Chapter 145 – Cultivation Method Sublimation: Master Meng Rui Goes Mad

Under the expectant gaze of Master Meng Rui, Mu Lin swiftly drew his second Swiftness Talisman.

As a well-established Puppet Sect with an orderly lineage, the talisman arrays in Master Meng Rui’s possession all originated from the same source. Consequently, in the early stages, their characteristics and effects were quite similar.

This characteristic was called “stacking.” Its effect was that a novice could barely manage to draw it, a proficient user could draw it normally, an Expert could achieve triple stacking, and a Master could achieve ninefold stacking.

Of course, the manifestation varied depending on the talisman.

The Adamantine Force Talisman stacked power and defense, Swiftness stacked speed, Giant Spirit stacked physical size, while the most wondrous Sky-Scraping Spell stacked a sense of affinity with the heavens.

However, despite their different manifestations, they shared one commonality.

While their power multiplied, the complexity of drawing these talismans also increased exponentially.

Moreover, this wasn’t merely about intricate drawing; one also had to consider the transmission and interference of Spiritual Energy, the continuity of the strokes, and even the hierarchy of elements…

Triple stacking and ninefold stacking were not simple replication but an extremely complex fusion.

Fortunately, none of these issues posed a challenge for Mu Lin.

Grandmaster-level Painting allowed him to easily discern how to construct a diagram from its structure, layering, and even the warmth or coolness of its tones.

Those eyes that could perceive “beauty” further enabled Mu Lin to effortlessly see through the flow of Spiritual Energy.

The combination of these factors allowed Mu Lin to rapidly achieve ninefold stacking with the Swiftness Talisman—a testament to how mastering the fundamentals makes advanced techniques easier. Grandmaster-level Painting and Master Grade Calligraphy formed the foundation of Mu Lin’s talisman array studies.

Well, normally, while Mu Lin could draw “quickly,” this quickness still required some time.

However, the current Mu Lin had surpassed his own limits.

He drew the Swiftness Talisman on his first attempt.

On his second attempt, he produced a triple-stacked Swiftness Talisman.

On his third attempt, he achieved a ninefold-stacked Swiftness Talisman.

Such a staggering speed left the observing Master Meng Rui rubbing her temples in disbelief.

Her Divine Soul was thrown into disarray by this sight.

As for Mu Lin, he didn’t find it particularly remarkable.

“I’ve already drawn a Master Grade Adamantine Force Talisman. With that experience, quickly mastering the Swiftness Talisman shouldn’t be too surprising, right?”

Master Meng Rui did not refute this statement.

The hardest part of anything is going from zero to one. Once you achieve that first breakthrough and internalize the feeling, the second, third… even the hundredth time becomes possible.

This was also why Yan Yunyu had pinned her hopes on Mu Lin after he drew just one Master Grade talisman array.

Even if it was a breakthrough by sheer luck, remembering that sensation would benefit Mu Lin immensely.

A good lineage held an even greater advantage in this regard. Since the techniques originated from the same source and the insights were similar, for Master Meng Rui, once she mastered one Master Grade talisman, she could rely on her previous insights and understanding to quickly grasp others.

—As long as it didn’t cross into a different Domain, for a Master to learn other talismans was no longer a journey from Expert to Master but simplified by at least tenfold.

With this reasoning, Mu Lin didn’t find it surprising that he had rapidly elevated Swiftness to the Master Level.

However, Master Meng Rui held a different view.

“After painting a Master Grade Talisman, learning other talismans does become easier. But starting from scratch, it took me seven years to paint my first Master Grade Talisman. As for the Swiftness Talisman, it took me nine months.”

Reducing from seven years to nine months—this was the progression Master Meng Rui considered reasonable.

Yet Mu Lin, upon encountering a new talisman, went from zero to Master in just three… attempts. This pace was truly exaggerated.

As for this, Mu Lin didn’t feel particularly proud. With the assistance of his Proficiency Panel, which allowed him to master something once and retain it forever, such rapid progress was only natural.

Seeing Mu Lin’s indifferent expression, Master Meng Rui could only swallow the flood of words she wanted to say.

At the same time, she was also somewhat curious.

“You’ve already raised Swiftness to Master Grade, so why do you seem a bit unhappy?”

Faced with this question, Mu Lin replied matter-of-factly, “There’s no reason to be happy. I’ve only raised Swiftness to Master Grade, but I haven’t elevated it… It’s a shame. My understanding and experience of wind are still far too limited.”

For Mu Lin, who possessed Grandmaster-level Painting, he didn’t need to personally learn or practice to imbue his paintings with intent, but observation and seeing were still necessary.

In his previous life, although Mu Lin knew about storms and hurricanes from the news and had seen some on television, there was still a difference between television and witnessing them firsthand.

Especially since Mu Lin didn’t just need to see—he needed to feel and resonate with the might of heaven and earth, which required him to be in close proximity to storms and hurricanes.

Unfortunately, neither in his previous life nor in this world had he had such an opportunity. As a result, he couldn’t imbue Swiftness with the perfect form and essence of flowing wind to elevate it.

While Mu Lin was brooding, Master Meng Rui beside him was stunned.

“Skill elevation? How could you even think of that? Elevating a Cultivation Method or Spell is something that happens once in a hundred years. Encountering it once is a stroke of heavenly fortune. Wanting to encounter it multiple times is just daydrea—”

Before she could finish, she thought of something, which made her gaze at Mu Lin with intense fervor.

“Don’t tell me you’ve elevated more than one Cultivation Method?!”

To this, Mu Lin didn’t answer. He merely offered an awkward yet polite smile.

But that was enough. Seeing his reaction, Master Meng Rui immediately realized she had guessed correctly, which made her gaze at Mu Lin even more fervently.

“Slap!”

“Become my disciple, learn my Cultivation Method, and I will devote all my efforts to nurturing you!”

“Even if I myself cannot advance, I will ensure you are fully cultivated!”

Her excessive nervousness and urgency caused Master Meng Rui’s grip to be too strong. Mu Lin felt pain in the shoulders she was clutching.

Such an urgent display and near-maddened gaze initially surprised Mu Lin, but he quickly understood the reason.

She wanted him to switch to her path not just for the sake of the sect’s legacy, but for herself as well.

One thing to remember: although the Cultivation Methods Mu Lin had elevated carried his personal imprint and aligned with his worldview, making them most effective and powerful for him to cultivate, this didn’t mean others couldn’t cultivate them.

Just like the Mighty Jiao Dragon – Adamantine Force Talisman.

This was a talisman sublimated by Mu Lin. Having undergone sublimation once, its power was several times greater than that of an ordinary Adamantine Force Talisman, and it could grant puppets the strength of a Jiao Dragon, the defense of a Jiao Dragon, and even unleash a Jiao Dragon phantom to fight.

And this talisman was something Master Meng Rui could also learn.

Moreover, because her Adamantine Force Talisman Array had also reached Master Grade, she understood its principles and had witnessed the talisman firsthand, so learning it wouldn’t require much effort from her.

The same applied to mystical arts and cultivation methods.

If Mu Lin cultivated Master Meng Rui’s methods and practiced her Dao,

and later sublimated the cultivation method, she could also benefit and learn better methods and a better Dao.

This was also the reason why her gaze toward Mu Lin was so fervent.

Unfortunately, Mu Lin had no intention of switching paths.

Compared to puppets that relied entirely on external objects, Mu Lin preferred the Paper Figure Secret Art of the Paper Crafting Lineage.

Although both relied on subordinates for combat, the difference was that puppets were entirely external objects. Even if Mu Lin incorporated his past-life ideas and relied on the Proficiency Panel to sublimate the cultivation method,

the path he could take was still one of “flesh is weak, machinery ascends.”

As for the Paper Figure Secret Art, its core might seem to be the paper figures, but it wasn’t. That breath of Creation Immortal Spiritual Energy was what Mu Lin pursued.

That single breath could enable Mu Lin to achieve immortality.

One path involved abandoning the flesh and ascending through machinery, while the other involved the convergence of essence, energy, and spirit, the gathering of the five energies, and direct ascension.

Which path to take required no deliberation.

Not to mention, Mu Lin’s Paper Figure Secret Art had already been sublimated.

With the assistance of numerous ideas, it was no longer a sinister secret art but an officially recognized righteous deity of the Netherworld’s Fengdu, acknowledged by the Human Dao.

As long as he followed this path, Mu Lin had the opportunity to ascend as the Great Emperor of Lidu or the Lord of Mount Tai.

Under such circumstances, how Mu Lin should choose required no further thought.

(End of Chapter)