I have a panel that reduces proficiency.

Chapter 3 Seven Steps to Summoning the Spirit

There are established rules before drawing talismans.

As the saying goes, "A single stroke can't complete a drawing, and half a thought can ruin the whole picture."

The art of talismans places great emphasis on rules and regulations. One must be calm and focused to draw the spirit into the paper and achieve its effect.

If one is impatient and restless, even with great talent, one will only end up with a worthless piece of paper.

Fang Shi returned to his courtyard, first placed the four catties of Biling rice in the stove, measured out half a bowl, washed it clean, put it in the pot, added water, stuffed a few pieces of firewood into the stove, and lit the fire.

While he was cooking, he went to stand in the courtyard and prepared to draw talismans.

It wasn't completely dark yet; a faint tinge of dark red remained on the western horizon.

The evening breeze rustled the leaves of the old locust tree outside the courtyard wall.

Fang Shi straightened his clothes.

Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, repeating this three times to cleanse your chest of impurities.

Then, bring your index and middle fingers together and place one point between your eyebrows, then one point on your chest, and finally one point at your lower abdomen (Dantian), while silently reciting: "The spirit guides the Qi, the Qi guides the spirit, and the spirit returns to the orifice."

This is called "Three Points to Determine the Origin," which is the first step in drawing a talisman.

Then, he raised his right foot and stomped down three times, making a loud thud, saying that he was awakening the dormant spiritual energy of the earth's veins.

He then raised his hand to the sky and drew a circle with his index finger to draw down the scattered spiritual energy in the air.

His feet moved in unison, following the seven-star pattern, three steps to the left and four steps to the right, advancing and retreating with measured steps. Each step subtly corresponded to the number of days in the universe. Although his steps were slow, they were steady and powerful, with the faint sound of wind and thunder.

Then, he clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and lowered his brows, and began to chant a purification mantra in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

After finishing the reading, he suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them before his gaze returned to its usual calm.

Standing still, as if an old monk were in deep meditation, he was enveloped in a faint blue aura.

This set of rituals is called "Seven Steps to Invite the Spirit," which is passed down from the ancient talismanic way. It is intended to calm the mind and spirit, communicate with heaven and earth, so that when writing, the spiritual energy flows through the paper, the mind and hand are in harmony, and the completed talisman will be spiritual and effective, and will not collapse halfway.

Just as a musician must tune his instrument before playing, or an archer must hold his breath and aim before shooting at the target.

After going through purification, concentration, shaking, guiding, stepping, and recitation, one should then reach the time for receiving the offering.

Suddenly, an autumn wind blew, and with a loud "bang," the already damaged courtyard gate was blown wide open.

A woman in her early thirties, with a girl of about seven or eight years old in tow, passed by the door.

The woman had her hair styled in a common round bun, wore a slightly worn blue cloth shirt, and carried a bamboo basket in her hand, clearly having just returned from the market.

The girl spotted Fang Shi in the courtyard, grabbed the woman's sleeve, and looked up at her, asking, "Mother, what is that uncle doing?"

The woman glanced in the direction of the girl's gaze, shook her head, pulled the girl closer, and whispered, "Don't look too much. That's damaging your own cultivation by drawing talismans for others in exchange for spirit stones. Focus on your cultivation and don't be playful, otherwise when you grow up, you'll only be able to draw talismans for others, damaging your own foundation."

Upon hearing this, the girl's face turned serious. She gripped the woman's clothes tightly, her voice filled with solemnity: "Mother, I promise I will cultivate diligently and never slack off again!"

The woman patted her head, a look of relief on her face, and led her away in a hurry.

Fang Shi seemed not to hear, remaining standing in the same spot, motionless.

He continued with the final step of the "Seven Steps to Invoke the Spirit".

He slowly raised his hands, palms facing each other as if holding a ball, and a faint stream of spiritual energy flowed between his palms, seemingly tangible yet intangible, like a dream or mist.

As the spiritual energy gathered from all around slowly entered his dantian, he felt a slight warmth in his lower abdomen, and his whole body felt refreshed and comfortable.

[Seven Steps to Summon Spirits Proficiency +1]

With this, the entire ceremony came to a successful conclusion.

When Fang Shi first learned the art of talismans, he thought that the rituals before drawing talismans were just a way to calm his mind, reduce mistakes, and increase the success rate of drawing talismans.

Just like a craftsman sharpening his knife before starting work, it's necessary, but it's not a particularly profound skill.

But he later learned that this ritual could also slightly alleviate the fatigue of the meridians.

It turns out that whether it's casting spells, drawing talismans, or cultivating, all these activities leave the magical power and spiritual energy feeling somewhat tired after passing through the meridians.

Just like an ox in a field, after plowing all day, it always needs to rest.

If you force yourself to circulate your spiritual energy, you may damage your meridians and weaken your foundation. You will need to rest quietly for a while and wait for it to recover on its own.

If one refuses to wait and only tries to endure, over time it will accumulate like a chronic disease, becoming a hidden ailment. At that point, let alone making progress, even the current level of cultivation will be difficult to maintain.

Therefore, the woman was right; drawing talismans is to diminish one's cultivation level so that others can advance.

To make progress, one must work less and cultivate oneself more.

But even so, it is through labor that one can obtain spiritual stones.

With spirit stones, one can rent houses, buy food, and repair magic arrays, thus facilitating cultivation.

This is like a dead knot, impossible to untie on the left or escape on the right, trapping countless wandering cultivators throughout their lives.

Even the "Seven Steps to Invoke the Spirit" is ultimately better than nothing.

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth is not something that can be generalized.

The spiritual energy inside was the residual energy of the Sanpan Mountain's earth veins, pure and clean, making it most suitable for cultivation.

The spiritual energy outdoors, however, is a mixture of the scents of flowers, trees, soil, and gravel, as well as the turbid air exhaled by birds and beasts, making it mottled and impure.

If a cultivator rashly absorbs the mixed energy from outside, he must endure the wear and tear that mixed energy causes to his meridians, and he must also spend a lot of effort to remove impurities before he can transform it into magical power.

It's time-consuming and exhausting, and your meridians are completely worn out, so you need to rest early.

However, although the pure spiritual energy was good, it was too smooth when it flowed through the meridians, leaving no room for massage or pressure.

It's like sitting in a sedan chair; although you can walk fast, you don't move your muscles and bones. Over time, you'll end up with a sore back and aching muscles.

The mixed spiritual energy outdoors, being impure, was somewhat sluggish as it moved, like sand mixed in flowing water. Every time it passed through a place, it would gently collide with the walls of the meridians, bringing out a bit of kneading and pressing force.

If guided by specific techniques—such as the "Seven Steps to Invite the Spirit"—the stagnation of this mixed spiritual energy can be transformed into a gentle massage force, like the kneading and rubbing of the mortal world, slowly moving along the meridian walls, loosening the stiff and stagnant energy, and reducing the soreness and swelling.

However, firstly, that mixed spiritual energy is not meant for cultivation. If one is not careful and the technique is messed up, not only will the fatigue not be relieved, but the damage to the meridians will be aggravated, resulting in more harm than good.

Secondly, the power of massage is inherently weak. No matter how well it is done, it is nothing more than giving the tired meridians a warm foot bath, which provides limited relief and is far less effective than rest.

The real benefit of these "Seven Steps to Invite Spirits" is, in the end, to calm the mind and increase the success rate of talisman creation. The method of reducing fatigue is just an extra benefit.

Of course, all of the above applies to ordinary cultivators.

【Seven Steps to Invoking Spirits (Beginner): 56/100】

Fang Shi glanced at the panel, a thought flashing through his mind.

If we take the Seven Steps of Spirit Invocation a step further and master them, will the effect of massaging the meridians also increase?

Don't overthink it, there are still 44 points left, it's a long way off.

The aroma of rice on the stove grew stronger, wisps of white steam rose from around the pot lid, and the water in the pot had long since boiled, with rice grains tumbling and jumping in the boiling water, making a bubbling sound.

After a few more moments, once the water has evaporated, the rice will be cooked.

After the meal, the livelihood depended on drawing talismans.

One must make a living before one can engage in spiritual practice.

But first, fix the door.