Chapter 96

Lin Fan said, "Patriarch, I have a few questions. The first question is, Patriarch, you used to talk nonsense, why did you suddenly give me these two needles today? The second question, according to the story, after my father and my mother had an affair, my mother disappeared. She was alone on Dongyan Island. Who is my mother? Where did she go? Who took me to Dongyan Island? The third question, there are clearly only three needles, why is the cultivation method based on more being better?"

San San Zhenren replied, "The first question, your things naturally belong to you, but this needle is hard to refine. Don't put all your effort into refining this needle. As for its power, I don't know either. The third question, your father's master already has the knack of controlling it. This needle can transform from one to three, from three to nine, from nine to twenty-seven... It's about controlling, not dominating. As for the second question, I don't know. Lin Fan, I am quite satisfied with you. You are eager to obtain a powerful cultivation method, but you didn't cheat or fool me. You have almost mastered the surface-level cultivation method. The next step is not about refining the needle further, so I think it's time to give you these things. Just like you searching for the Nine Yang Flower, I can't guarantee that there will be a ten-petaled Nine Yang Flower this year. Whether you can refine this needle or not depends entirely on your own destiny. You have the cultivation methods researched by two generations of your father and his master, and you are younger than them, so it's not impossible to refine it."

Bai Mu said, "Zhenren, even I can tell that you must know who Lin Fan's mother is."

"Yes, I know, but I won't say it." San San Zhenren played a trick again. But this time, he sighed and added, "Lin Fan, when your mother is dead, it's better for both of you. Alright, you two can leave now."

...

Under the starry sky, Bai Mu and Lin Fan were by a stream at the foot of the mountain. Bai Mu looked at Lin Fan, "What are you thinking?"

"Thinking about what?" Lin Fan asked.

Bai Mu said, "The Tian Mang cultivation method and Wu Ying and Ji Feng."

Lin Fan smiled easily, "Everything is as it is. If I can refine it, I will. If I can't, it's also my destiny. Why force it?"

Bai Mu thought for a moment, "What about your mother?"

Lin Fan thought for a while, "If the Patriarch didn't lie, my mother must have had various reasons for not being able to be with my father. She wouldn't have sent me to my father if she didn't know that my father was about to face the Lesser Heaven Tribulation. Instead of sending me to an ordinary family, she must have had her own reasons. In Yunqing Sect, there are many orphans, and everyone is used to not having parents. Everything is as it is. If I meet her one day, I'll greet her. If I don't, why force it?"

Bai Mu praised, "Your words have a transcendent quality, a bit like the Quanzhen Sect's philosophy, like Penglai, where once you enter, you have no parents... No, that's not right."

"What?" Lin Fan asked.

"Your master said that your father's master was a Penglai expert, and your father's master could control the three needles and wrote the Tian Mang cultivation method. Your father reached the Lesser Heaven Tribulation, at least making him an elite disciple of Penglai. Our Yunqing Sect, Zixiao Hall, Leishan, and the Quanzhen Sect have little interaction, let alone with Penglai, which doesn't like to receive outsiders." Bai Mu said, "To be able to enter Penglai and have a relationship with your father, there must have been a significant period of interaction. Therefore, your mother is most likely from the Quanzhen Sect."

Lin Fan thought carefully, "That's right. The Quanzhen Sect doesn't allow marriage, and both of them broke the rules. My father was expelled from the sect, and my mother was also punished by the sect... If she wasn't expelled, they would have been together. So, my mother is likely a person with some background in the Quanzhen Sect."

Bai Mu nodded, "The largest Quanzhen Sect in the Twelve Continents is Tiankun Sect, but the Quanzhen Sect doesn't care much about worldly affairs. In the East Sea, North Sea, and South Sea, there are many Quanzhen Sect practitioners or sects who go to sea to avoid secular matters. Large sects like Penglai have four or five. The Quanzhen Sect doesn't consider us of the Orthodox Sect as fellow Daoists and has little interaction. It's difficult and hard to find."

Lin Fan smiled, "Bai Mu, I really don't care. If I don't find her, I won't. Tomorrow, I'll go to the main hall to see the Sect Master and request the Golden Core trial to see if I can enter Yunqing Academy."

Yunqing Academy is like the Zixiao Hall's library, but it only contains Daoist cultivation methods and related cultivation insights. Each sect has different literature and techniques. To enter Yunqing Academy, one must first have the Golden Core realm, otherwise, practicing Daoist techniques could be harmful. After that, one's cultivation must be sufficient to pass the trial. Lin Fan had always wanted to go after reaching the Golden Core, but San San Zhenren kept him practicing the Tian Mang cultivation method, delaying the matter.

Bai Mu looked enviously, "You all have reached the Golden Core, and I have just completed the Foundation Establishment. Especially Senior Brother Gu Yan, who has already passed the middle stage of the Golden Core."

Lin Fan laughed, "In books, there are Nascent Infants. Who knows, you might skip the Golden Core and directly reach the Nascent Infant stage."

Bai Mu said, "In books, there are also beautiful women... Lin Fan, it seems that scholars don't care much about the character of the beautiful women they seek. Is beauty enough? Is it really enough?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment, "Beauty is the basic requirement, right? Unless we change it to 'In books, there are ugly pigs.' Who would still read then? Everyone has a love for beauty. Bai Mu, are you in love?"

"Indeed, but I won't tell you." Bai Mu waved his hand, "Let's go." He had learned to play tricks from San San Zhenren after spending some time with him.

Lin Fan waved, watching Bai Mu leave. He played with 'Ji Feng' in his hand and walked to Zhang Lao's grave. He sat and leaned against a stone by the grave. Lin Fan's divine sense explored Ji Feng, which seemed to be a lifeless object, but he could feel a huge amount of spiritual energy inside. It gave him a sense of being substantial yet unadorned, hidden yet revealed. Mental refinement first involves using true qi to circulate, then using divine sense to invade and find this spiritual energy. After that, one must connect with the spiritual energy, making Ji Feng feel one's true qi. In a sense, it's like boiling a frog in warm water, gradually making the spiritual energy accustomed to one's true qi form, until the true qi and spiritual energy merge, making the treasure one's own. For high-level magical treasures, reaching the realm of mental connection is the minimum requirement, such as when a Nascent Infant controls a sword.

However, are these needles considered weapons or magical treasures? Clearly, they can't be ridden, and the Patriarch let me, a Golden Core cultivator, start practicing with them... But they don't seem like magical treasures, which are used to drive or trigger Daoist techniques. These needles can only attack enemies, can't be ridden, and can't protect... They seem even less useful than magical treasures. Could they be what the secular world calls hidden weapons?

Spicy chicken threads, where is Wu Ying? Lin Fan was about to put away the two needles when he noticed that one Wu Ying was missing from the leather bag. This thing is hard to find with the naked eye. Lin Fan closed his eyes and used his divine sense to search nearby. Soon, he felt a faint spiritual energy near his feet. He bent down, parted the grass, and touched it with his hand. His fingertip stung as he grabbed the needle tip. He picked up Wu Ying with his right hand, inserted it into the leather bag, and then put the leather bag into his spatial ring.

No wonder Wu Ying was lost. This little thing can just disappear.