This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 8 Qi Refining Level 1: Beginner's Guide to Talisman Making

The next day dawned.

Zhong Bai slowly opened his eyes in his sleep. Just as he was about to get up, a wave of soreness swept over him from head to toe.

As his memories returned, Zhong Bai couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Drawing lightning into my body almost cost me my life. Indeed, lightning has never been something that can be easily controlled throughout history..."

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Bai stopped worrying and lay there for a full hour before he felt some relief from the soreness in his body.

Sitting cross-legged, Zhong Bai narrowed his eyes and instantly sensed the changes within his body.

After the purple lightning passed through, the meridians widened considerably, and impurities in the body were further expelled.

Most importantly, within his dantian, the original thundercloud had transformed into a faintly visible thunder seal, which was the seed of his thunder magic.

In the future, with continuous cultivation and improvement, once the Thunder Seal has completely materialized, it will be able to draw upon heavenly lightning for its own use at any time.

"Now that the Thunder Seal is complete, the next important thing is to improve my cultivation."

Let's set a small goal: achieve the first level of Qi Refining within three months!

Thinking of this, a bright smile finally appeared on Zhong Bai's lips.

With the Thunder Seal now in his dantian, he can be considered to have reached the first level of Qi Refining.

However, the power of thunder within the Thunder Seal cannot be used infinitely by Zhong Bai.

Therefore, he needs to use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to create a spiritual cloud next to the Thunder Seal in his dantian, so that the spiritual energy can supply the Thunder Seal endlessly. As his cultivation level increases, the Thunder Seal will continue to be nurtured, and it will have infinite possibilities in the future.

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The stars twinkled; this was the second month after Zhong Bai attracted lightning into his body.

For a whole month, Zhong Bai repeated the same actions every day, absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and refining it into his dantian.

At this moment, Zhong Bai was overjoyed. In his dantian, a cloud of spiritual energy was constantly churning, echoing the thunder seal, as the spiritual cloud finally took shape.

With a snap, Zhong Bai's meridians were instantly swept away as if by a river, and he entered the first level of Qi Refining!
With his eyes slightly narrowed, Zhong Bai was very excited. He had spent a whole month crossing the threshold into the world of cultivation.

In the words of his master, Master Qian Yuan, only those who have entered the first level of Qi Refining can study in the various halls of Maoshan.

Even the method that Zhong Bai would need to cultivate after breaking through to the first level of Qi Refining has been decided: the talisman technique in the Talisman Hall!

As one of the three major schools of talismanic arts, Maoshan has been at the forefront of Taoism in terms of the mastery of talismanic supernatural powers since ancient times. To say that it is number one might be a bit arrogant.

Secondly, absolutely no one in Maoshan would disagree with his opinion.

"When mist gathers into clouds, it becomes a Qi cultivation master."

Clouds gather to form rain; this is the foundation of a true cultivator.

Rain condenses into elixir, thus becoming the Golden Elixir True Lord.

The elixir contains the soul, thus becoming a Nascent Soul Dao Lord.

The soul nourishes the spirit, thus becoming the ancestor of the spirit.

When the spirit merges into the body, it is called the combined power.

The body has survived the thunder tribulation, the immortal bones are born, and the immortal is respected!

Alas, the road ahead is long and arduous, and I will search high and low for the truth. Fortunately, all I seek in this life is the foundation building stage; as for immortality, I can only regard it as a mirage.

Having broken through to the first level of Qi Refining, Zhong Bai felt joy and also truly understood why the saying "If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die content in the evening" is such a truth.

He only spent a month, while those True Lords and Dao Lords who would often go into seclusion for decades, Zhong Bai could hardly imagine how they would spend such a long time.

Inside the Hall of Law Enforcement.

Qian Yuan Zhenren's eyes, which had been slightly narrowed, gradually opened. He casually glanced in Zhong Bai's direction, and his divine sense, as a peak Foundation Establishment expert, easily discerned everything.

"Senior Brother Qian Yuan, aren't you going to go and take a look?"

Liu Gang, the Second Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, who had been silent, slowly spoke up.

Liu Gang was not optimistic about the disciple his senior brother had taken in at first, since it seemed too difficult for him to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in just twenty years.

However, Liu Gang did not expect that both his senior brother, who was his master, and Zhong Bai, who was his disciple, would be willing to bet on the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique without hesitation.

This courage moved Liu Gang. With his late-stage Foundation Establishment level insight, Zhong Bai might have some flaws in talent, but his heart and mind were exceptionally firm in his pursuit of the Dao.

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Gang finally began to take Zhong Bai seriously and even started to pay attention to him.

The Third Elder, Cui Chengjiu, showed little interest in the conversation between his two senior brothers.

Well, it's easy to talk when you're not in the situation. Cui Cheng himself has only average talent, and he barely managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage back then, just in time for the leadership transition.

No matter how hard I've tried over the years, I still haven't been able to break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment; I can only keep accumulating and trying in the early stages.

Simply put, he was too busy with his own affairs to care about Zhong Bai...

Master Qian Yuan shook his head.

"Second Junior Brother, I don't want to help Zhong Bai with everything. We chose the Lightning Thunder Fist back then, and even now that we've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, who really knows the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique?"

Let him explore on his own.

The subtext is simple: whether they praise Zhong Bai or not, they no longer have the right to criticize him.

The saying goes, "To know is to know." Rather than forcibly explaining and pointing out, it's better to remain silent and quietly protect the path.

"That's true. Senior Brother is very thoughtful. Speaking of which, Zhong Bai has now stepped into the threshold of the first level of Qi Refining. The next step should be to go to the Talisman Hall to learn the art of drawing talismans, right?"

Last month, Lin Fengjiao, the personal disciple of the chief disciple of the Talisman Hall, seemed to have advanced to a higher level. Zhong Bai cultivated a good relationship with Lin Fengjiao, hoping for a better future...

Before Liu Gang could continue, Master Qian Yuan's gaze turned solemn.

"Junior brother, be careful with your words!"

Uh… Liu Gang was taken aback, then realized what he was about to say and nodded awkwardly. Yes, he almost blurted out what he was thinking.

Although there's nothing wrong with saying it out loud, Maoshan Ghosts don't know how many old guys are hiding there. If the old guys hiding in other halls hear this, it will inevitably be suspected of sowing discord among the various halls.

Therefore, even knowing the outcome, one can only be cautious in words and deeds.

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The Hall of Talismans and Incantations.

Lin Junmen, the chief elder of the Talisman Hall, was smiling as he looked at the young man sitting cross-legged to the side.

“Feng Jiao, there’s no need to be so reserved. As your master has said, our Talisman Hall doesn’t have many rules. You really need to change your rigid ways.”

"Uncle, Fengjiao understands!"

Lin Junmen, who had initially looked delighted, suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed. "Feng Jiao, in the main hall you should address me as Master, but in the courtyard I should address you as Uncle."

"Yes, Master!"

Indeed, Lin Fengjiao and Lin Junmen, the chief elder of the Talisman Hall, have a close relationship.

Lin Fengjiao's grandfather was Lin Junmen's elder brother. Over the years, Lin Fengjiao is now the only remaining member of the Lin family.

It's not that Lin Junmen cheated or favored Lin Fengjiao. When Lin Fengjiao became a disciple of Maoshan, she was exceptionally talented, and other elders in the hall also wanted to take her in.

However, the matter was ultimately dropped because of the relationship between Lin Junmen and Lin Fengjiao.

He spent five years in Maoshan.

Lin Fengjiao has also transformed from that sixteen-year-old boy into the upright young man standing before me.

"Alright, let's not dwell on this issue anymore. In a few days, Zhong Bai, the personal disciple of Qian Yuan Zhenren, the chief elder of the Enforcement Hall, will enter the Talisman Hall to learn the art of drawing talismans."

You'll all be together then.

My only requirement for you is that you get along well with Zhong Bai...

As for the reason, don't ask any further!

"Disciple, please obey your master's orders!"

Lin Fengjiao kowtowed and accepted the order. As clever as he was, he already knew the reason.

However, just like what happened in the Hall of Enforcement, everyone kept it to themselves...

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(End of this chapter)