64 The Charm of Peace

With Xiao Yao’s spiritual power, theoretically he should be capable of successfully crafting a talisman of peace. Since there was a possibility of success, he decided to give it a try.

The materials required to make a talisman of peace were simple: a piece of material suitable for bearing the inscription and a carving knife would suffice. Previously, Pan Wu had gifted Qin Huali two talismans of peace made from jade, so naturally he would use the same for this attempt. Talismans of peace could be made from jade, wood, or paper, with finer materials making the crafting process easier. Considering jade was more convenient to wear, Pan Wu’s talismans were almost always made of jade.

For crafting jade talismans, the best materials were top-grade Hetian jade or jadeite. Within the Sacred Soul Ring, Pan Wu had made many blank jade talismans in his spare time. Xiao Yao casually selected a blank Hetian jade talisman and a carving knife, then began his attempt.

The difficulty of crafting a jade talisman was immense. The complex inscriptions carved onto the blank jade could not contain a single error, and throughout the process, his spiritual power had to maintain resonance with the inscription and the corresponding laws of the world. It sounded simple, but in practice, it was as hard as climbing to the heavens.

Every inscription was exceedingly complex, and the talisman of peace was no exception. To carve it flawlessly required at least ten years of constant practice. That in itself was not the greatest obstacle—if one was willing to invest the time and effort, success would eventually follow.

The real challenge lay in keeping one's spiritual power in harmony with the inscription and the world's rules. This could not be achieved through time and diligence alone; it demanded innate strength of spirit and exceptional talent.

Carving an inscription could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, during which spiritual power must remain in constant resonance with the inscription and the world’s laws, without a moment’s lapse—any interruption would mean all previous effort was wasted.

Such a task demanded vast reserves of spiritual power; without it, one simply could not endure. This condition was not insurmountable—so long as one possessed an appropriate secret method to enhance spiritual power, this requirement could eventually be met.

But it was the resonance between spiritual power, inscription, and world’s laws that was the true test. Without the talent for this, no amount of effort could compensate.

After inheriting Pan Wu's memories and skills, Xiao Yao, in theory, should have no difficulty crafting the simple inscriptions for the talisman of peace; at most, he would need a few attempts to succeed.

Yet theory was only theory. Whether he could truly craft a talisman of peace would only be known by trying it himself.

Picking up the Hetian jade, Xiao Yao did not immediately begin inscribing. Instead, he recalled the entire process of carving the inscription, ensuring he understood every step before starting.

To his surprise, the hardest part—the resonance—proved no obstacle at all. He easily achieved harmonious resonance between his spiritual power, the inscription, and the world’s laws. Even Pan Wu had to be cautious when attempting this, never daring to be careless, and even then, success was not guaranteed every time.

Pan Wu himself did not know precisely what the corresponding world’s laws were; it was a vague intuition, guided by the inscription, allowing him to sense the relevant rules. Maintaining resonance between all three was extremely difficult; the slightest instability would cause immediate interruption.

Pan Wu’s success rate in crafting talismans of peace was not high, barely reaching one in ten. If the crafting failed and the resonance between spiritual power and the world’s laws suddenly broke, his spiritual power would suffer backlash from the rules. Even with Pan Wu’s immense strength, he would need at least a day to recover before trying again.

In other words, even with Pan Wu’s abilities, making a talisman of peace required a minimum of ten days per piece. Given the difficulty, Pan Wu would never lightly gift such talismans.

Xiao Yao had prepared himself for failure, but to his astonishment, he easily triggered a stable resonance among the three, as natural as breathing. Unless he intentionally broke it, the resonance would not falter.

Undoubtedly, this was the effect of the Sacred Soul Foundation. Though he had not formally begun cultivation, his soul had already reached the highest realm—the so-called immortal Sacred Soul. Possessing unimaginable abilities was only to be expected.

With his soul at such a high level, tasks that were difficult or impossible for Human Soul or True Soul cultivators became as simple as drinking water for him now. This was the difference.

Upon reflection, it was only logical. Soul realms were divided into Human Soul, True Soul, Celestial Soul, and Sacred Soul. What was arduous for the Human Soul was effortless for the Sacred Soul, given the vast gulf between the two.

The hardest part of crafting the talisman of peace was now as easy as breathing for him, filling Xiao Yao with confidence. The most difficult resonance was no longer an issue, and his spiritual power was sufficient; all that remained was to accurately carve the inscription.

Ironically, the easiest step proved somewhat challenging. Theory was theory—what the mind envisioned, the hands might not perfectly execute. Halfway through the inscription, his hand slipped just slightly, and that minor error was enough to nullify the entire attempt.

He had braced himself for backlash from the rules, yet nothing happened.

This was an unexpected delight!

Failing to carve an inscription was not frightening—the real terror was enduring the backlash. The memory of that splitting headache, almost unbearable for ordinary people, lingered.

Without the threat of backlash, and with ample spiritual power, he could practice and attempt endlessly. Once he succeeded, he could craft talismans of peace without limitation.

Now, that was the true surprise!

Pan Wu had mastered many kinds of inscriptions, of which the talisman of peace was only one. For him personally, it was not particularly useful, but there were many inscriptions that even practitioners as powerful as Pan Wu considered precious, though their crafting was extremely difficult. With no risk of backlash, Xiao Yao could freely practice, and once successful, the impact would be tremendous.

P.S. Thanks to Pastoral Shepherd and Forest Doctor for their generous rewards!