Practicing the New Spell

Days passed like this.

Cultivation, cooking, reading, sleeping.

No earth-shattering events, no life-or-death dangers.

Shen Hui would occasionally listen to his senior brothers and sisters share amusing tales from down the mountain. In the dead of night, he flipped through a few pages by the ghostly flame suspended in midair, page by page, slowly reading.

Outside the window, the leaves turned from golden to withered yellow, then fell away entirely, leaving only bare branches shivering in the cold wind.

It wasn't until the first snowfall that Shen Hui suddenly realized he had already been on the mountain for over three months.

That day, after finishing his meditation, he summoned the interface as usual for a look:

[Realm]: Qi Induction (1123/10000)

[Dharma Power]: 112 (Distributable)

Good, his cultivation was steadily advancing—the future looked promising~

Shen Hui rose from his bed and pushed open the door.

The twelfth-month wind hit him square in the face, cold enough to make him shiver.

The old locust tree in the courtyard stood bare, its branches dusted with a thin layer of snow. A few sparrows huddled among the forks, chirping incessantly.

In the middle of the yard stood a wooden post, with several stones scattered around it—all tools he had used for training these past days.

He walked to the center of the yard, formed a hand seal, and stirred his mind slightly.

A spark the size of a bean flew from his fingertip, thin as a lampwick, fast as a loosed arrow. In the blink of an eye, it struck the wooden post.

Whoosh—

A ball of flame exploded violently, instantly engulfing the entire post.

The fire burned for only a breath before extinguishing on its own.

The post remained where it stood, but it had turned into a lump of pitch-black charcoal. Though it still held the shape of a post, its surface was already riddled with cracks.

A mountain breeze blew past. With a soft huff, the entire lump of charcoal scattered into a pile of ash, swept up by the wind and carried toward the corner of the yard.

Shen Hui nodded, then flicked out another spark, this time landing on a stone.

This time, it didn't explode—it pierced through.

The spark landed on the surface of the bluestone and, like hot water poured onto snow, bored a small hole straight through without any resistance, burrowing inside.

Shen Hui changed his hand seal.

Blazing fire seeped out from within the stone, and in an instant, it condensed into a fist-sized flame.

The bluestone, like beeswax, began to soften and drip downward.

Three breaths later, the stone had completely melted into a puddle of glowing red liquid, flowing slowly across the ground, sizzling and giving off a pungent, burnt smell.

Shen Hui was satisfied. Ordinary flame control was already sufficient.

Then he closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.

He cast all seven emotions and six desires into the heart-lamp, and the ancient lamp in his chest brightened by several degrees.

He began to chant the incantation, word by word, his voice ringing like metal striking stone:

"Li Ming Illumination, Fire Mansion Divine Lord—"

With each line, the flame in his heart blazed hotter.

"Flying sparks and flashing lightning, Sha fire surging like a rainbow—"

The flame leaped higher, shifting from orange to red.

"Burning souls and refining spirits, crimson banners whipping in the wind—"

The red flame turned cyan, the heat wave pressing in.

"Forgetting form and severing thoughts, the fierce ghost bursts from its cage!"

As he finished the last line, Shen Hui's eyes snapped open, faint flames flickering deep within them.

With a thought, a hideous fire ghost materialized out of thin air and lunged forward in an instant!

The fire ghost stood a full twelve feet tall, its entire body blazing crimson.

It bared its claws and fangs, flying at the several bluestones at breakneck speed, instantly enveloping them.

Flames danced wildly, heat waves roiling.

In a single instant, the fire dispersed, leaving behind only a charred black pit in the ground.

At the bottom of the pit lay a layer of dark red magma, still bubbling and gurgling, while a thin black crust had formed on the surface. Cracked by the rising heat, it split open with a sharp snap.

Blue smoke rose on all sides. Shen Hui stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at the result of his strike. After a long moment, he let out a soft breath.

Good.

With fire techniques trained to this level, he was more than enough to handle wild mountain spirits below the Foundation Establishment realm.

He looked up at the gray, overcast sky, mentally calculating his next move.

He needed to learn new spells.

The Lesser Five Elements Art still contained Wood Nurturing, Water Controlling, Earth Transforming, and Metal Sharpening.

He had tried each one back then, and aside from the Fire Art, the Wood Nurturing Technique had felt the most promising.

Though not as intuitive as the Fire Art, he could still vaguely sense a thread of understanding.

Cultivating all five elements simultaneously had been his plan from the start; as for the order, he would begin with whatever came easiest.

Then there was the hot spring.

Now that he had a modicum of skill, he could go to the Back Mountain Hot Spring on his own.

The pool was rich with spiritual energy; if he could cultivate there, the daily accumulation of cultivation points might increase by one.

If he made more trips over time, the steady buildup would speed up his progress considerably.

With that thought, he turned and went back into the house, took out the scroll of the Lesser Five Elements Art, flipped to the Wood Nurturing Chapter, and began reading it carefully.

When Shen Hui finally looked up from the Wood Nurturing Chapter, the sky outside the window had already darkened.

He rubbed his eyes, carefully rolled up the silk scroll, and headed toward the kitchen.

His mind was still churning with phrases like "the germination of wood qi" and "the stirring of spring vitality," which felt far more abstract than the Fire Art.

After all, fire was something you could see and touch, but wood qi was ethereal and elusive, relying entirely on "comprehension."

In the kitchen, Fifth Senior Brother had already washed the vegetables and was waiting for him to start the fire for cooking.

Shen Hui quickly stir-fried a few dishes and boiled a pot of dry rice.

He sliced wild boar meat, stewed cabbage until tender, and sprinkled in some chopped wild chives; the aroma filled the entire courtyard.

Truth be told, he only made simple home-style meals, and the taste was nothing special.

But in the harsh life of the mountains, a bit of grease and meat was already a rare treat for a group of Daoists who had long subsisted on plain porridge.

Once the food was on the table, the senior and junior brothers took their seats one after another.

The master showed up today too.

In fact, ever since he had declared, "I'm done with fasting," he appeared promptly for dinner every evening.

Shen Hui looked at his face, now sprouting stubble and eyebrows, and felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

Midway through the meal, he suddenly looked up: "Master, this disciple would like to go to the Back Mountain Hot Spring tomorrow. May I skip morning lessons?"

The old Daoist paused his chopsticks and glanced at him: "That poolside?"

"Yes."

"Go ahead. Your Fire Art is already sufficient for traveling through these mountains; you can protect yourself without worry."

The old Daoist continued picking up food and chewed it slowly.

Shen Hui felt a wave of relief, but Fourth Senior Sister Jinghui suddenly chimed in:

"Third Senior Brother and I just came back from there today."

Shen Hui looked at her: "What were you doing there, Senior Sister?"

Before Jinghui could answer, Third Senior Brother Qingyi explained with a smile: "That Spirit Nourishing Grass has been thriving ever since we transplanted it by the hot spring. This afternoon, we moved the remaining few plants over as well and replaced their soil with fresh earth."

"All of them survived?" Shen Hui asked.

"They did." Qingyi nodded. "The ground by the pool is warm and moist, far better than the pots."

Hearing this, the old Daoist spoke slowly: "By this time next year, the two lowest leaves of that grass can be picked. Soak them in wine, store them for a year, and drinking it will boost your cultivation."

Shen Hui's heart stirred: "How much of a boost, I wonder?"

The old Daoist shot him a glance: "Not much. But it's better than nothing."

Shen Hui nodded, thinking to himself, that's true.

The Spirit Nourishing Grass wasn't particularly valuable to begin with; a slight effect was already decent. Expecting it to let you leap to the heavens overnight was just wishful thinking.

Jinghui suddenly set down her chopsticks, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Shen Hui:

"Little Junior Brother, I'll go with you tomorrow!"

Shen Hui was taken aback: "Do you have business there too, Senior Sister?"

"I do!"

Jinghui counted on her fingers, "I know there's a Spirit Cat in the woods behind the hot spring that just had a litter of cubs. I'll go check tomorrow—if I can catch one to raise for fun..."

A Spirit Cat?

Shen Hui thought for a moment, and an image of a beast popped into his mind.

It looked like a cat, with markings like a leopard, but its body was more like a weasel's—long and slender, appearing cute and lively.

But the old Daoist suddenly set his chopsticks down on the bowl.

"Don't go."

He glanced at Jinghui, his tone flat. "Wandering around all day, never cultivating."

The smile on Jinghui's face froze.

"Master—"

"No."

Jinghui opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She drooped her head, a huge mouthful of rice stuffed in her cheeks, puffing them out like a steamed bun, chewing silently with extra force.

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