541: Chapter 391 541: Chapter 391 “What is this book?” Green Ox asked, not knowing, for it lacked inheritance and had too much knowledge to catch up on.
“There are words on it, are you blind?” Eryao glanced at Green Ox, and although they had made up, bullying Green Ox was a habit that Eryao couldn’t shake off.
“Eryao, those words recognize me, I don’t recognize them!”
Feeling aggrieved by the scolding, Green Ox thought back to when it was just an ox and no one had taught it to write.
Now that it had transformed, there was still no teacher to teach it how to write.
Eryao snorted and said, “That’s because you’re dense.
I didn’t need anyone to teach me, and I can recognize words!”
Green Ox whispered with its head down, “You’re a Divine Beast with an inheritance, that’s easy for you to say standing up without a backache.
If you were like me, you wouldn’t be better off!”
“What?
Speak up, I dare you!
Making excuses for your own stupidity?
Can’t recognize words, can’t learn?
Looking like a human but without culture, that’s scary!”
Eryao felt challenged again and wanted to hit Green Ox, verbally berating it without restraint.
Jiang Tang quickly intervened to stop Eryao and spoke to Green Ox, “This is a Secret Manual.
Whether it’s about Formation Art or not, I’ll find out and then tell you both!”
He then added earnestly, “Green Ox, Eryao is not wrong.
You’ve taken human form now; you can’t go on not recognizing words.
Knowing how to read will make things more convenient for cultivation or handling situations!”
Of course, Jiang Tang thought, it would be convenient to entrust many tasks to these two pets, such as managing subordinates.
They could serve as his right and left hands, especially now that teaching the law had consumed much of his time.
Cultivators didn’t sleep, but each one had the desire to progress.
He acknowledged his own deficiencies, having many skills yet to learn.
Without knowing himself, how could he teach others or lead his subordinates to improve the Saint Sect?
“Yes, yes, Master, you must teach me!
Master, I understand now, I will study hard!”
Green Ox, which had been rather insolent towards Eryao just moments before, became surprisingly docile in front of Jiang Tang.
This was also a kind of dependence, showing utmost obedience to Jiang Tang’s leadership.
Jiang Tang nodded without replying to Green Ox, eager to understand the contents of the book.
As for his pets learning to read, as long as a cow had spent so much time in space, even if it couldn’t learn complex writing, it should be able to learn some basics.
Jiang Tang’s assumption was mistaken, as he later acknowledged that a cow in space, without a patient teacher, indeed faced difficulties in learning to write.
Latter, Jiang Tang thought of a method: he recorded some text onto a Jade Slip, and Green Ox, by copying it into its mind, made progress.
But learning to read was not an overnight task.
Jiang Tang’s body was born in a simple village.
After his family and fellow villagers had passed away, he sought to survive by finding a livelihood.
It was only after encountering the Mixed Spirit Machine that he joined the Immortal Sect.
He was not literate himself.
Later, when the soul of a college student, who may not have been proficient in ancient characters and relied a lot on guessing, crossed over into him, it changed.
But after joining the Immortal Sect and studying hard for three years, he learned some everyday characters.
Furthermore, in the Cultivation World, many people use Jade Slips which, once copied to the mind, automatically taught how to read the characters.
Finding a spot on the ground, he sat cross-legged, opened the book, and placed it against his forehead, allowing the entire book to be recorded in his mind.
Jiang Tang contemplated the content in his mind.
He didn’t understand Formations, so he slowly interpreted and researched the text, concluding that it was a Formation Book detailing everything from basic to advanced techniques.
For someone like him who lacked basic knowledge, he could start from the fundamentals, just as he had done with Alchemy, gradually researching more advanced techniques as he progressed.
Having never encountered Formation methods before, he could only understand by studying each word and phrase from the basics.
This was an entirely self-taught journey without a teacher guiding hand in hand.
It took greater effort and might lead to detours.
It was like doing business.
Others succeed, you try, but without experience, you have to pay tuition.
The cost of this ‘tuition’ could be very high.
Now, with this book in hand, Jiang Tang did not dare to be careless.
After examining the explanations in the Formation Book, he realized he could create his own Formations and decipher others’.
However, with many mysteries in Formations, a lack of understanding could be a pitfall.
Jiang Tang did not consider himself to be very gifted.
He approached everything he learned with diligence and caution, aware that apart from resources, each task required meticulous attention.
With such great resources bestowed by the heavens, he of course wanted to make the most of them, striving to comprehend the content of the book, progress from foundational to proficient levels, then move on to advanced material, and finally to innovation!
He saw that his current knowledge only covered basic formations that Array Masters in the Cultivation World commonly used, such as defensive ones for against enemies, Sect gates, bedrooms, and Spirit Gathering Arrays.
There were innumerable varieties of formations used inside Magic Artifacts, even at the basic level.
Even the entrance was difficult, worthy of a Secret Manual from space.
Jiang Tang spent a full three days studying in the space, with his two pets not disturbing him.
Since his Avatars were in sync with his mind, whatever he learned, they would learn as well.
He could have delegated the task of studying to his Avatars, but he chose not to do so entirely.
The two Avatars were already busy with Alchemy in the space, working day and night without rest.
He felt that some things, including intellectual pursuits, should be self-taught as this knowledge was his own wealth.
Regarding Cultivation, he could not afford to rely on others.