Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 100: Chapter 98: Dao Seed – Yi Wood Rejuvenation

“As your master, I have some strength left, and I happen to be able to give you a hand, so of course, I still have to help. But the path ultimately depends on you to walk it yourself.”

“Li Lingyu, you have a cautious personality. As long as you move forward bravely, Foundation Establishment will be like child’s play. Show the courage you displayed a year ago when battling Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivators.”

Ge Ying could see that this disciple was somewhat lacking in confidence and needed encouragement.

“Thank you, Master, for your teachings,” Li Lingyu replied, with a more spirited look in her eyes after receiving affirmation.

“I only have a few decades of lifespan left; I just hope to see you all grow faster. After the demon calamity breaks out, you must help each other among your fellow disciples.”

“We will do that even without Master instructing us.”

Ge Ying nodded with a smile:

“Ge Luoying from the Yingyue Peak line is my descendant. She has been hunting demons outside and honing her skills through magical combat for years. You disciples who have joined my sect for a short while have not seen her.

In the future, you’ll have the chance to meet and get closer.”

Her partner and child encountered misfortune during an expedition, and Ge Luoying is her grand-niece, very much like herself in those days, highly beloved by her.

This grand-niece has no interest in alchemy or planting, only loves the unfettered lifestyle of sword cultivation, and has quite a talent for magical combat. So she entrusted her to Lin Qiubai, a Junior Martial Uncle at Yingyue Peak.

Lin Qiubai is a Chao Origin Stage Sword Cultivator, renowned throughout the Western Continent.

Li Lingyu was slightly surprised; Yingyue Peak is the sword cultivation line of the sect, few in numbers but the main combat force of the sect.

She smiled wryly, “We are naturally willing to get closer, just afraid that Senior Sister Ge might not be easy to deal with.”

The temperament of most sword cultivators is aloof and arrogant, unlikely to look up to ordinary disciples like them.

She understood the master’s intention, hoping to leave Ge Luoying with more connections.

Refining the flying sword requires the consumption of many spiritual objects, yet sword cultivators demand sincerity to heart and sword, never cultivating the Hundred Skills of Cultivation. Everything they need, they have to fight for themselves.

If the cultivator has a wide network, gathering external resources is much easier, but sword cultivators often carry an arrogance that makes them difficult to deal with and generally not good at maintaining relationships.

After all, no one wants to befriend someone who looks down on them, unless they have ulterior motives.

Ge Ying naturally understood the unseemly attitudes of most sword cultivators, she simply smiled faintly:

“Get acquainted with each other, so when I pass away, if Luo Ying needs help, I hope you will lend a hand for my sake.”

“If Senior Sister Ge can make use of us, we certainly will not decline.”

Li Lingyu pursed her lips and spoke again:

“Who knows what the future holds; perhaps Master’s merit will greatly advance, breaking through to the Chao Origin Stage.”

“Haha, child, you don’t even believe what you’re saying, do you?”

Ge Ying shook her head slightly, a glint of comforting appreciation flashing in her eyes as her gaze calmly and distantly looked towards the void ahead, and after a long silence, she sighed deeply.

After years of cultivation, she felt she was slowly comprehending the true intent of the cultivation technique; if she had had this insight decades earlier, she might have had the chance to break through to Chao Origin.

Now, she was only at the Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment, yet her vitality had begun to decline, and she could only, at most, further break through to the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment.

Unless an extraordinary opportunity arises, gaining a Tier Three Lifespan Extension Pill or other life-extending spiritual objects to compensate for her lifespan, she would absolutely not have the possibility to break through to Chao Origin Stage.

Tier Three Lifespan Extension Pills are competed for even by Chao Origin Stage Cultivators, and though she considers herself well-off, she cannot compete with the wealthy background of Chao Origin Stage Cultivators.

…

The evening glow scattered across the sky like a blazing furnace, passionately spilling its warmth; the mountains seemed tipsy with decades-old vintage, stained with a touch of blush red.

Embracing the sun’s last rays, Ji An descended at the foot of Ningcui Cliff.

He gazed skyward, watching the ink-colored flying ship dive down from high altitude, thinking to himself that with faster vehicles, the Talisman Bird was indeed becoming obsolete.

Landing on the clearing before the bamboo loft, Li Lingyu jumped from the flying ship, summoned a spell to shrink it to an inch long, and placed it in her palm.

“Senior Sister hides a smile at her lips and has spirit light in her eyes, what joyous event did you encounter, share it with me?”

Li Lingyu brushed her forelock behind her ear, revealing a mysterious smile:

“It’s a secret for now; you’ll know tomorrow. I’m off to prepare dinner, talk later.”

Ji An scratched his head, judging by the flight trajectory, she probably returned from the master’s grotto mansion, likely having learned some nifty trick.

He wasn’t curious, acknowledging that everyone has their own fate.

Ji An tossed a Spirit Feeding Pill to the sand goose, which swallowed it with joy before sprinting off to the nearby stream to hunt for fish and shrimp.

Ningcui Cliff comprises a Tier Two Spiritual Vein, infused with spiritual qi, resulting in plump and delicious fish and shrimp.

While Senior Sister prepared the meal, Ji An entered the bamboo loft, sat cross-legged, and operated the Meridian Opening Secret Method to nourish the Immortal Vein.

Over the year, he hadn’t lacked pills or spirit stones and practiced within Tier Two Spiritual Veins; despite having the Stone Turtle as a big feeder, his cultivation progressed rapidly.

Each day, he operated the Meridian Opening Secret Method, and now he had completed the opening of three-tenths of the branch veins recorded in the secret method.

In the future, as his magical power reached the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Perfection, the speed of opening these branch veins could be further increased slightly.

By then, as long as he obtains the Foundation Establishment Pill, he could confidently establish his foundation in one fell swoop.

…

Ji An, who was cultivating, halted his practice suddenly, opening his eyes at the unusual fluctuations in nature’s spiritual energy outside.

He unlocked the Dharma Prohibition and strolled out of the bamboo loft, moonlight casting a clear brilliance, turning the clearing silver-white like a serene water surface.

Nearby, the bamboo forest whispered softly.

“I wondered why you were so happy, turns out you’re all set for Foundation Establishment!”

Ji An thought to himself. He no longer kept cultivating, instead reclining in a chair, feeling the changes of nature’s spiritual energy.

Foundation Establishment requires the continuous compression of magical power. Through changes in spiritual qi, one can deduce the rhythm during someone else’s Foundation Establishment, which can serve as a reference.

Speaking of which, he has already witnessed Foundation Establishment three times.

The night passed without any words.

On the morning of the second day, a spiritual pressure broke through the Dharma Prohibition and spread outward. Ji An shouted:

“Congratulations, Senior Sister, on fulfilling your wish. For keeping watch for you through the night, remember to help your junior brother out in the future.”

“You flatterer!”

A playful rebuke was heard, but it was clear there was joy and excitement in the voice.

…

A few days later, Li Lingyu selected a Grotto Mansion and moved away from Ningcui Cliff. Half a month later, she came with a disciple who purchased a flying ship to complete the transaction, and Ji An’s storage bag gained 220 spirit stones.

The foot of the mountain became Ji An’s territory alone. He advanced his cultivation, nourished his immortal veins, practiced magic techniques, managed the medicinal garden, and cultivated the spirit field, polishing himself at a steady pace.

A year passed, and he felt his cultivation reach a bottleneck, so he stopped taking pills.

Every day, he completely depleted his magical power and relied solely on meditation to recover it, refining and purifying his power.

Another two years passed, and he opened all the subsidiary veins he could. His immortal veins formed an intricate “network” throughout his body, present in every part, from his head to the tips of his fingers and toes.

With this, he completed all the preparations he could do, needing only a Foundation Establishment Pill.

At 7:05 AM, outside the medicinal garden.

Ji An stood among the Purple Sun Wood forest, his mind immersed in the Stone Turtle, his gaze distant.

[Master: Ji An]

[Dao Rhyme: 0]

[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 1649.6, Gen Spirit 504.8, Zhen Spirit 16.4, Xun Spirit 1437.9, Kun Spirit 1421.3, Qian Spirit 1.5]

[Magic Technique: Life and Death Technique (Perfection 61%) …]

After years of accumulation, he finally amassed enough spiritual mechanism to initiate the Wood Element Dao Seed.

“Refine the Spiritual Mechanism, practice the Life and Death Technique.”

Ji An’s Divine Sense entered the space of the Stone Turtle, stepping onto the Xun Position.

As he practiced the magic technique repeatedly, green grass gradually grew at his feet, reaching upward, then withering into a patch of withered yellow, forming a cycle of birth and death, endless and ever-regenerating.

An ink-green Dao Seed appeared from nothing and fell into an acupoint.

[Dao Seed – Yi Wood Rejuvenation (Unranked), hidden in the Jade Spring Acupoint, comprehending the true intent of the Dao of Yi Wood magic technique ’Life and Death, Withering and Flourishing,’ slightly enhancing comprehension of Yi Wood Dao magic techniques.]

[Spiritual Mechanism: Xun Spirit 1437.9→69.5]

In the outside world, only a moment passed, and Ji An’s eyes cleared again.

At this moment, he sensed a slight difference in the trees through his Spiritual Sense, as if he could perceive their internal meridians, feeling the rotation of the spiritual mechanism as Wood Element Essence Qi flowed through these paths.

He moved by instinct, invoking the Life and Death Technique, his fingers dancing with shadowy traces as he reached forward.

A large number of glittering green light points flew out from the forest before him, gathering in his palm, forming almost instantly into a pigeon-egg-sized dark green bead.

Time seemed to experience the alternation of heat and cold in a flash, as the ankle-deep grass in the woods withered and decayed, evoking a sense of withered death and silence.

’Can the Life and Death Technique be this potent?’ he thought.

Ji An was shocked. Previously, casting the Withered Wood Technique was a slow process where green light points gathered more and more in his palm, and later, the gaseous Wood Element Essence Qi began to condense into Spiritual Liquid and eventually solidified.

Previously, when extracting life force from spirit woods, he needed to be close or preferably in contact, otherwise, the efficiency of drawing Wood Element Essence Qi was very slow.

Now, with just a light grasp of the spell, the Wood Element Essence Qi circulating within plants was forcefully taken, giving a sense of life and death at his command.

The Wood Element symbolizes growth and upward vitality, but all things in the world have Yin and Yang. Jia and Yi woods represent the Yin and Yang aspects of the Wood Element.

Although the different branches of magic techniques share common Wood Element traits, they also differ: Yi wood belongs to Yin, able to seize the life force of flora.

Ji An’s eyes sparked with thought, wondering whether, among demon beasts, there are Wood Element demon beasts, and if the Life and Death Technique could be used as an offensive technique.

Additionally, the human body contains the Five Elements; could the Life and Death Technique also be effective in this regard?

His thoughts sprawled outward, feeling as if he were about to push open a door, yet remained unable to enter.

When he returned to his senses, it was near noon.

“It’s just not the right time yet.”

Ji An smiled slightly, stopping his thoughts, using the time to practice the Life and Death Technique and conjure multiple beads.

He closed his right eye, holding a Wood Element Bead between two fingers toward the sun, seeing something faintly flow within.

In truth, it was an illusion; beads formed by the Life and Death Technique at the Great Perfection level were different, with more lively Wood Element Essence Qi inside.

’It’s best not to sell these Wood Element Beads externally in the future.’

Muttering inwardly, Ji An secreted sealed the Dharma Prohibition and entered the medicinal garden.

He walked to Xiang Yong’s side and said warmly:

“Old Xiang, leave the task of gathering Wood Element Beads to you, and I’ll handle the task of casting Flame Fire Spells on the fire-attribute spirit plants in the garden.”

He already obtained three Dao Seeds; next, he needed to focus his energy on the Sharp Gold Technique and Flame Fire Spell.

“Alright.”

Xiang Yong nodded in agreement. Activating the Life and Death Technique was too time-consuming; he figured the other had lost the novelty and patience.