My dreams can simulate the future.

Chapter 28 Exchange of Inheritance

Cultivators possess abundant energy and spirit, and their bodies are far healthier than those of ordinary people. Even a Qi Refining cultivator can still fight well over a hundred years old.

Only in the last ten years of life will rapid aging and the recurrence of old injuries occur.

Generally speaking, a Qi Refining cultivator has a lifespan of 120 years, a Foundation Establishment cultivator 240 years, a Core Formation cultivator 500 years, and a Nascent Soul cultivator 1000 years.

However, this lifespan is only the average lifespan of those cultivators who die of old age; not every Qi Refining cultivator has a lifespan of 120 years.

Some exceptionally talented Qi Refining cultivators can even live to be 140 or 150 years old, but there are also cultivators with congenital deficiencies who cannot live to be 100.

Old Zhang looked rapidly aging, and his old injuries flared up, which meant that he had no more than ten years left to live.

He continued, "None of my children and grandchildren possess the same talent for weapon crafting as I do. After I die, they will be unable to establish themselves in the market."

Therefore, I want to pass on my weapon-refining skills and years of experience to you. In return, you will accept one of my great-grandsons as your disciple and pass on your talismanic skills to him in full.

My weapon-refining skills will be passed on to others, and your talisman skills are also up to you; we have no restrictions on that.

Consider this Star Sandalwood Brush my great-grandson's gift for becoming an apprentice. If you have the time, I can also take you as my apprentice and pass on all my weapon-refining skills to you.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen began to make plans in his mind.

"While the talismanic skills I possess are not weak, they are not particularly advanced either. On the other hand, Old Zhang has managed to reach his current position through his weapon-refining skills, so his weapon-refining heritage must be quite impressive as well."

Exchanging my talisman-making heritage for his weapon-refining heritage is a fair trade. Especially since the heritage includes Old Zhang's insights, its value is even higher.

"Although I don't need to learn weapon crafting now, I'll definitely need it in the future. Starting from the Foundation Establishment stage, I need to nurture the embryonic form of my natal magic weapon."

This inevitably involves the use of weapon crafting techniques. I'm determined to go further on the path of cultivation, and weapon crafting is something I'll have to learn sooner or later.

After much deliberation, Jiang Chen decided to agree to Zhang Laokou's offer.

"Grandpa Zhang, I agree to the exchange of inheritances. However, right now I need to quickly draw a high-grade first-rank talisman and don't have time to learn weapon crafting."

"We can simply exchange our skills and knowledge. As for your great-grandson, I could have him as my attendant, always by my side. I'll offer him some guidance when I have time. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang nodded repeatedly: "Good, I've already made a huge profit by accepting my great-grandson as a follower. Consider this Star Sandalwood Brush my token of gratitude."

Before he finished speaking, Old Zhang started rummaging through the house and soon came out a storage bag.

"My weapon-forging heritage, and all my life's experience in weapon-forging, are here."

Jiang Chen took the storage bag and used his divine sense to explore it, discovering that there were more than ten books made of animal hide inside.

He checked them one by one and found that there was indeed a lineage of considerable quality.

In addition, there are records of Zhang Laokou's crafting of magical artifacts. Over the years, the process of crafting all the magical artifacts he has made, as well as the summaries of his experiences and lessons learned, are all recorded in these animal hide books.

After the inspection was completed, Jiang Chen took out two books made of animal hide from his personal storage bag.

"My grandfather didn't leave behind any insights, but this is a complete set of talisman inheritances, which can be used to draw high-level second-grade talismans."

In addition, I have some insights from the past few years; please take a look.

Old Zhang also flipped through the two animal hide books, then nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, your family's talisman inheritance level is not low."

After confirmation, the two exchanged their skills and knowledge.

Old Zhang stood at the entrance of the main house and called out, "He Nian, come here."

A short while later, a thin young man walked in.

He bowed deeply to Old Zhang and said, "Grandpa."

He then bowed to Jiang Chen, saying, "Uncle Jiang."

Looking at Zhang Henian, Old Zhang finally showed a relieved smile.

"Young Master Jiang, this is my great-grandson Zhang Henian. He has a third-grade Divine Court Acupoint and his spiritual sense is not weak. He is sixteen years old this year and has reached the second level of Qi Refining."

He has now mastered over a hundred basic inscriptions. He has also mastered more than ten first-grade artifact inscriptions.

It's a pity this child lacks vitality and has a weak physique, so his future in the path of weapon crafting is limited. The art of talismans, however, doesn't require a strong physical body, making it more suitable for him.

Among all the arts of cultivating immortality, weapon crafting is the most difficult to master.

Not only do they need to study basic inscriptions and comprehend weapon patterns like talisman masters, but they also need to learn how to forge materials and hammer weapon blanks.

The former requires considerable spiritual awareness and comprehension, while the latter requires a sufficiently strong physical body.

There's a saying in the cultivation world: "The poor draw talismans, the rich refine pills, crafting weapons ruins a lifetime, and array formations impoverish three generations."

Drawing talismans requires extremely high spiritual strength and strong comprehension. Once the requirements are met, one can quickly get the hang of it. The initial cost is very low, making it suitable for making quick money.

The basics of alchemy are quite simple; in the early stages, there's no need to learn inscription techniques. As long as you're a cultivator and have enough medicinal herbs to practice with, you can refine some simple pills.

However, alchemy requires a large amount of medicinal materials, making it very costly, and even after the pills are made, it's difficult to sell them. Without a substantial financial foundation, it's best not to pursue this path.

Refining weapons requires both working with materials and learning inscription techniques, making it the most difficult skill to master.

As for array formations, one only needs to learn basic inscriptions and comprehend array restrictions. The requirements for spiritual sense are not as high as those for talisman masters, so getting started is not difficult at all.

Simply by inscribing array patterns and restrictions according to the book, one can set up a simple array. However, such an array is very easy to break and has no practical value.

To set up a proper formation, one must adapt to the environment and be flexible. To be flexible, a formation master needs to have extremely high comprehension and superb calculation ability.

Without sufficient comprehension and computational skills, wasting time is pointless. Many cultivators who study formations will only ever be novice-level formation masters, never earning a single spirit stone.

Zhang Henian, despite his young age, has mastered over a hundred basic inscriptions and comprehended more than a dozen artifact inscription restrictions. His spiritual sense and comprehension are not weak; he is a promising talisman master.

"Alright, I'll take him as my follower. I will teach him everything about my family's talisman-making tradition, including making talisman paper, talisman ink, and drawing talismans."

Old Zhang nodded: "Henian, from now on you will learn well from Master Jiang. After Grandpa passes away, our family will depend on you to carry the burden."

After saying that, he handed the Star Sandalwood Brush to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen took Zhang Henian to the garrison headquarters to register him, and then took him back to his own courtyard.

Jiang Chen instructed, "He Nian, although you are my attendant, there is nothing I need you to do."

From now on, you should diligently learn my talismanic tradition. Help me make some talisman paper, and I can buy it at market price.

You can also sell the talisman paper and talismans to Hou Ming next door. He's also my attendant, and he's usually responsible for buying supplies and selling talismans for me.

"When you have free time, study the rune restrictions carefully. Although rune restrictions and artifact restrictions have the same origin, they evolved in different directions and are quite different."

The art of talismans does not require forging materials, but drawing talismanic patterns and restrictions requires even higher levels of spiritual awareness.

The artifact runes and restrictions you previously mastered will not only be of no help to you, but will also make you more prone to making mistakes. You'd better forget them completely.

Zhang Henian bowed obediently: "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will study the rune restrictions carefully and will never let you and my great-grandfather down."