Junior sister, I really need to control you

The better the performance, the longer the time one can spend practicing magic.

Unlike the previous "Aspiration for Cultivation," which had clear standards and rewards based on cultivation level, this mission is called "Tribulation of Cultivation." The reward is the ability to practice spells in the grotto-heaven, but the criteria for giving the reward are very vague.

Li Yinsheng twitched the corner of his mouth.

This time, Dongtian isn't even going to put on an act anymore.

When the cultivation aspirations were rewarded before, they said they would give a certain number of years of cultivation. The first time they met, he was fooled into thinking that he would be given cultivation directly. But it turned out that he had to cultivate on his own.

The reward for the current tribulation of cultivation is explicitly stated as allowing him to enter the cave and practice his spells on his own.

However, in his opinion, the reward of practicing spells was still better than the reward of cultivation level.

Firstly, compared to his cultivation level, he urgently needs magical abilities, so this reward is a timely help.

Secondly, practicing magic is more interesting than meditating and cultivating. Cultivation is tedious and boring, while practicing magic at least has some fun.

Although he was fairly satisfied with the reward, he was still somewhat perplexed by the tribulation of cultivation itself.

This standard is too vague. How can one be considered to have "performed well in this tribulation of cultivation"?

He is not even entirely sure what the "tribulation of cultivation" written in the gold lettering actually means!

Is this tribulation of cultivation referring to the collective attack on the mountain by the demons that always occur during the training sessions at Huangzhu Temple, or some other unexpected event that has never happened before?

If the tribulations of cultivation only refer to demonic creatures, then...

He captured some powerful demons and beat them half to death, then had his junior sister collect the kills. Could this be considered his junior sister's "performance"?

If this "calamity" actually refers to something else, what could it be?

He recalled the difficulty levels of the cultivation plans issued by the cave heaven and felt that whatever this cultivation tribulation might be, it certainly wouldn't be easy.

None of the previous cultivation aspirations were simple; even meeting the lowest level requirement was extremely difficult.

As for the highest level, it's normally impossible to achieve.

No matter how you look at it, "calamity" doesn't seem to be easier than "willpower." If "willpower" is already so difficult, it's hard to say what "calamity" will be like.

In any case, Li Yinsheng didn't think that the grotto-heavens that could publish those "aspirations for cultivation" would be so kind as to deal with the "tribulations of cultivation".

Thinking won't get him an answer, so he decided to give it a try.

Moreover, my junior sister should be on patrol now. If hunting monsters is considered a performance, then as long as she kills a monster today, Jinzi should also react, right?

After all, judging from the description in the rewards section, the final reward amount for the junior sister's performance will be displayed in real time.

This column is currently marked "None," which means that, according to the current assessment of the cave, the junior sister has not yet shown any performance.

Li Yinsheng stood up, his divine sense sweeping across Bamboo Forest Peak, intending to go directly to the place where his junior sister was patrolling.

While we're at it, let's capture a couple of demons and have my junior sister kill them, then see if the cave reacts.

Then he noticed that Fellow Daoist Meng was flying towards him.

Is he here to teach me how to play chess?

Li Yinsheng's heart stirred.

Although he was somewhat interested in playing chess, it was just for fun. Right now, his mind was full of this newly emerged tribulation of cultivation, so he had no interest in discussing chess.

However, he didn't sneak away before Meng Yu arrived, just in case Fellow Daoist Meng was actually here to discuss serious business.

Li Yinsheng didn't understand formations very well, but he had just sensed that the formation that restrained the demons had been activated, and Fellow Daoist Meng should be in charge of the formation.

She's here now; she probably has something important to say.

If it's serious business, then he wouldn't mind chatting for a little while.

However, if it were truly about teaching chess, it would easily take two or three hours, so he naturally had to politely decline.

A moment later, Meng Yu landed at the door. Before she could knock, Li Yinsheng said, "Is it Fellow Daoist Meng? Please come in."

Meng Yu pushed open the door and entered, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes: "Fellow Daoist Li has a keen sense of perception."

"I only have a slight advantage in spiritual sense," Li Yinsheng said modestly, shaking his head. He then asked directly, "May I ask what brings Fellow Daoist Meng here this morning?"

Meng Yu took out a book with a cover that looked somewhat like a chess manual from his Qiankun bag.

Li Yinsheng was taken aback, wondering if they really came to discuss chess. Just as he was about to politely decline, Meng Yu spoke up.

“I see that Fellow Daoist Li is engrossed in the art of chess. This book, ‘Yin Yang Dong Xuan Yan Zhen,’ is a magic technique that uses chess to form formations, which is collected by my Jade Altar Temple. Perhaps it would be very suitable for you.” Meng Yu handed over the book.

"Spell? Array?" Li Yinsheng asked, puzzled. "Fellow Daoist Meng, is this an array or a spell?"

"Both are possible," Meng Yu said. "This technique allows cultivators to transform their own magical power into black and white pieces, and then use these pieces to form an array for use against enemies, in magical battles, or to temporarily set up auxiliary formations."

She paused, then added, "If we have to categorize it as either a spell or an array, it leans more towards a spell."

As she spoke, she handed the scroll directly to Li Yinsheng: "Fellow Daoist, take a look and you'll understand."

Li Yinsheng accepted the book without ceremony.

Although each Taoist temple has its own independent lineage and never easily reveals its secrets to others, it is not uncommon for them to exchange techniques and spells that do not involve their own fundamental lineage.

The third floor of the Xuanzhen Temple's Sutra Repository contains many cultivation methods and spells that were exchanged with other Taoist temples.

Of course, only the abbot and the true masters can make this level of exchange. At most, the stewards and direct disciples can exchange some ordinary spells with disciples from other Taoist temples.

As a direct descendant of the abbot of the temple, Meng Daoyou had every right to show him some ordinary minor spells.

So he assumed it was just an ordinary spell that Meng Yu had shared with him and looked down to read it.

But after only a short while, Li Yinsheng immediately closed the book, his face solemn.

This technique can be categorized as "exchanging what one has for what one needs," but it is absolutely not something a direct disciple would be qualified to decide.

It records more than ten kinds of formations, all of which can be set up directly with one's own magic power without the need for materials, and include trapping formations, illusion formations, and killing formations.

Although this spell is a separate system and should not be part of the Jade Altar Temple's lineage, it is still a profound and practical spell when taken out of context.

This level of magic is rare even in the Xuanzhen Temple, and it is fully qualified to be placed on the third floor of the Sutra Repository.

If one can master this spell, then there is almost no need to learn other ordinary spells. The more than ten formations within it are enough to deal with all common situations.

“Fellow Daoist Meng, this is too precious,” Li Yinsheng said, forcing himself to resist the temptation, and handed the scroll back. “I cannot accept this gift without having done anything in return.”

"This is specially for you. Don't you like it?" Meng Yu took the book, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

Li Yinsheng shook his head: "This level of magic is extremely precious. If you teach it to me privately and this matter is leaked, even if you are the direct disciple of the abbot, you will be severely punished and your cultivation will definitely be abolished."

Although he didn't know why Fellow Daoist Meng would give him such a precious gift, Li Yinsheng couldn't accept it directly.

Otherwise, once exposed, Yutan Temple will definitely punish Meng Yu severely, at best abolishing his cultivation, and at worst expelling him from the sect.

At that point, let alone whether her status as the direct descendant of the abbot can absolve her of guilt, she might even be punished more severely just because she is the direct descendant of the abbot, as a warning to others.

However, he had already made up his mind that after returning, he would discuss with his uncle and choose a spell from the third floor of the Xuanzhen Temple's Sutra Repository to exchange openly and honestly with the Jade Altar Temple.

He found it difficult to accept the private instruction from Meng Daoyou, but he didn't need to learn it by stealing.

A promising young master, who was on good terms with the abbot's direct disciple, personally came to the temple to exchange a spell that did not involve the fundamental inheritance. Moreover, he was very generous. Jade Altar Temple had no reason to refuse.

Li Yinsheng wouldn't even mind paying a premium to exchange for this spell, because he really coveted it.

It's not just practical; it's practically tailor-made for him, and he's determined to have it!

Chapter 58: Learning Formations While Idle (Please Read On)

After mastering the Yin-Yang Cave Mystery Formation, a "Chess Soul" will be formed.

Or, to put it another way, "the spirit of the formation".

As long as the cultivator has read and memorized the knowledge about formations or chess, the chess spirit will automatically understand and deduce after activating the "chess spirit".

The facilitator doesn't need to understand this knowledge; they only need to memorize it by rote and swallow it whole. The parts they understand are taught to their own Go spirit.

Of course, despite its name "Chess Soul," its most important function is to comprehend and deduce formations, thereby enhancing one's mastery of formations.

In Li Yinsheng's understanding, the spirit of chess is more like a secondary brain that is specifically responsible for thinking and understanding the knowledge of formations and chess, allowing people to multitask and study formations while doing normal work.

However, the spirit of the Hikaru no Go is not the essence of this spell. In fact, in the eyes of the person who created this spell, the spirit of the Hikaru no Go is just an unexpected bonus with little use.

While Hikaru no Go certainly allows one to multitask and learn formations, ...

Activating the spirit of the game requires mental effort.

Moreover, it is extremely mentally taxing, even more so than normal cultivation.

While studying and researching complex formations inevitably takes a toll on one's mental energy, the toll on the spirit of chess is much greater.

This means that the Go Soul is essentially useless in terms of learning formations, and can only play a role in a few special circumstances.

For example, if a formation master is fighting another formation master and cannot be distracted while fighting, he can activate the chess spirit to multitask and let the chess spirit deduce the weaknesses of the opponent's formation.

Or, while engaging a cultivator with a weakness, one could simultaneously urge the chess spirit to modify one of their formations, slightly altering its effectiveness to make it more effective against the opponent.

Even if you use it this way, the risk is still very high. After all, if you consume too much mental energy, you will reveal a weakness when fighting.

If the opponent's formation has not yet found its weaknesses, or if a formation that counters the opponent has not yet been modified, it is quite possible that you will be defeated due to a flaw.

Therefore, in this cultivation method, the Chess Spirit is more like a temporary means and cannot replace the daily study of formations.

Otherwise, if you focus all your energy on activating the chess spirit, then there's no point in thinking about cultivation.

But for Li Yinsheng, this was not a problem at all.

Within the cave, he could freely activate the chess spirit, multitasking by cultivating while simultaneously deducing formations.

He only needs to make sure he memorizes more books on formations in his spare time to ensure that the Go spirit doesn't fall into the predicament of "thinking without learning is dangerous" when he enters the cave to cultivate. After all, the Go spirit can only replace thinking, not learning.

In this way, the Chess Soul can ensure that he can continuously improve his array formation skills every time he cultivates in the cave.

As for the cost, it's nothing more than a slight increase in mental and physical exertion.

In fact, after obtaining the cave and roughly understanding its rules, Li Yinsheng had been looking for similar bug-exploiting methods, and using the Blood Refining Pivot to assist in body refining was just such a thing.

However, he had already searched the entire library of Xuanzhen Temple, but had not found a method with a similar effect.

Until today, Fellow Daoist Meng sent him this Yin-Yang Cave Profound Array Technique, which can condense chess spirits and consume mental energy to improve array formation skills.

He would never let this spell go, no matter what.

He didn't really care about the magic-based chess pieces arrays and the dozen or so additional arrays described inside.

However, the effect of condensing the chess spirit is no less important to him than refining the blood core.