He hadn't expected the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman to be so powerful, directly pushing him to the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation.
Although his previous accumulation played a significant role, without the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman, he would have needed more time.
Perhaps due to it being his first use, the absorption speed of spiritual energy significantly slowed down afterward, but it was still much stronger than usual.
Lu An calmed down and suppressed his shock.
If a Minor Gathering Qi Talisman had such an effect, how terrifying would the speed be if he could draw a second-level Gathering Qi Talisman?
But he shook his head. With his current strength, he still could not fully digest the spiritual energy provided by the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman, let alone a Gathering Qi Talisman.
He clenched his fist, his eyes showing excitement.
Although it was only a small breakthrough, his physical strength had increased by more than 30%. His spiritual sense had also greatly improved, now extending to a distance of five zhang.
Though the distance wasn't far, most cultivators at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation couldn't even project their spiritual sense.
Lu An went to the secret room where Ying Chang and his wife were. He sent a sound transmission talisman.
Soon, Ying Chang came out.
He was about to greet Lu An when he suddenly widened his eyes in shock and said, "Brother Lu, you've broken through?"
Lu An smiled and nodded, saying, "I've just made the breakthrough. Brother Ying, I would like you to guide me in combat skills."
Ying Chang readily agreed, though his astonishment remained undiminished. He still vividly recalled the scene of Lu An's breakthrough at the stall. At that time, he and Fang Ling had speculated that Lu An had a breakthrough secret technique. Seeing him advance to the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation in such a short period only confirmed his suspicion further.
However, given the extreme rarity of such secret techniques, he felt uncomfortable asking directly. Instead, he reminded Lu An, "Brother Lu, methods for breaking through are hard to come by. Please be careful not to reveal this to others."
Lu An understood his misunderstanding, shook his head with a smile, and didn't explain further.
The two moved to the courtyard, where Ying Chang asked, "Brother Lu, have you ever fought with someone?"
"Not yet."
Ying Chang pondered for a moment and said, "I will suppress my cultivation to the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation. You should attack me with all your strength."
With that, he performed a hand gesture to cast a barrier, isolating the surrounding buildings to prevent damage.
Lu An nodded and prepared to attack. He raised a hand, and a Fireball Talisman rapidly gathered energy in his palm.
Before he could throw it, Ying Chang advanced instead of retreating, closing the distance to him within a few steps. Lu An was startled and took a step back, but Ying Chang was like a leech, not giving him any room.
In a panic, Lu An's fireball wavered and dissipated, while Ying Chang's fingers had already landed on his throat.
In an instant, the match was decided.
"Brother Lu, your combat experience is indeed lacking. When we are this close, how can you gather a fireball to attack?"
"Even if you want to use the Fireball Talisman, you need to first create a diversion to catch your opponent off guard."
Ying Chang's figure then shifted rapidly, leaving behind numerous afterimages. Suddenly, a large hand reached out, grasping for Lu An's throat.
Lu An raised his hand to block, but Ying Chang only feinted, pressing down with one hand to pin his arm, while the other hand reached for his face.
Lu An's face turned pale with fear as he saw a huge fireball had somehow gathered in Ying Chang's hand. His attention had been on his arm, so he hadn't noticed when the fireball had formed.
The fireball grew larger in his vision. He tried to dodge but was unable to free his arm, as if it were welded in place.
Just as he felt the heat scorching his body, the fireball suddenly halted and slowly dissipated.
"Whew—"
Lu An exhaled deeply. If it had been a life-and-death battle, he might have already been dead.
His combat experience was too poor. Despite being at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation like Ying Chang, he hadn't even had a chance to fight back.
But he wasn't discouraged. Instead, he lowered his head and pondered, summarizing the lessons from the recent fight.
Seeing Lu An's silence, Ying Chang thought he might have been too harsh and dampened his confidence.
"Brother Lu, my first battle was similar. You'll improve a lot after a few tries."
"Besides, your strength lies in talismans. If you defeated me, it would mean my years of fighting demon beasts were in vain."
"How about this? In the upcoming battles, you can use talismans. Let's see how it goes."
Lu An nodded. He had learned a lot from the recent fight. With the aid of talismans, he might be able to hold his own.
After reflecting on his previous mistakes, he took his stance and said, "Brother Ying, be careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a talisman and slammed it onto the ground.
Ying Chang, relying on his experience, didn't give Lu An much time to prepare and charged directly at him.
Lu An smiled slightly and shouted, "First-Level Withered Vine Talisman, hold!"
A thick vine suddenly sprouted from the ground and coiled around Ying Chang's legs. His movement stalled, and his balance was off, but he managed to stop himself from falling.
"Interesting."
A flame rose in Ying Chang's hand, burning the vine to ashes in an instant.
Lu An, unfazed, used the opportunity to throw another talisman.
"First-Level Ice Prison Talisman, seal!"
Steam rose from beside Ying Chang, and a massive ice prison appeared, enveloping him inside.
He struggled but couldn't break free.
Without giving him time to react, Lu An continued to attack.
"Water Control Talisman."
A column of water rose inside the ice prison, slowly filling it up. Ying Chang hurriedly held his breath, feeling the water was bone-chillingly cold, as if it was freezing his true energy.
"Lightning Strike Talisman."
A bolt of lightning shot from Lu An's palm and struck the ice prison. Instead of shattering, the lightning showcased the conductive property of the water within.
Ying Chang felt a tingling sensation all over his body, unable to muster any true energy.
He was shocked—was this the true strength of Lu An?
It was like night and day compared to just moments ago.
As he hesitated whether to continue suppressing his cultivation, Lu An roared:
"Ice Explosion Talisman!"
The flowing water inside the ice prison instantly froze, followed by a massive burst of energy.
Ying Chang's scalp tingled. At the center of the ice prison, facing an explosion at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation, he would probably be severely injured if not killed.
He ceased suppressing his cultivation and unleashed his Foundation Establishment true energy, shooting towards the ice prison.
The ice prison couldn't withstand the force and cracked open a large gap.
Ying Chang didn't hesitate further and transformed into a streak of light to escape.
Before he had gone far, a loud explosion sounded behind him as the ice prison shattered into powder. Even the barrier he had set up cracked, and a large pit appeared on the ground.
Ying Chang silently rejoiced. If he hadn't escaped in time, although his Foundation Establishment strength would prevent serious injury, he would have been in a dire situation.
Lu An stopped his attack and said calmly, "Brother Ying's strength far surpasses mine. I am no match for you."
Ying Chang, hearing this, looked embarrassed. He had broken the rules by using Foundation Establishment strength, though Lu An was unaware of this.
However, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he felt embarrassed to admit that he was so outmatched by a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator and did not offer any explanation.
"Brother Lu, your skills in talismans are truly impressive; I admire them greatly," Ying Chang said. "However, for the upcoming sparring, let's refrain from using talismans."
Lu An was puzzled and asked, "Why? I still have a few talismans I didn't use just now. If we tried again, it might be even better."
Ying Chang hurriedly waved his hand and said with a pretense of profundity, "Cultivators should rely on their own skills. Brother Lu's use of talismans is already quite proficient; there's no need to practice further."
"Next, I will focus on training you in the application of your own spells."
Ying Chang was genuinely astonished by Lu An's continuous display of talismans. With his suppressed cultivation level, he found it impossible to deal with Lu An's endless talismans. Thus, he found an excuse to avoid further sparring.
Lu An accepted this reasoning and nodded. "Alright, then I'll trouble Brother Ying with this."