Starting as a Talisman Master

Lu Chi remained calm, cupped his hands, and answered truthfully, "Reporting to Senior Uncle Qi, I am a low-grade spiritual root. Among the five elements, only the water element is somewhat outstanding, so the cultivation method I usually practice is one that leans towards the water element."

Uncle Qi paused almost imperceptibly in the hand holding the teacup.

Low-grade spiritual root?

Is Old Man Gu senile? With such inferior and unworthy talent, what makes him worth using his personal orders and losing face to ask for favors to cultivate?

Could it be that this kid has some amazing skill in tending to spirit fields?

Or perhaps... a rather absurd thought suddenly flashed through Uncle Qi's mind: could this kid be an illegitimate descendant of Old Ghost Gu from his early years of philandering in the mortal world?

For a moment, his mind was racing with thoughts, and even the way he looked at Lu Chi became subtly strange.

After Lu Chi realized this, he remained calm.

This vast world of cultivation is a ruthless arena of fame and fortune that values ​​talent and background above all else.

It's only natural for the other party to look down on him and make assumptions based on his perceived inferiority; it's perfectly normal. Since he's come seeking the Dharma, he naturally won't take such petty glances to heart.

Uncle Qi frowned slightly, as if he had thought of something, and asked another question: "Your water-attribute magic power seems quite enduring. Have you ever switched to another cultivation method before?"

"Replying to my senior uncle, I did indeed have a special encounter in my early years, and I once switched to cultivating the water-based magic." Lu Chi replied frankly.

Upon hearing this, Master Qi's strange thoughts were almost overflowing.

One of the greatest taboos in the cultivation world is frequently changing sects. Each time you switch cultivation methods, your meridians and dantian must be re-established and adapted, and the old magical power must be forcibly washed away, inevitably causing some damage to your foundation.

This kid was originally a low-grade spiritual root with the worst aptitude, yet he dared to switch cultivation midway. The probability of him breaking through the Foundation Establishment barrier in this lifetime is probably already extremely slim.

Uncle Qi originally thought that since it was someone specially sent by Old Ghost Gu, if he was practicing a mundane and broken cultivation method, he could simply choose one or two profound methods from the Taiqing Palace to help him start over.

After all, how can the unorthodox methods of independent cultivators compare to the profound foundation of a Nascent Soul sect that directly points to the Great Dao?

However, it seems that if this kid were to switch to cultivation a second time, his already fragile meridians would likely be severely damaged.

Uncle Qi shook his head inwardly, completely abandoning any thought of recommending a major cultivation technique to him. This kind of hopeless good-for-nothing would be lucky enough to spend his entire life farming on Hundred Herbs Peak and die peacefully of old age.

"That's enough."

Uncle Qi concealed the regret and disdain in his eyes, tapped the jade table lightly with his knuckles, and his tone returned to its usual cold and calm:

"Since you have already switched cultivation methods once and have now reached the late stage of Qi Refining, you should not try to change your main cultivation method again, otherwise your foundation will be destroyed and even a god could not save you."

"Since you lack protective techniques and primarily cultivate water-based magic, go to the second-to-left bookshelf, to the bottom corner, and look for a jade slip called 'Ren Shui Xuan Shu Chao'."

"This is a collection of water-attribute spells specifically designed for those in the Qi Refining stage. It contains quite a few intricacies, including the 'Water Binding Lightning,' 'Ice Condensation Spike,' and the 'Azure Wave Escape,' all of which are quite good."

"If you can calm down and master these techniques, you will be able to handle both offense and defense, as well as escape, which will greatly enhance your ability to protect yourself in this outer sect."

Lu Chi silently memorized Qi Shibo's advice, but did not immediately take his leave. Instead, after a moment's thought, he cupped his hands again and asked:

"May I ask, Senior Uncle, do you have any classic texts on the various arts of cultivation? In my younger years, I wandered around and dabbled in talisman drawing and alchemy to make a living. Now that I have settled down on Hundred Herbs Peak, I would like to seek out some sect traditions to verify my knowledge and see if I can improve my skills a bit."

Master Qi lifted his eyelids slightly and simply pointed to the depths of the other side of the main hall:

"Those bookshelves at the far right are filled with miscellaneous records of various arts and crafts. Those who practice alchemy should look for 'An Introduction to the Records of Herbal Elixir,' and as for talismanic arts... go and flip through that volume of 'Essentials of Spiritual Patterns,' which contains some insights on talisman-making and methods for guiding qi left by our sect's predecessors. Go ahead."

He didn't ask Lu Chi any more questions about his skills in drawing talismans and refining elixirs.

It's tough for independent cultivators to survive out there. In order to have more options for survival or to earn some scattered spirit stones, they often try to explore and get involved in all sorts of unorthodox methods.

However, due to limited knowledge and scarce resources, they often know a little about everything, but are mediocre at everything and are simply not good enough for serious occasions.

However, Master Qi thought again that this kid's spiritual root was inferior and he had switched cultivation methods, so reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was already a pipe dream.

Instead of focusing on cultivation, it would be better to concentrate on the various arts of immortal cultivation.

If one could truly learn a skill, selling talismans and pills outside the Taiqing Palace to earn spirit stones, or using them to aid in combat, would be a reliable way to make a living.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Uncle."

Lu Chi bowed in thanks, then turned and stepped into the rows of towering bookshelves.

Following the directions, he first went to the corner at the bottom of the second row on the left and successfully found the jade slip of "Ren Shui Xuan Shu Chao" that was glowing with a light blue halo.

Through the array's restrictions, Lu Chi extended a wisp of divine sense to roughly scan the opening outline, and a glint of light appeared in his eyes.

This is indeed an extremely exquisite collection of water-based spells that perfectly suits his current level of cultivation.

Looking back on what I had learned before, such as "Minor Spirit Rain Technique", "Golden Needle Technique", "Entangling Technique", etc., most of them originated from the book "Small Techniques in the Fields" that Zhou Jinyan gave me in my early years.

Although the spells recorded in the book contained all five elements, they were all rudimentary methods used by early and mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators for weeding, catching insects, self-defense, and fighting off enemies. Their advantage was that they were very easy to learn and extremely practical, but their upper limit of power was pitifully low.

However, the "Ren Shui Xuan Shu Chao" in my hand is completely different. It abandons the chaotic five elements and focuses on the water system.

From how to compress water-based magic to its limits, to how to condense water into ice and escape using water, there are systematic and detailed explanations.

Whether it's the "Water Binding Thunder" and "Ice Condensation Thorn" mentioned by Uncle Qi, or the "Azure Wave Escape" used for self-preservation, their power and mystery are far beyond those common items in "Small Techniques in the Fields".

Lu Chi held the jade slip that shimmered with a pale blue halo, and his nascent divine sense quietly probed into it.

Ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivators are limited by the strength of their souls. When faced with such complex and obscure spell jade slips, they can only try to understand them word by word, memorizing the cultivation routes and spell hand seals. If they are even slightly distracted, they will make mistakes and omissions.

However, Lu Chi's divine sense, which far surpassed that of his peers, swept across the jade slip with a mere ripple, and the hundreds and thousands of words of incantations and several diagrams of spiritual energy circulation within it were clearly imprinted into his mind, word for word.

However, in order to avoid attracting attention, Lu Chi did not immediately put down the jade slip.

He closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and muttered to himself, deliberately pretending to be gritting his teeth and memorizing something, struggling to understand it.

He lingered in place for almost half an hour before finally letting out a long breath, rubbing his temples, and seemingly reluctantly placing the jade slip back into the array's halo.

After completing this whole performance, Lu Chi turned around, intending to head straight to the right side of the main hall to find the Miscellaneous Records of a Hundred Arts that his senior uncle had instructed him to keep.

However, as he walked among the bookshelves, his gaze was inadvertently drawn to a row of independent bookshelves engraved with water ripple and cloud patterns.

The words "Shuiyun Peak" were clearly marked on the purple wooden plaque on the side of the bookshelf.

"Shuiyun Peak..."

Lu Chi's heart stirred slightly.

Judging from the name of this peak and Fairy Yunzhi's methods, the cultivators on this peak must mainly cultivate water-based techniques.

As they were both from the same water system, he couldn't help but feel a bit curious and wanted to investigate the methods practiced by the inner sect of Taiqing Palace, and compare them with the ancient inheritance "Taiyuan Xuanshui Jing" that he had accidentally obtained, to see which was superior.

He stopped and casually took a standard jade slip containing cultivation techniques from Shuiyun Peak from the bookshelf, then quietly probed it with his divine sense.

At the very beginning, the general outline is prominently displayed with five large ancient seal characters: "Azure Water Flowing Clouds Secret".

Due to the rules of the first floor of the Myriad Laws Pavilion, this jade slip only contains a complete copy of the Qi Refining chapter. As for the subsequent mysteries of Foundation Building, they are only briefly explained in a few words at the end of the scroll, outlining the methods and general principles of Foundation Building.

Lu Chi quickly read through the entire Qi Refining Chapter at a glance, silently deducing it in his mind, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

As expected of one of the three major immortal cultivation sects in Jingzhao Kingdom, the "Azure Water Flowing Clouds Technique" truly has its unique and ingenious aspects in terms of the long-lasting and inexhaustible circulation of magical power.

However, if we compare it with the "Taiyuan Xuanshui Jing" and analyze it carefully, the difference in quality becomes immediately apparent.

Both being Qi cultivation techniques, the Taiqing Palace technique is noticeably weaker than the Taiyuan Xuanshui Scripture in terms of the purity of water-attribute magical power and the thickness of the dantian.

What Lu Chi cared about most was the Foundation Establishment method recorded at the end of the jade slip.

According to the "Azure Water Flowing Clouds Technique", after reaching the peak of Qi Refining, cultivators need to find a specific high-level water-based spiritual object called "Mysterious Dark Cloud Water Essence" or "Thousand-Year Cold Crystal Liquid" in the world, and incorporate it into their dantian, using this essence as the foundation to refine their own body.

As long as you follow the steps without making any mistakes, the resulting [Superior Dao Foundation] will be quite stable.

Only those exceptionally talented geniuses with superior spiritual roots have a slight chance of achieving ultimate sublimation based on the essence of heaven and earth, condensing the legendary flawless [Flawless Dao Foundation].

Lu Chi calmly placed the jade slip back into the array's halo, feeling completely at ease.

After comparing them, he was shocked to realize that the "Taiyuan Xuanshui Scripture" he was cultivating was so profound and unfathomable, and its potential was even greater than the direct lineage of the Nascent Soul sects.

Thinking of this, the slight anxiety that had arisen from Uncle Qi's assertion vanished instantly.

He shook his head inwardly, realizing how naive his previous wavering had been. In the struggle for the Great Dao, once a move is made, there is no going back. Since he had already decided to switch cultivation methods, why should he have any unnecessary regrets or distracting thoughts now?

To be fair, the only advantage of the "Azure Water Flowing Clouds Technique" compared to the "Taiyuan Profound Water Scripture" at present is probably that it is backed by a behemoth like the Taiqing Palace, and has a complete and flawless path that leads directly to the Nascent Soul stage.

But in this world, there is no such thing as having it all.

If I had hesitated and been unwilling to give up that meager foundation, and had stubbornly clung to that nameless cultivation technique that I had accidentally obtained from the mortal world, with such a snail's pace of cultivation, I would probably still be struggling in the marketplace right now.