Chapter 78: Discovering Insufficiencies

They had always thought these people were assassins from Lingxiao Pavilion, and now they looked at each other in bewilderment.

After a long pause, Lu An spoke up, "It seems the Fang family has discovered our whereabouts and knows that the 108 Talisman True Methods are in my possession."

Ying Chang and his wife also looked grim, as this meant they would immediately face pressure from the Fang family.

Their previous plan was to delay as much as possible and build up their strength.

Now, after several years of calm, they had finally been discovered.

"The Fang family won't let us off. This time they sent three Foundation Building cultivators, and if they come again, it might be Core Formation ancestors."

Fang Ling muttered, looking somewhat panicked.

Lu An remained silent and looked at Gu Chuanfei.

When the Three Talismans Sect was established, Gu Chuanfei had promised to advance and retreat together with him. He wondered if that still held.

Gu Chuanfei, being decisive, pondered for a moment and said, "Don't worry, my friend. These three were high-level members of the Fang family, and they were not weak."

"Since they are now dead at my hands, it won't be easy to shift the blame. Moreover, I intend to keep my promise. With Old Mo's help, we can fight them."

Lu An was heartened by his words. With the county guard's support, their strength could indeed challenge the Fang family. Although they were still at a disadvantage, the Fang family had lost three Foundation Building cultivators, which was a significant loss.

As long as they continued to slowly chip away at their strength, it wasn't entirely without hope.

With the mood for drinks gone, everyone returned to Lingfu Residence to cultivate anxiously.

Since the slain were from the Fang family, Gu Chuanfei did not leave and stayed to guard against an attack from Lingxiao Pavilion.

Facing the pressure from the Fang family, Lu An immersed himself in frantic cultivation.

Days went by, and his Soul Refining Method became more profound.

Not only had his spiritual soul issues ceased, but his physical body and true energy also received substantial improvement.

If it weren't for Old Beggar's instructions not to break through Foundation Building, he would have wanted to immediately enter seclusion and break through the bottleneck.

One day, in the backyard of Lingfu Residence, the sounds of fighting continued for a full half-hour.

Lu An and Ying Chang were constantly clashing, their various attributes of spells continuously colliding in the air. As the battle continued, beads of sweat began to form on Ying Chang's forehead. Lu An's physical strength was putting immense pressure on him, much stronger than during their fight a few months ago.

Naturally, Ying Chang's spiritual soul was not a problem; it had always been his strong suit. By now, Ying Chang had fully unleashed his cultivation. Although his Foundation Building physical body could suppress Lu An to some extent, it was not enough to win.

Lu An's true energy was also far superior to before, making it impossible for Ying Chang to handle him carelessly.

"Brother Ying, you won't be able to defeat me like this. It would be better to use some trump cards," Lu An said.

Ying Chang, with a solemn expression, responded loudly, "Alright, be careful, Brother Lu."

With that, a round flying disc suddenly shot out from his side, with sharp blades on either side, speeding towards Lu An. This treasure was one of the few he was most confident in, after many years of refining. Although it was only a second-grade inferior item, its power was exceptionally strong, especially with its ability to create clones, making it difficult to defend against.

Seeing this, Lu An summoned the Soul Devouring Sword and prepared to counter. The disc suddenly flashed with light, creating nine figures that attacked from different directions.

Lu An's expression grew serious as he fully released his spiritual awareness to tightly lock onto the nine discs. However, the discs moved too quickly and in different directions; he could only block half of them. The others grazed his body, leaving streaks of blood.

Lu An grimaced in pain but didn't hesitate. He shouted, "Come again!"

Ying Chang, seeing he had injured Lu An, intended to hold back but continued because of Lu An's challenge.

This time, Lu An clearly had a way to counter. He raised his sword with one hand and waved it through the air continuously, creating numerous talismans. To his surprise, these talismans, though different, worked together effectively. The Earth Escape Talisman blocked the first wave of the strongest attack, while the Immobilization and Slow Talismans weakened the subsequent impact of the disc.

As the attacks dwindled, Lu An used several offensive talismans to counter. Although it seemed slow, in reality, it all happened in an instant, successfully countering Ying Chang's attacks.

Ying Chang was stunned. This was his treasured artifact refined over many years; how could it be neutralized by a Qi Refining stage cultivator? He had always believed that during their sparring, it seemed evenly matched because he hadn't used his trump cards. Now that he had used them, he was still blocked by Lu An, leading to self-doubt.

What surprised him further was that after Lu An neutralized his strongest attack, he swayed slightly and almost fell. Ying Chang hurriedly went to support him, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"

Lu An shook his head, looking somewhat weak. "It's nothing. I used up a lot of energy just now, and I'm a bit dizzy."

He had drawn dozens of talismans in an instant, consuming a great deal of true energy and spiritual soul, leaving him somewhat weakened.

"It seems that to fight across realms, my current strength still falls short," Lu An said.

Ying Chang smiled wryly. He was a Foundation Building cultivator, while Lu An was only at the ninth layer of Qi Refining. The difference between their realms was not a simple level; it was a significant gap.

For Lu An to achieve this level was already exceptional. A typical ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator would be easily defeated within a few rounds by Ying Chang. As one's cultivation increased, this gap would only grow larger. The difference between Core Formation and Foundation Building, as seen when Gu Chuanfei defeated the Fang family cultivators, was unimaginable.

As cultivation progressed, even small realm differences were not easily surmountable.

As they pondered, applause suddenly sounded.

Lu An turned to see Gu Chuanfei, who had arrived in the backyard at some point.

"Little friend Lu, to withstand the attacks of a Foundation Building early stage cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining is truly impressive," Gu Chuanfei said.

Lu An shook his head, about to say something, but Gu Chuanfei continued, "However…"

"Your use of Daoist methods is somewhat rough, wasting a lot of true energy. Otherwise, you wouldn't have run out of true energy in the end."

Lu An pondered. The insights of a Core Formation cultivator were naturally much higher. Since Gu Chuanfei pointed out the issue, it was undoubtedly valid.

"Uncle Gu, do you know how to improve control over Daoist methods?"

Gu Chuanfei stroked his beard and said softly, "I cannot guide you in your void drawing talismans."

"But I can give some advice on other Daoist methods."

"Your current body is like a huge treasure. Whether it is your physical body, spiritual soul, or true energy, they are all exceptional."

"But if you cannot utilize them, they remain useless."

Lu An bowed his head in thought. His primary cultivation method was the Yimu Shenghun Jue, which only recorded how to use the soul aspect but did not mention the physical body and true energy.

The Changchun Gong had some basic usage methods but was ultimately too low-level.

"Does Uncle Gu have any methods?" Lu An asked.

Gu Chuanfei shook his head helplessly and said, "It's easier said than done. If you could receive the insights of a senior on Daoist methods and the physical body, your problem could be solved immediately."

"Otherwise, you can only slowly comprehend it yourself. Switching to a body refining or attack-oriented cultivation method might help."