7. The Arts of Sorcery

“Making some progress.” Lin Jiuge muttered to himself, then settled into a cross-legged meditation, using his cultivation technique in place of rest. Gradually, fine flakes of skin began to shed from his body.

“Third level of the Enlightenment Mortal Realm.” Lin Jiuge frowned as he examined the grime on his body.

He returned, changed his clothes, and came back to the waterfall to wash by hand.

“Mangfu, shouldn’t you teach Jiuge some simple spells?” Enlightenment Dao Master naturally noticed Lin Jiuge washing clothes and cooking daily. Though unaware if the kitchen had any formation, she saw him always placing the prepared food into the formation.

“?” Li Yun, addicted to childcare, felt he probably should teach some spells; lately, he had been somewhat neglectful.

“By the way, Mangfu, does Jiuge have river spirit affinity?” Enlightenment Dao Master sighed silently but admitted the little one was truly adorable.

“?” Li Yun seemed to have only cared about his disciple’s swordsmanship talent, forgetting to check if he had any spiritual affinity.

“Jiuge, come to your senior uncle.” Li Yun gave up debating and said flatly: he could teach fighting, but for technical lessons, the encyclopedic senior uncle was the true expert, and the old bookworm was not called that for nothing.

“Heh, Mangfu, I’m merely your senior uncle!” Enlightenment Dao Master gritted his teeth.

“You have no disciples; my disciple is yours.” Li Yun refused to argue, making it clear that as close senior brothers, what was yours was mine, no distinction.

“Master, senior uncle.” Lin Jiuge’s arrival quickly interrupted their bickering.

“Jiuge, how is your swordsmanship progressing?” Li Yun asked with the authority of a master.

“Master, I’ve improved.” Lin Jiuge replied humbly.

“Demonstrate for me and your senior uncle.” Li Yun said while holding Lin Jiuci.

“Yes, Master.” Lin Jiuge picked up his peachwood sword and began demonstrating each move smoothly, without the slightest awkwardness. Yet, exchanging glances, both men thought the Sword of Protection style was perhaps a bit too sharp.

After Lin Jiuge finished, he sheathed the sword, and Lin Jiuci applauded generously, praising her sister.

“Jiuge, now that your swordsmanship is somewhat accomplished, you must also learn other skills. From now on, morning basic training will increase to eight hundred repetitions. In the forenoon, you will learn spells and techniques from your senior uncle, and in the afternoon, continue sword practice.” Li Yun, pleased with his disciple’s rapid progress, planned out his entire day meticulously.

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“Jiuge, come with me.” Enlightenment Dao Master spoke kindly.

“Yes, senior uncle.”

“Jiuge, now that you’ve reached the third level of Enlightenment Mortal cultivation, the herbal bath formula needs adjusting.” Enlightenment Dao Master began.

“Thank you, senior uncle.” Lin Jiuge was truly grateful to his senior uncle.

“No need for thanks. However, Jiuge, since you have cultivation, it can be not only increased but also used.” Enlightenment Dao Master continued.

“Like this.” He gestured, causing a cup of water to splash onto a chair, then with a wave of his hand, the water returned into the cup.

“How is that?”

“From now on, Little Blessing should carry his own water cup.” Lin Jiuge responded seriously, worried his senior uncle was too careless and might make his sister sick.

“?” Enlightenment Dao Master paused his hand on his beard, this was not what he had intended.

“Ahem, Jiuge, just demonstrating. Yuan power is not only for combat. Now, hold this stone, and I will test your spiritual affinity by injecting yuan power.” Enlightenment Dao Master quickly recovered and produced a pure white stone.

Lin Jiuge grasped the stone and infused it with yuan power as instructed. Instantly, the white stone visibly turned a pure gray.

“Enough. Jiuge, your spiritual affinity is excellent.” Purely wind attribute.

“You are wind-affiliated, but you can learn basic spells from all five elements, such as Dust Removal, Water Ball, Fireball, and Transformation.” Enlightenment Dao Master envied his fellow disciple, thinking how enviable this disciple was!

“Like the little bird Master conjured before?” Lin Jiuge recalled how his master transformed various things daily to entertain his sister.

“Exactly, that’s a simple transformation spell. Depending on the amount of yuan power, the duration varies.” Enlightenment Dao Master explained further.

“Jiuge, after washing, you can use cleansing spell or use yuan power to dry. Come, senior uncle will teach you.”

Enlightenment Dao Master patiently taught Lin Jiuge, whose talent in learning spells matched his swordsmanship. Soon, he mastered the most basic minor spells.

“Jiuge, you must practice spells diligently; they will be your future means.” Enlightenment Dao Master continued.

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“Thank you, senior uncle.” Lin Jiuge sincerely thanked his senior uncle, who was practically no different from his master.

“You are my junior nephew, Jiuge. Would you be interested in learning the arts from me?” Enlightenment Dao Master grew more fond of him, considering passing on his legacy.

“The arts?” Lin Jiuge had heard the term many times but did not understand.

“The arts mainly refer to formations, alchemy, talismans, inscriptions, and forging. Some specialize in them, but everyone should have some knowledge.” Enlightenment Dao Master began explaining.

“Come, I will tell you about these five arts; see if any interest you.” Since deciding to pass on his legacy to Lin Jiuge, Enlightenment Dao Master became even more enthusiastic.

He eagerly demonstrated each art to Lin Jiuge. Li Yun, who accompanied Lin Jiuci to listen, was stunned. What was this old bookworm up to?

“Jiuge, this is a level-one formation, this is a blank formation plate, and this is a carving knife. Try it yourself.” Enthusiastic, Enlightenment Dao Master produced a long-sealed level-one formation plate for Lin Jiuge’s hands-on experience.

Lin Jiuge took it seriously, having memorized the steps.

“Remember, focus your yuan power.” Enlightenment Dao Master advised.

Lin Jiuge nodded and carefully carved the formation plate stroke by stroke, fluidly and naturally. Before long, the blank formation plate emitted a white light—he succeeded on the first try.

“Let me see.” Enlightenment Dao Master did not expect such talent.

But as soon as he infused a trace of yuan power, he sensed something wrong and immediately threw the formation plate away. Bang! The plate exploded and was ruined!

Neither Enlightenment Dao Master nor Lin Jiuge had anticipated this. Enlightenment Dao Master refused to believe it and watched Lin Jiuge carve again and again until his yuan power was exhausted. He wiped his face in disbelief. Every step was correct, but the formation plate was ruined!

Li Yun’s focus was whether his disciple’s yuan power was much greater than that of ordinary third-level Enlightenment Mortal disciples. Though every formation plate became useless, the yuan power consumed could not be recovered. He wondered if this was due to the herbal bath or something else.

The next day, Enlightenment Dao Master stubbornly taught talismans, ending with a pile of ashes; the third day tried inscriptions, burning his fingers black; on the fourth day, alchemy—finally, Enlightenment Dao Master gained a glimmer of confidence. Lin Jiuge knew various spirit plants by heart, and when shown the conjured plants, he answered fluently about their habits, medicinal properties, and incompatibilities.

“Come, Jiuge, you handle this.”