One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

"These books and formulas left behind by the old man are all life-saving treasures."

Jiang Shou touched the book "Introduction to the Three Arts of Shouyi Temple" on the table, his expression gradually becoming serious. "I can't just come back to this book like a headless fly every time something happens. What if I encounter an emergency outside, or what if this book gets gnawed by rats in the mountains or burned by fire? Wouldn't I be completely helpless then?"

"It's best to memorize this kind of important knowledge and secrets thoroughly!"

Having made up his mind, Jiang Shou decided to start his seclusion today and thoroughly study and memorize this handwritten copy.

"Buzz buzz buzz..." The phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.

Jiang Shou took out his phone and saw it was an unfamiliar number without a contact name. However, he possessed a memory enhanced by his true essence, and with just a glance, he recognized it as Li Xiuju's phone number from last night.

Jiang Shou cleared his throat and swiped to answer the call.

"Feed? Is...is it Master Jiang?" On the other end of the phone, Li Xiuju's voice trembled, suppressed yet filled with immense excitement.

"It's me. Sister-in-law, how is Layman Chen Sancan?" Jiang Shou immediately adopted the tone of a wise man, speaking in a calm and gentle manner.

"He's awake! My husband is really awake! Master Jiang, you are our family's greatest benefactor!" Li Xiuju cried tears of joy on the other end of the phone, her voice filled with indescribable gratitude: "The doctors say it's a medical miracle! Although he's still very weak and doesn't even have much strength to speak, the doctors say all his indicators are improving and that he can be transferred to a regular ward for observation for a week!"

"That's good." Jiang Shou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"There's something else, Master Jiang." Li Xiuju lowered her voice a little, "Officer Xia also came earlier, along with his colleagues from the bureau, and they took my statement at my bedside."

Jiang Shou raised an eyebrow: "Oh? He saw the murderer?"

"I saw it!" Li Xiuju's voice betrayed a hint of lingering fear. "My husband said that there was thunder that night, and he witnessed the murderer committing the crime while on patrol. That murderer... turned out to be a well-known honest and unassuming coworker from their porcelain factory!"

"An honest man?" Jiang Shou was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, who could have imagined it?" Li Xiuju sighed. "The police's initial assessment is that the two must have had some shady relationship and financial entanglement, and in a moment of impulse, they committed the murder."

"Why didn't the killer harm your husband?" This was also a question that Jiang Shou and the old woman couldn't understand.

"My husband said that when lightning struck, he saw the man's face clearly, and the man saw him too. But he was so scared that his legs went weak and he tumbled down the stairs, losing consciousness on the spot."

Li Xiuju paused for a moment: "I guess that was the first time the murderer had killed someone. After beheading that woman, he was in a state of extreme fear and confusion. When he saw my husband fall down the stairs, he thought he had died, so he didn't dare to come over and finish him off. He just ran away in a panic."

I see. That explains it. The extremely gruesome scene, coupled with extreme terror, pushed the perpetrator to the brink of collapse.

Jiang Shou didn't ask any more questions. After all, the police had already intervened, and the case was half solved. The rest was not something a Taoist priest like him should worry about.

"Master Jiang, once my husband is able to walk again, our whole family of four will definitely go to your Taoist temple to offer incense to the patriarch and kowtow to you! Thank you again for your great kindness and virtue!"

"You're too kind. Take good care of him."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Shou took a deep breath and threw his phone onto the bed.

He had spent most of the day drawing talismans and rushing to the hospital to escape a heart attack, but to his surprise, his body, which had just been cleansed by the cold light of the talisman, did not feel hungry at all. Instead, he felt incredibly energetic, like a tireless perpetual motion machine.

"It seems that this physique for cultivating immortality can really save a lot of money on food."

Jiang Shoumei pushed open the door and walked out of the main hall.

Golden sunlight streamed onto the mottled walls of Shouyi Temple and the newly hung gilded plaque. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the old locust tree.

Jiang Shou stood on the high steps, looking at the lush greenery covering the mountains outside the courtyard, and took a deep breath of the mountain breeze carrying the fragrance of grass and trees.

"Aside from the system rewards being a bit stingy this time, everything in this Taoist temple is truly wonderful."

……

Back at his desk, Jiang Shou put aside his distracting thoughts and finally began to seriously study "An Introduction to the Three Arts".

He decided to start by learning the most basic and practical skill: "Aura Observation." After all, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory, and being able to see the aura emanating from others will give him a legitimate reason to show off in the future.

Opening the handwritten copy, the art of observing qi is divided into four parts: introduction, soul observation, evil spirit observation, and fate observation.

Jiang Shou looked at the vigorous and powerful calligraphy on the page and read it aloud softly:

"In studying the art of observing qi, one must first understand three perspectives: observe form to distinguish yin and yang, observe qi to discern fortune and misfortune, and observe spirit to know the soul and vital essence."

"It's quite rhyming." Jiang Shou nodded and continued reading.

"If the mind is not calm, the vital energy will not manifest; if the spirit is not settled, the form will not be clear; if the intention is not focused, the life force will not be seen."

"Yes, this emphasizes the mental state when casting spells, which is the same principle as my deep breathing exercises earlier."

Jiang Shouyue found the old man's classical Chinese writing to be extremely sophisticated, and even took out a small notebook to copy it down stroke by stroke.

"The vital energy of mortals can be pure or turbid, strong or weak. The pure energy is like morning mist, the turbid energy is like foul smoke. The strong energy is like the rising sun, the weak energy is like a flickering lamp."

"Humans have three souls and seven spirits. If the soul is weak, the vital energy dissipates; if the spirits are disordered, the body withers. If one desires vital energy, one must use the heart as a mirror, the spirit as a lamp, and the will as a guide..."

Upon reading this, Jiang Shou couldn't help but slap the table in admiration: "Brilliant! 'Use your heart as a mirror, your spirit as a lamp, and your will as a guide'—the literary talent, the artistic conception! This old man was truly wasting his talent by not studying Chinese literature at Peking University back then!"

Jiang Shou studied intently for a full half hour, and could practically recite the cryptic formulas and mental techniques from memory.

"So, as long as I use my heart as a mirror and God as a lamp, I can see the essence of all things, right?"

Jiang Shou turned to the last page of the "Qi Observation Technique" section with great anticipation.

At the very bottom of that page, there were two lines of simple, unadorned... yet soul-stirring small print:

[Note: The above are the basic theories of Qi observation. To perform this technique, the practitioner must concentrate their Qi and focus their mind, channeling their true essence to their eyes to activate spiritual vision. Without the support of true essence, all things are empty appearances, like the blind men and the elephant.]

"??????"

"..."

Jiang Shou stared intently at the last line of text, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Good heavens! So that's what they wrote for three whole pages, using all sorts of flowery language, going around in circles, and making it sound incredibly impressive…

In the end, the core principle of this Qi-observation technique is still that it requires the coordination of true energy, right?

Jiang Shou was so angry that he slammed the manuscript on the table, pointed at the air, and cursed, "Old man!! When you write a tutorial in your next life, please put 'prerequisites for casting' on the first page, okay?!"

"All I have left in my dantian is a single, uncontrollable grain of rice. What's the point of all this classical Chinese nonsense?"