Meng Po's Brew Was Drunk Too Little

"Gifted with extraordinary talent?"

Shen Gongbao was stunned for a moment, then he carefully looked Lu Chuan up and down, hesitating as he asked, "Are... you?"

"Master, perhaps you don't know, but my spiritual apertures were sealed from birth, which left me foolish for sixteen years. After Uncle-Master Jiang opened them for me..."

Lu Chuan's voice trembled slightly, his eyes remaining bright. "I discovered that my mind was incredibly sharp. I learned to speak just half a month after waking up, and furthermore..."

He struggled to find some way he differed from others.

Reincarnated into the Investiture of the Gods with memories of a past life—was this not the standard treatment for a male protagonist in a novel?

Then came the other question: where was the heaven-defying treasure that served as the standard configuration for a male lead?

During the half-month after waking up in the Song Mansion, when he was still unable to communicate with anyone, Lu Chuan had been pondering this very question.

Yet, in the end, he discovered to his dismay that aside from the clothes on his back, he possessed no treasures—not even a necklace or a bracelet.

After tossing and turning for half a month, Lu Chuan finally abandoned the idea that he was carrying some supreme treasure.

If there was no treasure, then as a male lead, he surely had to possess some extraordinary talent. This was the answer he was now desperate to hear from Shen Gongbao.

"Learning to speak in half a month—is that considered fast?"

Shen Gongbao stroked his graying beard with one hand, musing, "In ancient times, there were those who could speak the moment they hit the ground and walk within a day..."

Lu Chuan's expression gradually stiffened.

"Master, I have another secret I have never told anyone..."

Lu Chuan took a deep breath; he decided to play his trump card.

As a male protagonist, if he didn't have a treasure, how could he lack some special talent?

He still believed he was a gifted male lead.

Hearing this, Shen Gongbao looked at Lu Chuan with interest, wanting to hear what was so special about his disciple.

Lu Chuan frowned, feigning the appearance of someone deep in thought, and said earnestly, "Sometimes, strange images of memories appear in my mind. They don't seem to belong to me, but to someone who lived in another world..."

His words were vague and ambiguous, as he did not want to reveal all his cards.

"Hahaha..."

But this time, before he could finish, Shen Gongbao burst into loud laughter, interrupting him.

Lu Chuan was stunned, looking at the belly-laughing Shen Gongbao in confusion.

"Master, what are you laughing at? It's the truth," Lu Chuan explained with great solemnity.

"Disciple, do you know that whenever a person dies, their soul must go to the Netherworld, cross the Naihe Bridge, and drink Meng Po's soup to forget the mortal world?"

Shen Gongbao waved his hand, laughing, "Then, according to their merits and sins in life, they enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation—to become a human or a beast?"

Although Lu Chuan didn't understand why he was saying this, he still nodded.

He had heard of this; simply put, Meng Po's soup was equivalent to formatting a soul, wiping all memories clean before entering the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Lu Chuan hadn't experienced this process, but he reckoned that those who accumulated virtue while alive could remain human or be reborn into a good family, while those who committed sins would enter the path of beasts to be slaughtered as livestock.

"You brat!"

Shen Gongbao tapped him on the head and laughed, "In this master's view, you simply didn't drink enough of Meng Po's soup!"

Lu Chuan froze upon hearing this.

"If one drinks too little Meng Po's soup or the portion is insufficient, it fails to erase all memories of the past life, and when reborn as a human, those memories might be seen by your current self."

Shen Gongbao waved his hand and smiled, "I see that is exactly your situation. Someone in the Netherworld must have been slacking off. If it has caused you any trouble, how about I cut away these past-life memories for you?"

"No, no, no, there's no need, Master!"

The light in Lu Chuan's eyes dimmed rapidly, and he forced a smile that looked worse than crying. His current memories were entirely from his past life; if they were cut away, he would likely turn back into a fool.

So much for being a male protagonist—it turned out... he had just been overthinking it!

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, a glimmer of spirit returned to his eyes, and he asked, "Then Master, do memories of a past life count as an extraordinary talent?"

He was still unwilling to give up; surely, living a second life meant he had to be somewhat different?

"They do not!" Shen Gongbao laughed. "Although the Netherworld is strictly managed, their workload is too heavy every day, so it is inevitable that a few oversights occur. It won't cause any major impact."

"Alright then!"

Lu Chuan had no choice but to accept his fate. Though he couldn't hide his disappointment, he let out a long breath at the same time, as if he had set down a heavy burden.

He felt his head had been a bit feverish earlier, actually believing he was some kind of male protagonist.

He was a protagonist, true, but only of his own life. Everyone in this world was the protagonist of their own story, so in the end, it was all the same.

Now, Shen Gongbao's words had instantly cooled his head.

He had no portable treasure, no wise old man to answer his questions, and he wasn't gifted with extraordinary talent...

Even having memories of a past life wasn't unique in this world. Since that was the case, he should abandon these unrealistic thoughts and focus on cultivating honestly.

"You brat, stop with these wild thoughts in the future. You actually managed to fool me. Talent? You possess the cultivation aptitude that many people desire; that is the greatest talent of all."

After laughing, Shen Gongbao cautioned, "With this, what other talent do you need? If you cultivate diligently, you may yet have the chance to attain the Dao and become an immortal."

At these words, Lu Chuan was struck, frozen in place.

Soon, a brilliant smile bloomed on his face. He rose and bowed to Shen Gongbao, saying, "Many thanks for your guidance, Master. This disciple understands!"

Shen Gongbao was absolutely right; possessing the aptitude to walk the Immortal Path was his greatest and finest talent. How laughable that he had been sitting on a mountain of treasure without even realizing it.

"It is good that you understand!"

Shen Gongbao stroked his beard and smiled.

Deep in the night!

The bright moon hung high, and Lu Chuan sat cross-legged in the courtyard with his eyes closed, bathed in the silvery moonlight. He focused his mind and calmed his spirit, practicing the breathing techniques of the Five Elements True Origin Formula.

One could see that as he inhaled and exhaled, the moonlight actually condensed into fine, thread-like white lines, entering his body through his nose and mouth.

In truth, most cultivation in this world leads to the same destination by different paths.

It is not only Qi Refiners who must draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon into their bodies to transform into true qi; even the demons do the same.

It is just that most demons lack the fortune to be taught profound cultivation methods by immortals. Thus, they mostly gain sentience through sheer coincidence, relying on instinct to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon to cultivate.

Furthermore, they lack the nine orifices of a human, which makes their progress in cultivation extremely slow and difficult.

Take, for instance, that formidable stone monkey who would emerge into the world thousands of years later. He was born with great destiny and superior aptitude, possessing the nine orifices and four limbs of a human.

Yet, compared to a human, he lacked human cheeks, which created a flaw in the seventy-two transformations he learned, causing him to suffer setbacks later on his Journey to the West.

If even a spiritual monkey born of heaven and earth, though not in a human form, faced such great limitations, it goes without saying for other common spirits of grass and wood.

They must gather centuries of effort just to cultivate a human form and possess the nine orifices and acupuncture points of a human; only then can their cultivation speed match that of a human.

This is why they can cultivate for hundreds or thousands of years yet still be unable to defeat monks or Taoists who have only cultivated for a few decades, and why they are so desperate to cultivate into human form.

From this, it is evident that whether one is a martial artist or a Qi Refiner, human cultivation is far easier than that of demons.

Two days passed in this manner. During these two days, Lu Chuan diligently absorbed the essence of the sun and moon every morning, evening, and midnight, hoping to succeed in Foundation Establishment and cultivate true qi as soon as possible.

On the morning of the third day.

"Success!"

As the morning sun rose completely in the east and the dawn light spilled onto Lu Chuan, who sat in the courtyard, his closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a trace of joy on his face.

After three days of cultivation, he had finally cultivated his first strand of true qi.

This was called entering the gate, or successfully achieving Foundation Establishment.

At this moment, a wisp of heat rested quietly in his dantian, declaring his success.

He could clearly feel that strand of true qi, though he could not see it, as he was not yet able to perform internal observation.

A ten-thousand-foot tower rises from the ground; this was his foundation and his very first brick. Now, he needed to continue gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, constantly strengthening, strengthening, and strengthening that true qi...