Chapter 19: Rebuilding the Spirit Vein Array

Over the past month, Li Yinsheng was quite satisfied with his own gains. However, his junior martial sister's progress during this time gave him quite a headache.

For the past month, he had cultivated her with utmost care. She had also trained extremely hard, and at night, she had to endure the Washing Marrow process of the Qingxuan Divine Light. Naturally, her progress wasn't bad. In just one short month, her tolerance for the Quenching Essence Lock had increased from eighty to a hundred and twenty catties, a fifty percent increase.

This rate of improvement was already much faster than when he had first started cultivating the Qingxuan Scripture. One must note that although he only had an inferior Root Device, his junior martial sister had no Root Device at all.

Even so, Li Yinsheng couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Given her current rate of progress, let alone definitely coming in dead last in the Lesser Yang Dao Examination at the end of next year, she would only be going through the motions in the one four years later as well. In both examinations, she would undoubtedly receive the lowest E Class evaluation. The only difference would be that she might lose with a bit more dignity four years from now compared to next year.

This was not the outcome Li Yinsheng wanted.

Of course, he had no intention of pressuring Mu Xiaoyu. Although the little girl's desire to slack off never truly died, because Li Yinsheng was watching her, practically speaking, she had been working like a demon all month. She started cultivating as soon as she woke up in the morning, cultivated until her evening Washing Marrow, went to sleep, and repeated the cycle the next morning.

In between, Li Yinsheng would make sure she ate and drank, allowing her to take short breaks every now and then to have some snacks. Her biggest virtue was that her mood would instantly improve as long as she had something delicious to eat. If it were an ordinary person living this kind of life every day, they probably would have broken down long ago.

Objectively speaking, she had truly done her best. What limited her was her talent, as well as the fact that the requirements of her Cultivation Aspiration were simply too harsh.

Li Yinsheng didn't plan to put any more pressure on her. He needed to find another way to speed up his junior martial sister's progress. Naturally, in this process, he also needed a reliable senior to offer some guidance.

In Junior Martial Uncle Jiang's bedroom.

Li Yinsheng sat beside her bed while Junior Martial Uncle Jiang looked at him with a highly peculiar expression.

"So you're saying that even though a girl with no Root Device is cultivating much faster than you did, you still think she's too slow?"

Li Yinsheng nodded.

"And so you came specifically to ask me if there's any way to speed her up even further?"

Li Yinsheng nodded again.

"And it has to be a method with no side effects, one that won't harm her body or overdraw her potential?"

Li Yinsheng continued to nod.

Junior Martial Uncle Jiang fell silent for a moment before her expression turned serious. "Yinsheng, tell your Martial Uncle the truth. Have you... taken a fancy to that girl?"

Li Yinsheng froze.

"I've also seen her a couple of times over the past month. She is indeed delicate and charming, with quite a bit of beauty, but she definitely isn't some nation-toppling beauty, is she?

"It wouldn't be hard to find one or two prettier female disciples in any given Daoist Temple. Why are you so infatuated with her? Or do you just happen to like this kind of humble, girl-next-door type?" Junior Martial Uncle Jiang's face was written with pure bewilderment.

"Martial Uncle, what are you talking about!" Li Yinsheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Do I look that desperate?"

At his junior martial sister's current age, in his previous life, she would have just started her first year of high school. No matter how thirsty he was, he couldn't possibly be attracted to a girl that age! Not to mention, she was as flat as a board and hadn't even developed much!

"Then why did you..." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang grew even more confused.

Li Yinsheng thought for a moment before saying, "Maybe... it's her indomitable perseverance and hard work. It reminds me of how I used to be, so I empathize with her."

"Haven't you been the one forcing her to cultivate the whole time?" Junior Martial Uncle Jiang interrupted.

"Uh... but don't you think it's already incredibly precious that she managed to stick with it?" Li Yinsheng's face was filled with sincerity. "Whenever I see her sweating profusely while cultivating, it reminds me of my own experiences, and I can't help but want to aid her."

Junior Martial Uncle Jiang sighed. "Actually, I can understand you. When I used to cultivate, I was also just as tireless, never stopping for a moment. But I really don't have any good methods left.

"I do know quite a few ways to increase cultivation speed, but if we're talking about ones that we can afford right now and have no side effects, there isn't a single one."

"Then... how about Martial Uncle picks the cheapest one to tell me about?" Li Yinsheng said. "I'll see if I can work hard enough to afford it."

"Yinsheng," Junior Martial Uncle Jiang frowned slightly. "I know you pity this girl, but you absolutely must not delay your own cultivation for her sake.

"All these years, you've always refused to leave me behind. I'm already a burden to you; I really don't want you to take on another one."

"Don't worry, Martial Uncle," Li Yinsheng smiled and shook his head, holding Junior Martial Uncle Jiang's hand. "Neither you nor Junior Martial Sister Xiaoyu are burdens to me."

"Yinsheng..." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang pursed her lips, then said seriously, "If you really want a method, the cheapest one I can think of is an Array."

"An Array?" Li Yinsheng was somewhat puzzled.

"You should know that the mountain peak of every Daoist Temple contains a Spirit Vein. The Spirit Charm dissipated by the Spirit Vein is quite beneficial to a Cultivator's training," Junior Martial Uncle Jiang said. "In order to maximize the use of the Spirit Vein's Spirit Charm, every Daoist Temple will construct Arrays to harmonize the Spirit Charm for their Sects to use."

"I know this," Li Yinsheng nodded. "Xuanzhen Temple's Array was destroyed over twenty years ago.

"But... an Array is only meant to organize, harmonize, and distribute Spirit Charm; it doesn't generate Spirit Charm itself. Other Daoist Temples only need to build Arrays to regulate Spirit Charm because they have too many disciples.

"There are only three of us in total in Xuanzhen Temple. We have more Spirit Charm than we could possibly use up. Whether we have an Array or not makes no difference to us, right?"

"No, the Array's harmonization of Spirit Charm doesn't just affect its distribution." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang shook her head and spoke earnestly. "An Array can also purify and conduct Refinement on the Spirit Charm, separating out special Spirit Charms that are far more effective than ordinary ones."

"Special Spirit Charm?" Li Yinsheng was taken aback.

"These special Spirit Charms have subtle differences depending on the Array used for their Refinement. Some are more suited for Artifact Refining and Alchemy, some for Qi Cultivation, and some for Refining Body...

"But regardless, the effects of these Spirit Charms far exceed those of ordinary Spirit Charms.

"For example, certain special Spirit Charms dedicated to assisting cultivation are several times more helpful than ordinary Spirit Charm.

"Of course, special Spirit Charms are also far rarer than ordinary ones, so ordinary disciples in a Daoist Temple don't get to enjoy them. Even a Steward would only receive a small portion on occasion."

"Martial Uncle, you've never told me about this before?" Li Yinsheng said.

"That's because they're too expensive," Junior Martial Uncle Jiang smiled bitterly. "As long as it includes the function of 'Refining Spirit', even the cheapest, small-scale Array would cost over a hundred thousand talismanic coins."

Li Yinsheng nodded. "That's not surprising, that's not surprising at all..."

Even at its peak, his savings were less than thirty thousand. Now, he only had a little over ten thousand left.

"So you understand now? Although the special Spirit Charm produced through an Array's Refinement is a good thing, it's just too expensive. If you had those talismanic coins, they could absolutely be spent on much worthier causes."

"Martial Uncle," Li Yinsheng thought for a moment before suddenly asking, "Must the cost of hiring someone to build an Array be paid entirely upfront in talismanic coins?"

"How is that possible?" Junior Martial Uncle Jiang shook her head. "A permanent Array is inherently an expensive item. If paying the full amount in one go was a strict requirement, there would be very few people who could afford to hire an Array Master."

Speaking up to this point, Junior Martial Uncle Jiang froze, as if she had suddenly realized something. Then, she stared wide-eyed at Li Yinsheng, pointed at the tip of his nose, and let out a piercing shriek.

"Yinsheng! What are you planning to do?!"