Tingting's Request

Qiusheng had just entered the quiet room and was preparing to ask something else when Uncle Nine raised a hand, cutting him off.

"Qiusheng, come here. All the cultivation manuals you wanted are right here. Choose whichever ones catch your eye and take them yourself."

After saying this, Uncle Nine didn't give him a chance to speak, turning around and leaving immediately.

"Hm?"

Observing Uncle Nine's reaction, Qiusheng subconsciously felt that there was definitely something fishy about the sealing of the two top-tier techniques of their lineage.

Combined with what Uncle Nine had previously said about the Heavenly Master cultivation level, a conjecture gradually formed in his mind.

However, now was not the time for him to worry about such things; just as Uncle Nine had said, he was not yet strong enough.

If things were truly as he suspected—that the Maoshan Sect had been forced to cut off its own arm due to external pressure—then the entity capable of forcing their lineage into such a state must be a behemoth.

After all, without exaggeration, although the Maoshan Sect had declined and hadn't produced many experts at the Heavenly Master level, it was still a Taoist sect with a long heritage. How could it be easily threatened by any random stray cat or dog?

Shaking his head, Qiusheng cast aside the wild thoughts in his mind and began to carefully sift through the Taoist manuals his master had brought out.

After flipping through them casually, Qiusheng frowned.

The level of these Five Elements techniques was surprisingly low. The strongest technique among them, called the Blazing Sun Art, could only produce a fireball the size of a cart wheel.

Moreover, the flame was merely ordinary fire. If it hit some vengeful spirit or fierce ghost, the effect would likely be nothing more than giving them a sauna.

Sigh, this is really a scam.

Qiusheng sighed to himself, then began to bury his head in the manuals, devouring them one by one.

It took an entire day, but Qiusheng finally finished reading every single Taoist manual in Uncle Nine's quiet room.

Within his status panel, eighteen new techniques had been added.

Among these eighteen, five were Five Elements Evasion techniques, and the rest were mostly low-power offensive spells, which I won't list here one by one.

"Whew!"

Exhaling a long breath of stale air, Qiusheng looked at the 580 Exorcism Points he had left, feeling a sense of helplessness.

There was no helping it; his goal was the Five Elements Spirit Body, so he would study every technique related to the five elements.

Just like that, he had consumed 180 Exorcism Points to master all eighteen Five Elements techniques he had found, leaving him with only this much.

"Forget it, the consumption is heavy, but let's just consider it an investment to learn more spells and develop comprehensively."

While comforting himself, Qiusheng turned his gaze back to his status panel.

He then recklessly dumped all 580 of his Exorcism Points into a metal-type technique called the Geng Metal Art.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for consuming 20 Exorcism Points to raise Geng Metal Art to the Initial stage."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for consuming 40 Exorcism Points to raise Geng Metal Art to the Intermediate stage."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for consuming 80 Exorcism Points to raise Geng Metal Art to the Advanced stage."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for consuming 160 Exorcism Points to raise Geng Metal Art to Great Perfection."

After consuming exactly three hundred Exorcism Points, the system notification sound he was extremely familiar with finally rang in his ears.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for cultivating Geng Metal Art to the Great Perfection realm. The host's affinity for metal-type elemental power has deepened."

"Nice."

Amidst the series of system notifications, Qiusheng shouted excitedly.

He then poured all his remaining Exorcism Points into another metal-type spell, Golden Light Evasion, raising it to the Advanced stage, which basically exhausted all the Exorcism Points he had.

Character: Qiusheng (Inner Disciple of the Maoshan Sect).
Spirit Body: Earth Spirit Body.
Cultivation: Human Master (Late Stage) (To break through, one must awaken the Five Elements Spirit Body).
Exorcism Points: 120.
Taoist Arts: Talisman Making+ (Advanced), Shangqing Dongxuan Record+ (Intermediate), Maoshan Basic Martial Arts (Advanced), Palm Thunder (Advanced), Lightning Bolt Fist (Great Perfection), Feng Shui Geomancy (Entry)+, God-Inviting Technique (Initial)+, Geng Metal Art (Great Perfection), Golden Light Evasion (Advanced)...
Lifespan: 62+

Looking at his current status panel, Qiusheng stood up satisfied and left the quiet room.

The sky had already turned to dusk. Having not eaten for an entire day, he felt incredibly hungry and had no choice but to head toward the kitchen.

Coincidentally, just as he stepped into the kitchen, he saw Ren Tingting carrying a bowl of hot food and vegetables, heading out.

"Oh, Brother Sheng, you're out! I was just about to bring you some food; you haven't eaten all day."

Looking at Tingting's sweet and obedient appearance, Qiusheng chuckled.

"Haha, Tingting, thank you."

"It's nothing, Brother Sheng."

Seeing his little girlfriend acting shy again, Qiusheng shook his head.

He pulled her into the main hall of the Public Mortuary, chatting with her while he ate.

"Brother Sheng, I heard from Uncle Nine that you and Wencai will be escorting Daoist Priest Four Eyes back tomorrow night, and it will be a long time before you return. Is that true?"

"Yes, Tingting. I do have to be away for a while. I estimate that it will be at least a few months before I can come back."

Hearing the question Ren Tingting asked, Qiusheng nodded in response.

"Then can I go with you?"

"No!"

Although Tingting looked pitiful and heart-wrenching at this moment, Qiusheng refused her request quite decisively.

This was no laughing matter; after all, this trip was not for sightseeing.

Not to mention that going to his martial uncle's place required escorting corpses the entire way, traveling by night and resting by day.

Just the fact that there was a high probability of encountering the Royal Zombie once they reached his martial uncle's place meant he absolutely could not take Tingting along to risk her life.

"Tingting, the road ahead is truly too dangerous."

"Besides, there are still a mountain of matters in Ren Family Town waiting for you to handle. How could you just walk away with me?"

Looking at Ren Tingting, whose eyes were brimming with tears after his firm refusal, Qiusheng could only speak in a gentle tone.

"Tingting, I promise you that I will finish everything on my hands as quickly as possible and strive to return early. How about that?"

Listening to Qiusheng's guarantee, although Tingting was still somewhat reluctant, she eventually nodded and said.

"Alright, Brother Sheng, I understand. I will wait for your return in Ren Family Town."

"But you must promise me one thing."

"What is it? Tell me."

Looking at Ren Tingting in front of him, who was pouting and clearly still unwilling, Qiusheng said.

"I want you to have Uncle Nine teach me the Dao. As long as you get Uncle Nine to take me as his disciple, I will wait for you properly in Ren Family Town."