Chapter 276

"Has Fellow Daoist Fan had breakfast? Why not sit down and eat together, and we can talk while we eat?"

"Naturally, I have..."

Although Master Fan said so, he glanced down and saw the wontons in their bowls—jade-white but revealing a hint of pink inside, the soup base shimmering with oil, and garnished with chopped green onions. It smelled of the oily aroma of bone broth and the faint scent of green onions; although simple, it was very appetizing.

"Then I'll have a bowl too! Shopkeeper!"

"Coming right up!"

The shopkeeper, seeing it was Master Fan, was extremely excited and immediately served him the wontons he had prepared for another guest, thinking that now he would have something to brag about in the future.

Thus, the three became four, and the fox and the cat ate on the bench using their own special bowls.

"Fellow Daoist said you were interested in the Five Elements Spiritual Method, so I calculated which fellow daoists in the Ju Xian Fu might practice it, and took advantage of the New Year to visit them," Master Fan said. "As a result, I really met such a Fellow Daoist Wan."

Master Fan ate a wonton:

"Fellow Daoist Wan practices the Five Elements Method. He heard about you returning the favor to Fellow Daoist Tao, and heard the story of you easily subduing the stone horse on the street. He admires your magical arts and virtue very much, and because of this, he trusts that you will not deceive him. This time, he is willing to use his Five Elements Spiritual Method to ask you for a few magical arts that he can use."

Lin Jue pondered deeply.

The junior sister was also solemn, stopping her chopsticks to listen carefully, because she knew this was actually something her senior brother was finding for her.

"May I ask what the personality of that Fellow Daoist Wan is like, and what abilities he has?" Lin Jue inquired.

"That Fellow Daoist Wan's surname is Wan, given name Chun, courtesy name Xinrong. His personality is upright yet roguish. He has the abilities of swallowing blades and spitting flames, walking on water and covering earth, and mending broken limbs."

Upright yet roguish personality...

Lin Jue recited and pondered in his heart.

It sounded contradictory, but in fact, people are just like that.

Swallowing blades, spitting flames, walking on water, covering earth, mending broken limbs...

The so-called mending broken limbs should be the accelerated recovery of wounds and the ability to reattach severed limbs.

Although Lin Jue had never been exposed to the Five Elements Spiritual Method, he had heard of its wonders: just as after practicing the Yin-Yang Spiritual Method, one's magical power is divided into yin and yang and has its own wonders—even if one doesn't learn other magical arts, just spitting yin-yang qi can cause harm to living people and ghosts—the Five Elements Spiritual Method is the same; it has its own wonders and is more proficient in magical combat.

These sounded like the wonders inherent to the Five Elements Spiritual Method, not magical arts learned separately.

Master Fan beside them naturally knew what they wanted to ask, and without needing them to ask again, he said directly: "According to my estimation, if this Fellow Daoist Wan asks for a price from you, he will definitely open his mouth wide at first, but in fact, he doesn't know many magical arts, so you don't need to spend too much."

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Fan."

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Fan!"

"It is also because the matter between you and Fellow Daoist Tao has spread; otherwise, even if they knew you knew many magical arts, not many people would trust you enough to take out their entire skill set to exchange with you."

The few of them continued eating wontons on the street.

By noon, Wan Xinrong came to visit.

This was a short, thin middle-aged man with a three-pronged mustache, wearing high-quality fabric clothing; it wasn't a Daoist robe, so he likely didn't come from a Daoist temple background.

Lin Jue and the junior sister both stood up to welcome him.

"True Person Lin, long admired, long admired," Wan Xinrong cupped his hands to him, smiling with narrowed eyes. "I have long heard that True Person Lin has high abilities and outstanding virtue, and I have long wanted to come and visit."

"We have also heard of Fellow Daoist Wan's great name, but Fellow Daoist Wan seemed not to be in the capital for the past few days, and only today could we meet," Lin Jue said.

"Fellow Daoist Wan, greetings." The junior sister saluted.

"Greetings, greetings." Wan Xinrong looked at the junior sister a few more times, feeling that this fellow daoist was quite beautiful, but he didn't dare to look too much. He then said, "Some time ago, there was a severe haunting in the Qin Prefecture, and I accepted a request from the Ministry of Rites to go and exorcise ghosts. I only returned before the New Year, and plus I took a new concubine, so I haven't been out for a few days. Haha, blame me, blame me; I should have come to pay respects to the two True Persons earlier."

"Fellow Daoist is a man of temperament."

Lin Jue knew the atmosphere in the capital now; for those who came to the Ju Xian Fu, if they weren't originally from a Daoist or Buddhist background, it was fine, but if they were originally from the jianghu, it was rare for them to be able to hold themselves back once they suddenly gained wealth.

Moreover, some pleasures were not harmful to heaven or reason, so it really couldn't be called "holding back."

"Where did Fellow Daoist exorcise ghosts?"

"Two hundred li to the east, a small place."

"Fellow Daoist truly has great abilities!"

"Where, where, I don't know many magical arts, and compared to True Person Lin, I am far behind," Wan Xinrong sighed.

Lin Jue didn't like this kind of polite talk, so he said:

"I heard that Fellow Daoist practices the Five Elements Spiritual Method; this kind of spiritual method is practiced most by jianghu wanderers. We practice the Yin-Yang Spiritual Method and have always been very interested in the Five Elements Spiritual Method. It just so happens that we have a few magical arts here that are very compatible with the Five Elements Spiritual Method. If Fellow Daoist is interested, why not exchange benefits?"

Wan Xinrong was actually a bit surprised.

He himself was a straightforward person from the jianghu, but after coming to the capital, he had become accustomed to the ways of some scholars in the capital—

If there was something to say, one definitely couldn't say it right away; if there was something one wanted, one definitely couldn't be blunt.

According to this habit, they should chat a bit more, chat until noon, eat together, continue chatting after eating, and during this time, one must absolutely not mention a word of this matter. One had to wait until they were familiar, then pick a suitable opportunity to naturally bring it up, and then naturally open one's mouth, with both sides pretending they didn't know about it before and just happened to be a good match; only then would it be good.

In a trance, it felt like returning to the jianghu.

In a trance, he also felt that a famous Daoist master should perhaps be like this.

Wan Xinrong couldn't help but turn his head to look at Master Fan sitting beside him. Seeing Master Fan sitting still and drinking tea on his own, he shook his head slightly and sat up straight.

"Although I am not the only one in the Ju Xian Fu who knows the Five Elements Spiritual Method, this is, after all, the skill I rely on to make a living. After all, as the saying goes, the Dharma should not be transmitted lightly," Wan Xinrong said. "Perhaps the two True Persons have profound magical power and don't lack this method, but since we are exchanging benefits, I wonder what magical arts the True Person has here that can be bestowed upon me, and are suitable for me?"

"..."

Lin Jue and the junior sister looked at each other.

The principle that the Dharma should not be transmitted lightly did indeed exist since ancient times, but it had only become more prevalent in the last few hundred years. On the contrary, in ancient times, there were many stories of immortals transmitting the Dharma and yaoguai transmitting the Dharma; at most, they would select and test the recipient of the Dharma, which showed that it was a very common thing.

Wasn't the founder of the Fuqiu Temple also taught the Dharma by an immortal?

Lin Jue speculated that it might be because the Nine Heavens gods suppressed the Spiritual Method Sect and promoted such ideas. After the Spiritual Method Sect declined, there were more swindlers and fewer people with real skills, so they loved to hide their true abilities and cherish their own things, thus falling into a cycle.

Sitting here now, he pondered.

"We are indeed well-versed in the Yin-Yang Great Dao, but Fellow Daoist cannot use them," Lin Jue shook his head and said. "I heard that Fellow Daoist has the ability to spit flames; I imagine it is an ability that comes naturally after practicing the Five Elements Spiritual Method, and the fire spat should also be ordinary fire, right? It just so happens that I have a Five Elements Fire Method here that can cultivate spiritual fire. If combined with the Five Elements Spiritual Method, it will be even more ferocious; if cultivated to the Great Power Realm, burning cities and destroying countries will be no problem."

As he spoke, he pointed his finger, and spiritual fire was born.

The flame was scorching, flashing in the room. Even though it was the first day of the Lunar New Year and still a freezing season, the room suddenly became much warmer.

"..."

Wan Xinrong held his breath briefly.

The phrase "burning cities and destroying countries" made his heart beat uncontrollably, and that scorching firelight, flashing and disappearing, made him see the power of orthodox magical arts even more.

But soon he reacted.

All paths in the world naturally lead to the Great Dao; even if one doesn't learn any magical arts, can't one become an immortal? But how many people in the world can walk that far?

"True Person, please don't tease me; where would I have that talent? Even if I learned it, I would only be burning small yaoguai and ghosts, right?" Wan Xinrong said. "Is there anything more powerful?"

"It is not teasing, but frank discussion. For example, we also have a Sun Spiritual Fire here; compared to ordinary fire methods, it is the nemesis of yin evil, but it is not very suitable for Fellow Daoist, so I won't take it out," Lin Jue said to him very frankly. "If Fellow Daoist feels it is not enough, I also have a 'Dashan Pressing Down' here. Once cast, it can press the weight of a mountain onto the opponent; at the very least, it will press the opponent to the ground, unable to move, and at the very most, it will press them into meat paste on the spot, which is also very suitable for the Five Elements Spiritual Method. Fellow Daoist has quite a talent for the Five Elements Dao; if you specialize in one, you might be able to reach a profound level."

Similarly, after finishing speaking, he tilted his head and drank the tea in his cup, placed the cup on the table, and pointed his finger.

Thump!

The teacup on the table seemed to be pressed by an invisible giant force, instantly shattering into pieces, and even the wooden table creaked, as if it couldn't support it.

Master Fan beside them held his cup and drank tea, silently surprised.

Wan Xinrong was even more shocked, not knowing how many magical arts this True Person actually knew.

For example, the strange people and talented scholars of the Ju Xian Fu were actually mostly water-goods who didn't know a single magical art; perhaps they just had different innate constitutions, were physically disabled, could deal with yaoguai and ghosts, or even just had a lot of courage, and might be recruited into the Ju Xian Fu because they had some reputation locally. And even if those small fry were excluded, many true strange people and true experts in the Ju Xian Fu only knew one skill.

Those who knew more than one were extremely rare.

At this moment, in his eyes, this person sitting here, wearing a Daoist robe and drinking tea, opening his mouth and speaking of several magical arts, for a moment actually had the feeling of an immortal preaching the Dao in folk stories.

Wan Xinrong was a bit surprised, and almost didn't dare to bargain.

But he clearly didn't want to let go of such an opportunity.

"True Person..."

"What is it?"

"Does the True Person have the magical art of turning stones into gold?" Wan Xinrong tentatively looked at Lin Jue.

"Haha! The magical arts we know are mostly for subduing yaoguai and demons; we don't know how to turn stones into gold, but we do have a method of turning stones into silver, though it is only an illusion and is fake," Lin Jue glanced at him and said with a smile. "This method focuses on the mysteries of yin and yang, so it is not convenient to transmit it to Fellow Daoist."

"I also have a Stone Transformation Method, which can turn myself into a stone, so I won't be hurt by blades and swords. If cultivated to a profound level, I can hide my aura, and there will be no difference from ordinary stones on the mountain." This was said by the junior sister.

And she reached out and spread her hands, and her hands instantly turned into stone.

A moment later, they turned back.

"Fellow Daoist, remember, we are discussing frankly and treating each other with sincerity; you must not be greedy and calculating," Lin Jue reminded with a smile.

"This..."

Wan Xinrong secretly glanced at Master Fan again.

Master Fan was holding a teacup; the tea in the cup was very cool, but he seemed to like this tea very much, staring at the tea and nodding constantly.

"Good! Many thanks to the two True Persons for bestowing the Dharma!" Wan Xinrong said without hesitation, reaching into his bosom and taking out an extremely old ancient book. "When I was young, I met an old Daoist under a tree by the roadside. That old Daoist looked like he was at the end of his rope, cooling off under the tree in the middle of summer. I felt he was pitiful, so I gave him a ladle of water and a steamed bun, and he gave me this book as a thank-you. It's quite emotional to say; all my skills and wealth today are because of a momentary thought I had when I was young."

"This is that good thoughts have their own good rewards."

"I will give it to the two True Persons for reference now; please do not pass it on to others, and do not break it. Please return it to me after reading it," Wan Xinrong said. "Although I have memorized it by heart, this kind of thing, sigh, I always want to keep a souvenir."

"Rest assured."

Lin Jue reached out and took it, looking down. The ancient book was already yellowed, and on the dirty book cover were the four large characters "Five Elements Commentary."

The junior sister took out a book.

"We haven't written down the Stone Transformation Method and the Fire Element magical art yet; for now, there is only this 'Dashan Pressing Down.' Fellow Daoist Wan can take it to copy first, and I will write down the remaining two as soon as possible," the junior sister also said. "Please also be careful when copying, don't break it, and don't get any stains on it; I also want to keep this book as a souvenir."

This "Dashan Pressing Down" was one of the few books she had asked Lin Jue for, and she had already learned it long ago. The reason she asked for it was also because she wanted to keep it as a souvenir.

After all, the other senior brothers had one, so she had to have one too.

"Understood, understood."

Wan Xinrong took the book. Although he was a bit worried because there was only one, thinking of the matter between this True Person Lin and Fellow Daoist Tao, and thinking of Master Fan sitting beside him, he felt relieved.

Lin Jue thus obtained this Five Elements Spiritual Method.

Three magical arts exchanged for one cultivation spiritual method; it's hard to say which is more profitable or which is at a loss, but the two sides had different foundations and different needs, and each was satisfied, so there was no need to worry about that.

In any case, for Lin Jue, this counted as the smallest of the few major events he had come to the capital for.

Not only did he collect another spiritual method, but also because the junior sister was extremely talented in the five elements, and he had taught her several five-element magical arts, with her talent and her persistence in practicing one path for three years, after obtaining this Five Elements Spiritual Method, the Five Elements Spiritual Method and the Five Elements magical arts, combined with her five-element talent, complemented each other, and her future achievements would be limitless.

Plus, he and the second senior brother both knew how to refine pills, and the Dao of pills had its own methods of extending life. As long as the junior sister didn't make any mistakes, if she achieved the true Dao, she would be a Five Elements Ji Xianren proficient in magical combat.

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief.

On the contrary, the junior sister sat beside him, her expression serious, her eyes flashing, her thoughts endless.