Qi Refining Third Layer

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the sounds of training, "Heh! Hah!", could be heard from the courtyard of the Mortuary. Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, still groggy-eyed, yawned as they listlessly practiced their punches and kicks. Uncle Nine, hands behind his back, paced nearby with a more serious expression than usual, his gaze occasionally flicking towards Mo Yuan's still quiet room.

"Master, is our junior brother still too excited from yesterday to get up?" Qiu Sheng whispered, pulling faces.

Wen Cai let out a huge yawn. "He's just a kid, sleeping in is normal..."

Before he could finish, the door creaked open. Mo Yuan leaped out, full of energy. His small face showed no sign of fatigue; instead, he looked as if he had slept soundly all night, his eyes astonishingly clear. He took a deep breath of the cool morning air, feeling his entire body filled with spiritual energy, utterly comfortable.

"Good morning, Master! Good morning, senior brothers!" he said, his voice crisp and filled with the unique vitality of youth.

Uncle Nine's gaze, sharp as lightning, instantly fell on Mo Yuan. He scrutinized the boy from head to toe. Looking at him, his heart churned. In just one night, the aura around this kid had solidified considerably. Though still restrained, the sense of spiritual brilliance emanating from within was like a piece of unpolished jade that had been lightly wiped clean of dust, its brilliance just beginning to bloom! This was absolutely not the state someone who had just introduced Qi into their body should be in!

"Mmm," Uncle Nine suppressed the tremor in his heart and nodded impassively. "Since you're up, join us for training. From today onwards, you must diligently practice my Mount Mao Foundation Boxing to strengthen your physique and solidify your foundation."

"Yes, Master!" Mo Yuan replied excitedly and immediately went to stand beside Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, striking a pose with practiced seriousness.

Uncle Nine began to explain the key points of the boxing technique. The movements were vigorous, emphasizing guiding Qi with intent and using Qi to drive force. Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng listened drowsily, their movements clumsy. Mo Yuan, however, listened with extreme focus. Every move Uncle Nine demonstrated, a flash of understanding would appear in his eyes.

Primordial Comprehension activated silently. In his eyes, this seemingly simple Foundation Boxing technique, every move and every stance, seemed to subtly resonate with the circulation of the body's Blood Essence and the flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Where the force originated, where the crucial points for Qi transformation were, how to make minute adjustments to more efficiently draw in surrounding spiritual energy to temper his muscles and bones... countless optimization plans automatically emerged.

He began to practice. At first, his movements were a bit stiff, but they quickly became fluid and natural, even... subtly exuding a unique charm. His punches and kicks weren't as weak and listless as Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng's, nor were they solely forceful like Uncle Nine's demonstration. Instead, they were a blend of hardness and softness, his movements expansive and coordinated, as if in accordance with some natural rhythm. With every gesture, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy seemed to be drawn to him, threads of it integrating into his movements, imperceptibly nourishing his body.

Uncle Nine watched from the side, his eyelids twitching. This was hardly a beginner's practice! This was the level of skill one achieved after years of immersion in this path! Especially the effect of drawing spiritual energy to aid cultivation, even he might not be able to achieve it so smoothly and naturally! This kid... could he truly be a natural-born cultivation prodigy? No, this had already surpassed the scope of "prodigy"!

After finishing the boxing practice, Uncle Nine, with a stern face, tossed a thin book, Primer on Talismans, to Mo Yuan. "For cultivators, Talismans, Incantations, Secret Arts, and Footwork are the fundamental techniques. Today, you will first learn the most basic Purification Talisman. You must use your own spiritual power, concentrate your mind, and draw the talisman in one stroke to make it effective. Avoid impatience and restlessness."

He deliberately chose drawing talismans to see if Mo Yuan was also monstrously gifted in areas requiring fine control and mental focus.

Mo Yuan took the book and eagerly flipped to the page for the Purification Talisman. The seemingly complex and twisted runes were instantly broken down in his eyes into the most basic stroke trajectories, the intent of spiritual energy flow within each stroke clearly visible.

"System, sign in!"

[Ding! Sign-in successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: a stack of talisman paper, three taels of cinnabar, and a low-grade talisman brush at "Mount Mao Mortuary!"]

Perfect! Mo Yuan immediately took out the tools obtained from the sign-in, spread out the talisman paper, and ground the cinnabar. He held his breath and concentrated, but did not immediately start drawing. Instead, he mentally deduced the entire talisman drawing process repeatedly using Primordial Comprehension.

Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng crowded around to watch the spectacle. Qiu Sheng chuckled, "Junior brother, drawing talismans is really hard. I, your senior brother, only managed to draw something passable after three months. Don't waste all the talisman paper."

Mo Yuan looked up and grinned, "Senior brother, I think these runes are quite interesting."

With that, he picked up the talisman brush, dipped it generously in cinnabar. The tip of the brush landed on the yellow paper without the slightest hesitation. His wrist moved nimbly like a swimming dragon, the brush strokes like dragons and snakes! His movements were flowing and smooth, as if he wasn't drawing complex runes but performing an elegant dance. His mental power was highly concentrated, and the faint spiritual energy within his body was injected evenly and steadily into the runes through the tip of the brush.

The entire process was completed in one go, without the slightest pause or hesitation!

The brush retracted, the talisman was complete!

On the yellow paper, the Purification Talisman's lines were smooth and even, the cinnabar was bright, and it faintly emitted an almost imperceptible soft spiritual glow! This was by no means just a resemblance; it was a truly effective spiritual talisman imbued with spiritual energy!

"Plop!" Qiu Sheng fell onto the ground, his mouth agape. He pointed at the talisman, unable to speak for a long time.

Wen Cai rubbed his eyes and stammered, "It... it worked? It worked on the first try? And... and it has a spiritual glow?!"

Uncle Nine lunged forward, snatching the Purification Talisman. His fingers trembled slightly as he traced the lines on the talisman, feeling the stable and pure spiritual energy fluctuations within. He looked up at Mo Yuan, who had a "this is very simple" expression on his face, and his mouth twitched a few times.

Success on the first try! And such a high-quality spiritual talisman! This could no longer be described as just exceptional talent! This was practically a trampled dignity for all talisman masters!

Uncle Nine took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, doing his best to make his voice sound calm and unwavering. "It's... it's acceptable. It seems you do have some... fortunate encounters in the path of drawing talismans. But do not become arrogant or complacent. You must know that the path of talismans is vast and profound."

He truly couldn't find any other words to describe it, so he could only attribute it to "fortunate encounters."

Mo Yuan nodded obediently. "I understand, Master. I will work hard!" In his heart, however, he was thinking, "This Purification Talisman could still be optimized. If I increase the spiritual energy output at this turning point, would the effect be even better?"

In the following days, Mo Yuan completely displayed what it meant to be "heaven-defying."

Practicing Basic Qi Refining Manual? He broke through three levels overnight, his spiritual energy absorption rate making Uncle Nine doubt life.

Learning new talismans? He understood them at a glance, drew them perfectly on the first try, and could even extrapolate, making minor adjustments and optimizations to the runes, increasing the effectiveness of the talismans by more than thirty percent.

Practicing footwork and incantations? He had photographic memory, his body moving as he willed. When he performed them, he was even more skilled and precise than Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, who had practiced for over a decade.

In just half a month, Mo Yuan's cultivation soared to the peak of the third level of Qi Refining. He had mastered more basic Mount Mao techniques than his two senior brothers combined, and he excelled in every one, even showing signs of surpassing them.

In the Mortuary, Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng had gone from initial shock and envy to a current state of numbness and deep frustration. They finally understood that their junior brother was simply a monster who could not be judged by common sense!

Uncle Nine's feelings were even more complex. Was he happy? Naturally, he was. What master didn't want their disciples to succeed? But more than that, there was a sense of unreality and a faint worry.

Mo Yuan's growth rate was too fast, so fast it made his heart pound. He began to demand more rigorously that Mo Yuan solidify his foundation and temper himself repeatedly, fearing that this astonishing talent might become a root cause of stunted growth.

However, Mo Yuan's "heaven-defying" path would clearly not stop at this small Mortuary. One day, Uncle Nine received a request from Ren Fa, a wealthy merchant in Ren Family Town. His father, Ren Weiyong, had been buried for twenty years, and recently the family business had encountered repeated setbacks, which they suspected was related to the grave. He asked Uncle Nine to go and investigate.

Uncle Nine had intended to go alone, but he looked at Mo Yuan, who was gazing at him expectantly. A thought struck him. Perhaps it was time to let this kid witness real "practical experience" and temper his state of mind.

"Mo Yuan, pack your things. You're coming with me to the grave mountain outside Ren Family Town."

Mo Yuan's eyes immediately lit up like stars. "Yes, Master!"