Hermit in the Mountains

Gu Changsheng had an epiphany and silently recited it in his heart.

"Qian disperses Qi, Kun generates fluid."

"A single point of cold stillness, and all things are formed from it."

With his breath moving at will, each word he silently uttered added to the chill within the 'spell model.' When he finally uttered the word 'drop,' a drop of spiritual liquid suddenly formed in his palm, hovering between his two hands.

The moment the spiritual liquid took shape, Gu Changsheng opened his eyes with a flicker of joy.

As I moved my left hand away, a drop of bluish-green liquid the size of a mung bean came into view.

A smirk played on his lips as he muttered under his breath, "It's done."

With his left hand, he took the glass bottle from the bedside table and placed it in front of him. He removed the cap and with his right hand, he poured the elixir into the bottle.

He raised the glass bottle with his right hand and waved it in front of the moonlight outside the window. Four drops of cyan spiritual liquid slid and collided together at the bottom of the glass bottle and then bounced away. The spiritual liquid was crystal clear and as bouncy as jelly.

With his left hand supporting the glass bottle and his right palm facing the sky, Gu Changsheng focused his mind and reconstructed the Spirit Gathering Technique Model.

It took him ten minutes to rebuild the Spirit Gathering 'spell model', even with his previous successful experience.

Half an hour later, another drop of cyan spiritual liquid condensed in the palm of his right hand.

He constructed a "spell model" and repeatedly condensed spiritual liquid. Before he knew it, the blue spiritual liquid in the glass bottle had reached eight drops.

The time required to construct the "Spirit Gathering Technique Model" has been reduced to five minutes, and the time required to condense a single drop of spiritual liquid has been reduced to twenty minutes.

"Coo coo... Oh..."

The loud, clear crowing of a rooster came from outside the house.

Hearing the rooster crow, Gu Changsheng stopped condensing spiritual liquid. There were no more wood spiritual energy particles within a radius of forty meters, allowing his tired mind to rest.

He sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, reflecting on his journey from speculating on the essence of magic, proposing a "magic model," constructing a "spirit gathering magic model," and finally successfully condensing spiritual liquid.

After reviewing, my understanding and application of the "Spirit Gathering Technique Model" have reached a new level.

Thinking that the 'spell model' took five minutes to construct, Gu Changsheng's face twitched and he frowned.

It didn't meet his expectations. If the spell took five minutes to cast and was placed on the battlefield, it would have been killed by the enemy countless times.

Auxiliary spells like "Gathering Spirits" have little impact, but offensive spells are fatal. He needs to construct "spell models" faster and more conveniently.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: 'Could I, like the Rooting Technique and the Withering and Flourishing Armor, imprint the model of the Spirit Gathering Technique within the Dao Seed, thus eliminating the need for model construction and allowing me to directly utilize an existing model?'

"A talisman is essentially a one-time spell. It's basically a spell model drawn on spirit paper. When used, it's infused with activation energy or activated by a switch, and the talisman automatically generates various abilities such as spell attack, defense, etc."

"He can use the Dao Seed as spiritual paper to imprint a permanent model of magic."

The more Gu Changsheng thought about it, the more he felt it had potential. He didn't rush to try it and suppressed the impulse in his heart.

A balanced approach to practice will prevent one from losing their mind.

He carefully put the glass bottle in the bedside table, got out of bed, and walked out of the cabin.

Washing up, starting a fire to cook, feeding the chickens, dogs, and cows, hoeing the ground—all these activities allow me to completely relax.

With the midday sun high overhead, Gu Changsheng returned to his bedroom, took out a glass bottle from his bedside table, opened the lid, and placed it on the table.

He pressed his right thumb against his little finger and ring finger in his palm, and his middle and index fingers together in a sword-like gesture. His left hand was in the same sword-like gesture, with his middle and index fingers together pressed against his right wrist.

Uh... he just learned the cool moves from fantasy dramas to satisfy his curiosity.

With a thought, he sent a wisp of divine consciousness into the glass bottle, enveloping a drop of spiritual liquid and lifting it upwards.

Although his spiritual power cannot control very heavy objects, it is not a problem to control a few grams of spiritual liquid remotely. However, it cannot exceed the area covered by his spiritual power, otherwise it will escape his control and fall freely.

His hands were not idle either; as the spiritual liquid moved, his right middle and index fingers, held together, moved in sync.

He suddenly flicked two fingers toward his lips, and the spiritual liquid flew into his mouth.

The spiritual liquid melted upon entering the mouth and was captured by the 'Dao Seed' and pulled into the sea of ​​consciousness, where it was absorbed into the 'Dao Seed'.

Gu Changsheng compared absorbing spiritual liquid with directly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and found no difference.

His efficiency in using spiritual liquid is not as good as directly absorbing and refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which can save him the intermediate process of constructing and condensing spiritual liquid.

The "Spirit Gathering Technique Model" is somewhat useless for his cultivation; it's more suitable for cultivating spiritual herbs and spirit beasts.

He wondered whether he should wait until he could deduce the attack-type "spell model" before trying to imprint it into the "Tao Seed".

After thinking it over, the "Spirit Gathering Spell Model" was, after all, the first spell he had deduced himself, and it had a special storyline. So, imprinting it into the "Dao Seed" would be a testament to his glory.

Gu Changsheng gave the "Spirit Gathering Technique Model" a formal name, thus giving it a legitimate status.

Taiyin Gathering Spirit Technique: Constructs the "Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal" with the power of Taiyin, rapidly cooling gaseous spiritual energy into liquid spiritual liquid.

The mantra is: Taiyin gathers the spirit seal, Qianyuan disperses the Qi, Kunji generates liquid; a single point of cold and dark, and all things become drops.

As the sun sets, practitioners are engaged in spiritual cultivation.

Inside the bedroom, Gu Changsheng entered a meditative state, preparing to imprint the "Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal" he had deduced during the day onto the "Withering and Flourishing Dao Seed".

His divine sense transformed into an invisible carving knife, slowly sliding inside the 'Seed of Withering and Flourishing'.

Gu Changsheng carved from 6 p.m. until midnight. When the last stroke was made, a pattern of "Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal" appeared inside the "Withering and Flourishing Dao Seed".

The "Emperor's Dew" transformed into a wisp of pure Yin energy and merged into the core of the "Yin Gathering Spirit Seal".

At that moment, the 'Seed of Withering and Flourishing' released a special power that invaded the 'Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal'.

The "Decline and Flourishing Dao Seed" seems to be identifying the "Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal" as an outsider, confirming that it poses no threat, and its special power is assimilating the "Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal" and imprinting it with Gu Changsheng's exclusive mark.

Gu Changsheng looked at the "Taiyin Gathering Spirit Seal" inside the "Withering and Flourishing Dao Seed" and found it to be even more perfect than the spell model he had deduced.

He wondered to himself, "Could the Dao Seed of Withering and Flourishing also possess the ability to deduce?"

Looking back on the time it took me to deduce the spell model, from guessing to deducing and succeeding, it was a bit too fast and a bit too smooth, which was unexpected.

The magical spells created by the protagonists in cultivation novels are not as simple as his.

It's unclear whether it's the power of the Withering and Flourishing Dao Seed or his own extraordinary comprehension.

He preferred the former, after all, before the unexpected birth of the Yin God, his memory and logic were mediocre;

All the changes began with the accidental condensation of Yin Spirit, and he actually created the "Ku Rong Dao Jing" in the technological age, which can cultivate on its own.

Having condensed the "Seed of Life's Withering and Flourishing," it's not surprising that he can now deduce a minor spirit-gathering spell every day.

He thought of a line from the Tao Te Ching: "If you have the Tao but not the skills, you can still acquire skills; if you have skills but not the Tao, you will be limited to skills."

Perhaps the "seed of life's withering and flourishing" that he condensed is the "Tao" mentioned in the Tao Te Ching, which can be called the "Tao of withering and flourishing".