Chapter 216 – Testing for the Five Elements (2/2)
An old man currently sat in a rocking chair with a pot of tea on the small table to his side. He turned the page before placing the book down and asking slowly, “What kind of book are you looking for, sir?”
Li Qingshan said, “Uncle, I want to buy a cultivation method. Do you have any here?”
The old man smiled. “If I didn’t, why would I still be running this store?” He fished out a scroll of bamboo slips from his hundred treasures pouch and tossed it to Li Qingshan. “The cultivation methods are all on there. Take your time!” Afterwards, he returned to his book.
Li Qingshan unfurled the bamboo slips doubtfully and channeled his true qi into it. A few inky words naturally appeared on the jade slips. “Body Practitioner, Qi Practitioner.” He tried focusing on Qi Practitioner, and the ink seemed to dissolve. It condensed together into seven new words. “Yin, Yang, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth.”
He chose fire carelessly, and over a dozen cultivation methods appeared, and that was only the first page. In total, there were probably a hundred of them. Apart from the Bing Fire Method of Burning Qi, he had not heard any of them before.
After choosing the Bing Fire Method of Burning Qi, various types of information appeared on the bamboo slips regarding the cultivation method, from the ease of cultivation to how effective it was in combat. It covered everything. Even someone as inexperienced as Li Qingshan could basically guess the advantages and disadvantages of this cultivation method.
The scroll of bamboo slips contained the entire catalogue of cultivation methods available at this store. No wonder there were no books around.
Li Qingshan sought guidance with an open mind. “Uncle, I’m an independent cultivator. I don’t know what cultivation method suits me. Could you give me a recommendation?”
The old man smiled. “That’ll depend on what suits your constitution. Do you know your element?”
“I don’t, but I think I’m water.”
The old man said, “I can check your constitution for you for one spiritual stone. Would you like to get it checked?”
Li Qingshan happily coughed up a spiritual stone. The old man fished out a scroll from his hundred treasures pouch and unfurled it. It was inscribed with many profound glyphs. The twisted, winding lines created a simple formation.
The old man shook his hand conveniently, and the scroll became seven feet in length and width. He spread it out on the ground. “Sit on there and focus your mind.”
Li Qingshan placed down the bamboo basket gently before sitting at the centre of the formation. He closed his eyes and focused his mind.
“Let’s test for yin and yang first!” The old man touched the scroll, and the formation immediately lit up, illuminating Li Qingshan. An extremely small shadow appeared above his head.
The old man shook his head. “Fellow, you’re just naturally unsuited for any yin element cultivation methods. It’ll be extremely difficult for you to condense Profound Yin true qi. But don’t worry. From your physique and face, I can tell that you fall into the category of yang.”
It was very late already, but the streets were still full. Suddenly, the bookstore lit up with dazzling light. The passersby covered their eyes and cried out, “What’s going on?” “Is this the birth of some treasure?”
A Qi Practitioner squinted his eyes and looked at the bookstore. “You all know nothing. They’re testing for the yin and yang element.”
“What? When I was tested in the past, the light was only the size of a fist.”
A few Qi Practitioners entered the bookstore and saw a head-sized ball of scorching, white light above Li Qingshan.
The old man praised, “You possess extremely great talent for the path of Profound Yang. Cultivating Profound Yang true qi will definitely yield quick results for you.”
Li Qingshan said, “What recommendations do you have then, uncle?”
“Don’t fret. Let’s test the five elements now! Although cultivation methods derived from yin and yang span everything, they’re quite difficult to practise. They need guidance from masters. I wouldn’t recommend it to independent cultivators.”
As the old man said that, he tested for Li Qingshan’s five elements.
When he tested for wood, only a tiny blade of grass appeared above Li Qingshan’s head. The old man shook his head. This is even worse than regular Qi Practitioners.
When he tested for metal, a tiny sword appeared above Li Qingshan’s head. Only then did the old man nod.
When he tested for earth, a boulder appeared above Li Qingshan’s head. The old man’s eyes lit up, and he nodded even more. His earth element even surpasses his yang element. The Wu Earth Method of Unyielding Qi will do.
When he tested for fire, a small ball of flames appeared above Li Qingshan’s head. The old man sighed in pity secretly. His fire element is extremely mediocre as well. If it were as great as his earth element, then he could practise both the yang and fire elements. The True Yang Method of Scorching Fire would basically be made for him. However, he was also slightly perplexed. Normally, people with a powerful yang element would have quite a strong fire element as well.
Perhaps? The old man immediately thought of how the five elements promoted and counteracted each other. Water and fire counteracted one another, just like yin and yang. If one was strong, then the other would be weak. With that being the case, this child’s water element should have been pretty impressive.
Because Li Qingshan felt like he was oriented towards the water element, the old man tested for the water element last.