Chapter 2: Attribute Point Allocation Panel

 

Forgotten by everyone, Chu Sang hurried to a nearby town at the foot of the mountain, spending the night in the cheapest inn room available.

 

Inside the room, the young girl sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, palms facing upward in meditation.

 

Though the Tianyan Sect was one of the eight great sects, the spiritual energy at the mountain’s base wasn’t particularly abundant, but it wasn’t too scarce either.

 

As she breathed in and out, the faint wisps of spiritual energy swirling around her slowly attempted to enter her body.

 

Chu Sang’s brows furrowed, and beads of cold sweat appeared on her smooth, fair forehead. The moment the spiritual energy entered her body, it scattered with a “pop!”

 

…It still wasn’t working.

 

Chu Sang opened her eyes, clutched her chest, and sighed. Since her spiritual root was damaged three years ago, her body had struggled to gather spiritual energy.

 

However, when she just used her divine sense to guide the energy into her body, she felt as if something new had appeared in her sea of consciousness?

 

Chu Sang recalled the previous night in the forbidden area when an unknown dark light had entered her brow. But the next second, she had jumped off the cliff in shock, followed by a series of chaotic events, leaving her no time to investigate what exactly had appeared in her sea of consciousness.

 

She sat down again to meditate, closed her eyes, and sent a thread of divine sense, as thin as air, into her sea of consciousness.

 

Before her was pitch darkness, silent and still – this was the depths of her sea of consciousness.

 

Walking a few steps forward, she glimpsed a faint light source. Her fire spiritual root appeared like a gnarled, half-withered old tree. For some unknown reason, the middle trunk and upper canopy had been completely cut away, leaving only the bottom stump, barely clinging to life.

 

Chu Sang clenched her fists, her eyes growing cold. Something must have happened when she was unconscious three years ago!

 

She couldn’t believe her spiritual root would be damaged to such an extent just from being injured by a demonic beast… Unfortunately, she had no memory of that time, and since she was just an insignificant cannon fodder character in the original story, there wasn’t much explanation about this incident.

 

Just as she was feeling disheartened, the air before her rippled, and virtual characters in ink-wash style slowly appeared.

 

【Host: Chu Sang】

【Physique: 0, Comprehension: 0, Aptitude: 0, Luck: 0】

 

Immediately after, a special message was transmitted to her sea of consciousness.

 

【Congratulations on successfully binding the Good Person Attribute Point System. Reward: New User Gift Pack – 1 Distributable Attribute Point. Please choose an attribute to strengthen. Once confirmed, it cannot be changed.】

 

Chu Sang stared wide-eyed at the panel that appeared in her sea of consciousness. Could this be what she obtained in the forbidden area?!

 

“An attribute point allocation panel, amazing!”

 

Isn’t this more advanced than the female protagonist’s “grandfather’s jade tablet”?

 

As an avid reader of web novels in her previous life, Chu Sang adapted quickly. After being stunned for just a few seconds, she decisively said,

 

“Add the point to Comprehension!”

 

Physique could help her dominate among cultivators of the same level, but it wasn’t crucial at this stage. Luck wasn’t that important for now either. Aptitude was probably related to her spiritual root and might help restore her damaged root, which was very important. But after careful consideration, she decided to allocate this crucial point to Comprehension.

 

Breaking through barriers, cultivating, drawing talismans, setting formations, and practicing alchemy all depended on comprehension.

 

And right now, she was penniless, unable to scrape together even ten spirit stones.

 

Spirit stones were not only the universal currency necessary for daily life but also essential resources for cultivators’ practice.

 

She urgently needed to find a way to earn spirit stones, and drawing talismans, setting formations, and practicing alchemy were the quickest routes to earning them.

 

【Point allocation successful. Comprehension: 1】

 

As the voice faded, Chu Sang flexed her hand but didn’t feel any substantial change in her body…

 

She hesitated for a moment, then took out vermilion paper and an ordinary talisman brush from her storage ring. A flash of gold crossed her eyes, and suddenly, her mind, which had previously been clueless about talisman drawing, became as clear as a cloudless sky. Thousands of talisman patterns appeared in her mind, forming a comprehensive book of countless talismans.

 

A year ago, when Qin Xixue was practicing her fire control technique, she accidentally burned the talisman books on the second floor of the library. Chu Sang, unable to resist this innocent and kind junior sister’s pleading, took the blame for her.

 

The sect leader was furious, confining Chu Sang for half a year and making her copy all the texts from the entire second floor.

 

Even though a year had passed, the memory of being confined for half a year, copying talisman books day and night, was still vivid. Her hands had swollen from writing, not to mention it was the cold winter month, and she was locked in the damp and chilly Water Ravine. Her fingers developed chilblains, bleeding and painful.

 

Chu Sang was extremely resentful at the time. How could Qin Xixue, a once-in-a-century fire spiritual root genius, be so unfamiliar with even the most basic fire control technique?

 

It was as if the spiritual root wasn’t her own.

 

It’s worth noting that that as a fellow fire heavenly spiritual root, she was more proficient in fire control techniques than the female lead when she first started on the path of cultivation at five years old.

 

However, no matter how resentful she was, Chu Sang couldn’t help but want to slap herself. Why had she, as if her brain had short-circuited, willingly taken the blame and punishment for the female lead without complaint?

 

She later learned a term for this: the irresistible force of plot.

 

Come to think of it, wasn’t she just a cannon fodder female supporting character whose intelligence was lowered by the female lead’s halo?

 

It took her a full half year to copy all the books from the second floor.

 

Chu Sang had always had an exceptional memory, able to memorize any book she read perfectly, reciting it backwards and forwards.

 

Strong memory wasn’t uncommon among cultivators, but what mattered most was comprehension. Without sufficient comprehension, even if one could recite books backwards and copy them a hundred times, they still wouldn’t be able to draw a single talisman.

 

Chu Sang was just such an “idiot” with no talent in talisman arts.

 

After her comprehension increased to “1”, not only did the talisman patterns in her mind become clearer and more intuitive, but she also had a feeling of sudden enlightenment. Almost as if her hand moved faster than her mind, with two quick strokes, her brush danced across the vermilion paper, drawing a few smooth and perfect talisman lines.

 

A swift movement Talisman, complete!

 

If someone had been watching, they would have been astonished. In the Lingyuan Continent, cultivators were as common as dogs, but Array Masters, Alchemists, and Talisman Masters were extremely rare, usually found only in large sects and families.

 

Not only was raising them expensive, but more importantly, it truly depended on talent and comprehension.

 

Even for a basic Swift movement Talisman, it would take at least half an hour for a Foundation Establishment stage Talisman Master with years of cultivation to draw one, and even then, success wasn’t guaranteed. Let alone for a beginner like her who had never touched talisman arts before…

 

Not only did Chu Sang succeed.

 

She went on to draw over thirty talismans in one go.

 

She only stopped when her already limited spiritual energy was completely exhausted.

 

The next day, before dawn, Chu Sang cleaned up and went out early. She found a relatively bustling spot and set up a stall to sell talismans. She also planned to sell some unused treasures and entry-level cultivation manuals she had accumulated at Tianyan Sect.

 

From sunrise to sunset, people came and went on the street, but no one stopped to look.

 

“Tsk tsk, so young and already out here scamming. The world is really going downhill, morals are decaying,” a passerby shook his head, giving her a pitying look before trying to quickly leave. However, the young woman grabbed his wrist and met his eyes with her clear gaze.

 

“Brother, what do you mean by that? I’m selling genuine talismans, these are not fake.”

 

Linan City was just a small town, but due to its location at the foot of Tianyan Sect, it was blessed with spiritual energy. Many cultivators passed through, and disciples from Tianyan Sect would occasionally come down to maintain order. However, the selling of counterfeit goods was still a persistent problem.

 

Clearly, Chu Sang had been mistaken for a seller of fake goods.

 

No wonder no one had bought her talismans all day.

 

The passerby hadn’t expected a cultivator to be so sharp-eared and clear-eyed, overhearing his casual muttering. His eyes darted around, “If you’re really a legitimate talisman master, why aren’t you selling in a proper shop? I’ve never seen a respectable talisman master setting up a random stall on the street.”

 

“If you really want to sell talismans, you might want to go to the Black Wind Forest at the edge of the city. There’s been a beast tide there, and many cultivators have gone to help. Your talismans would surely be useful there.”