The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

"Nie Ying?" Yang Qingyuan frowned slightly, recalling the woman carefully in his mind. He did have some impression of her.

Nie Ying once helped the Murong brothers, who had the Lei Linggen, to deal with Senior Brother Lu. Later, she successfully formed her core and encountered Han Li, who was in the Nascent Soul stage, together with Lei Wanhe.

Upon realizing this, Yang Qingyuan cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Could it be that Senior Sister Nie has also become a disciple of my master?"

"No, not at all." Nie Ying parted her lips slightly and smiled. "Elder Lei had a past relationship with our Nie family when he was still in the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Later, our Nie family patriarch tragically perished while carrying out a sect mission."

"Master Lei, mindful of our past relationship, has been very supportive of me."

"I see." Yang Qingyuan suddenly realized, and asked, "Is my master in his cave?"

"Yes, I am." Nie Ying stepped aside and said, "Junior brother, come with me."

After saying that, the two entered Lei Wanhe's cave.

As soon as Yang Qingyuan stepped into the cave, he felt a rich spiritual energy rushing towards him.

The spiritual energy inside the cave was only slightly less than that of the Crimson Forbidden Land.

"Junior Brother Yang, there's no need to be surprised," Nie Ying explained. "There are eight spiritual eye items inside this Thunder Sound Cave, all of which were painstakingly collected by True Master Lei."

"Therefore, the concentration of spiritual energy in Leiyin Cave is among the highest in Huangfeng Valley."

"It's a pity that all the spiritual treasures in the Taiyue Mountains have been divided up. Even the Foundation Establishment stage masters don't have any, let alone Qi Refining stage cultivators like you and me."

Upon hearing about the Spirit Eye, Yang Qingyuan's heart stirred. He remembered that there was a Spirit Eye Spring that had not yet been discovered on the side of the Taiyue Mountains near Yuanwu Kingdom and Xizhou.

These spiritual objects emit rich spiritual energy, accelerating the cultivation speed of cultivators; they are invaluable treasures.

"Perhaps after I reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I can go and search for this Spirit Eye Spring." Yang Qingyuan pondered for a moment, then remained outwardly calm and continued forward with Nie Ying.

After walking about a hundred steps, the two entered a spacious hall.

The chubby Lei Wanhe was sitting upright in the main hall. When he saw Yang Qingyuan, he remembered that the other party had collected so many spiritual herbs for him, so he greeted him with a smile and said, "I have already heard about the trial from Junior Brother Li Huayuan."

"You did a great job this time, and you have made a great contribution to Yellow Maple Valley."

"The reason I summoned you here is to fulfill our promise and teach you the cultivation techniques for the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Thank you, Master." Yang Qingyuan was also very curious about Lei Wanhe's collection of books.

Lei Wanhe stood up, looked at Nie Ying beside him, and said, "Your grandfather was kind to me in my early years, and you have also reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, so let's choose a cultivation technique together."

Upon hearing this, Nie Ying was overjoyed and quickly bowed in greeting.

Lei Wanhe then walked to the stone gate on one side, made a hand seal with one hand, and flicked a silver-white arc of lightning towards the stone gate.

With a flash of white light, the stone door slowly opened inward.

Before entering, Lei Wanhe reminded Yang Qingyuan and Nie Ying, "I have placed restrictions on all the jade slips in the library."

"Do not touch it lightly, or your lives will be in danger."

Yang Qingyuan naturally understood the implications and repeatedly agreed. He then entered the library with Nie Ying and Lei Wanhe.

The library has more than a dozen rosewood bookshelves, divided into three areas.

There are hundreds of jade slips of different colors on the bookshelves on the left and right sides.

The last area, however, contained only a bookshelf with just a dozen or so jade slips on it.

As Lei Wanhe walked, he explained, "These techniques can be roughly divided into three categories."

"The first type of cultivation method is these jade slips on the left, which contain a large number of supernatural abilities and techniques for defeating enemies, allowing cultivators to be as adept as fish in water in combat and to overcome the strong with the weak."

"However, the drawback of this type of cultivation method is that it has no advantage in improving mana, and it cannot help cultivators reduce the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks."

"Only those cultivators who have no hope of forming their core will choose to practice this kind of cultivation method."

"The second type of cultivation method is the jade slips on these bookshelves on the right. On the contrary, these techniques are incredibly effective at improving one's magical power. They are easy to learn and practice, and they all come with accompanying secret techniques for breaking through bottlenecks."

"But there are always trade-offs. These kinds of cultivation techniques don't come with many offensive supernatural abilities. Once you choose to cultivate these techniques, you'll only become one of the weakest among cultivators of the same level."

"Only cultivators who want to improve their cultivation level and prolong their lifespan will choose this kind of cultivation method."

"However, cultivators can also improve their strength through other means such as magic weapons, spirit pets, and talismans."

Lei Wanhe paused here, looked at Nie Ying beside him, and said, "If I remember correctly, you have the True Spiritual Root of Earth and Wood. You might as well consider the cultivation methods on these jade slips."

Nie Ying paused for a moment, then turned her beautiful eyes to the solitary bookshelf at the front and asked, "Elder, may I ask how this third type of cultivation technique differs from the first two?"

Lei Wanhe understood what Nie Ying was thinking and explained, "This third type of cultivation technique is the top-tier method that is sought after by many cultivators!"

"This type of technique combines all the advantages of the first two types, not only possessing powerful supernatural abilities, but also having the effect of rapidly improving one's magical power."

"However, this type of cultivation technique has many restrictions and cannot be practiced by ordinary cultivators. Only cultivators with exceptional talent, such as Yang Qingyuan and myself, can cultivate it."

"If a cultivator forcibly practices this technique, there is a risk of going into qi deviation."

"I can let you choose the third type of cultivation method, but if you encounter any trouble in the future, you will have to rely on yourself."

Upon hearing this, Nie Ying hesitated for a moment.

Yang Qingyuan didn't have so many concerns and looked directly at the dozen or so jade slips that recorded top-level cultivation techniques.

Lei Wanhe pointed to three silver-white jade slips and introduced them, "These three jade slips are all lightning-attribute cultivation techniques."

"These are the 'Lightning Thunder Technique,' the 'Divine Sword Thunder Control Scripture,' and my natal technique, the 'Heavenly Will Five Thunder Technique.'"

"Among them, this book, 'Lightning Thunder Technique,' can be cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage. The accompanying spells are all related to speed, and the matching natal magic weapon is called Wind and Thunder Wings. Once you cultivate this technique, your ability to protect yourself will be greatly enhanced. Even if you encounter a cultivator who is a level higher than you, you can escape unscathed."

Yang Qingyuan was also surprised to hear the words "Wind and Thunder Wings". He vaguely remembered that when Han Li was in the Core Formation stage, he used the Wind and Thunder Wings to escape from a level nine demon.

Once the Wind and Thunder Wings are refined into a natal magic weapon, the speed will only increase.

However, after some hesitation, Yang Qingyuan ultimately rejected the manual.

Lei Wanhe pointed to the second jade slip and introduced, "This technique is called the 'Divine Sword Thunder Control True Scripture.' It was found by your master in the ruins of an ancient sect. It has thirteen levels and can be cultivated up to the Nascent Soul stage."

"This skill not only comes with profound thunder magic, but also contains exquisite sword control techniques."

"You should know that lightning magic is inherently very lethal, and sword magic is even more formidable."

"You may not have seen the power of high-level sword cultivators in combat. Let me tell you, with a sword technique like this, if the enemy doesn't want to die, they will have no choice but to flee in panic."

"Back then, I once considered switching to this practice."

"However, it's a pity that the cultivation conditions for this technique are too harsh. Not only does it require the cultivator to have a lightning spiritual root, but it also requires the cultivator to have extremely high talent in swordsmanship, such as a special physique like the Nine Spirits Sword Body."

"I'm alright at using flying swords, but I'm far from having any real talent."

"That's not the worst part."

"The worst part is that the magical power cultivated from this technique is twice as refined as that of cultivators of the same level."

Hearing this, Nie Ying, who was standing nearby, interjected and asked, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Lei Wanhe shook his head and said with a wry smile, "There are gains and losses. To cultivate such refined magical power, one must absorb rich spiritual energy from heaven and earth."

"This cultivation method originated from ancient cultivators. Back then, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was abundant, making cultivation of this method twice as effective with half the effort."

"But nowadays, spiritual energy is waning, and it is impossible to cultivate this technique to a deeper level by simply sitting still. One must consume a large amount of spiritual treasures from heaven and earth."

"Unfortunately, there are too many monks and not enough porridge. Over the years, the ancients have already harvested almost all the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth. How could it possibly be your turn, you juniors in the Qi Refining stage?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyuan blinked, looking thoughtful.