I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 14 Teaching the Dharma
On the first day, nothing was gained.

Ying Chan didn't care. The next day, he did as usual, going fishing in the clouds at sunrise and leisurely reading Taoist books all day.

That day, he was so engrossed in reading the "Void Sutra" that he probably sat up all night if the bright moon hadn't been suddenly obscured by thick clouds at night, making it impossible to see the words in the book.

On the third day, a light rain began to fall in the mountains, lingering intermittently.

Although Ying Chan was not afraid of the cold or heat, he did not want to get his clothes wet, and rain would also wet his books.

But he still has a way.

When he went out again, Ying Chan put on the raincoat left in the courtyard by Li Xuanying, and replaced the paper copy of the "Void Scripture" with a scroll of ancient bamboo slips left by Xu Yuan.

A lone fisherman fishes amidst the misty waves, his straw raincoat half-hidden in the ink-wash landscape.

Another carefree day.

On the fourth day, Ying Chan arrived empty-handed. He had originally intended to go to Songfeng Altar, but after thinking about it, he decided to take the fish basket with him instead.

The fish basket hadn't been touched by a single drop of lake water, but having been left in the fog and rain all day, it was still somewhat damp.

This is Ying Chan's fishing result.

Rushing to the sound of the bell signaling the end of the night, I arrived at the square beneath the Pine Breeze Altar and found the girl already there.

"Fellow Daoist," Ying Chan stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting, "Why are you waiting here?"

"Academician Qi has arrived and summoned Brother Huang up for questioning."

"We can simply wait here."

As the girl answered softly, she glanced at Ying Chan's fish basket again, and seeing that it was empty, she seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

She said, as if talking to herself, "I don't know how Brother Huang did it, but his basket is full of fish..."

Can you catch fish with a straight hook?

Ying Chan didn't know if the girl was asking him, but he still smiled and said, "I have nothing to offer either, so how would I know?"

“Oh…” The girl fell silent.

Seeing this, Ying Chan said nothing more, but simply listened to the pine breeze and waited leisurely.

Seeing him like this, for some reason, the girl's anxiety lessened a bit.

After a while, the old Taoist priest came down from the top of the cliff, called the girl to go and pay her respects to Master Qi, then nodded to Ying Chan and left on his own.

Ying Chan noticed the hidden joy between his brows, and assumed that he had achieved a satisfactory result.

About two or three quarters of an hour later, the girl came down from the square, her joy barely concealed.

But she hadn't forgotten to tell Ying Chan, "Brother Dao, the academy master wants you to come up."

Ying Chan nodded slightly, picked up his fish basket, and climbed to the top of the cliff. There he saw that Master Qi was already at the foot of the Pine Breeze Altar.

"Should be explained."

Although Academician Qi had not asked Ying Chan's name, he clearly knew it very well: "Come closer."

Ying Chan stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Disciple Ying Chan greets Master."

Professor Qi nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the fish basket: "Is this your harvest over the past three days?"

Ying Chan readily replied, "That's right."

“I said this three days ago,” said Master Qi, “I will guide you on the techniques based on your fishing results.”

"Disciple knows."

"You've gained nothing in these three days, have you felt anxious?"

"Never."

"Never?" Academician Qi said calmly, "Do you know how much suffering those two endured?"

“Uh…” Ying Chan said, “This disciple does not know.”

"Huang He is impatient by nature."

Master Qi said, "He started cultivating the Tao late and dared not delay even for a moment. Therefore, he felt extremely anxious if he did not make any progress in a day."

"Guess how he did it?"

Ying Chan recalled what the girl had said, that Huang Hesheng had a basket full of fish. He suddenly had a guess: "Brother Huang, did you touch the fishing hook?"

“That’s right,” said Academician Qi. “I only told you to use the straight hook for fishing, but I never said you couldn’t tamper with it.”

"Huang Hesheng bent the fishing hook and used the best bait, so he naturally had a great catch."

"I see……"

"As for Li Jingqiu, she dared not disobey my orders and could not think of the loophole. Therefore, she was worried all day long. In order to have a good catch, she dared not close her eyes from the second day until this morning. She had been fishing for two days and two nights."

Of course, nothing was gained.

Ying Chan suddenly understood the deeper meaning behind Academician Qi's words.

It turns out that she let the men fish for three days not to see their catch, but to observe their character.

Judging from this, Huang He, though impetuous by nature, is resourceful, while Li Jingqiu, though not very clever, can be considered strong and diligent...

What about yourself?

At this moment, Academician Qi's gaze fell upon them, seemingly sharp: "You're quite something, not anxious at all. What are you thinking?"

After thinking it over carefully, Ying Chan honestly replied, "The academy master only said that he would guide us on the techniques based on our results, but he never said what kind of results are good and what kind of results are bad."

"Therefore, I have only done my best and have not thought about what I might gain."

"While waiting for willing participants to take the bait, he went to read Taoist books."

"After a few days, I have made some progress."

"Hmm." Master Qi remained noncommittal, only nodding slowly before suddenly changing the subject: "You have a balanced constitution of the five elements, so no matter what kind of magic you cultivate, you will not have any extra advantages, nor will it be particularly difficult."

"Not only the five elements, but also yang, yin, wind and thunder... and so on are the same."

"Moreover, your temperament is not biased towards any extreme, so you should have a wide range of options when it comes to choosing cultivation methods."

Ying Chan listened carefully, showing no disappointment, nor was he in a hurry to find a solution.

Seeing this, Master Qi nodded almost imperceptibly: "But judging from your appearance, you must have studied breathing techniques, right?"

"Yes."

"The breathing technique you learned is not focused on absorbing a specific type of spiritual energy, so the spiritual energy accumulated in your body can be described as a mixture of different elements."

"Moreover, you have been practicing this method for quite some time, which has had a subtle but profound effect on your body."

"Therefore, if you want to cultivate a magic power of a single element, you not only have to give up most of that foundation, but also have to put in a lot of hard work to slowly wear away this influence."

In my opinion, it's not worth the risk.

Ying Chan asked, "What does the academy teacher mean?"

"I recommend you choose the Five Elements Harmony Qi Technique, the Six Qi Response Method, the Myriad Return to Qi Storage Method, and other such techniques."

"This type of technique is less affected by the elemental nature of spiritual energy, so it will be easier for you to switch to it."

Moreover, those who cultivate such techniques often have the advantage of a solid foundation and abundant magical power.

Of course, it is not without its drawbacks; that is, progress in cultivation is usually not fast.

However, this is not a flaw in terms of Ying Chan's interpretation.

Because of the limitations of his internal spiritual energy, even if he learned a technique with a single element and rapid progress, he still had to go through a long and arduous process.

Having heard this, Ying Chan already knew exactly how to make the choice.

But he was still in no hurry to make a decision, and then asked, "May I ask, Master, what are the differences between these different techniques?"

Although Master Qi appeared aloof, he was actually extremely patient, and he explained one by one: "The Five Elements Harmony Technique needs no further explanation. It involves cultivating the power of the five elements, refining the essence of the five elements, and absorbing it into the five internal organs to strengthen the body and prolong life..."

"The Six Qi Response Method is actually also a category of the Five Elements. As the saying goes, 'On earth, it is the Five Elements; in heaven, it is the Six Qi'... Cultivate Jueyin Wind Wood, Shaoyin Sovereign Fire, Shaoyang Ministerial Fire, Taiyin Damp Earth, Yangming Dry Metal, and Taiyang Cold Water. The fighting method is powerful..."

"The Method of Returning to the Source of Qi..."

"besides……"

Master Qi paused for a rare moment before saying, "You have been in the Taoist academy for only a month and you have already been able to read and understand all the scriptures, which shows that you have good comprehension."

"Perhaps you could also take a look at the 'One Yuan Qi Refining Scripture,' but this scripture is not only profound, but also extremely difficult to cultivate. If you are not confident, you should not be greedy and presumptuous..."

(End of this chapter)