"Alright, hurry up and refine this brush. Since you want to walk the path of a dharma cultivator, this is the most suitable thing for you right now. If you don't refine it soon and I can't control myself, be careful I don't snatch it away."
Feng Yi spoke irritably, seeing Li Nanzhu's dazed expression.
Li Nanzhu now knew Feng Yi was only scaring her and wouldn't actually steal it. This, of course, she had learned from her First Senior Brother. Mu Wenyan had been raised by Feng Yi and naturally knew his personality. Li Nanzhu realized she should perhaps trust Feng Yi a bit more.
Of course, not too much more.
She just hadn't expected someone who appeared merely gentle on the surface like Feng Yi to actually raise a modest gentleman like Mu Wenyan.
"But, shouldn't a life-bound tool normally be refined during the Foundation Establishment stage? I'm only at Qi Condensation. Can I succeed?" Li Nanzhu hesitated.
"That restriction only applies to magic tools. Yours is a spirit tool, so those limits don't exist. There's no need to worry."
"So that's how it is. Then I'll have to trouble Master to protect me during the process."
Seeing Feng Yi nod slightly, Li Nanzhu began to slowly circulate her spiritual power according to what she had learned from her books over the past two days. She forced a drop of heart blood from her cardiac vessels, letting it slowly float out from her fingertip.
The moment the heart blood left her body, Li Nanzhu's entire frame swayed violently. She nearly lost her footing, but Feng Yi timely supported her with his spiritual power.
Taking a deep breath, Li Nanzhu bit the tip of her tongue to keep her mind clear. If her cultivation weren't only at Qi Condensation, forcing out heart blood would have drained her vitality so much. She wouldn't be in such a pathetic state—this was precisely why other cultivators waited until the Foundation Establishment stage to refine their life-bound tools.
Moreover, what she was refining this time was a yellow grade spirit tool.
Though she felt lightheaded, a moment was enough for Li Nanzhu to recover. She controlled her spiritual power again to slowly merge the heart blood into the Wanxiang Brush.
The moment the heart blood touched the Wanxiang Brush, it was automatically absorbed. Li Nanzhu could even see the drop of blood turn into fine red threads flowing through the brush handle, pulsing like human vessels.
Finally, they reconverged into a single point, pouring directly into the tip. For a moment, Li Nanzhu felt as if her blood had transformed into the ink of the Wanxiang Brush, staining the tip. In the next instant, the Wanxiang Brush shot straight toward her dantian.
Li Nanzhu didn't resist, letting it enter her dantian. She sat cross-legged on the ground and used her spiritual power to begin the refining process.
Feng Yi watched her refine the Wanxiang Brush without much reaction.
From the moment the heart blood successfully merged with the Wanxiang Brush, he knew that it had accepted her. Otherwise, the capability of someone in the cultivation world wouldn't be enough to make it recognize a master—not even he could do it.
He didn't know what it was about this little disciple of his that the Wanxiang Brush had taken a liking to. If she could truly control it completely, there would likely be no one in the cultivation world who could be her match.
However, the current limit of the cultivation world was only Soul Transformation, and the power of Soul Transformation was not enough.
Feng Yi thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. What was he thinking? If Li Nanzhu could reach Soul Transformation, few in the cultivation world would be her match anyway, regardless of her connection to the Wanxiang Brush.
Meanwhile, Li Nanzhu was inspecting her dantian. She was surprised to find the Wanxiang Brush suspended above it, as if waiting for her.
As if sensing her inspection, the Wanxiang Brush finally lunged toward her dantian again, slowly beginning to merge with it.
The process was extremely painful.
It felt like a needle was piercing her dantian, but she knew this was an inevitable part of the refinement. Only by merging it with her dantian could it truly belong to her.
Li Nanzhu carefully controlled her qi to speed up the fusion.
She could see the brush tip piercing into her dantian bit by bit. Only once the entire brush was inside would the fusion be complete.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Nanzhu finally opened her eyes. She was drenched in sweat, looking exceptionally weak.
But she was happy. With a mere thought, the Wanxiang Brush appeared in her hand.
"Master, I succeeded!"
Feng Yi looked at her and smiled helplessly, handing her a handkerchief.
"Wipe yourself off. Refining a yellow grade spirit tool is different from a normal magic tool. I didn't expect it to be this painful. You've worked hard, my little disciple."
Li Nanzhu took the handkerchief. Hearing "worked hard," she blinked suddenly.
Was it hard?
It wasn't.
"Thank you for protecting me, Master. However, I'm afraid I'll need to rest a bit longer before returning to the disciples' quarters." Li Nanzhu touched her face, feeling a bit embarrassed. She must look a mess right now.
"It's fine," Feng Yi thought for a moment. "There's a clean room in the back courtyard. You can rest there first. It won't be too late to leave once you've recovered. I'll have Wenyan come pick you up then."
"Thank you, Master."
Feng Yi nodded and waved his hand. A strand of spiritual power lifted Li Nanzhu, and she slowly floated behind him.
As they walked, Feng Yi seemed to think of something.
"Since your life-bound tool is now a brush, are you interested in learning talisman drawing from me?"
"Talisman drawing? But I've heard it requires a high level of talent. Can I do it?"
Li Nanzhu felt a bit of anticipation. After all, she had seen the power of talismans in the Flowing Cloud Secret Realm. If she could draw them herself, she would have a few more cards to play against the heroine in the future.
"We can try first. If it doesn't work, we'll talk then. Come back the day after tomorrow, and I'll teach you personally."
Li Nanzhu nodded quickly.
Personal instruction from the big villain... In the original story, none of Feng Yi's disciples were talisman cultivators. Li Nanzhu didn't know how much he could teach her.
But judging by what her other senior brothers and sisters had learned, it couldn't be that bad.
Li Nanzhu conservatively estimated that her master was at least a mid-grade talisman master.
She rested for a full night and didn't return to the disciples' quarters with Mu Wenyan until the next day.
"Master's talisman-making skills?"
"Yes, Master said he'd teach me, but I'm really curious."
Mu Wenyan didn't answer immediately but thought for a while.
"In Master's case, I think he might be a high-grade talisman master."
"High-grade?!"
"Yes. I saw Master drawing talismans when I was young. Although I don't remember it very clearly, the patterns on average mid-grade talismans aren't as complex as the ones I remember Master drawing."
Just what kind of person was this master of hers...
Mu Wenyan didn't know what she was thinking. Seeing the expression on her face, he assumed she was worried she wouldn't be able to learn, so he offered some comfort.
"Little Junior Sister, don't overthink it. Learn well from Master and don't worry about what happens if you can't learn it. Even if you can't, you're still my Little Junior Sister."
Feeling that this comfort was too weak, Mu Wenyan thought for a moment and added:
"No one stipulates who you must become or what you must do. Just do what you want to do. You don't need to force yourself to learn talisman drawing just because you're Feng Yi's disciple or a member of the Five Elements Dao Sect. You are you, an independent individual. Even if your senior brothers and sisters are outstanding, it won't become a shackle that binds you, because I know that my Little Junior Sister is already outstanding enough."
"..."
Li Nanzhu opened her mouth, but in the end, nothing came out. She simply nodded with a smile.
If only someone had said something like that to her in her previous life.
But there were no 'ifs.'
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