His spiritual senses were already quite sharp at this point. His consciousness entered his dantian, and what he "saw" was a vast expanse of white. The most abundant and eye-catching part of it was a viscous substance, which was half solid and half liquid, flowing back and forth within his dantian.
After spinning the object around twice, it appeared unchanged, but Xiao Wenbing suddenly had a strange feeling that it had hardened a bit. In other words, it had lost some of its liquid and gained some of its solid.
Of course, this wasn't something he "saw," but rather something he sensed. The changes were extremely slow, almost imperceptible. However, his consciousness was currently within his own body, and everything was under its monitoring. Even the slightest change was impossible to hide.
Xiao Wenbing immediately understood that this thing was his own spiritual power.
That viscous state represents his current stage of inner core formation. When all the liquid spiritual energy transforms into a solid state, that will be the moment his inner core is formed.
A steady stream of new spiritual energy flowed into his dantian. Without needing to investigate, Xiao Wenbing already knew that this was the spiritual energy generated by the Spirit Gathering Talisman.
These spiritual energies are in a gaseous state, and neither their power nor their quantity can compare to the spiritual energy within his dantian.
Once it enters the dantian, it is incompatible with the viscous spiritual energy and they do not interfere with each other.
However, they followed a special route, winding their way upwards. Xiao Wenbing's consciousness followed closely, and above his dantian, a golden spirit-gathering talisman was slowly floating.
Of course, this spirit-gathering talisman is just an energy cluster, a natal golden talisman that Xiao Wenbing secretly implanted into his dantian.
The gaseous spiritual energy, upon encountering the natal golden talisman, surged forth like lambs that had been lost for days finally finding their mother. The natal golden talisman accepted all incoming energy without hesitation, no matter how much energy poured in.
Before long, all the gaseous spiritual energy had been absorbed by the natal golden talisman.
Although the natal golden talisman appeared unchanged at this moment, Xiao Wenbing knew that its power had increased and the energy it contained had also increased.
Slowly withdrawing from the state of introspection, Xiao Wenbing was filled with admiration for the founder of the Secret Talisman Sect who had come up with such a cultivation method.
He created this thing by finding a shortcut within his dantian. Well, although Mingmei, the guide, was rather stingy and didn't tell Xiao Wenbing its specific function, who was Xiao Wenbing to be? He could guess pretty much anything with a snap of his fingers.
Needless to say, the more energy this thing has, the better, and the purer the spiritual energy, the better.
With this realization, Xiao Wenbing devoted himself to staying within the mountain gate and diligently practicing his skills in the days that followed.
Mingmei assigned him two main tasks each day: one was meditation and qi cultivation, absorbing the purest primordial energy of heaven and earth for his own use. With each increase in the primordial energy within his dantian, the viscous, liquid spiritual power solidified, meaning he moved closer to the stage of Core Formation.
The place where he meditated was at the summit of the mountain gate, the place with the most abundant spiritual energy within the entire mountain gate. Normally, no one is allowed to enter without the permission of the old Taoist Xianyun.
However, the old Taoist priest Xianyun treated this disciple differently, granting him special permission to cultivate at any time.
Such favor was unprecedented, and although the other disciples dared not complain, they were extremely envious. Xiao Wenbing, being astute as he was, immediately sensed something was amiss, so before each ascent, he would bring two senior brothers with him. He claimed it was to prevent any accidents and to ask his senior brothers to supervise him.
But anyone would know perfectly well what was going on behind the scenes.
Although the old Taoist priest Xianyun had some objections to this, he had very high expectations for Xiao Wenbing and knew that he was at a critical moment in condensing his core. He did not want to spoil his mood for such a trivial matter, so he pretended to be deaf and dumb and ignored it.
Over time, these senior brothers, having benefited from the relationship, grew to like this understanding junior brother more and more.
Moreover, they all understood one thing: this junior brother was probably no ordinary person, and his future achievements would far surpass those of Tongji University. Therefore, it was quite important to maintain a good relationship with him at this time.
As a result, the six disciples of the second generation in the Secret Talisman Sect lived in harmony and friendship, as close as one person, which greatly pleased the old Taoist Xianyun.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White, Chapter Thirty-Six: The Power of the Golden Talisman
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The second lesson is drawing talismans. Each spirit-gathering talisman is burned using a secret technique, and the spiritual energy within is collected and channeled into the dantian for the natal golden talisman to absorb. Using talismans to nourish talismans is indeed a unique skill of the Secret Talisman Sect, with no other branch.
Xiao Wenbing was blessed with extraordinary abilities, enabling him to continuously produce an endless supply of Foundation Establishment Pills and Minor Rejuvenation Pills.
The Foundation Building Pill is used to strengthen the foundation and nourish the source, while the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill is used to replenish spiritual power.
His spiritual power progressed as if he had grown two wings, increasing at an extremely rapid pace.
Faced with this situation, Mingmei dared not make a decision on his own and had already informed the old Taoist priest Xianyun. The old Taoist priest was both surprised and delighted, but this situation was unprecedented and unique, so how could he know about it? He could only instruct the priest to be careful and pay close attention.
Before we knew it, spring had passed and autumn had come, and another year had passed.
On this day, Xiao Wenbing was idly drawing spirit-gathering talismans in his quiet room. His spiritual power had greatly improved compared to a year ago. After undergoing systematic training, though it was unclear whether it was scientific or not, he was now completely different from before.
The gathering spirit talisman was completed in the blink of an eye.
Bored, he tossed aside the wolf-hair brush in his hand, slumped onto the futon, leaning against the corner of the wall. The carefree personality he had developed since childhood in the orphanage was once again on full display after becoming familiar with this place.
If Mingmei were here, he would surely have to give her a long lecture. Xiao Wenbing, though he didn't say it aloud, was quite grateful to this guide. He wasn't ungrateful; he could tell who treated him well and who treated him badly.
Even when facing his senior brother Lu Jun, who had caused him great suffering, most of the resentment in his heart had already subsided. However, if the opportunity arose in the future, a small act of revenge would be permissible.
The people here are all nice, but it's just too lonely. Is this an unavoidable choice on the path to immortality?
Xiao Wenbing got up, and his mind began to wander. After a while, his eyes lit up and he came up with a wild idea.
He sat cross-legged, used the technique of internal visualization, and his consciousness entered his dantian.
Compared to a year ago, these viscous semi-liquids have become much more solid. If this continues at this rate, the time to form a pill may not even take ten years.
His consciousness did not linger, but went directly to the natal golden talisman directly above his dantian.
It was completely different from when they first met. His natal golden talisman was now shining brightly, and the spiritual power contained within it was beyond comprehension.
He immediately realized that he was drawing talismans too fast. Over the past year, he had given countless spirit-gathering talismans to his natal golden talisman for nourishment. His special ability was indispensable in giving it such power today.
His consciousness was right in front of his natal golden talisman. He used his supernatural power to scan the entire glittering golden talisman.
Consciousness left the dantian and returned to the body.
Xiao Wenbing got up and locked the door to the quiet room. Mingmei was being overly concerned about him, constantly checking on him, which made Xiao Wenbing quite hesitant to use his special abilities.
So he sought out Mingmei and made a three-point agreement with him: whenever he closed the door of his meditation room, it meant he was practicing and should not be disturbed.
Sitting down again, Xiao Wenbing activated his supernatural ability, and a golden light slowly appeared in his hand, which was his natal golden talisman.
His supernatural power was clearly insufficient, so he replenished it with his spiritual energy. However, to his surprise, even after his spiritual energy was completely depleted, he still couldn't create his natal golden talisman.
Xiao Wenbing inwardly groaned and was about to give up when suddenly a strange change occurred within his dantian.
The natal golden talisman within his body suddenly changed its usual stingy nature, no longer absorbing spiritual energy, but instead releasing a continuous stream of energy.
Xiao Wenbing was overjoyed and continued to concentrate, wanting to achieve success in one fell swoop.
His wish finally came true. After his natal golden talisman had released about half of its energy, the golden light in his hand finally took shape out of thin air.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. This natal golden talisman was indeed incredibly powerful; at the very least, its energy was far greater than his own spiritual power.
Although he had created his natal golden talisman, Xiao Wenbing was so exhausted that he just wanted to lie down and stop caring about anything. He hadn't felt this kind of exhaustion for a long time.
Sitting cross-legged, Xiao Wenbing, after receiving the earnest teachings of his senior brother Mingmei, deeply understood one thing: the more tired one is, the less one should relax. Once laziness becomes a habit, then no matter how good one's talent is, it will all be in vain.
I carefully put away my natal golden talisman. This thing must not be seen by anyone, otherwise I really don't know how to explain it.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Wenbing began to meditate and cultivate his Qi to restore his spiritual power.
Logically, he should have gone to the summit of the mountain to practice his cultivation, where the effects would be a hundred times greater. However, Xiao Wenbing's spiritual energy was completely depleted, making it difficult to travel that far. Moreover, he was worried about encountering his senior brothers, and if they asked, he would have to give them another explanation.
Therefore, although things are a bit slower here, it is also carefree and unrestrained.
His pores opened, and endless streams of primordial energy flowed into his dantian. His dantian was like a large pool, constantly absorbing primordial energy, gradually compressing it within, and ultimately transforming it for his own use.
However, Xiao Wenbing soon discovered something. His natal golden talisman was also absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and at an unbelievable speed.
As expected of a spirit-gathering talisman, its speed of absorbing spiritual energy is top-notch. Before long, the natal golden talisman had absorbed enough spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
Just when Xiao Wenbing thought it would stop and return to a state of stillness, his natal golden talisman underwent another unexpected change.
It not only continues to absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth, but also releases the transformed spiritual energy to the dantian while absorbing it.
Generally speaking, the primordial energy of heaven and earth is absorbed into the body from the air and must be refined and circulated through the meridians before it can be transformed into spiritual power for cultivators.
This process is neither fast nor slow; it simply depends on the individual's level of cultivation.
Xiao Wenbing, a disciple at the Core Formation stage, would need at least several hours of cultivation to convert the free-floating spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the space into spiritual power.
But this time, the situation was completely different. With the help of the natal golden talisman, in just one hour, not only was all the spiritual power in his body fully replenished, but even his supernatural abilities, which had been completely depleted, were also fully restored.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White, Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Critical Point
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After finishing his cultivation technique, Xiao Wenbing was surprised to find that even without consciously circulating his energy, his natal golden talisman was still actively absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the space until the spiritual power within the talisman reached saturation.
What's going on? Could this be one of the wonderful uses of the natal golden talisman?
That's probably how it is. But why didn't this happen before? After thinking about what just happened, I realized that this wonderful use might only be activated after using the Golden Talisman's energy once, so I was completely unaware of it until today.
Having this natal golden talisman that can automatically absorb and convert spiritual energy in the dantian is like having an engine that continuously provides spiritual energy; the benefits are self-evident.
Once he regained his strength, Xiao Wenbing immediately transformed from a sickly, lazy man into a vigorous and robust hero.
Xiao Wenbing carefully held the newly created natal golden talisman in his hands, its spiritual power truly extraordinary. He wondered what the consequences would be after using it.
He placed his natal golden talisman on his dantian and used the secret technique. As before, the golden talisman turned to ashes, and boundless spiritual power surged into it.
Xiao Wenbing sensed something was wrong. This infusion of spiritual energy was extraordinary. If the spiritual energy provided by the previous spirit-gathering talismans was like a trickle of water, then this time it was a raging ocean that could drown everything.
A surge of spiritual energy, far exceeding any imagination, rushed in all at once.
All the meridians in his body were in excruciating pain, as if they were about to burst open; they had expanded to their limit. At this moment, every part of Xiao Wenbing's body was filled with inexhaustible spiritual energy.
He never imagined that he would have such a day.
"Don't come anymore," Xiao Wenbing silently mourned. A sudden realization flashed through his mind: if this continued, he would only have one fate—to explode and die a gruesome death, leaving not even a trace behind.
Perhaps the heavens heard his plea, for at the very last moment when he was about to reach his limit, the spiritual power of his natal golden talisman was finally exhausted, and no new spiritual power flowed in.
Xiao Wenbing was overjoyed. As long as the spiritual energy stopped flowing in endlessly, his life would be saved.
Half-lying on the ground, Xiao Wenbing remained motionless, not because he wanted to maintain this undignified posture, but because he truly could not move an inch at the moment.
His internal meridians had already expanded to their limit, like a dangerous bomb that would explode at the slightest touch.