"To achieve this on your first attempt is already quite remarkable," Mingmei praised, picked up the spirit-gathering talisman on the table, and affixed it to Xiao Wenbing's dantian, saying, "Take it."
"Yes." Xiao Wenbing responded, and following the method he was taught, he circulated his spiritual energy. The spirit-gathering talisman immediately ignited without fire, turning into a ball of energy that entered his dantian.
"Our Secret Talisman Sect is able to maintain a high reputation among all the major sects, and it has its own unique advantages. The greatest advantage lies in the fact that we possess a natal golden talisman."
Mingmei's face was solemn as he slowly spoke: "The first Spirit Gathering Talisman drawn by each disciple who reaches the Core Formation stage can be stored in the dantian using a secret method. In the future, each Spirit Gathering Talisman drawn will be transformed into spiritual power and stored in the dantian. With each additional unit of spiritual power, the power of the Spirit Gathering Talisman will increase by 10%, and the spiritual power in the body will become more solid. There are countless wonderful uses within it, but you don't need to know them now, lest you indulge in wishful thinking and thus hinder your cultivation."
"Yes, I understand. Thank you, senior brother."
"Yes. Remember, diligent practice requires perseverance, not instant success. If you are too hasty, you will regress instead of progress."
At this moment, Mingmei truly possessed some of the authority of a senior brother. After hesitating for a long time, he finally took out a jade bottle from his robes and placed it in Xiao Wenbing's hand, saying, "Here are three Lesser Rejuvenation Pills, the best elixir for replenishing and restoring spiritual power. Keep them safe. If you are careless and your spiritual power is depleted, you can take one to relieve the immediate crisis. However, although this item is good, it is extremely precious, so use it with caution."
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"The Lesser Rejuvenation Pill?"
Looking at the crystal-clear pill in his hand, which resembled a glass bead, Xiao Wenbing's expression was not pleasant. Why did these immortals have such strange tastes when it came to refining pills?
The idea that the Foundation Establishment Pill is made from chocolate beans is somewhat plausible. Perhaps the person who invented the Foundation Establishment Pill was a deity who particularly loved chocolate. Of course, this assumes that chocolate beans already existed in the world before that deity concocted the pill.
As for the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, you wouldn't believe it until you see it—it's turned into glass beads! Did the immortal who invented the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill have a taste for glass or beads?
If he hadn't already known the underlying reasons, Xiao Wenbing would never have taken it.
Shaking his head, putting those feelings behind him, Xiao Wenbing used his special ability to scan the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill.
Having just drawn a spirit-gathering talisman, which had consumed most of his spiritual energy, Xiao Wenbing casually tossed a Small Rejuvenation Pill into his mouth. He chewed it a few times, like eating a popsicle, making a crunching sound. "Hmm...sweet and sour, this tastes really good," was Xiao Wenbing's only comment on the Small Rejuvenation Pill.
He now deeply admired the master who created this pill. Considering both its efficacy and taste, it truly was the work of a master, worthy of utmost respect…
If Mingmei were there, seeing him waste the Lesser Rejuvenating Pill that he had worked so hard to obtain, he would be furious.
The Lesser Rejuvenation Pill seemed to have no effect. Xiao Wenbing was puzzled; could something have gone wrong this time?
Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly felt a warmth in his lower abdomen. He was very familiar with this feeling, as it was the same after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The heat flowed continuously and endlessly. It entered the dantian through the meridians, transforming into streams of cool spiritual energy.
Xiao Wenbing then realized that the effect of the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill was not to replenish the lost spiritual power all at once, but to let the medicinal power evaporate continuously, so that the lost spiritual power could be replenished slowly.
After a short while, Xiao Wenbing had fully replenished the spiritual energy he had lost. However, the effects of the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill had clearly not expired yet, and his dantian was still warm and cozy.
However, unlike the Foundation Establishment Pill, these heat currents did not transform into spiritual power; they merely flowed within the meridians and gradually seemed to dissipate into thin air.
No, this can't be wasted. Xiao Wenbing flipped his wrist, and a glass bead quickly appeared in his hand, from nothing to something in just a few breaths.
As his superpowers increased, he was able to create things at an increasingly faster speed.
"Huh?" Xiao Wenbing exclaimed in surprise. The Minor Rejuvenation Pill consumed less energy than the Foundation Establishment Pill, and by a significant amount.
With Xiao Wenbing's current abilities, he could create two Foundation Establishment Pills at the same time, but he used them to create more than four Lesser Rejuvenation Pills.
When the supernatural power is exhausted, the body's spiritual power takes over, and the increasingly thin heat flow in the meridians begins to transform into spiritual power until it is completely exhausted.
Looking at the six newly made Lesser Rejuvenation Pills in his hand, Xiao Wenbing seemed to have an epiphany. Yes, Lesser Rejuvenation Pills are precious, but Foundation Establishment Pills are even more precious—this was the conclusion Xiao Wenbing had come to.
The Minor Rejuvenation Pill is used to replenish spiritual energy. Once the spiritual energy is replenished, the remaining medicinal effects will have no effect.
Unlike Foundation Establishment Pills, no matter how many pills are taken, although the amount of spiritual energy converted decreases, there is always a tiny bit left.
Xiao Wenbing's generation all played online games. If the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill is a potion that replenishes MP, then the Foundation Establishment Pill is a super elixir that increases the maximum MP value.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White, Chapter Thirty-Four: An Unexpected Turn of Events
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Of course, the superpower of this elixir is extremely limited, especially as you progress, the amount that can be increased becomes smaller and smaller, and it is even less than the spiritual energy absorbed from the primordial energy of heaven and earth through diligent daily practice.
However, for Xiao Wenbing at this moment, the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill was exactly what he needed most.
In a cheerful mood, Xiao Wenbing picked up the wolf-hair brush and drew another spirit-gathering talisman on a piece of dark yellow talisman paper. He had resigned himself to his fate of drawing such broken talismans here for five years in a row.
Completely focused, he finished in one go. By the time he completed the Spirit Gathering Talisman, most of his spiritual energy had been depleted. But he didn't stop. He popped a Small Rejuvenating Pill into his mouth, continued wielding his wolf-hair brush, applied cinnabar, and continued drawing.
However, to his surprise, when he was halfway through the drawing, his spiritual energy was almost depleted, and the brush in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making it difficult to move.
However, the effects of the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill had not yet taken hold. He sighed inwardly, realizing that he had not yet mastered the best training method, had overestimated his abilities, and that this talisman was about to be abandoned halfway.
Suddenly, the strange energy within his body flowed continuously into his hand, transforming back into spiritual energy, which supported him in successfully completing the spirit-gathering talisman.
Perhaps it was the emptiness of spiritual energy in his body that stimulated the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill; in any case, this time the medicinal power evaporated even more rapidly, and a continuous flow of heat replenished his losses.
Xiao Wenbing's heart stirred, and he continued his efforts, successfully drawing four spirit-gathering talismans.
As for the final fifth line, when he was halfway through drawing it, the heat in his body finally slowed down, leaving him with no energy to continue, so he had to give up.
Looking at the four spirit-gathering talismans laid out in front of him, Xiao Wenbing felt a surge of heroic ambition.
What's this about spending five years drawing talismans? I can do it in a year.
Based on his own spiritual power, he could only draw one talisman at a time. However, he had his special ability to assist him, and the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill to aid him. If he took two pills at once, wouldn't he be able to save more than five times the time?
Hehe... Strengthening the foundation and nourishing the source, and taking Foundation Building Pills every day, although the improvement is almost negligible, is there anything better than Foundation Building Pills for strengthening the foundation and nourishing the source?
Five years? A disdainful smile crept across Xiao Wenbing's lips. Let me show you what I'm made of.
"Forty years to complete the elixir?" The more Xiao Wenbing thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed, and he suddenly burst into laughter: "Haha..."
"Junior brother, what's wrong?" Mingmei's voice came from afar, rapidly approaching.
Xiao Wenbing's expression changed drastically. He moved with lightning speed, grabbing all the small pills on the table in one go. Just as he was about to put them into the jade bottle, he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow out of the corner of his eye.
Xiao Wenbing was shocked, but his reaction was also far faster than that of an ordinary person.
Without hesitation, he made a snap decision, his face resolute, and without looking back, stuffed the five newly made Small Rejuvenating Pills into his mouth.
As soon as Mingmei entered the room, the first thing she saw was Xiao Wenbing puffing out his cheeks and making a constant crunching sound.
"Junior brother, what's wrong?" Mingmei was no less panicked than Xiao Wenbing. This junior brother was a true treasure. If anything happened to him, their master probably wouldn't care about their master-disciple relationship.
"It's nothing." Xiao Wenbing swallowed the crumbs that filled his mouth with difficulty.
His suspicious gaze swept across the table, then suddenly his eyes widened like bronze bells. For he saw, neatly arranged on the table, a jade bottle and four already drawn talismans.
“Junior brother…” Mingmei said with a face full of regret, “The Lesser Rejuvenation Pill is a supreme treasure of the Daoist sect. How could you be so extravagant? Alas… isn’t this a waste of resources?”
Xiao Wenbing lowered his head deeply, looking extremely remorseful.
Mingmei stepped forward, took the jade bottle in his hand, opened it, and breathed a sigh of relief. Of the three Lesser Rejuvenation Pills, only one was missing. It was truly a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.
He rolled up his sleeve and immediately put the jade bottle into his robes, saying, "Junior brother, I'll keep these two for you for now. I'll return them to you when you've successfully formed your elixir. Alas... young people are always so ambitious. You are a cultivator; you must never have such thoughts. Remember, only by being down-to-earth can you succeed..."
The sermon suddenly stopped, because Xiao Wenbing raised his head, his face flushed red, his eyes glistening with tears, looking utterly miserable.
Mingmei was taken aback, not expecting him to be so easily offended. He immediately burst into tears after she had just said a few words to him.
This junior brother is really giving him a headache. If he had acted like that back then, his senior brother would have slapped him long ago, and wouldn't have been so polite. But Xiao Wenbing...
He shook his head sadly, not wanting to embarrass Xiao Wenbing any further. He casually offered a couple of words of comfort, then turned and left, sighing inwardly, "How could the generation gap between us have grown so much in just a few decades?"
Seeing Mingmei's head shake and sighing figure disappear, Xiao Wenbing suddenly pounced on the table. He was panting heavily, and when he opened his mouth slightly, a faint flame came out of his mouth.
Without a word, he immediately picked up a wolf-hair brush and a sheet of talisman paper, and began drawing with fluid, effortless strokes, without the slightest pause. In the blink of an eye, more than ten spirit-gathering talismans appeared before him.
When the last bit of spiritual energy was exhausted, Xiao Wenbing collapsed to the ground, too weak to even move his little finger.
I'm so dizzy... so dizzy...
After a long while, Xiao Wenbing finally caught his breath and fiercely raised his middle finger in the direction Mingmei had left. What business is it of yours whether I take medicine or draw talismans? Isn't it better to practice diligently?
Why did this guy have to come at this exact time? Could it be that he planned this all along?
Also, if anyone ever says that the more tonics you take, the better, he'll slap them across the face immediately.
Just now, he swallowed five Lesser Rejuvenation Pills in one go. However, the end result was that his body was turned upside down by that heat.
He didn't want to appear like that in front of the public, lest he be looked down upon for no reason.
However, he was completely out of control just now; the surge of heat within him felt like ten wild horses galloping uncontrollably. Fortunately, his spiritual power had matured to a point where he could no longer be considered an ordinary person.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White, Chapter Thirty-Five: Qi Cultivation
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If it were before he had mastered spiritual power, he would probably have died immediately. Even if he didn't die, he would have inevitably shed a layer of skin or become a vegetable.
However, after Mingmei left, he finally had a stroke of good luck and drew ten spirit-gathering talismans at an unparalleled speed.
This alone proves that his unwavering will is rare in the world, and he is absolutely worthy of the glorious title of "unparalleled genius" bestowed upon him by the old Taoist priest Xianyun.
With the talisman complete, Xiao Wenbing began practicing the Spirit Absorption Technique, following the second step taught by Mingmei.
Cultivators from other sects, in order to accumulate and expand their spiritual power, must meditate and absorb the pure primordial energy that is omnipresent in the universe. The more they absorb, the more spiritual power they accumulate within their bodies.
Therefore, most cultivators prefer to cultivate in places with abundant spiritual energy. This is because the effects of cultivation there are several times, ten times, or even dozens of times better than in secular places.
The Secret Talisman Sect goes even further, transforming Spirit Gathering Talismans into energy and channeling it into the dantian to refine a Natal Golden Talisman. Having this within the dantian is like having an engine accumulating powerful spiritual energy, providing the user with a continuous flow of spiritual power.
Whether for cultivating inner alchemy or for future battles, it will provide a tremendous advantage.
The Secret Talisman Sect, despite being a small sect with only a handful of members in the Earth's cultivation world, enjoys extremely high prestige, largely thanks to this Spirit Gathering Talisman.
Of course, at this moment, the energy contained in the talisman within Xiao Wenbing's dantian was negligible and offered him no help whatsoever. Only with the accumulation of time would its wondrous effects gradually become apparent.
What Xiao Wenbing needs to do now is to continuously nurture this talisman, allowing it to contain more and more energy.
He picked up a talisman and placed it on his dantian, then cast a spell. The talisman ignited without fire, transforming into a ball of spiritual energy that surged into his dantian. Xiao Wenbing then used his inner vision technique, his consciousness following this spiritual energy into his dantian.