Reading the Maoshan Qi Refining Technique and Discovering Flaws in the Cultivation Method

Just as Uncle Nine was rejoicing that he had finally taken on a genius disciple and would have something to show off to his fellow disciples in the future,

Inside the room, Lin Yu had by then fully comprehended the Maoshan Qi Cultivation Technique. The deeper his understanding grew, the more profound he found the cultivation method.

Yet he also felt that there was more to the method than this. Many formulas and meridian circulation routes that should not have been there had appeared in it.

The entire cultivation method was like a stitched-together monster, with signs of patchwork in many places.

It was as though it had created weaknesses for itself. Lin Yu found it very strange as he cultivated.

Just then, the voice in his mind that had given him heaven-defying comprehension also gave him a prompt.

[You have read the Maoshan Qi Refining Technique many times and thoroughly mastered it. You have also discovered numerous flaws in the cultivation method, but your knowledge is insufficient to complete it.]

Hearing the prompt and recalling how he had felt while comprehending the technique, Lin Yu knew his guess had been correct.

But completing it actually required extensive knowledge. No way! Did he still have to read and study after transmigrating?

"Forget it. With my heaven-defying comprehension, I refuse to believe I can't complete you." Lin Yu was in no hurry for now. He had only just started cultivating, so he had not reached that point yet.

After thinking it over, Lin Yu prepared to get up and go outside. In the short while he had spent comprehending the Dao, two or three shichen had actually passed in the outside world.

"As expected of cultivation! I sat in meditation for so long, yet my legs aren't sore at all. And now that I've succeeded in Qi cultivation, I feel completely refreshed." Lin Yu got up and took stock of his condition, speaking with a refreshed air.

In his previous life, even sitting casually for a short gaming session had left his back aching so badly he could hardly stand it.

Lin Yu walked out of the place where he had become Uncle Nine's disciple that morning. Looking at the enshrined portrait of the founding patriarch above, he could not help recalling his first meeting with Uncle Nine.

A delicate, fair-skinned child had appeared deep in the mountains and forests. Not only did he answer every question with "I don't know," but there was not a trace of demonic Qi to be sensed from him. Uncle Nine had almost mistaken him for some great demon.

But who could be blamed for that? In his previous life, he had been a model young man who had finally gotten a break and was just about to reward himself.

He had passed out from being too drained. When he woke up, he found himself deep in the mountains, and he had turned into a child. One look at the shirt he was wearing told him it was still his own body, only smaller.

He had been terrified. He had woken up in a strange place with his bare butt exposed. As for his pants, if anyone asked, he could only say they had fallen off while he was rewarding himself.

Just how much psychological trauma would that cause an eight-year-old child, actually twenty years old?

And while he was searching for a way out, he happened to run into a weasel spirit that asked whether it looked like a human or a god. It scared half the life out of Lin Yu.

Fortunately, he later met Uncle Nine, who was returning from assessing the feng shui in a neighboring village, and was rescued by him.

But when Uncle Nine later asked about his background, Lin Yu was stumped. He had transmigrated bodily, so how could he have any living parents here?

Yet without parents, he could not explain how he had ended up alone in those deep mountains and forests.

Lin Yu could only give a vague answer, saying he had fled there to escape disaster and avoid human traffickers.

Only someone as simpleminded as Wen Cai would believe Lin Yu's story. Uncle Nine still had his doubts.

By the normal way of thinking in this world, someone who suddenly appeared deep in the mountains and forests was either a ghost or a monster.

But Uncle Nine could not sense a trace of demonic Qi either, so he could only take Lin Yu back to the morgue for the time being.

After all, if he really was human, Uncle Nine could not just leave him to die. A child that small, left in the forest, would surely starve or be eaten by wild beasts.

Then came the scene Lin Yu had recalled at first. After returning to the morgue, Uncle Nine sent Wen Cai away and brought Lin Yu before the portrait of Maoshan's founding patriarch, hoping the patriarch could see something.

Naturally, nothing happened. He, Lin Yu, was just an ordinary, normal person. What was there to see?

With nowhere else to go, Lin Yu stayed at the morgue for the time being. Afterward, he repeatedly begged Uncle Nine to take him as a disciple and finally persuaded him.

When Uncle Nine saw Lin Yu come out, he sensed the Qi on him and flashed to his side.

"Xiao Yu, you've sensed Qi!" Uncle Nine sent a strand of Qi into Lin Yu's body and sensed the faint spiritual power there. He spoke in shock.

Although he had sensed the fluctuation of spiritual Qi outside just now, he still could not help asking.

"Yes, Master," Lin Yu answered respectfully, his little face solemn.

"Good, very good!" Uncle Nine said happily.

Back then, he and his eldest senior brother, Shi Jian, had been the quickest to get started with cultivation, but even they had taken nearly a month to successfully draw in Qi. Their other fellow disciples had all taken at least half a year.

Even so, they had been among the most talented of their generation.

After all, in the Dharma-ending age, anyone who could draw in Qi within a month was considered talented.

Hearing that Lin Yu had succeeded in cultivating in half a day, one could imagine how great a shock he had given Uncle Nine.

Uncle Nine could not help thinking that if he reported this to the sect, even the Maoshan sect leader and the grand elders might come down to compete for him.

"Xiao Yu, remember that what cultivators must avoid most is a restless and impatient heart. Don't let a moment's achievement go to your head." Uncle Nine put an end to his fantasies and hurriedly cautioned Lin Yu.

"Yes, I will remember your teachings, Master," Lin Yu quickly replied, his expression turning serious.

"You can be considered a cultivator now. Tomorrow, I'll teach you your first means of subduing demons and vanquishing devils." Seeing that it was getting late, Uncle Nine planned to teach Lin Yu the skill tomorrow.

"Master, time to eat! The food's ready!" Wen Cai had just finished cooking.

"Mm, let's go." Uncle Nine led the way.

"Hey, Xiao Yu, well done! You don't know this, but after you became Master's disciple today, he was so happy he gave us half a day off," Wen Cai said happily to Lin Yu as he followed behind.

"Senior Brother Wen Cai, you need to work hard too. Otherwise, if you run into ghosts or monsters when Master isn't around, you'll be done for."

Lin Yu looked at Wen Cai, who was happy to have a day off, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although he knew that Wen Cai in the original story loved food and hated work, Wen Cai was now his senior brother, so he could only speak up and advise him.

"Xiao Yu, you've been here so many days. It's not like you don't know me. I'm stupid, and no matter how hard I try, I can't learn the things Master teaches." Wen Cai's face was full of misery when he heard that.

"Hmph! Hurry up and eat."

"Yes, Master." No sooner had Wen Cai finished speaking than Uncle Nine's cold snort startled him. The two hurriedly sat up straight and quickly wolfed down their food.

With Uncle Nine's cultivation, every word of Lin Yu and Wen Cai's conversation had naturally reached his ears.

He had been somewhat gratified to hear Lin Yu's understanding, but by the time Wen Cai finished speaking, Uncle Nine's face had darkened.

Wen Cai might be stupid, but as long as he was willing to work hard, there was still a path open to him. Yet he was not only stupid but lazy too.

Although Uncle Nine had never expected Wen Cai to become a dragon, he should at least learn something. Comparing him with Lin Yu, Uncle Nine suddenly realized that Wen Cai was truly beyond saving.

Uncle Nine could not help worrying whether Wen Cai would be able to support himself after he himself passed on.

"Alas. Hurry up and eat. When you're done, Xiao Yu, continue consolidating your sense of Qi. Wen Cai, clear away the bowls and chopsticks." As these thoughts went through his mind, Uncle Nine sighed and walked into his room alone, his hands behind his back.

"Xiao Yu, did I make Master angry again?" Wen Cai scratched his head and asked guiltily.

"Alas, Senior Brother Wen Cai, you'll have to think about that yourself. I'm going to cultivate." Lin Yu watched Uncle Nine's departing back, which had aged in an instant, and then heard Wen Cai's question. Not knowing how to advise him either, he patted Wen Cai on the shoulder with the air of a little adult and used cultivation as an excuse to make his escape.

When Lin Yu watched the movie in his previous life, he had wondered why Uncle Nine had taken Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng as disciples. Now that he had experienced it firsthand, he was even more puzzled.

Wen Cai had a few good points, but he was both lazy and stupid. He had been with Uncle Nine since childhood, yet after more than ten years, he had barely learned the basics of Daoist arts, and his cultivation realm had only just reached the Daoist Novice level.

Qiu Sheng had some talent, but he was naturally restless and could not settle down to cultivate. He was only around the middle to late stage of the Daoist Novice realm.

That would have been one thing; perhaps Uncle Nine did not place much importance on such matters when taking disciples. But during rituals, they were always undermining their master, and in moments of danger, they were always holding him back.

"To be honest, if I were Uncle Nine, I'd have expelled both senior brothers from the sect long ago. Master really is kindhearted." The more Lin Yu thought about it, the less he could resist complaining.