“Technique?” Old He's words instantly made Jiang Yun’s eyes light up, and he said without hesitation, “Yes!”
Jiang Yun had no resistance whatsoever to techniques, and having just witnessed the incredible scenes produced by the changes in the mist, his interest was greatly piqued.
“If you want to learn, I’ll teach you, but before that, I need to understand your Cultivation status.” Old He sat cross-legged in front of Jiang Yun, looking at him and saying, “I can’t see through your Cultivation, but based on the fire-element technique you used during Alchemy and your control over Spiritual Qi, I estimate you’re at the seventh level of the Tongmai Realm?”
“Yes!” Jiang Yun nodded.
Upon receiving Jiang Yun’s affirmative answer, Old He frowned slightly and said, “The seventh level of Tongmai Realm can already allow Spiritual Qi to manipulate objects, but it seems you’re not very proficient at it, Jiang Laodi?”
Jiang Yun rubbed his head awkwardly and said, “That’s right, before I came to the Wen Dao Sect, I was just a Mortal and knew absolutely nothing about Cultivation…”
“Before? Wait!” Old He suddenly remembered something and quickly interrupted Jiang Yun’s words.
At the same time, he was recalling in his mind: “When he told me about Jiang Laodi’s appearance, it was ten months ago, so doesn’t that mean…”
Thinking of this, Old He’s eyes suddenly widened, staring intently at Jiang Yun and saying, “You, could it be that you’re a new Disciple recruited by the Wen Dao Sect this time?”
“Yes! It’s been seven months since I came to the Wen Dao Sect!”
“Hiss!” Old He couldn’t help but gasp. The surprises Jiang Yun had brought him were already plentiful, but combined, they couldn’t compare to the immense shock brought by this sentence.
“You used seven months to Cultivate from a Mortal to the seventh level of the Tongmai Realm?”
“No!”
Old He was stunned again and said, “Then you just said you were a Mortal before you came to the Wen Dao Sect…”
“I’ve been here for this past month and haven’t Cultivated, so I used half a year to Cultivate to the seventh level of the Tongmai Realm.”
This wasn’t Jiang Yun intentionally showing off; he was just stating the truth, but it left Old He even more speechless!
Old He originally thought Jiang Yun’s Aptitude was extraordinary, but only now did he realize he had underestimated Jiang Yun too much.
Half a year, to Cultivate from a Mortal to the seventh level of Tongmai Realm, this speed was something even he, an old Yao, found a bit hard to accept.
After a long while, Old He finally calmed down and said, “Since that’s the case, then you must have been taken as a Disciple by a Dongtian cultivator of the Wen Dao Sect, right? No, you might even be a Legacy Disciple!”
“No! I’m still a Utility Disciple.” Jiang Yun shook his head. He didn’t know what a Legacy Disciple was, but he clearly wasn’t one.
Old He widened his eyes again and said, “Are the Dongtian cultivators of the Wen Dao Sect all blind? Your Aptitude is almost Heaven-Defying; they actually don’t think highly of you. What kind of Disciple do they want then?”
Old He really couldn’t understand. A young fellow like Jiang Yun was not only physically strong, experienced in combat, but also had a tenacious Heart-Nature and a calm mindset. More importantly, he was also an Alchemist. This Aptitude was Heaven-Defying, and his future prospects were limitless. If he were in other Sects, he would definitely be fought over by everyone to be taken as a Disciple, and even some old monsters probably wouldn’t let him go.
But the Wen Dao Sect actually let go of such a fine piece of unpolished jade!
“I don’t know either! But I don’t hope they take me as a Disciple; I think it’s pretty good as it is now.”
“That’s right!” Old He agreed, “If they don’t take you, they don’t take you. Not many of those guys in the Wen Dao Sect have real abilities! Becoming their Disciple would only mislead you!”
After a pause, Old He’s face showed a look of understanding and he said, “No wonder your Spiritual Qi is clearly boundless, but you’re not proficient in manipulating objects. So, it’s because no one taught you! How about this, Jiang Laodi, if you don’t mind, I’ll give you some pointers!”
Although Dongfang Bo was extremely proficient in various knowledge of Cultivation, and Second Senior Sister was skilled in techniques, when it came to actual Cultivation, Jiang Yun mostly fumbled his way through.
Firstly, he felt awkward constantly disturbing Dongfang Bo and Second Senior Sister; secondly, his status within the Wen Dao Sect was too low, and he couldn’t go to the Scripture Pavilion to read more Advanced books.
Therefore, now that he had Old He, a master who was at least in the Cave Heaven Realm, to guide him, Jiang Yun naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity. He hurriedly nodded and agreed, saying, “I couldn’t ask for more, thank you, Old He Ge.”
Old He waved his hand and said, “Don’t thank me. Anyway, I still have many Medicinal Pills that need your help to refine. This counts as the payment I’m giving you. Don’t rush back either. Stay with me for this period. Don’t refine the Tongtian Pill yet; I’m not in a hurry. You should refine Meridian Opening Pills for yourself first. When you have free time, I’ll teach you techniques.”
“Alright!” Jiang Yun didn’t have any sense of belonging to the Wen Dao Sect. What he cared about was only Hidden Peak, and Dongfang Bo and the other two weren’t on Hidden Peak, so he was happy to stay here: “Old He Ge, why don’t you teach me the Cloud Heaven Mist Earth Technique now!”
Old He laughed loudly, “Haha, I didn’t expect you to be so impatient! Alright, but I still need to explain some knowledge about techniques to you first.”
“Alright!”
“The Dao of techniques, although you Humans are quite proficient in it, when it comes to true mastery, it still belongs to us of the Yao Race. Because what are called techniques are about drawing upon the various powers existing between heaven and earth for one's own use, such as the most common Five Elements Power. And the Yao Race is extremely sensitive to these powers, and many Yao Race members are even derived from these powers!”
“When performing techniques, we of the Yao Race use demonic Qi to draw upon them, while you Humans use Spiritual Qi. Although the names sound different, their essence is the same.”
“Therefore, just as the eight characters you mentioned earlier, tracing back to the source and simplifying the complex, when Cultivating techniques, one must still start from the most basic Spiritual Qi.”
“You’re certainly not unfamiliar with Spiritual Qi, especially starting from the fifth level of Tongmai Realm, the standard for each Realm’s advancement is determined by the degree of control over Spiritual Qi.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded repeatedly. He had already discovered this point.
The standard for the fifth level of Tongmai Realm was Spiritual Qi externalization, the sixth level was Spiritual Qi shaping, and the seventh level was Spiritual Qi manipulating objects. With each small Realm’s advancement, the requirements for Spiritual Qi control would also increase accordingly.
“The true power of techniques actually begins with Spiritual Qi manipulating objects. This is also one of the reasons why both the Human Race and the Yao Race consider the sixth level of Tongmai Realm a watershed.”
“It’s just that many Cultivators, especially you Human Cultivators, don’t pay much attention to Spiritual Qi manipulating objects. They believe that as long as their Realm continuously improves and the Spiritual Qi in their bodies increases, manipulating objects will naturally become simpler, but in reality, it’s not so.”
As his voice fell, Old He suddenly reached out and slapped a large rock in the distance through the air. With a “boom,” the large rock instantly shattered into countless pieces.
Immediately after, Old He raised his hand again, and accompanied by a surge of black mist, all the countless shattered rocks were enveloped, suspended in the air, and slowly flew in front of the two of them.
Old He looked at Jiang Yun and said, “This is what most people believe, and also what you previously demonstrated as Spiritual Qi manipulating objects.”
Jiang Yun nodded. Spiritual Qi manipulating objects required using Spiritual Qi to control objects, and there was nothing wrong with that.
However, the next moment, under Old He’s third raise of his hand, an astonishing sight appeared before Jiang Yun’s eyes, causing him to suddenly stand up, his face revealing an uncontrollable excitement.