In the following days, the journey along the dragon channel slowly petered out to a conclusion, and the ship was fast approaching the southern end of the channel.0

Having already completed his target of 200,000 repetitions, Chen Ping'an was no longer as strict and stringent in the rest of his fist technique practice, taking a more relaxed approach instead. 2

The day after his failed attempt to buy wine, he went out during the daytime to buy three jars of wine from the restaurant, with which he was able to fill his Sword Nurturing Gourd. The wine was extremely expensive, and although its flavor was decent, it was not on the same level as the fine brew of Sword Water Villa.0

Chen Ping'an removed the two talismans glued to the wall, both of which were made from ordinary azure talisman paper. One of them was a calming talisman that could help Chen Ping'an focus to a certain degree so that he wouldn't be swayed by outside distractions, and was a commonly used talisman in major Daoist temples of the mortal world during ceremonies.1

The other talisman was a cleansing talisman that many powerful officials and renowned scholars of the mortal world liked to request from Daoist temples during the summertime. Not only were these talismans able to release faint spiritual energy, they also had a cleansing effect that eradicated dirt and foul odors, ensuring that the room they were in stayed pristine.1

Both talismans were among the most rudimentary talismans recorded in the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book, but despite their basic nature, they had helped Chen Ping'an greatly. Otherwise, the ship owner would never allow him to set foot off the ship! 4

During the past two months, Chen Ping'an had been practicing his walking meditation day and night in this room, sweating up a storm this entire time, and without the cleansing talisman, the room would have been completely uninhabitable.0

Both were disposable talismans, and at this point,...2