Chapter 77 Repaying A Favour (2/2)

A treasure mirror flew out from Zhang Ruoxu and the lights reflected the two people.

Shen Lian did not feel like he was being stalked. Instead, he felt protected.

The Tiandi Jian was Qing Xuan's treasured possession. Not only it could view the heaven and hear the earth, it could also isolate inside and outside.

Zhang Ruoxu sighed, ”Fortunately the Daoist Master still lingers around. Otherwise, today's incident may leak out.”

Shen Lian's expression changed slightly, feeling confused, he asked, ”What was that?”

”Does the ”Art of Spiritual Enhancement” enhance one's spirit even if that person does not have any foundation in cultivation?” Zhang Ruoxu asked.

Shen Lian nodded.

Zhang Ruoxu gave an 'as expected' face and said, ”If I'm not mistaken, someone has imposed a Dao restriction on your technique. The effect of this restriction is that once someone has mastered it, they were forbidden from neither teaching it nor putting it down in words.

”But when I first started, I was able to record it on paper and the text did not vanish.”

Zhang Ruoxu calmly smiled and answered. ”That's because you've not shown that to anyone. Is the booklet still around?”

”I've burnt it.” Shen Lian answered awkwardly. After all, his actions showed that he was not that great of a person.

”It's not a bad thing to burn it and leave no traces behind. Maybe when you get older and better at your practice, you might be able to find another way to inscribe your Art of Spiritual Enhancement. By then, our school would have another fundament to be passed down,” Zhang Ruoxu care freely replied.

He initially thought that perhaps Shen Lian had little secrets behind him. Who knew that he would be imposed of a Dao restriction? In the ten thousand years of Qing Xuan history, no one person has the ability to impose such a restriction on others. It was an extremely skilled technique that a person has to come to the edge of the spiritual world in order to reach that level.

Zhang Ruoxu seemed like he did not want to further elaborate about the Dao restriction. He switched the topic to talk about the fundamentals of practice and cultivation.

He was a visionary who was extremely insightful. With just a few words, he could give Shen Lian a sudden feeling of glee.

His last advice to Shen Lian was to not rush into finding a breakthrough.

This was because it was not necessary for Shen Lian to nourish his spirit after breaking through. He already had the most advanced Art of Spiritual Enhancement. It did not make any difference if he reached the realm of spiritual nourishment.

It did not matter if Spiritual enhancement or Qigong comes first. In the most ancient practice, the understanding of the natural world was beyond everything else.

Zhang Ruoxu told Shen Lian to go to the Taiwei pavilion to find out more about the Dao of Talisman, and to focus on his swordcraft as well as his Dao technique.

During ancient times, there were originally no text or writings. The talisman was the very first carrier of culture that served as a medium between heaven and earth. It had the ability to trigger natural forces such as water, fire, wind and thunder; and was one of the earliest forms of supernatural power.

Although the Dao of Talisman was very different from the ancient method, if one puts in effort in understanding it, he will realize the similar concept behind it.

Unlike Shen Lian, Chen Jianmei was highly talented and brave. His potential has sped up his training. However, slow and steady wins the race. Just like how a sword would have to go through extreme sharpening before becoming a double edge sword and the scent of the plum flower came from bitter coldness.

Zhang Ruoxu assured Chen Jianmei that he would eventually go into Huandan1.

Judging from Shen Lian's sufferings at the River of Spirit, Zhang Ruoxu could tell what Shen Lian really needed was not the polishing of his techniques and blindly pursuing different realms. Instead, Shen Lian needed to cumulate experiences and learn more about proper practice and cultivation.

The nine realms of cultivation was actually a shortcut paved by the Daoist Master for cultivators. It was a pity if the cultivators cast only a passing glance when they were going through the nine realms.

Some people lived a short life and thus rushed through their practice. Shen Lian, on the other hand, took it slowly by taking deep strolls.

Zhang Ruoxu would not explain these concepts explicitly, but he was more than happy to give some useful key pointers.还丹 - A Daoist and Qigong term to describe the process of returning to its original form