The Stone Turtle's abdomen is dark red, its back pale green, with deep black markings of Eight Trigrams, orderly and symmetrical, just like a precisely measured delineation.
What is even more peculiar is that the entire stone is covered with fine cracks, resembling the texture seen in Jun porcelain.
Ji An recalled when he first picked up this remarkable stone, he thought it might be a piece of fired porcelain.
At that time, it was late autumn, the stone quietly lay in the mountain stream, and although the water was cold, the Stone Turtle felt warm and smooth to the touch.
Suddenly, Ji An sensed that the Stone Turtle in his consciousness manifested at the center of his brow, then moved along the newly opened Immortal Vein to the Qi Sea Acupoint, creating a very wondrous experience.
As long as he calmed his mind to perceive, he could still sense the presence of the Stone Turtle, and those lines of text simultaneously surfaced in his mind.
Exhaling a breath, Ji An relaxed, genuinely worried that the Golden Finger might lose its effect if it changed position.
For this Stone Turtle that brought him to the otherworld, Ji An didn't care whether there was any conspiracy behind it, for he lacked the qualifications.
What he needed to do now was utilize this rare treasure to improve himself.
Only by becoming stronger himself could he cope with challenges on all fronts.
Feeling very pleased, Ji An began to study the Stone Turtle's functions.
After a while, he shook his head with a wry smile.
The Golden Finger was still a product lacking in credentials, and after studying for half a day, he only got some hints.
Dao Rhyme and Spiritual Mechanism are names of special energy, which can be used to quickly comprehend magic techniques.
At this moment, he had no magic techniques at his disposal, clearly the Meridian Walking Technique did not count as a magic technique in the Golden Finger's evaluative system.
All he could do was wait for the future, when he possessed Spiritual Mechanism and magic techniques, to try out this Golden Finger's true value.
Ji An slowly closed his eyes, the naturally occurring Eight Trigrams pattern on the turtle's back appeared before his eyes, and he began to recall its meaning and symbolism.
In the study of "Yi," the Acquired Trigrams speak of cycles, like the flow of water, indicating the dependence and mutual roots of Yin and Yang, and the parent-child generation of the Five Elements.
The Eight Trigrams, Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui, each represent sky, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, and marsh respectively.
But he was merely a keyboard Daoist scholar, who couldn't fully understand the "Dao De Jing," much less delve deeply into the Acquired Trigrams.
At this moment, he deeply realized that it's a regret not having enough books when you need them, but it was largely meaningless now, so he had to rack his brains to recall what little he knew...
As the sky slowly brightened, the morning sun rose from the east, its golden rays piercing through the thin mist to illuminate the peak of Little Cang Mountain.
The sunlight gradually moved down the mountainside, swiftly dispersing the mist and shining upon Ji An's tightly closed eyes.
He took a half step back and slowly opened his eyes.
After the new rain on the empty mountain, the mountain breeze gently blew, bringing the fresh fragrance of grass and trees amidst the rustling sounds.
The raindrops remaining on the leaf tips resembled pearls, refracting a seven-colored halo under the sunlight, sparkling and reflecting into his bright eyes.
...
The next day, as the sun just peeked out, the open space in front of the Daoist School's main hall was already packed with people.
Today was the day the Upper Envoy came for the sect examination, and everyone eligible for the test was present.
Ji An stood alone in a corner with a simple satchel, quietly listening to the cultivators giving their earnest advice to their clansmen who came to witness the event.
If unfortunately not selected, he would surely be invited by Zhang Yuanshan's families to discuss about debts.
If lucky enough to become a sect cultivator, he would follow the Upper Envoy back to the sect, giving him more leeway.
But regardless, he had to leave the Daoist School.
Feeling uneasy, Ji An's palm slightly dampened.
Sect examination, first assessing aptitude, second assessing Dao Heart, although possessing a Golden Finger, it offered no actual help in passing the sect examination.
Not knowing how long until the sect envoy arrived, Ji An simply closed his eyes to rest.
He sensed the Stone Turtle, and lines of text appeared in his mind.
[Master: Ji An]
[Dao Rhyme: 0]
[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 0.2, Kun Spirit 0.2, Xun Spirit 0.1]
[Magic Techniques: None]
This morning upon waking up, he routinely checked the Stone Turtle's status and found the data had changed, to his great joy.
This indicated that the Stone Turtle was able to autonomously absorb energy, allowing him to completely let go of his concerns.
Originally, he was worried about needing to consume Spiritual Objects to increase Spiritual Mechanism and Dao Rhyme, for he only had five Spirit Crystals left, lacking funds to purchase Spiritual Objects.
Ji An began to recall the meanings of the various attributes in the Eight Trigrams, Kan corresponding to water, Kun to earth, Xun to wood, each representing the respective Five Elements Attribute?
This indicated that Spiritual Mechanism is omnipresent, thus, in the sect's area, Spiritual Mechanism should be even richer.
The foundation of cultivation is to absorb nature's spiritual energy, which is everywhere, but varies in density.
Sects and cultivation clans' residences, as well as Immortal Cities and marketplaces, are all established upon Spiritual Veins, where spiritual energy is abundant.
These forces establish Mountain Protection Arrays to constrain spiritual energy, halting its flow with nature, causing other areas to gradually deplete in spiritual energy.
Just as he was pondering this, a commotion arose among the crowd.
"Here it comes, the Flying Ship from the Golden Spirit Sect is coming!"
Ji An opened his eyes, looking across the distance to see a black Flying Ship speeding toward them.
He scanned around, observing several Mountain Masters of the Daoist School emerging from the main hall, tidying their robes as they stood at the entrance.
Soon, like a yacht flying through the air, the hundred-meter long black Flying Ship hovered above the main hall, casting the world into a temporary darkness.
Two men and one woman, three cultivators, tread down from the void, their garments fluttering in the breeze.
Ji An unconsciously swallowed, realizing that cultivating to the Ninth-Layer Perfection allowed one to build the foundation of the Grand Dao.