Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

Since I began practicing Taoism.

Perhaps because he grew up in Luopo Mountain, or perhaps because Wang Mian was not a virtuous cultivator at heart, he had a long-standing premonition that his first storage magic treasure would definitely be stolen.

Living in this desolate mountain area for a long time, you'll subconsciously think that if you lack something, you should steal it.

Between the two, one only needs to measure whether one's cultivation level is high enough, whether the spells one practices are powerful enough, and whether the magical artifact one wields is sharp enough.

If all three are present.

By taking advantage of favorable timing, location, and human factors, one can seize the resources of fellow Daoists.

Fellow Daoist's magic weapon is your magic weapon; Fellow Daoist's storage bag is your storage bag; Fellow Daoist's pills are your pills.

Even if you make a mistake, it won't matter much. If the opponent is a skilled cultivator, they won't even have time to be alarmed before they've been reduced to ashes.

Why must bones be buried in one's hometown? Cultivators have always been left with only ashes.

This is the spirit of Luopo Mountain.

Wang Mian's previous conjecture has become a reality today. His first storage magic treasure was indeed stolen. At this moment, his storage bag embroidered with golden lotus flowers lies quietly on the stone table.

After a rough refinement, Wang Mian was taken away from Taixi Lake by Bai Jiuniang. They endured wind and rain, traveled over mountains and valleys, and hurried back to Luopo Mountain.

Holding the scissors, Wang Mian first shredded the lotus flower embroidered with gold thread, then cut off the double-mouthed clan emblem of the Lü family before picking up the purple storage bag and opening it.

The first item taken out was a low-grade magic weapon longsword. Low-grade magic weapons are mostly used by cultivators at the first to third levels of Qi Refining.

For Wang Mian, even a low-grade magic weapon longsword that wasn't considered a high-quality one was still a rare and precious treasure that was hard to come by. Moreover, this sword should be a high-quality magic weapon.

In this place called Fallen Mountain, the cultivators are poorer than the next. The cultivators who can produce decent magic treasures are almost all in the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

For Wang Mian and Bai Jiuniang, these cultivators were all tough nuts to crack, difficult to deal with.

Needing resources but unable to target his neighbors, he could only target outsiders. However, the immortal clans who had established themselves around Luopo Mountain were not people Wang Mian could easily mess with.

These families often have acquaintances in Fallen Mountain, so it's easy for them to be exposed if they make a move. With his Qi Refining Level 1 cultivation, he doesn't have the strength to support such great ambitions, and Bai Jiuniang, that dog demon, is no exception.

Now that he had obtained a low-grade magic weapon, Wang Mian couldn't hide his smile and gestured a few sword moves.

"The disciples of the immortal clan are truly wealthy." Wang Mian sheathed his longsword and set it aside, then took out the remaining items from his storage bag.

From the storage bag, which was six feet long, six feet wide, and six feet high, Wang Mian took out the two wooden boxes, opened them, and found that they contained only clothes.

Two boxes of clothing, including long skirts, tight-fitting clothes, undergarments, shoes, and socks, were completely burned to ashes by Bai Jiuniang's demonic fire.

It has never liked the scent of young women.

Once, a little witch came to Songlinxi, wanting to discuss the way of Yin and Yang harmony with Wang Mian. She only accepted ten spirit crystals for each discussion.

There were also fallen fairies who moved to Fallen Mountain, but had no spiritual place to cultivate, and pitifully begged him to take them in.

They were all burned by Bai Jiuniang's demonic fire, tumbling and crawling in a sorry state. After that, no young female cultivator ever came to the pine forest stream again.

In this desolate mountain region where the average age of thirteen is when one loses their vital essence, there are few young cultivators like Wang Mian who are exceptions.

Now at fifteen, it's still a fledgling.

"One bottle of healing pills, five pills left." Wang Mian picked up the second jade bottle: "Two bottles of spirit-enhancing pills, eight pills left."

"There are seven or eight different talismans, tiger demon blood, bones, and flesh."

"Huh, there's even a jade slip!" Putting down the pills, Wang Mian picked up the jade slip with delight to examine it.

The jade slip was inscribed with the words "Four Seasons Sword Technique".

Wang Mian, who inherited the mantle of the old Taoist, only knew a few common spells, such as the Small Fireball, the Small Earth Shield, and the Small Golden Knife.

Its magical foundation was shallow and barren, even inferior to the tiger demon that Bai Jiuniang forced to block its path; at least it possessed a sharp golden blade spell.

With poor cultivation techniques, weak spells, and a lack of magical treasures, Wang Mian was no match for a tiger demon, a beast that Bai Jiuniang could easily ravage.

If one can learn this sword technique, one's protective abilities will be greatly enhanced. No matter how bad the spells of cultivation families are, they will not be worse than his common spells.

Wang Mian held the jade slip, admiring it so much that he played with it for a while before putting it down.

"Ninth Sister, we've struck it rich!" Wang Mian took out two bags of spirit rice and placed them on the stone table. "It's about a hundred catties of spirit rice, enough for us to eat for several months."

Living in this barren and desolate mountain, the spiritual energy accumulated in the sacred land is only enough for cultivation and breathing exercises, and it is impossible to nurture spiritual fields. The spiritual rice that Wang Mian eats is all stolen from the small families in the vicinity.

Spirit rice is harvested twice a year, once in summer and once in winter. Every year at this time, the harvest of spirit rice in the fields near Luopo Mountain attracts not only birds, but also thieves.

Whenever the spirit rice ripens, cultivators from Luopo Mountain descend the mountain to beg for alms.

Wang Mian and Bai Jiuniang had also been petty thieves. Relying on Bai Jiuniang's speed advantage, they were able to harvest some spirit rice every year, but the amount was small, often only enough for one or two months of consumption.

He had never owned more than a hundred kilograms of spirit rice.

The next moment, the jade pendant around Bai Jiuniang's neck glowed faintly, and the two bags of spirit rice on the stone table disappeared without a trace.

This storage token was a relic left behind by the old Taoist priest. Later, Wang Mian entrusted the only few spirit stones he had to Bai Jiuniang for safekeeping, and the storage token has been worn around Bai Jiuniang's neck ever since.

Wang Mian took out the spirit stones from his storage bag. These were the last items he would keep. He placed twenty spirit stones on the stone table, and all four eyes stared at them, their light gleaming.

"Next, we'll use these cultivation resources to enhance our cultivation. I need to break through to the second level of Qi Refining, and you need to break through to the middle level as well." Wang Mian handed a bottle of Spirit Enhancement Pills to Bai Jiuniang.

Bai Jiuniang nodded slightly and put away the pills, then pushed the pile of spirit stones all to Wang Mian. The meaning in her eyes was clear: Wang Mian's cultivation was still weak, and he needed spirit stones even more for cultivation.

This is a fact.

Wang Mian chuckled, put the rest of the items back into his storage bag, and took the jade slip to the depths of the cave, where a larger cave had been dug out, making it convenient to practice magic.

Bai Jiuniang lowered the Dragon-Slaying Stone to seal the entrance to the cave. She then busied herself lighting several ever-burning candles for Wang Mian, illuminating the stone chamber which was several feet long and wide. She only left after placing a pot of hot tea inside.

Wang Mian, sitting cross-legged in the center of the stone chamber, pressed his brow against the jade slip. He felt a surge of information forcefully rush into his mind, transforming into sword techniques that progressed from simple to complex, from easy to difficult, in a sequential order.

The Four Seasons Swordplay consists of four sets of sword moves for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each set containing ninety moves, for a total of three hundred and sixty moves. Spring is primarily for defense, summer for offense, autumn for defense, and winter for offense.

Defend the main force and protect the path; attack the main force and defeat the enemy.

It includes defensive moves, counter moves, killing moves, and forbidden moves.

After a long while, Wang Mian finally opened his eyes and processed the large amount of information in his mind.

The entire sword technique seemed to be imprinted in his mind. With a slight recollection, he could remember the specific sword moves, the footwork of the sword stance, and the route of the flow of magical power. This kind of sword technique was enough to accompany him through the entire Qi Refining stage.

"Looking at the spells I practiced now, they are simply appalling." There is no harm without comparison. The cultivation techniques made Wang Mian sigh, and the spells made Wang Mian sigh again.

The gap is simply too large.

If Wang Mian were to master the Four Seasons Sword Technique to the basics, he could easily kill five of his previous selves at the same cultivation level.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a little fortunate. If Lü Xiuzhi had practiced this Four Seasons Sword Technique a few days ago, it might have been him and Bai Jiuniang who were reduced to ashes.

"It's all about timing and fate!" Wang Mian reminded himself once again that methods and cultivation are equally important.

Discarding the shattered jade slip in his hand, Wang Mian drew his magical sword, flicked his finger, and the sword emitted a clear sword sound. He gently released his magic power, and the sword light shimmered.

"First Form: Asakusa Breaks Through the Soil..."

"Seventh Move: Ivy Entwining Branches..."

"Twentieth move: Spreading Fragrance..."

The nimble figure stirred up a breeze, flickering the flame of the ever-burning candle. The sound of the long sword cutting through the air echoed in the stone chamber for a long time before finally stopping.

Having exhausted his spiritual energy, Wang Mian barely managed to complete one round of the Four Seasons Sword Technique. The moment he sheathed his sword, a new line of text bloomed in his mind.

【Four Seasons Swordplay: Practice diligently a hundred times, and you'll get the basics of swordsmanship】

After several years of exploration and verification, Wang Mian was very clear that the hundred, thousand, or ten thousand repetitions recognized by the Golden Page were not perfunctory practices, but rather required to be completed meticulously in order to count as one repetition.

Only in this way can one gain insights and make progress with each practice session.

Returning to the cultivation stone, Wang Mian took out two spirit stones and placed them in his palm. He relaxed his body and circulated his cultivation technique. Strands of spiritual energy flowed from the spirit stones into his meridians, gathering into threads, then into ropes, circulating throughout his body, and finally flowing into his dantian.

Golden emblems shine:

[Lower-grade Qi Refining Method: Diligently practice 149 times until the practice is perfected, then you can enter the second level of Qi Refining]

The magic power was replenished once again.

The figure suddenly stood up, picked up the long sword beside him, and once again walked towards the stone chamber where the ever-burning candle was lit.