Senior Sister Nangong stood barefoot on the stone floor, staring at Qin Tiexin with her amber eyes for a long time, and suddenly laughed with a "puff".
"Just kidding." She tilted her head, "I've been standing here talking for a long time, and all you can do is nod, shake your head, and say 'yes'?"
Qin Tiexin was silent for a moment and then said, "I will listen to what Senior Sister says."
"Okay." Senior Sister Nangong put away her smile, straightened her expression, "Let's get down to business."
She walked back to the edge of the bed and sat down, her feet dangling in the air. The moonlight filtered in from the window and shone on the golden bell on her ankle, glowing with a tiny glow.
"I'm not just looking for you," she said.
Qin Tiexin raised his eyes.
"My master, the elder of Liuyun Sect, asked me to find a suitable disciple." Senior Sister Nangong paused, "Don't ask which elder it is, I can't tell you yet."
"Master, her philosophy... is a bit special." She looked at Qin Tiexin, "What the sect now emphasizes is 'tools for use, law as respect'. Refining weapons is refining weapons, and fighting skills is fighting skills. But my master feels that this should not be the case."
"Master believes that 'man and instrument are integrated into one, and technique is close to the Tao'." When Senior Sister Nangong said this, her voice was softer, as if she was thinking of something important, "Refining weapons is not about making tools, it is about cultivating oneself. Once the weapons are completed, people should take a step forward."
Qin Tiexin's eyes moved.
"Don't you understand?" Senior Sister Nangong smiled and curved her lips, "To put it simply, what the master values is not how powerful you can make it, but the state of your being when you make it."
She stood up, stepped on the stone floor with her bare feet, walked to the table and picked up the Liuyun Sword. The blade of the sword reflected the moonlight and glowed with a blue-gray cold light.
"For example, this." She brushed her fingers over the sword body with a very light movement, "Others use the spirit pattern knife, but you use your fingers. Why?"
Qin Tiexin thought for a while.
"The knife is separated by a layer." He said, "I don't feel right."
"Yes." Senior Sister Nangong nodded, put the sword back on the table, and made a gentle knocking sound, "What you want is the most direct feeling - how the material changes, how Spiritual Qi moves, how deep or shallow the lines are, all must be clear. This is not a skill, this is instinct."
She turned around and looked at Qin Tiexin: "Master calls this 'human-machine communication'."
Senior Sister Nangong walked back to the edge of the bed and sat down, dangling her feet again.
"Also," she said, "when you were forging the sword, I watched the whole process from the audience. Twelve times of folding, no more and no less. The star iron sand was coated, and the temperature was controlled steadily. Finally, the spiritual pattern was carved--"
She paused and stared at Qin Tiexin with her amber eyes.
"Sweat dripped into my eyes, and my fingers didn't shake at all."
Qin Tiexin Silence.
"You don't seek speed or dazzle, just the word 'stable'." Senior Sister Nangong said, "This is the foundation. Many people want to practice Law Artifact when they get started. If the foundation is not laid firmly, everything behind will collapse. And..."
After she finished speaking, she suddenly stood up and walked to the wall.
Edgeless leaned there, the blade of the knife was dark, Senior Sister Nangong reached out and grabbed the handle of the knife.
The heavy knife weighing a thousand kilograms was as light as firewood in her hand. She raised one hand flat, her arm motionless, and the tip of the knife pointed forward, which was frighteningly steady.
"Are you above the third level of body training?" She looked at Qin Tiexin, turned her wrist, and the blade drew an arc in mid-air, then stopped steadily.
Qin Tiexin nodded.
"In our lineage, we must refine our bodies." Senior Sister Nangong said, "The utensils have weight, texture, and 'bones'. If you don't have a good body and can't even hold the materials, what's the point of refining weapons?"
She put Edgeless down casually.
When the blade landed on the ground, even the sound was very light - it was not as light as lifting it gently, but the force was controlled extremely delicately, and most of the muffled sound that should have been caused by a heavy object hitting the ground was eliminated. Qin Tiexin could see clearly that he could not do this.
Senior Sister Nangong walked back to him. She was short and only reached his chest, so she had to look up at him.
"But you have a problem too," she said.
Qin Tiexin Waiting.
"Spirit Root is too bad, and the level of Qi refining is too low." Senior Sister Nangong said bluntly, "I just carved the spirit pattern, and the last few strokes of Spiritual Qi are almost broken, aren't they?"
Qin Tiexin nodded.
"So." Senior Sister Nangong said, "Master asked me to find someone, and I did. But whether you can get started depends on yourself."
She took off a small cloth bag from her waist.
It was gray, about the size of a palm, and tied with a brown string. The surface of the bag had some wear and tear, and the corners were furry, and it looked like it had been used for a while.
"Go on."
Qin Tiexin took it. The cloth bag was very light and felt like some kind of animal skin, delicate and with a slight coolness.
"Storage Bag." Senior Sister Nangong said, "They will be handed out when you enter the outer door. I will give you one first. The space inside is not big, about one square - put something with you, but it's a pity that your knife can't fit in."
Qin Tiexin injects a hint of Spiritual Qi.
Consciousness reaches into the bag.
It was empty inside, with a faint off-white glow on the walls. Twenty pieces of Shitou were piled in the corner, the size of quail eggs, glowing with milky white light.
Low grade Spirit Stone!
Qin Tiexin's breathing stagnated for a moment.
A piece of low-grade Spirit Stone can be exchanged for one hundred and twenty spiritual crystals. These twenty pieces of Spirit Stone can last him for a month and a half without eating or drinking. He gave it away so lightly.
Next to Spirit Stone, three cyan Jade Slip lie. The jade is warm and moist, with fine lines engraved on the surface, and there is a faint green halo in the dim light of Storage Bag.
"Spirit Stone is for your practice." Senior Sister Nangong's voice came, "With Spirit Stone, "Qi Entraining Technique" can be much faster."
Qin Tiexin regained consciousness and looked at her.
"In Jade Slip," Senior Sister Nangong continued, "one is the "Encyclopedia of Spiritual Patterns", which contains all the basic spiritual patterns; one is "Initial Understanding of Weapon Refining Techniques", which is enough for you to use the middle-grade Law Artifact; and the other is "Basic Divine Sense Method Formula" --"
She paused. "You can only use it at the fourth level of Qi Refining."
Qin Tiexin Hold Storage Bag tightly. The texture of the animal leather is rough, rubbing against the palm of your hand.
"You have to get to the fourth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible." Senior Sister Nangong looked at him, "After giving birth to Divine Sense, you can see more clearly when carving the spirit pattern, and you can naturally control the depth. Now you use your fingers to carve, it all depends on feeling, it is easy to go too deep."
After she finished speaking, she waited.
Qin Tiexin was silent for a moment and then asked, "What are the conditions?"
Senior Sister Nangong smiled.
It wasn't the joking smile just now, but a satisfied smile. His eyes were bent, and his amber pupils were shining brightly in the moonlight.
"Smart." She said, "The conditions are very simple - six months later, you have to take first place in the newcomer competition and the weapon refining project."
She paused and then added, "Also, tomorrow's fighting test, your score cannot be too bad. I don't ask you to do well, but don't embarrass me, Nangong Yao."
Qin Tiexin Silence.
"What, you don't have confidence?" Senior Sister Nangong raised her eyebrows.
"Yes." Qin Tiexin said.
One word, very heavy.
Senior Sister Nangong stared at him for a while and nodded.
"Okay." She said, "I've given you the things, but you can walk on your own. Remember, if you come first in the competition, I will take you to see the master. By then, there will be bigger Storage Bag and better Cultivation Method."
After she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the door.
Her bare feet stepped on the stone floor, making a slight pattering sound. Halfway through, she stopped and turned around.
The moonlight slanted in from the window and hit the side of her face. The face was very young, but there was something inexplicable in the eyes, like a deep pool, which seemed shallow but could not be explored to the bottom.
"That's right." She said, "Let's try it tonight with Spirit Stone. We have a fight tomorrow, so don't get tired."
After the words fell, her figure flickered.
There was no sound of wind, no light and shadow, no Spiritual Qi fluctuation. Just like a drop of water melting into the sea, or a piece of snow falling into the snowdrift - it just disappeared.
Qin Tiexin stood there, looking at the empty door.
He didn't move for a while.
Then he lowered his head and looked at Storage Bag in his hand.
***
The room became quiet, and it was completely dark. The moonlight slowly moved from the door to the table, illuminating the hilt of the Liuyun Sword.
Qin Tiexin walked to the bed and sat down. He reached out and took out a piece of low-grade Spirit Stone from Storage Bag.
It is about the size of a quail egg, and is warm and moist in the hand, like a piece of warm jade. The surface is smooth and glowing with a milky white halo. If you look closely, you can see very fine lines inside, like water, flowing slowly.
He tried to run the "Qi-Entraining Technique".
Not the same.
Spiritual Qi flows out from Spirit Stone and pours into Dantian along the meridians, fast and pure. Unlike the Spiritual Qi that is usually absorbed from the world - those Spiritual Qi are thin and messy, like digging for gold in the sand, sifting little by little and refining little by little.
This stock Spiritual Qi is much purer.
There is almost no need for refining and it can be directly integrated into the cyclone. The rotation speed of the two cyclones has obviously accelerated, like a dry river bed suddenly filled with running water, and they are spinning.
Qin Tiexin Close your eyes and run Cultivation Method at full speed.
He could feel that Dantian was slowly filling up. The feeling of emptiness - the feeling of emptiness that Spiritual Qi was about to break when the spiritual pattern was carved to the end - faded away little by little. The Spiritual Qi in Spirit Stone was like spring water, flowing continuously along the meridians, warming every inch of flesh and blood.
Two hours later, I felt a slight tingling sensation in my meridians.
He opened his eyes.
The Spirit Stone in my hand is a little darker, with a few fine cracks appearing on the surface, like cracks on the ice. The milky white halo inside has also faded and become a bit turbid.
He felt Dantian.
Spiritual Qi is full. Not only full, but also fuller than usual. Just like the water tank is no longer filled with half a tank of sloshing water, but full and heavy.
The speed of cultivation is more than three times faster than usual.
This is the power of Spirit Stone.
Qin Tiexin Put away this piece of Spirit Stone and look at the cracks on it. It can still be used, but the effect will get worse every time. When it turns completely gray-white, it will be useless.
He put Spirit Stone back into Storage Bag and lay down.
I went through Senior Sister Nangong's words in my mind.
Number one in refining weapons.
The fighting skills cannot be bad.
Get to the fourth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible.
Six months.
***
At chen o'clock the next day, the outer gate square.
More than two thousand new disciples gathered here. The fatigue from yesterday's assessment has not completely subsided. Many of them had bloodshot eyes, and some of the disciples who chose to hunt monsters still had injuries on their bodies - their arms were wrapped in bandages, their legs were lame, and there were scratches on their faces.
But today the atmosphere is even more tense.
Fighting.
It's not the quietness of working hard like refining a weapon, but the excitement of getting started. There is a kind of restlessness in the air, like the stuffiness before a rainstorm, which makes people breathless.
Qin Tiexin was standing in the crowd. He was tall and could see ahead. Many people were moving their hands and feet, stretching their muscles, and some were chanting Method Formula in a low voice and practicing Hand Seals with their fingers.
"Quiet!"
The voice came from the high platform.
A black-robed deacon stood on the stage. He was thin, but his voice was loud and loud, and it overcame all the noise. The square fell silent instantly.
"The rules are simple." The deacon said, and his voice spread throughout the audience, "Each person has five matches, randomly matched. Elixir and one-time Law Artifact are not allowed. Those who lose their fighting power, admit defeat, or fall off the stage will lose."
He paused and glanced across the audience.
"Winning or losing affects the final ranking, and ranking affects subsequent resource allocation." He said, "Now, the drawing begins."
Several disciples in gray clothes carried ten jade boxes onto the stage.
The disciples lined up in a long queue and put their hands into the jade box one by one. There was a shimmering light at the mouth of the box, which was a simple formation for testing cultivation. Qin Tiexin put his hand in, and his fingertips touched a piece of ice. When he pulled it out, he saw it was a dark brown wooden sign with four small cinnabar characters of "Bing Thirty Five" written on it. The wooden sign was heavy and solid, and the five engraved horizontal lines on the back were empty, waiting to be filled with achievements.
He held the wooden sign tightly and stepped aside.
In the center of the square, several deacons Hand Seals simultaneously.
The ground shook.
One hundred stone platforms rose from the ground.
Instead of rising slowly, it rushed out of the ground with a "boom" sound, bringing up dust. Each platform was three feet square and one foot high. It was made of blue-gray stone, and its surface was engraved with dense patterns. Those patterns glowed with a faint silver light in the sun, flowing slowly as if they were alive.
A layer of translucent white light rises from the edge of the table. The protective barrier is thin, but looks strong.
One hundred stone platforms are neatly arranged, occupying most of the square. The sunlight shines down, casting clear shadows on the platform.
The deacon's voice sounded again:
"Come on stage!"
Qin Tiexin jumped onto platform C35.
The stone surface was cold and solid. He stood firm and looked to the opposite side.