Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 248 Talismans and God's Authority

The dining hall is located at the northernmost end of Longmen Academy. It is a two-story attic with white walls and gray tiles.

When Gu Xu walked in, he saw that many students had already lined up in a long line. While waiting, they were chatting and laughing while discussing today's much-anticipated battle of talismans.

Each student holds a metal token in their hands, with the four characters "Longmen Academy" engraved on one side and their own names engraved on the other side.When they got their meals, they did not take out copper coins or coupons, but tapped the tokens on the table to pay for the meal.

Gu Xu originally thought that the dishes in the public kitchen of the headquarters of the Exorcist Department were already rich and varied.

Unexpectedly, the dining hall of Longmen Academy is more comprehensive.

Specialties from all over the country, such as Jinling's salted duck, Jiangnan's tiger skin meat, northern dragon's beard noodles, Langya's crispy sugar, and Youzhou's enema... can all be found in this room.

"As expected of the school for the rich and powerful children of Luojing, the dishes in this dining hall seem to be richer than those in the restaurant outside," Gu Xu could not help but sigh with emotion in his heart, smelling the scent of various dishes mixed together , "After Xiaohan comes here to study in a few days, he will definitely not be able to control himself in the face of these delicacies."

Because Gu Xu's appearance was so conspicuous, the students of the academy recognized him from a long distance away.

But maybe it's because he's in full swing today.

Or maybe it's because after he was promoted to the third level, his temperament became more refined than before - in the words of his previous life, it was "handsome with a sense of distance".

The students were just chattering, showing him amazement, admiration, hostility or nympho eyes, but no one would take the initiative to talk to him.

Just when Gu Xu was thinking about "how to eat in this dining hall without a token", a tall, thin, middle-aged man with thin hair who looked like a bamboo pole suddenly came to him.

"Gu...Master Gu, I have some doubts about the art of talismans recently, I wonder if you would like to give me some advice," the middle-aged man said politely, "You can borrow my token for the canteen first." .”

This person's expression was a little reserved, and his speech speed was relatively slow. It sounded bumpy, obviously he was a person who was not good at words.

Gu Xu turned his head and immediately recognized him as Du Yuan, the teacher of Longmen Academy.

"I don't dare to give advice," he responded with a modest smile, "Mr. Du is a well-known talisman master in Luojing City, and I'm just a junior who has just started to learn talisman, so I may not be able to help you."

Hearing Gu Xu's polite words, Du Yuan couldn't help narrowing his eyes slightly, and looked him over from head to toe again.

He has long learned from others that less than a year has passed since Gu Xu came into contact with Fu Dao.

For most talisman masters, being able to lay a solid foundation and draw some simple talisman seals in such a short period of time can be called "talented and intelligent".

But Gu Xu was able to reach a level in the art of talisman seals that other people could not achieve in years, or even decades, in just a few months.

Because of this, when Du Yuan saw Gu Xu's extremely young face, and thought of his answer sheet that had won 120 points and was full of praise from the national teacher, his mood was very complicated.

"You can definitely help me." Du Yuan looked into Gu Xu's eyes seriously, "I would like to ask you to tell me, what is the meaning of the phrase 'the essence of talisman is naming' that you wrote in the test paper?" What's the meaning?
"If it is convenient for you, I hope you will give me your advice."

…………

Soon, the two sat down on both sides of a wooden table in the corner of the dining hall.

According to Xu's needs, Du Yuan bought him a bowl of beef noodles with the token of Longmen Academy.

But when Gu Xu handed him a few copper coins according to the corresponding price, Du Yuan immediately withdrew his hand, refusing to accept the money, saying repeatedly that "knowledge is priceless".

So Gu Xu accidentally got a meal for nothing.

At the same time, he also learned from Du Yuan that the two teachers of Longmen Academy who are good at talisman Taoism——Du Yuan and Fu Tao, have encountered bottlenecks in the process of research recently, and have been unable to find a way to break through.

For a long time, they have been deeply distressed by this.

To this day, when they heard the national teacher's evaluation of Gu Xu's answer sheet for the first session, they seemed to see a glimmer of light in the endless darkness.

Fu Tao is a very face-saving person.It would undoubtedly be extremely difficult for him to put down his posture and ask questions from a junior like Gu Xu.

However, Du Yuan was different.

He is introverted, not good at expressing, and he is not interested in external things such as "face" and "fame".

Students often say that he stumbles in lectures, making people sleepy——

If Professor Fu’s talisman class is a "Blowing Stories Club", which consists of [-]% gossip and [-]% dry goods; then this teacher Du's class is "hypnotic spells that don't require real energy", basically from the beginning to the end. Recite the lesson preparation notes in a calm tone.

However, everyone spoke highly of Professor Du's research spirit.

He often locks himself in the meditation room, studying talismans without eating or sleeping.

Almost every year, he can figure out more than one improvement plan for talisman seals, or propose new talisman theory.

It was also this character that made Du Yuan decisively approach Gu Xu when he saw the hope of breaking through the bottleneck, and asked the only young man for advice without any airs.

Gu Xu listened carefully to Du Yuan's narration.

Then he pointed to the porcelain bowl containing beef noodles in front of him, and asked Du Yuan, "Mr. Du, what is this?"

Du Yuan frowned slightly: "Bowl?"

"Then if I smash someone's head with this bowl, what is it?"

"The murder weapon?"

Gu Xu smiled and nodded.

He didn't give an explanation immediately, but continued to ask: "You should know why I came to Longmen Academy today, right?"

"For the title of teaching at the academy?"

"That's right," Gu Xu said lightly, "If I can get this title smoothly, what kind of changes will happen to me?"

Du Yuan thought for a while and said, "If you can become a teacher in the academy, then you can get a sum of money every month, and you also need to fulfill the obligation of teaching students."

"You can try to understand it this way," Gu Xu chuckled, "The status of 'academic teacher' will be a talisman drawn on me—the monthly salary and the job of teaching students will become This talisman gives me a new attribute."

Du Yuan fell into deep thought and remained silent for a long time.

Seeing that his brows were furrowed, Gu Xu continued: "Actually, the name 'Gu Xu' is also a talisman engraved on my soul. It endows me with an identity and meaning of existence in this world, and also enables others to have way to know me."

Du Yuan took a deep breath.

He felt that he was very close to the answer.

With just one more step forward, he can open the door of the small black room and see the bright world outside.

At the same time, an idea inexplicably popped up in Gu Xu's mind:
"'Taishang Haotian', 'Ziwei Great Emperor'... Can the names of these gods be regarded as a kind of talisman?

"What kind of special attributes do these talismans have?

"Will it be a symbol of the authority of the gods, or a link between their bodies and the believers?

"..."

Of course, Gu Xu did not say this whimsical idea, but lowered his head and continued to eat noodles in a slow manner.

After about 20 minutes, Gu Xu finally ate up all the beef noodles in the bowl. It has to be said that although the noodles looked very light, they tasted very good. He almost ate the beef noodles inside. The soup is all gone.

He really didn't dare to imagine what it would be like when Xiaohan's girl came to the dining hall.

Then Gu Xu stood up and said that he would leave the dining hall first and rush back to "Siqi Hall" to prepare for the third part of the assessment.

At the same time, he jokingly claimed: "May God grant me good luck to be able to work with Du Jiaoxi here in the future."

Du Yuan was still sitting on the chair, thinking about the problem motionlessly, ignoring him, as if he hadn't heard his voice at all.

Gu Xu knew that Du Yuan had most likely entered a state of epiphany.

So he left the dining room straight away without disturbing the other party.

Time flies.

The crowd in the dining hall gradually thinned out.

The rain outside the window became heavier and heavier, from a pattering rain curtain to a flood that broke the embankment, roaring and falling from the sky.

The students also finished their meal and left the room one after another, preparing to go to "Si Qi Tang" to join in the fun.

Only Du Yuan was left in the dining hall, and there were a few metal dolls holding brooms and cleaning along a fixed track.

Then the bell rang melodiously, announcing the start of the third round of assessment.

Dazzling lightning pierced through the lead-colored clouds, and rumbling thunder seemed to echo the bells.

Du Yuan finally stood up slowly from his seat, carefully adjusted his clothes, and then bowed deeply in the direction of "Si Qi Tang".

His forehead accidentally hit the corner of the table, but he didn't realize it.

…………

At the same time, the four candidates returned to the desk of "Si Qi Tang".

At this moment, their expressions were different.

Gu Xu is still calm and composed, his eyes are like a calm lake, without the slightest mood swing.

Shen Qiu still had a cynical expression - in his eyes, the thought of "participation is the most important thing" and "just do your best".

Zhao Xinran clenched her fists inadvertently, her eyes were like burning flames.As the talisman master with the highest cultivation level and the oldest qualifications among the four, she was far behind the two young juniors in the second session because she chose the wrong solution to the problem—this made her feel a little unwilling.She very much hopes that in this last link, which is also the link where it is easiest to use her strengths, she will do her best to regain the situation.

As for Mo Li, he lowered his head and stared intently at the table, with a dejected look, completely different from his self-confidence in the morning.

When the bell rang, Grand Master Qi appeared in front of them again.

"Whether you can break away from the book and draw your own unique talisman seal is the standard that distinguishes ordinary talisman masters from talisman masters," I only heard the national teacher say, "So, in this third link, we will Investigate your ability to 'innovate' talismans.

"Now that the long night is approaching, the Daqi Dynasty will face more powerful and terrifying ghosts. Especially ordinary people without cultivation, their lives will be seriously threatened.

"I hope you can design a talisman that can be widely used among the people to help as many people as possible out of danger and save their lives after the 'Long Night' falls.

"You can design any form of talisman...for attack, defense, or even for calling for help and escaping. I will not place any restrictions on your ideas.

"You have an hour."

As soon as the words fell, the figure of the national teacher disappeared.

The four candidates sat quietly, deep in thought, but they hadn't started writing for a long time.

If the assessment of the second link is too tricky and out of the norm, they need to rack their brains and exhaust all the knowledge of talisman Tao they have learned all their lives to solve a problem that has little to do with talisman Tao, practice, and combat .

Then, the topic of this third link is too broad, it seems easy, and there are countless options to choose from.

However, it is precisely because of the high degree of freedom that the talisman masters are hesitant.

That means they have to find the best answer, a better answer than the rest of the room, to be the ultimate winner.

As the rain became heavier and heavier, the world outside the window became darker and darker, which also set off the brightly lit "Siqi Hall" as if it were an independent space.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Xinran began to write.

Her wrists are suspended in the air, and her brushwork is smooth, like flowing clouds and flowing water, quite like a master.

While drawing the talisman, the fluctuating emotions in her eyes gradually subsided, and her gaze became calm, sharp, and focused again, as if the whole person was thrown into the world of talismans.

10 minutes passed.

She gently put down the brush in her hand.

The talisman paper in front of her suddenly burst into bright golden light, making everyone present unable to open their eyes for a while.

Although everyone didn't know what talisman seal Zhao Xinran was drawing, they could feel the terrifying power contained in the talisman paper from the blazing light.

Both Mo Li and Shen Qiu could not help but feel a burst of pressure.

Afterwards, Zhao Xinran stood up, picked up the talisman paper on the table, without even looking at it, strode out of the house, and handed it to the national teacher who was drinking tea in the pavilion.

"It's so fast!" Instructor Fu Tao glanced at her and couldn't help muttering.

The national teacher took the talisman paper, glanced at it, did not speak to comment, but nodded slightly, obviously holding an attitude of approval.

While pouring tea for Luo Sishou, Shangguan Jin sighed silently, "Luo Jing's famous Fu Dao master really deserves his reputation." At the same time, she was also a little apprehensive, worried that Gu Xu might suffer a little disadvantage in this competition because of his lack of experience.

Only Luo Chuan's face remained unchanged.

He still sat fixedly at the table, sniffing the aroma of "Baiwei Tea" ecstatically, as if he didn't see what was happening in front of him at all.

PS: Ask for a monthly pass!

　A little food science from Shi Xiaohan:

　　[Enema] Ming Dynasty cuisine. "Old Capital Food Baiyong" mentioned frying sausage and said: "Pig intestine red powder is fried for a while, spicy garlic and salty salt are delicious. The rotten oil is the same as cured meat, and it is pitiful for Tumen to chew." There are often challenges on the streets of old Beijing. Serve as a hawker.There is a record: "Pig intestines filled with powder should be deep-fried, shoveled, chopsticks and plates carried on one shoulder, bought by children with special flavor, and passed through Xieyang Lane a few.

　　[Tiger Skin Meat] Also known as running oil pork, Zhejiang cuisine, it is said that it was created by Dong Xiaowan.The skin is wrinkled, fat but not greasy.

　　 PS: Thanks to Grace Shui Wuying for the 1000 tip!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)