Metal Sound

"[Dui Metal] Immortal Foundation [Metal Aperture Heart]..." Outside the Hall of General Affairs, Li Chengxuan glanced at Fang Qi's Manifestation from afar and frowned slightly.

[Metal Aperture Heart] is an auxiliary Immortal Foundation, its function being to perceive subtle signs, distinguish truth from falsehood, and sense people's hearts.

Currently, Supreme Mystery Mountain lacks the power to wage war.

I thought that Fang Qi, with his Fang Qi background and having personally killed his enemies' entire families, should be able to condense his Manifestation and cultivate a killing-type Immortal Foundation.

Unexpectedly, man proposes, God disposes.

Seeing Li Chengxuan frown, Duanmu Ren immediately said, "Master, would you like me to guide him?! I remember that [Dui Metal] has several Immortal Foundation related to killing. One of them is called [Slaughter and Harvest Palace], which is not only sharp in attack but also somewhat in harmony with his Manifestation."

Li Chengxuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Never mind, let him be."

Now, it's perfectly acceptable to try to modify the Manifestation or interfere with spiritual practice.

However, one wrong move could ruin Fang Qi's Dao Path.

His own Merit in "Continue Lost Teachings" will also be greatly diminished.

A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan.

We must not let small gains lead to big losses.

As long as Fang Qi's cultivation Dao Path smoothly, he will eventually cultivate a cultivation Immortal Foundation.

Seeing that her master had rejected Senior Brother Duanmu's suggestion, Hu Yueqiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly chimed in, "Junior Brother Fang has only killed a dozen or so people. His killing intent is insufficient, and his Manifestation is probably not suitable for cultivating a killing-type Immortal Foundation."

Among the cultivators on Supreme Mystery Mountain, the one who killed the most people was actually Hu Yueqiu, who seemed the most harmless.

Furthermore, Hu Yueqiu also practices Sword Dao, so she has quite a bit of expertise in matters of killing and warfare.

"Xiao Hu is mistaken." Duanmu Ren glanced at Hu Yueqiu, knowing that children shouldn't interrupt adults, and slowly said, "The Grotto-Heaven is completely different from this world."

"In this world, even if thousands or tens of thousands are killed, the Heavenly Dao will not intervene, nor will it generate any Manifestation."

"Within this Grotto-Heaven, to have killed over a dozen people is already one in a billion, truly a killing god of our time."

Hu Yueqiu was taken aback, then nodded after a moment's thought, saying, "Senior brother is right; I was just being presumptuous."

Li Chengxuan ignored their verbal exchange, frowning as he watched Fang Qi's bloody and brutal method of Meridian Opening. He said, "Why did you choose this particular Meridian Opening Method?! 'Breaking Geng into Dui'—the imagery doesn't look good. I'm afraid it will cause trouble in the future."

"It was his own insistence on choosing that path." Duanmu Ren, disregarding Hu Yueqiu's insubordination, quickly explained, "I've spoken with Fang Qi, and I have a feeling that while he's outwardly seeking survival, his heart is yearning for death."

"In psychological terms, this means they have a severe tendency towards self-destruction."

"Wanting to go to the most difficult places after enlisting, training extremely hard, never fearing death on missions, including not fleeing to the mountains after killing one's enemy—these are all forms of self-destruction."

"This disciple believes that it is also possible to guide him to repair [Break and Destroy Again]."

"While it's not as good as [Slaughter and Harvest Palace], it's still better than [Metal Aperture Heart]."

Hu Yueqiu listened, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

"Forget it, the more we do, the more mistakes we make. It's a rare [Dui Metal] Dao Seed; let's not waste it." Li Chengxuan still disagreed, shaking his head. "The [Dui Metal] Judgment and Adjudication system is inherently a difficult lineage to cultivate."

"Although Fang Qi possesses Manifestation, he must first examine the turmoil within his own mind and body, and resolve his doubts about life and death."

"We don't know how far he can go yet, so there's no need to do anything unnecessary."

Hu Yueqiu visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that Li Chengxuan had made his decision, Duanmu Ren dared not say more, "This disciple understands."

"That's enough." Li Chengxuan had no interest in watching Fang Qi's self-mutilation, which left him covered in bloody holes, any longer. He instructed, "Xiao Hu, go get some pills and send them over. Don't let him actually succeed in self-destruction and die."

"Yes." Hu Yueqiu quickly replied and got up to leave.

Duanmu Ren immediately perked up, awaiting Li Chengxuan's reprimand.

Li Chengxuan didn't say much, only ordering, "Once the Meridian Opening, let him gather the Qi of [Metal Sound in an Empty Valley] to harmonize with [Metal Aperture Heart]."

"As for the Cultivation Method, let's choose the [Plain Scripture: Metal Sound and Rhythm Command Chapter]."

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Ren immediately understood that his master's instruction regarding the Spiritual Qi and Cultivation Method was to completely sever any ulterior motives he might have. He replied in a low voice, "Disciple obeys."

Meridian Opening was extremely dangerous; Fang Qi nearly lost his life.

Fortunately, thanks to the elixir sent by Senior Sister Hu, the danger was averted, and the Meridian Opening successfully.

Fang Qi stood up straight and said in a deep voice, "Thank you Senior Sister Hu!"

"No need to be so polite." Hu Yueqiu shook her head slightly.

Ever since hearing about Fang Qi's tragic past, Hu Yueqiu felt a sense of shared sorrow.

Hu Yueqiu took out several Daoist scriptures, placed them on the table, and earnestly instructed, "You must read these Daoist scriptures carefully and understand them thoroughly."

Fang Qi could naturally tell the difference between good and bad, and he nodded solemnly, "Yes!"

"Unfortunately, my Dao wisdom is ordinary, and I don't quite understand the [Dui Metal] Dao lineage." Hu Yueqiu sighed and continued, "The sect leader has already decided that the Immortal Foundation you will cultivate is the [Metal Aperture Heart]. Don't forget it, and don't change it."

"[Metal Aperture Heart]..." Although Fang Qi didn't understand, he still nodded in agreement. "Yes!"

"No need to be so serious..." Hu Yueqiu chuckled at Fang Qi's strangely rigid and obedient demeanor and continued, "I've looked at the Qi Gathering Method. It requires gathering the Qi of [Metal Sound in an Empty Valley] and harmonizing it with [Metal Aperture Heart]."

"This Qi Gathering Method involves gathering the sounds of the five metals."

"To harmonize with the Metal Virtue, the Qi Gathering should be done at dawn or dusk in autumn, when the west wind is strong. Find a secluded valley, strike metal with jade, and use a sound-collecting stone to gather the sounds of metal and jade."

"Once you collect the full nine times nine, you will obtain a wisp of [Metal Sound in an Empty Valley] Qi, which you can use to Qi Ingestion and enter the Dao."

Although Fang Qi had personally experienced the Meridian Opening Method and knew the profound mysteries of cultivation, he was still quite surprised to hear about this Qi Gathering Method and carefully memorized it.

"I asked the sect leader, and there's a golden ruler in the mountain's storeroom; it's an ancient artifact of the [Dui Metal] type. Although it's damaged and incomplete, it should still be sufficient for Qi Gathering." Hu Yueqiu, now in charge of the General Affairs Hall, was quite adept at handling these miscellaneous tasks. "As for the other four golden spiritual items..."

"My eldest brother possesses a golden hook, a Higher Vehicle [Xin Metal] treasure."

"The Dong family of Yufeng Mountain has a lineage of [Xin Metal] and some connection with me. I have already written to them, and they should be able to borrow some [Xin Metal] spiritual items."

"I possess an ancient sword, belonging to the [Geng Metal] element."

"Now that the Southern Reach is in turmoil, with war raging everywhere, [Geng Metal] is the best element to collect."

"[Unworked Metal] is a man of few words, and I have never heard of anyone practicing cultivation."

"I have already ordered the Hua Household to search for gold concentrate ore in Azure Cloud Market."

"With the revival of the Old Method, all sorts of previously extinct spiritual objects are reappearing in the world, so we should be able to make some gains."

As for [Carefree Metal], now only the Wang Household at the Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain has cultivated it for generations.

"However, [Carefree Metal] is extremely prone to change, and few spiritual objects can retain it."

"Senior Sister Hua entered the Daoist path at Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain and has some connections with the Xue Household and Wang Household."

"I've already written in Senior Sister Hua's name, I wonder if I can borrow some [Carefree Metal] spiritual items."

Fang Qi nodded silently, looking lost and dejected.

In order to Qi Gathering, the entire Supreme Mystery Mountain community mobilized.

Fang Qi recalled how, when he was preparing for the military academy entrance exam, all his comrades at the Hongshanzui Outpost had done the same thing, vying to patrol and stand guard for him, giving up opportunities for awards and commendations, and doing everything they could to create a better learning environment for him.

I wonder if they will be disappointed after hearing about my situation.

"Qi Gathering is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it requires patience." Hu Yueqiu glanced at Fang Qi but didn't ask any further questions, only saying, "As for the [Dui Metal] Dao Scripture and cultivation Cultivation Method, I am powerless to help you."

"Duanmu Brother Duanmu has to serve as an official in the Grotto-Heaven, and can only return to explain things at night."

"Wait a moment."