Chapter 3: How Can the Flowing Years Be Changed When the Staff of Age Is Known From Afar?
Chen Qianliu had not expected that after living for over eighty years, with his Qi withered and essence depleted, he would die and then return to when he was six years old.
He put down his brush, slightly dissatisfied, and casually put away the Talisman he had drawn.
When he reached for the desk again, he found it empty and sighed softly.
As a secondary son of the Chen Family, he only received half a blade of yellow paper each month, so he didn't have much ink and paper to waste.
Without yellow paper, he could no longer use ink and brush to draw Talismans.
Chen Qianliu leaned on the desk, his mind slightly focused, using his thoughts to replace the brush and the air to replace the yellow paper, continuing to practice the art of Talismans.
In his previous life, Chen Qianliu had just Transmigrated and hastily displayed his talent for reading, quickly gaining renown in the village and earning the title of 'Child Prodigy.'
In this life, he was not so impatient, nor did he intend to gain literary fame.
He had been Reborn for over three years and had only focused on Cultivating.
A Mortal Physical Body cannot withstand the washing of Spiritual Qi.
When first starting, there is a time limit for daily Qi Refining.
If one exceeds the Physical Body's endurance limit and suffers hidden damage, it can be greatly detrimental to Cultivation.
Therefore, Chen Qianliu would occasionally Cultivate the art of Talismans, so as not to waste time.
However, with a constant shortage of ink and paper, even practicing the art of Talismans could not be done to his heart's content.
The Talisman technique he learned was called the Profound Gate Twelve Talismans, an outer Sect transmission from the Yu Xian Sect, divided into twelve character formulas: Thunder, Fire, Restraint, Binding, Fixing, Control, Mountain, Light, Shock, Concealment, Gathering, and Illusion.
These were common techniques for Cultivators entering the mountains to Cultivate, for self-defense, dispelling ghosts, and warding off demons.
Chen Qianliu's first and only Master in his previous life, Immortal Master Wuliu, came from the Yushan Sect (Jade Mountain Sect), which was also a branch of the Yu Xian Sect, and thus taught him this Talisman technique.
In his previous life, Chen Qianliu had put in over fifty years of hard work in drawing Talismans, earning him the title of a Talisman Grandmaster.
It was also the only skill he could boast of in his previous life.
If he hadn't spent most of his energy on Qi Refining and very little on Talismans, his achievements would have been far greater.
His Senior Martial Sister, after all, was once a Golden Core Realm grand Cultivator.
When she married him, she brought seven or eight servants and maids.
Even with the most frugal living, her monthly expenses were still considerable.
Chen Qianliu relied on his Talisman technique to support his Family.
He once wrote a poem: “My Talisman brush is worn out after three months, how can this Mister not be poor? In the Lieguang Cave of Twin Clouds, there must be people bending at the waist.”
Drawing Talismans purely with one's mind consumes a great deal of mental energy.
It took a full stick of incense to complete one Talisman.
This was not a beginner's skill, and it was only thanks to his fifty-plus years of Talisman drawing experience from his previous life that he could barely accomplish it.
Chen Qianliu felt a slight fatigue and sighed softly, muttering to himself, “It’s been three years!”
“I wonder how much longer it will take before I can enter the Qi Refining realm.”
To be honest, if he had a choice, having Rebirth, he would prefer to go back to Earth.
After all, in that world, he still had a daughter.
Although he lived for over eighty years in this world, there was almost nothing worth cherishing.
He left home as a youth, became a Cultivator in middle age, and although he and his old wife depended on each other, there was always an unspoken distance, treating each other merely as acquaintances.
There was no one worth cherishing.
Alone, solitary, without reliance, a lonely man.
However, Rebirth was not without its benefits.
In his previous life, although he met the Immortal Master Wuliu when he was young, the Immortal Master disliked his ordinary Aptitude and refused to take him as a Disciple, only teaching him the art of Talismans.
Talisman techniques were minor skills, only suitable for assistance, not for increasing Cultivation.
By the time he gained the Opportunity to join the Yu Xian Sect, he was already old, having missed the best time to enter the Dao, wasting much time, taking many detours, and only sighing at the wasted years.
As a Utility Disciple, he never received the true teachings of the Yu Xian Sect and could not learn advanced Cultivation Techniques.
After twenty years of arduous Cultivation, he only reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, where liquid transforms into Qi.
This life, however, was different.
His Senior Martial Sister failed to break through to the Spirit Embryo Realm and, after marrying him, left the Yu Xian Sect to establish an outer Sect Family.
According to Sect rules, Disciples who leave the Sect below the Spirit Embryo Realm cannot pass on their Cultivation Technique to their children and grandchildren.
They can only choose two Qi Refining Cultivation Techniques to establish their Family’s Foundation.
His Senior Martial Sister, after all, was once a Peak Golden Core Realm figure with a respectable status.
The two Cultivation Techniques she chose, the Green Emperor Jia-Yi Skill and the Geng Metal Qi Refining Skill, were both High Grade Qi Refining Cultivation Techniques, a hundred times more profound than the Six Harmonies Qi Refining Technique Chen Qianliu primarily Cultivated in his previous life.
Especially the Green Emperor Jia-Yi Skill, which was one of the three foundational Cultivation Techniques of the Yu Xian Sect, directly pointing to the True Yang Dao!
His Senior Martial Sister herself Cultivated this technique to enter the Dao, not only knowing the Qi Refining and Golden Core Realm methods, but even having learned the Complete Manual for Cultivation Techniques beyond the Spirit Embryo Realm.
Although the two had barely spoken before becoming Dao Companions, and their relationship remained distant after marriage, as husband and wife, his Senior Martial Sister still exploited a loophole in the Sect rules and privately passed on the Complete Manual.
With Rebirth and Cultivating again, Chen Qianliu naturally would not choose the Six Harmonies Qi Refining Technique again.
This was the Cultivation Technique for Utility Disciples of the Yu Xian Sect.
Aside from being very easy to start, its only advantage was its neutrality and peacefulness, with very little chance of Qi Deviation.
He had spent these three years focusing on the Green Emperor Jia-Yi Skill.
Chen Qianliu believed that by Cultivating the Yu Xian Sect's advanced Cultivation Technique over forty years earlier, his future Dao path would undoubtedly be far stronger than in his previous life.
However, after three years of dormancy, he had still not soared, occasionally feeling some despondency.
After a short rest, Chen Qianliu entered a state of unified concentration and began Cultivating the Green Emperor Jia-Yi Skill again.
This time, for some reason, he entered a state of tranquility very quickly, becoming oblivious to his surroundings.
Unconsciously, two hours passed.
First, his heart felt cool, and his Dantian seemed to boil.
His spine felt a slight warmth, throbbing continuously.
A thread of vibrant life, like the budding of spring, the first bloom of a hundred flowers, and the sprouting of myriad trees, gradually formed from nothing.
After another half an hour, Chen Qianliu opened his eyes, feeling his entire body filled with vitality, his mind much clearer.
This was the initial sign of “Golden Essence Jade Liquid” appearing in the Qi Refining First Level.
His hands, forming the Cultivation Technique, trembled, his heart surging.
He vaguely remembered that in his previous life, it took him seven years and nine months to Cultivate a wisp of True Qi and enter Cultivation with the Six Harmonies Qi Refining Technique, which was known for its easy entry.
The Yu Xian Sect had judged his Aptitude as dull and untrainable.
After marrying his Senior Sister in his previous life, he Cultivated the Green Emperor Jia-Yi Skill for over forty years, but never entered the First Level until his death.
Feeling his newly emerged Cultivation, Chen Qianliu initially expected to be ecstatic, but instead, his heart was incredibly calm.
Only a sense of vicissitudes of life surged within him, and he murmured to himself, “This is Qi Refining First Level? Have I already entered the Dao?”
Even Qi Refining First Level distinguished him from Mortals.
From today onwards, he could call himself a Qi Cultivator, no longer a person of the mundane world.
The first chapter was revised fifty or sixty times, trying to find that subtle Concept and set the tone for the entire book…
The final draft was completed just a few hours before uploading.
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