This is a “cultivation on credit” novel. From Talisman Apprentice to Talisman Emperor: I Use a Confucian Heart to Guard the World tells the story of a cultivator who seeks the Dao through talismans and stays true to the path with a Confucian heart. Liu Wu is a boy born in Qinghe Village on the frontier, an ordinary mortal. By chance, he saves Lin Qingshan, a mysterious talisman cultivator in distress, and receives the Heavenly Scripture of the Talisman Dao. From then on, he embarks on an unprecedented path of cultivation: nine realms of talisman arts, guided by a benevolent Confucian heart.
In this world, talisman cultivators use heaven and earth as paper, spiritual energy as ink, and divine will as a brush to draw true talismans of the Great Dao. But evil spirits run rampant, and human hearts are treacherous. The remnants of the Black Fiend Sect return, undercurrents churn within the Myriad Talismans Pavilion, and a hundred-year-old demonic soul lies sealed deep beneath the earth's ley lines.
Liu Wu takes up his brush, starting with a single Tranquility Talisman to heal his neighbors, then laying out a Four Symbols Guardian Formation to protect an entire village. He progresses from the Talisman Apprentice Realm, where he first glimpses the path, to the Talisman Adept Realm, where he condenses his natal talisman foundation. He takes the eight Confucian virtues as his bedrock: filial piety, fraternal respect, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame. At every step, he examines his conscience. He takes the Heavenly Scripture of the Talisman Dao as his wings: heavenly talismans draw in spiritual energy, earthly talismans subdue the land, and human talismans cultivate the self. Every realm is a step toward the Dao.
Yet cultivation is not merely about improving oneself. When the Black Fiend Sect seeks to seize the ley-line dragon spirit and forge a demonic artifact, when the remnant soul of a century-old demon is about to break free, and when his master, Lin Qingshan, is trapped in Qingzhou City, Liu Wu raises his brush to the heavens. Guided by the lotus mark of his heart seal, he summons the dragon spirit and suppresses the evil.
This is a path of talisman cultivation that begins in the mortal world and ends at the highest heights. Every stroke is cultivation; every talisman and formation can subdue the eight wildernesses. Watch as this young man wields talismans as his sword and Confucian principles as his heart, writing his own legend in this magnificent world of cultivation.
