Chapter 167: The Little Snake Cultivates the Tyrannical True Dragon Art

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The Nature Hall had been weaker than the other four great halls from the very beginning. Because their ancestor had passed away early and his disciples had been of average talent, they had been unable to inherit the true lineage. As a result, the Nature Hall had grown weaker with each generation. The lineages of the other four halls were still being passed down, but the Nature Hall’s had long been broken. Now, only two copies remained: the first was a one-time-use jade slip stored as a backup with the sect, and the second was with the remains of their founding ancestor.

Do I really have to go to the ancestor’s remains to retrieve the lineage? Xuanji thought with a heavy heart.

Since their founder had passed away, not only had a Spirit Tree Realm expert never appeared in the Nature Hall, but they hadn’t even had a disciple at the Thirtieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm. Xuanji himself had cultivated diligently for one hundred and forty-seven years and had only reached the Twenty-Ninth-Leaf. But to open the restriction on the remains required the strength of a Thirtieth-Leaf cultivator.

The difference of a single leaf was like an insurmountable chasm. If he wanted to open the formation, his only option was to burn his own lifespan and force it open.

With his decision made, Xuanji turned and walked into a room. He performed a hand seal towards the floor, and a nearly invisible restriction opened, revealing a dark hole leading underground. As he descended, he estimated silently in his heart, If I want to open the ancestor’s restriction, I will need to buy a Lifespan-Burning Pill. Its effects are much stronger than a normal pill, and although the cost to my lifespan will be greater, my chances of success will also be greater.

He walked down, skillfully undoing the simple restrictions he encountered, and soon arrived in a secret underground chamber. In the center of the room, a Daoist in robes sat on a meditation cushion. Although his body had not yet decayed, his flesh had withered. In the great river of time, his robes had also begun to rot.

This corpse was one of the five disciples of the Taichu Sect’s founding ancestor, the founder of the Nature Hall. He had been dead for thousands of years, but his remains were preserved by the formation he sat within.

In front of the remains were three layers of restrictive light barriers. Within each layer was a jade slip. These three slips contained the lifelong learning of the sect’s founder, as well as the personal insights of this ancestor. The cultivation arts for the Thirtieth-Leaf and above were among them.

Xuanji respectfully performed three kneelings and nine kowtows. He walked to the restriction and, following the proper method, gathered his spiritual energy and struck it. A huge force immediately rebounded from the restriction, knocking him back. His palm was numb, and he couldn’t move it for a long time.

He sighed. After bowing to the remains once more, he said, “This disciple is unworthy and has failed to reach the Thirtieth-Leaf. But for the future of the Nature Hall, I have decided to burn my own lifespan to open this restriction and pass the lineage to Qin Haoxuan. I hope that our ancestor will forgive me.”

Speaking of this, Xuanji’s face was filled with guilt as he resolutely departed.

While Qin Haoxuan was still diligently carving black iron, failing with great enthusiasm, Xu Yu arrived, looking displeased. “Brother Haoxuan, this is what the Sect Master awarded me, because of the Qi-Circulating Powder.”

She handed him the reward list. He took it and couldn’t help but laugh. “The Sect Master is truly generous. Just this one hundred mu of first-grade spirit land is enough to make countless people green with envy.”

As he was marveling at the list, Xu Yu’s face was still gloomy. “The Sect Master wants me to sell the Qi-Circulating Powder to Zhang Kuang,” she said unhappily. “He said that he has thoroughly inspected him and found no demon possession, and he wants me to make peace with him.”

Qin Haoxuan smiled faintly. “And what did you say?”

“I refused his proposal. Because from beginning to end, he never once mentioned you, nor did he say anything about punishing Zhang Kuang for his schemes to harm you.”

Qin Haoxuan’s expression was calm as he said earnestly, “Thank you, Sister Yu.”

Xu Yu’s face flushed slightly, but her tone was exceptionally firm. “No matter who it is, no one is allowed to bully you!”

Qin Haoxuan was deeply moved. He thought to himself, If not for Xu Yu and my Master being so good to me, the Taichu Sect would be a very cold place indeed.

The atmosphere was a bit strange. The clever Xu Yu quickly changed the subject, pointing to the large pile of discarded black iron on the floor. “How is your practice going, Brother Haoxuan? I also learned talisman crafting from Senior Sister Luo for a few days. Just the carving alone is not an easy thing. Can you show me?”

Qin Haoxuan gave a helpless smile. Did this silly girl think that the serious business of talisman crafting was some kind of performance? But seeing the earnest and expectant look in her eyes, he couldn’t bear to refuse. He picked up a piece of black iron and began to carve. His movements were incredibly smooth, and in a short time, the complex inscriptions for the Thousand-Mile Talisman appeared on the iron. Xu Yu watched, somewhat mesmerized.

After carving, he placed the iron in the infusion array. A fist-sized spiritual flame shot out, startling Xu Yu. The flame repeatedly licked at the iron, refining out its impurities. After about an hour, the refining was complete. Then came the infusion. He guided the spiritual energy from the spirit stone towards the black iron. Although he was fully concentrated, halfway through the process, the black iron suddenly cracked. It was a failure.

“I always fail at this part,” he said with a wry smile.

Xu Yu comforted him. “Brother Haoxuan, to be able to get this far is already incredible! The inscriptions for the Thousand-Mile Talisman are so complex; I can’t even memorize them, let alone carve them. You’ve done a great job! With just a little more effort, you’ll succeed.”

After Xu Yu had left, Qin Haoxuan continued to practice. After working for a full day, not only was his spiritual energy depleted, but he felt as if all his strength had been drained as well. He lay on his bed, unwilling to move.

He rested for a little while, but then sent his consciousness into the small snake, preparing to take a trip to the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley.

The moment his consciousness entered the snake’s body, he discovered that its own consciousness still did not resist him. Just as he was about to head out, he idly inspected the snake’s interior and was shocked to discover that it had meridians.

The meridians inside the snake were different from a human’s, but he felt they were familiar. He stopped and thought carefully. Where had he seen them before? After a moment, he suddenly remembered: Li Jing! The energy circulation pathways for the Tyrannical True Dragon Art he had gotten in the Aqueous Manor, weren’t they very similar to the meridians inside the snake’s body? If circulating the art in a human body was somewhat unnatural, then circulating it in the snake’s body was perfectly natural and smooth.

He had memorized the entire art through the Thousand-Mile Mirror at the time. He immediately began to circulate the wisp of spiritual energy already present in the snake’s body according to its method.

The moment he began, the spiritual energy began to move naturally, following the pathways of the art through the snake’s meridians. Although it was very weak, it felt incredibly comfortable.

Qin Haoxuan’s heart was filled with joy. The little snake could cultivate, and it was such a powerful art. He remembered that Li Jing had needed to absorb the True Dragon Wild Qi to begin, but the snake had no such restrictions. It could start cultivating directly and could absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens and the earth. From what he could see, its cultivation aptitude was no weaker than a Purple Seed’s.

In just a few moments, the spiritual energy inside the snake had doubled.

After circulating the art once, he remembered the time and prepared to head to the valley. As he stopped cultivating, he was surprised to find that the Tyrannical True Dragon Art was still circulating on its own within the snake’s body, showing no signs of stopping.

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