The Simple Method for Cultivating Spells

It was said to have been written and freely distributed by a great master of divine abilities for the benefit of the lower-level cultivators in the cultivation world.

It detailed in depth the various minor spells that could be practiced during the Qi Refining stage.

The entire book was divided into three volumes: lower, middle, and upper, corresponding to the early, middle, and late stages of Qi Refining respectively.

As someone in the early Qi Refining stage, the volume Qin Lu currently held was the lower one.

His only combat skill, the Ignition Technique, was the very first skill recorded in the book.

“Ignition Technique: Can be used in daily life to light firewood or a pipe. An essential skill for those in the cultivation world. Method of use: Circulate the dantian, gather spiritual energy to the fingertips…”

Qin Lu was already quite familiar with this skill, so he skipped over it and began looking at the other spells.

After carefully flipping through the booklet, Qin Lu discovered there weren’t many spells an early Qi Refining cultivator could practice. After excluding some that were truly useless, only five remained:

One, Finger Flick Technique: Can be released with a flick of the finger. With proficient mastery, it can be used to hunt birds and small animals. Cultivators who often venture into the wild for hunting need to practice this diligently.

Two, Illumination Technique: When cast at night, it illuminates the surrounding area, similar to lanterns or torches in the mortal world. Useful for lighting the path when walking in the dark.

Three, Cutting Technique: Strengthens the spiritual energy at the fingertips. Can be used to trim hair or nails. With more practice, it can serve as a kitchen knife for cooking.

Four, Amplified Voice Technique: Strengthens one’s own voice, allowing for conversations over a distance and making shouts more effective. Can also be used to scare off mundane beasts.

Five, Soft Wind Technique: Makes the body as light as a swallow. With just a light tap of the toes on the ground, one can easily dart out several meters without any effort.

Looking at these five spells, Qin Lu habitually placed his left thumb under his lip and moved it back and forth, thinking.

The number of skills he could choose from was currently too few, and these skills all seemed like life skills without much practical use.

“It seems only the Soft Wind Technique is somewhat useful…”

It didn’t require much deliberation. At a glance, the Soft Wind Technique was the skill Qin Lu most needed to practice right now.

After all, he already had the Ignition Technique as an offensive method, but he had absolutely no means of personal defense.

As someone who cherished his life and feared death… no! As a cautious and prudent young man of good character in the cultivation world, not having a rapid escape skill was unacceptable!

With this thought in mind.

Qin Lu began studying the method for using the Soft Wind Technique.

The book’s instructions weren’t very difficult. One simply needed to draw out the spiritual energy from the dantian, then distribute it throughout the body to reduce overall weight, thereby achieving increased speed.

But saying it was easy, doing it was hard.

“Huff—”

Qin Lu began attempting it inside the room, striving to adjust his spiritual energy for even distribution across his body.

“Bang!”

Carelessly, he knocked over the table and chairs in his home.

“Crash!”

A porcelain bowl fell to the floor and shattered.

“Thump!”

He fell flat on his face.

…

After a moment, Qin Lu stopped and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

“No, no! This place is too small. The Soft Wind Technique is really difficult to practice here. If I had a courtyard, it would be a different story…”

Practicing like this, he simply couldn’t master it.

He also didn’t dare go out into the wilderness to practice. After all, the outside was still dangerous. Continuously consuming spiritual energy in the wild, if seen by some vicious ruffian, could easily lead to trouble.

“Ah, forget it, forget it. I’ll practice something else…”

The frustrated Qin Lu sat back down at the table and stared at the few spells in the booklet.

Soon, his gaze settled on one particular skill.

…

“Pfft!”

A strange, forceful gust of wind suddenly shot out from Qin Lu’s middle finger, shooting straight to the ground. The resulting breeze kicked up the few specks of dust on the floor.

“I did it!”

Delight flashed in Qin Lu’s eyes. After over a dozen attempts, he had finally learned this move—the Finger Flick Technique!

However, when he saw the effect the Finger Flick Technique produced, his expression couldn’t help but fall slightly.

This level of power couldn’t even harm a cultivator, let alone take down a chick standing right in front of him.

It wasn’t even as powerful as a slingshot.

“With such weak power, even if I level it up to the top, it probably won’t be very effective…”

Qin Lu shook his head helplessly.

No wonder the booklet said it required diligent practice to pose a threat to ordinary animals. This power was truly touching.

“Oh well, it’s better than nothing. I’ll just practice slowly.”

After a bit of self-encouragement, Qin Lu continued casting the Finger Flick Technique.

“Pfft!”

“Pfft!”

As he flicked away, Qin Lu realized this move also had a function for cleaning the room. He got up and began walking around the room, constantly flicking his fingers towards areas with a lot of dust.

“Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!”

Stirred by the spiritual energy impacts, dust in the room continuously flew into the air.

Seeing this, Qin Lu hurriedly opened the window, then continued using the Finger Flick Technique to blow all the dust out the window, where it slowly drifted towards Cao Mo’s house.

After casting it over ten times in a row, seeing his spiritual energy was about to bottom out, he finally stopped.

Taking a look at the now much cleaner room, Qin Lu nodded in satisfaction, closed the window, and then opened his status panel to check.

The skills section now displayed new information.

[Finger Flick Technique] (Novice): 12/100

“Hmm… The proficiency also increases by one point per use, same as the Ignition Technique.”

“I’ll practice for a few days first, get it to the ‘Proficient’ level, and then see!”

After setting his training plan, Qin Lu turned his attention to his cultivation mantra.

After these past few days of cultivation, the proficiency of the Mystic Sun Mantra had already reached ninety-nine points and was about to Breakthrough.

“Tonight, I’ll focus on advancing the mantra first, see what effects it has…”

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Lu didn’t hesitate any longer. He sat back down cross-legged on the meditation cushion, assumed the proper hand seals, closed his eyes, and began circulating the mantra.

It didn’t take long before a familiar warmth rose from his abdomen. As he silently recited the incantation, it began circulating throughout his body.

Qin Lu was long used to this and began enjoying the comfortable sensation.

Time flowed slowly by.

Just as he was halfway through circulating the mantra, he suddenly felt the spiritual energy within his body instantly grow significantly stronger, and its speed of circulation also suddenly increased.

“It’s here!”

This sudden change told Qin Lu it was precisely due to the Mystic Sun Mantra leveling up.

“Ah! This… it’s too thick and too fast, it’s a bit hard to take…”

The sudden change in the spiritual energy made Qin Lu feel uncomfortable. The previous sense of comfort vanished, replaced by soreness and pain throughout his body.

It was as if someone was constantly pounding on his body.

The pain gradually intensified, continuously assailing his internal organs and meridian channels.

His brow couldn’t help but furrow tightly.

The feeling was somewhat like running. Usually, he jogged to exercise. Now, it suddenly felt like a sprint, and his body seemed to have gained dozens of pounds. This sensation was simply unbearable all at once.

Qin Lu gritted his teeth, cold sweat streaming down.

“No! I have to persevere!”

“A prostitute can’t wait until she’s in the mood to take clients, and a person can’t wait until they’re in the state to get things done!”

Since he had already started the circulation, he couldn’t just give up now.

Qin Lu maintained his posture, continuously circulating the mantra.

Fortunately, this feeling didn’t last very long. After persisting for over ten minutes, the soreness and pain slowly receded, and his body gradually adapted to this intensity.

The familiar warm flow returned, though compared to before, the sense of comfort had diminished considerably.

A moment later.

Qin Lu slowly opened his eyes, let out a long exhale, and ended this session of seated meditation.

He opened his panel to check.

As expected, the proficiency of the Mystic Sun Mantra had risen to the ‘Proficient’ level.

Even his cultivation level had increased by two points, reaching sixty-seven.

This filled Qin Lu’s heart with excitement, and much of his fatigue dissipated.

Advancing the Mystic Sun Mantra could increase his cultivation speed. At this rate, he wasn’t far from the third layer of Qi Refining!

After reflecting for a moment, Qin Lu saw it was already getting late. Holding onto the thought of “as long as it doesn’t kill me, I’ll work myself to death,”

He sat back down at the redwood table, unfolded a talisman paper, and began crafting talismans!

He still planned to get up early tomorrow to go out and dodge his debts, so he couldn’t afford to waste time tonight…

Every talisman he could make was one more, and money was never something to turn away.

In the dim and oppressive room, illuminated by a faint lamp, Qin Lu’s arduous figure hunched over the table, painstakingly carving talismans, painted a picture of a laborer’s toil.

A phrase seemed to flash through the room:

Lying flat is not an option, lying down and winning is impossible, now is the time to strive!

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