At first light the next morning, the sounds of training—heys and haws—rang out in the courtyard of the funeral parlor. Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, still bleary-eyed and yawning, weakly went through their punches and kicks. Uncle Nine paced nearby with his hands behind his back, his expression even sterner than usual, though his gaze kept drifting toward Mo Yuan's still-silent room.
"Master, was Little Junior Brother too excited yesterday to get up?" Qiu Sheng whispered with a mischievous grin.
Wen Cai let out a huge yawn. "He's just a child. It's normal for him to like sleeping in..."
Before he could finish, the door creaked open. Mo Yuan sprang out, looking full of energy. There was not a trace of weariness on his little face; instead, he looked as if he had slept soundly through the entire night, his eyes astonishingly bright. He took a deep breath of the cool morning air and felt spiritual energy brimming throughout his body, leaving him utterly refreshed.
"Good morning, Master! Good morning, Senior Brothers!" His voice was crisp and brimming with the vitality unique to a young boy.
Uncle Nine's gaze sharpened as it instantly fell upon Mo Yuan, carefully examining him from head to toe. The more he looked, the more turbulent his heart became. In just one night, the boy's aura had grown far more solid. Though it remained restrained, the spiritual grace radiating from within was like an uncut jade stone that had been lightly wiped clean of dust, its brilliance just beginning to bloom! This was absolutely not the state of someone who had merely drawn qi into his body!
"Mhm." Uncle Nine forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and nodded expressionlessly. "Since you're up, train with them. Starting today, you must diligently practice my Mount Mao Foundation Boxing to strengthen your body and stabilize your foundation."
"Yes, Master!" Mo Yuan answered excitedly, immediately running over to Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng and taking up a convincing stance.
Uncle Nine began explaining the essentials of the boxing technique. Its movements were fierce and forceful, emphasizing guiding qi with intent and driving strength with qi. Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng listened as though they were about to fall asleep, their movements crooked and sloppy. Mo Yuan, however, listened with utmost focus. Every time Uncle Nine demonstrated a move, a flash of understanding flickered in his eyes.
Primordial Comprehension quietly activated. In his eyes, this seemingly simple Foundation Building Fist Technique resonated faintly with the circulation of qi and blood in the human body and the flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Where force should be exerted, where the key points of breath conversion lay, and how to make subtle adjustments to more efficiently draw in the spiritual energy around his body to temper his muscles and bones... countless optimization methods automatically emerged.
He began practicing along with them. His movements were somewhat awkward at first, but they quickly became fluid and natural, even... carrying a unique charm. His punches and kicks were neither soft and weak like Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng's nor blindly fierce like Uncle Nine's demonstrations. Instead, they blended strength and softness, his movements open and coordinated, as though they aligned with some natural rhythm. With every gesture, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy seemed to be drawn along by him, threads of it merging into his movements and silently nourishing his body.
Uncle Nine's eyelids twitched as he watched from the side. How was this the skill of a beginner? This was clearly the mastery one could only attain after years of immersion! Especially that ability to draw in spiritual energy to assist his cultivation—even Uncle Nine himself might not have been able to do it so smoothly and naturally! This boy... could he truly be born for the Dao? No, this had already surpassed the realm of mere potential!
After they finished practicing, Uncle Nine darkly tossed a thin copy of Primer on Talismans to Mo Yuan. "For cultivators, talismans, incantations, hand seals, and footwork are fundamental arts. Today, you will first learn the most basic Purification Talisman. You must use your own spiritual power, calm your mind, and trace the talismanic script in a single stroke for it to take effect. Do not let your mind grow restless."
He had deliberately chosen talisman drawing because he wanted to see whether Mo Yuan was equally monstrous in areas requiring precise control and intense concentration.
Mo Yuan took the book and eagerly flipped to the page on the Purification Talisman. The seemingly complex and twisted talismanic script was instantly broken down in his eyes into its most fundamental strokes, and the intended flow of spiritual power within every line became crystal clear.
"System, check in!"
[**Ding!** Check-in successful! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the following at "Mount Mao Funeral Parlor": one stack of talisman paper, three taels of cinnabar, and one low-grade talisman brush!]
Perfect! Mo Yuan immediately took out the tools he had received from checking in, spread out the talisman paper, and ground the cinnabar. He held his breath and focused, but did not immediately begin writing. Instead, he repeatedly simulated the entire talisman-drawing process in his mind with Primordial Comprehension.
Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng came over to watch. Qiu Sheng laughed. "Little Junior Brother, drawing talismans is difficult. It took your Senior Brother three months before I could barely draw one that looked presentable. Don't waste all the talisman paper."
Mo Yuan looked up and grinned. "Senior Brother, I think this talismanic script is kind of interesting."
With that, he picked up the talisman brush and dipped it fully in cinnabar. The tip touched the yellow paper without the slightest hesitation. His wrist moved as nimbly as a swimming dragon, the brush dancing like a dragon and snake! His motions flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, as if he were not drawing complex talismanic script but performing an elegant dance. His mind was highly focused, and the faint spiritual power within his body flowed evenly and steadily through the brush tip into the talisman.
The entire process was completed in one smooth motion, without the slightest pause or hesitation!
The talisman was complete!
The Purification Talisman on the yellow paper had smooth, even lines and bright cinnabar markings, faintly emitting an almost imperceptible layer of soft spiritual light! It was not merely similar in form—it was a genuine, effective spirit talisman infused with spiritual power!
With a thud, Qiu Sheng dropped onto the ground, his mouth hanging open as he pointed at the talisman, unable to speak for a long while.
Wen Cai rubbed his eyes and stammered, "It... it worked? It succeeded on the first try? And... and it even has spiritual light?!"
Uncle Nine rushed over in a single stride and snatched up the Purification Talisman. His fingers trembled slightly as they brushed over the markings, sensing the stable and pure fluctuations of spiritual power within. He raised his head and looked at Mo Yuan, whose face plainly said, This is so easy, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
It had succeeded on the first try! And it was a spirit talisman of such high quality! This could no longer be described as mere exceptional talent! This was practically an insult to the dignity of every talisman master!
Uncle Nine took a deep breath, then slowly let it out, doing his best to make his voice sound calm and steady. "Pass... passable. It seems you do have some... fortuitous affinity with talisman drawing. But do not become arrogant and complacent. The way of talismans is vast and profound."
He truly could not find any other words to evaluate him, so he could only attribute it to "fortuitous affinity."
Mo Yuan nodded obediently. "I understand, Master. I'll work hard!" But inwardly, he thought, This Purification Talisman seems like it can still be optimized. If I increase the spiritual power output at this turning point, would the effect improve?
Over the following days, Mo Yuan thoroughly demonstrated what it meant to be "heaven-defying."
Cultivating the Basic Qi Refining Manual? He broke through three layers in a single night, and his rate of absorbing spiritual energy made Uncle Nine question his life.
Learning new talismans? He mastered them with a single glance and drew them perfectly after one attempt. He could even draw inferences from them, making subtle adjustments to optimize the talismanic script and improving their effects by more than thirty percent.
Practicing footwork and incantations? He never forgot anything he saw, his body followed his will, and he performed them with greater skill and precision than Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, who had trained for over a decade.
In just half a month, Mo Yuan's cultivation soared all the way to the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining. He had mastered more basic Mount Mao arts than his two Senior Brothers combined, and he was proficient in every one of them, even showing signs of surpassing his teachers.
At the funeral parlor, Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng had gone from initial shock and envy to numbness and deep frustration. They finally understood that their Little Junior Brother was simply a monster who could not be judged by common sense!
Uncle Nine's feelings were even more complicated. Was he pleased? Of course he was. What master did not hope for his disciples to succeed? Yet what he felt more strongly was a sense of unreality and faint worry.
Mo Yuan was growing too quickly—so quickly that it made Uncle Nine's heart pound with alarm. He began demanding even more strictly that Mo Yuan build a solid foundation and temper himself repeatedly, terrified that such astonishing talent would become the root of disaster from forcing growth too soon.
However, Mo Yuan's heaven-defying path was clearly not going to stop at this tiny funeral parlor. That day, Uncle Nine received a request from Ren Fa, a wealthy merchant of Ren Family Town. Ren Fa's father, Ren Weiyong, had been reburied twenty years ago. Recently, the family business had suffered repeated setbacks, and Ren Fa suspected that the grave was involved. He invited Uncle Nine to investigate.
Uncle Nine had originally intended to go alone, but when he saw Mo Yuan looking at him expectantly, his heart stirred. Perhaps it was time to let the boy witness some real fieldwork and temper his character.
"Mo Yuan, pack up. Come with your master to the graveyard outside Ren Family Town."
Mo Yuan's eyes immediately lit up like stars. "Yes, Master!"
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