After a long while, the old Taoist priest finally finished giving his instructions. He frowned and pondered for a moment, seemingly still wanting to say more, and it looked like he would continue to give further instructions.
Xiao Wenbing's expression changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward, saying, "Master, I didn't have dinner before coming up the mountain, and I'm starving. Perhaps..."
"Ah, Mingmei, quickly take Wenbing down to have a meal... Remember, add plenty of medicinal herbs."
"Yes, Master."
Xiao Wenbing rolled his eyes. Seeing that the master and disciple seemed determined to continue, he quickly said, "Master, let's go." With that, he grabbed his senior brother, who only knew how to say "Yes, Master," and strode away.
Once outside the room, Mingmei grabbed his hand and whispered, "Junior Brother, Master hasn't given us permission to leave yet."
"Tch..." Xiao Wenbing curled his lip in disdain and said, "I'm telling you, Third Senior Brother, Master has already made us go through this twice. It's your own carelessness that has angered Master, do you understand?"
"Is that so?" Mingmei asked suspiciously.
"Of course, do you know why Master praised me as a genius? It's because I know how to read people's expressions, understand?" Xiao Wenbing said, making up a story off the cuff.
“Ah…” Mingmei looked as if he had just realized something, but then he frowned and said, “Junior brother, you are a genius of unparalleled talent.”
"Sigh, never mind, let's not talk about this anymore, let's go."
"Junior brother, you've gone the wrong way."
"What's wrong?"
"That's not the kitchen; this is where we eat," Mingmei said seriously, pointing in the opposite direction.
Xiao Wenbing rolled his eyes, looking at his third senior brother with a helpless expression. He was truly speechless...
&&&&
The next morning, Mingmei immediately led Xiao Wenbing to a quiet room and said, "Junior Brother, from now on, this will be your training room."
Xiao Wenbing looked around. He didn't have any special requirements for the environment; as long as it was acceptable, it would be fine.
Seeing that Xiao Wenbing was satisfied, Mingmei smiled, coughed, and began the formal lecture: "Junior brother, our sect is named after secret talismans, and our greatest secret technique is contained in this one talisman."
Mingmei held the dark yellow talisman in his hand and explained it in detail. Across from him, Xiao Wenbing nodded repeatedly. He had heard this opening speech before, but he still listened attentively.
The guide, as the name suggests, is his mentor, and this is someone you absolutely cannot afford to offend.
As the saying goes, a local official is more powerful than a distant one. Therefore, although he had little affection for Mingmei, he still respected him exceptionally, even more so than he did for the old Taoist priest Xianyun.
"Junior brother is truly a genius. A mere Foundation Establishment Pill has not only enabled him to comprehend spiritual power, but to an extremely profound degree, reaching the stage of Core Formation. Throughout history, no one has ever possessed such talent as junior brother."
"Thank you for your praise, Senior Brother. May I ask how long it would take for me to refine my inner core?"
"This?" Mingmei frowned and said, "It took me twelve years to go from comprehending the Qi to reaching the Core Formation stage. After that, I worked diligently every day, cultivating for more than eighteen hours a day. It took me thirty-five years to finally form my inner core."
"Thirty-five? Twelve? You mean, it takes you a full forty-seven years to cultivate an inner elixir?" Xiao Wenbing counted on his fingers, confirming that he hadn't miscalculated—forty-seven years. A large bead of sweat involuntarily appeared on his forehead.
“Indeed, I have formed my inner core in just forty-seven years.” A hint of pride appeared on Mingmei’s face, clearly very satisfied with this achievement.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White Robes, Chapter Thirty-Two: Core Formation Stage
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A mere forty-seven years?
Xiao Wenbing gave a thumbs up and said with envy, "Third Senior Brother, you have spent forty-seven years to finally achieve mastery of alchemy. You are truly amazing."
"Haha..." Mingmei laughed loudly and said, "Thank you for the praise, Junior Brother."
Xiao Wenbing's forehead was covered in even more sweat. His movements froze in mid-air. Was this guy really that clueless, or was he just pretending not to know? Couldn't he even hear such an obvious sarcasm?
However, after observing carefully for a while, he reluctantly came to the correct conclusion: Mingmei was indeed smug.
"Among Master's five disciples, I rank second in terms of the speed at which I complete the pill-forming process." Mingmei's smugness deepened. Clearly, Mingmei was extremely satisfied with his achievements.
This speed is still second only to the others; no wonder Master Xianyun scolded these people as incompetent disciples.
"So who is number one?"
"Senior Brother."
"Lu Jun?"
“That’s right. Well, junior brother, I know you’ve just entered the sect and might not be used to it yet, but it would be best if you started calling me senior brother. Otherwise, Master will scold you again if he hears it.” Mingmei advised earnestly.
"Yes." Xiao Wenbing humbly accepted, but in his heart he thought to himself, "If the old Taoist Xianyun is going to blame someone, he'll probably blame you, the one who introduced me."
"Our senior brother is exceptionally talented. He reached the Core Formation stage in just eleven years, and the Golden Core stage in only thirty-two years. He was hailed by our master as the number one genius in our sect in the last three hundred years," Mingmei exclaimed with envy.
"Cough cough..." Xiao Wenbing coughed.
Mingmei's face stiffened, only then remembering that in front of him was Xiao Wenbing, who had entered the Core Formation stage in just one month.
"Ah...haha, of course, compared to my junior brother, I am far inferior." Mingmei quickly put on a big smile and said, "Junior brother's talent is unique in the world, throughout history. However, the path of cultivation becomes more and more difficult as you go further. If you want to reach the Core Formation stage, it will probably take at least ten or twenty years of hard work to achieve it."
"Ten years? Hmm, that's barely acceptable."
This time, it was Mingmei's turn to feel ashamed. Ten years was barely acceptable, but this junior brother...
"Junior brother, I heard from your second senior brother that when you fight, you use spiritual energy like internal energy, is that true?"
"Indeed, I have found that this method of use is extremely powerful, even against ordinary pistols. If this were in ancient times, it would be like an invincible superman."
“Actually, what you’re doing is a solution, but it’s a bit wasteful of resources.”
Why?
"The spiritual power that we cultivators cultivate is not used as brute force, but as a catalyst."
"The prologue?"
"Indeed, by using a fraction of spiritual power and with the help of certain methods, one can unleash the power of nature and exert ten times, or even a hundred or a thousand times, the power."
Xiao Wenbing's expression changed. A power a hundred or a thousand times greater—what kind of power would that be? Just thinking about it makes one yearn for it. No wonder Mingmei disdained his actions.
"Please enlighten me, senior brother." This was the first time Xiao Wenbing had sincerely addressed Mingmei as "senior brother."
"For cultivators, spiritual power is fundamental, and magic is secondary. The two complement each other and are indispensable. Junior brother already possesses spiritual power, so it is natural for him to learn the art of magic."
"Spells? Is this what you call these scribbles?" Xiao Wenbing asked, pointing to the dark yellow talismans on the table.
"This... Junior brother, this is the essence of our sect, not some kind of scribbling." Mingmei smiled bitterly to himself. How could this junior brother's thinking be so strange? When he was guided by his senior brother, he was extremely respectful and dared not be negligent in the slightest, but today it was the other way around.
He had been a celestial being for many years and often walked among mortals. Suddenly, he thought of a new term that had been circulating in the mortal world recently—the generation gap.
Could this be the generation gap?
"Our sect is founded on talismans, and the techniques we use are based on them. We emphasize using talismans as a medium to draw upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth to achieve various purposes. The mysteries of this are too numerous to explain in detail. As long as you practice diligently, you will surely be able to master them in the future."
Xiao Wenbing nodded repeatedly, seemingly understanding, and asked, "What about the other sects?"
"Among other schools, there are unique approaches. Some use martial arts as a medium, some use formations as a medium, and others use pill making and weapon making as a medium. There are all sorts of approaches, and they are endless."
"Oh." Xiao Wenbing made up his mind that once he had achieved a certain level of cultivation, he would go and learn from the different sects to see what the differences were between them.
"Junior brother, today I will teach you a talisman technique. You must practice it diligently for the next five years and never forget it for even a day."
"A talisman technique? Five years?" Xiao Wenbing understood the meaning behind his words and exclaimed in surprise.
“Exactly.” Mingmei said seriously, “Junior brother, this talisman technique is called the Spirit Gathering Talisman. You must not underestimate it.”
Is this talisman difficult?
"It's not difficult."
"Then why did it take five years?"
“Junior brother, as I just said, cultivators rely on spiritual power as their foundation and magic as their supplement. You have just entered the Core Formation stage, and your foundation is still unstable. This Spirit Gathering Talisman can help you strengthen your foundation and cultivate your source, which is exactly what you need right now.”
"Strengthening the foundation and cultivating the source should not take more than five years."
“Sigh…” Mingmei sighed and said earnestly, “Junior brother, the path of cultivation is arduous and difficult. If your foundation is not solid, you will inevitably make a big mistake in the future and regret it too late. You are the greatest genius I have ever seen in my life. I must not let your bright future be ruined by my hands.”
Hearing the sincerity in his words, Xiao Wenbing felt a sense of gratitude and remained silent.
“Junior brother, back then, my senior brother and I spent a full ten years drawing spirit-gathering talismans. I’ve already halved your time, you can’t reduce it any further.”
"Yes, I will follow your instructions, Senior Brother."
Mingmei breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that his junior brother was very opinionated. If he still couldn't convince him, then he would have no choice but to report to their master for handling. He didn't have the guts to make decisions on his own.
At that moment, Mingmei explained to him in detail how to utilize spiritual power, the methods of cultivation, and how to make spirit-gathering talismans.
Under his guidance, Xiao Wenbing began to practice little by little. After two days, he had already grasped the most basic cultivation techniques.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White Robes, Chapter Thirty-Three: The Lesser Rejuvenation Pill
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On the third day, Mingmei brought cinnabar and personally taught him how to draw a spirit-gathering talisman.
“If in the future, when you have mastered the inner core, you will be able to draw it out of thin air. Although it will consume more spiritual energy, it will save you from this trouble. However, for now, we still need to take it one step at a time.”
As Mingmei spoke, he brandished his wolf-hair brush, and in one go, he created a spirit-gathering talisman.
Xiao Wenbing watched carefully from the side. Although he was using paper, pen, and cinnabar, he infused his brushstrokes with boundless spiritual energy. This was the biggest difference between a Spirit Gathering Talisman and a regular scribble.
Taking the brush from his third senior brother, Xiao Wenbing drew a picture in a similar style. Since he had cultivated to the Core Formation stage, his intelligence and comprehension were already extraordinary. How could he possibly forget a mere talisman?
However, when he focused intently on writing, he realized that the art of drawing talismans was not so easy.
The pen and paper in his hand seemed like a bottomless black hole, instantly absorbing more than half of the already considerable spiritual power within him.
Xiao Wenbing put down his pen and paper, his face slightly pale. He looked at Mingmei, who seemed completely unaffected, as if he hadn't exerted any effort at all. He immediately realized that the gap between the two was too great, and there was no comparison whatsoever.