PDLP Chapter 28 Ideas
Chapter 28 Ideas
As one of the lowest-level spells, the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique involves four relatively simple runes.
Furthermore, after breaking through to the Qi Refining stage, Zhao Cheng'an experienced a significant increase in both his spiritual energy and mental strength. Under Qi Weizhao's guidance, Zhao Cheng'an successfully mastered the four runes and inscribed them into his body in just half a day.
The moment the rune took shape, Zhao Cheng'an felt as if the spiritual energy within his body was being released from a dam, with a large amount of spiritual energy pouring out.
Thin wisps of cloud suddenly appeared in the previously clear sky, gathering together and darkening in color. A cold wind blew, and light raindrops fell from the sky, drifting above the spirit field.
Regardless of the area covered, the duration, or the spiritual energy contained within, Zhao Cheng'an's Lesser Cloud Rain Technique cannot compare to the version released by Qi Weizhao.
But after all, it was the first spell he had ever cast in his life, and despite feeling exhausted, Zhao Cheng'an was also inexplicably happy.
The rain lasted for less than half an incense stick's time before it dissipated with the wind.
Qi Weizhao stroked his beard, an approving expression on his face.
"Well done. Although the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique is one of the most basic spells, it still has a certain level of difficulty, especially since you don't have a water-based spiritual root."
"In reality, even for cultivators with water-based spiritual roots, it's not an easy task to master. The fact that you were able to do it so quickly shows that you do have a very good talent in the art of runes, and your spiritual sense should also be beyond that of ordinary people."
"Divine thought?"
"Divine sense is the manifestation of spiritual power. Whether it is inscribing runes during spellcasting and cultivation, manipulating flying swords and magical artifacts in battle, or refining pills and combining them with formations, all require the use of divine sense."
"Divine sense is of paramount importance on a cultivator's path."
Qi Weizhao gave a brief explanation.
Zhao Cheng'an suddenly realized that it might be related to his time travel.
Qi Weizhao then instructed Zhao Cheng'an that the focus for the next period should still be on consolidating his cultivation level and practicing more. Once the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique could be stabilized for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he could hand over some of the care for the spirit fields to Zhao Cheng'an.
"It's getting late, you should head back now."
Zhao Cheng'an thanked him again, bowed to Qi Weizhao, and left.
……
Back in the bamboo house, Zhao Chengan steamed some spirit rice, and added some wild vegetables that Xiao Wu had picked from outside. After a simple meal, he began to sit cross-legged in meditation.
Casting the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique consumed a great deal of spiritual energy, which was now replenished. Zhao Cheng'an opened and looked through the books that Shen Yanshan had given him, mainly studying the content on inscribing runes within the body.
The spiritual energy condensed within a cultivator's body during the Qi Refining process is called True Spirit.
The True Spirit possesses the divine thoughts that cultivators slowly refine during their cultivation process, thus distinguishing it from external spiritual energy. It can condense and not dissipate, essentially serving as an extension of the cultivator's own will. Runes inscribed through the True Spirit are called True Spirit Runes.
The most distinctive feature of this part of the runes is that they can operate spontaneously within the body even without the need for divine thought to maintain their existence.
The True Spirit Rune is not something that cannot be changed once it is engraved, but the gathering and dispersing of the True Spirit and the engraving of the rune both take time.
Therefore, some cultivators within a lineage will switch their runes to those used for cultivation or enhancing divine sense, to improve their cultivation or learn new knowledge. When they go out, they will disassemble their original runes and switch them to combat-type spells.
Zhao Cheng'an had just broken through to the Qi Refining stage and only had one True Spirit left in his body.
The downside of low-spirit zones is their scarcity of resources; even spiritual energy is extremely thin, affecting even daily cultivation practices. However, there are advantages: the number of cultivators is sparse, and most mortals are unaware of their existence.
This makes the place very safe. As long as you don't wander around, you won't encounter any danger and can devote all your energy to cultivation.
As Zhao Cheng'an turned the pages of the book, he pondered what Shen Yanshan had said in class.
"In the early stages of Qi cultivation, it is best to inscribe the true spirit into a Qi-gathering rune to increase cultivation efficiency."
"Especially now that we need to spend time improving the spirit rice and helping to take care of the spirit fields, the effect of passively absorbing spiritual energy becomes even more important."
The "Yi Mu Chao Yang Jing" contains two Qi-gathering runes: the Qinghua rune and the Chaoyang rune, which correspond to two different spiritual energies: wood and fire, respectively.
After a moment's thought, Zhao Cheng'an decided to use the Azure Flower Pattern as his first choice. Firstly, wood-type spiritual energy is gentler and easier to absorb. Secondly, of Zhao Cheng'an's two mid-grade spiritual roots, the wood-attribute spiritual root has a slightly stronger aptitude.
Every time Zhao Cheng'an entered into meditation, he needed to inscribe the talisman patterns beforehand. He had already drawn the Qinghua pattern no less than a hundred times and was quite adept at it. Moreover, compared to ordinary spiritual energy, the refined true spirit was easier to control.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhao Cheng'an had already engraved the true spirit in his dantian.
Even as he dispersed his mind, the effects of his breathing exercises did not disappear. A continuous stream of spiritual energy was drawn to the Azure Pattern and flowed into Zhao Cheng'an's dantian, bringing a refreshing sensation.
A satisfied expression appeared on Zhao Cheng'an's face.
Breaking through to the Qi Refining stage is a completely different world. Even without doing anything, one can still feel their cultivation level passively increasing.
Not only was the cultivation experience much easier, but this also allowed Zhao Cheng'an to spend more time improving the spiritual rice and studying the runes, freeing up his energy.
The only drawback is that the efficiency brought by a single Qinghua pattern is still limited.
On one hand, in the Yi Wood Facing the Sun Meridian, the Azure Flower Pattern must be paired with the Reflection Pattern to form a complete Wood Qi circulation within the meridian in order to achieve the best state of cultivation. On the other hand, one's own Fire Attribute Spiritual Root cannot be fully utilized.
Therefore, roughly estimating, the efficiency is only about one-fifth when meditating and practicing.
As Zhao Cheng'an's understanding of the "Yi Mu Chao Yang Jing" deepens and he masters more runes, this gap will widen further.
"Unless the runes on the Yi Wood Facing the Sun Sutra are modified."
Zhao Cheng'an thought to himself, but the runes on it were already complicated enough, clearly beyond his capabilities.
While thinking, Zhao Cheng'an opened the Qiankun Cauldron and took out the second-generation improved spiritual rice that had been synthesized inside.
The moment the test results came out, Zhao Chengan's eyes lit up.
"Survival in the face of adversity, disaster relief... Indeed, my guess was correct. The Qiankun Cauldron can combine two excellent traits of durability at the level of runes... But wait a minute!"
A new idea popped into Zhao Cheng'an's head, as if an electric current had struck him.
He suddenly stood up and looked at the bright moonlight outside the window.
His breathing became a little rapid:
"Since the Qiankun Cauldron can combine the runes of the spirit rice and inherit their excellent traits, could I try to use the Qiankun Cauldron to synthesize the runes on the 'Yi Wood Facing the Sun Scripture'?"
"In this way, by optimizing the runes, even if I only have one True Spirit, I can still achieve the same effect as others who have two or even more True Spirits, thereby greatly improving my cultivation efficiency and my capacity for tactics."