Shen Lian could not help but compliment, “Great wine.”
The bearded man laughed and said nothing. If it was not good, he would not be drinking it.
“This is called the ‘Spring Glow’, it’s particularly useful for kids who just entered the spiritual state. However, as your celestial Qi is rather firm now, you can just take it as a good wine.”
Shen Lian nodded slightly. What the bearded man said was right. It was true that external forces could help with cultivation, but one should not be too reliant on it as it was hard to control the minute details. If one was not careful or was too square in the methods, one could easily fall into the trap of greed towards elixirs and lose his way.
“Are you a fellow senior from the lower house?” Shen Lian stared at him and he felt that the man’s eyes were covered with a layer of green ray, it was indeed mesmerizing.
Unlike Qi Sanwen’s introversion, or Chen Jianmei’s sharpness, the man was more like a wild animal – while he did not show his claws, one could not simply underestimate him.
“You can call me a senior, and it is fine if you just call me by my name too. An individual’s background means nothing to me. I learned the skills, not for longevity, but to live happily in the world once. Even if you go through the nine states of cultivation, you will still be nothing compared to the stars, and even the stars are nothing close to eternity.” For something as helpless as this, coming out from him, it felt like there was a state of relief. There was nothing that could make him depressed even if life was nothing but merely in the passing.
Shen Lian did not ask why the man did not leave Qing Xuan even if he felt that way. It seemed like whether this person stayed or left, he had his reasons. If he was willing to share, Shen Lian would just listen, but if he was not willing to, it was nothing to be bothered about.
“I never thought about eternity, but I do want to live a bit longer. Just a moment ago I saw how freely you controlled the Qi in the world. Was it due to your cultivation experience of it was some form of Dao technique?” Shen Lian was confused. Even if he was able to absorb the Qi of the world to help in his cultivation, he was not able to control the essential Qi at will, unlike the bearded man.
“This has something to do with cultivation experience but it isn’t the main contributor. As long as your cultivation experience has reached the state of being able to detect the Qi of the world, theoretically you will be able to do what I just did.” The bearded man smiled.
Shen Lian was in deep thought, then he said, “If that is the case, it is then extremely difficult. I just started with Talisman Dao, but I never succeeded. From your previous gestures, did they have something to do with spells?”
“Since you’ve come across the Dao of Talisman, it is no surprise that you’re able to guess that. It’s simple. In QIng Xuan, I wouldn’t call myself the best. But if you were asking about how to pass the state, I can help you with it.” The bearded man smiled again, and he was full of confidence.
“Can I ask you to teach me?” Shen Lian followed suit.
“I can teach you, but how will you repay me?” The bearded man evaluated the clean and calm young man in front of him. Qingliang Hill had been empty for so long, finally, there was someone worthwhile. Unfortunately to reach the state of cultivation, one should not rely on anyone else. Even if one had the best talent in the world, it was not admirable if he did not reach his full potential.
Regardless of how big the potential was, he must have to live until the day it became a reality.
“It depends on what request you have. I’ll try my best to fulfill it. If I can’t do it, I guess it’s a shame then.” Shen Lian was honest with his thoughts, and he expected the bearded man to say so.
They shared no relationships or bloodlines. They were merely fellow students in the lower house. It seemed too simple to be true if he managed to get this private tutor.
It did no good if people were stingy with knowledge in the world of cultivation, but no one really shared openly with everyone all that they knew.
Just like his previous life, despite the many academic exchange sessions, when it came to the sensitive knowledge, no one would simply just share it with others.
It could be said that there was no limit to the world of cultivation, but the limit existed within the people who pursued this path.
“I do have a wish which I didn’t manage to fulfill and I can’t do it myself. However, it will be difficult for you to help me with it with your current ability. I can teach you the knowledge from the Talisman Dao if you’re willing to give me this piece of instrument, but how much you can understand will entirely dependent on your ability.” The bearded man’s interested eyes fell on Shen Lian’s ebony sword.
Shen Lian was expressionless. His face was as calm as usual and said, “From your position, I don’t think you lack an instrument as worthless as this. I am not sure what do you see in it?”
The bearded man eased out his clothes and grabbed the wine bottle that contained Spring Glow. There was nothing in between the two. There was no wind and the only thing that existed was silence.
He said, “It is nothing indeed. Even if I don’t say it now, in the future when you are more knowledgeable, you will be able to understand. From the point of view of an instrument, the sword isn’t particularly powerful, but the difference of this sword compared to the others was because ‘soul’ was born out of ‘the principle of natural law’. It will work wonders to guiding the soul.”
Shen Lian understood what ‘soul-guiding’ was. If he mastered the Talisman Dao, with a certain level of cultivation experience, he would then be able to make use of cinnabar and myrtle as soul-guiding media, which in turn with the usage of spells, cloud or rain could be summoned, depending on the type of talisman used.
When one reached a certain level of depth in terms of cultivation experience, there was no longer a need for soul-guiding. However, in terms of power and effect, it would be a bit weaker.
This place was shielded from wind and rain. It was apparent that he made use of some special spells. From the conversation with the bearded man, Shen Lian was able to tell.
There were certain instruments of Dao techniques which could achieve a similar effect. As the bearded man claimed to be an expert in Dao of Talisman, it was very likely that was the case.
He did not think that his ebony sword had such a purpose, even to the extent that the bearded man wanted it as his soul-guiding tool. For him at this level, it became even more precious.
The fact that the ebony sword became an instrument was because he was practicing the Being and Non-Being of Sword Aura. Hence, it entered a state of revelation. If he were to start the practice all over again, it was very possible that he would be able to produce a similar ebony instrument.
Since the bearded man said that soul was born from the principle of natural law, it was then not a surprise that the Being and Non-Being of Sword Aura path fitted in with some unchangeable theories of the world. He sort of predicted that.
At the same time, he felt that Mister Su was unfathomable. He decided that if it was not absolutely necessary, he would never use the Being and Non-Being of Sword Aura. In Qing Xuan, while it was rare for the students under the same division to be killing each other, the cultivators from other division might not be so friendly.
Even if the ebony sword did not carry such a usage, Shen Lian had never intended to give it to anyone else. He slowly responded, “If this sword was something valuable, I would be more than glad to call it a deal. But it has been with me day in and day out and now it has become a part of me. If I were to give up on it today, I will easily be giving up another part of me tomorrow. Soon, I will never be myself again.”
“The human body is merely a shell and is something external. In the future, you could have easily changed your view. If you are not willing to, I won’t force you.” He was always direct. If Shen Lian was not willing to, he would not force it to happen. It was born out of curiosity. It was probably not very helpful for his study in the Dao of Talisman.
