Magic Power Source

"This is truly heaven-defying... no matter how much True Qi you have, you can recover just by eating grass. It seems to... defy the laws?" Shen Leling's expression was dazed.

Yan Nu asked strangely, "Doesn't older sister already know? If not for the Water Talisman older sister gave me, I wouldn't have been able to cultivate so quickly."

Shen Leling's expression turned peculiar, "This isn't cultivation at all you're doing..."

Although she had taught Yan Nu this method, she was actually unsure herself, because it was too contrary to common sense.

It was true that breaking and then standing would strengthen one by 10%, but one had to spend time cultivating to recover it honestly.

However, Yan Nu skipped this process entirely. Eating grass instantly refilled it. Ten years of Cultivation were like this, a hundred years of Cultivation were like this, and even a thousand years of Cultivation were like this! The effect was as if he had truly practiced for a thousand years!

Could ordinary grass possibly contain so much energy?

Shen Leling shook her head, unable to comprehend. She could only assume that this Heaven-Defying Talent was the world bestowing power upon him.

"Out!"

As Shen Leling's thought moved, Yan Nu felt a tremor in his chest, and a large, cyan Water Talisman manifested.

Seeing this Water Talisman, she almost drooled. She quickly extended her finger and touched it.

"Eeeeeeek..." The pleasure of this moment made Shen Leling feel like she was floating.

With a plop, she transformed into a large mass of gushing spring water, creating waves of white foam.

She couldn't help but reveal her true form.

Water vapor filled the air before Yan Nu, with water splashes overlapping endlessly, but a single stream of water remained connected to his chest, linked to the Water Talisman.

The Water Talisman slowly shrank, its color growing fainter, clearly returning to its origin.

After a long while, Shen Leling reformed into a human and withdrew her finger.

"Heeheehee!" Shen Leling giggled delightedly. She cast a lingering glance at the Water Talisman and waved her hand, letting it re-enter Yan Nu's body.

"What are you laughing at?" Yan Nu felt Shen Leling's gaze made his skin crawl.

Shen Leling stared at him intently, "This Water Talisman was refined from my Life Source Spring. It is now full of Vital Energy and can refine twenty thousand segments of Magic Power!"

"Moreover, the energy you generate is definitely more than that. To ensure your True Qi could be rapidly depleted, a lot must have been wasted."

"Twenty thousand segments?" Yan Nu tilted his head.

Shen Leling trembled, "Do you know what this means? I've cultivated for twenty years and only have two hundred and fifty segments of Cultivation."

"How much is one segment?" Yan Nu asked.

Shen Leling explained, "Magic Power condenses from the Immortal Bone, segment by segment. When I use the 'Conjure Soldiers' spell, creating each Vine Armor Soldier only consumes one segment of Magic Power! Many simple tricks don't even use one segment."

Yan Nu's mouth fell open, "If older sister absorbs the Water Talisman, won't she be able to conjure twenty thousand soldiers with a wave of her hand?"

Shen Leling tapped his head, "You can't calculate it like that. When I say I have two hundred and fifty segments of Cultivation, I mean my Magic Power limit. Over these twenty years, including the Magic Power I've recovered, I've refined far more than just two hundred and fifty segments."

"Only Magic Power condensed through the Immortal Bone belongs to me."

"The Water Talisman contains Vital Energy. I've only taken it out; I haven't refined it yet. Hmm, how should I put it? It's like I've just eaten a Vitality Replenishing Spirit Pill. As long as I use Magic Power, it can quickly replenish what I've consumed."

"Not only that, but continuously refining it can also increase my Cultivation. This is much faster than painstakingly refining the essence of the sun and moon, skipping many steps."

Yan Nu was overjoyed, "Doesn't this mean you're refining pills with me? I can continuously replenish your Vital Energy."

Shen Leling clasped her hands behind her back and circled around Yan Nu, examining him. "Yes... you are like my Magic Power source. With you here, I will almost never run out of Magic Power."

"I believe the legend now. You truly are a terrifying Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure..."

Saying this, she became a little dejected. "But please, don't let it explode. This Water Talisman is one-third of my origin. If it explodes, it's not something a few sources can compensate for. Even if I don't die, I'll be crippled."

"Do you know why I pulled the Water Talisman and interrupted your cultivation, telling you to come find me quickly?"

"It's because I felt the Water Talisman was about to explode..."

"Ah?" Yan Nu secretly felt fortunate. Fortunately, he had listened. As soon as the Water Talisman moved, he stopped cultivating immediately. Otherwise, he might have killed Shen Leling.

"One-third... does that mean older sister can store a maximum of sixty thousand segments? Is there too much Vital Energy with nowhere to go?"

Shen Leling shook her head in surprise, "That's not it... I can store it indefinitely because I have a Demon Bone!"

"There is a path of Absorption Cultivation in this world. That path only requires continuously consuming pills, refining their medicinal power, and accumulating Dao cultivation. Eventually, one can become an Immortal. Legend has it there are Nine-Revolving Golden Cores; eating one is almost like waiting to become an Immortal."

"The reason is that with things full of Vital Energy like these, you don't have to worry about overfilling yourself. Both Immortal Bones and Demon Bones can store Vital Energy indefinitely."

"Even a Mortal, as long as they have an Immortal Bone, can consume pills. For example, the Five-Stone Powder often eaten by scholars. If someone with an Immortal Bone eats it, they are building a foundation. If someone without an Immortal Bone eats it, it's purely for show..."

"Pills, the Vital Energy from the essence of the sun and moon, first enter the Immortal Bone. Then, what cultivators do is condense it and incorporate it into the Sea of Qi, forming a Qi Vortex. Afterward, it forms a seed and grows into a Profound Flower."

"And the Water Talisman within you is equivalent to a part of my body without a Demon Bone, so of course, it has limits. Fortunately, I have Heaven-Defying Talent. If it were an ordinary talisman or magic artifact, it would have exploded long ago!"

Yan Nu suddenly nodded, "I understand. Every time the Water Talisman accumulates twenty thousand segments, it needs to be vented, and then older sister will absorb the Vital Energy."

Shen Leling said with some bitterness, "Yes, it can only be this way... You also need to pay attention to your True Qi..."

"You don't have an Immortal Bone. Even if your True Qi can grow infinitely, you probably can't store it infinitely. Be careful not to explode and die."

Yan Nu quickly asked, "Then what is my limit?"

Shen Leling thought for a moment and shook her head, "Uh... I don't know either. After all, I've never heard of anyone cultivating their True Qi to this extent..."

"In short, once you feel your True Qi expanding and your body feels like it's about to explode, it means you've reached your limit. You absolutely cannot break and then stand again."

Yan Nu immediately nodded, indicating he would be constantly vigilant.

"What a shame, what a shame... why don't you have an Immortal Bone..." Shen Leling sighed, a sense of melancholy filling her.

Without an Immortal Bone, one could not cultivate immortality, was destined not to achieve longevity. Even with heaven-defying talent, they would be nothing more than a legend for a single lifetime.

One day, she would watch Yan Nu fade away with the passage of time.

To the point that Shen Leling walked all the way to the dog demon's cave dwelling without saying a word.

The more heaven-defying Yan Nu's talent was, the more regrettable she felt.

"Sister, did you originally plan to absorb this big yellow dog? Were you just trying to scare Huang Banyun?" Yan Nu suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts.

It turned out Yan Nu saw Shen Leling skillfully arrive at the cave dwelling. First, she blocked the other exit from the outside with a curtain of water, realizing Shen Leling had long intended to deal with this big yellow dog.

"Heh heh." Shen Leling waved her hand and scattered a handful of beans, quickly creating thirty Vine Armor Soldiers who entered the cave dwelling to clear the path.

Then she said indifferently, "Nonsense. Otherwise, would I need you to save that Huang Banyun? If I wanted his life, wouldn't I have absorbed him earlier on the mountain?"

"I am a Qi Refiner. Cultivation only requires absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. I don't rely on eating, I only occasionally consume a few as snacks."

"I noticed this Huang Banyun would die at the hands of the vicious dog, so I didn't intervene... I was waiting for you to save him, and even save him again and again... He can then become our helper. If we can fight our way back to the Zhang Family later, he will definitely be useful."

Yan Nu asked, "Aren't you afraid of offending the dog demon then?"

He felt Shen Leling's thoughts were too complicated, changing her story every time.

When she seemed cheerful, she would suddenly strike. When she seemed to be shouting about fighting, she actually didn't want to kill.

Shen Leling explained to him with a headache, "This dog demon has been entrenched here for many years. It must be tacitly approved by the surrounding powerful clans; they likely have some sort of relationship. Whether we make enemies... heh heh, it probably makes no difference."

As she spoke, her eyes fixed on Yan Nu, and she smiled, "But fortunately, I found a treasure."

Yan Nu tilted his head, "Then why did Sister have to coerce Banyun? Clearly, you didn't want to kill him, yet you had to go through such a big detour, saying it was for my sake?"

"Grandpa said to treat people with sincerity. Banyun wants to avenge his father with all his heart. If we help him, he will help us..."

Shen Leling sneered, "It's precisely because his heart is full of revenge that he will never be willing to die by my hand."

"He knows he cannot resist, so he can only place his hope on you to stop me."

"If he truly harbored the will to die, then if I let him go in the end, he should feel grateful for surviving... not be worried and even more tense because I planted a water bead in him..."

"In this world, sometimes benefactors are more reliable than friends!"

"He knows you saved him once, so he believes you will save him a second time."

"However, at the Mystical Stage, one can communicate with spiritual awareness and see through everything. Mortals cannot lie in front of me. He thought I wouldn't see through his pretense... heh heh, I don't like people with deep schemes."

Yan Nu pondered, "Is that so? What's wrong with him wanting to avenge his father? What's wrong with him wanting to live? I see he really loves that monkey... Even if he hadn't said those things, I wouldn't have wanted him to die anyway."

Shen Leling smiled playfully, "He does cherish that monkey, but so what? I don't care what kind of person he is..."

"If I had revealed my identity to him from the beginning, knowing I was a monster the Zhang Family wanted to eliminate, he definitely wouldn't have cooperated. Whatever I said, he would have been suspicious by a third!"

"Since that's the case, it's better to use a combination of soft and hard tactics from the start. I knew you would definitely save him, so I decided to play the villain."

"I want him to feel grateful for surviving, I want him to depend on you. Remember, without you... he would have died twice!"

"From now on, he can only trust you. It doesn't matter if he hates me. Although he will reject what I say, he will not dare to disobey."

"Only then can he be used!"

Yan Nu pouted, finally understanding Shen Leling's intentions.

"Why do you have to be like this, playing with others? Can't you be more sincere?"

Shen Leling shook her head, "Yan Nu, I've deceived many people. It's precisely because I've seen too much of the world's deceitful hearts that I don't trust humans."

Yan Nu was shocked, "Ah? You don't even trust me?"

Shen Leling rolled her eyes, "You're so simple, you don't seem human..."

Yan Nu became a little anxious, "You can trust me!"

"I..." Shen Leling's lips twitched slightly. Seeing that he hadn't understood, she had to be direct, "Of course, I trust you. You never lie."

Yan Nu said "oh," then frowned in distress, "Then how do I know which of your words are true and which are false?"

"You don't need to distinguish. From now on, you only need to remember that when it's just the two of us, everything I say is the truth." Shen Leling said seriously.

Yan Nu finally smiled, "That's easy, I remember."

"Aren't you afraid this statement is also false? I'm a master deceiver." Shen Leling said sideways.

Yan Nu said indifferently, "I'm not afraid. I believe you."

"Why?" Shen Leling frowned instead. After saying so much, Yan Nu still didn't understand the sinister nature of human hearts?

However, Yan Nu retorted, "Doesn't Sister wish for me to believe you?"

"..." Shen Leling was speechless.

Then she revealed a helpless expression, "Yan Nu, remember this: in this world, you only have me to trust. You must be wary of everyone else trying to harm you."

Yan Nu thought for a moment and nodded, "I know. Many people must want to eat me and use me for alchemy."

Shen Leling was stunned for a moment, then smiled with joy, "It's good that you know. It seems you've taken my words to heart."

The two of them chatted and laughed, but the fierce dog in the dark cave was restless.

After Yan Nu cleared out most of the beast horde, there weren't many wild dogs left that could gather in the cave.

At this moment, Shen Leling performed a spell to seal the back door and returned to the front to scatter beans and create soldiers.

The half-demon realized that disaster was imminent.

"Roar woof... woof!" A huge dog bark echoed from within the cave, carrying a stern warning.

Shen Leling simply scoffed, "You're threatening me? Are you kidding me!"

"Woof woof woof woof!" The barking grew more intense.

Shen Leling pointed her jade finger, "Go!"

The passage wasn't wide to begin with. Thirty Vine Armor Soldiers, holding shields and spears, lined up in rows and advanced, completely blocking the passage.

Their expressions were stiff and numb, but their footsteps were orderly, their echoes reverberating through the cave.

Yan Nu peeked from behind, watching the dense rows of wooden figures advance, shields protecting them.

Spears bristled and thrust forward in unison, every Vine Armor Soldier moving identically.

This left the fierce wolves and wild dogs completely unable to resist. They bit ferociously, but the wooden figures were oblivious...

All that could be heard in the passage was the thwack of spears entering flesh, a brutal slaughter of wolves and dogs alike.

"Sister, your bean soldiers are quite formidable," Yan Nu watched with great interest.

He had seen the scattering of beans to create soldiers twice before. The last time, he hadn't gotten much of a look before the Zhang family easily overwhelmed and shattered them. He hadn't expected this time, where the scattered beans created soldiers like a flesh-and-blood grinding mill, advancing coldly and killing the beasts with no chance to fight back.

Shen Leling clasped her hands behind her back, "My Vine Armor Soldiers fear no pain, have no vital points, possess tough skin, and are as strong as oxen and horses! Ordinary third-rate martial artists cannot defeat them."

"If the numbers are sufficient and they form arrays with strict command and execution, their power is even greater!"

"Mere fierce wolves and wild dogs can consume True Qi when dealing with martial artists. Against cultivators... hehe, it's completely meaningless."

Yan Nu asked curiously, "Then why were they shattered so easily last time?"

Shen Leling recalled the great loss she suffered last time and said indignantly, "I didn't want to harm people last time, I was afraid of attracting Mortal World Fire!"

"And I was careless, I didn't expect the Zhang family to also keep ghosts."

"Ghost Cultivators are inherently good at draining life force and countering spells like those involving life and 'Spirit Puppets'. He even unleashed Ghost Fire... it entered them, entangled them, and severed their life force. My wooden figures quickly withered, their power greatly reduced, like rotten wood and dead leaves, and were easily shattered."

"But it's different now. With the Vital Energy from the Water Talisman, I'd like to see what other tricks that ghost has!"

By this time, the Vine Armor Soldiers had cleared out the last of the fierce beasts, searching every corner of the cave.

Finally, they found the big yellow dog in a narrow passage. However, the passage was too cramped for the Vine Armor Soldiers to enter. The big yellow dog was cowering in the deepest part, unreachable by anyone.

"Heh heh." Shen Leling blew out a fine stream of water, which flew into the passage.

Soon, Yan Nu heard the yellow dog's hoarse roars and growls. The sounds grew weaker and weaker, finally ceasing.

Shen Leling withdrew the stream of water, a look of satisfaction on her face, "I need to go into seclusion to heal my primordial spirit. Yan Nu, you also need to cultivate quickly."

"Teach me a couple of moves quickly," Yan Nu urged impatiently.

Unexpectedly, Shen Leling shook her head, "Cramming at the last minute, how much can you learn?"

"With the crisis at hand, it's better to leverage your strengths! Your True Qi is already more than sufficient. I want you to cultivate, to temper your body!"

"You clearly have two thousand years of True Qi, yet you control yourself to use no more than twenty years each time... Even so, your combat power is comparable to top martial artists, because no one would expend their 'entire cultivation' like you do in one go."

"Imagine, if you can achieve Primordial Body Tempering... coupled with my Water Talisman's protection, you might be able to slay cultivators..."

At this point, Shen Leling herself was a little dazed. She hadn't expected that someone she casually picked up would be a monster capable of slaying cultivators with Primordial Body Tempering.

"To deal with the Zhang family, you are my trump card!"

"This time, I will definitely make the Zhang family regret provoking me!"

p.s: Sorry.