Chapter 19: Expelled from the Courtyard

Thinking of those Gourds made him furious. He had studied those Gourds for a long time, looking them over left and right, and they were clearly extremely ordinary. He had even specially scooped out the Gourd seeds inside and filled them with spring water. When a few Senior Brothers saw him on the road, they all mocked him.

Wang Lin sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he said timidly, "I don't know what Spiritual Qi is either. I heard you say that as long as I found a Gourd, you would give me a Spirit Stone. Why don't you tell me, what is Spiritual Qi?"

Sun Dazhu felt a sense of dizziness. He looked at Wang Lin seriously for a long time, and for the first time, he felt doubt in his heart. Was it true that there were many of these Gourds as he had guessed, or was there only one, which this silly boy had accidentally picked up?

After pondering for a while, he secretly thought that what Wang Lin said was indeed reasonable. Only upon reaching the first level of Qi Condensation would one be able to perceive the Spiritual Qi in heaven and earth. Thinking of this, he somewhat regretted putting drugs in the food to hinder the other's ability to Cultivate. This silly boy already had poor Aptitude, and practicing the first level of Qi Condensation was already incredibly difficult. Now, with those drugs added, he would likely never succeed for thirty or fifty years.

Sighing inwardly, Sun Dazhu was disheartened, but he was truly unwilling to give up. After hesitating for a moment, he took a Low-Grade Spirit Stone from his Storage Pouch, threw it to Wang Lin, and said, "This is the Spirit Stone I promised you. Take it and go Cultivate; reach the first level of Qi Condensation as soon as possible."

Wang Lin hurriedly took it, thanked him, and returned to his room.

Sun Dazhu stood there blankly. After a long while, he let out a long sigh and muttered to himself, "If you don't risk the child, you won't catch the wolf. Right now, the only way to test if he is lying is to use the final method. I must get him to reach the first level as soon as possible. As long as he succeeds in the first level, he will be considered to have entered the realm of cultivation. I would rather risk my cultivation regressing by one level, but I must use the Soul Searching Technique on him. This way, I will not violate the Law of heaven and earth which states that cultivators below the Core Formation stage cannot use the Soul Searching Technique on a Mortal."

The Soul Searching Technique is a simple immortal technique, but it is too vicious. After being subjected to the Soul Searching Technique, nine times out of ten, the victim will immediately die and their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. The best outcome is to be a lifelong imbecile.

However, precisely because of this, the Soul Searching Technique is subject to certain restrictions in the dark; it cannot be used on a Mortal until one reaches the Core Formation stage, otherwise, one will suffer the same fate.

If both parties are cultivators, there is no such restriction, but it can be used at most three times in a lifetime, and each time it is used, one's cultivation will regress.

Wang Lin sat cross-legged in his room, observing the Immortal Stone in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, he could not see anything extraordinary about it, except that when he held it, his mind felt very clear. He closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out.

A night passed, and Wang Lin sighed. There was still no sign of any Spiritual Qi entering his body. He smiled bitterly. Just then, the room door was pushed open, and Sun Dazhu walked in with a dark face, carrying a bowl of black liquid.

"Drink this!"

Wang Lin was stunned. He looked at it cautiously but did not take it, asking, "Master, what is this?"

As soon as Sun Dazhu saw Wang Lin's expression, his anger flared up. He roared, "Do you think I would harm you? Drink it if I tell you to. If it weren't to help you reach the first level of Qi Condensation as soon as possible, do you think I would have stayed up all night and wasted so many precious medicinal herbs to make this bowl of medicine?"

Wang Lin hesitated for a moment. Seeing Sun Dazhu's unfriendly expression, he picked up the stone bowl, held his breath, and drank it all in one gulp.

After he finished drinking, a wave of scorching heat immediately rose from his stomach and circulated throughout his entire body. He instantly felt parched, and it felt as if a fire was burning inside his body.

His vision went black, the stone bowl in his hand fell to the ground, and he felt groggy as if he were about to fall asleep.

"Quick, breathe and Cultivate; I will help you absorb it." Sun Dazhu reluctantly placed his hand on Wang Lin's chest.

A wave of cool Qi came from his chest, clearing Wang Lin's mind. Without thinking, he immediately began to breathe and Cultivate. Sun Dazhu looked at the stone bowl on the ground with great heartache, muttered a few words, gritted his teeth, and took a few more Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch. He placed them around Wang Lin and thought to himself, "Boy, I have invested a lot this time. You will have to pay me back for everything in the future!"

Before long, a sensation of ants crawling slowly appeared. Sun Dazhu could clearly feel that the Spiritual Qi of the medicinal herbs was slowly condensing within the other's body, and his face lit up with joy.

But just at this moment, a turbid Qi quickly dispersed from within Wang Lin's body, easily dissolving the Spiritual Qi that was about to condense, and all his efforts were wasted.

Sun Dazhu's face turned bitter. He recognized the source of that turbid Qi; it was the Spirit-Dissolving Grass he had given the other to consume yesterday. He tried many more times, but until all the Spiritual Qi from the medicinal herbs in Wang Lin's body had dissipated, not a single trace of Spiritual Qi had condensed.

Sun Dazhu let out a long sigh, let go of his hand, and stared at Wang Lin, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Wang Lin opened his eyes and felt light and extremely comfortable all over. He was just about to say some words of thanks, but unexpectedly, Sun Dazhu flicked his sleeves with a bitter expression and left the room without looking back.

Wang Lin was stunned, unable to figure out what the other was thinking. He stretched his body, walked out of the room, and said loudly towards Sun Dazhu's room, "Master, I'm going to the mountain spring to see how my luck is today."

Sun Dazhu did not speak, but the garden door opened silently. Wang Lin hurriedly walked out. As soon as he left, Sun Dazhu immediately followed him secretly, unwilling to give up.

A month passed in a flash. During this month, Wang Lin went to the mountain spring to meditate every day, and Sun Dazhu monitored him secretly every time. Day after day of disappointment made Sun Dazhu gradually lose heart.

For the past month, he had to get some medicinal herbs for Wang Lin every day, but the Spiritual Qi could never condense, and Sun Dazhu's temper became more irritable day by day.

Most importantly, Sun Dazhu discovered that the Gourd he had obtained earlier had its Spiritual Qi dissipating bit by bit. In just one month, it had lost all its Spiritual Qi. Whatever the spring water was like inside, it was the same after being poured out, without a trace of Spiritual Qi.

In the end, the Gourd became no different from an ordinary wild Gourd. Sun Dazhu could not help but be greatly disappointed. After careful analysis, he came up with a guess. This Gourd was not extraordinary by nature, but rather it had undergone some special changes, which caused it to be rich in Spiritual Qi. Presumably, Wang Lin had also obtained it by chance, and the possibility of him possessing other Gourds was not high.

The more he thought about this guess, the more correct he felt it was, and he could not help but feel great heartache. For the past month, he had done almost nothing; every day, besides monitoring, he was brewing medicine. Now, his efforts had all been in vain. In his anger, he called Wang Lin over, scolded him severely, and finally flicked his sleeves and expelled him from the main courtyard.

Now, whenever he saw Wang Lin, he felt angry. Now that he was out of sight and out of mind, it didn't take long before he forgot about this Disciple completely.

In his view, although Wang Lin had been consuming medicinal herbs frequently this month, even so, it would be impossible to reach the first level of Qi Condensation without ten or eight years, unless he hardened his heart and continued to provide them for this Disciple, disregarding the loss of the medicinal herbs.