Chapter 77: Isn

"Say it, what do you want to learn today?"

Hearing Li Qianbei speak with such confidence, Feng Xue couldn't help but marvel at how different true masters were; as he dispersed the paper substitute, he said:

"Is there a technique that lets you survive decapitation and reattach your head?"

"What are you thinking?" Li Maolin, upon hearing Feng Xue's question, was utterly speechless; though this had happened several times in the past few days, he still couldn't help doubting whether he was teaching some complete novice.

Yet in past conversations, Feng Xue often uttered theories that even he found deeply beneficial; if it were just one or two remarks, he might have dismissed it, but in his probing, Feng Xue consistently touched on countless directions—such breadth was truly unlike that of a newcomer—even unlike that of an ordinary Grandmaster. After much thought, he could only attribute it to "Shenxiao Sect's former dominance over an entire nation, with profound reserves."

Internally muttering "This kid's testing me again," Li Maolin cleared his throat and said:

"The so-called decapitation tricks in folk legends are nothing but Substitute Spells mixed with illusion techniques. Use my taught 【Substitute Spell】 paired with 【Ghost Veil】, and when your enemy swings to cut your head, they'll believe they've truly severed it. Then activate the 【Secondary Substitute】 to swap positions with your substitute, strike them down with a Palm Thunder, and to onlookers it'll look like your head was cut off and instantly regrew—but in truth, it all depends on your timing and control over your Qi."

Hearing this, Feng Xue couldn't help but feel disappointed, but considering the weakness of his divine advantage, he still asked:

"If decapitation won't work, what about cutting off hands or feet? Suppose someone cuts off my hand—even if I kill them, I'm still crippled, right? Is there a way to reattach it or make it grow back?"

Li Maolin had been about to snap back as before, but surprisingly, he actually knew this technique—or rather, nearly every demon cultivator who'd survived past a hundred years knew some version of it.

There was no choice: compared to orthodox cultivators, demon cultivators had no logistics, no allies, everything depended on themselves; injuries and illnesses had to be endured alone. Without basic medical and emergency knowledge, they simply wouldn't survive.

Perfect—this was hard to learn, and could be used to slow this kid down.

At this moment, Li Maolin even felt a bit resentful: why hadn't Feng Xue asked this sooner? If he had, Li Maolin wouldn't have spent the past few days straining his mind to dress up demon techniques in orthodox clothing!

Under Li Maolin's powerful spiritual soul, these thoughts passed in an instant; to Feng Xue, the senior merely paused briefly, then nodded:

"Your question, within the Cultivation Realm, is called the Discontinuity Technique. Broadly, it falls into two categories: one is emergency temporary repair, which acts quickly and preserves combat capability, typically used during battle; the other is healing, a technique applied after battle to restore through prolonged cultivation."

"The former has many methods—for instance, you could use the 'Spirit Possession' technique to have a spirit attach to the severed limb, then control it via the Object Manipulation Spell. Since the spirit shares your will, with a little practice you can master it—it's essentially no different from Object Manipulation."

"The latter is far more complex. The most basic method is Limb Reconnection: if the limb was severed recently and the damage is minor, this technique can reattach it—but the joined limb will never be as flexible as before, requiring years of Qi erosion and nourishment to restore. I'll teach you the ritual; once you've entered the Dao, practice it first on animals."

"If the severed limb is severely damaged, you must craft an artificial limb artifact. I have a method derived from Maoshan's Corpse Cultivation technique: treat the limb, then refine it using principles akin to those of a Core Technique treasure, achieving indistinguishable results from the original."

"As for advanced limb regeneration, it requires extremely profound medical Dao cultivation—I don't know it. Legends say some Xuan cultivators who venerate the Southern Pole Longevity Emperor excel in this, but whether it's true, I cannot say."

As he spoke, Li Maolin glanced at Feng Xue and noticed no change in his expression; he silently sighed, thinking, "What an actor." (Note ①)

Feng Xue noticed Li Maolin's pause; though disappointed, he immediately nodded and said:

"Disciple wishes to learn!"

The days-long teaching routine began again. Because it involved spirit spirits, Seeing Mo Ying was forced to leave her beloved "Mirror of Illumination" and joined as an observer; Liu Yunxi even found a quiet spot to sit and meditate. As the sky outside gradually darkened, Li Maolin, who had been explaining the details of artificial limb attachment, frowned slightly, watching the entire household still lounging leisurely, and felt a quiet unease. He deliberately looked out the window and said:

"I forgot—it's time to offer sacrifices to the Stove God. I'll take my leave first; write down your difficulties in practice, we'll continue tomorrow!"

"Ah…" Feng Xue hadn't even finished speaking when Li Maolin, as usual, dissolved into a gentle breeze. Feng Xue lowered his head, organized his notes, took photos of them one by one on his phone, then muttered:

"Isn't the Stove God offering supposed to be yesterday?"

"Yeah, I remember it was yesterday too!" Seeing Mo Ying, who had always provided common-knowledge aid, looked equally baffled. Liu Yunxi, meditating nearby, nodded and said:

"Right! Didn't we just smear sugar on the Stove God's mouth yesterday?"

The human, the ghost, and the demon stared at each other, certain none of them had misremembered—today truly was the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month—and for a moment, they were utterly bewildered.

"Could Li Qianbei have mixed up the date?" Feng Xue frowned, feeling something was off. If this were ordinary commoners, fine—but in this world, Xuan cultivators were deeply bound to belief and devotion systems, and with the existence of the Nether Bureaucracy and phantom deities, every ritual was utterly non-negotiable. Even Feng Xue, the transmigrant, had obediently made paper horses yesterday to send the Stove God skyward—not asking for favors, only hoping not to invite disaster.

As Feng Xue pondered, he leaned toward the window. Having learned for several days from Li Maolin, he now knew how to see aura with the naked eye. Watching the drifting incense qi, he pulled out his phone and checked data on the Stove God offering—and finally confirmed: all three of them had made the same blunder.

This wasn't really their fault; folk customs varied by region. For instance, in the north, the Stove God offering was on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month; in the south, it was the twenty-fourth.

Feng Xue, with his one-meter-eighty-five height, was clearly from the north; Liu Yunxi's knowledge came entirely from her Fox Immortal grandmother, and a fox capable of making a snake spirit take the surname Liu was clearly also from the north.

As for Seeing Mo Ying, this ironclad southern ghost, his knowledge source was, of all things, the daughter of a former imperial chancellor. (Note ②)

Even knowing they were wrong, none of them now wished to perform the offering again, because in this world, the Stove God offering wasn't merely a folk custom—it was the true "Sending the Stove God to Heaven!"

As a phantom deity formed from folk belief, the Stove God had "incarnations" in every household; each use of the stove generated incense for him, and the act of offering transformed the year's accumulated incense into "blessing devotion."

He'd only lived here for ten days—the little incense accumulated in the stove had already been sent skyward yesterday by the trio, eating sugar cakes. Even if they offered again today, there'd be nothing left to send!

"Sigh. We've only lived here ten days anyway—even if we got the date right, it wouldn't matter. Yunxi! Go get some sugar cakes, rice cakes—back home, our tradition was: you could skip the festival, but you absolutely had to eat the festival food!"

(End of Chapter)