Chapter 273: The Sea-Gathering Art All the Way to the Ninth Leaf

Qin Haoxuan suppressed the excitement in his heart and, on the way to the Xianyun parking lot, reported to his master on his experiences in the mortal world, the dangers, his cultivation progress, and the matter of Senior Brother Pu’s descendants.

When Xuanji heard that Qin Haoxuan had already obtained the second half of the Sea-Gathering Art from Ye Yiming and had already cultivated to the Ninth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm, his face was filled with joy, like a kind parent who had just learned of their child’s good grades. He was happy from the bottom of his heart, selfless and proud.

However, his brow soon furrowed again, because he thought of a problem. Once Qin Haoxuan finished cultivating the Sea-Gathering Art and his cultivation speed slowed down, he had no better cultivation art to pass on to him. Was he to let Qin Haoxuan repeat his own old path?

‘No! Absolutely not!’ Looking at Qin Haoxuan, Xuanji warned himself in his heart. ‘This is the disciple I have been waiting for for so many years. The hopes of so many generations of the Nature Hall’s ancestors for prosperity all rest on him!’

After arriving at the Xianyun parking lot, Qin Haoxuan, thinking of his little monkey, Little Gold, proposed to return to the Spirit Field Valley. Xuanji did not stop him and said, “It is good for you to go and see. Come and find me at the Nature Hall later.”

“Yes!” Towards this old man whose realm was not high but who cared for him like a father, Qin Haoxuan felt a respect from the bottom of his heart and had no desire to disobey him in the slightest.

The new disciples who had entered the sect last year had all gone out to “Enter the Mortal World,” and this year’s new disciples were still being recruited. So, besides the original menial disciples and the disciples who occasionally came to look after their spirit fields, there were not many people in the Spirit Field Valley.

When Qin Haoxuan returned to his house, he saw from a distance a group of Mighty Apes, led by a monkey with dark golden fur, returning from work.

The leading dark golden little monkey saw him from a distance, and a sharp glint immediately flashed in its bright eyes. In a few leaps, it jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him off balance.

Qin Haoxuan stroked Little Gold’s smooth, dark golden fur. Looking at the increasingly strong but not much taller monkey, he was also extremely happy.

After being separated for four months, Little Gold was extremely affectionate upon seeing him again, from time to time touching his hair, from time to time scratching his armpits, and from time to time treating his body as a tree stump, jumping around on it.

The several hundred Mighty Apes under his command looked at their normally majestic Monkey King, who was now showing such a mischievous side, and the several hundred of them were stunned. Under his leadership, these apes had also absorbed a great deal of the essence of the sun and moon. Although they had not yet reached the level of human intelligence, they had also begun to develop their own intellect.

After letting him play for a while, Qin Haoxuan, feeling very warm in his heart, finally held him down and examined him carefully. He had felt that there was a change in Little Gold before, but the little fellow had been messing around just now, so he hadn’t gotten a clear look. Now, holding him down, he could clearly see that a circle of light golden fur had grown on his neck. This circle of light golden fur, compared to his dark golden body, was very conspicuous. Looking at his sturdy muscles, the sharp glint that occasionally flashed in his eyes, and his increasingly nimble movements, Qin Haoxuan was certain that this fellow had not wasted the Qi-Circulating Pills he had given him; his cultivation speed was quite fast.

Before he had left, Qin Haoxuan had specially left a few Qi-Circulating Pills for him, hoping it would help his cultivation speed. Now, it seemed his efforts had not been in vain.

However, Little Gold’s identity was also becoming more and more of a puzzle to him. This monkey, who could absorb the essence of the sun and moon, now had eight hundred Mighty Ape underlings, an intellect comparable to a human’s, and could even cultivate the secret manual he had found in the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley, was surely no ordinary monkey.

“Let’s go. Come with me to see my Master,” Qin Haoxuan said, holding him. “I want to know what kind of monkey you really are.”

Little Gold blinked his eyes and did not refuse. Perhaps he was also curious about what kind of monkey he was.

Arriving at the Nature Hall on Nameless Peak, Qin Haoxuan walked directly into his master’s room.

Xuanji was surprised to see him arrive with his monkey and took a second look. Little Gold was very famous in the Taichu Sect. All the disciples who earned spirit stones by cultivating spirit fields knew him. He had a great reputation among them, with eight hundred well-trained, highly skilled Mighty Apes under his command, and he only took a twenty percent cut of the mature harvest. This allowed the Taichu Sect disciples to free up more time for their own cultivation.

“Master, I have brought Little Gold to see you today because I would like to ask if you recognize this type of monkey,” Qin Haoxuan said, stroking his head. Little Gold narrowed his eyes, greatly enjoying the touch.

Xuanji looked at him and slowly shook his head. “Besides being very intelligent, is there anything else special about him?”

“He can also cultivate,” Qin Haoxuan said very frankly, revealing Little Gold’s greatest secret. If anyone else had known this, they would have surely eliminated him as a variant demon. But he knew that his master, Xuanji, would not.

Hearing that he could cultivate, Xuanji’s brow furrowed tightly. After looking at him for a while longer, he said to Qin Haoxuan, “May I take a drop of his blood?”

Qin Haoxuan looked at Little Gold. Although he was reluctant and chirped a few times, he still held out his hand.

Xuanji took out a silver needle, pricked his hand to draw a drop of blood, and then released a stream of spiritual energy at his fingertip. When the energy touched the blood on the needle, a layer of frost actually condensed on it.

Seeing the frost, Xuanji’s expression was one of shock. He looked at Qin Haoxuan with surprise and said, “Your master cannot tell what kind of monkey he is.”

With that, he said with a serious expression, “His current cultivation is not weak. It’s possible he could cultivate into a demon spirit. However, he hides his demonic energy very well; he looks just like an intelligent spirit beast. From the outside, one cannot tell that he is a demon.”

“Cultivate into a demon?” Qin Haoxuan was taken aback. He had no concept of the difference between a demon and a spirit beast.

Xuanji explained, “Just now, I took a drop of his blood. After infusing it with spiritual energy, if the silver needle condenses frost, it proves that he is walking the path of a demon. If the silver needle had caught fire, it would prove that he is walking the path of a spirit beast.”

“The cultivation of animals is divided into two paths: demons and spirit beasts. The goal of a demon is to cultivate into a human form. If a demon cultivates to the human form, it proves that it has already reached the demon immortal realm. A spirit beast, no matter how it cultivates, will always be in a beast form; it can never become a person. The ultimate goal of a spirit beast is to cultivate into a sacred beast.”

Qin Haoxuan asked with surprise, “Is there a difference between a demon immortal and a sacred beast?”

“Of course there is,” Xuanji nodded, looking at Little Gold with some worry. “When a demon cultivates into a human form, there will be a big problem in its cultivation process. That is, as its cultivation deepens, its blood will also turn cold. This is a very painful and dangerous thing for a demon. If it wants to stop its blood from turning cold, the only way is to drink human blood. Therefore, demons constantly eat people, and in the cultivation world, they are like rats crossing the street; all cultivators will kill them on sight.”

When he spoke of drinking human blood, he specifically glanced at Little Gold. A look of disgust flashed in the monkey’s eyes, and he moved a little closer to Qin Haoxuan.

Xuanji continued, “A spirit beast chooses the path of not transforming into a human. Its disadvantage is that it will always be in a beast form, and its body will also have to endure a great deal of pain as it cultivates. Although its blood will not turn cold, its path to becoming a sacred beast is much more difficult. Therefore, spirit beasts will attach themselves to cultivators to practice. With a cultivator’s help, a spirit beast can cultivate much more easily. But the moment it leaves a cultivator, its cultivation speed will slow down.”

“However, whether it’s a spirit beast or a demon, it is not easy to cultivate into a sacred beast or a demon immortal, just like it is for humans to cultivate. The successful ones are very few.” At this, a hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes.

Qin Haoxuan was very sharp and caught that trace of melancholy. He thought to himself that it was probably because his master felt his own lifespan was coming to an end and had no hope of achieving immortality. Although his heart was heavy, he knew that he could not help his master at the moment. The only thing he could do was to find an opportunity to refine a life-extending pill for him after he returned from the mortal world.

Xuanji’s expression was serious as he looked at him. “Haoxuan, all cultivators dislike demons because they eat people, so they kill them on sight. You must be careful.” He understood his disciple’s temperament; it was impossible for him to give up Little Gold. So, he could only warn him seriously to be vigilant.

After warning him, he was still not at ease. He looked into his dark pupils and said with great solemnity, “Little Gold’s fur is very special; it can isolate the leakage of demonic energy. So, although he has a demonic aura, no one has yet discovered that he is a demon. If not for the ‘silver needle blood test’ just now, I would not have discovered it either. However, just because he has not been discovered for the time being does not mean he will never be discovered.”

His voice was serious, his eyes fixed on the monkey as he instructed again, “If you must keep him, you must be careful and be prepared to deal with the trouble he brings at any time.”

Qin Haoxuan did not speak, his gaze firm as he looked at his master. The meaning was obvious.

Xuanji let out a long sigh. “Since that is the case, I will say no more. But this Little Gold is very strange. I have never seen a demon like him before. And his cultivation speed is comparable to a Purple Seed’s. His current strength is a bit stronger than Xu Yu’s, but still slightly weaker than Zhang Kuang’s. Even if he ate the Qi-Circulating Pills you gave him and absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, such a terrifying cultivation speed would still be considered a genius among demons. It is much more difficult for a demon to cultivate than a human. They must first refine the beast bones in their body into demon bones, which is much, much harder than a human cultivator breaking their seed and sprouting a seedling…”

Qin Haoxuan looked at Little Gold with surprise. He knew his cultivation speed was fast, but he never expected it to be comparable to a Purple Seed’s, to actually be stronger than the two Purple Seeds Xu Yu and Li Jing, and only slightly weaker than Zhang Kuang. The reason for his fast speed was definitely not the pills he had given him, because Xu Yu had been cultivating for almost a year longer than him and had started taking the powder and pills earlier, yet her cultivation was still weaker.

Could it be that secret manual he had gotten from the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley?