"How was listening to Wang Ji Zi expound on the Dao today?"
The food at the temple never changed at all; its flavor was just as consistently good as ever. Seated at the head of the table, Cloud Crane Taoist asked them.
At once, Junior Sister set down her chopsticks. "Reporting to Master, Dao Master Wang Ji Zi explained things in great detail. It's just that this disciple is dull-witted and didn't understand much. But I've already memorized everything. Senior Brother, on the other hand, understood a lot."
"Did that old geezer give you any trouble?"
"This..."
Junior Sister couldn't help darting her eyes around. She glanced at the old Daoist, then at Lin Jue, and finally answered truthfully, "Reporting to Master, Dao Master Wang Ji Zi was a little fierce when we first arrived, but he got better later. At noon, he even had us eat with his disciples."
"That old Daoist is just like that. He has a sharp tongue, but cultivation is about following one's nature. That's simply his temperament. If he were the sort to hide his true self, he probably wouldn't have reached his current level."
"Mm..."
"How many disciples did their temple take in this time?"
"Fifteen or sixteen."
"Were they clever?"
"I don't know."
"Compared with you two?"
"Anyway, none of them is as clever as Senior Brother!"
The little girl answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Good, good." The old Daoist stroked his beard. "When you go elsewhere, don't bring shame on Floating Hill Temple. It may be another Daoist temple, but our two families have been friends for generations. If anything happens, don't let their disciples push you around. Make me proud."
"..."
Hearing this, the little girl didn't dare answer. Instead, she looked toward her Senior Brother.
She saw him holding a piece of egg between his chopsticks, frowning at it for a long while before bending down to toss it to the little Fox beneath the table.
The little thing couldn't tell good from bad. Give it anything, and it ate.
"Understood, Master."
Lin Jue didn't know whether this was the old man's way of encouraging the younger generation to improve or whether he really wanted to make a good impression in front of his old friend. Either way, he only agreed verbally. He would still do things as he saw fit.
The Senior Brothers at the temple seemed much the same. Each had his own temperament and opinions; some listened to their Master, and some didn't.
Yet the atmosphere at the temple was strangely good.
"By the way, Junior Brother, Junior Sister," Second Senior Brother Yan Xuanyi said, "how did it feel to take the Divine Speed Pill today?"
Those words immediately caught their interest.
"Reporting to Second Senior Brother, it was so much fun! I could take one light step and cross a great distance, or give a gentle push and fly into the air. I felt like I was flying through the mountains, like I'd become an immortal!"
Junior Sister was both polite and excited.
"It felt freer and more carefree than I expected," Lin Jue said with heartfelt admiration.
"Good, good. I'm glad you enjoyed it. The effects may not have worn off yet. By tomorrow, your legs might be terribly sore." Second Senior Brother's expression and tone were perfectly calm. "So sore you can't walk. You might not be able to squat when you go to the latrine, and if you do manage to squat, you might not be able to get back up."
"Ah?"
"?"
They both looked at Second Senior Brother.
"That's normal. You haven't cultivated a Spiritual Method or learned the Method of Consumption. Every medicine has its own properties, and Spiritual Pills can be very potent. Some side effects are to be expected." Second Senior Brother continued, "Once you've cultivated a Spiritual Method or learned the Method of Consumption, either one will be enough to handle it."
He paused, then added:
"If you want to avoid the soreness, you can ask your Fifth Senior Brother to massage and treat you."
Junior Sister turned to look at Fifth Senior Brother again.
But Lin Jue's attention was elsewhere. He asked, "May I ask, Second Senior Brother, what is the Method of Consumption?"
"As the name suggests, it's a method for consuming substances and Elixirs," Second Senior Brother said. "Elixirs all have different properties. Besides being cold, hot, warm, or fiery, they're also associated with Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, and some are even poisonous. Ordinary people who take them may fail to fully absorb their effects at best, suffer from their properties at worst, or, in the most severe cases, swell up and die from an Elixir's violent nature—or even be poisoned to death."
"I see..."
"That's not all," Second Senior Brother said. "The Method of Consumption isn't only for taking Elixirs; it can also be used to consume poisons. Once you've practiced it, you won't need to fear being poisoned when you travel down the mountain. Of course, how powerful a poison you can withstand depends on your mastery of the art."
"Can even cultivators be afraid of poison?"
"Of course. Many Ghosts and Monsters have poisons of their own; their poison is one of their abilities. And as for the poisons of the mortal world below the mountain, Daoists can't necessarily withstand them all. Even Daoists with decent cultivation, who may know some wondrous magic, can be careless while traveling the world and end up poisoned to death." Second Senior Brother said, "Generally speaking, Daoists who cultivate the Five Elements Spiritual Law or the Yin Yang Spiritual Law are better at withstanding poison. But if someone cultivates the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Method without learning any other skills, they're not much stronger than someone who's never cultivated."
Lin Jue pondered this and more or less understood.
Resisting poison seemed to be a skill of its own, one that required extra practice. It wasn't as though once you began cultivating and gained some attainment, you could transform yourself a thousand ways and do anything.
He still didn't understand why the Yin Yang Spiritual Law and Five Elements Spiritual Law were better at resisting poison than the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Method.
There was no harm in not understanding; he could just ask.
"Because most poisons under heaven belong to Yin and Yang. The Yin Yang Spiritual Law can harmonize with them or guide them away. As for the Five Elements Spiritual Law, you can either burn them up, dilute them and wash them away, or even turn yourself into a stone. What poison in the mortal world can poison a stone?"
As he spoke, Second Senior Brother paused again:
"If you learn the Method of Consumption, you can consume anything under heaven. Let's say, as a last resort, you go down the mountain and reach a place where no one lives, with nothing to eat. An ordinary Daoist who hasn't learned the Fasting Method, hasn't reached the point of immortality, and doesn't have some other wondrous method would have no choice but to starve to death. But if you've learned the Method of Consumption, you can eat flowers and grass, trees, mud, and stones."
"Burp..."
Third Senior Brother beside them burped and added with a cheerful grin, "You can eat the food your Senior Brothers make, too."
"What gives you the right to laugh at anyone?"
"Compared with yours, at least my cooking has the skill of a peasant woman from below the mountain."
"But you're always skipping your turn. Master's already an old man, and you nearly made him too hungry to stand up from meditation. How dare you say that?"
At this, Third Senior Brother seemed a little ashamed and didn't dare look at Master. But he still stubbornly shook his head and said, "This isn't my fault. It's all Lord Wangyou's."
Lin Jue sat beside them, lost in thought.
Floating Hill Temple focused on seven kinds of skills. Naturally, none were Great Divine Abilities or major spells that could change heaven and earth or invert Yin and Yang, but each had its own use.
Which should he learn first?
If he learned one or two and later decided that another was better, or wanted to study more, would the other Senior Brothers be willing to teach him?
He had been thinking about it for several days.
But when he thought it over, there didn't seem to be much to agonize about.
Even if the other Senior Brothers refused to teach him, fellow disciples weren't like extraordinary people he met by chance while wandering below the mountain. He had plenty of chances to spend time with them, and the Ancient Book would teach him too. Besides, the Senior Brothers at the temple got along well; there was a chance he could win them over by asking earnestly.
If so, there was no need to overthink it.
On the walk back at dusk, he had strolled through the mountains, stepped across pine groves, and felt the wind brush fallen blossoms against him. The sensation had been truly wonderful.
"Second Senior Brother, I'd like to learn the art of alchemy from you first."
"Certainly. But you can't learn Fire Element Magic yet, so I'll first teach you the pill formulas and explain the general process of alchemy, what you'll need, and what you'll need to be careful about. You've already learned the Qi Nourishing Method, so you have Five Qi in your body. And with your Fifth Senior Brother able to help, you can start learning the Method of Consumption. There's also the Gathering Method. Both are arts that require long-term practice; besides technique, they take hard work."
"What is the Gathering Method?"
"Below, you gather the spiritual things of the world. In the middle, you gather the Spiritual Resonance of heaven and earth and the Sun Moon Essence. At the highest level..." Second Senior Brother paused calmly. "You gather eight taels of sunset glow and half a corner of cloud mist."
"Sunset glow... cloud mist..."
As Lin Jue listened, he suddenly realized that even with this Ancient Book, he would probably find it difficult to learn many spells. Perhaps most would remain things he could only understand or master in theory.
That was what Fourth Senior Brother had meant by quality over quantity.
"Understood."
"Let's begin tomorrow."
"All right!"
Once Lin Jue had made up his mind, he didn't waver.
That night, in his room.
An oil lamp rested on the wooden table, lighting up the room.
In the corner lay a meditation cushion. The little Fox was sprawled on it in silence, its eyes following Lin Jue as he moved.
From next door came Third Senior Brother's drunken voice reciting poetry...
Lin Jue paid it no mind. Sitting at the table, he opened the Ancient Book by the lamplight.
Sure enough, another page had appeared:
Xing Xing Feather Pill, also known as the Divine Speed Pill.
There were all kinds of rare and strange beasts in the world. One of them was called Xing Xing. Eating its flesh could strengthen one's legs. This pill was made primarily from Xing Xing fur or bones and flesh, along with swallow feathers. After taking it, one could travel a thousand li in a day.
An accomplished alchemist had once added two taels of cloud glow to this pill and refined it into an extraordinary Elixir. After taking it, one could walk through the air and leap over cliffs. Among the world's two hundred or so Divine Travel Arts and dozens of escape arts, few could match it.
Only then did Lin Jue understand why Second Senior Brother had said that the art of Outer Elixirs could rival magic.
There were Divine Travel Arts, and there were Divine Speed Elixirs.
No wonder so many cultivators in the legends relied on alchemy to cultivate and attain Immortal Ascension. Even the lords and ministers who dreamed of eternal life chose to achieve their goals through alchemy.
Lin Jue reached out and touched the page.
A voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"The Xing Xing Feather Pill: the inferior grade uses Xing Xing fur; the middle grade uses Xing Xing bones; the superior grade uses Xing Xing leg bones..."
It described the Divine Speed Pill's formula, the Elixir's Spiritual Resonance properties, how spiritual energy worked with it, and the legend of who had invented it. It also explained what to be careful about and the side effects of taking it.
But the method for refining the Elixir wasn't described in much detail. Lin Jue guessed this might be because the book was about magical arts, while Outer Elixirs were technically a path apart from Spiritual Methods. The author's knowledge of Elixirs might not have been as profound as his knowledge of Spiritual Methods. Another possibility was that the author had recorded the general methods of refining most Elixirs in another section, so this one was simpler.
Still, Lin Jue listened to it several times and spent quite a while absorbing and digesting it before finally setting down the Ancient Book.
The wick of the oil lamp was nearly burned out. By its faint light, Lin Jue saw that the little Fox was still sprawled on the meditation cushion, watching him obediently. But it had tilted its head, its eyes lively, as if it could speak.
"Go to sleep."
Lin Jue said this, then blew out the lamp.
When he woke in the morning, his legs were indeed so sore that walking felt like floating. He didn't dare put any weight on them. But when he arrived at Mountain Moving Hall and saw that Junior Sister was in even worse shape, almost having to hold onto the wall as she walked, he felt much better.
After chanting the scriptures, he went to the alchemy room.
Second Senior Brother's expression was as calm as ever. Seated cross-legged beside a table with a qin, he idly plucked its strings, making a leisurely, unrestrained sound. It seemed to form no melody, yet every note was wonderfully clear to the ear.
When Second Senior Brother saw him arrive, he said nothing. He simply stood up and put away the qin table, then unhurriedly went to one side and opened the incense burner, smoothing the ash. He took a cloud-patterned mold and pressed a cloud design into the ash. Once he lit it, a faint herbal fragrance naturally drifted through the alchemy room. Only then did he sit back down and begin teaching Lin Jue about alchemy, the Method of Consumption, and the Gathering Method.
His voice was as leisurely as the qin and as soothing as the incense.
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