Senior Brother, yes you're right! - Chapter 8: Using objects to shape objects? Turning stones into gold!

This guy is nuts.

Zhang Feixuan knew he couldn’t confront Song Yin head-on. He needed to keep this man calm for now and then find a way to leave the mountain for good and never come back.

Just as Zhang Feixuan made up his mind, a nearby disciple hesitantly spoke up, “S-senior brother, you mentioned a thorough cleaning, but we don’t have any tools. How can we manage?”

“No tools? Hmm…” Song Yin was momentarily taken aback. He looked and suddenly stretched out his hand as he curled his fingers to create a suction force.

The broken stones around the pit in the center of the square began to levitate and quickly flew towards Song Yin’s hand.

“Transform.”

With a single command, the hard blue stone fragments stretched and elongated like water before transforming into long strips of cloth.

The larger pieces of stone stretched even further and transformed into brooms and dustpans.

“Good, now that we have the tools, come up and take one. Let’s start cleaning. Everyone, put in some effort—we need to get this place spotless.”

Song Yin himself took a cloth in his left hand and a broom in his right, smiling as he prepared to start the work.

“Hmm? Why aren’t you moving?” he asked, noticing that no one was coming forward to take the tools. His brow furrowed in confusion.

The disciples in the square were all staring at the tools beside Song Yin with their mouths opened wide as if they had never seen anything like it before. Zhang Feixuan, in particular, looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

“S-Senior Brother, you, you…this…” Zhang Feixuan stammered as he pointed at the tools with a trembling finger. His pupils were filled with shock and disbelief.

Zhang Feixuan hurried over, bent down, and picked up a piece of cloth at Song Yin’s feet.

The texture felt real!

He yanked it hard, and with a ripping sound, the long cloth split in two. The material was real, too!

What on earth?!

Zhang Feixuan was overwhelmed with shock. He couldn’t understand it, couldn’t wrap his head around it!

This shouldn’t be happening.

He was at the fifth stage of Qi Refinement, “Using wisdom,” where one could begin to use spells.

While he had learned some spells from his master and picked up some odd ones during his trips down the mountain, none of them had ever been able to truly transform objects!

This wasn’t an illusion or a trick of the eye. These were real, tangible objects—made from stone, with the correct shape and feel. Everything about them was real!

“Senior Brother, what kind of spell is this?!” Zhang Feixuan asked with a trembling voice.

He suddenly remembered that when the armored sect disciple broke into the pill room earlier, this strange man—Song Yin—had been completely unclothed. Yet, he had instantly conjured up clothes for himself. And those, too, weren’t illusions; they were real clothes!

“Hmm? This is the ‘Art of Shaping Objects from Objects,'” Song Yin replied honestly.

“Art of Shaping Objects from Objects?”

Zhang Feixuan paused, this term sounded a little familiar. He felt like he had heard it somewhere before.

He glanced at the object in his hand and a flicker of greed flashed in his eyes. “If it’s the Art of Shaping Objects from Objects, then… can this stone be turned into gold?”

Song Yin waved his hand dismissively. “Why would you want to use such a wicked technique? It would only disrupt the world’s economy.”

“So… you really can do it? Senior Brother, could you teach me this spell?!” Zhang Feixuan asked anxiously.

Song Yin frowned slightly, looked at Zhang Feixuan, and said in a deep tone, “Junior Brother, though I’ve only just become Senior Brother, I must point out that as the second disciple, you should set a good example. How could you ask such a shallow question?” “Sh-shallow?” Zhang Feixuan was dumbfounded.

Turning stone into gold—how is that shallow?

If he had this spell, he would have never become an immortal, and he would have left this mountain to enjoy the world long ago!

Song Yin continued, “In the medicinal stones chapter of Golden Immortal Grand Pill Sutra, it clearly says: ‘Shape objects from objects, deplete one to supplement another.’ Haven’t you learned that?”

“Y-yeah, I studied it,” Zhang Feixuan replied, “but that part talks about identifying medicinal stones, extracting their properties, and exchanging one effect for another. How does that relate to transformation?”

The method was essentially about finding a medicinal herb, converting its toxicity into a beneficial property—or vice versa.

It was a complex and energy-consuming process that wasn’t worth the effort most of the time, and it seemed entirely unrelated to what Song Yin had just performed.

“Exactly,” Song Yin nodded. “It’s all about altering the essence. You eliminate the original essence and replace it with a new one. In simpler terms, it’s about essence substitution.”

He continued, “Once you grasp this concept, it becomes easier to transform one thing into another. One technique leads to understanding many others.”

“R-really? Is that how it’s supposed to be understood?” Zhang Feixuan was utterly confused. “Is this really how it’s meant to be interpreted?”

“Exactly,” Song Yin affirmed. “I figured that since it’s all about essence substitution, I could use my qi to transform it into clothing, so I did. The same principle applies when I turned the stones into cloth and tools. If I wanted to turn stones into gold, I could, but it would require a large amount of stone and more qi than I currently possess.”

Song Yin patted Zhang Feixuan’s shoulder and said earnestly, “You need to take Master’s teachings to heart. Even though my cultivation level isn’t as high as yours, I have the potential of a great immortal. Master also passed the Golden Immortal Grand Pill Sutra to me. So if you don’t understand something in the future, feel free to ask me.”

No, even if I asked, I couldn’t use it

The magic that master taught us is not what you said!

“Senior Brother, you’re truly an amazing person with extraordinary insight. We can only try to keep up,” Zhang Feixuan forced a smile and said dryly.

‘Not only is he powerful, but that strange white aura can suppress my magic—and now, he’s also gifted in cultivation? I need to get out of here!’

“Senior Brother, I’ll start cleaning now,” Zhang Feixuan picked up the broom and dustpan and was about to escape.

“Wait a moment,” Song Yin called after him. “I’m new here and not familiar with the other disciples. Why don’t you stay with me while we clean? I have a few questions I’d like to ask you, so I don’t embarrass by not knowing things.” He smiled warmly.

Zhang Feixuan’s body stiffened as he looked at Song Yin’s smiling face. He forced a smile and replied, “Ah, it would be an honor, Senior Brother.”

Under Song Yin’s watchful eye, the other disciples reluctantly came forward, picked up their tools, and began cleaning the square. Song Yin stood in the center, directing the cleanup with Zhang Feixuan at his side.

“You over there, is that how you sweep? Just barely brushing the ground—do you call that sweeping?”

Song Yin shouted.

“And you, why are you wiping a pillar like you haven’t eaten? You are an experienced Qi cultivator, with Qi stored in your body aren’t you? Your body circulates energy continuously, yet you act like you have no strength at all!”

“Finish sweeping the grounds, and then we’ll start repairing the buildings. Pick up the pace—we’re cultivators! Do you really think we can’t finish before the sun sets?!” Song Yin’s voice rang out across the square.

Meanwhile, Zhang Feixuan weakly clutched his broom and swept with his head down.

I can’t take this anymore.

He was the second disciple of the Golden Immortal Sect. He was used to being arrogant and domineering under the Sumeru mountain range. He treated mortals as nothing. He was not here to be a slave.

*I need to escape. I have to—*

“I can’t take it anymore!” A voice suddenly interrupted Zhang Feixuan’s thoughts.

It was one of the other disciples, who had thrown down his broom in frustration.

His eyes were bloodshot as he shouted, “I came here to learn the Dao, to cultivate human pills! Only mortals should be doing this kind of work—why should I, of all people, have to do it myself? Who do you think you are? You’re only lording over us because of your deep magical power, but I’d rather die than be humiliated like this!”

As he spoke, a ball of green air swelled around him, and he ran straight towards Song Yin.

Then he quickly bypassed Song Yin and ran towards the mountain gate. His speed was so fast that he almost left a green streak behind him as he nearly reached the mountain gate.

‘No way am I stupid enough to fight that monster—I’ll run first and figure it out later.’

Song Yin let out a cold snort and took a single step forward. A wave of white energy erupted from him and transformed into a white blur that streaked after the fleeing disciple.

In the blink of an eye, Song Yin appeared behind him, grabbed the back of the disciple’s collar, and effortlessly lifted him off the ground.

*Boom!*

The white energy surged and flooded over the disciple’s body. He screamed and wailed in agony, but the struggle was brief—soon, his resistance faded, and his body went limp, and his body hung on Song Yin’s hand like a ragdoll.

“Hmph, your resolve to seek the Dao is weak!”

Song Yin flung the man away, and he fell on the square like a rag.

“You can’t even endure a bit of menial work, yet you want to cultivate the Dao?! Master taught you the sect’s methods for nothing—you’re a disgrace!”

Song Yin cast a glance at the person, then stood at the mountain gate as he stared at the crowd before him. He shouted, “And the rest of you—don’t think I can’t see through your thoughts! If Master hadn’t already accepted you as a disciple and it was difficult to expel you, I’d have expelled you without a second thought!”

Let it go; let’s just leave!

Zhang Feixuan wailed in his heart.

“It’s just cleaning, and yet you’re this impatient. How is that acceptable?! I’m staying right here, watching every one of you. No slacking off! All of you, get to work!” Song Yin scowled, looking fierce.

Hearing this, the other disciples lowered their heads and concentrated on their work.

Compared to before, they were obviously working harder now.

“Senior Brother’s might is truly awe-inspiring; he could take a life with just a wave of his hand.”Zhang Feixuan walked up to him and forced a smile to flatter him.

“Hm? What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

Song Yin looked at Zhang Feixuan strangely, then glanced at the fellow disciples who were cleaning, and said, “Why would I harm my fellow disciples? He just got swept over by the aura of the Dao. He’ll be fine after resting for a while. But don’t tell anyone. The junior brothers are too weak-willed right now; they need a push. We’ll explain after the cleaning is done.”

“T-the aura of the Dao?”

Wasn’t that the thing that just obliterated the armored sect disciple earlier? Is he really going to be okay?

Zhang Feixuan swallowed nervously, but when he turned his head, he saw that the disciple occasionally twitched. He seemed to be alive, though clearly in a terrible state.

Suddenly, a sense of shared fate and pity surged in him.

In the past, he never cared about his fellow disciples—if they died, they died. But now…

Zhang Feixuan lowered his head and swept the dust on the ground vigorously.

No matter what, he had to clean it up first, and he must not disobey the will of this murderer!