Chen Jichuan took one look and immediately liked it.
Wuk Yuan didn’t wait for him.
It was clear that he found Chen Jichuan’s spells intriguing. As soon as they entered the cave dwelling, he brought out paper and brush, asking Chen Jichuan to draw at the stone table near the outer part of the dwelling.
Chen Jichuan wasted no time and began depicting the spell models of the ’Thousand-mile Eye’ and ’Sharp-Hearing Ear’ using various perspectives—three-dimensional, cross-sectional, left views, right views—covering every layer, inside and out.
In the end, twenty-four drawings were completed for the ’Thousand-mile Eye,’ and twenty-three for the ’Sharp-Hearing Ear.’
Wuk Yuan watched from the side. At first, there was a subtle trace of anticipation on his face, but by the time Chen Jichuan had finished drawing, his interest had waned.
Chen Jichuan felt a bit apprehensive and asked Wuk Yuan hesitantly, "Master, do these two spells passed down through my ancestors have any use to you?"
If they were of no use, his status as a registered disciple would be precarious.
"They can barely count as spells."
"But they’re of no use to me."
Wuk Yuan shook his head. Perhaps worried that Chen Jichuan might think he was brushing him off, he uncharacteristically explained further: "When a Qi Refining cultivator reaches the Ninth Layer, three hundred and sixty-five major acupoints are unlocked, and the Qi meridians are cleared. At that stage, spells can be fused with the body and refined into the bloodline. Future offspring may stand a chance of awakening bloodline techniques. These techniques are usable in earlier stages, but once you reach the Qi Refining layer, they’re useless. These ’Thousand-mile Eye’ and ’Sharp-Hearing Ear’ spells are merely inherited bloodline techniques, diluted with the passage of time across generations. They’ve long lost their True Intent, at best useful for mundane purposes. But if used for probing higher-level Innate cultivators, they will be exposed immediately."
Wuk Yuan waved his broad sleeve.
Instantly, the ink on the forty-seven drawings dried, and the pages were stacked neatly into a pile before Chen Jichuan.
Chen Jichuan could sense Wuk Yuan’s disdain toward the ’Thousand-mile Eye’ and ’Sharp-Hearing Ear,’ or rather, toward bloodline techniques in general. He didn’t feel slighted; instead, his mind suddenly became enlightened.
That explained things.
the ’abnormal skills’ and ’talents’ of Chen Shaohu and Fang Dong were likely what Wuk Yuan referred to as ’bloodline techniques.’
"I didn’t expect that an ancestor of my Chen Family had once been a Qi Refining cultivator." Newest update provided by novel•fire.net
Chen Jichuan thought to himself.
But he also understood that these so-called bloodline techniques were highly useful at the mundane level, but to a cultivator like Wuk Yuan, they were as worthless as chicken ribs, perhaps even less valuable than that.
At least chicken ribs carry the merit of being "too wasteful to discard."
But judging by Wuk Yuan’s attitude toward the ’Thousand-mile Eye’ and ’Sharp-Hearing Ear,’ he treated them as though they were worthless scraps.
Chen Jichuan did not look at the stack of forty-seven drawings before him but instead raised his head to look at Wuk Yuan, waiting to be dealt with.
Wuk Yuan had stated earlier that he would only accept him as a registered disciple if the two spells had value to him. But now, it was clear that bloodline techniques were of no use to him.
It seemed almost certain that his status as a registered disciple was now out of the question.
"The medicine garden at the foot of the mountain still needs a water carrying boy. If you’re willing, stay. If not, you may leave the mountain and the island."
Wuk Yuan said indifferently.
Chen Jichuan was taken aback.
Being demoted straight from ’registered disciple’ to ’water carrying boy’ was quite a blow.
Although Wuk Yuan seemed cold on the surface, he was a man of his word and actions.
Besides, being new here and of unknown origins, securing even the role of ’water carrying boy’ under someone like Wuk Yuan could be considered a stroke of great fortune.
Chen Jichuan had no objections and immediately bowed in gratitude. "Disciple is willing!"
Wuk Yuan waved his sleeve, and Chen Jichuan suddenly felt the world spinning around him as he appeared outside the cave dwelling.
A cold voice from Wuk Yuan lingered in his ears, "Bloodline techniques deplete the body. Until you complete your cultivation, refrain from using them. Just look at the sorry state you’ve ended up in!"
"Disciple understands!"
Chen Jichuan quickly responded and thought to himself, "He assumes my physical depletion is caused by using the bloodline techniques?"
What a strange coincidence.
Chen Jichuan sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat touched. With a smile, he turned and walked down the mountain to find the medicine garden.