"Take these two as well, consider them my token of appreciation."
Elder Jingsi first handed a knife-pen to Cheng Xinzhan.
"This is a knife-pen I often use, named 'Mountain Splitter.' The handle is made of warm jade from the Southern Wasteland, nothing particularly special, just comfortable to hold. But the blade is crafted from the shed front claw of a third-realm pangolin, incredibly sharp, capable of cutting through iron like mud. Without a good knife-pen, you wouldn't be able to inscribe runes on 'Gaozhen.'"
Cheng Xinzhan cupped his hands and stepped back, "Elder, we agreed to exchange pills for the sword. 'Gaozhen' is more than enough for me. I dare not take more."
Elder Jingsi forcefully placed the knife-pen in his hand and said, "'Gaozhen' is not my personal possession. It belongs to the Sword Casting Mountain. Although I have the authority to dispose of it, a sword embryo of this level requires the mountain lord's approval.
Today, the mountain lord has given his consent, which means the Sword Casting Mountain has taken on a portion of this debt on my behalf." For you, this might not mean much, but for me, it's different.
The Sword Casting Mountain means everything to me.
I would give my life for it without hesitation.
But for you, Cheng Xinzhan, I must also express my own gratitude.
"Elder Jingsi spoke earnestly, not only placing the knife-pen in Cheng Xinzhan's hand but also handing him a golden book."
This book, 'The Golden Talisman Book for Summoning Spirits and Controlling Ten Thousand Techniques,' was originally obtained from a blessed land's ruins.
Later, I added my own insights into talismans.
Now, I gift it to you, hoping this talisman book can add some brilliance to 'Gaozhen.'
"Don't rush to refuse. Consider it a loan! In the future, you can add your own insights to this book. If I survive the thunder tribulation, you can return it to me. If I don't, return it to the mountain lord. How about that?"
What else could Cheng Xinzhan do? Elder Jingsi's hand remained firmly on his, as if he wouldn't let go until Cheng Xinzhan accepted.
Holding the knife-pen and the talisman book, Cheng Xinzhan bowed deeply.
Elder Jingsi laughed heartily, "Go, go and cultivate! Don't waste a single moment! When you become an immortal, you can squander time then!"
Cheng Xinzhan solemnly agreed and left the sword vault.
Returning to the Mingzhi Mountain's Tear Forest.
Today's harvest was substantial.
Cheng Xinzhan laid everything out before him, examining each item carefully.
The vessel for carrying thunder, a sword-nurturing gourd, and a wine vessel, "Manifestation";
The meridian diagram for thunder qi circulation, "The Thunder Chariot and Fire Banner Movement Technique";
The guiding vessel for thunder, the sword embryo, "Gaozhen";
The knife-pen, "Mountain Splitter";
The talisman book, "The Golden Talisman Book for Summoning Spirits and Controlling Ten Thousand Techniques."
He realized that both the thunder path and the sword path were incredibly resource-intensive!
Without a mountain lord as his master, given his current abilities, he wouldn't be able to manage both.
He first picked up "Manifestation."
He truly loved this gourd—neither too big nor too small, just the right size to hold comfortably.
Why did the original owner name it "Manifestation"? Was it because the flying sword inside would reveal the true forms of demons and monsters, or because drinking from it would make one reveal their true self when drunk?
How amusing.
He took out the white knife given by the Miao village from the cave stone, filled the gourd with a jar of wine, and then stuffed in the roots and stems of the sword grass he had just plucked from the Sword Casting Mountain.
He took a sip.
"Ah—"
After a burp, he summoned "Peach Capital."
As soon as "Peach Capital" appeared, it transformed into a large peach tree, sheltering Cheng Xinzhan beneath its branches.
He also saw the white rooster with a red crest, perched high on the tree like a phoenix.
The peach tree extended a branch to fiddle with "Gaozhen" on the bamboo couch.
"Gaozhen" reacted immediately, transforming into a silver-purple light and shooting toward the white rooster.
The rooster's feathers bristled as it leaped into the air, its golden steel claws grabbing the silver-purple light, which struggled but couldn't break free.
"Alright, alright, Peach Capital, let go of Gaozhen. Peach Capital is the strongest. I specially picked a sword-nurturing gourd for you. You can take a good bath now."
Cheng Xinzhan quickly opened the gourd's mouth and pointed it at "Peach Capital."
The white rooster crowed triumphantly, and together with the peach tree, it transformed into a sword light and entered the gourd.
The silver-purple light fell to the ground, reverting to the sword embryo's original form, emitting a mournful cry.
Cheng Xinzhan sealed the gourd's mouth and hurriedly picked up "Gaozhen," holding it gently.
"Gaozhen, you're still just a sword embryo, so you can't match Peach Capital yet. But once I quickly inscribe the runes, you'll become a true magic sword, and then you'll surpass Peach Capital!"
Hearing this, the sword embryo immediately let out a clear, joyful hum and trembled slightly, as if urging its master to hurry.
After calming "Gaozhen," Cheng Xinzhan turned his attention to "The Thunder Chariot and Fire Banner Movement Technique."
He skimmed through it and found that this meridian circulation technique was quite ingenious.
This technique was created by a Taoist from the Shenxiao Sect during the early years of the Shaosong period, a time when thunder techniques were at their peak, and all sorts of innovative methods emerged.
This technique was one of them.
It first introduced the various acupoints that could store thunder, and the meridian routes were divided based on the number of thunder acupoints opened: one-chariot movement, two-chariot movement, three-chariot movement, and so on.
In one-chariot movement, thunder liquid would emerge from the thunder acupoint, circulate through the meridians, and return to the starting point, transforming into thunder qi.
In two-chariot movement, the mind would split into two streams, controlling the thunder liquid from two thunder acupoints to move in opposite directions simultaneously.
After circulating through half the meridians, they would reach the other thunder acupoint, transforming into thunder qi, thus halving the circulation time.
Multi-chariot movement followed the same principle.
The creator of this technique must have experimented extensively, as the meridian diagrams recorded were the shortest routes for multi-chariot movement, conforming to the natural flow of qi and blood while also allowing reverse circulation—no easy feat.
Another unique aspect, which highlighted the difficulty of thunder chariot movement, was that no matter the meridian route, the thunder chariot always had to pass through the heart acupoint.
When the thunder chariot encountered heart fire, thunder and fire would clash, sparking like a banner—hence the name "Fire Banner."
Heart fire and thunder liquid would temper each other.
Once multiple thunder acupoints were opened, the thunder chariots would shuttle back and forth, with the heart acupoint as the central hub, creating countless sparks.
This was the essence of the Thunder Chariot and Fire Banner Movement Technique.
Cheng Xinzhan's heart acupoint was already open, and his inner deity resided there, making him perfectly suited to cultivate this technique.
Moreover, once he opened his nasal and gallbladder acupoints, he could perform two-chariot movement, aided by heart fire.
With thunder qi surging, he might not even need two years to dissolve his true evil.
Feeling optimistic, he turned his attention to the knife-pen.
The knife-pen, named "Mountain Splitter," was indeed imposing.
The pen itself was exquisitely crafted, resembling a dragon swallowing a blade.
The handle was carved into bamboo segments, with a dragon coiled around it, its head emerging to bite the blade.
The blade was a yellowish-brown color, neither metal nor jade.
He picked up the knife-pen and lightly scratched a nearby rock.
It felt like cutting through water, leaving a long gash in the stone without any resistance.
"Truly sharp!"
He praised it.
Finally, he picked up "The Golden Talisman Book for Summoning Spirits and Controlling Ten Thousand Techniques."
The book was dazzling, made of an unknown type of gold, and quite thick.
The latter pages were blank, but the first few dozen pages were densely filled with talismans, accompanied by tiny annotations.
This book didn't seem like a top-tier talisman manual but more like a talisman cultivator's personal journal.
For Cheng Xinzhan at this stage, such a book was far more valuable than any profound manual.
He had always been interested in talismans, and now he felt as if he had stumbled upon a treasure.
He immediately began flipping through the book, engrossed.
However, he didn't neglect his main task.
He applied a cooling ointment to his nasal acupoint.
After applying it, he returned to his physical body to feel the effect.
His nasal acupoint felt slightly numb, making him want to sneeze.
But he didn't linger.
After a brief sensation, he returned to his bamboo staff body and continued reading the talisman book.
He would return to his physical body to feel the nasal acupoint after each application, three times a day.
After just a day and a half, he suddenly felt his nose stop itching, replaced by a cool sensation.
He knew it was time.
During this day and a half, he had also found and learned a thunder talisman from the book, perfect for inscribing on "Gaozhen."
It was called the "Inspiration Thunder Talisman."
The talisman's head was a thunder character in a variant script, resembling a thunder snake brewing in the clouds.
The tail was a command character, shaped like a banner.
The talisman's core was the phrase "Nine Heavens Deity," but the characters were scattered into branching thunderbolts.
Without the annotations, he wouldn't have recognized them.
Sitting by the small pond, he held the "Gaozhen" sword embryo in his left hand and the knife-pen in his right.
He began inscribing the talisman on the upper middle part of the blade.
The talisman was tiny, like a tadpole, but each stroke was precise.
Once completed, the talisman flashed with a purple light, indicating it had connected with the talisman's core and gained true spirit.
Anyone witnessing this would think they were seeing things—a person who had never practiced thunder techniques learning a thunder talisman in a day and a half, and completing it in half a moment.
This was beyond mere cultivation levels.
Cheng Xinzhan gently blew away the fine dust from the sword embryo.
The almost imperceptible dust drifted into the pond.
He then cupped some pond water in his hands and washed the blade.
Satisfied, he nodded and found two ropes, one long and one short.
He tied the gourd to his waist with the short rope and wrapped the sword embryo with the long rope until it was less conspicuous, then hung it on his belt next to "Autumn Water."
He adjusted his belt, feeling the weight of the items.
With everything prepared, he rode a cloud straight to the Pivot Mountain.
Arriving at Master Jianxian's small building, he found the master still sitting on the same cushion, as if he hadn't moved in days.
Seeing Cheng Xinzhan, Master Jianxian gestured for him to sit.
Cheng Xinzhan sat opposite him.
"Is your nasal acupoint ready?"
Cheng Xinzhan nodded and returned the cooling ointment to Master Jianxian.
However, Master Jianxian shook his head, "It's not a precious item. Keep it. You can use it when the thunder liquid causes pain during acupoint activation."
Cheng Xinzhan thanked him and accepted it.
"Is that a guiding magic sword?"
Master Jianxian pointed to the sword embryo at Cheng Xinzhan's waist.
Cheng Xinzhan confirmed it was.
Master Jianxian flicked a bit of thunder light onto "Gaozhen," which absorbed it without any reaction.
"Good, good. It's very compatible with thunder. It can serve as a guiding vessel. Since you're refining it into a magic sword, you can inscribe more thunder talismans on it. I have some thunder talismans here. I'll write them down for you before you leave. They're common in the cultivation world, along with some I've collected. Feel free to take them."
Cheng Xinzhan nodded repeatedly, expressing his gratitude.
"Then the carrying vessel must be that gourd, right?"
Cheng Xinzhan nodded and took off the gourd.
Master Jianxian also brought out his carrying vessel—an inkstone.
It was a black inkstone, seemingly made of stone.
On its edge was a carving of a small figure fishing.
The ink pool contained a pool of bright silver liquid, emitting purple electric sparks, with silver snake-like thunderbolts occasionally leaping out, crackling.
He instructed Cheng Xinzhan to open the gourd's mouth, which he did.
Then, Master Jianxian poured some of his hard-earned thunder liquid into the gourd.
"Master, this..."
"No worries, no worries. Later, when you've accumulated more, and if I run out, you can share some with me. Right now, you need it more urgently to open your thunder acupoints."
Master Jianxian said with a smile.
Seeing this, Cheng Xinzhan could only agree.
"Do you have a suitable thunder qi circulation diagram?"
Cheng Xinzhan nodded.
Master Jianxian then took out a small wooden spoon and placed it next to the inkstone.
The spoon's head had been scorched black by the thunder liquid.
"Here."
He handed the spoon to Cheng Xinzhan.
Cheng Xinzhan took it.
"Scoop a small spoonful from the ink pool."
Cheng Xinzhan did as instructed.
"Wrap the thunder liquid with your spiritual power."
He then activated his spiritual power, the fire element he was most familiar with.
"Pop!"
As soon as his spiritual power touched the thunder liquid, it exploded without warning, sending electric sparks flying.
"Again, until your spiritual power grinds away the explosive energy in the thunder. This small drop of thunder liquid shouldn't require much of your spiritual power."
Cheng Xinzhan tried several more times.
On the sixth attempt, the thunder liquid calmed down, resting quietly on the spoon.
But Cheng Xinzhan knew he had only removed the most superficial狂暴之气 from the thunder.
The thunder's creative vitality and its ability to destroy evil still lay within, dormant.
"Now you can wrap it with your spiritual power without the spoon."
Master Jianxian reminded him, surprised and pleased that Cheng Xinzhan had purified the thunder liquid so quickly.
This meant he might complete his task ahead of schedule, within two years.
Cheng Xinzhan removed the spoon and used his spiritual power to wrap the silver thunder liquid, which now resembled a mercury bead.
"With your spiritual power wrapped around it, directly touch your nasal acupoint. Endure the pain."
Cheng Xinzhan guided the thunder liquid, wrapped in his spiritual power, into his nostril.
Since his bamboo body's thunder acupoint was already open, he didn't feel much pain.
The thunder liquid directly entered the thunder acupoint.
"Now, use your mind to gather the scattered thunder liquid and circulate it along your meridian route."
Cheng Xinzhan closed his eyes and used his mind to guide the thunder liquid, circulating it according to the one-chariot movement route.
The thunder liquid entered the thunder acupoint, moved up to the Yintang acupoint, then to the Houding acupoint, down through the Fengchi acupoint, past the Twelve Storied Tower, and then straight down the midline to the Yutang acupoint before turning into the heart acupoint.
"Boom!"
In his inner world, the thunder chariot crashed into the river of blood, stirring up massive waves.
Thunder and fire light erupted, but the inner deity remained seated in the Bright Mansion, unmoved.
After crossing the river of blood, the thunder chariot became even more radiant.
It exited the heart acupoint and entered the Taiyin Spleen Meridian, moving up through the Twelve Storied Tower.
At this point, the thunder liquid transformed into thunder qi and returned to the thunder acupoint.
Cheng Xinzhan opened his eyes.
It had gone much more smoothly than he had expected.
Master Jianxian stroked his beard, somewhat surprised.
"So fast?"
Cheng Xinzhan nodded.
"How much thunder liquid was lost?"
Master Jianxian asked.
Cheng Xinzhan was momentarily stunned.
Was there supposed to be a loss when thunder liquid transformed into thunder qi?
He wasn't sure if it was due to his personal constitution, his bamboo body, or the movement technique, but he hadn't noticed any loss.
Not wanting to seem too unusual, he estimated, "About thirty percent."
Master Jianxian nodded with a smile, "Good, good. You have a talent for thunder techniques. Come, let's continue until the pain becomes unbearable."
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(End of Chapter)