"Only fifty percent?"
Immortal Juhua said, "In that case, your cultivation is only at the early Purple Mansion stage. There's no need to rush into the trial."
Immortal Juhua glanced at the Yellow-Haired Great Bear, then turned to Lei Zhan. "Lei Zhan, tell me, apart from the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map, what other arts and secret techniques do you know?"
Lei Zhan had joined Immortal Juhua's school, and the talent and insight he had displayed, along with everything else he had shown, had left his master extremely satisfied.
Now, it was time for him to fulfill his duty as a master.
"Arts and secret techniques?" Lei Zhan's heart stirred.
Was his master about to pass down some teachings?
"Mm. Comprehending the Dao is fundamental, but a cultivator can't do without various other means, either. You know that profound arts and secret techniques, as well as all kinds of powerful magic treasures, can greatly increase a cultivator's combat strength."
"I have plenty of resources. You know how important Essence Liquid is to cultivators. I could give you a great deal at once, letting you break through to the Primordial Spirit Daoist level, even the Void Return level, but that would be like pulling up the seedlings to help them grow."
"As for precious magic treasures, the first master of this cave abode established rules as well. The Hall of Treasures holds countless precious treasures, but you'll have to go there and take them yourself."
"But as for arts and secret techniques, the foundation of cultivation, I can consider which ones to pass on to you as your master."
Immortal Juhua had his own considerations. On the path of cultivation, companions, methods, wealth, and land were all indispensable. He could even provide all of them, but indulging his disciple too much would not help him grow.
Even among mortals, a father might teach his son a skill and then send him out to make his own way in the world. How much more so for a disciple of Immortal Juhua?
If he indulged him too much, Lei Zhan would lose his drive to strive. Immortal Juhua was alive now and could provide countless resources, but if Lei Zhan failed to survive the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations a hundred years later, he would lose his master's protection. Even if he had acquired a vast trove of treasures left behind by a Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years, it would still be difficult for him to survive in the Great Xia World.
A Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years might be renowned throughout the Great Xia World, but he would also have plenty of enemies.
It was better to make the most of the time while he was still alive and raise his disciple from the ground up.
He would teach him the very best arts and secret techniques. As long as Lei Zhan's Dao-heart was tempered and grew stronger, he would have the foundation of the Great Dao.
Once he obtained a wealth of resources, he would soar like a roc, rising straight into the heavens.
In that moment, Immortal Juhua considered many things. But the soul of a Loose Immortal who had lived for a million years was immensely powerful. With a single turn of his thoughts, he quickly sorted through countless considerations.
"Yes." Lei Zhan nodded.
He naturally understood the unspoken meaning behind his master Immortal Juhua's words.
His past life's experiences had given Lei Zhan a profound appreciation of this. If he mastered the Dragon-Slaying Technique, he could easily obtain magic treasures and other treasures with his own abilities.
Lei Zhan replied respectfully, "When I was still a mortal, I once stumbled into a cultivator's cave abode and obtained a few inheritances."
"Among them was a copy of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map, which can be cultivated up to the ninth stage; the first volume of Law of Heaven and Earth, which can be cultivated to the Wanxiang True Person level; and a terrestrial-rank spear art, the Blue Sea Spear Technique. I never obtained any other arts."
Lei Zhan had originally been born in the endless mountains near the North Dark Sea. His parents were mortals from a small clan tribe, and they hadn't even reached the Xiantian level.
The tribe was tiny, and its strongest cultivator was only a Wanxiang True Person.
When he was three years old, a powerful god-devil stormed into the tribe. His parents, relatives, and countless tribespeople were slaughtered almost to the last, but for some reason, he had miraculously survived.
When he awoke, he was astonished to find himself inside a cave abode.
Inside were only four books, seemingly left behind casually by a cultivator.
One was the Great Xia World's most powerful and widely circulated god-devil body-refining method, the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map. Another was the divine ability Law of Heaven and Earth, a complete terrestrial-rank spear art, and a cultivator's journal.
Relying on these, Lei Zhan had cultivated alone, without anyone to teach him.
Cultivation had naturally been extraordinarily difficult at first. It had taken him a full thirteen years to go from an ordinary mortal with no cultivation to an Xiantian Being.
Only after he had gained some cultivation did his natural talent fully reveal itself.
"Hmm? One god-devil body-refining method, one divine ability, and one terrestrial-rank spear art? And they still let you cultivate to this level? You truly are a monster." Immortal Juhua was surprised, and his resolve grew firmer.
As a Magic Treasure Spirit, the Yellow-Haired Great Bear might not know much about this.
But Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years as a top Loose Immortal. He naturally knew how difficult it was for mortals to struggle for survival in this God-Devil Era.
"In the God-Devil Era, the six great feudal lords fought for supremacy. In the end, the Great Xia royal clan and the many feudal lords won the final victory after a fierce struggle. Under the Xia Emperor's rule, god-devils still wreak havoc in the Great Xia World, but overall, things are stable."
Immortal Juhua continued, "The Xia Emperor ordered his subordinates to spread the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map after bringing the world under his rule, but most people only received the first two volumes."
"Law of Heaven and Earth has also been widely circulated, and it is indeed a powerful divine ability. As for your spear art... I follow the sword-immortal path, so it's difficult for me to provide you with arts and secret techniques."
As Immortal Juhua spoke, he flipped his hand, and several jade slips appeared in it.
"Lei Zhan, the god-devil body-refining method, the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map, is already profound enough. I'll pass down the second volume to you, which will be enough to cultivate to the Void Return level."
"As for divine abilities, since you've already learned Law of Heaven and Earth, I'll teach you another great divine ability: Three Heads and Six Arms."
"As for spear arts, I don't have anything particularly profound, so you'll have to seek them out yourself."
"Yes! This disciple thanks Master!" Lei Zhan respectfully accepted the jade slips.
"Lei Zhan, have you ever learned a qi-refining method? Or a visualization method for the soul?" Immortal Juhua asked again.
"Qi-refining methods... visualization methods for the soul... This disciple has never learned either." Lei Zhan gently shook his head. "How precious are visualization methods for the soul? Before becoming your disciple, I was only a wandering cultivator. I had no way to find one."
"As for qi-refining methods, most of what I obtained was too crude, so I never practiced any of it."
"Mm." Immortal Juhua nodded. Visualization methods for the soul were indeed precious arts for condensing and strengthening the soul. Generally, only direct descendants of great tribes had a chance to learn them.
Qi-refining methods were easier to obtain, but most were too shallow to amount to much.
"In that case, I'll pass down a visualization method for the soul and a profound qi-refining method as well." Immortal Juhua smiled slightly. "Lei Zhan, come forward."
"Yes." Lei Zhan took a few steps and came to stand before his master, Immortal Juhua.
Immortal Juhua had once obtained a visualization method. It was an image of a Buddha, the Buddha of Sun and Moon Light!
Throughout the millions of years he had lived, Immortal Juhua had visualized this Buddha of Sun and Moon Light. A crystal-clear image of the Buddha had long since formed in his sea of consciousness.
Now, he could use profound methods to transmit it directly into Lei Zhan's sea of consciousness, sparing him a great deal of trouble.
Immortal Juhua raised his hand and touched Lei Zhan between the brows with a single finger.
"Boom~~~"
Lei Zhan felt a rumble in his mind, and a gigantic Buddha with a compassionate expression appeared in his sea of consciousness.
Behind the Buddha, the sun and moon hung high, radiating boundless light.
Just watching the image stirred something within Lei Zhan. His soul and true spirit even grew stronger by a trace!
"This visualization method..." Lei Zhan only emerged from his immersion after a while, his eyes still filled with shock.
Even though this soul-visualization method, Inner Contemplation of Sun and Moon Bright Buddha, was not as supreme as the Nuwa Map, it was still incredibly profound.
Immortal Juhua smiled at Lei Zhan. "This Inner Contemplation of Sun and Moon Bright Buddha is the visualization method for the soul that I usually practice. It contains unparalleled mysteries. If you visualize it regularly, you'll surely be able to refine your soul. When that happens, even at the Purple Mansion level, you'll possess the Divine Sense that only Wanxiang True Persons can wield."
"Yes. Thank you, Master, for bestowing this art." Lei Zhan naturally understood the benefits of soul-visualization methods.
Visualization methods could refine the soul, and the soul was the foundation of a person.
If a cultivator's soul was powerful, he could fight enemies above his level simply by controlling magic treasures. There were also all kinds of secret soul arts. Once mastered, they made cultivators even harder to guard against.
"Think nothing of it. You're my only disciple, so naturally I have to put some thought into raising you." Immortal Juhua smiled and patted the young man before him. "As for a qi-refining method, most powerful cultivators practice god-devil body refinement and qi refinement together. My disciple can't be weaker than anyone else, either."
"I've seen this soul-visualization method of Juhua's before." The Yellow-Haired Great Bear standing nearby nodded. "Those who can attain the Great Dao have the mysteries of the Great Dao within their very forms. The one visualized in this Inner Contemplation of Sun and Moon Bright Buddha is a powerful figure from the Buddhist Sect. It may not be one of the very best, but the methods that surpass it aren't ones you can obtain at your current level."
"Hmm?" Lei Zhan blinked. He wasn't picky. Though he didn't have a visualization method like the Nuwa Map, the method Immortal Juhua had was more than good enough.
"You certainly know how to talk. Yet you haven't passed down a single supreme art or secret technique."
Immortal Juhua glanced at the Yellow-Haired Great Bear, then turned to Lei Zhan. "Lei Zhan, when you comprehended the Dao earlier, Senior Big Bear promised that if you obtained a divine ability passed down by his master, he would find you a supreme spear art."
"You'll have to work hard and not disappoint Senior Big Bear!"
Everyone else had a temper of their own. Immortal Juhua was a top Loose Immortal renowned throughout the Great Xia World, and he naturally had his pride.
"A supreme spear art?"
Lei Zhan considered it, then nodded. "I definitely won't disappoint you, Master."