Chapter 37: The Flawed Technique

The senior apprentice brother set down his rice bowl, smoothed out his Daoist robes, and gestured for Pan Jun to sit opposite him. "Come, let me examine you."

Pan Jun raised an eyebrow. She channeled her inner energy and looked at him again. He was full of vitality, and his inner aura was upright and orderly; at the very least, he was an honest and kind person.

Pan Xiaohei, her black cat, trotted over at some point and curled up lightly at Pan Jun's feet. Pan Jun glanced down at the cat before sitting down cross-legged across from the senior brother. She, too, wanted to know what was wrong with her cultivation method. The spirit essence within her and Xuanmiao had mentioned it more than once, but neither could pinpoint the root cause.

The senior brother smiled, unbothered by her scrutiny. Once she was seated, he said, "Enter a state of meditation and run a small cycle for me to see."

Pan Jun lowered her gaze, regulated her breathing, and quickly entered a meditative state, initiating her cultivation. The senior brother blinked in surprise, rubbing his eyes to be sure. Once he confirmed she had truly entered deep meditation, he sat bolt upright, his eyes shining with astonishment. He glanced at Tao Ji and Xuanmiao, who nodded in return—yes, she was indeed that much of a genius.

The senior brother composed himself, pondered for a moment, and then made a series of hand seals. The air around them seemed to come alive, converging toward Pan Jun in response to his gestures. It started with the air in their immediate vicinity, then spread to ten paces, twenty, fifty... The energy in the valley surged forth, rising like a ribbon of white silk that spiraled upward to surround Pan Jun.

Miaowei, who had been searching for the cat, stumbled into the scene. Seeing Pan Jun seemingly draped in white silk, she stopped in her tracks, too stunned to make a sound. Tao Ji and Xuanmiao turned to look at her, and Miaowei immediately stood at attention, sucking in her stomach and putting on a look of pure innocence. Tao Ji waved her away, and she turned and ran.

*Tao Ji thought: Why is this disciple still so restless? How worrying.*

Tao Ji turned back to the two sitting opposite each other. Pan Jun was absorbing the gathered spiritual energy as if she were breathing in clouds. It wasn't just her body absorbing it greedily; Pan Xiaohei was also channeling the spirit realm within her Niwan Palace, actively drawing in energy to store within itself. In essence, Pan Jun was running two cultivation methods simultaneously, though the absorption by the spirit realm was masked by the sheer volume of energy she was taking in, so it went unnoticed and unsuspected.

Heaven knows how long it had been since the two of them had encountered such dense spiritual energy. In fact, they hadn't seen it since they arrived in this world. It turned out this world wasn't all as barren as the capital; places like the Sanqing Temple were like hidden paradises, rich in energy. She wondered how many such blessed lands still existed.

Pan Xiaohei sighed in contentment and lay motionless on the ground. If only Pan Jun could live in such a place forever.

None of the three people present detected the spirit realm or doubted Pan Jun's Niwan Palace. This was because the spiritual energy she absorbed, after circulating once, dissipated significantly. While a good portion reached her Dantian, much of it scattered throughout her limbs and bones. Despite the massive intake, it failed to produce the corresponding cultivation results. Though the senior brother couldn't directly see inside her meridians, his years of experience allowed him to judge the situation with seventy or eighty percent accuracy based on the flow of energy around her.

The senior brother waited quietly for her to complete two small cycles before ending his hand seals, allowing the energy to disperse.

Pan Jun slowly opened her eyes, feeling immensely amazed. She looked at the senior brother’s hands. Could he really command the energy of heaven and earth using only hand seals without an array?

The senior brother asked with a smile, "Who is your master, little friend?" How could someone be so negligent in teaching their student?

Pan Jun shook her head. "I learned it on my own; I have no master."

Upon hearing this, the senior brother felt relieved. He pointed to Xuanmiao and said, "I heard from them that you are skilled in talismans. Would you be willing to take Junior Sister Xuanmiao as your master? In our Sanqing Temple, she is the most proficient in the art of talismans."

Pan Jun and Xuanmiao spoke in unison: "I do not!"

Though disappointed, the senior brother did not hold it against her and quickly accepted the refusal. "Very well, if you do not wish to, so be it."

Despite the rejection, the senior brother was still willing to explain the issue with her cultivation. "While those of us who practice the Dao can sometimes be self-taught, it is rare. Most people, like you, try to figure it out on their own and end up on the wrong path."

Pan Jun looked lost. How could it be wrong? This cultivation method was taught in schools in her previous life; everyone in the country studied it. Some had reached the Second Tier and were nearing the Third. It was said that entering the Third Tier granted a thousand years of life and the ability to ride the clouds, making one no different from an immortal. Pan Jun didn't dare hope for the legendary Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, or Seventh Tiers; her goal was the Third Tier—to ride the clouds and live freely for a thousand years. And now, someone was telling her that her method was wrong?

Pan Jun didn't believe it. Besides, these were ancient people—could they really be more knowledgeable than someone from the future? She thought this, but her mind was in turmoil. She thought of how the government in her previous life prioritized the study of spirit realms, and the rapid, uncontrollable mutations of plants and animals. She knew her previous world lacked many traditions and techniques, but she never imagined that the standard national foundation method practiced by millions could be wrong. It was the only method known to reach the Second Tier! If even that was incorrect...

As Pan Jun fretted over the state of her previous world, Pan Xiaohei lifted its head and meowed, "You’d better start worrying about yourself."

Pan Jun immediately regained her focus, realizing that in her shock, she had lowered the barrier around the spirit realm, allowing it to peek into her thoughts. Pan Xiaohei huffed; it wasn't just peeking—the turmoil in her Niwan Palace was pulsing so loudly that it pierced right through the cat. It was clearly her own mental noise that was disturbing it!

Pan Jun composed herself and looked up at the Daoist sitting across from her. Seeing her teary-eyed and bewildered, the senior brother comforted her, "Do not be afraid. A mistake is just a mistake. It is fortunate we found out early; we can simply correct it."

Fearing she might cry, he spoke softly, "It is like a child learning to write. If you hold the pen incorrectly, you just correct it once you know better. Although your hand has developed muscle memory, which is hard to change, you are so clever that you managed to cultivate on your own with no guidance. Surely such a small matter will be easy for you to handle."

But she hadn't just started cultivating; this psychological memory wasn't just eight years—it included her previous life as well.

Pan Jun took a deep breath and forced a smile. "You are right, Daoist. I will definitely be able to fix it."

Could it be harder than clearing her father's name? It was just changing a cultivation method. She would do it!

Pan Jun looked at the Daoist with trust and asked, "Then what method should I switch to?"

"First, tell me how your current method flows. Let me see if I can find something similar."

Pan Jun told him immediately. At first, the senior brother listened with a furrowed brow, but soon his expression grew increasingly tense. He felt as though he had seen this method before, but he couldn't quite place it. He stopped her. "Wait, let me think... let me think..."

The senior brother sat on the rock in deep contemplation, looking conflicted. Where had he seen this?

After a long time, he remained silent. Seeing that the sky had turned completely dark, Tao Ji said, "Pan Jun, let me take you to your room to rest. The senior brother will come find you once he remembers."

Pan Jun left, casting a lingering look behind her. The black cat remained motionless, still lying there, mocking her in her mind: *I thought you trusted him so much, yet you told him your cultivation method while making me stay behind to eavesdrop.*

Pan Jun followed Tao Ji, looking moved on the surface, but inwardly sneering, "If you have the ability, you could have left. If I judged him wrongly, we go down together."

Trading a common cultivation method from her previous life for a check-up and a solution from a specialist—that was a small price to pay. The only thing she needed to guard against was whether he truly intended to help her. Furthermore, Xuanmiao and Tao Ji had been acting strangely toward her. Although Xuanmiao had explained it as keeping a promise, Pan Jun was still half-skeptical.

Pan Jun retrieved her small bundle from her basket and followed Tao Ji to the adjacent courtyard.

He explained, "There are few of us in the Sanqing Temple. The front is where we enshrine the Three Pure Ones, Grandmaster Ge, and Minister Li; that is also where we practice. There are two courtyards in the back: this one is for the men, and that one is for the women. The place we just came from is the kitchen; it has no walls and is built on the edge of a cliff. It’s spacious, but be careful, especially at night, not to fall."

Pan Jun asked, "Why not build a wall?"

"Why would we?" Tao Ji replied as if it were obvious. "It’s spacious, and when we chop wood, we can face the cliff and watch the sea of clouds. How happy that is."

Pan Jun thought about it and nodded in agreement.

"Few people came out today because tomorrow is the first of the month, and the senior brother is checking their progress, so they are all cramming. As for Miaowei... she probably couldn't sit still and got hungry. I'll have her show you around."

Tao Ji pushed open the door to the women's courtyard and shouted, "Miaowei! Miaowei!"

A window on the left opened, and Miaowei poked her head out, looking at the dark figures in the courtyard. "Master?"

"Light a lamp and come out. Take your... Sister Pan Jun to her room to rest."

Miaowei acknowledged, brought out her oil lamp, and said happily to Pan Jun, "Sister Pan Jun, we’ve already prepared a room for you. Follow me."

Miaowei pushed open a door to the next room and went in with the lamp first. Seeing Pan Jun follow her, Tao Ji waved his hand and left. "Remember to go to the kitchen later and get something for Pan Jun to eat."

Miaowei agreed. The room was not large. To the left of the entrance, a small bed stood against the wall, bare and without mosquito netting. On the bed were a pillow and a quilt, both neatly folded. A table and stool stood under the window, and in the corner near the back window, a folding screen partitioned off a space containing a chamber pot.

Pan Jun signaled that she could manage the nighttime trips. Near the door was another window, and beneath it stood another table with a bronze mirror.

Miaowei placed the oil lamp on the table and said to Pan Jun, "The Fourth Senior Sister gave this bronze mirror to you."