Chapter 104: Song Yi

After planting the seeds and finishing his morning cultivation, Yang went to the food hall for breakfast and then made his way across the outer sect peak to his first class with Song Yi.

The classroom was not what he had expected after Elder Bai Jing Ting's outdoor circle of stone tables. This room was traditional in every sense of the word. A blackboard at the front, a desk before it, rows of individual tables for students facing forward, windows along the back and left walls letting in the morning light. Large, clean, and arranged with a straightforwardness that suggested whoever taught here expected the students' attention to be on the board rather than on anything else.

Yang found a seat and settled in. The room was filling around him, a mix of outer and inner sect disciples. He took out his supplies and set them ready.

The door opened.

The man who entered was young-looking, like most cultivators, which told you nothing about his actual age. His hair was tied up in a knot at the crown of his head, held in place by a simple silver clasp. He wore inner sect robes and drew attention from others without effort with his friendly expression.

He stopped at the front of the room and looked around at the assembled disciples with a calm, pleasant expression.

"I am Song Yi," he said. "Mid-stage Golden Core, and not an elder, so do not call me one. Senior Brother Song Yi is fine." A slight smile. "I expect to see most of you in the inner sect before long."

"This class is about utility and support talismans," Senior Brother Song Yi continued, leaning against the front desk rather than standing behind it. "Not the ones you use in a fight. The ones that make everything around the fight, and everything outside of it, considerably easier." He looked around the room. "I will be honest with you from the beginning. Most talisman creators who dabble in this craft do not bother with this field. They concentrate on offensive or defensive work because those are far easier to master. On the open market, roughly twenty percent of talismans are support type and eighty percent are offensive or defensive."

He paused to let that sink.

"You might think that means you cannot earn points or spirit stones with support talismans. You would be wrong. There is always demand for support talismans. The cultivators who do keep them tend to be wealthy ones or those who have made the talismans themselves. If you become skilled enough, you will have a lifetime supply for your own use and a reliable income on top of it. But remember, only if you become skilled enough"

He tilted his head slightly as he said. "I will not lie about the difficulty. In over a century of holding this class, fewer than one in ten students reaches the level of skill needed to earn a stable income from support talisman work. Most eventually turn to offensive or defensive work because it is easier to produce a variety of those once you understand the general inscription patterns. But," he said, "no one who has taken this class has ever told me they regretted it."

Yang found himself leaning forward slightly. He had taken classes with Elder Fu Ming and Elder Bai Jing Ting, both of whom were skilled and great teachers. But Senior Brother Song Yi was making the argument for why you should want to learn this before he had taught a single stroke.

"Support talismans require a broader range of skill from the talisman crafter than offensive or defensive work," Senior Brother Song Yi said. "They are harder to master as a field. But if you commit to learning them, they will make you more adaptable than any other specialisation will. And if you go advanced enough in this direction," he said, scanning the room, "it will also aid you in learning formations."

The change in the room was immediate. Several disciples sat up. Someone near the front inhaled audibly.

Senior Brother Song Yi's smile widened fractionally. "Yes. True. While they are separate fields, they share the same root. And unlike talismans, formations are far more complicated. They almost always perform multiple functions rather than one, they are not single-use, and they do not have the same threshold limits. An offensive or defensive talisman is mostly bound to one type of function with either a time limit or a pressure threshold. A formation can be built to do many things at once and can be replenished to keep running indefinitely." He straightened.

"Support and utility talismans often run for long durations while maintaining steady output and regulating qi flow rather than releasing it all at once. That is the same principle that underlies formation work. When you study formations, you have to apply that principle long-term and add a way to replenish the qi to keep it running."

He walked to the board.

"Utility talismans often perform multiple functions simultaneously. Detecting. Regulating. Filtering. Responding. I will not say that offensive or defensive talismans are always single-function, but you will encounter multiple functions layered together far more often in this talisman field. Think of each utility talisman as a component in a larger system. One handles air. One handles heat. One handles pressure. Formations are built by linking these components together. Instead of asking how to make one large formation, you ask how to combine smaller functions into a system. Utility talismans teach you to think in exactly that way. They force you to understand function layering and how functions reinforce each other's effects."

He paused. "They are harder to perfect, less impressive, and require repetition. This is precisely why they make cultivators more methodical, more precise, and more patient. All qualities one needs to become a formation master."

Yang looked around the room. Every face was attentive. Some were visibly excited. He had attended enough classes in his time at the sect to know that this was not always the case. Senior Brother Song Yi had done in the space of a few minutes what none of the other teachers he had met had done: he had made every person in the room want to learn what he was about to teach.

"Now," Senior Brother Song Yi said with a smile, "I believe I have sold the advantages of support talismans hard enough. Now, let me give you the list of what we will cover."

He raised a hand, and writing appeared on the blackboard in neat columns.

"We begin with Cooling and Warming Talismans." He gestured at the board. "Before anyone dismisses these as too basic, let me tell you what they are actually for. A warming talisman gathers and concentrates heat carefully, building it without letting it become unstable. A cooling talisman does the opposite, it draws heat away and disperses it smoothly. One teaches you how to add without excess. The other teaches you how to remove without damage. Between them you begin to understand balance. It is very important you understand both of these talisman inscription and understand their similarities and differences." He looked across the room.

"Both talismans must operate continuously, adjusting to the environment, maintaining steady qi flow rather than releasing it all at once. If your control is uneven the result is immediate. Fluctuating heat or fluctuating cooling. Failure. Learn both and you will understand not just how to move qi but how to regulate it. And once you can regulate qi, you are no longer simply inscribing talismans. You are beginning to understand how to create a system."

Yang wrote that down.

"Next, concealment and privacy." Senior Brother Song Yi's tone remained level and pleasant throughout. "The Silencing Talisman seals sound either from the user outward or within a defined area. Private conversations, ambushes, It is also an added function in formations for private space. There is also a variant that is affixed to an opponent to prevent them from making sound." A brief pause. "Quiet, useful when kidnapping someone. Not that I would suggest kidnapping." He said with a mischievous smile.

A few students laughed.

"The next is an Aura Concealment Talisman, it suppresses the user's cultivation signature, making their realm appear lower or absent to spiritual sense. Widely used by cultivators who do not want to reveal their true level. Less useful at higher realms where anyone of significance has learned a technique to hide their cultivation anyway, and similarly ineffective against cultivators of higher level than the user."

He moved along the board.

"The Scent Erasure Talisman eliminates the user's personal scent entirely. More niche than aura concealment, but essential when dealing with beast-type enemies whose primary sense is smell, or when moving through beast territories where scent alone triggers predatory response. Also, more useful than the previous talisman, mostly because I don't know anyone who has bothered to learn a scent-removing technique."

"And mind you, this will be true for almost every talisman I show you: if there is a need for it, there is a talisman for it. But if there is a talisman for it, there is also likely a technique that performs the same function." He held up a hand before anyone could ask. "Before you ask, why bother with talismans then? Here is your answer. You cannot sell a technique. A technique takes far longer to master than making or buying a talisman. Techniques are more expensive to acquire. And in a situation where your qi reserves are running low, talismans cost you nothing from your own supply. Also, you can use only one technique at a time. While you can launch a dozen talismans at once."

Yang thought about that. He had not considered the qi cost difference so directly before. He wasn't allowed to leave the sect and hadn't put much thought into what he would need to increase his chances outside the sect.

"Detection and sensing," Senior Brother Song Yi continued. "The Spiritual Sense Amplification Talisman temporarily extends the range and clarity of the user's spiritual sense beyond its natural limits. Used during reconnaissance, in ruins or caves, or when you suspect observation and need to probe a wider area than you could naturally manage. Significant qi cost and short duration at lower grades. Do not confuse it with the general amplification talisman that increases other senses. Also can't be used by Qi condensation cultivators, since they don't have any spiritual sense to amplify."

"The next is the Danger Warning Talisman, which is a passive alert system. It activates and delivers a sharp qi pulse to the user when hostile intent of sufficient strength enters its detection radius. Useful when traveling alone or sleeping or cultivating in unsecured areas. At low cultivation levels where spiritual sense monitoring is not yet accessible, this talisman fills an important gap for you qi condensation cultivators."

"The rather interesting Tracking Talisman, which comes in paired sets. One is affixed to a target or object, and the other is held by the user, creating a directional pull. Used by hunters, sect enforcers, and elders who do not fully trust their disciples on solo missions. An unpaired version also exists, but you need to have a strong spiritual sense for it to work. which none of you do."

Several students glanced at each other at that last remark.

"The Truth-Reading Talisman creates a field that makes deliberate falsehoods physically uncomfortable for anyone within it. A tightening in the chest or throat that a trained observer can detect. Not a perfect lie detector since the effect can be suppressed by a sufficiently strong cultivator or someone with a specific mental cultivation technique, but reliable enough for ordinary interrogation. Many smaller sects use them during dispute resolutions."

He paused to let the students finish writing notes and then moved on.

"A few household or comfort talismans, as I like to call them. The Preservation Talisman, affixed to containers, slows spoilage significantly by creating a low-level qi field that inhibits decay. A budget alternative to proper storage rings for disciples who cannot yet afford spatial treasures or jade boxes". Senior brother Song Yi teasingly said, raising his left hand, which had a gold ring on his middle finger.

Yang noted that one specifically.

"The Pest Repulsion Talisman creates a field hostile to insects, small spiritual beasts, and vermin. Affixed to a temporary sleeping or cultivation area, it prevents small pest intrusions. Again, I used the word temporary because most permanent places for cultivators will have a formation that will already have this function added in, and if a cultivator needs to use a talisman for their permanent residence, then it would not be wrong to consider them the cultivation world version of a homeless person. Which is worse, because a mortal can't help their circumstances, but when a cultivator is in such a situation, they are likely incompetent."

" Now for travel and navigation. The Direction Talisman always orients to true north, regardless of underground location, dense forest, except in case of spatial distortion, then you'd better have a tool that helps with directions."

"The Stepping Stone Talisman affixed to a surface allows the user to pass over terrain that would ordinarily be impassable. Water surfaces, unstable ground, and walls for a limited distance. Grade-dependent in duration and weight capacity. A lower-grade version that only works on water is significantly cheaper and far more common. Then the Breath Preservation Talisman allows the user to breathe normally underwater or in environments with insufficient oxygen for a fixed duration. Standard for underwater exploration and high-altitude journeys. Though I will say, for anyone entering such an environment, it is in your best interest to learn the actual technique and keep the talisman as a backup rather than relying on the talisman as your primary plan."

Yang now has more food for thought and many types of techniques to consider.

"Memory and learning. The Recording Talisman captures a scene or conversation as experienced by the holder at the moment of activation and stores it for later playback. Used for preserving lectures, capturing evidence, documenting anything you need an accurate record of. Single use. After playback, it is spent." He tilted his head. "A more widely used version of this principle is the jade slip. Most techniques in the library are stored in that format, while physical manuals are given to disciples to take and read. But jade slips are made by tool refiners, and with that comes a considerably higher price tag."

He looked across the room.

"You can see here, as I showed you with formations, that when you advance far enough in talisman work, all the disciplines begin to connect. Talisman skills tie into formation work. They also tie into tool refining. The further you go, the more you see the common root beneath all of them."

Yang heard this and felt something snap into clarity in the back of his mind.

Jade slips. Reusable. Capable of storing information that could be played back. Made from materials that could hold inscriptions. What if the principle could be taken further? What if, instead of a recording, a jade slip could hold a permanent functional inscription that activated on demand, the way a card in the Cardwright World held its inscription and could be used again and again? The crystal sheets had been reusable because they generated their own energy continuously. Jade was different. But the underlying logic of a reusable inscribed object was not so different from what he had spent seventeen years making.

He set the thought aside before it pulled him further. Senior Brother Song Yi was still speaking and tool refining, from what he had just gathered, was the most expensive craft, even above alchemy. That path would have to wait.

"These are the basic talismans I want you to learn before I will consider you an adequate support talisman crafter," Senior Brother Song Yi said. "I am also open to suggestions for additional support talismans you may want to learn, provided you have first perfected the ones I have listed."

He raised a hand, and the inscriptions for the Warming and Cooling talismans appeared on the board side by side.

"Copy these down. Then begin practicing. I want you to look at both inscriptions and identify the similarities and the differences before you attempt either one. Understanding why the inscription is shaped the way it is will make you faster at learning the next one."

Yang pulled his talisman supplies toward him and picked up his brush.

He had taken enough classes by now to know when he had found a good teacher. This was his favourite class. Not because the material was the most immediately useful, though it was, but because Senior Brother Song Yi knew how to command a room full of cultivators and make them excited for a field that was considered rather boring.

He looked at the two inscriptions on the board and began to study them

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