Chapter 50: Lingyun Technique

Nearby, a man dressed in a green official's robe respectfully bowed toward the spirit ship and loudly declared, "Farewell, Immortals—"

Lin Xiao guessed that this person was likely the county magistrate. Had they really accompanied the Immortals all the way from the county seat to this town?

Following the magistrate's lead, the people standing behind him also bowed deeply and echoed in unison, "Farewell, Immortals—"

The middle-aged man standing at the bow of the spirit ship kept his gaze fixed forward, showing no interest in the officials below. He merely nodded faintly before raising a hand and commanding, "Depart—"

Those on the ground, whether standing or kneeling, craned their necks to watch as the spirit ship began to move. However, Lin Xiao, who had expected to see the ship ascend swiftly into the clouds, was surprised to see it merely float about twenty meters above the ground, maintaining a steady speed of roughly two meters per second.

To his eyes, it even seemed as if the spirit ship was struggling to stay afloat.

Nevertheless, this did not diminish Lin Xiao's yearning to fly.

As the crowd dispersed, Lin Xiao hurried back to the village and returned to the sect. He was eager to experiment with creating a flying technique.

Sitting alone in the sect's grand hall, Lin Xiao opened the spell creation feature. Familiar with the process, he placed mulberry bark and soot ink into the first two slots, followed by a spirit stone in the third.

In the fourth slot, he began inputting his ideas for the spell. This time, he envisioned a technique that would allow him to soar through the sky. For the next thirty seconds, he mentally replayed various flying scenes from immortal tales. Although he couldn't cover everything within that short span, Lin Xiao didn't mind. Sometimes, incomplete ideas yielded better results.

He wasn't fixated on perfection.

[Ding—Spell creation in progress, please wait.]

[Spell creation successful, now available in your inventory.]

As soon as he heard the system notification, Lin Xiao excitedly opened his inventory. There, a new book titled Lingyun Technique awaited him.

Inwardly, he joked about how his brother Lin Yun might feel awkward upon seeing this name, but that wasn't important right now.

Thanks to the system's feature that automatically allowed him to master any spell he created, Lin Xiao instantly grasped the contents of the Lingyun Technique upon its creation.

The Lingyun Technique had three stages:

 Sky Step Technique: This allowed the user to step on air, effectively walking in the sky. The duration of each step depended on the user's cultivation level.

 Soaring Wings Technique: The user could manifest wings made of spiritual energy to fly. The size of the wings could be controlled, determined by the user's spiritual energy.

 Lingyun Technique: The pinnacle of the skill, enabling the user to truly ride the clouds and move freely through the sky.

The first stage, Sky Step Technique, could be practiced and used even at the Qi Refinement stage. However, the lower the cultivation level, the shorter the duration of hovering in the air. If one's cultivation was too low, they might find themselves stepping on nothing.

But with Lin Xiao's current cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, he could maintain each step for about a second.

Thrilled with this new spell, Lin Xiao felt an overwhelming urge to celebrate.

While the second and third stages were beyond his current capabilities, he was more than satisfied with the first stage. The Sky Step Technique meant that he would no longer have to worry about picking fruit from the top of trees—he could simply walk up and pluck them!

Eager to test his new ability, Lin Xiao immediately began practicing in the grand hall.

He lightly leaped into the air, and with a gentle step forward, it felt as though he had stepped onto an invisible staircase. The sensation of solid ground beneath his foot replaced the usual weightlessness of midair. This stability lasted for just about a second before the ground vanished, and he instinctively took another step.

Once he got the rhythm down, Lin Xiao began casually strolling through the air within the grand hall.

If someone were to walk in now, they would see a young man gleefully walking circles in the air—a surreal and bizarre sight.

Unfortunately, Jiang Youfu became the first "unlucky soul" to witness this scene.

"Ah—" Jiang Youfu, who had just arrived at the grand hall's wide-open door, was startled by what he saw inside. Although he had been a Qi Refinement stage cultivator for over ten days, he didn't feel much different from an ordinary person—apart from the fact that he could now clean his teeth with spiritual energy. So, encountering such an extraordinary sight completely unnerved him.

"S-Senior Brother Xiao…?"

Seeing Jiang Youfu's shocked expression, Lin Xiao quickly descended from the air and teased him, "Look at you, so easily frightened! As future cultivators, we'll encounter plenty of strange and wondrous things. You better prepare yourself, Youfu~"

Jiang Youfu only relaxed when he saw Lin Xiao standing firmly on the ground again. Blinking, he asked, "Senior Brother Xiao, is that…a spell?"

Lin Xiao nodded, "Of course! It's a new spell I created that lets you walk in the air! What do you think? Pretty cool, right? Want to learn it?"

Jiang Youfu's eyes lit up, and he eagerly nodded, "Yes, yes! Senior Brother Xiao, you're amazing—creating such an incredible spell!"

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, Lin Xiao scratched his nose. "But why did you come over here? Aren't you supposed to be cultivating in the training room?"

"Oh, right!" Jiang Youfu slapped his forehead, "Senior Brother, Liu's mother and sister have come up the mountain. It seems they need to talk to you. Liu asked me to come get you."

Remembering that the sect's defensive barrier would prevent them from entering, Lin Xiao nodded, "Alright, let's go meet them."

The two quickly made their way to the mountain path entrance.

In no time, they reached the base of the peach tree grove, where Liu's widow and her daughter, Liu Shengsheng, appeared to be blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to advance further. Liu Yunan stood beside them, speaking quietly.

Lin Xiao approached them and greeted, "Hello, Aunt Liu."

The widow smiled warmly and replied, "Hello, Xiao'er. I wanted to thank you for the money you and the others gave us earlier. Thanks to that, Sheng'er was able to get the treatment she needed. I've been busy lately, and I haven't had the chance to properly thank you."

In reality, it wasn't that she had been busy—rather, it was that Lin Xiao was always hard to find. During the day, he wasn't at home, and at night, she, as a widow, couldn't just visit his house.