137: No form

“If I’m not mistaken, he could kill me!”

The old man spoke with absolute certainty, extremely sure.

“How is that possible!” Bai Changkong’s face instantly turned pale: “You are—”

Bai Feng held up a palm, signaling his son to stop, and said with a sigh:

“What does Condensing Spring matter? The waters of this world are deeper than the Yellow Sea. Our Bai family has survived until today by being cautious.

Regardless of whether he truly possesses that strength, Shopkeeper Jiang is not an easy person to deal with. There’s no need for any tricks with the books.

Letting him see them is harmless; don’t try to be clever and end up making things worse.”

“Father, what about Youlan—?” Bai Changkong’s eyes couldn’t hide his anxiety.

Previously, he regarded Jiang Hanwen as an equal in Realm, and with Talismanic Incantation he could confidently handle him. He was at ease with his daughter going there.

But now, if the other party truly has that strength, wouldn’t his daughter be walking into a trap by going to the bookstore?

Rather than believing in some master’s demeanor, he trusted human nature more. Would there be a cat that doesn’t steal fish?

“Youlan?” At the mention of the name, the old man’s tone softened, and a flicker of sadness passed through his eyes.

Including him, everyone’s concern came too late. They only focused on forcing his granddaughter to Cultivate, leading to two consecutive problems. Now, with this situation, he also deeply regretted it.

But regret was useless and couldn’t change anything. Everything could only depend on his granddaughter’s fate.

“Don’t you often sneak into the shop to look around?

Tomorrow, take Youlan back and ask her what she wants to do.

Just tell her that once she returns home, she won’t have to Cultivate anymore and can live peacefully as an ordinary person.” The old man sighed.

Fate did not favor the Bai family. After finally producing a promising talent, this was the result. Heaven was unjust.

“Alas…” Bai Changkong sighed.

In this world, not Cultivating was akin to being a wild weed on the ground. Though his daughter didn’t say it, she was so proud in her heart. Was it possible?

…Jiang Hanwen left the Bai family, looking at the imposing gate, feeling quite relaxed inside.

Bai Changkong didn’t use his full strength, and neither did he.

The other party had kept his Talisman Master methods hidden, considering them a trump card, but today, he hadn’t even used one-tenth of his strength.

After watching the two juniors spar today, and then having a simple exchange with Bai Changkong, Jiang Hanwen had a clear understanding of his own strength.

It wasn’t that they were too weak, but that he was too strong, even excessively so.

Not to mention his robust Qi and blood, just his Dantian, ten times larger, and the intensity of his Spiritual Qi, were enough to overwhelm them.

Within the Qi Induction Realm, he basically had no opponents. Only in the Condensing Spring Realm might there be someone who could contend with him.

If he hadn’t sensed a hidden gaze, he might have continued to spar for a while longer, playing the part more thoroughly.

As for the cost of the medicinal powder, the research and development cost about seventy to eighty thousand taels.

The cost of a single dose of powder was over two thousand, and he sold it for six thousand taels. To be honest, compared to his cooperation with the Zhuang family, which yielded a 1300% profit,

this current profit, less than 300%, was quite reasonable.

If not for wanting to read books, he wouldn’t sell it so cheaply.

Thinking that he would have the opportunity to resolve his doubts starting tomorrow, Jiang Hanwen felt as light as a feather floating in the sky, exhilarated and refreshed.

The next day, carrying three catties of prepared medicinal powder, Jiang Hanwen knocked on the Bai family’s door.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring more; it was because the yield of the lotus seeds was fixed. He couldn’t create something out of nothing. He had to ensure he would have enough for at least the next three months.

Currently, only one plant had survived. He could work continuously, but he couldn’t let the lotus flowers in the pond wither.

He needed to take it slow, Cultivate new lotus flowers separately, before he could expand the scale.

Life, after all, was about a steady flow; what was the rush?

Entering the Bai family’s library, Jiang Hanwen gained some shallow insight.

The Bai family’s library was completely different from the Zhuang family’s.

If the Zhuang family’s library was an elementary school library, then the Bai family’s was a high school library.

It was an entire five-story circular building, with stairs spiraling up around a central circular atrium.

Each floor was divided into multiple areas: for casual talk, Spirit Beast identification, medicinal herbs, travelogues, and so on.

To describe it as vast as the sea was no exaggeration; the collection here was not counted in thousands, but in tens of thousands!

Upon entering the Bai family, Jiang Hanwen did not go to look at miscellaneous books on Cultivation or travelogues, but went straight to the section on Spiritual Plants, staying there for an entire day.

The next day, he returned. The areas he had noticed yesterday were untouched; not a single book was missing.

Jiang Hanwen felt a little insecure. Was the Bai family really so compliant?

He found it hard to believe.

He spent a full half-month feigning interest in the Bai family, and not a single book’s position changed, nor was a single book missing.

Jiang Hanwen finally confirmed that the Bai family hadn’t played any tricks and genuinely allowed him to read.

Finally, on the twentieth day, he arrived at the miscellaneous books on Cultivation that he had been anticipating.

Thirteen days later, in the afternoon, in an old, brown-covered handwritten record, Jiang Hanwen finally found what he was looking for.

The book’s title had a vintage feel; it was called “Records of Spirits.”

Jiang Hanwen repeatedly flipped through it, for three consecutive days, ingesting every word of “Records of Spirits,” from beginning to end, and from end to beginning, engraving it into his memory.

All the effort he had put into researching the lotus seeds was for the Spiritual Qi problem that had troubled him for many days.

“Records of Spirits” not only answered his questions but also analyzed the subsequent Realms.

Unfortunately, after explaining up to the Profound Comprehension Realm, “Records of Spirits” had no further records.

It was no exaggeration to say that with this book, plus the “Divine Breath True Scripture,” Jiang Hanwen would largely understand the path of Cultivation for the next one or two hundred years, needing only to supplement his knowledge.

From Mortal Shedding to Qi Induction, it was to allow the body to adapt to the intensity of Spiritual Qi.

From Qi Induction to Condensing Spring, it seemed like one step, but in reality, it was two steps.

The first step was the general Breakthrough to the Condensing Spring Realm, liquefying Qi, expanding the Dantian, and nourishing the body.

The second step was condensing the spring eye, which was the true watershed of the Condensing Spring Realm.

In some sense, the first step of the Condensing Spring Realm was actually not much different from Qi Induction; it was like in a game, merely increasing the mana bar and skill damage, without a qualitative change.

The second step, condensing the spring eye, required some effort to condense a spring eye of surging Spiritual Qi in the Qi Sea.

As the saying goes, flowing water does not stagnate, and a door hinge does not get worm-eaten.

After condensing the spring eye, the Spiritual Qi in the Dantian would automatically purify, greatly increasing the speed of Spiritual Qi absorption and the quality of Spiritual Qi.

In the Condensing Spring Realm, ninety-five percent of people were stuck at this step, unable to condense a spring eye.

Of the remaining 0.5% of people, when condensing the spring eye, they didn’t know the depth, thinking that as long as they could Breakthrough, it would be fine.

Little did they know, this spring eye was not only the condensation of one’s own will but also an understanding of the rules of heaven and earth, a choice for one’s future Dao.

The Jade Crystal Realm after Condensing Spring was not just about improving the quality of Spiritual Qi.

It was also about the spring eye forming into a crystal core, forging one’s own Dao, interacting with heaven and earth, and extending one’s lifespan to three hundred years!

For example, in the Jade Crystal Realm, some people specialized in fire Spells, effortlessly conjuring fire lotuses and seas of fire.

But some specialized in lightning Spells and water Spells, able to use both simultaneously.

There were also Sword Cultivators, with Sword Qi crisscrossing.

The Dao was myriad, chosen by oneself.

Starting from the Jade Crystal Realm, different directions led to distinct branches.

But the seed of these different paths was planted in the Condensing Spring Realm, during the condensation of the spring eye, and even in the first step of compressing Spiritual Qi.

To switch to a different Dao, if they were similar, such as transitioning from the Dao of Weak Water to an Ice Vein, it would be somewhat easier.

But if one cultivated the Wood-Fire Elixir Dao and wanted to transform it into the Water-Lightning Destruction method, it would be tantamount to re-Cultivating, or even causing the body to collapse.

As for the first step of Breakthrough, why did Zhuang Kongming mention that one needed to condense the Five Elements ring to Breakthrough?

That was because the Zhuang family’s Spells were too crude, and their Physique was ordinary, so they needed to rely on quantity.

Jiang Hanwen had no worries on this front. For the first step of Condensing Spring, his Immaculate Body solved 99% of the problems for him.

It could be said that from Condensing Spring onward, the path of Cultivation truly began to filter people.

One Realm, one heaven, not only referred to the increase in strength but also to the countless people eliminated at each Realm.

You see the brilliant golden light on the high platform, but you don’t realize that beneath the opponent’s feet lie mountains and seas of sacrifices.

If he were to only walk one path in the future, it would be too narrow and unsuitable for him.

Because he was so focused, at the end of “Records of Spirits,” Jiang Hanwen found a path that theoretically existed but had never been seen in reality—the Formless.