# Chapter 1161: Blood-Suppressing Talisman
"Who tore it off?"
Was it the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion's Pavilion Master, or the gray-robed old man? Who else had come into contact with this book? What exactly were they trying to hide?
Zhang Ruochen's brows were tightly furrowed, but he could not figure out the reason no matter how much he thought about it. In the end, he had no choice but to set the matter aside for the time being and stop dwelling on it.
Zhang Ruochen began studying the knowledge contained in the "Blood Clan Secret Volume," primarily aiming to master methods for identifying the Undying Blood Clan and some means of dealing with them.
Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
One of the methods for dealing with the Undying Blood Clan was to use the Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
As long as the Blood-Suppressing Talisman was pasted onto their bodies, it could suppress the blood energy within them, thereby rendering them combat-ineffective.
On one page of the "Blood Clan Secret Volume," four talisman seals were drawn. By following the patterns of these seals, one could inscribe the Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
The four talisman seals were all different from one another, each more complex and profound than the last.
"Using the Blood-Suppressing Talisman is indeed the simplest and most direct method. If I could inscribe a large number of Blood-Suppressing Talismans, dealing with the Undying Blood Clan would hardly be difficult."
Then, Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head and muttered to himself, "Even if I were to publish the 'Blood Clan Secret Volume,' I cannot publish the four talisman seals. Once the Undying Blood Clan learns the method for inscribing the four talisman seals, they will surely research countermeasures. The method for inscribing the four talisman seals can only be mastered by a select few."
Next, Zhang Ruochen fully mobilized his spiritual power to study the first talisman seal.
Although Zhang Ruochen had never specifically studied the inscription and refinement of talismans, his spiritual power was strong enough that he could learn many things quickly.
The stronger one's spiritual power, the faster one's learning speed.
The materials for refining the Blood-Suppressing Talisman were quite special. Sacred bone had to be used to make the talisman paper, and divine blood had to be used as ink to unleash its maximum power.
Both sacred bone and divine blood were extremely precious treasures.
Divine blood, in particular—each drop was worth a fortune. Using divine blood to refine talismans was simply the height of extravagance.
The materials for a single Blood-Suppressing Talisman were already enough to deter a sacred clan from pursuing the matter. Mass production was almost impossible.
"If I had known that sacred bone could be used to refine Blood-Suppressing Talismans, I should have collected all the bodies of those native martial saints and brought them into the Scroll World."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh, feeling regret and pity.
Even if he used the Space Teleportation Array to return now, it would likely be a wasted trip.
Searching for the planet that had killed several native martial saints amidst the vast starry sky was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.
In the Scroll World, Zhang Ruochen did manage to find some sacred bones—more precisely, Saint King bones.
Those Saint King bones had been stripped from the corpse of the Green Fire Black Tortoise.
The Saint King bones and the tortoise shell were the last valuable things remaining from the Green Fire Black Tortoise.
Xiao Hei had used some of the Saint King bones to refine other things, so not many were left.
The Saint King bones of the Green Fire Black Tortoise were extremely hard. Even using the Abyssal Ancient Sword, Zhang Ruochen had to expend considerable effort to cut them into talisman paper as thin as a strand of hair.
Divine blood contained extremely powerful energy, so it had to be inscribed with great care. The slightest mistake would cause the divine blood to ruin the bone talisman paper.
Zhang Ruochen took out an inscription brush refined from the wood of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, dipped it in divine blood, and carefully inscribed on the bone talisman paper.
When he was about halfway through the inscription, Zhang Ruochen accidentally made a wrong stroke. The energy of the divine blood immediately seeped into the bone talisman paper.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The bone talisman paper caught fire and turned to ashes in an instant.
Zhang Ruochen felt a pang of pain. It wasn't just the loss of a piece of talisman paper; he had also wasted two drops of divine blood.
Zhang Ruochen took out a second piece of bone talisman paper and continued his efforts.
Failure.
Failure.
...
After seven consecutive failures, on the eighth attempt, Zhang Ruochen finally succeeded in inscribing the first Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath, feeling both joy and a sense of lament.
"Fifteen drops of divine blood wasted just to successfully inscribe one Blood-Suppressing Talisman. The cost is too great—it really hurts my heart!"
Zhang Ruochen wore a bitter smile, but looking at the Blood-Suppressing Talisman in his hand, he still felt a sense of accomplishment.
In truth, inscribing one Blood-Suppressing Talisman only required three drops of divine blood. The problem was the low success rate, which led to the consumption of so much divine blood.
Every failure made Zhang Ruochen's heart bleed.
"Now that I've successfully inscribed one, the success rate should improve significantly," Zhang Ruochen said.
Next, Zhang Ruochen took out ten pieces of bone talisman paper, arranged them neatly, and inscribed them one after another.
In the end, out of ten pieces of talisman paper, three succeeded.
A thirty percent success rate was still too low. Zhang Ruochen was not satisfied, so he continued practicing and inscribing.
No one knew how much time passed, but the number of Blood-Suppressing Talismans in Zhang Ruochen's hands had reached thirty, and the success rate had risen to fifty percent.
Almost every two inscriptions yielded one success.
Inscribing the talisman pattern was only the first step.
A second step was required: using flames or some other secret art to preserve the talisman. When used, the cultivator only needed to infuse it with sacred qi, and the talisman would unleash its proper power.
Zhang Ruochen refined all thirty Blood-Suppressing Talismans and stored them in his space ring. Then, he began studying the second talisman seal in the "Blood Clan Secret Volume."
The number of talisman patterns in the second talisman seal was several times that of the first. It was more complex and more cumbersome. Just staring at it made Zhang Ruochen feel dizzy.
"The second talisman is definitely meant to deal with saints among the Undying Blood Clan. With my current level of talisman path attainment, I simply cannot inscribe it."
The requirements for the second talisman were even higher. Saint King bone had to be used to make the talisman paper, and inscribing one Blood-Suppressing Talisman would cost at least several dozen drops of divine blood.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had already spent over two hundred drops of divine blood inscribing the first Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
If he practiced inscribing the second Blood-Suppressing Talisman, even with the divine blood he had on hand, he would likely drain it all.
Zhang Ruochen sought out Xiao Hei and asked him to study the four talisman seals.
Xiao Hei's attainment in the talisman path was far superior to Zhang Ruochen's. Perhaps he could inscribe the second Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
After careful study, Xiao Hei said, "The four talisman seals correspond to four levels. The first Blood-Suppressing Talisman can be used against half-saints of the Undying Blood Clan. The second Blood-Suppressing Talisman can be used against saints of the Undying Blood Clan. The third Blood-Suppressing Talisman can be used against Saint Kings of the Undying Blood Clan. The fourth..."
Xiao Hei's eyes gleamed with dazzling light. "The fourth Blood-Suppressing Talisman might be able to suppress a Blood Emperor of the Undying Blood Clan. Damn, if we can mass-produce all four types of Blood-Suppressing Talismans, dealing with the Undying Blood Clan would be as easy as playing a game!"
Zhang Ruochen said irritably, "How could it be that easy? Even the simplest half-saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman is not something an ordinary talisman master can refine, let alone the saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman, the Saint King-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman. As for the Great Saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman, I doubt anyone in the world today can refine it."
To refine a Great Saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman, divine bone had to be used to make the talisman paper, and the amount of divine blood required would be enormous.
Most importantly, the talisman master's spiritual power had to reach the Great Saint level to have any chance of success.
In the entire Kunlun Realm, there might not even be a spiritual power Great Saint, let alone a talisman master who had cultivated their spiritual power to that level.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Can you inscribe the saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman?"
Since he was going back to the Blood God Sect to deal with the Undying Blood Clan infiltrators, it would be safest to master the saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
"How much divine blood can you provide me?" Xiao Hei asked.
In the Underworld, Zhang Ruochen had indeed obtained a pool of divine blood. However, he had used a small portion to cultivate his physical body, and he would certainly need a large amount when striving for physical sainthood.
At this point, the divine blood he could still allocate was not much.
"Two thousand drops," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei nodded. "I'll give it a try. Whether I succeed or not is hard to say."
Xiao Hei had profound attainments in formations, artifact refining, alchemy, and beast taming, but his research in the talisman path was relatively weaker.
Therefore, he dared not boast that he could definitely refine the saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman.
After studying for three consecutive days, Xiao Hei finally began to act, starting the inscription. After more than ten attempts, all ended in failure, wasting nearly three hundred drops of divine blood.
"Can you do it or not?"
Zhang Ruochen watched as divine blood and Saint King bones were continuously consumed, feeling deeply pained.
"The saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman is incomparably more difficult than the half-saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman. How could it be so easy to inscribe?"
Xiao Hei picked up the "Blood Clan Secret Volume" and continued studying.
As he studied and practiced, a thousand drops of divine blood were soon consumed.
One drop of divine blood could sell for a sky-high price. In just a few days, Xiao Hei had consumed a thousand drops of divine blood. Even a medieval clan would probably not be able to withstand such expenditure.
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his temples, feeling like he was about to vomit blood. He dared not continue watching, afraid he might die of anger.
Parting ways with Xiao Hei, Zhang Ruochen summoned Zhao Shiqi.
Zhao Shiqi's spiritual power had reached the peak of the forty-ninth rank, just one step away from achieving spiritual power sainthood. He was considered a high-ranking member of the Ming Sect.
Zhao Shiqi bowed to Zhang Ruochen and asked, "Sect Leader, what orders do you have for your subordinate?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I will continue to stay in the Scroll World for a while. You go back to the Blood God Sect first and help me investigate the situation within the sect. Additionally, help me look into the backgrounds of the Netherword Heavenly Palace's Palace Master and the two Vice Palace Masters. The more detailed, the better."
"Understood."
Zhao Shiqi withdrew and left the Scroll World.
The Netherword Heavenly Palace was the foremost among the Blood God Sect's Ten Heavenly Palaces. It answered only to the Blood God Sect's Sect Leader and was responsible for guarding the Endless Abyss.
With such an important task, how could the Blood God Sect's Sect Leader assign it to an outsider?
Zhang Ruochen strongly suspected that among the high-ranking members of the Netherword Heavenly Palace, there might very well be infiltrators from the Undying Blood Clan.