The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Li Lang had occasionally met up with his friends even while he was obsessed with his research. He may have been a rare sight, but he had been there enough to keep up with the latest updates.

Both Wei Ping and Long Yi had reached the next stage of cultivation. At some point after the stimulation from his fights, Long Yi successfully broke past his bottleneck and reached the seventh stage of Energy Gathering. Li Lang planned to speak with him about his experiences once he was free.

His other companions all made adequate progress as well. Both Sima Xue and Tang Yulian had managed to pass the third round of the brushweaving trial, successfully inscribing a talisman with two overlaid runes. Li Lang had tutored them in the past and guided them in the right direction. To Li Lang, it wasn’t surprising they had succeeded. After all, they both had better control of Qi than him and were hailed as geniuses.

As their mentor, he had also seen how the two girls had trained vigorously in keeping their brush strokes consistent. They also had gotten better at employing their brushweaving techniques due to the various inks Li Lang got them to test out. Forcing themselves to adapt to their makeshift ink exercised their brushweaving abilities to a new extent. It made it so that when they returned to working with regular ink; they managed to inscribe with ease.

Their work had given valuable data to help optimize Li Lang’s research. However, the materials they had on hand were vastly limited. They had never planned to craft ink, so they didn’t have many useful resources in stock.

“Hey, how’s everything going?” Li Lang voiced as he sat himself at the table.

His approach had already silenced the group as they all turned to him. Usually, Li Lang only came for meals and kept the talking to a minimum. Their curiosity grew when they noticed Li Lang’s jovial tone in his greeting.

“B-boss, we were just t-talking about how I managed to p-pass another round of t-the woodsmithing trials!”

“Congratulations. It’s about time. You’ve been working on that for quite some time, right?”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Sima Xue teased. “At least he hadn’t lost any trial points while he worked on it. You, on the other hand, have lost quite a few points, I heard.”

Li Lang calmly smiled at her words. He knew she was simply trying to provoke him in order to motivate him.

“I’ll make those points back soon enough. I happen to have successfully found a method to inscribe a three-rune talisman.”

“What?!” an alarmed voice instantly shouted. However, it hadn’t come from Sima Xue, but Tang Yulian, who was sitting beside her. “Are you serious? Even I have trouble with that and I’m using Earth-grade talisman papers. How in the world could you possibly do it? Don’t tell me you can handle Earth-grade materials?”

Being interrogated so intensively by a Foundation Establishment cultivator made Li Lang freeze for a split second before Tang Yulian restrained her aura.

The difference between one major realm may not sound like a lot, but it was indeed a huge gulf. There was a reason why people still referred to those below the Foundation Establishment realm as mortals. Once one shed their mortality, they could literally perform miracles with their willpower alone. The drastic difference in abilities only grew the longer one treaded the path of cultivation.

“Apologies. I lost control of myself for a moment,” Tang Yulian slightly bowed toward everyone at the table. “Li Lang, if you could explain. It may help me greatly in passing the next trial as well. I’ll make sure our sect will handsomely reward you once we return.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind sharing as long as you, in turn, share your results as well.”

Tang Yulian only had to contemplate the strange request for a few moments before nodding. She was used to Li Lang’s antics by now. She may not know the reason why Li Lang hungered to know the results of everything she did, but she would still agree as long as it wasn’t too unreasonable and benefitted her.

The group of young cultivators didn’t return until it was late into the night. The detailed explanation had bored everyone who wasn’t a brushweaver, but those who were, listened attentively throughout the session.

The study discussion acted as a refresher of sorts for Li Lang, which helped him prepare for the trial ahead. After a night of sleep, he was fully prepared to take on the fourth round of the brushweaving trials.

Same as before, he found himself on top of a lily pad floating in a lake after stepping through a scroll.

The lights soon materialized, marking the start of his trial. It made him start from the first round of inscribing a simple one-rune talisman once more. Since he had already passed the test before, he would receive no rewards for passing the trials again, and only point deductions awaited if he failed.

The first two rounds were a breeze for Li Lang. Only the third round with the overlaid rune made him focus. Before long, the dreaded fourth round came. Li Lang knew those who successfully passed this test were few and far between. He surmised only those who were talented enough to reach the Foundation Establishment realm during the trials had passed this test.

That meant this would be new territory for both him and whatever was managing the pocket realm. He wondered if he would be approached if he passed.

Li Lang’s thoughts didn’t dwell on the matter for long, as he began to concentrate on the task at hand. Inscribing a three-rune talisman was no joke. He may be taking advantage of using unorthodox inks, but the talisman paper’s capacity wasn’t the only thing to worry about.

Three runes meant more variables. He had to ensure they wouldn’t interfere with each other, and control all the Qi that was being stuffed in. The more power it contained, the harder it was.

Despite having practiced extensively within Ruby, Li Lang couldn’t help but feel nervous. The inscription this time would be taking place in reality. If he failed, he would suffer the repercussions of the attempt. He wouldn’t have absolute control of his surroundings to avoid them. It was a possibility that he could get hurt.

The talisman he would be creating was a product of careful calculations. That was why his first step was to bring out his measuring tools. A measuring cup was quite easy to make, and that was exactly what Li Lang did.

He somewhat felt like he was baking. He poured the ink mix into the cup before pouring that onto his inkstone. Then, he dipped his Moon Brush into the extra ink to confirm how much it absorbed and expended after each stroke. The most difficult part was keeping the strength of each stroke consistent so that just enough ink would be used.

The consistency helped him control the amount of Qi he would apply to the rune. Too much and the talisman would overload, causing an explosion of Qi. Too little and the balance of the rune would crumble.

Li Lang couldn’t make any mistakes on any of the three runes. It was a daunting task, but he was excited to jump straight into it. The talisman he chose was a more advanced version of the concealing talisman he had often kept as a trump card. There were many variants, but the common three-rune version hid not only sight and Qi signature, but smell and vibrations as well.

The talisman consisted of a light rune that handled the distortion of light and temperature. One wind rune would be responsible for managing the airflow, so no scent or breeze would alert anyone or anything. Then, one earth rune for the vibrations and footprints. Only when the three runes were in balance could it hide the Qi signature of the user as well.

Sweat dripped from Li Lang’s brow as he inched ever closer to completion.

While Li Lang was busy facing the fourth round of the brushweaving trial, other important events were happening within the pocket realm.

Numerous cultivators were attempting to break through to their next stage of cultivation. Everyone was under pressure to make progress. Martial trials were dominantly what they relied on to earn their points. That meant they were under pressure to break through, so they could pass the next round. After all, it was the fastest way to obtain a power boost.

Among them was Li Lang’s close friend, Wei Ping. However, the breakthroughs from someone in the middling stage of Energy Gathering drew no attention. Only those nearing the Foundation Establishment drew the attention of all the young talents away from their bitter cultivation.

Liang Po was one who met these exact conditions. He was famed for being one of the most talented in his generation, standing shoulder to shoulder with Tang Yulian and Sima Xue. Tang Yulian may have pulled ahead for now, but knowledgeable parties didn’t dare discount them when the journey was only beginning. Those who reached the Foundation Establishment realm would only be considered to have reached the starting line.

Nevertheless, the young cultivators of the Luminescent realm, who were outside the mountain, sensed a major breakthrough was happening. The clouds gathered as a storm brewed. It was an omen common to those who possessed a unique physique when they underwent their breakthrough.

Having possessed these heavenly physiques already defied the heavens. That was why each step they took invoked a significant response. Despite only trying to step onto the ninth stage of Energy Gathering, there were signs of a tribulation storm above Liang Po!

This caused the flow of Qi to be thrown into chaos within the realm, in turn, worrying the three artifact spirits that oversaw the place. It was enough for the green artifact spirit to summon forth his companions. Within the lone hut at the summit of the mountain, the three spirits took on their human forms. They floated above the yellow clouds like some sort of gods, but they each wore grim expressions.

“Blue, Orange, the white-haired kid is breaking through. Take precautions just in case.”

“Do you think he is the cause of our woes?” Blue asked as she tilted her head.

“It is hard to say, but if just his breakthrough to the ninth stage can cause this scene, it should be him.”

“That’s scary,” the boy in orange robes muttered. “If only we could test it out by temporarily banishing him from our realm…”

His two companions only stared down at the scene sternly, opting not to reply.