Chapter 17: Thunder Seal Qi Suppression
Li Qingyun felt that this Cultivation World was truly unlike anything he had imagined.
Shrouded in haze, veiled in layers of mist.
It seemed as though the true nature of this world was concealed beneath the towering presence of Transcendent powers.
"Immortals" — even the word itself seemed to be a taboo among cultivators, something no one dared mention casually.
In this world, the supreme beings were universally addressed as "Dao Lords." The temples and shrines built throughout the mortal realm, large and small alike, all enshrined Dao Lords as their objects of worship.
Those commoner households with the means to do so would place Dao Lord statues in their homes, hang painted portraits of Dao Lords, and pray for protection — to ward off evil spirits and malevolent entities.
In the minds of ordinary people, the very word "immortal" simply did not exist.
The existence of Dao Lords seemed to have replaced the concept of "immortals" entirely, becoming the most mysterious and ultimate presence in this world.
"To understand the true world hidden beneath the mist, I'll need to raise my strength and standing first..."
After a while, Li Qingyun steadied himself and returned to a calm composure, as though nothing had happened.
He walked to another bookshelf and quickly searched for the fourth-level and above techniques of the Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art, as well as any spell for concealing one's cultivation aura.
He had no desire to linger in this Scripture Repository any longer!
"[Qi Suppression Art] — upon successful cultivation, allows the practitioner to restrain their own Dharma Power aura. However, those who have cultivated ocular arts or other Divine Abilities, as well as beings of profound cultivation, can see through it with ease..."
This spell was exactly as its name suggested — plain and unremarkable. It worked simply by restraining Dharma Power to conceal one's aura, but its flaw was obvious: it offered no protection against truly powerful individuals.
What was shelved on the first floor of the Scripture Repository was naturally nothing exceptional.
Li Qingyun had no better options. He picked up the [Qi Suppression Art] and the fourth through sixth levels of the Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art, then walked over to the Daoist monk guarding the first floor to have both copied.
The guardian monk was a very elderly Daoist, reclining in a rattan chair and dozing. Only when Li Qingyun approached to request copies of the techniques did he stir, blinking open his drowsy eyes and sitting up.
The old Daoist glanced at the disciple token hanging at Li Qingyun's waist and said in a flat tone: "We provide free paper and brushes here. The [Qi Suppression Art] will cost fifty taels of gold, five Spirit Stones, or equivalent. The Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art, fourth through sixth levels — each level is the same price."
Li Qingyun's expression shifted slightly, and the hands holding the books trembled a little.
What a rip-off!
The Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art charged a fee for every single level!
The meager funds he carried were nowhere near enough to purchase the last three levels of the technique.
"Senior, I'll just copy the [Qi Suppression Art] then. Oh wait — let me also copy the [Thunder Seal] while I'm at it..."
With some reluctance, Li Qingyun returned the later levels of the Treasure Furnace Art to the shelf and swapped them for the [Thunder Seal] spell.
His purse was too thin — he could only afford to copy two things!
"You're not bad, young man. You've already begun to cultivate some Dharma Power, haven't you? Why not take a master among the temple's Daoist instructors?"
The old Daoist chattered on with well-meaning nosiness, having already sensed the faint fluctuations of aura emanating from the young man before him.
"Heh, I've only just made a start. I'll naturally be looking for a Daoist instructor soon enough!"
Li Qingyun smiled modestly, took the brush, ink, and paper, and began copying the two spells.
The Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art would have to wait for now — he would find a way to obtain the higher levels after reaching the third level of Qi Refinement.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy toward the temple's elite disciples. Those who had taken masters under Daoist instructors like Lu Nanling and Xu Songyuan could freeload the Qi Refining Stage techniques — and even some spells — saving themselves a great deal of resources.
Once he finished copying, Li Qingyun walked out of the Scripture Repository.
By now the autumn night had deepened. Darkness blanketed everything, while scattered lights of varying brightness flickered across the rear mountain — some near, some far, all hazy and indistinct.
Li Qingyun had only heard it said that the brighter the glow, the more prominent the location — the residences of Lingbao Temple's important figures and its most significant places.
He walked with a light step, moving swiftly along the mountain path.
Now that he had cultivated Dharma Power, he could see in the dark — not perfectly clearly, but well enough that getting lost was impossible.
As he neared the bamboo cottage, Li Qingyun saw that a light was already burning inside.
A faint chill of mountain wind swept past, stirring the Daoist robe he wore. In the hazy night, the warm amber glow spilling through the window brought a small measure of warmth to the returning Li Qingyun.
The loneliness of a solitary figure adrift in a foreign world — that feeling was scattered, just a little, by the light of the lamp.
He gently pushed the door open, not wanting to disturb this rare, fragile warmth.
But the moment he stepped inside, He Xiao's boisterous, show-off laughter shattered the mood entirely.
"Junior Brother Qingyun, you're finally back! Do you have any idea how wonderful my day was?!"
He Xiao's eyes gleamed with excitement, his complexion rosy, brimming with energy.
Drawing a little closer, Li Qingyun caught a faint whiff of powder and perfume drifting from He Xiao's person.
He couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Senior Brother is a man of talent and charm — free-spirited and dashing. I'm nowhere near your equal!"
The words seemed to hit exactly the right spot, and He Xiao's laughter grew even louder.
"Qingyun, I went to work in the front temple today — not only did I earn some Contribution Points, I also got to meet all sorts of interesting people. This afternoon, I ran into two young ladies of remarkable beauty. Their bearing, their figures — tsk, tsk..."
"Let me tell you, if you want to live well in the temple and get assigned good duties, you've got to stick with Senior Brother Zhang. In a couple of days, Senior Brother Zhang is holding a Dao Discussion gathering — why don't you come along with me and broaden your horizons, Qingyun?"
He Xiao spoke with animated enthusiasm, recounting his day working in the front temple and mentioning this Senior Brother Zhang along the way.
According to him, this Senior Brother Zhang's full name was Zhang Junlong. He was something of a figure at Lingbao Temple on Maple Mountain — the nephew of Zhang Qiyun, the Reception Steward — and held a measure of authority that allowed him to arrange decent assignments in the front temple for disciples from the rear mountain.
"Senior Brother Zhang does sound capable — I'll definitely make his acquaintance when the opportunity arises. But for the next few days, I'm planning to shut myself in and cultivate. I'm hoping to develop my Dharma Power as soon as possible..."
Li Qingyun furrowed his brow, deliberately letting a flicker of hesitation show, then declined politely.
His entire mind and body were devoted to cultivation right now. He had no desire whatsoever to waste time flattering and currying favor with some Senior Brother Zhang.
"Going to the front temple to do odd jobs — receiving guests, handling miscellaneous tasks — to earn a pitiful trickle of Contribution Points... how could that compare to heading down the mountain after making real progress in cultivation, taking a mission from the External Affairs Hall to subdue demons and evil spirits, and raking in a fat haul of Spirit Stones and merit?"
The circle he currently moved in was made up mostly of people who had bought their way in with Dao Affinity Tokens to gild their reputations. The majority of them — He Xiao, Ge Xiaohong, and the rest — hadn't even cultivated a single furnace of Dharma Power to cross the threshold of the cultivation path. Yet they kept organizing Dao Enlightenment banquets and Dao Discussion gatherings every few days. Just thinking about it made Li Qingyun want to laugh — and shake his head.
As for the work in the front temple dealing with ordinary mortals, he had even less regard for that in his heart.
He thought: never mind how He Xiao seemed to be thriving right now, socializing smoothly and navigating the temple with ease — when you truly tallied it up, he was absolutely trading away a watermelon for a sesame seed.
Since one had been fortunate enough to enter the temple and cultivate, why not devote oneself wholeheartedly to the Dao?
If one's heart still clung to the mortal world, why bother climbing the mountain at all — to keep company with a solitary lamp, cold and desolate, just as that old servant Yin Xunshan had described?
Li Qingyun sat down at the writing desk that was his own, and casually lit the old oil lamp on top of it.
He drew out the thin booklet of the newly copied [Qi Suppression Art] from inside his robe, and by the yellowed lamplight, he opened it and began to read carefully.
The moment he started reading, he became absorbed, automatically tuning out He Xiao's well-intentioned "advice."
"Sigh, all my good intentions wasted..."
He Xiao watched Li Qingyun by the oil lamp. A gentle breeze drifted in through the window, and a strand of hair fell across the cheek of this Third Young Lord of the Marquis's manor, swaying softly. His profile was like a painting — more strikingly handsome than ever, and the pallor that had once marked his complexion now looked like the luster of fine jade.
He Xiao couldn't help but feel just a small pang of envy.