In early autumn, although the weather is still hot, the air has added a bit of gloomy smell.

Lin'an City is bathed in golden sunlight, making everything seem quiet and peaceful, and on the street, a Taoist in a Taoist robe sits cross-legged, with a bright yellow talisman in front of him.

Lin'an is the capital of Lingqiu country, five years ago, since Emperor Wu Chan rang, handed over the imperial power to Lingqiu Sect, here has become a country of cultivation.

Taoism is becoming more and more prosperous among the people, the Taoist courtyards are numerous, and the talisman is beginning to be closely related to people's lives, and the people's lives are becoming more and more solid, and people have begun to gradually forget about the previous dynasty.

Only for those who read, the change of the imperial court has had a huge impact on them, because the imperial examination has no longer been used to test the Four Books and Five Classics, poems and songs, and national laws, but has been changed to Taoist classics, talisman making, and cultivation as a measure.

This makes all the readers in the world lament, ten years of cold windows, an edict is in ashes, and some even give up on themselves......

In the north of Lin'an City, Bowang Hou's Mansion is much more bleak than the prosperity of the entire Lin'an City.

Since Emperor Wu Chan Rang, although the prince has not been persecuted, but the power in his hands has been completely reduced, and the prince has become a false name here, if he wants to rise again, he can only rely on the path of cultivation, the higher the cultivation, the higher the status in the Lingqiu country, everything seems to be very fair.

On the north side of the Bowang Mansion, in a mottled attic.

Ning Chen is sitting upright on the wooden chair, holding a worn-out jade pen in his hand, stained with cinnabar, constantly sliding on a piece of rune paper, sometimes like a raptor crossing the river, vigorous and powerful, sometimes like a dragonfly dotting water, light and elegant, the red lines smoothly extend from the tip of the pen, on the palm-sized rune paper, the vermilion lines continue to increase, gradually, a complex and mysterious pattern continues to become perfect with the slide of the nib.

After the time of tea, a talisman in front of him was made by Ning Chen, and the whole person breathed a sigh of relief, leaning on the back of the chair, accompanied by the creaking sound of the chair.

Ning Chen looked like he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, his eyebrows were delicate, but his body was slightly thin, the brocade robe on his body was already a little worn, and there were even two patches on the cuffs.

"There are still five left, and I can exchange them for Fixing Incense. Ning Chen said a little tiredly, the fingertips of his right hand were covered with calluses that were extremely inappropriate for his age, silently telling him about his hardships over the years.

The room where Ning Chen was located was very spacious, but it was full of dilapidation, and the walls were in disrepair, and many cracks had appeared.

Only the picture scroll next to Ning Chen looks new and abnormal, the painting is a middle-aged woman, dressed in red, graceful and full of kindness, with a bit of charm in the pretty, coupled with the carved dragon and phoenix-like hand, smooth and free lines, it makes this picture scroll full of spirituality, as if there is really a woman standing silently beside Ning Chen.

This painting was painted by Ning Chen with his childhood memories, it was his mother, and this is also Ning Chen's only comfort now.

In fact, Ning Chen was originally the eldest son of Bowang Marquis Ning Xiuhan, the unscrupulous son of Bowang Marquis, and the only successor of the future Marquis.

When Ning Chen was seven years old, his mother died of a vicious disease, and Bo Wanghou was hit the head during the battle a few years ago, resulting in a coma and completely lost consciousness, Ning Chen was only ten years old that year.

The family lost its pillars and virtuous helpers one after another, and the power of the family completely fell into the hands of the second lady Tong Yuji and the chief housekeeper.

For a full five years, these two people have been constantly squeezing and encroaching on Ning Chen, first on the grounds of the reduction of the imperial court and the tight expenses of the Hou Mansion, Ning Chen's monthly money has been continuously reduced, until it was completely broken last year, and even the valuable things in Ning Chen's house were moved away and sold by the big housekeeper as if they were half forced.

On the contrary, Ning Gui, who was born to Mrs. Tong, was favored by thousands of people in the Hou Mansion, and the Hou Mansion concentrated almost all of its cultivation resources on him.

And the reason given by Mrs. Tong is that the Hou Mansion needs to rise, then there must be someone who stands up and obtains a higher cultivation, the son Ning Chen is talented, and the second son Ning Gui is talented, so the Hou Mansion naturally wants to concentrate all its resources on Ning Gui.

Of course, some old servants in the family have also raised objections, believing that the son is the greatest in the world, and some people think that whoever has high talent should be compared.

But these old servants have only one fate, that is, they were all driven out of the Hou Mansion by the big housekeeper.

All Ning Chen can do now is to make a living by drawing these simplest talismans, save some money, and cultivate.

He buried his hatred deeply, and more in his heart, he was lonely and helpless.

In the Hou Mansion, he has no friends, no relatives, since his father was seriously injured, he has only seen twice, and now life and death are uncertain.

"Mother's ......"

Ning Chen looked at the portrait beside him stupidly, whispering to himself, his tired eyes were full of firmness, his mother had been looking forward to Ning Chen's son inheriting his father's business, glorifying his ancestors, Ning Chen didn't dare to forget!

After resting for a while, Ning Chen dragged his tired body and slowly sat up, then lifted the worn-out jade pen and began to continue to make the talisman in front of him, which is the most elementary talisman, called the exorcism talisman, which can be drawn on a layer of condensation, and Ning Chen relies on his excellent calligraphy and painting foundation, which is even more handy.

In fact, Ning Chen can be said to be born smart, he was already full of economy at the age of ten, and he was deeply favored by his father.

It's a pity that the heavens do not fulfill people's wishes, and today's imperial examination relies on the mastery of Taoist classics and their own cultivation, according to Ning Chen's current cultivation of only one layer of condensation, he can only barely be counted as a child, and he can't even be counted as a Xiucai.

"This time, if you sell these beginner-level evil talismans, you can buy three Divine Incense, and then you will almost be able to cultivate to the second layer of Qi Condensation, right?" Ning Chen muttered to himself in his heart, his heart was also full of a trace of longing, the three Divine Incense was enough for him to accumulate for a month.

Compared with Ning Gui's three pillars of incense a day, this is a world of difference.

After making the last five evil talismans, Ning Chen's whole person was about to collapse, and exhaustion hit him overwhelmingly, but even so, Ning Chen did not rest, dragging his tired body to take a copy of "Nanhua Fu Jing" from the bookshelf and read it carefully.

The main explanation here is the production of all kinds of talismans, now the evolution of talismans has been ever-changing, and the lives of the people are also closely related, for example, fire talismans can be used to burn fire for cooking, often a fire talisman is enough for a family for a day, cheaper than firewood, much less trouble-free.

"There will be another imperial examination in the spring of next year, and whether you can win back this breath is a matter of one move. Ning Chen muttered to himself, and his heart was full of fighting spirit.

As long as his own cultivation is improved and he is promoted in high school, then Ning Chen will have a source of money, he can take a fortune alone, and he can get rid of the shackles of Mrs. Tong, in other words, he has the resources for cultivation, he really wants to see if his talent is mediocre, whether it is worse than Ning Gui!

Every time he thought of this, Ning Chen's heart was full of fighting spirit!

When, when, when......

At this moment, there were suddenly several knocks outside the door, although the sound was not very urgent, but one was heavier than the other, and there was no respect for the prince at all.

Ning Chen, who was concentrating on studying the "Nanhua Fu Sutra", couldn't help but move, showing an alert expression, Ning Chen knew that in the Hou Mansion, the people who were inclined to him had been driven away by Mrs. Tong, and those who stayed were the people around Mrs. Tong, and these people had no kindness to Ning Chen.

"Who?" Ning Chen asked as he put down the Dao Sutra in his hand.

Living in such a careless environment for many years has made Ning Chen very alert and cautious.

"Shizi, Mrs. Tong, please come over. A maid's voice came from outside the door, and her tone was not good.

Mrs. Tong please? This made Ning Chen's brows furrow slightly, that Mrs. Tong called Ning Chen over, there is no good thing, the first few times he cut his monthly money until he didn't give a penny, and he was left to fend for himself, in Mrs. Tong's words, it was called self-reliance, and it was also a kind of exercise for Ning Chen.

Later, he insisted on the precious furniture in Ning Chen's house, until there was no one left, Ning Chen had the heart to refuse, how could the cultivation of the great butler be too high, not to mention that he had three or four powerful battle talismans in his hands, with even one finger of his cultivation, he could almost poke Ning Chen, who was powerless, to death on the spot.

Helpless, Ning Chen could only swallow his anger, at this moment, how much he looked forward to his father coming to his senses.

"It's coming. Ning Chen tidied up his worn-out brocade robe, and then opened the door.

Following the maid, wandering around the Hou Mansion, walking for about a stick of incense, Ning Chen finally came to the main mansion.

Compared with the dilapidation of other places in the Hou Mansion, the main mansion still maintains the former style, stepping into it, the ground paved with glazed stone is bright and solid.

Two rows of big chairs made of chicken bloodwood, separated on both sides, sat on Ning Chen's brothers and sisters, seven or eight people, among which the top seat sat at the top of the head, it was Ning Gui who was dressed in a gorgeous robe and a jade crown on his head, with a proud face, and now he had reached the fifth layer of condensation, and he was favored by the family.

Sitting on the main seat was Mrs. Tong, who looked thirty-five or sixteen years old, dressed in a cyan gauze dress, with a crown on her head, and delicate eyebrows and eyes, always giving people a charming feeling.

As for the Grand Governor, he did not show up.

"Madam, the prince brought it. The maid gave a salute to Mrs. Tong, whispered, and then withdrew directly.

Ning Chen stood in the middle of the ground, his brows furrowed slightly, thinking in his heart about what Mrs. Tong was doing with this battle, and he didn't seem to have anything to be deprived of anymore.

"Chen'er, let me ask you, how much have you cultivated now?" Mrs. Tong suddenly opened her mouth and asked leisurely.

"Mrs. Hui, there is only one layer of condensation. Ning Chen suppressed the emotions in his heart as much as possible, and responded in a calm tone.

"Look, I said a long time ago, Chen'er's qualifications are mediocre, and they can't be compared with Gui'er at all, and during the same period of cultivation, Gui'er has already condensed five levels. Mrs. Tong suddenly said in a slightly high voice, as if she wanted everyone else present to hear it.

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