Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Chapter 102 The Three Combing Ceremony

"Excellent!" Huang Yunzhong and Song Chuan exclaimed in admiration.

The color isn't great; it's a yellow cloud, which isn't very attractive. I'll refine it later to see if it can be transformed into a regular white cloud, which would provide better camouflage.

The yellow cloud flashed a few times, then shot down and disappeared into the ground.

"This is a top-tier cultivation technique's spell!"

"Underground," Song Chuan muttered to himself with a grin. This escape technique had nearly doubled his speed underground. His body was enveloped in yellow clouds, seamlessly integrated with the earth's veins.

Back in his cave, Song Chuan opened the spell manual again to study the next spell.

The spells that come with ordinary cultivation techniques are not very effective in actual combat, so most cultivators use magical artifacts and talismans.

However, some of the spells in top-tier cultivation techniques are in harmony with the natural order of heaven and earth, possessing immense power and practicality. Of course, not all of them can be that powerful; having a few is already quite impressive.

The second spell of the "Earth Prison Seed Technique" is called "Earth Yellow Hand," a name that is unremarkable and even a bit rustic, which made Song Chuan somewhat displeased.

This spell can use the earth's veins to condense a hand or fist made of earth and stone. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator cultivates this spell to a high level, the power of a single strike can surpass that of a top-tier magic weapon! Song Chuan was overjoyed.

Even a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator doesn't have a top-tier magic weapon yet, so this earthen-yellow hand strike possesses such power. It doesn't use any fancy or unorthodox techniques; it's purely about overwhelming the enemy with brute force.

If he had learned this sooner, Song Chang's defensive shield would have been broken by the spell directly, without him even having to use the Dragon-Entangling Spear.

However, the Earth Yellow Hand requires cultivation using the combined spiritual power of the Earth element, the Earth element, and the four seasonal Earth elements to achieve this effect.

He can first use his own earth spiritual power to cultivate it, and once the earth elemental seed falls, he can complete the remaining part.

After some time, he discovered that the Earth Yellow Hand was much more difficult to cultivate than the Cloud-Borrowing Technique. It took him more than half a month to barely succeed. The power he could unleash using only his own earth spiritual energy was between that of a mid-tier and high-tier magic weapon.

He was itching to fix it all at once, so that he could have an extra trump card without relying on external tools!

However, this spell cannot be used lightly. If its maximum power is unleashed, it will place a great burden on one's mana, which is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

He then realized that the earthen-yellow hand didn't necessarily have to be used for attacking; it could also have other minor uses, depending on one's understanding of magic. He chuckled to himself.

The next spell after Earth Yellow Hand is called "Stone Armor Spell," a defensive spell that is not difficult to learn.

Song Chuan spent about ten days mastering this technique. With a hand gesture, strange stone pieces suddenly appeared under his feet, like tiles, each about seven or eight inches in size, yet they appeared unusually hard.

Stone fragments spread upwards from his feet, covering his head in the blink of an eye. The speed was extremely fast; during a magical duel, he should be able to use them immediately, regardless of whether the opponent summoned magical artifacts, talismans, or cast spells.

He moved his body slightly. He had thought that the Stone Armor Technique would be very clumsy, but he didn't expect it to be so light and easy.

With a thought, the stone armor on his body transformed into spiritual light and dissipated into the ground.

This spell also doubles its defensive capabilities after the Earth Element Dao Seed lands, and he nodded in satisfaction.

These three spells—one for escape, one for offense, and one for defense—are of a high level and are rarely seen in the hands of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, which gives Song Chuan an extra edge.

Besides these three, there are several other spells that can be practiced before reaching the Core Formation stage, some of which are related to the Flying Stone Technique in the *Na Tu Jue*.

The Earth Spike Technique is pretty much the same, and its power is only average, so it can be ignored. As for the other more unique techniques, we'll talk about them later.

After finishing the spell, he checked the time again; there were still more than half a month until Chenyue.

He planned to first find the Earth Spirit Vein and collect the Earth Element.

The "Earth Primordial Spirit Cultivation Technique" also includes a "Pulse Identification Technique," which teaches cultivators how to identify various earth-elemental spiritual veins.

In addition to the well-known Five Elements Earth Veins, the text also mentions extremely rare "Frosty Earth Veins," "Turbid Heart Earth Veins," "Sinking Yuan Earth Veins," and "Thunder Marsh Earth Veins," among others.

Frosty Earth Veins are formed from permafrost that has existed for millennia. The frost attribute is very unique and is generally classified as a mutation of the water attribute.

However, in the ancient Bagua (Eight Trigrams), the first hexagram of Kun (Earth) which represents the earth states, "Treading on frost, solid ice forms. Yin begins to congeal. Gradually following its course, it reaches solid ice."

The phrase "to feel the approaching ice by stepping on frost" is used to describe a certain law governing the operation of the earth, an element.

Therefore, the Frost attribute and the Earth attribute can be closely combined, but this is a very obscure concept, and most people don't know about it. Those familiar with the Four Pillars of Destiny sect should be more aware of it.

Song Chuan can forget about these rare earth-type spiritual veins for now. His sect does have a "Cold Soil Spiritual Vein," but it's probably a very low-level one.

The Pulse Diagnosis Technique allowed Song Chuan to learn a great deal about earth-type spiritual veins, broadening his horizons. This technique is not difficult; Song Chuan had already learned it when he converted his own earth-type spiritual power.

After a moment of contemplation, just as he was about to leave the cave to search for the Earth Spirit Vein, a thought struck him and he arrived at the array in front of the cave.

With a flick of his wrist, a small flag appeared in his hand. He pointed ahead, and the mist opened a crack. There stood Pang Xinyan from the General Affairs Hall, peering curiously in.

"What is it? Come in," Song Chuan asked, puzzled.

Pang Xinyan quickly stepped forward to Song Chuan, bowed, and said, "Senior Song, Deacon Wang asked me to deliver something to you, saying that he forgot to give it to you last time."

She handed a silk pouch, clearly bound by a divine sense restriction, to Song Chuan.

Song Chuan took it: "What is this?"

"I don't know, but I heard that all newly established Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect have it," Pang Xinyan said, shaking her head.

"Understood, go and report back," Song Chuan said calmly.

"Then I'll take my leave!" Pang Xinyan turned and quickly left.

Upon opening the silk pouch, one finds a rather small and exquisite comb, crafted from spirit wood, and it is a low-grade magic artifact!

Song Chuan frowned slightly. What did this mean? This steward Wang was bringing him a comb; did he mean something to him?

He patted his forehead, his face darkening. What was he thinking?

He suddenly remembered something. It was said that the major sects of ancient cultivators had a ritual where all new disciples would have their hair combed by the sect elders, and the elders would solemnly recite the scriptures: "One comb, the four great dangers, no defilement or attachment, and a pure and tranquil mind from early morning."

The second step is to transcend worldly fame and fortune, be free from greed and strife, and always maintain a sense of awe.

The third combing: illusory and dreamlike scenes, free from delusion and confusion, quickly awaken a courageous and resolute heart.

This is called the "Three Combing Ritual," which is used to bless the new disciple. The elders then read out various precepts and give the disciple a talisman, and only then is the entire ceremony considered complete.

This three-comb ceremony is said to have originally been a "five-comb ceremony," but two combs were lost. Nowadays, cultivators find it boring and no longer treat it with great ceremony.

The Vine Flower Valley actually pulled this stunt. I wonder if other sects will send a comb to a cultivator who has just established their foundation.

He chuckled, finding the matter rather amusing, and packed the comb away.