19: Forced breakthrough

Senior Brother Qin Yang had been sitting with his eyes closed for a long time, and the faintly restless Spiritual Qi ripples around him gradually smoothed out.

He opened his eyes, which were clear and bright.

He picked up a jade disc, and with a slight flicker of spiritual light from his fingertip, a few drops of dark red Yao Beast blood and golden mineral powder fell into the disc.

Immediately, he gently swirled his fingertip over the disc, and a wisp of pure spiritual power seeped into it.

The originally dormant mixture in the disc seemed to come alive, emitting a faint glow, and a strange aura subtly spread.

Then, he picked up the dark purple Talisman Brush, its tip hovering an inch above a pale yellow Talisman paper, unmoving.

He closed his eyes again, his brow slightly furrowed.

Suddenly, the brush tip dropped, precisely touching the starting point of the Talisman paper.

Vast spiritual power was forcibly restrained at the brush tip, initially as swift as lightning, producing a sharp whooshing sound, then slowing to a crawl, meticulously carving.

Lin Feng watched intently, while in his Sea of Consciousness, the heaven-stealing vine's spiritual tendrils, with unprecedented activity, frantically absorbed everything.

They wrapped around Qin Yang's Talisman Brush, capturing his Divine Sense and mental fluctuations, stealing that wisp of Talisman Intent.

Lin Feng's head felt like it was about to explode, his temples throbbed violently, and his vision even began to blacken.

But he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to maintain that outwardly 'dumbfounded' look of fascination, suppressing all pain deep in his throat.

Just as the Talisman Structure was about to completely close, Qin Yang's left hand formed a strange hand Seal, and a bright light bloomed from his fingertip, pointing towards the center of the Talisman paper.

A hum resounded.

All the flowing spiritual light on the Talisman paper, which was almost bursting through the paper, instantly compressed inward, completely sealed.

Almost at the same moment, the spiritual tendrils in Lin Feng's Sea of Consciousness retracted, quickly becoming dormant, as if they had never appeared.

On the table, only a seemingly ordinary pale yellow Talisman paper remained, now adorned with strange vermilion patterns, lying quietly, its precious light completely restrained, becoming plain and unadorned.

"Did you understand it?" Qin Yang turned his head and asked indifferently.

Lin Feng immediately snapped out of it: "Senior Brother's Divine Abilities are vast; this Disciple is dull-witted, I can only see its divine mastery, but less than one in ten thousand of its subtleties..."

Qin Yang chuckled softly, then asked no further questions.

Through this mode of worship, observation, and theft, Lin Feng's understanding of Talisman crafting improved at a terrifying speed.

He not only learned the steps of Talisman crafting but also, through the heaven-stealing vine, directly perceived the core essentials of each step and that unique Talisman Intent.

At the same time, from Qin Yang's occasional words, he also gained a deeper understanding of the Dao of Talismans:

Low-grade Talismans like the 'Sharp Metal Talisman' and 'Fire Bullet Talisman' focus on instantbreak out and strong lethality, while 'Light Body Talisman' and 'Shield Armor Talisman' emphasize support and defense.

During a competition, scattering a handful of Talismans, combining offense and defense, is enough to instantly change the tide of battle.

And a Talisman Master who can stably draw second-tier and above Talismans already holds a respectable position within the Sect.

Lin Feng huddled in the shadows of the stone chamber, his fingertips tracing patterns on the cold ground, repeatedly recalling the Talisman Dao knowledge in his mind.

Every turn of the brush, every subtle change in spiritual power, and even the secret technique for sealing spiritual power at the end, were as clear as if he had practiced them countless times.

A few mornings later, Qin Yang seemed to be in a good mood.

Lin Feng respectfully presented the organized Talisman Materials:

"Senior Brother Qin, your Talisman Dao is so exquisite, I presume your Alchemy Dao and other skills are also exceptionally outstanding?

When this Disciple was at the Spirit Pill Pavilion before, I once saw a Senior Sister surnamed Su refining Medicinal Pills from afar; her technique was also incredibly miraculous..."

Qin Yang didn't even lift his head, casually saying: "Su? You mean Su Sizhu, right? She indeed has good talent. In the last Sect Grand Competition, she ranked among the top three in Alchemy."

Su Sizhu... Lin Feng silently noted the name. So her name was Su Sizhu.

He suppressed the chill of being deceived in his heart and continued to probe:

"Senior Sister Su, Senior Brother Qin, geniuses like you are truly enviable. For Utility Disciples like us, how can we... how can we become true Inner Sect Disciples like you?"

Qin Yang finally looked up at him: "When Junior Sister Su and I first entered the Sect, we directly became Disciples under a Core Formation Elder. Our Families have deep ties with the Sect."

He paused, seemingly feeling that saying these things to a Menial Servant was somewhat superfluous, but still added,

"As for taking a Revered Master... my Revered Master, he would not accept a Disciple in the Qi Refinement Stage, especially one from a Menial Servant background."

'Family... ties... So from the very beginning, the path was different.'

Lin Feng lowered his head, no longer speaking.

A few more days passed, and Lin Feng still felt his cultivation stuck at the Peak of the third level, unable to Breakthrough.

He took a deep breath, retrieved a carefully preserved jade bottle from his Storage Pouch, and poured out a peiyuan pill.

'I'll gamble everything!'

The Medicinal Pill entered his stomach, and spiritual power exploded, surging wildly through his Meridians.

He groaned, veins bulging on his forehead, as he fully circulated his Cultivation Technique, attempting to guide this immense force towards the solid barrier.

The barrier trembled violently, developing cracks, but it failed to shatter.

Meanwhile, the excess spiritual power was uncontrollably rampaging within his body, and a trace of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

'Am I going to fail?'

At this critical moment, an unusually vast power surged into his body from outside.

This power was precise and formidable, instantly suppressing the chaotic and scattered spiritual power, like the most skilled charioteer, forcibly pulling the reins of a wild horse, guiding the enormous medicinal power to transform into an indestructible heavy hammer.

Rumble!

A loud bang, audible only to Lin Feng himself, came from within his body.

The sturdy barrier shattered in response.

An unprecedented feeling of power filled his entire body, his five senses instantly became clearer, and his Divine Sense also expanded by more than a circle.

Fourth Level of Qi Refining.

Lin Feng collapsed as if exhausted, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat.

He looked up and saw Qin Yang standing at the entrance of the stone chamber at some unknown point, his right hand still in a hand Seal posture, gazing at him with indifferent eyes.

"Consuming a peiyuan pill to assault a minor Realm is a reckless act," Qin Yang said coldly. "If I hadn't happened to detect the abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations, you would be a cripple by now."

Lin Feng struggled to get up, bowing in salute: "Thank you, Senior Brother Qin, for your timely assistance! This Disciple... this Disciple truly had no other choice..."

Qin Yang withdrew his gaze, seemingly too lazy to say another word, and turned to leave, only leaving behind: "Since you have broken through, stabilize your cultivation. Put aside miscellaneous tasks for now."

The stone chamber door closed, and Lin Feng slowly clenched his fists.

He forced himself to sit cross-legged, palms facing upwards, discarding all distracting thoughts, and fully circulating his Cultivation Technique.

The newly acquired spiritual power of the Fourth Level of Qi Refining was far more abundant than that of the third level, but at this moment, it seemed somewhat scattered and unstable.

He guided this spiritual power, allowing it to slowly circulate along the heavenly cycle,Once,又Once.

The previously somewhat obstructed acupoints were easily cleared, and the circulation became smoother.

There was no sun or moon in the Immortal Cave, only subtle changes in the light filtering through the rock crevices hinted at the passage of time.

After an unknown period, when he slowly awoke from his meditation, the fatigue in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a subtle, restrained brilliance.

'Fourth Level of Qi Refining... finally completely stabilized!'