shocked. I had seen my master perform the lower magic, and it was so powerful. But my master had never told me about these magic spells in detail. Even the books about these magic spells were carefully put away. So that’s it!

I was born to be more suitable for practicing these techniques?