Mythical Cultivation

"Master, I understand what you mean. I can immediately copy two techniques for you to review," Zhang Tianming replied respectfully. Without hesitation, he pulled out two flawless, crystal-clear jade slips from his bosom. He clasped his hands together, and rays of spiritual light emanated from his body, immersing themselves in the two jade slips.

Time ticked by, and after about a cup of tea, Zhang Tianming finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped what he was doing. At that moment, the two ordinary jade slips were already emitting a faint green light, clearly indicating a successful copy.

Zhang Tianming carefully held the two replica jade slips, walked up to Yin Muchen, and handed them over respectfully: "Sect Master, please take a look."

Under the envious gazes of the surrounding elders, Yin Muchen slowly extended his right hand to take the jade slip. He closed his eyes, mobilized his powerful spiritual sense, and probed the jade slip. A moment later, Yin Muchen suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise on his face.

"It actually is the legendary Shenmu Sect's inherited martial arts technique - the Green Emperor's Longevity Technique! It's a pity that it only records the first five levels. According to this, one can only cultivate to the Yuanshen realm at most. I once heard that if this technique was complete, it could have the ability to cultivate into an immortal. But now it is missing the subsequent parts. But even so, compared with our sect's martial arts, it is still slightly better." Yin Muchen pondered the actual value of the Green Emperor's Longevity Technique in his heart, nodded calmly, and finally gave a relatively fair and reasonable evaluation.

Then, he closed his eyes slightly and channeled his powerful spiritual awareness like a tide towards the second jade slip. Having just carefully examined the first jade slip and obtained the astonishing "Green Emperor's Longevity Art" from it, he was now filled with infinite anticipation and longing for the magical powers contained in the second jade slip.

However, when his spiritual consciousness actually reached the second jade slip, the scene before him shocked him—it was completely empty, without a trace of words or images. For a moment, Yin Muchen couldn't help but feel puzzled. "This shouldn't be possible! After all, since Zhang Tianming is determined to share his skills, given his way of dealing with people, he would never do such a meaningless act. What kind of mystery is hidden here?"

Despite his intense contemplation, Yin Muchen still couldn't grasp the mystery. So, he decided to stop struggling alone and instead, directly and openly question Zhang Tianming for clarity. At this moment, the entire hall was filled with a solemn and tense atmosphere. The ten highly respected elders watched the conversation between the two men with eager anticipation.

Finally, under everyone's gaze, Yin Muchen slowly opened his mouth, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Zhang Tianming, after my inspection, your first jade slip does indeed contain the Shenmu Sect's long-standing and peerless martial arts technique, the 'Green Emperor's Longevity Technique.' But why is the second jade slip empty?"

Hearing this, Zhang Tianming showed an expression of disbelief on his face, and quickly argued loudly: "Empty? How is this possible! Just a while ago, I clearly engraved it carefully according to the magical powers in the memory deep in my mind!" Obviously, Zhang Tianming was also surprised and confused by this result.

Seeing Zhang Tianming's resolute attitude, Yin Muchen realized that things might not be as simple as they appeared. There must be some hidden twists and turns. After a moment's hesitation, he gently waved his hand, handed the second jade slip back to Zhang Tianming, and asked him to examine it personally.

Zhang Tianming frowned slightly, concentrating his mind and carefully extending his spiritual awareness to the jade slip in his hand. However, when the invisible force touched the jade slip, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response at all. All he saw was a void.

Zhang Tianming was secretly shocked, but he remained undeterred. He took a deep breath, re-mobilized his spiritual energy, and concentrated on once again engraving those mysterious runes and patterns on the jade slip. He poured his heart and soul into every stroke. As time passed, a dense network of patterns and symbols gradually emerged on the jade slip, shimmering with a faint light.

Finally, when the last stroke was complete, Zhang Tianming breathed a sigh of relief, his forehead already covered with beads of sweat. He raised his head with joy and was about to hand the carefully engraved jade slip to Sect Master Yin Muchen when he heard him say calmly, "Scan it again with your spiritual sense."

Zhang Tianming was startled by the words, but he still followed their instructions and once again probed his spiritual consciousness into the jade slip. However, the next moment, the smile on his face froze, replaced by a look of astonishment and disbelief. The runes and patterns that had been clearly visible just a moment ago had vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed!

"I... I clearly engraved it just now, how come it disappeared in the blink of an eye?" Zhang Tianming widened his eyes, staring at the jade slip in his hand, his voice trembling with shock.

At this moment, the kind old man who had been sitting by the side in silence suddenly spoke slowly, "Could it be that 'the Dharma cannot be passed on lightly, the Tao cannot be taught lightly'?"

Everyone present was stunned by these words. Then, one of the ten elders couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grand Elder, what exactly do you mean by 'The Dharma cannot be passed on lightly, the Way cannot be taught lightly'?"

The Great Elder's deep eyes looked at Yin Muchen, who was sitting at the head of the table, with a searching look in his eyes. Seeing that Yin Muchen did not say anything to stop him, the Great Elder breathed a sigh of relief, and then slowly spoke in his slightly vicissitudes of life voice:

"According to rumors, supernatural powers are techniques bestowed by heaven, and are absolutely not something that ordinary cultivators can create on their own. Because of this, supernatural powers are usually extremely difficult to spread widely. They are either directly taught to specific individuals through initiation, or they must be recorded and passed down through extremely precious and rare books and silk. This is precisely the reason why people often say, 'The Dharma cannot be passed on lightly, and the Tao cannot be taught lightly.' Master, I wonder if there is anything wrong with what I said?"