However, Han Xuan didn't care about all that at that moment.
He said directly, "Then I'll trouble you to give me some pointers."
As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and a semi-transparent spiritual energy needle flashed by, piercing through a large tree more than ten meters away.
The air trembled faintly with the impact.
"..."
To be fair, Han Xuan's spiritual energy needles were already far stronger than the basic version of the spell Liang Xiao had once practiced.
Perhaps it was because the other party's cultivation level was higher, his control of true energy more refined, and his combat experience more seasoned.
Yet compared to Liang Xiao's modified version, Han Xuan's needles seemed... thin, fragile, lacking that condensed destructive intent that gave the younger man's spell its terrifying edge.
Liang Xiao thought for a moment, then asked with a calm smile,
"Minister Han, may I see you use it a few more times?"
"Of course."
Han Xuan immediately lifted his hand again. Several fine needles of condensed light flew out successively, whistling softly through the air.
Each one pierced a nearby boulder or tree with precision. The needles hit hard, but left only narrow, shallow holes—no explosions, no residual force.
These needles were powerful enough to kill an early-stage first-tier demonic beast, but a mid-tier first-tier one would easily shrug it off.
That was the natural limit of this low-level auxiliary spell.
Though it could scale slightly with cultivation, its growth was minimal compared to more complex techniques.
"Minister, your true energy... is it wind-attribute?" Liang Xiao asked curiously.
"That's right. I possess a mutated Wind Spirit Root."
Han Xuan nodded, then smiled faintly. "But cultivation on Earth no longer relies on spirit roots the same way as in the ancient immortal world.
Over the past two hundred years, we've developed a self-sufficient system, independent from those archaic rules."
He paused, then asked seriously, "Does the power of the spiritual needle have anything to do with this?"
"It has nothing to do with wind-type energy itself," Liang Xiao said thoughtfully, his brows slightly furrowing.
"However…"
He crouched down, brushed aside the dead leaves on the ground, and used a slender branch to draw a rough diagram of the human meridian system.
The lines of energy flow intersected and curved delicately in the dirt. The faint sunlight filtering through the canopy reflected off the twig, making the drawn channels appear to shimmer faintly.
"Minister, try channeling your energy through these three meridians instead."
He pointed to three specific pathways on the diagram.
"The technique remains the same, but change the route of your true energy. Guide it through these three points before forming and releasing the needle."
Han Xuan frowned. "Through these three meridians? That would completely alter my internal circulation route."
Adjusting the flow of true qi so casually was dangerous—even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. A single misstep could cause qi deviation, resulting in internal injury or spiritual collapse.
But after a few moments of thought, he nodded slowly.
This was a minor spell that consumed very little energy, and his foundation was solid enough to bear small experimental shifts.
Moreover, Liang Xiao himself had modified this technique—his understanding of it was clearly profound.
So, Han Xuan decided to trust him.
He closed his eyes, adjusted the flow of his true energy according to the diagram, and then flicked his finger again.
"Bang!"
A muffled roar resounded. Dozens of meters away, a large tree exploded into splinters, fragments scattering across the forest floor like a burst of shrapnel.
Han Xuan froze on the spot, eyes wide.
"This... this can't be right," he muttered, staring at his own hand.
"The energy consumption increased by maybe threefold, but the power—it's increased more than ten times! It even carries an explosive backlash!
Why? Why is this happening?!"
He could hardly believe it.
Just changing the meridian route caused such a drastic transformation?
Liang Xiao smiled faintly, his tone calm yet confident.
"Because these three meridians, in my understanding, correspond to Yin, Yang, and Wind."
"Yin, Yang, and Wind?" Han Xuan echoed, clearly startled.
Liang Xiao nodded. "Minister, you understand that almost all spells rely on attribute conversion, correct?"
"Of course." Han Xuan nodded immediately. "Without conversion, a cultivator would be bound to their own elemental affinity. A water spirit root could only use water spells, for instance."
"Exactly," Liang Xiao continued, "but in my view, these three meridians themselves are the conduits that govern certain elemental forces.
"When you circulate true energy through them, your energy naturally acquires the properties of Yin, Yang, and Wind simultaneously.
"The spiritual energy needle, being condensed from that mixture, inherits all three attributes at once. When it hits the target, the fusion of those opposing and complementary forces causes a violent resonance explosion—hence the enormous boost in destructive power."
Han Xuan stared blankly for several seconds, processing the words, then suddenly gasped.
He gave Liang Xiao a thumbs up, eyes shining.
"As expected of someone admitted to the Great Luo Academy—your comprehension truly commands admiration!"
"You flatter me, Minister," Liang Xiao replied modestly.
Han Xuan shook his head. "No, not at all. Tell me—if I were to use these three meridians for other spells, could they also gain similar multi-attribute effects?"
"I'm not sure," Liang Xiao admitted honestly.
"I only know a handful of spells, and most are basic. But you could experiment.
"However, I suspect it won't work as well. The Spirit Needle is a simple spell—it channels energy through few meridians, so its structure is flexible.
More complex spells involve many meridians and core circuits.
In those, these three won't act as main channels—they'd barely influence the spell's overall nature."
Han Xuan suddenly froze. His gaze went distant.
"Main meridians... so the energy pathways used in a spell can be divided into primary and secondary channels?"
He whispered, his mind racing. "I see... I see it now!"
A wave of realization swept through him, powerful enough to make his body tremble slightly.
It felt as though a thick fog that had clouded his understanding for decades suddenly lifted.
All the cultivation puzzles that had plagued him for years—bottlenecks, failed breakthroughs, unbalanced energy—now seemed so simple.
If I analyze this thoroughly and restructure a few of my techniques... my strength could increase by fifty percent immediately!
Fifty percent!
That would raise him from an ordinary cultivator to a minor genius among his peers.
Even if he couldn't yet battle across realms, he could definitely crush most Foundation Establishment cultivators of equal rank.
For the first time in decades, excitement flooded his chest.
For a brief moment, he even had the wild urge to kneel and call Liang Xiao "master."
After all, the youth had solved, in a few sentences, what he couldn't grasp for half his life.
But his pride stopped him.
He was a senior—an official at the peak of Foundation Establishment and the Minister of Law Enforcement in Changlin City. It was already humbling enough to seek guidance from a mid-stage Qi Refining junior.
If he truly became that young man's disciple, it would become the greatest joke of the cultivation world.
Still... deep down, a spark of reverence had already been planted.
"Well then, let's continue our journey."
Suppressing his excitement, Han Xuan spoke calmly, though a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"You don't need to act anymore—I'll handle the monsters myself."
He could hardly wait to test his new and improved spirit needle.
"Alright," Liang Xiao said lightly, not realizing how thrilled the minister beside him truly was.
They continued forward.
Before long, a demonic beast appeared in the distance, lurking among the undergrowth.
Before the creature could even roar, Han Xuan flicked his finger.
"Bang!"
The monster's head instantly exploded.
Han Xuan clenched his fist, eyes gleaming with joy.
That beast had been a late-stage first-tier demonic creature, and he hadn't even released his Foundation aura.
He had used only a trace of true energy, yet it died instantly.
This new Spirit Needle's strength... it's equivalent to a Qi Refining cultivator at the peak of their level. And the energy cost is negligible!
He could cast it endlessly without pause.
It was simply incredible.
Of course, he still knew there was a wide gap between himself and Liang Xiao.
The young man could fight across realms, killing monsters stronger than himself with ease.
Even mid-stage first-tier demonic beasts fell like grass before him.
But Han Xuan didn't feel envy—only deep admiration.
After all, this improvement of his was a gift from Liang Xiao's insight.
Liang Xiao, for his part, noticed Han Xuan's growing enthusiasm but tactfully pretended not to see it, allowing the minister to enjoy his newfound exhilaration.
From then on, whenever a demonic beast appeared, Han Xuan would snap his fingers and unleash his Spirit Needle like lightning.
Each time, the attack struck faster, cleaner, sharper.
Even beasts lurking in ambush or retreating into the brush were killed on the spot.
It was as if Han Xuan had rediscovered the joy of cultivation—testing, adjusting, refining, all with a childlike eagerness.
And each time, he carefully removed the valuable materials from the beasts' corpses and handed them to Liang Xiao, saying humbly,
"Take these. It's the least I can do in return for your guidance."
With Han Xuan now clearing the way, their pace increased dramatically.
By the time night fell completely, the two had already traveled more than 300 kilometers from Changlin City.
The moon hung high in the sky, its pale light spilling across the vast wilderness.
The forest around them rustled softly with the night breeze, and faint spiritual energy flowed like mist through the air.
They walked side by side, one calm and thoughtful, the other quietly exhilarated.
In that silence, a subtle shift had occurred—the barrier of hierarchy had melted away.
That night, respect replaced rank.
From this moment on...
Minister Han was truly convinced.