"Let's just take what we each need," the silver cat said, turning its head back and walking a few steps ahead as its voice echoed in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuan Ming asked, perplexed.

The silver cat did not show any intention to explain and continued walking forward.

"Regardless of your intentions, could you help me one more time? I will remember it in my heart," Yuan Ming immediately said.

Hearing this, the silver cat paused in its steps, not leaving right away.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming's spirits lifted. He thought since the other party had taken the initiative to give him the life-saving Cultivation Technique and then stepped in to assist, it must harbor goodwill toward him. Since it had been following him, it likely needed something from him as well.

So, holding a thought to try his luck, he spoke up, not expecting there might actually be a chance.

"What would you have me help you with?" the voice of the silver cat asked in Yuan Ming's mind.

"Teach me the Moonlight Technique," Yuan Ming immediately responded.

"You don't have the talent. You won't learn it," the voice of the silver cat echoed in Yuan Ming's mind.

Yuan Ming was stumped at first but then said, "If you are willing to teach, whether or not I succeed, I am willing to work for you in return."

The silver cat seemed somewhat moved by this and inquired, "Even if it might endanger your life... would you still be willing to do it?"

"I believe you wouldn't ask me to do such a thing, otherwise, you would not have spoken up to save me earlier," Yuan Ming hesitated briefly, then spoke up.

"I do have some matters at hand... that are not convenient for me to attend to... Perhaps you could," the silver cat mused.

"But speak without worry," Yuan Ming said, secretly feeling that the other's speech seemed more coherent than before.

"The Beast Slave Hall or the Execution Hall in Biluo Cave seems to secretly send disciples out each month to hunt Wild Men. I need you to investigate their purpose in doing so," said the silver cat after pondering for a moment.

"Isn't it to capture Fur Beast Slaves?" Yuan Ming asked, frowning.

He himself had been captured along with a group of Wild Men, sifted through, and finally became a Fur Beast Slave.

"What of those without Spirit Roots?" the cold voice of the silver cat rang in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness, questioning.

Yuan Ming thought back and his brows immediately knitted together.

He remembered that in that cave, apart from those who were selected, the remaining Wild Men were all killed.

There had also been people from Biluo Cave, using a silver-white bell an inch in size, collecting the souls of the killed Wild Men.

"Alright, I'll investigate," Yuan Ming nodded.

Hearing these words, the silver cat did not hurry to leave and started guiding Yuan Ming, "When you practiced the Moonlight Technique just now, you wanted to act in one fell swoop, dispersing your Divine Sense to inspect all the meridians, didn't you?"

Yuan Ming wasn't surprised the silver cat had noticed his cultivation state and nodded.

"My Divine Soul Power is insufficient, and my Divine Sense is always constrained within my Sea of Consciousness, unable to perform Inner Observation on the meridians and Dantian. To make a breakthrough, I could only risk forcibly exploring the meridians," Yuan Ming said thoughtfully.

"Who told you that Inner Observation of the meridians had to be achieved in one go?" the silver cat countered.

Yuan Ming halted, realizing he had fallen into a misconception, believing that Inner Observation of the meridians required the Divine Sense to penetrate them all at once.

"If that were the case, then wouldn't the entry requirements for the Cultivation Technique - being able to observe the Sea of Consciousness, the meridians, and the Dantian all simultaneously - also need to be done at the same time?" the silver cat asked again.

"Does that mean, for the meridians, I only need to observe one or a few at a time?" Yuan Ming asked.

"The focus is not on the number but on the smoothness. Whether your Divine Sense can smoothly roam the Inner Scenery of your body is crucial... The Sea of Consciousness and the Dantian are two capitals, while the meridians are roads. Divine Sense travels along them, like a car touring the map of the body, smoothly and swiftly inspecting, and the level of control over the internal landscape," the silver cat shook its head and began to explain earnestly.

"In that case, it seems I've trapped myself in an illusion of doubt," Yuan Ming realized.

"Sitting and observing internally is a basic ability of all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and only Soul Cultivators can be one step ahead, able to achieve this without Foundation Establishment by leveraging the advantage of the Divine Soul. This shouldn't be difficult, but unfortunately, your aptitude is really dull," the silver cat continued to communicate.

Yuan Ming pondered in silence for a moment, then said with furrowed brows:

"But that's not right. I had also tried exploring one meridian at a time before, but I failed in those attempts too, so I mistakenly thought that it required simultaneous exploration. Why is that?"

"There is also a problem with how you circulate the Divine Soul Power. You shouldn't..."

After a series of instructions from the silver cat, Yuan Ming finally had an epiphany.

"That's all I have to say, you can contemplate the rest on your own." In the end, the silver cat left these words, ran out of the window, and disappeared into the darkness.

For a long time, the Little Fire Mink that had been tumbling on the ground finally came to.

Seeing that the Fire Crystal Stones and Fire Jade that had been in front of its eyes were suddenly gone, it couldn't handle the shock. Its stiff body fell backward, and it started thrashing about again.

Yuan Ming pulled out a piece of Fire Jade and threw it over, immediately curing its sorrow as it happily started munching on the crystal stone.

Yuan Ming himself closed his eyes, cradling the incense burner, and resumed cultivation.

...

With guidance from the silver cat, Yuan Ming avoided many detours, and his cultivation speed of the Moonlight Technique finally accelerated.

Within just a few days, he was able to traverse his Divine Sense, sit and observe internally, and could be considered to have entered the door.

After entering the Moonlight Technique, his Divine Power also significantly improved, and as previously mentioned by the silver cat, roughly equaled a standard Foundation Establishment Magic Practitioner.

With the enhancement of the Divine Soul Power, his Exorcism Technique cultivation finally made a breakthrough.

At 5:45 AM in the Fire Workshop, over a hundred and eighty registered disciples had already gathered; most of them were busy with their tasks. Only a few familiar with Yuan Ming were standing outside a casting house.

Inside the house at that moment, someone was hammering an iron ingot with a casting hammer, the "ding dang" of metal striking metal echoed crisply, with sparks flying every which way.

"Already eight hundred and fifty-three hammers... Yuan Ming really does have some skill..." Qiqige said in surprise.

"This kid must have practiced secretly; otherwise, he couldn't have improved so fast," Agula said, furrowing his brows tightly.

"He couldn't possibly hammer a thousand times, could he?" Lina said, somewhat incredulously.

Wu Ri just watched in silence, not saying a word.

It had been just over a short month since Yuan Ming arrived here. Everyone was aware of his poor foundation, but his progress was also there for all to see.

Fang Ge walked over with a serious expression from a distance, and the others, somewhat fearful of him, immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Unexpectedly, Fang Ge gestured for them to stop and said, "Watch closely..."

He had a premonition that Yuan Ming might truly succeed this time; however, he too was puzzled—how could Yuan Ming have improved so significantly in just a few days?

Yuan Ming, unaware and unconcerned with the varied feelings of the others, was completely focused on the forging, swinging his arms with a gusty sound, the continuous noise of hammering filled the air.

"Clang"

With the thousandth hammer strike, Yuan Ming finally stopped, standing aside and taking slow breaths.

The iron ingot on the anvil still glowed with a red light, slowly cooling and changing color until it had completely cooled down.

The crowd watched intently, only to see even and fine lines emerging on the iron ingot, layered like flowing water, exceedingly beautiful, and in no way inferior to what Senior Brother Fang Ge had refined.

"It worked, it truly worked..." Qiqige exclaimed excitedly.

Lina couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.

Agula stroked his bald head, his face filled with disbelief yet having no choice but to believe.

Wu Ri took a closer look before turning to ask, "Junior Brother Yuan Ming, how did you do it? You've only started learning a few days ago?"

He was starting to doubt his life choices.

Yuan Ming smiled but did not give an answer. Instead, Fang Ge, serious-faced, said, "He relies on his unwavering initial determination and consistent persistence."

"And the practice of the Exorcism Technique," Yuan Ming added quickly.

As the others started chattering, a commotion suddenly rose from within the Fire Workshop, calls summoning the "Three Cave Masters" echoed continuously.

Yuan Ming and the others hurriedly walked out of the casting house to see the Three Cave Masters, dressed in red soft armor, approaching.

The group promptly paid their respects.

The Three Cave Masters went straight to Yuan Ming and asked directly, "Where is Huo Chan'er?"

"I put it into the Spiritual Beast Bag during refining," Yuan Ming replied.

The Three Cave Masters' delicate eyebrows furrowed as she turned to Fang Ge and said, "Didn't I instruct you that he doesn't need to sift materials for refining? He just needs to focus on taking good care of Huo Chan'er, right?"

Fang Ge immediately became tense, and, opening his mouth, seemed at a loss for words.

"Don't blame Senior Brother Fang Ge; it was me who wanted to refine," Yuan Ming quickly interjected to alleviate the situation.

"Master, Junior Brother Yuan was..."

Before Fang Ge could finish, the Three Cave Masters interrupted him, "I specifically didn't want to confine Huo Chan'er, and I didn't want to trap it in the Spiritual Beast Bag. That's why I entrusted it to your care. How could you be so negligent?"

Seeing this, the others fell silent as if stricken by the cold, afraid to utter a sound.

Fang Ge opened his mouth, wanting to speak on Yuan Ming's behalf, but before he could start, Yuan Ming spoke first.

"It's my fault. I will return Huo Chan'er now."

As he spoke, Yuan Ming slapped his Spiritual Beast Bag at his waist, a flash of red light passed, and the figure of the Little Fire Mink appeared, scampering onto Yuan Ming's shoulder the moment it landed.

It didn't run away?

The Three Cave Masters was momentarily taken aback by the sight.

Huo Chan'er typically, upon being released from the Spiritual Beast Bag, would either vent its dissatisfaction or run away frantically to play, never behaving like now.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming habitually took a Fire Crystal Stone from his Storage Bag and handed it to the creature.

Huo Chan'er grabbed the stone with its little hands, hugged it to itself, and started "crunch crunch" munching away.

Yuan Ming lifted it off his shoulder and held it out with both hands toward the Three Cave Masters.

The Three Cave Masters swept a gaze over Huo Chan'er, her brows furrowing even deeper as she asked in confusion, "During this period, have you been overfeeding it with Fire Crystal Stones?"

"No, that's not right; the Fire Crystal Stones and Fire Jade I gave you were in fixed amounts. If it was more, it shouldn't last until today." She then shook her head, dismissing the thought.

The size of Huo Chan'er hadn't changed much, but she felt certain that the little creature had grown somewhat, hadn't it?

(Fellow Daoists, let's continue with the fourth update. Vote for support, please! ^^)

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