Choice

'The original Orthodox Three-Mountains Talisman Qi Formula was derived by integrating the rudimentary true intent I inherited from Earthly Fiend Talisman Water, the Snake Tribe's Snake Shamanic Script, and the proven foundational breathing method from my memories of my previous life. Later, I integrated fragments of the <Supreme True Person Life-Nourishing Message Yin Talisman Treasure Register> and the <White Lotus True Faith Doubt-Dispelling Non-Cultivation Free and Easy Treasure Scroll> obtained from dungeon worlds, adding methods for tempering the five viscera and six bowels and granting it the marvelous effect of prolonging life.'

Yu Chen's gaze shifted to the original Orthodox Three-Mountains Talisman Qi Formula, and he pondered silently. 'But at its core, the original Orthodox Three-Mountains Talisman Qi Formula still focused on qi. Though the dharmic power it cultivated was suited for drawing talismans and could somewhat enhance Snake Shamanic Script and shamanic arts, it placed equal emphasis on talismans and qi. That was why I named it Orthodox Three-Mountains, yet called it the Talisman Qi Formula.'

'To put it plainly, although the original Orthodox Three-Mountains Talisman Qi Formula carries a degree of talisman-art enhancement and leans more toward the path of talismans in nature, the Talisman Qi Formula is still fundamentally an orthodox qi-refining method. It follows the road of qi refinement.'

Yu Chen shifted his gaze to the new method. 'But the Orthodox Three-Mountains Talisman Qi Formula derived from the newly acquired inheritance true intent is different. This method takes talismans as its primary focus and qi as its supplement. Its core lies in talisman arts; qi refinement is merely incidental. Thus, from the very beginning of cultivation, the two have different priorities.'

According to the new cultivation method's records, during the initial stage of the Human Immortal Realm, when tempering the body and sitting in forgetfulness, one used bodily tempering as a supplement and spirit condensation as the primary focus, visualizing a talisman as the core of one's dharmic power.

The benefit of this was that cultivators could then employ certain simple spells, especially spells connected to the talisman they visualized, with power not necessarily inferior to that of cultivators at the middle stage of the Human Immortal Realm. The drawbacks, however, were equally obvious. Compared with ordinary Immortal Dao cultivators, those who cultivated the new method would possess frailer bodies. For people of ordinary constitution, they would likely only be somewhat stronger than normal people, perhaps even weaker than ordinary people who regularly exercised and tempered their bodies.

Then came the middle stage of the Human Immortal Realm, when one condensed essence and opened the meridians. Dharmic power within the body formed an inner circulation, while the talisman initially visualized began to expand. But the physical body improved very little, essentially remaining within the range of ordinary people, and one's dharmic power was thinner than that of ordinary cultivators. The benefit remained the same: enhanced spellcasting ability.

Next came the later stage of the Human Immortal Realm, when one drew in qi and refined the spirit. Divine sense and soul united, sublimating into the divine soul that sat at the center, drawing heaven and earth essence qi into the body. A small half was used to internally refine the five viscera and six bowels, while the greater half merged into the talisman, forming the embryonic shape of a true seal.

At this stage, because the new method emphasized the spirit in its early phases, once the talisman transformed into the embryonic shape of a true seal, it could draw upon far more heaven and earth essence qi than ordinary cultivators. Furthermore, since the physical body was weaker than that of cultivators at the same realm, the small portion of essence qi used for internal refinement was enough to cleanse the five viscera and six bowels, perfect the body, and extend one's lifespan. Yet compared to ordinary Immortal Dao cultivators, its physical body lagged far behind, possessing almost no ability to resist in close combat.

Finally came the completion of the Human Immortal Realm, when one chose a path for Foundation Establishment. Once both divine soul and physical body had reached perfection, one could choose to gather Incense and Fire Prayer Power and follow the path centered on divine seals, or focus upon oneself and follow the path centered on true seals.

As for the initial stage of the Ghost Immortal Realm beyond that, Yu Chen had also named it the Object-Driving True Person Realm according to the classification used in the game world, combined with the results of his deductions. Cultivators at this realm possessed divine souls as clear and translucent as glazed crystal, capable of sublimating into yin spirits. They gained the ability to directly interfere with reality through their minds and could send their souls wandering through the mortal world.

At this point, the path centered on talismans would produce a more powerful yin spirit.

Though Yu Chen had yet to deduce the corresponding realm for the path centered on qi refinement, he could roughly infer some information. Even with an inheritance supplement nearly equivalent to Talisman Water, the yin spirit condensed through a talisman-centered path would still be ten to thirty percent stronger than one condensed through a qi-refinement-centered path, and it would possess certain special abilities.

Overall, when their inheritance grades were equal, cultivators centered on talismans and cultivators centered on qi refinement each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Even if one side was somewhat superior, it would not enjoy an overwhelming advantage.

Therefore, although the issue of cultivation methods troubled Yu Chen, it was not the core reason he found it difficult to make up his mind.

What truly left Yu Chen torn was that choosing the talisman-centered path involved quite a few problems.

First, as a transmigrator reincarnated into the Snake Tribe and its former Great Snake Shaman, Yu Chen differed somewhat from ordinary people. For example, his blood contained a trace of divinity.

That trace of divinity was exceedingly faint. It did not increase Yu Chen's lifespan in the slightest; it merely made his body somewhat stronger than that of ordinary people and gave him greater talent in the Snake Tribe's inherited shamanic arts.

Before cultivation, this influence had been negligible. Yet after Yu Chen began internal refinement, it became no small trouble. The strengthening of his five viscera and six bowels stirred his divine bloodline into a boil, further enhancing his body and causing him to require far more heaven and earth essence qi for internal refinement than normal people. If he also focused on talismans, the stimulation to his divinity would further increase the already excessive essence qi required for his internal refinement.

By Yu Chen's calculations, if he chose a talisman-centered path, then unless he used Snake Shamanic Script as the core of the embryonic true seal and devoted all the heaven and earth essence qi he gathered to internal refinement, switching to the new method would greatly delay his cultivation progress.

Second, Yu Chen's golden finger allowed him to enter dungeon worlds. The Dao laws and principles of those worlds were not necessarily identical, while talisman arts placed the greatest emphasis on comprehending and applying the Dao laws and principles of heaven and earth. Choosing this path meant that every future transmigration might bring a period of weakness, and after returning, he would need more time to adjust his condition. Moreover, in those dungeon worlds, Yu Chen might very well encounter higher-grade qi-refinement inheritances.

Finally, and most importantly, although Talisman Water was one of the true inheritances of talisman arts and was reputed to rank among the top ten of the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Arts in his previous life, every supreme figure who cultivated talisman arts in the game world of his previous life had been stuck at the immortal fruition of the Azure Edict Divine Rank. Not one had transcended the limits through talisman arts.

Compared to the Corpse Liberation Method, which ranked among the top three of the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Arts and spanned the ancient divine path, the Heavenly Immortal path, and the Divine Immortal path; the Netherworld-Penetrating Method, which might attain the supreme fruition of the Ghost Immortal path, the Netherworld Cult Master; and the Gourd Heaven Method, which could open grotto-heavens and blessed lands and encompass the Dao of the universe, the limits of Talisman Water were inevitably somewhat lacking.

Besides, Yu Chen held the inheritance of the Heavenly Dipper Thirty-Six Ways in his hands. Abandoning the more balanced qi-refinement path, which could accommodate more methods, for the sake of Talisman Water seemed somewhat like giving up the root to chase the branches.

"This truly is difficult," Yu Chen said aloud, though that was not what he thought in his heart. Once I eliminate the external factors affecting this choice one by one, the choice between the new and old methods simply becomes a choice between a bird in the hand and a brighter, more distant future.

That said, there is still time. I can decide slowly, or perhaps I can try both...

A smile played across Yu Chen's lips as he closed his eyes. His spirituality returned to his body, and beneath the radiance of the Snake Shamanic Script, he revealed the form of a robust man with his chest bare, his features fully formed. In one hand, he held a black snake with raven feathers; in the other, a white snake with white fur growing around its neck. Faint seal-script characters flowed across the surface of his body, giving him an exceedingly mysterious appearance.

PS: A special clarification: the rankings of the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Arts merely refer to the grade of the inheritance true intent within the Yu Chen Golden Slip Elixir Book, as well as the paths summarized by the corresponding cultivators in the game world of Yu Chen's previous life. They do not mean that talisman arts are inferior to Corpse Liberation, Netherworld-Penetrating, or Gourd Heaven.