Junior sister, I really need to control you

"Then why..." Uncle Jiang was even more confused.

Li Yinsheng pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps... it's her unwavering perseverance and hard work that reminded me of my past self, which is why I empathized with her..."

"Didn't you keep forcing her to cultivate?" Uncle Jiang interrupted.

"Uh... but don't you think it's already incredibly valuable that she was able to persevere?"

Li Yinsheng said sincerely, "When I saw her sweating profusely while practicing, I was reminded of my own experience and couldn't help but want to help her."

Uncle-Master Jiang sighed: "Actually, I can understand you. I used to cultivate like that too, tirelessly, without stopping for a moment. But I really don't have any better way."

"I do know quite a few methods to increase cultivation speed, but if we're talking about methods that we can afford right now and that have no side effects, then there's not a single one."

"Then... Uncle-Master, pick the cheapest one?" Li Yinsheng said. "I'll see if I can make an effort."

“Yinsheng,” Uncle Jiang frowned slightly, “I know you pity this girl, but you must not let her delay your own cultivation.”

“Over the years, you have never been willing to abandon me. I am already a burden to you, and I really don’t want you to have another one.”

"Don't worry, Uncle-Master," Li Yinsheng smiled and shook his head, holding Uncle-Master Jiang's hand, "Neither you nor Junior Sister Xiaoyu are a burden to me."

“Yin Sheng…”

Uncle Jiang pursed his lips and said seriously, "If you really want a solution, the cheapest one I can think of is an array."

"A formation?" Li Yinsheng asked, puzzled.

“You should know that the mountain peaks of every Taoist temple contain spiritual veins, and the spiritual energy emanating from these veins is very helpful for cultivators,” said Uncle Jiang.

"In order to make the most of the spiritual energy of the spiritual veins, each Taoist temple will set up an array to harmonize the spiritual energy for the use of the sect."

“I know that,” Li Yinsheng nodded. “The formation of Xuanzhen Temple was destroyed more than 20 years ago.”

"But... the formation is only for sorting, harmonizing and distributing spiritual energy; it does not generate spiritual energy itself. Other Taoist temples need to build formations to regulate spiritual energy because they have too many disciples."

“There are only the three of us in Xuanzhen Temple, and we have more spiritual energy than we can use,” Li Yinsheng said. “Whether there’s an array or not, it doesn’t matter to us, right?”

“No, the array’s effect on harmonizing spiritual energy is not limited to the distribution of spiritual energy,” Uncle Jiang shook his head and said seriously.

"Array formations can also purify and refine spiritual energy, separating out special spiritual energy that is far more effective than ordinary spiritual energy."

"Special spiritual energy?" Li Yinsheng was taken aback.

"These special spiritual essences have subtle differences depending on the formation used to refine them. Some are more suitable for refining weapons and pills, some are more suitable for cultivating qi, and some are more suitable for body tempering..."

"But in any case, the effects of these spiritual energies far surpass those of ordinary spiritual energies."

"For example, certain special spiritual energies used specifically to assist cultivation can be several times more helpful to cultivation than ordinary spiritual energies."

"Of course, special spiritual energy is far rarer than ordinary spiritual energy, and ordinary disciples in Taoist temples cannot enjoy it. Even the deacons can only get a little bit occasionally."

“Uncle-Master, you’ve never told me this before?” Li Yinsheng asked.

“That’s because it’s too expensive,” Uncle Jiang said with a wry smile. “As long as it has the function of ‘spirit refining,’ even the cheapest small formation will cost more than 100,000 talismans.”

Li Yinsheng nodded: "That's not surprising, that's not surprising..."

His savings never exceeded 30,000.

Now there are only a little over ten thousand left.

"So you understand now, right? Although the special spiritual essence refined by the array is a good thing, it's too expensive. With this money, you can spend it on more worthwhile things."

"Uncle-Master," Li Yinsheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do we have to pay the full amount of the talisman fee upfront for hiring someone to build this array?"

“How could that be?” Uncle Jiang shook his head. “Permanent formations are expensive. If payment is required upfront, there will be very few people who can afford to hire a formation master.”

At this point, Uncle Jiang paused for a moment, as if he had suddenly realized something.

Then she stared wide-eyed at Li Yinsheng, pointed at his nose, and made a sharp, explosive sound.

"Yinsheng! What do you want to do!"

Chapter 20 Jade Altar Temple, Direct Succession of the Abbot

Early in the morning, Li Yinsheng walked out of Uncle Jiang's bedroom.

He didn't go straight to Mu Xiaoyu's bedroom as usual to get her out of bed and start cultivating.

Because he was planning to give Mu Xiaoyu a day off.

Firstly, she hadn't had a break for a month straight.

Although with the profound mysteries of the Qingxuan True Scripture, plus the nourishing pills and the Qingxuan Divine Light, her body will not have any problems, but her mind may indeed need to relax a little.

Even for a high school senior in his previous life, it was rare to go a whole month without a break.

Secondly, Li Yinsheng planned to go directly to Baoguang Temple today to find a Taoist temple that was skilled in array formations and set up a small spirit refining array on this Xuanzhen Peak.

Although the production of special spiritual essence is extremely limited, my uncle doesn't need it. He mainly relies on his cave heaven for cultivation and doesn't really require it.

If it's only used to supply my junior sister, a small formation can easily provide it continuously for twelve hours a day.

This treatment is, in some ways, equivalent to that of a Taoist master in another Taoist temple.

However, other Taoist temples use large-scale spirit-refining formations, which cover a very large area and produce more and purer special spiritual essences, which is difficult for small formations to achieve.

However, this treatment is certainly unmatched by disciples from other Taoist temples.

Of course, he didn't tell his Uncle Jiang about this.

After all, he hadn't found an opportunity to reveal his current cultivation level to his martial uncle. If he dared to say that he planned to borrow 100,000 talismans to build a spirit refining array, his martial uncle would really fight to the death to stop him from doing something foolish.

Fortunately, he had been taking care of his uncle for over a decade and was always reliable, never doing anything outrageous.

Therefore, after suspecting that he might want to build the formation on credit, his uncle didn't even need him to deny it; his uncle quickly shook his head and denied the possibility.

After all, in his uncle's memory, he was someone who wouldn't waste a single talisman coin, let alone go on credit for 100,000 talisman coins.

But Li Yinsheng did intend to borrow a set of formations.

With his current cultivation level, even if he used the most basic method—searching for medicinal herbs in the Hundred Thousand Mountains or hunting demonic beasts—earning 100,000 talisman coins would only take a few months.

Although making money first and then paying in full to build the formation can avoid the interest on credit.

However, the Taoist temples that built the formations were not loan sharks; if they only borrowed for a few months, the interest wouldn't be much.

The sooner you use formations, the sooner you'll enjoy them.

There's only a little over a year and a half until the next Shaoyang Dao Examination. He doesn't want to delay for a few months just to save on the interest on some talisman coins; that would be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

With a flick of his wrist, Li Yinsheng soared into the air and flew towards Baoguang Temple.

Previously, when he used the Wind-Soaring Technique to fly, he needed the support of pure spiritual energy to barely manage it.

But now, not only can he easily take off using only his own cultivation, but he can also do so much faster than before.

……

In the morning, at Baoguang Temple.

Li Yinsheng, dressed in a simple black Taoist robe and wearing the same bamboo hat he wore last time, walked on the bluestone path between the shops.

At the roadside stalls, there were many cultivators practicing alchemy, weapon crafting, or talisman drawing, selling their practice works.

Although these skills are all different, they are all quite expensive to learn, so selling one's own works to make money is the choice of most cultivators.

However, the construction of formations is not included.

Permanent formations, not to mention how difficult they are to create, just the material costs alone are beyond the reach of individual formation masters who need to set up stalls.

A formation master who can accumulate such capital must be quite skilled in formations and must be a person of high status in the Taoist temple, either a direct disciple or a steward.

Why would someone like that set up a stall? Wouldn't it be better to just take orders at the shop in their own Taoist temple?

Temporary formations used for fighting enemies are not that expensive, and individual formation masters can barely afford them.

Along the way, Li Yinsheng encountered several stalls selling temporary formations, but unfortunately, most of them were of questionable quality.

“Sigh…” Li Yinsheng shook his head and muttered to himself, “It seems that buying formations still requires going to a Taoist temple; it’s impossible to rely on street vendors.”

He was just talking to himself, but a middle-aged cultivator selling talismans at a stall next to him took the initiative to chat with him in a very familiar way.

“This fellow Daoist is right!” The middle-aged cultivator stroked his beard. “Back then, I didn’t understand this principle and bought an inferior formation by the roadside, almost losing my life to the demons.”

Li Yinsheng looked at the person who spoke, a middle-aged cultivator with a square face, wide mouth, thick eyebrows, and big eyes.

This is considered quite old among the cultivators who set up stalls.

Those who usually set up stalls are young disciples who haven't been practicing for very long and whose skills are not yet proficient.

He looked down at the talismans for sale on the other person's table and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

What kind of rubbish is this?!

Do you hold the pen in your mouth when you draw talismans?

This is not even as good as someone who has "studied talisman drawing for three years".

Your talisman is in such a mess, the base, the opening, and the base are all mixed up, how can it still be used?

And did you write your name in the corner of the talisman? Do you think it's a signature? Can a talisman like that even work?

Adhering to the principle of not wanting to offend anyone unnecessarily, Li Yinsheng only complained in his heart and did not speak out.

However, the middle-aged man seemed to know his own limitations. Seeing Li Yinsheng staring at the table for a long time without saying a word, he understood what Li Yinsheng was thinking.

"Heh..." The middle-aged man chuckled憨厚ly, "Fellow Daoist, laugh if you want to, no need to hold it in."

"I was never a talisman master. My job in the temple was to protect the people and subdue demons. Drawing talismans was just a hobby, something I did for fun."

Li Yinsheng did not laugh.

Sometimes, when faced with something that's too abstract, it's hard for people to laugh immediately.

Seeing that no laughter came from under Li Yinsheng's straw hat, the middle-aged man's goodwill towards him increased greatly, and he couldn't help but nod and say:

"Fellow Daoist is the only one who didn't laugh at me today. It seems you are an honest and kind person."

Li Yinsheng thought to himself that it seemed the people who passed by today all had good taste.

"Since you are so kind, fellow Daoist, I will return the favor and tell you some useful information." The middle-aged Daoist lowered his voice, "Are you looking for a suitable array master?"

Li Yinsheng suspected that the other party was either a shady intermediary or a shill for some kind of magic formation stall.

But the other person's next words dispelled his idea.