Chapter 3: The Sea of Recognition Talisman

  Jiǔ Qǐchū had not received the message from the jade slip smoothly at first, but he was not impatient. He continued to strive to remain calm and clear-minded, unadulterated by distracting thoughts.

  After a few minutes, the jade slip that had been stuck to Zhu Jiu's forehead finally flashed with light, and a message appeared in his mind.

  The message in the jade tablet consists of six pictures that describe the same content, combined together to form a very intricate talisman.

  The reason for dividing a talisman into six sections is to simplify the complex talismans and make them easier to remember and learn.

  The knot in Jiǔ Yuán's heart was finally untied when he saw this talisman.

  He learned the art of corpse driving in his previous life, and naturally couldn't leave out the drawing of talismans. There were more complicated ones than this, but at that time he was forced by his grandfather to practice reluctantly, with many complaints. Who would have thought that it would have such a miraculous effect on changing his fate now!

  Immediately, Jiu concentrated his mind and carefully observed the talismans in his mind. In his mind, he was meticulously copying the simplified talismans of the Six Blessings, one by one. The process was extremely easy, and each one was firmly remembered after just one glance. He tried to combine them together in his mind, and it was also smooth and uninterrupted, easily forming a complete talisman.

  When this talisman was finally formed, Zhu Jiu's head suddenly rang out with a loud noise, and his mind suddenly became bright and clear. A faint and clear sound echoed in his mind, and countless symbols alternated between collapse and recombination, repeating multiple times before finally taking shape and combining together.

  The formed talismanic scroll integrated into a treasure volume, slowly unfolding, radiating brilliant red light, the talismanic characters were crimson like blood, while the paper surface carrying the talismans shone with dazzling golden light, suspended high above Zhu Jiu's ocean of consciousness, rising and falling as if possessed of spiritual essence.

  As the formation took shape, the old man in green robes sitting at the center of the main hall opened his eyes with a soft "hmm" and turned to look towards Zhu Jiu's direction...

  After the sea of consciousness calmed down, Jiǔ Suì opened his eyes and swept a glance at the many young men and women sitting cross-legged on the floor in the grand hall. He found that no one else had completed the symbol array's carving like himself, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  Suddenly felt someone was staring at himself, turned his head to look back, and was shocked in his heart. The green-robed old monster sat upright in the chair, with his slightly narrowed eyes closing again.

  The ninth book didn't plan to be the first, thinking that with two or three more people waking up, they would report their progress together, so as not to draw unnecessary attention and trouble. Unexpectedly, just after waking up, they were discovered by someone, and had no choice but to reluctantly get up and signal.

  The blue-haired woman who spoke earlier saw Zhu Jiu get up and asked with a look of disapproval:

  "What's wrong, didn't you understand? Let me remind you, every time you ask a question, 5 points will be deducted. If you ask twice, it means your qualifications and comprehension are extremely poor, and you'll be eliminated directly."

  Jiǔ Jǔ zhǐ chén zhe, lǎng shēng huì bào dào:

  Translation:

  Jiǔ Jǔ stopped and calmly reported in a loud voice:

  "The disciple has completed the carving of the Shen Hai Fu Lu symbol. Please instruct the examiner on the next step in the assessment process."

  As Zhu Jiu's words fell, more than a dozen examiners scattered throughout the grand hall turned to look at him together. The woman in charge of the examination, who had heard that Zhu Jiu had already completed the recognition of the sea symbol, was slightly surprised in her heart, and her voice became even colder as she asked with suspicion:

  "It's just a sketch, is it really that simple? Are you sure?"

  Jiu replied calmly and modestly:

  "As described on the paper slip inside the box, as long as the talisman is intact and suspended in your mind, you can clearly sense that it's done, my disciple is certain without a doubt."

  At this time, the green-robed old man sitting in the middle of the great hall spoke up with an extremely cold tone:

  "He indeed has completed the carving of the Sea of Recognition Token, even if I sensed it wrong, it's clearly indicated on the Heavenly Plate. Among more than 800 people, one has already completed the Token assessment. Didn't you notice? How can you be in charge of the assessment like this? Do you want to be dismissed and investigated?"

  Jiǔ shùn zhe lǎo zhě de yǎn shén yī kàn, dà diàn zhōng yāng shàng bù zhī hé shí duō le yī kuài zhǎng yǐ dà de shí zhì yuán pán, huī sè de yuán pán shàng fēn chéng xǔ duō xiǎo gé zi, cǐ shí qí zhōng yī dào xiǎo xiǎo de gé zi yǔ zhòng bù tóng, yǐ jīng biàn chéng le liàng jīn sè.

  At the sight of the golden grid on the round plate, Jiu's face changed, and he secretly thought:

  "It's a good thing I didn't hide just now, otherwise it would be known to others and the trouble wouldn't be small. It seems that when I was unconscious and absorbing the soul's memories, someone took my blood and made a mark. The next assessment still needs to be careful, don't hide and end up causing more trouble."

  The blue-haired woman's face changed greatly after listening to the old man's scolding, and she turned around to explain:

  "The disciple did not expect anyone to complete the initial construction of the Shi Hai Fu Lu so quickly, far surpassing those who were recruited in previous years. For a moment, I didn't check and didn't notice the detection of the heavenly plate, please forgive me, elder."

  The old man let out a cold "hmm" and closed his eyes again. The blue-haired woman let out a sigh, turned her head and glared at Zhu Jiu with a chilly tone:

  "Come over here."

  Jiu Fu's eyes lit up as he picked up his own black box, quickly walking to the front of the blue-haired woman. He faintly felt the gaze of many examiners following him, always focusing on him.

  The blue-haired woman looked at Zhu Jiu with a cold gaze and ordered:

  "You picked up the evil spirit pen from the box and drew the talisman in your mind on the soul-calming green copper once."

  In the grand hall, the many other examiners, although they did not dare to leave their posts, had their attention clearly focused on Zhu Jiu's performance.

  They are the representatives of various mountain forces under the banner of the Corpse God Dao, and those new disciples who perform exceptionally well will be the objects of contention among the various mountains after the assessment is completed.

  Of course, among them, a few particularly excellent ones may also have the opportunity to receive special training.

  Jiuyi spoke and acted, reaching into the box to retrieve two items. In her left hand, she lightly held a green copper block about the size of two fingers, while in her right hand, she grasped a crimson brush. With a focused expression, she began to engrave on the copper block.

  For the first time, Zhu Jiu was a bit nervous about drawing talismans on such a small object. Unexpectedly, the talisman in his mind suddenly came to life and was transmitted through his arm to his fingertips with a spiritual aura, using the blood spirit pen as a medium, as if printing, at an incredible speed, he drew the talisman on the green copper block in one go.

  After the Fu Lu was completed on the green bronze block, a bright red light burst out, shining brightly and illuminating the surrounding space of over ten zhang with a crimson glow.

  After flashing back and forth several times, it gradually disappeared, and the surface of the green bronze block returned to its original state, as if it had not been carved at all. However, this piece of green bronze seemed to have a mysterious and inexplicable connection with the talisman floating in Zhu Jiu's sea of consciousness.

  The blue-haired woman stared at Zhu Jiu for a moment, her eyes softened slightly, and then turned to instruct the recording personnel:

  "Hmm! Exceptional insight, soul power surpasses the norm, calculated to be over 100%, and an additional 10% is added on top, making it a speed increase far beyond the ordinary extra bonus."

  He turned around and said to Zhu Jiu:

  "Stand aside and wait!"

  Jiu bowed his head in response, put away the Town Soul Green Copper and Evil Spirit Brush in his hand, and walked silently to the position where he had just sat on the ground. He felt that there were still many examiners' eyes following him, and when he looked up, the owners of these eyes mostly smiled and nodded slightly towards him.

  Jiu's mental age is no longer that of a young child, so she won't be fooled by these superficial kindnesses. The reason why these people are being so friendly to her can also be guessed at roughly seven or eight parts out of ten.

  Jiu's mind was a jumble of wild fancies, one moment thinking he had been reborn into this world, truly a wonder, and the next thinking of the ancestral spirit-protecting mirror that had accompanied his soul through transmigration, which now hung around his neck, wanting to take it out for a look but afraid of drawing others' attention.

  At this time, several young men stood up in the great hall and reported that they had also completed the carving of the Shi Hai Fu Luo.

  Jiu looked at the detection Tian Pan in the middle of the hall and found that the later the completion, the lighter the color displayed. When it was as faint as the golden color on the Tian Pan, only more than 200 people had completed the recognition of Hai Fu symbols.

  The blue-haired woman opened her mouth and declared:

  "The rest of the people are all unqualified and eliminated."

  As the woman's voice fell, many of the unqualified boys and girls thought of their miserable fate after being eliminated, and they immediately wailed and cried out in grief, with cries and shouts ringing out continuously.

  The green-robed elder in the center of the great hall let out a cold hum of impatience, and these young men silently fainted together.

  Jiu also felt a shock in his mind, but the new talisman that had just been generated in his sea of consciousness gently swayed, and the feeling of discomfort immediately receded like the tide.

  The green-robed old monster's strength was surprisingly well-controlled, and the people who generated talismans in their minds were fine, but the rest of the crowd couldn't withstand it.

  It was only in this second round of assessment that more than 600 people were eliminated, it's really extremely strict, slightly careless, and the result is elimination.

  Jiǔ shēn shēn xī kǒu qì, wěndìng xīnyú, zhè xiūxíng yídào guārán cánkù zhìjí.

  English Translation:

  Jiǔ took a deep breath and calmed his mind, this cultivation path was indeed cruel to the extreme.

  The voice of the blue-haired woman echoed in the great hall once again:

  "The third round of assessment is to enter the Yāo Shī Dead Zone and communicate with the Yāo Shī. Those who successfully bring back a Yāo Shī within three days are considered qualified."