allendalepharm Chapter 8 The Secret of Cultivation Techniques
Chapter 8 The Secret of Cultivation Techniques
Two months have passed since that horrific accident. During this time, the topics circulating in the streets and markets of Wutan City, besides the big project the Xiao family had undertaken two months ago and Xiao Yan's return to his talent, are the Xiao family head's breakthrough to Dou Ling after years of accumulation, and he even broke through to a three-star Dou Ling.
On the back hill, a nimble shadow leaped among the trees.
"Eight Extremes Collapse!"
A clear shout rang out, and the shadow suddenly stopped in front of a large tree that was at least a meter thick. With a forceful push from his legs and a tilt of his body, he delivered a powerful elbow strike to the tree trunk.
With a muffled "bang!", wood chips flew everywhere, and spiderweb-like cracks spread along the point of the elbow strike. The large tree, snapped in two by an elbow, fell towards the figure.
"Aura control technique!"
The figure changed from an elbow to a palm, unleashing a burst of energy from the palm. The impact of this energy caused the tree to deviate from its trajectory, narrowly missing the figure as it fell.
"Haha!" Looking at his achievement, Xiao Yan laughed heartily, hands on his hips. This was the first time in two months that he had successfully completed the required stacking of internal energy for the "Eight Extremes Collapse" technique. Although it was only two layers of internal energy.
"Phew—I've finally recovered to a one-star Dou Zhe. It seems I'll be able to catch up with Yu Hao soon." Xiao Yan was somewhat smug.
"Hmm, you've made good progress lately. However, your 'Qi Control Technique' is not good enough. Yuhao said that you need to use your mental or soul power in conjunction with your battle qi to manipulate the surrounding air and even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, not just let you play around with your own battle qi!" A breeze blew by, and Yao Chen's figure appeared, much more solid than two months ago.
"Oh dear, I don't have time right now. We can practice later. Alright, we should go find Yuhao too. We agreed to go out and train together after we broke through to the Dou Zhe level."
……
The Xiao family's residence, Huo Yuhao's courtyard.
Ever since he teamed up with Yao Chen to trick Xiao Yan two months ago, Huo Yuhao has been avoiding Xiao Yan lately.
Two months after successfully crafting his first spiritual artifact, Huo Yuhao experimented with other types, including weapons and protective gear. Every morning after finishing his cultivation, he would begin forging iron, applying spiritual liquid, and drawing spiritual runes, working non-stop.
Thanks to his improvements a few days ago, the refining process no longer requires the spirit liquid to be used immediately after it's been prepared; the spirit liquid can be prepared in advance. As a result, Huo Yuhao's success rate has increased, and he has already refined quite a few first-grade spirit weapons, giving almost one to each member of the Xiao family.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao was holding a scroll, studying the spirit runes he had mastered.
"It seems that to reach the standard of a second-grade spiritual weapon, the efficiency of the core Qi gathering spiritual pattern still needs to be improved," Huo Yuhao muttered to himself.
Then, he picked up a paintbrush, drew a few strokes on the blank scroll, stopped, and rubbed his temples.
"None of the core magic arrays on Douluo Continent can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The only thing we can refer to for our own creations is this Qi-gathering spirit pattern, but there's too little information!"
After pondering for a long time and using up several blank scrolls, Huo Yuhao still had no result.
"How long will it take to try each one one by one like this!"
Putting down his pen, Huo Yuhao felt a pang of hunger and got up to go to the kitchen to cook.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao froze on the spot. A flash of inspiration struck him.
"By the way, Teacher Rong Nianbing taught me... most magic circles involve manipulating the energy of heaven and earth, and the necromancy my master taught me also includes magic circles that can..."
Without even having time to eat, Huo Yuhao immediately took out new paintbrushes and a blank scroll and began to sketch.
Boom! A flash of fire, and Huo Yuhao, his face covered in charcoal, opened the doors and windows, sweeping out the ashes from the scroll and the table.
"Cough, cough! I forgot not to infuse my mental energy into the drawing. Luckily, it was just an ignition spell. But I didn't expect magic could be used in this Dou Qi Continent!"
After taking out a new table, learning from his mistakes, and redrawing the spirit runes and magic circles, Huo Yuhao stood in front of the table, holding a blank scroll in his hand, staring at the reference materials, muttering to himself, "This loop can be added to... and this can be replaced..."
After a long while, Huo Yuhao drew and revised on the blank scroll, and finally finalized it, drawing a more complex and beautiful spirit rune than before.
"Alright, now we should be able to forge a second-grade spiritual weapon."
Walking to the forging furnace, the entire process of heating, purifying, gathering, shaping, and outlining begins.
A flash of inspiration appeared, and the primordial energy of heaven and earth rapidly converged.
"Success! A second-grade spiritual weapon!" Huo Yuhao smiled.
"Yuhao—" A figure flashed by, and Xiao Yan stood in front of Huo Yuhao's table.
"Yuhao, I've broken through to the Dou Zhe level. What... what's this?" Xiao Yan looked at the pile of scrolls on Huo Yuhao's desk.
"These are spirit patterns engraved on the spirit artifacts. This one is for sturdiness, this one is for assisting the circulation of battle qi, and that pile is for core qi gathering," Huo Yuhao explained.
Xiao Yan glanced at it briefly and then lost interest. "Yuhao, you've been researching this all this time, how have you had time to cultivate? Now that I've returned to the Dou Zhe level, we're at the same rank again, I'll definitely catch up with you soon."
"Oh, congratulations. By the way, I've broken through to the Dou Shi level." Huo Yuhao read the words in a flat, expressionless voice.
"That's good... Hmm? How did you break through!" Xiao Yan leaned forward in disappointment.
"Yuhao, you're not even fourteen yet, are you? This talent is amazing, even in the Central Plains, or even among the eight ancient clans." Yao Chen exclaimed in amazement, then revealed his crescent-shaped eyes to look at someone lying on the ground, "Some people are different. Breaking through to the Dou Zhe level is like ascending to heaven for them."
"It's all because of you, you made me angry!"
……
After the meal, Xiao Yan said to Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, now that I've broken through, we don't need to wait any longer. Let's set off for the Monster Mountain Range as soon as possible to find suitable medicinal herbs for you."
Since learning about Huo Yuhao's problem with his spiritual sea two months ago, Xiao Yan has changed his usual leisurely approach to cultivation. He has devoted himself to cultivation for the past two months and quickly broke through to the Dou Zhe level.
"Yuhao, you said there's a risk that this Sea of Spirit is shattered. Should I use the Concentration Technique to open up the Sea of Spirit? Just in case later..."
"What are you worried about? I've already cultivated. Even if you don't open your spiritual sea, you'll still have the problem of a shattered soul, won't you? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," Yao Chen said irritably.
Yuhao put the scroll and forging furnace into his newly made storage ring and said to Xiao Yan, "Alright, go say goodbye to Father. I'll pack up a bit more, and then we can set off."
"Don't rush. Xiao Yan, you should cultivate your technique first. We'll leave after your Dou Qi conversion is complete."
Yao Chen took out a black scroll and asked again, "Xiao Yan, are you really sure you want to cultivate the Burning Technique?"
"I'm sure. I still need to help Master refine his body, and I also need to... cough cough. In short, I won't regret it." Xiao Yan took the Burning Technique from Yao Lao's hand. The moment it touched his palm, the scroll transformed into a stream of information, pouring into Xiao Yan's mind. After fully understanding it, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and began to transform his Dou Qi.
Yao Chen looked at Xiao Yan, a warmth welling up in his once wounded heart. He murmured, "Don't worry, I will definitely train you to become the most outstanding alchemist..."
Huo Yuhao watched them quietly, somewhat moved by the scene. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Teacher, believe in Xiao Yan, he will definitely succeed."
A few hours later, Xiao Yan, who was sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes. Looking at the exceptionally clear surroundings, he smiled slightly.
"Master, it's a success!" Xiao Yan stretched out his fair palm, and a stream of Dou Qi, which had turned into a pale yellow vortex within his body, quickly flowed out from his palm through the Qi Control Technique.
Looking at the pale yellow battle aura, Huo Yuhao was somewhat puzzled.
"It seems that the battle qi I cultivated using the Burning Technique, aside from its color, is no less powerful than my father's 'Raging Lion's Fury.' Could it be that I've already reached the Profound Rank from the very beginning? Wasn't it supposed to start at the low-level Yellow Rank?"
Yao Chen shook his head and said mysteriously, "There are actually some secrets about cultivation techniques. A long time ago, the more powerful the technique, the slower the cultivation process was."
"Huh? How is that possible?"
"Don't rush to refute me. Note that I'm talking about powerful cultivation techniques, not high-level ones. The strength of a cultivation technique can be judged by the special traits it cultivates. The stronger the trait, the stronger the battle qi, and the more powerful the technique. However, the stronger the trait, the more difficult it is to integrate with battle qi. Long ago, cultivators had to spend time constantly integrating their traits while cultivating. Therefore, the more powerful the technique, the slower the cultivation process."
Yao Chen paused for a moment, then continued, "And a senior came up with a solution."
"What method?"
"By gathering a large amount of special qualities in a high-speed rotating vortex at the beginning of cultivation, and using the power of rotation to fuse with the foundation of battle qi, one can achieve a permanent solution without the need for additional adjustment later."
"This is why the replacement of cultivation techniques can only proceed from low to high. If it goes from high to low, the technique must be dissipated and one must start over. It is easy for a powerful technique to replace a weak one, but it is impossible for a weak one to replace a powerful one."
Yao Chen's face showed reverence: "Later, that senior spread this method throughout the entire Dou Qi Continent free of charge, promoting the reform of cultivation techniques, which is the multi-level evaluation system you see now."
"Master, how do you know this? Could it be that you are?"
"Hehe, I'm still far from being your master."
Yao Chen waved his hand, unleashing three vortexes of fighting spirit, which then merged into a pale yellow medicinal flame.
"The first complete cultivation technique born from this method is called the 'Three Flowers Gathering Fire Technique,' which is the technique I practiced. And that senior was the ancestor of the Medicine Clan, the Medicine Emperor."
"The Medicine Clan of the Eight Ancient Clans? Master, you have such a powerful background?" Xun'er had once let slip during a conversation, and under Xiao Yan's persistent questioning, she learned that the most powerful forces on the Dou Qi Continent were the Eight Ancient Clans. However, Xun'er didn't reveal the specific clans, only briefly mentioning the Medicine Clan, the Thunder Clan, and the Flame Clan. At this moment, Xiao Yan was astonished that this unconventional soul possessed such a remarkable background. Therefore, his voice carried the excitement of winning the lottery.
"That's all meaningless in the past." Yao Chen revealed a hint of melancholy.
"I've gone off on a tangent. The Burning Technique should have been created before the reforms. I've categorized it as a low-level Yellow Rank based on the existing cultivation system, simply because its battle qi wasn't strong enough and its recovery speed wasn't great before fusing with a different fire. It's not because its power is insufficient."