Lin Qing heard Tian Gang Zhenren's words and looked at Su Xi again with seriousness, noticing something unusual.
A pure white light emanated from Su Xi's body, enveloping the talisman that was on the verge of dissipating. The crumbling talisman vibrated less in the white light and began to stabilize.
"What is this?" Lin Qing looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief, his heart filled with shock.
With his discerning eyes, he recognized the white light from Su Xi's body as a power blended from the five elements.
What he couldn't understand the most was why Su Xi, at such a young age, possessed such profound comprehension of the five elements. Although Su Xi's manipulation of the five elements was still clumsy, being able to fuse them at the Foundation Establishment stage required immense insight.
Thinking of this, Lin Qing suddenly looked at Tian Gang Zhenren beside him.
Could all of this be related to the Ancestral Master?
Recalling the legends about Tian Gang Zhenren, Lin Qing felt that it wasn't entirely unreasonable.
With Tian Gang Zhenren present, nothing was impossible. Even if he commanded the sun to rise from the west, he could surely achieve it.
With this realization, Lin Qing's heart felt at ease.
With Tian Gang Zhenren's help, it was natural for Su Xi to be so capable.
He was very curious about what cultivation technique Su Xi practiced to generate such power at the Foundation Establishment stage. If Su Xi's cultivation were to advance further, he couldn't imagine how formidable she would become.
Su Xi was unaware of Lin Qing's thoughts. She only felt extremely uncomfortable, her muscles trembling uncontrollably as if she had just run a marathon.
"Am I going to fail?" Su Xi felt a sense of despair facing the predicament before her.
She had never imagined that drawing talismans could be so arduous.
But just as Su Xi was about to give up, she suddenly felt a surge of vibrant life force welling up within her body. This life force, like a warm current, quickly nourished her parched limbs, and her spiritual energy rapidly filled her entire body.
The fatigue and discomfort in her body vanished.
Determination appeared in Su Xi's eyes, and she once again followed the instructions in the Celestial Talisman scripture to complete the remaining steps of drawing the talisman.
"Boom."
Just as Su Xi completed the final step, an unprecedented thunderclap erupted in the sky.
A pervasive pressure descended, pressing down on all sides. The immense pressure made Lin Qing's breathing feel somewhat difficult.
The cultivation technique in his body automatically activated, counteracting the uncomfortable sensation.
Although this feeling caused him no harm, he was somewhat puzzled. It was just a first-grade talisman, why did it possess such power, capable of exerting such pressure on him?
Su Xi looked at the translucent talisman before her, unable to hide her excitement.
Even though the talisman had not yet been used, she could feel the potent aura contained within it, its power even greater than the third-grade talismans she had used before.
This was a great gain.
After storing the talisman, she came before Tian Gang Zhenren.
"Ancestral Master, Master." Su Xi was indescribably happy, feeling that she had finally truly entered the path of cultivation.
Tian Gang Zhenren glanced at the talisman in Su Xi's hand and praised without reservation, "You did well."
Su Xi smiled sheepishly upon hearing Tian Gang Zhenren's words and couldn't help but ask, "Ancestral Master, the talisman is powerful, but if it takes so long to use in every confrontation, wouldn't that mean losing the initiative?"
In a battle, those with higher cultivation possessed not only more abundant spiritual energy but also a greater advantage in the speed of spiritual energy circulation. Being able to attack first before the opponent could even finish casting their spell gave one an advantage.
This advantage was even more pronounced between individuals of the same cultivation level.
Tian Gang Zhenren looked at Su Xi with a peculiar expression, frowning, "Who taught you your cultivation knowledge?" Such a simple question, and she didn't even know.
Su Xi stuck out her tongue, remaining silent.
However, her meaning was clear: her cultivation knowledge was taught by Lin Qing beside her.
"Hmph, a good-for-nothing is still teaching disciples, no wonder Penglai Mountain is declining," Tian Gang Zhenren said, glancing at Lin Qing with annoyance.
Lin Qing desperately wanted to retort that he hadn't taught Su Xi anything and that she had learned it all herself. But he knew very well that if he said that, Tian Gang Zhenren would probably beat him to death.
After scolding Lin Qing for a while, Tian Gang Zhenren began to answer Su Xi's question: "Every time you successfully draw a talisman, you will have mastered its model. When you use it in a future confrontation, it will be as simple as breathing, and it won't take this long."
"Quickly?" Su Xi blinked, asking curiously, "How quick exactly?"
Tian Gang Zhenren smiled, "You'll know if you try."
Su Xi, being obedient, immediately extended her hand and began drawing the previous talisman in the air. The previous difficult and vague uncomfortable feeling was completely absent.
In the blink of an eye, the previous talisman appeared out of thin air.
Seeing that the speed of drawing talismans had indeed increased, Su Xi's face lit up with a smile. Now, not only could she use powerful techniques, but she also didn't have to worry about not having enough time to cast them.
Just as Lin Qing was about to speak up and try to establish his presence, he suddenly felt himself locked onto by a powerful premonition. Then, to his disbelief, the lightning from the sky struck directly down, hitting him squarely on the head.
"Boom."
Accompanied by a loud explosion, Lin Qing's entire body turned pitch black, with only his eyes spinning wildly. He had no idea what had happened.
He hadn't done anything heinous, so why was he struck by lightning?
Could some scumbag be making a vow?
Lin Qing couldn't help but look around, but he sadly recalled that on Penglai Mountain, there were only him, Su Xi, and the Ancestral Master's spirit.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Su Xi also looked at Tian Gang Zhenren beside her and asked confusedly, "Ancestral Master, what is going on?"
"Drawing talismans using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is an act against the natural order. Heaven's will will consider you to be challenging it, so of course, it will strike down a punishment..."
Upon hearing Tian Gang Zhenren's words, a hint of fear appeared in Su Xi's eyes.
Could her current strength withstand the punishment of heaven's will?
That powerful lightning was clearly something she couldn't endure.
Seemingly sensing Su Xi's worry, Tian Gang Zhenren spoke to comfort her, "Don't worry, I have already transferred the punishment of heaven's will to this unpromising disciple. He will bear it for you in the future, and it will also help him improve his cultivation."
Lin Qing, Ծ‸Ծ
Su Xi, (〃’▽’〃)
Lin Qing seemed to understand why he had been struck by lightning, but why did he feel so wronged? He was, after all, a disciple of Penglai Mountain. Couldn't he be treated with a bit more impartiality?
Was this kind of self-destructive method to improve cultivation really appropriate?
Looking at the dejected Lin Qing beside her, Su Xi proactively asked on his behalf, "Ancestral Master, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
She was very worried about Lin Qing holding a grudge against her later, so she had to clarify.
When Tian Gang Zhenren heard Su Xi's words, he snorted, "With your current strength, you can't trigger too great a punishment from heaven's will, so there's no need to worry. If he can't even withstand this heavenly punishment, then he is not worthy of being the Sect Master of Penglai Mountain."
Lin Qing, ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Although he felt that what the Ancestral Master said made sense, why did he feel so unhappy?