The antenna was looking around, obviously curious and a little scared.
Lin Jin had sat down.
As the place was abandoned, the house was too dilapidated to enter so he and Old Taoist sat in the yard, using rocks as stools. Neither minded it.
There was a stump with several dishes laid on top. Only the braised meat was in a bowl while the others were placed on oil papers or leaves. Looks like this old Taoist was quite particular when it came to eating. Even in such a situation, he managed to gather so much food.
And there was wine too.
There was a bottle of aged liquor open, its divine fragrance filling the air.
Old Taoist grabbed a clean ceramic bowl and filled it for Lin Jin.
“Appraiser Lin, there isn’t much that I can offer. If you’d like, you can try some of these dishes and this wine,” Old Taoist Wu Qian offered graciously.
He knew that if Curator was here instead, he wouldn’t be able to be this relaxed and unreserved.
Curator was an intimidating figure with pressuring aura but Appraiser Lin here was more elegant and gentle.
“Sir, you need not be too courteous. I’m here on Curator’s orders to have a chat with you,” Lin Jin said as he took up the bowl to have a sip.
The wine was good, even comparable to the famous liquors selling in the capital’s restaurants.
With this, the ice was broken.
“That day, I was lucky enough to witness Curator’s divine powers. I’ve been thinking ever since and there’s something that’s been bothering me for so many years now that I have to speak my mind.” Wu Qian took a sip as well.
Lin Jin smiled. “Sir, please go ahead.”
“Alright.” Wu Qian paused before continuing, “I come from Mount Tianhe’s Cloud Sect. This was a glorious place one thousand years ago, but the path to immortality has begun to decline during that time. Still, it was possible to continue cultivating significant aspects like riding the clouds for transport, performing phenomenal spells, living a life of freedom, and extending one’s lifespan. However, this continued to decline generation after generation. When it reached my master He Hang’s era, Cloud Sect was on the brink of discontinuation. Only a few of us were left. Cultivating pet beasts has become popular in the modern-day but I continue to cultivate the ancient arts. Yet, as time passes, I don’t see any improvement in my cultivation so I’ve been feeling lost.”
Wu Qian looked downcast as he elaborated. He didn’t mind the effort but his crucial goal was now lost.
If one didn’t know what they were cultivating for, wouldn’t they obviously feel lost?
“When I saw Curator performing the Nebula Barrier that day, I was astonished. To think there was still a person in this era who could perform such an incredible spell. This Nebula Barrier had been recorded in Taoist books, stating that it’s able to control the weather and shift constellations. At its peak during ancient times, it could even build a country, control time, and change day to night, vice versa. Although Curator couldn’t perform up to that scale, this cultivation level is profound enough. I’ve been concerned about having no guidance on my cultivation path, which is why I had sincerely hoped to receive some pointers from Curator. I wanted to ask, will there be a future in continuing to pursue immortal cultivation?”
Anticipation filled Wu Qian’s eyes as he inquired. He was like a lost man asking for directions.
This question was too difficult to answer.
Lin Jin wasn’t even sure himself so how could he answer?
“Uhm…” He stayed silent and pondered, ‘Based on the current situation, it’s a fact that the path to immortality is lost. Just like his sect, even after a thousand years, it ended up this way. How tragic.’
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After that, Lin Jin said, “I can’t answer you whether there will be a future in continuing to pursue immortal cultivation, and I’m sure Curator agrees with me. Although you’ve witnessed Curator performing a cultivator’s spell, you don’t know his true proficiency and that’s beast appraising. We’re essentially just beast appraisers. There’s a saying in Taoist teachings that one should conform to the law of nature. Now that pet beasts are the law, why would you insist on a path to the unknown? I see you have a monkey demon as your companion so I’m sure your Cloud Sect has cultivation teachings in this area, why not pursue it? As for immortality, you may continue to cultivate it. I just happen to know of a few cultivation methods myself. We can share and improve together.”
Lin Jin gave him a well-rounded answer.
Wu Qian’s eyes lit up at this.
He clearly knew that the laws of nature weren’t something he and Lin Jin, and not even Curator can change. It was as Lin Jin had said. Since pet beasts were the current laws of nature, it was better to conform to them.
Consequently, Lin Jin shared ‘visualization’ with the old Taoist where the latter listened, entranced, and talked about the ‘Exhale-Inhale Technique’. Old Taoist had some corresponding exercises on this so he compared his with Lin Jin’s only to suffer complete defeat. The Exhale-Inhale Technique Lin Jin obtained from the museum was clearly much more superior and orthodox. Old Taoist recorded them all.
Next, he talked about ‘vein strengthening’ which confused Old Taoist. This was normal because vein strengthening required the pulse-seeking technique to complement it. Old Taoist didn’t possess this miraculous acupuncture skill so he obviously had no idea.
And so, Lin Jin didn’t talk much about vein strengthening.
Lin Jin had told him quite a lot so Old Taoist returned the favor. He presented his Cloud Sect’s most prized formula and techniques.
The star among them was the edict amulet.
Lin Jin had wanted to learn about this so he listened intently.
Speaking of which, most of the techniques he offered Wu Qian was to strengthen one’s physical body, condensing psyche, and growing spirit energy. But Old Taoist’s edict amulet was a genuine Taoist spell.
With his strong awareness ability, Lin Jin was able to comprehend after listening to it the first time.
This edict amulet was created by inscribing the amulet with one’s own spirit energy to borrow external powers. To invoke lightning, one could borrow powers from the God of Thunder. There were many thunder gods in Taoism and they all vary from each other. One could also borrow Heaven’s thunder but that was too abstruse and difficult to acquire. On the topic of his expertise, Old Taoist rambled on with sparkling eyes.
He did so as he continued to eat and drink, clearly excited.
“Our Cloud Sect’s edicts were famous back then, everyone knew how strong they were but things declined after that. In my generation, we couldn’t even come up with an edict amulet, and for that, I feel embarrassed. I can only use what I have. The edict amulet I used on the white ape was written by my grandmaster.”
At the topic of his helplessness, Old Taoist shook his head, disappointed at himself.
Meanwhile, Lin Jin was pondering this edict formula Old Taoist had taught him. It was mysterious teaching but since Lin Jin had experienced from researching the Nebula Barrier, he was able to sense something spiritually.
“Can you help me take a look if a Five Elemental Fire Amulet is written this way?” Lin Jin dabbed his chopstick with wine and begun writing on a stone slab.
Wu Qian had had too much to drink so he was a little tipsy. After craning his neck over at the edict Lin Jin had written, he was stunned.
He rubbed his eyes.
“Why do I sense fire energy?”
Wu Qian thought his eyes were deceiving him so he took a closer look. Sure enough, it wasn’t just fire energy but there were flames as well.
Forget Wu Qian, even Lin Jin was shocked. After he finished writing the edict, he tried invoking it but he never expected it to work and set the stone on fire.
Soon, the stone slab was scorched black. This fire was surely not one to be underestimated.