Volume 1 Chapter 17

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Volume 1 Chapter 17: The Way and the Law

Xu Qingfan let out a painful groan and slowly opened his swollen eyes, only to find himself lying in his wooden cabin.

He climbed out of bed and felt dizzy, as if his head were about to burst. He tried to remember what happened before he fell asleep but could only recall drinking and talking with his older brother and Jin Qinghan. He had no idea how he returned to his room or when Jin Qinghan left. He couldn’t help but smile sadly, realizing he had drunk too much yesterday.

How long had it been since he had drunk like this? It seemed the last time was when he was still in Xu Family Village. That time, the strong men in the village had rightly hunted a giant beast from the Southern Wasteland, so the villagers didn’t have to worry about food for two weeks. Without realizing it, more than ten years had already passed.

Time is something you can’t hold or see; it’s invisible and everywhere. Sometimes it feels long, and other times it feels very short. It makes you happier when you are joyful, and it can also make you more arrogant during foolish moments. But when you truly understand it, there’s not much time left.

It is indeed a terrifying thing.

When Xu Qingfan stepped out of the wooden house, he realized the sun was low in the sky, and it was already the evening of the next day. He knew he had really drunk too much to have slept for so long. Ever since he became Lu Huayan’s student, he had replaced sleep with meditation, so he hadn’t slept in a long time, let alone so deeply.

To be honest, he missed sleep very much, even though this time he hadn’t slept comfortably.

He splashed some cold water on his face, but the dizziness and pain in his head didn’t lessen much. With no other option, he returned to his wooden house and sat cross-legged on his bed, running through "The Formula of Wither and Flourish." With the flow of two types of Spirit Qi, one gray and one green, the discomfort in his body eased significantly.

Once he felt a bit more comfortable, Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered his decision from yesterday and walked out of his room toward Yue Qingru’s room.

Compared to Xu Qingfan’s room, Yue Qingru’s room was much larger. This wasn’t due to Yue Qingru being selfish in building his room, but rather because Yue Qingru had so many books that there wasn’t enough space in a smaller room.

The door to Yue Qingru’s room was open, and Xu Qingfan walked straight in. To Xu Qingfan’s surprise, Yue Qingru was deeply engrossed in a book. Only in the sea of books could Yue Qingru temporarily forget the sorrow and discomfort he had felt over the past few days.

"Brother," Xu Qingfan called softly.

"Qingfan, have you sobered up?" Yue Qingru looked up from his book and smiled when he saw Xu Qingfan.

"Yes, I’m sorry to trouble you, Brother." Thinking of how he had acted after drinking too much yesterday, Xu Qingfan’s face turned slightly red, and he quickly replied.

"Brother, it’s not that I’m scolding you, but drinking is like poison; it shouldn’t be done in excess. If you drink too much, it can be addictive. So it’s better to drink less in the future." Yue Qingru liked to give advice, whether there was a reason or not, just like a teacher. After Lu Huayan passed away, this habit became even more pronounced. As his only younger brother, Xu Qingfan had no choice but to be the target of Yue Qingru’s constant advice.

"Yes, I will remember, Brother," Xu Qingfan promised.

When Xu Qingfan said this, he was sincere. To him, drinking was not just for fun; it represented experiences and hardships, a moment of reflection for someone who had faced many struggles. He felt that he wasn’t yet qualified to drink often. His drinking yesterday was simply a need to let out the frustration he had been feeling. As for drinking just to drink, he saw that as the behavior of a drunkard and looked down upon it.

"But I didn’t expect you to be able to hold your liquor so well; you drank most of that wine yesterday," Yue Qingru said with a sudden smile.

"I was born in the Southern Wasteland, where the climate is humid and often filled with miasma, so alcohol is a necessity there to stay warm and dry," Xu Qingfan explained awkwardly.

"I see." After hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Yue Qingru nodded in understanding and asked, "Well, let’s not talk about that anymore. What do you need from me, junior?"

"It’s like this, I have entered the Inedia Stage and I want to learn the ways of cultivation from you, senior brother," Xu Qingfan said.

"Oh, I see. Indeed, you have entered the Inedia Stage. Your body is constantly absorbing the Spirit Qi from the world to refine the Wood-type Qi within you. Unless you are in closed-door training, the speed of your practice during daily activities and meditation is not very different. It is time to teach you some practical skills," Yue Qingru said.

When a cultivator reaches the Inedia Stage, their connection to the world greatly increases. They no longer need to meditate intentionally to absorb the Spirit Qi because their body is continually absorbing it, even at a rate similar to that of meditation. At this time, cultivators usually learn some skills to enhance their abilities. This is why Xu Qingfan always sees Jin Qinghan practicing skills whenever they meet.

"Thank you, senior brother." Xu Qingfan was very happy to hear Yue Qingru’s response and expressed his gratitude.

According to the current recognized system of methods in the cultivation world, the methods are divided into the Five Elements Taoist Method and the Neutral Taoist Method. The Five Elements Taoist Method requires the cultivator to have the five types of Spirit Qi within them to practice, while the Neutral Taoist Method can be learned by any cultivator who has reached a certain level of power. In terms of strength, the methods are classified into three levels: upper, middle, and lower, which require the Lingji Stage, Inedia Stage, and Qi Refining Stage respectively to perform. Each level is further divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers based on the amount of Spirit Qi needed. As for the high-level masters who have reached the Condensed Core Stage, they have already created unique methods that belong only to them, which do not fall under the system of the cultivation world.

In the days that followed, Xu Qingfan began to learn the ways of cultivation from Yue Qingru.

Originally, the thought of only having half the power of a normal cultivator’s skills was a lasting pain for Xu Qingfan. However, after seeing Yue Qingru use Wood-type skills to build a wooden house, Xu Qingfan decided that he must learn these methods, even if his power would only be half of others, it was still better than knowing nothing.

However, the result of Xu Qingfan’s practice this time surprised both him and Yue Qingru. It turned out that Xu Qingfan’s power in Wood-type skills was still only half of a normal Wood-type cultivator’s. But to their amazement, Xu Qingfan’s performance in other Neutral Taoist Methods was just as strong, if not stronger, than that of ordinary cultivators.

The result made the two brothers smile wryly. Their wood-type cultivation method turned out to be the weakest in showing the power of wood-type techniques. This "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" truly seems useless.

After repeated research, the two brothers finally understood the reason.

It turned out that the Spirit Qi within Xu Qingfan was not less in quantity compared to other cultivators of the same level, but he had two types of Spirit Qi: Wood-type Spirit Qi and that gray, lifeless Spirit Qi, each taking up half. Since using wood-type techniques required only Wood-type Spirit Qi, Xu Qingfan’s wood-type spells naturally had only half the power of others.

Xu Qingfan felt helpless about this result, as the gray, lifeless Spirit Qi was something he could not refine away; he could only accept his bad luck. Deep down, he always felt that "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Additionally, according to what Lu Huayan said when he was alive, this "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" used to be as famous as the "Changchun Grand Method" he practiced, but it gradually became unknown after the fall of the Laoshan Sect.

After discovering the reason, Xu Qingfan instinctively focused his main energy on those Neutral Taoist methods outside of wood-type techniques, learning wood-type spells without putting in as much effort.

Although Xu Qingfan did not have good innate talent and could not absorb Spirit Qi from the world, he learned the methods smoothly thanks to his understanding and diligence. Over the next year, Xu Qingfan learned several Taoist techniques.

"Sleeve Space," a technique that creates a space in his sleeve using Spirit Qi to hold various items. As his level increases, the quantity he can hold also grows. It is said that after reaching the Condensed Core Stage, this Taoist spell can also hold living creatures.

"Sky Eye Skill," a method that gathers Spirit Qi in his eyes to view the Spirit Qi of the world and illusions.

There is also the "Art of Invisible," which temporarily hides the user’s figure but can be seen through by cultivators with higher power using the "Sky Eye Skill."

"Swift Movement," can increase one’s speed.

"Illusion Magic," can create an environment controlled by oneself within a certain area, but only works on those much weaker than oneself; with Xu Qingfan’s current ability, he could only affect ordinary people with Illusion Magic.

"Spirit Binding Technique" and "Body Binding Technique," can use Spirit Qi to bind another person’s body and Original Soul, but again, only against those much weaker than oneself.

"Calming Method," is a technique used to stabilize and soothe a person’s mind.

"Sound Transmission Technique," can be used to send a message over a long distance or secretly to a specific person.

I must say, although Yue Qingru’s power level is far from the top in the cultivation world, his extensive reading over many years has indeed made him very knowledgeable. Xu Qingfan has also learned quite a bit from Yue Qingru about formations, alchemy, weapon forging, and talismans; now he can independently set up some low-level formations and low-level talismans. However, he lacks materials for alchemy and weapon forging, so he cannot proceed with those.

What frustrates Xu Qingfan is that the techniques he has learned are all supportive in nature. Although he has learned a few about attack and defense, they fall under wood-type techniques, which have very little power.

Until one day, Xu Qingfan decided to practice the only somewhat complete Taoist spell in "The Formula of Wither and Flourish"—the Finger of Wither and Flourish. This decision finally led him to accidentally discover a glimpse of the magical uses of "The Formula of Wither and Flourish."