Volume 1 Chapter 11

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Volume 1 Chapter 11: Magical Tools

"Tap… Tap… Tap…" Xu Qingfan stood in front of Lu Huayan’s room, adjusted his clothes, and gently knocked on the door.

"Is that Qingfan? Come in," an old voice called from inside the room.

"Yes," Xu Qingfan replied respectfully upon hearing Lu Huayan’s voice, then gently pushed the door open.

Inside the room, a figure was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Behind the figure was a window, and the dim sunlight outside cast shadows on the figure, making their face appear even more blurred.

When Xu Qingfan entered, he stood respectfully at the foot of the bed. He lifted his head slightly to look at the figure and couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp of "Ah!"

It turned out that the figure sitting on the bed was his master, Lu Huayan. However, compared to the last time Xu Qingfan had seen him, Lu Huayan now looked much older. His body had become frail, his thinning white hair was almost gone, his face was lined with wrinkles and age spots, and the bags under his eyes covered nearly half of his face! He looked like a common old man nearing the end of his life.

Only his eyes remained sharp and bright, but Xu Qingfan couldn’t shake the feeling that he saw a deep sense of despair in them.

No wonder Lu Huayan had not come out to see his disciples for so long; he had aged so much.

"Master, you…?" Xu Qingfan saw Lu Huayan’s current state and was filled with worry, hesitantly asking.

"It’s nothing, just the cycle of life and death." Lu Huayan said softly. Even though Lu Huayan spoke calmly, Xu Qingfan knew that he actually cared deeply about it.

"Master, you will definitely improve your skills and regain your youth again." Looking at Lu Huayan, who appeared severely aged, Xu Qingfan felt unsure of what to say and could only offer this comfort.

"You have finally broken through to the Inedia Stage." Lu Huayan did not acknowledge Xu Qingfan’s comfort and instead began to talk about Xu Qingfan’s progress.

"I have let down your hopes, Master, and only just made some progress now. I haven’t been able to help you at all." Xu Qingfan said with some embarrassment.

"Don’t say that. It’s impressive that you reached the Inedia Stage in just ten years. It took me seven years to reach the Inedia Stage back then. As for the ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’ you’ve practiced, it hasn’t been able to help me, perhaps it’s just fate. If fate wants to ruin me, what can I do?" Lu Huayan’s voice carried a hint of sadness.

"Master…" Xu Qingfan wanted to comfort Lu Huayan but didn’t know where to start.

"Generally speaking, cultivators face three major barriers in their training. The first is breaking through from Qi Refining Stage to Inedia Stage. More than half of the cultivators remain stuck in the Qi Refining Stage their whole lives. Once they break through, they can use the Spirit Qi of the world to nourish themselves, and their training speed will advance rapidly, overcoming any difficulties from the early stage of the Inedia Stage to the late stage of the Lingji Stage." Lu Huayan did not dwell in sadness for long and continued to discuss Xu Qingfan’s training.

"Yes, I understand."

"At the Qi Refining Stage, the cultivator uses the Spirit Qi from the world to strengthen their body; in the Inedia Stage, the cultivator uses the Spirit Qi to nourish their body; when reaching the Lingji Stage, the cultivator uses the Spirit Qi to transform their body. Even though you cannot keep the Spirit Qi within you, you can refine the Wood-type Qi inside you with the Spirit Qi from the world, turning it into your own Wood-type Spirit Qi. From now on, always remember to use your Wood-type Spirit Qi to exercise, nourish, and transform your body. Only then can you increase your lifespan. This is something you must always keep in mind."

"Yes, I understand, Master."

After hearing Xu Qingfan say this, Lu Huayan nodded with satisfaction. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, "After your breakthrough to the Inedia Stage, have you noticed anything special while practicing ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’?"

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Qingfan told Lu Huayan about the gray, lifeless Spirit Qi inside him that had gone out of control after he saved Jin Qinghan that day, and how it produced Wood-type Spirit Qi while it was moving.

"It moves on its own? That lifeless Spirit Qi can actually give birth to Wood-type Spirit Qi while it’s flowing? That doesn’t make sense," Lu Huayan murmured to himself, furrowing his brow after hearing Xu Qingfan’s description. After a long time, he shook his head and decided not to think about it anymore. Then, he suddenly took out a blue wooden ruler about a foot long, a white jade bottle, and a white jade slip from his sleeve and handed them to Xu Qingfan.

"Now that you are an Inedia Stage cultivator, you should have your own magical tools." Lu Huayan explained as he saw the puzzled look on Xu Qingfan’s face after he received the items.

"This… this is my magical tool?" Xu Qingfan was momentarily stunned upon hearing Lu Huayan’s words, then could not help but feel excited.

Looking at Xu Qingfan’s surprised expression, a hint of a smile appeared on Lu Huayan’s ancient face as he nodded and continued explaining, "This wooden ruler is made from the remains of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster that tried to invade your body. It not only enhances your practice of Wood-type Spirit Qi but can also change size and attack enemies from a distance. It counts as a middle-class magical tool at the human level. This jade bottle is used to hold spirit medicine and can greatly prevent the leakage of Spirit Qi. Inside this bottle, there are twenty Wood Spirit Pills that I made from a Wood Spiritual Root and the blood and flesh of the Green Snake Dragon. Taking them will speed up the refining of your Wood-type Qi. As for this jade slip, it contains the cultivation method for refining magical tools."

After hearing Lu Huayan’s words and sensing the strong Spirit Qi emanating from the wooden ruler and jade bottle, Xu Qingfan struggled to contain his joy and thanked Lu Huayan once more, saying, "Thank you very much for your gifts, Master."

"Get up, for the next few months, do not go to the back mountain. Spend three months in seclusion to stabilize your current level, and also refine this magical tool," Lu Huayan said after Xu Qingfan thanked him and nodded slightly.

"Yes, the disciple will take their leave."

Hearing Lu Huayan’s words, Xu Qingfan realized that Lu Huayan had noticed his nightly visits to the back mountain, but it did not surprise him. Lu Huayan was a master at the Golden Core Stage, and everything within dozens of miles was under his control.

After saying this, Xu Qingfan left Lu Huayan’s room.

Once Xu Qingfan left the room, Lu Huayan sat alone on the bed, reflecting on Xu Qingfan’s description, and muttered to himself in confusion, "What exactly is going on? That gray Spirit Qi could actually give rise to Wood-type Spirit Qi? Could there be some wonderful aspect of The Formula of Wither and Flourish that I haven’t discovered?"

…

After leaving Lu Huayan’s room, Xu Qingfan could no longer contain his excitement. He gently touched the magical tool in his hand that released Spirit Qi and broke into a silly smile. When Xu Qingfan first dreamed of the mysterious cultivators from myths and legends, he was already fascinated by their magical techniques and wonderful treasures.

Later, he was fortunate enough to step into the Immortal Realm and become a cultivator, but he was given a fragment of a useless cultivation method called The Formula of Wither and Flourish. Not only was its power weak, but he also had to focus on studying this method, leaving little time to learn other techniques. So now, although Xu Qingfan was a cultivator, he hardly had any of the abilities a cultivator should possess.

But now, he unexpectedly had his own magical tool. How could Xu Qingfan not be excited?

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan could no longer hold back the impulse in his heart and quickly walked toward his room, eager to forge his first magical tool in life.

One hundred days later.

Xu Qingfan sat cross-legged on his bed, with a brilliant green light surrounding him. His hands were raised, holding a green wooden ruler that floated above his head, continually releasing green Wood-type Spirit Qi that resonated with the light on Xu Qingfan.

Slowly, the Spirit Qi from the wooden ruler began to merge with the Spirit Qi on Xu Qingfan. At first, there seemed to be a slight barrier, but as time passed, this barrier could no longer stop the merging of the Spirit Qi. Once the two Spirit Qis blended together, they transformed into green light, slowly growing larger. Eventually, the green light began to envelop Xu Qingfan’s entire body and the green wooden ruler, making the whole room appear vibrant like a primeval forest under the glow of the green light.

After an unknown amount of time, the green wooden ruler suddenly emitted a long, clear sound. In this clear sound, the green Spirit Qi that filled the room rapidly rushed into the wooden ruler, causing its color to become even more verdant, as if it could drip with water.

Just as the wooden ruler absorbed all the green Spirit Qi, a sudden surge of gray lifeless Spirit Qi erupted from Xu Qingfan and quickly rushed into the wooden ruler. The wooden ruler seemed to accept this gray lifeless Spirit Qi without resistance, eagerly absorbing it. Ultimately, after a series of refinements from both the green Wood-type Spirit Qi and the gray lifeless Spirit Qi, the ruler changed to a dark green color, but the fluctuations of Spirit Qi on it were even stronger than before.

Finally, after slowly gathering the gray lifeless Spirit Qi into his hands, Xu Qingfan let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.

Looking at the dark green wooden ruler in his hands, a satisfied expression appeared in Xu Qingfan’s eyes. Suddenly, he formed a hand gesture and gently pointed at the ruler, causing it to quickly spin around him like a nimble little bird.

Watching the wooden ruler flying around him, Xu Qingfan nodded in satisfaction. He suddenly changed his hand gesture, and the ruler stopped right in front of him. Then, Xu Qingfan changed his hand gesture again and gently pointed, making the dark green ruler grow several times in size. After seeing the various changes of the ruler, Xu Qingfan smiled slightly, released his hand gesture, and the ruler transformed back into its original form, obediently landing in Xu Qingfan’s hands.

"The cultivation method I have been practicing is ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish,’ so from now on, your name will be ‘Ruler of Wither and Flourish,’" Xu Qingfan said softly as he touched the ruler, feeling the faint Spirit Qi it emitted.

Saying this, Xu Qingfan put away the wooden ruler, stood up from the bed, walked to the door that had been closed for over three months, and slowly pushed it open. The sunlight, which had been waiting outside for a long time, rushed in eagerly, filling Xu Qingfan’s entire room, and his heart seemed to brighten all at once.

This was already the hundredth day since Xu Qingfan had entered seclusion. Following Lu Huayan’s instructions, Xu Qingfan returned to his room to focus on stabilizing his recently broken-through cultivation level and refining the magical tool given by Lu Huayan.

During the first fifty days of his seclusion, with the help of a ‘Wood Spirit Pill,’ Xu Qingfan not only stabilized his state but also greatly improved his power. After another forty-nine days of refining the magical tool, he finally managed to transform ‘Ruler of Wither and Flourish’ to respond to his thoughts, allowing him to attack or defend at will. Moreover, through the refinement process, he also enhanced his control over the Spirit Qi within his body.

Normally, with Xu Qingfan’s level of power, he shouldn’t have been able to refine a human-level middle-class magical tool so quickly. However, since ‘Ruler of Wither and Flourish’ was made from the remains of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster that exploded after invading Xu Qingfan’s body, and it shared the same origin as the Wood-type Spirit Qi within him, the process went smoothly.

Originally, Xu Qingfan thought that according to the cultivation method given by Lu Huayan for refining tools, it would be appropriate to use only Wood-type Spirit Qi for this wooden magical tool. But to his surprise, he discovered that he could also use the gray dead Spirit Qi for refinement, and it was just as fast. In fact, alternating between the two types of Spirit Qi surprisingly made the process even faster and more effective. As a result, combined with the previous unusual characteristics of the gray dead Spirit Qi, Xu Qingfan became even more curious about the condition of his Spirit Qi.

"I should ask my master and see what he says." With that thought, Xu Qingfan walked toward Lu Huayan’s room.

Little did he know, as Xu Qingfan passed by the main hall of Changchun Residence, the sight he saw left him utterly shocked. His excitement from successfully refining his first magical tool suddenly turned cold.