Junior sister, I really need to control you.

Chapter 78 Bombing Insects

At the summit of Bamboo Forest Peak, in the council hall, shortly after Li Yinsheng left.

"The younger generation is truly formidable," remarked Master Langgan, holding a cup of bamboo-green sake.

"Such a prodigy, how come we at Huangzhu Temple haven't encountered one?"

"Ancestor," Liang Qiwu stood to the side, his respectful expression unable to conceal his doubt, "Why did you give the Azure Bamboo to Senior Li?"

"What? Do I need you to teach me how to do things?" Master Langgan glanced at Liang Qiwu.

"Your grand-disciple wouldn't dare!" Liang Qiwu quickly bowed.

"Alright, get up," Master Langgan shook his head and said, "Do you think the gift I gave you was too generous?"

"Senior Li has indeed done a great favor for Huangzhu Temple, but—that was a Heavenly Green Bamboo!" Liang Qiwu's eyes were filled with heartache. "The value of this thing is no less than that of the temple's eight-hundred-year-old ancestral bamboo."

"Back then, a great master from the lineage who cultivated the Wood Path came to exchange with you, but you, Ancestor, politely declined despite the pressure."

"Even if we wanted to befriend Senior Li, we could have asked the Forging Furnace Temple to use one of their other treasures to forge a magical artifact for him. Why bother with the Azure Bamboo?"

"Sigh, Xiao Liang, I don't blame you for your lack of cultivation," Master Langgan shook his head. "Do you think I befriended that Fellow Daoist Li because of magic treasures?"

"Not relying on magic weapons? But you didn't give me anything else." Liang Qiwu looked puzzled.

"The Azure Bamboo is just a starting point," Master Langgan said with a smile.

Liang Qiwu's eyes widened.

Is the Azure Bamboo the starting point? Is there anything more precious than Azure Bamboo in the temple? There aren't many things as precious as Azure Bamboo!

"Making friends with money and investing in advance is certainly one way, but without genuine feelings, it can't last," Master Langgan said, shaking his head.

"If we want Fellow Daoist Li to truly forge a deep friendship with my Huangzhu Temple, simply sending gifts won't suffice. We need to have interactions, personal relationships, and exchanges."

Liang Qiwu became increasingly confused as he listened.

"Azure bamboo is indeed excellent, but wood generates wind and thunder; how can it be easily understood? If it were that simple, there would be no cultivators practicing wood cultivation in the world; they would all be wind and thunder cultivators!"

Master Lang explained, "No matter how talented Fellow Daoist Li is, he will inevitably encounter some bottlenecks when trying to generate wind from wood."

"At that time, do you think he will bury himself in thought, or will he seek out a fellow practitioner who is well-versed in this field to discuss and resolve his doubts?"

Liang Qiwu suddenly realized: "That's why he wants to ask you, Ancestor, for guidance."

"Indeed, if he wishes to seek instruction, he should naturally come to my Huangzhu Temple. Such a difficult Dharma cannot be explained in just a few days," Master Langgan said with a smile. "Won't he stay for a while?"

"Since you're staying for a while, you can't just stay indoors all the time, can you? You'll have to meet with some of my disciples at Huangzhu Temple eventually."

"Having received my guidance, if any disciples of Huangzhu Temple come seeking instruction, how could he not offer them some guidance?"

"Wouldn't this back-and-forth foster a bond of kinship?"

"That makes sense, that makes sense!" Liang Qiwu nodded repeatedly.

"Moreover, he will not encounter such a bottleneck only once. Each time he comes, he will stay for a period of time, which will give him the opportunity to spend time with the disciples of my Huangzhu Temple."

Master Lang took out a folding fan, unfolded it, and smiled smugly: "Even if he turns from wind to thunder again in the future, he will still have to come to my Huangzhu Temple."

"After all, within the entire lineage, which Taoist temple is more proficient in the Way of Wood than Huangzhu Temple? Although I do not cultivate Wood Thunder, there are many manuscripts and classics left by predecessors who cultivated Wood Thunder in the Scripture Pavilion."

"If he borrows the classics from the elders of my Huangzhu Temple, then he can be considered to have a half-teacher relationship with them."

"From what I've observed, Fellow Daoist Li is a man of great character in his words and actions. Given all these qualities, it's not impossible that he might even consider me, in his heart, a half-member of the Huangzhu Temple, rather than just a close friend."

"After all, this Fellow Daoist Li is only in his early twenties."

"If, over the next seventy or eighty years, he comes to Huangzhu Temple every two or three years for a few months, over time, hmph—"

"Our ancestor was wise!" Liang Qiwu finally understood.

Master Lang waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to say more.

Actually, he had another plan.

With Li Yinsheng's talent, it's only a matter of time before he surpasses him.

Regardless of what path Li Yinsheng had previously cultivated, once he chose his natal magic weapon, he would inevitably devote a considerable amount of energy to it.

He guided Li Yinsheng to focus his energy on the Way of Wood with a stalk of Azure Bamboo. In the future, when Li Yinsheng's cultivation and attainments in the Way of Wood surpassed his, he could then turn around and ask Li Yinsheng for advice.

Of course, he didn't need to tell his younger family members about this plan.

It's not exactly something to be proud of.

Li Yinsheng naturally had no idea how much consideration Langgan Zhenren had in mind when he gave him the Azure Bamboo.

After returning to his room, he began to nurture the Azure Bamboo with his divine sense and magical power.

Although he did not practice a wood-elemental cultivation method, the Qingxuan True Scripture was upright and peaceful, and it did not hinder the nurturing of the Azure Bamboo.

The nurturing process doesn't need to last long; its main purpose is to elevate the spiritual essence within the object to its peak before the refining process begins, allowing it to transform into a magical artifact in its best form.

After a short period of gentle care, he calculated the progress and felt that two or three days of gentle care would be enough.

Anyway, as long as you refine the Azure Bamboo into a magic weapon before receiving the ninety years of cultivation time, you'll be fine.

At that time, he will be able to enter the cave with the Azure Bamboo magic treasure and nurture it for ninety years in one go!

Speaking of the nineties —

Li Yinsheng looked at a large black ball in the corner of the supplies.

The surface of this large black sphere is tightly bound by countless white threads, and inside are countless immobile alien insects.

He had managed to extract all the strange insects from under the Suyun bamboo. Although their cocoons had broken, none of them could escape the net's hold.

"Senior brother, were you looking for me?"

Mu Xiaoyu skipped and hopped in.

Not long after the giant, grotesque face in the sky disappeared, they received new orders to continue their normal patrols.

But they hadn't walked far when a female disciple from Huangzhu Temple approached them, respectfully saying that a senior named Li had invited her to the summit.

Then she followed the older sister from Huangzhu Temple to the summit. That sister was a really kind person; she used a flying artifact that looked like a bamboo leaf to carry her up.

"Hmm," Li Yinsheng put the Azure Bamboo back into his Qiankun Bag, pointed to the black ball in the corner, and asked, "Junior Sister, what's that?"

Mu Xiaoyu asked curiously, "What is that? I can't even detect it clearly with my divine sense."

"You'll see it clearly if you come closer." Li Yinsheng handed a thunder talisman to Mu Xiaoyu. "Go ahead."

"Why did you give me this, Senior Brother?" Mu Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

"You'll find out when you get there." Li Yinsheng suppressed the smile that should have been on his lips.

"Oh." Mu Xiaoyu, holding the Thunder Talisman, walked towards the shiny black ball with a puzzled look on her face.

This black sphere is so strange. When I probe it with my divine sense, it's all blurry and I can't sense anything.

It looks very smooth. Are these threads on the surface?

Huh? This black sphere looks like it's formed by many things being tied together?

What is it? They're all tightly tangled together; you can't see them at all.

Mu Xiaoyu took a few more steps, getting within three feet of them, and then she realized that the things tied together seemed to have legs.

She froze, trembling as she turned to look at Li Yinsheng: "Senior brother? These can't be—"

"Yes, they're all bugs," Li Yinsheng nodded.

"Wow!"

Mu Xiaoyu threw out the lightning talisman and turned to run away.

After a flash of dazzling lightning, Li Yinsheng looked at the pale gold characters in front of him.

[Current time of spell practice: September 21st, 83rd year]

He nodded in satisfaction.

The small insects are all dealt with; it's time to deal with the big ones.

Still somewhat shaken after running away, Mu Xiaoyu glared angrily at Li Yinsheng: "Senior brother, you again—"

She saw Li Yinsheng take out a large white worm, about the size of a palm, from his Qiankun bag and walk towards her.

Mu Xiaoyu turned and ran away again.

Li Yinsheng's voice came from behind: "Junior sister? Why are you running? Aren't you going to eat fried bugs?"

Mu Xiaoyu stormed out the door: "I won't eat it! Fried bugs are too scary!"

"It smells really good," Li Yinsheng said.

"I won't eat it even if it smells good!" Mu Xiaoyu said decisively.

But her running legs were noticeably slower.

"It smells even better than the previous crane eggs, aren't you going to eat it?" Li Yinsheng said leisurely.

Mu Xiaoyu's legs suddenly stopped.

A few breaths later, she turned around, her face filled with a look of resignation, and walked step by step toward the bamboo house behind her.

At the edge of her vision, Li Yinsheng had already set up a wok in the center of the bamboo house, with a flame burning beneath it.

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