Cultivation begins with harvest.

In a corner of Xingfeng Market, in front of the gate of a courtyard no smaller than Chen Guang's, Chen Guang was already standing.

Pushing open the door, the courtyard was filled with all sorts of puppets and targets, from wooden to stone and metal, all in a very complete manner.

This is Wei Donglai's residence.

Chen Guang also carried the Thousand Needle Wren with him at all times. Now, the eldest and second eldest have begun to comprehend magic. The second eldest has also comprehended metal-attribute magic first. They need to be kept by his side at all times to replenish their food and cannot be separated from him.

"sit."

Wei Donglai invited Chen Guang to sit down at a stone table in the courtyard. Zhong Qi was also on the side, smiling slightly at Chen Guang, clearly having had someone refine pills and achieving considerable success.

Wei Donglai poured Chen Guang a cup of tea before explaining, "This is considered a perk for the disciples of the Qi Hall. These puppets, used to test the power of spells, are distributed every year. You can also apply for some special puppets based on your own circumstances."

"For example, the puppets made of Bisang wood over there have the effect of stopping the wind and calming the qi. I use them to test the power of my wind magic. It is both challenging and effective. Ordinary wind magic cannot cause any trouble in front of Bisang wood."

"Let's get back to the main topic, junior brother. Since you're determined to practice your magic duels with us, you need to be upfront about what you're doing. Tell us what spells and magical artifacts you have, and how you plan to develop your fighting style. Weigh the pros and cons yourself." Zhong Qi became serious.

Chen Guang nodded and replied without hesitation, "What I know..."

Chen Guang revealed all his trump cards, except for the Ice Yuan Bottle and Yin Burning Pearl. He also disclosed his conventional tactics, such as the Cotton Fire Needle, Blood-Containing Technique, and Ember Blood Battle Technique, as well as his tactical ideas of the Yin-based style.

While Wei Donglai and his companion were moved by such frankness, they also felt a bit of pressure. If the guidance was too perfunctory or superficial and had no effect, they wouldn't be able to accept it.

Zhong Qiqing coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention: "Insidious magic should be an unconventional method. In this respect, although the methods you have are not so coherent, they are already systematic. There is only one point: if you use them openly as conventional methods, they will be greatly reduced. Therefore, you still need a stable and conventional approach to deal with most situations."

"You can learn more fire-attribute spells to supplement your mid-range combat ability and lay the groundwork for using Yin Fire Pills later; you can also choose cloud-attribute spells to increase your entanglement ability. With the Ember Blood Combat Technique as the foundation, you will have more advantages in close combat. Whether it is Bloodstained Technique or Cotton Fire Needle, they will be more concealed. Your body tempering skills should be used as 'unorthodox' rather than 'orthodox'. After all, your foundation is still that of a Qi cultivator, so you cannot design your combat system according to the thinking of a body tempering cultivator."

Wei Donglai nodded in approval: "Indeed, the combination of spells in my Qingheng Sect is very complete. Cultivating spells is just a slower process, but the combat power is more stable. Apart from that, you only need to enhance your defensive capabilities, and there are many choices. If you are inclined towards Qi cultivation, there are countless directions; if you are inclined towards Xuan cultivation, I recommend a set of inner armor, which will be beneficial for you to fight more frequently."

The three of them discussed it together. Wei Donglai and Zhong Qi were mainly responsible for selecting various combinations of spells, while Chen Guang was responsible for expressing his preferences and conditions.

Although Wei Donglai and his companion suspected that Chen Guang might still be hiding something, they did not probe further, as the information they had was sufficient.

The discussion ended only after the tea had become tasteless.

The two did not point out a single route for Chen Guang, but Chen Guang was clear-headed and confident about how to choose.

"Alright, we've told you all the options. How you choose is up to you, Junior Brother," Wei Donglai said with a smile. "It's still early, let's go to the training ground and practice a bit."

"I will go all out. Even though my junior brother is not as good as me in combat right now, I am confident that using my combat strength as an example is much better than lowering the standards from the beginning just to deal with rogue cultivators."

"I understand," Chen Guang replied.

The three then set off for the training ground.

The training ground was located on a corner of the market, but it was just as lively as some of the streets in the market. It was not exactly overcrowded, but it was still packed with people.

There are enclosed training halls; there are also open arenas for friendly sparring.

Wei Donglai easily chose a closed stone hall, which had about two acres of space inside, more than enough for Chen Guang.

Inside the stone hall, there was no difference from the outside world; it was as bright as day and clean and refreshing. However, once you entered the stone hall, you could feel the array protecting the stone hall and isolating it from the outside world.

Wei Donglai stood in front of a stone statue and waved to Chen Guang.

After comforting the thousand-needle wren with words of comfort, Chen Guang handed the four still somewhat nervous little birds to Zhong Qi and ran towards Wei Donglai.

"This is the 'White-faced Stone Statue'," Wei Donglai explained, pointing to a life-size white stone statue in front of him. "If you have a pot of magic power and can shatter it in the time it takes to burn an incense stick, it means you are in the early stage of Qi Refining and have sufficient combat power. The less time it takes, the higher your combat level is. Conversely, the less time it takes, the worse you are, to the point that you don't have combat power to match your magic power."

Chen Guang glanced at the black and red stone statues not far away. They were made with the same craftsmanship and should have been prepared for higher-level cultivators.

Wei Donglai waited for Chen Guang to shift his attention back before continuing, "My fastest record at the third level of Qi Refining is to destroy a white-faced stone statue in slightly more than a third of an incense stick's time. How about it, give it a try?"

"it is good."

Wei Donglai and Zhong Qi both knew that Chen Guang's current magical abilities were insufficient to shatter the white-faced stone statue using magic within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but that did not preclude the necessity of conducting the experiment.

Wei Donglai lit an incense stick, and Chen Guang immediately took action. The nine magical peaks formed by the transformation into emerald bees were grouped into threes, containing some of the mysteries of the Three Talents Formation. The tail needles were raised, and the emerald light of the magical power, enhanced by the formation, had a jade-like texture. Instead of launching the tail needles, they were used like small knives to slice across the white stone statue.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle"

The sounds of friction were somewhat grating, but then a crisp "ding" rang out, and the tail needle of one of the magic emerald peaks broke off, as if a door that could not be closed had been opened. One after another, the tail needles of the other magic emerald peaks broke off.

Although it only takes some magic power to restore the tail needle, the jagged marks less than an inch deep and two feet long left on the white-faced stone statue showed Chen Guang just how hard the white-faced stone statue was.

With a wave of his hand, a crimson mist enveloped the statue's head, followed by a layer of ice crystals condensing in the same spot. The stone on the surface of the head visibly changed color, and the magic power of the Emerald Peaks landed on it as if weeds were being inserted into the gaps. In just a few moments, the statue's head shrank by two or three sizes, and pebbles fell like rain.

"hiss--"

The inside of the skull remains a stable shape, retaining its original color, which is difficult for the magical Emerald Peak to destroy.

At this rate, there really isn't enough time to complete the destruction within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The Kui Flame is optional; if used, it would naturally have a good chance of destroying the target within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. However, the Green Kui Flame is a secret technique, and if I were to use it, it would seem like I was deliberately showing off. This is not a contest on the arena.

They also tried the Bloodletting Technique, but the sprayed blood arrows couldn't penetrate the white-faced stone statue, so they stopped using it.

Using the Emerald Bee Spell, Flame Mist Technique, and Freeze Technique as its main methods, it used all its spells like pouring out a bamboo tube. After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, only half of the stone statue's belly and a pair of thighs remained.

Chen Guang shook his head in dissatisfaction.

That is, it's only effective against stone statues. Against real cultivators, even rogue cultivators, this combination of three moves is frighteningly simple and would never achieve such results.

"Junior brother, take a look at mine." Wei Donglai shook the wind chime in his hand, and the tattered white stone statue fell to the ground, replaced by a brand new one. "Renting a stone hall comes with three free opportunities to replace the stone statues. Let's see how I handle this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Donglai transformed into a golden gust of wind and rushed towards the stone statue. Just the sound of the golden wind made Chen Guang's cheek sting. Without a foundation in body tempering, he would have been scratched.

At the same time, a vortex of air appeared at the foot of the stone statue, binding it firmly. Wei Donglai raised his hand and unleashed a wind blade, which, under the influence of the vortex, cleaved off the right shoulder of the stone statue.