Chapter 198: Pointing Out Rivers and Mountains
Chapter 198: Pointing Out Rivers and Mountains
Upon hearing Fang Cun’s words, the atmosphere in the hall instantly grew rather heavy.
Not only did the Elders of Leshui Sect look somewhat awkward, but even the expressions of the disciples below darkened. All of them frowned and raised their heads, fixing their gazes on Fang Cun’s face. They seemed eager to speak, yet feared appearing disrespectful. After all, they had all accepted the gifts he’d just bestowed. Wouldn’t it be rude if their words made it difficult for him to save face?
Gift-giving still had its uses…
As for Fang Cun, he wasn’t surprised by the change in the Leshui Sect members’ expressions, nor did he delay.
“The Leshui Sect is Qingjiang’s sole major Talisman doctrine. Its Talisman arts are renowned throughout the entire Yuan Nation. Though these three distinguished disciples haven’t pursued the Talisman path, their techniques—Flame Spirit, River Guiding, or Flowing Cloud Sleeves—are all mysterious, unpredictable, and endlessly varied. However, judging by these three distinguished disciples, their age isn’t overly young, and their physical foundations are notably solid. The sole issue is…”
He paused briefly, looking at them with a smile. “Why have none of you stepped into the Condensed Radiance Realm?”
“Huh? Condensed Radiance Realm?”
Fang Cun’s words caused surprise and confusion among those present.
No one looked down on Second Young Master Fang’s words, but none had expected him to sound so… amateurish.
Wasn’t it incredibly difficult for Qi Refiners to enter the Condensed Radiance Realm?
The Condensed Radiance Realm differed fundamentally from the Refining Breath and Treasured Body Realms. Advancing wasn’t simply a matter of accumulated effort.
This realm required honing, and even more crucially, innate talent.
Just as out of a thousand people practicing drawing eggs, how many could actually break through and achieve mastery?
This step couldn’t even be substantially aided by master teachers; it depended entirely on oneself.
The Leshui Sect recruited dozens of disciples every three years. Including its Elders and disciples, new and old, the sect numbered around three hundred or so. Among these three hundred, Treasured Body Realm cultivators were plentiful. Every year, large numbers of Treasured Body Realm Qi Refiners either left the mountain or emerged within its ranks. Yet among all these disciples, only a few dozen had attained the Condensed Radiance Realm…
The reason lay precisely in those two words: “innate talent”!
And this wasn’t unique to the Leshui Sect. Across the entire world, the disparity in numbers between the Treasured Body and Condensed Radiance Realms among Qi Refiners was immense.
Asking someone this was like asking someone who enjoys singing why they hadn’t become a celebrity in their past life!
It was even more tactless than asking someone why they didn’t have a partner!
…
Hearing Fang Cun’s question, the three Leshui Sect disciples flushed with embarrassment and annoyance. They were the elite among the sect’s Foundation Building Realm disciples, veritable top talents. Being at the Foundation Building level, naturally, they hadn’t yet broken through to Condensed Radiance. But that didn’t mean they had no hope. On the contrary, especially that Senior Brother Ye, was considered the disciple most expected to be the next to reach the Condensed Radiance Realm!
Second Young Master Fang himself had only recently reached the Treasured Body Realm. He couldn’t even boast a more vigorous blood essence foundation than theirs.
What logic was there in asking this outright?
Facing this heavy, awkward atmosphere, Fang Cun didn’t rush to explain.
He merely turned to Yu Qingli beside him. “Junior Brother Yu, are you willing to demonstrate a divine ability?”
Yu Qingli, who had been holding a wine pot, nodded slightly in response and set the pot down.
The Leshui Sect Elders had no idea what trick Fang Cun was trying to pull and could only shift their gazes to Yu Qingli.
Even the quiet He Zhenzhang, lingering in the background, looked surprised now.
Yu Qingli stepped forward, bowed to the Elders, and announced, “I have been at the Shoushan Sect for half a year, cultivating the Divine Ghost Manifestation Body!”
“Only half a year? This…”
The Leshui Sect Elders and disciples instinctively thought this, then their expressions abruptly shifted dramatically.
At that moment, Yu Qingli, appearing effortless, summoned his magic power. There was no visible strain on his face, just a casual forming of seals and free-flowing manifestation. As his magic surged, a fierce aura of gods and demons suddenly stirred around him. Behind him faintly materialized a murky, indistinct divine statue, seemingly wreathed in dark lightning.
Whoosh!
The statue seemed to open its eyes, its cold, empty gaze sweeping over the seated Elders.
Crack!
A Leshui Sect Elder gasped in shock, his teacup tumbling from his hand.
“What kind of art is this?”
Another Leshui Elder nearby shot to his feet, his gaze filled with astonishment.
“Old… old Yu, you… how have you grown so powerful?”
A cry of disbelief came from the side — it was He Zhenzhang, looking utterly flabbergasted.
“Second Young Master Fang taught it to me. I cultivated it precisely as he instructed,” Yu Qingli replied softly as he slowly withdrew his magic power. He then returned to Fang Cun’s side and picked up the wine pot again.
Whoosh!
Hearing Yu Qingli’s words, the Leshui Sect Elders immediately swung their urgent stares towards Fang Cun.
The divine ability Yu Qingli had just displayed had completely surpassed their expectations.
As Elders, possessing Golden Core Realm cultivation, their discernment was naturally keen.
They could see at a glance that while the power of this Shoushan Sect disciple’s technique wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, and the subtleties of his magic power flow weren’t necessarily impressive in their eyes, the divine might imbued within it was genuinely terrifying. Especially at its peak, with the divine ghost’s eyes opening, the gates of the underworld seeming to part—it caused even them to feel startled…
Had this disciple already broken through to the Condensed Radiance Realm?
Not quite. But they were absolutely certain that breaking through was merely a matter of time for him!
Mastering profound arts with immaculate precision was incredibly difficult, but possessing that divine essence was unmistakable at a glance!
“Only cultivating for half a year…”
If Yu Qingli were to fight these Leshui disciples, the outcome might be hard to predict, given the difference in accumulated cultivation and foundations. But focusing purely on this single technique? The Leshui disciples couldn’t hope to match even a fraction of its essence…
Realizing the implications of this was precisely what drew their urgent focus onto Fang Cun.
Could a disciple, in the sect for only half a year, truly cultivate this technique to such a level… just based on Second Young Master Fang’s teachings?
…
“It’s time to demonstrate the power of harsh truth…”
Fang Cun thought to himself, sensing the charged atmosphere around him.
To be honest, the power Yu Qingli displayed with this divine ability even exceeded his expectations. Back then, he had simply felt Yu Qingli was well-suited for the Divine Ghost Manifestation Body and had directed him toward it. He hadn’t anticipated such pronounced results.
Up on Crow Mountain, when Yu Qingli employed it, even the ferocious, unrestrained Demon Hound froze upon seeing its manifestation…
This time, witnessing it again, the potency seemed even greater!
Though inwardly startled, Fang Cun kept his composure. He merely sighed softly and furrowed his brow.
He addressed the first Leshui disciple, the one who had performed Flame Spirit: “Your Minor Flame Spirit Art is quite good!”
The disciple named Ling Yin looked momentarily bewildered: But you just said…
Fang Cun’s voice then shifted: “But why manifest it as a bird?”
Ling Yin was dumbstruck, unsure if an explanation was due. He stammered, “The innate five cardinal directions… the south corresponds to the Vermilion Bird…”
This was fundamental knowledge. The primal five aspects, the southern aspect being the Vermilion Bird, the divine spirit of Fire. Qi Refiners performing fire-aligned arts would naturally envision this southern deity, seeking the true essence of fire. For Fang Cun to question this seemed almost nonsensical.
Had he not seen Yu Qingli’s technique, Ling Yin might have argued.
But after witnessing it, the disciple instinctively felt Second Young Master Fang was inscrutable and didn’t dare to question him.
“Conceptualizing the Vermilion Bird is one thing; morphing flames into a little bird is entirely another!”
Fang Cun cut him off directly. “Your Minor Soaring Spirit Seal cultivates the essence of flame concentration. It channels magic power through the Yang Gate, Brain’s Portal, and Supporting Prominence meridians. With your current magic power, this technique should indeed be formidable. Intent precedes form; spirit precedes intent. You believe that shaping the flame spirit into a bird, the more lifelike it becomes, the closer it approximates the divine essence. But in truth, it achieves only surface similarity without true spirit—actually weakening its power!”
He frowned pointedly. “Remember, you are cultivating a divine art, not performing parlor tricks!”
“I…”
Ling Yin was utterly stunned. He wanted to explain but found no words.
Even the surrounding Leshui Elders were briefly thrown. This Minor Soaring Spirit Seal had been handed down by ancestors to be emulated. Older generations manifested it as a firebird, so disciples followed suit. Now it was dismissed by Fang Cun? More bewilderingly, he had instantly discerned its meridian paths and explained its shortcomings with logical conviction…
Before they could react, Fang Cun turned to the disciple who used the River Guiding technique, frowning. “Your water-based arts are decent too. A single divine ability, stirring tens of river waves, pushing back the current for tens of zhang—it demonstrates ample magic power. But that’s precisely it: ample power alone. Couldn’t any three Qi Refiners who’ve just attained Treasured Body teaming up achieve similar results? Are you aiming to demonstrate how strong you are?”
“A Qi Refiner of your standing… is your future ambition pulling barges alongside the river?”
The disciple flushed a scarlet red, unable to retort.
“And finally, you!”
Fang Cun swiveled his gaze to Ye Xuanzhen.
Ye Xuanzhen stiffened, his expression instantly turning grave, yet his pride remained intact.
He’d heard Fang Cun pinpoint flaws in his two junior brothers’ techniques—flaws so accurately exposed they defied refutation, precisely because they existed. The more this was true, the more he wondered what Fang Cun would say about him.
He was the senior disciple of Leshui Sect, publicly acknowledged as the strongest in the Foundation Building Realm. His mastery of the Flowing Cloud Sleeves was profound, earning praise even from some Condensed Radiance Realm Elders. He was also recognized within the sect as the disciple next in line to break into the Condensed Radiance Realm. If Second Young Master Fang dares find fault with me, he resolved internally, even if it seems disrespectful, I must…
“Am I right to guess you’ve been stuck at the pinnacle of the Foundation Building Realm for at least a year?”
Before Ye Xuanzhen could finish formulating his resistance, Fang Cun spoke abruptly.
Ye Xuanzhen jolted, tearing free from his swirling thoughts. Hesitantly, he admitted, “It’s been two years.”
Fang Cun delivered his verdict coolly: “Then I estimate you’ll remain stuck for two more years, or perhaps be stuck indefinitely.”