Volume 4 Chapter 13

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Volume 4 Chapter 13: Secret Arts

Even though Xu Qingfan felt worried seeing the killing intent and anger within Feng Qingtian, he knew that due to Feng Qingtian’s proud nature, expressing concern might only cause trouble. So, Xu Qingfan didn’t know about the change in Feng Qingtian.

Over the next month, Jiuhua Mountain remained calm, and after three months of seclusion in "Jiuji Cave," eight Jiuhua disciples who entered the Condensed Core Stage received blessings from eight powerful Jiuhua elders. Fortunately, all eight blessings were successful.

These blessings meant that eight elders sacrificed their strength and could no longer maintain their lifespan, falling into the cycle of reincarnation. However, it also marked the rise of eight new young masters, prompting Zhang Hualing and Liu Huaxiang to often sigh and say, "Jiuhua is soon to become the Jiuhua of the young."

During this time, Feng Qingtian showed no unusual behavior. Whether due to disbelief or restraint, he seemed more aloof than usual.

Compared to the grand blessings at Jiuhua Mountain, the following days were more significant for Xu Qingfan.

As the last disciple of the Lu Huayan-Xiao Huazhe lineage within Jiuhua, Xu Qingfan, half in the role of a disciple, conducted Xiao Huazhe’s funeral after Xiao Huazhe’s life force was exhausted, leading him into reincarnation. Like Lu Huayan, Xiao Huazhe was naturally reclusive, making the funeral somber. The remaining Jiuhua elders merely paid a brief visit before hastening to the next elder’s funeral…

You should know that on this day, a total of eight Jiuhua elders passed away.

Jin Qinghan, Lv Qingshang, and others who were close to Xu Qingfan couldn’t come to comfort him because they were busy adjusting to the sudden surge of Spirit Qi within them.

Throughout the entire funeral, only Ting’er quietly stayed by Xu Qingfan’s side. As for Liu Huaxiang, he merely sighed three times upon hearing of Xiao Huazhe’s death and then went off to prepare for the secret ritual.

As for Xu Qingfan, perhaps he had seen too much life and death—his Second Elder, his parents, Lu Huayan, Yue Qingru—and looked at Xiao Huazhe’s memorial tablet in silence, feeling unexpectedly calm and not as sorrowful as he had imagined.

Perhaps Xu Qingfan’s heart had started to become numb to these things.

Taking the opportunity of carrying Xiao Huazhe’s coffin to the Jiuhua ancestral tomb, Xu Qingfan found his master Lu Huayan’s grave. After paying his respects, he buried Lu Huayan’s favored tool, the "Three Meters Green Silk," beside him, fulfilling a wish of both himself and Yue Qingru.

Additionally, and most importantly, after Xu Qingfan completed the seven-day mourning for Xiao Huazhe, all the arrays and spiritual medicines Liu Huaxiang needed for the secret ritual were ready. It only awaited Xu Qingfan to adjust his mood before proceeding.

…

On this day, the sun shone brightly, and sunshine covered every corner of Jiuhua Mountain. Just as everyone thought it would be a lovely day, a light rain began to fall from the sky, seemingly hinting that Xu Qingfan’s transformation by the secret ritual might not go smoothly and could even fail.

Of course, this point requires no prediction; a success rate of less than thirty percent already means everything. But Liu Hualing seemed to become very superstitious in his old age. If not for Xu Qingfan’s continual insistence, the timing for him to undergo the secret transformation might have been greatly delayed.

However, the cost of failure made everything incredibly serious.

To prepare for this secret method, Liu Huaxiang was busy for a full three months. Not to mention the strange elixirs he concocted, just to conceal the fluctuation of Spirit Qi during the ritual, he set up a massive "Qi Hiding Formation" at the top of Jiuhua Mountain, consuming over a thousand spirit stones.

Otherwise, if the sinister energy were to leak out during the ritual and cause a commotion across Jiuhua, it’s likely the elders would mistake it for Zhang Xusheng’s attack and send powerful spells straight to the top of Jiuhua Mountain without a second thought.

Furthermore, to enhance the effectiveness of the ritual, Liu Huaxiang also set up an unknown formation. Although it didn’t consume many spirit stones, he used a lot of various rare materials, which were far more valuable than those spirit stones.

"Success or failure, life or death, no regrets?"

Before performing the ritual, Liu Huaxiang confirmed again.

Xu Qingfan smiled and said, "Martial Uncle Liu, you have already asked me this before."

After a pause, Xu Qingfan reaffirmed, "Success or failure, life or death, no regrets!"

Upon hearing Xu Qingfan say this, Liu Huaxiang nodded but said nothing more, continuing with his preparations.

After watching Liu Huaxiang leave, Xu Qingfan turned her head to look at Ting’er, who was silently watching her.

In this moment of unknown future, Xu Qingfan hoped to see a look of concern in Ting’er’s eyes, although worrying Ting’er was not his intention.

However, Ting’er’s gaze remained as unfathomable as a deep pool, revealing no clear emotion.

Xu Qingfan sighed softly in his heart, then gently smiled at Ting’er and said, "Ting’er, stay quietly in the house and don’t come out, okay? Once uncle succeeds in transforming and reaches the Condensed Core Stage, he’ll teach you cultivation."

At the same time, Xu Qingfan silently added in his heart, "If I die, you must take good care of yourself."

However, this sentence, no matter what, could not be spoken.

After hearing Xu Qingfan’s instructions, Ting’er obediently nodded but did not turn to go back inside as usual; she continued to watch Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan smiled again and said, "Don’t worry, uncle will be fine."

As he spoke, Xu Qingfan prepared to pat Ting’er’s head as usual, but suddenly realized Ting’er had grown as tall as his nose. Feeling a bit sentimental, he patted Ting’er’s shoulder instead, signaling her to go back inside, then turned and walked toward Liu Huaxiang.

"Uncle."

Xu Qingfan had only taken two steps when he heard a voice from behind. It was Ting’er, who had been silent for years, suddenly speaking.

Startled, Xu Qingfan turned around, but saw Ting’er had already turned to go back to her room. In a daze, Xu Qingfan seemed to hear Ting’er whisper:

"Stay alive."

…

At the very center of the top of Jiuhua Mountain, there was a large vat of unknown material. The vat, dark yellow in color, was engraved with mysterious symbols in blood. In the sunlight, it emitted a strange reddish-yellow glow, giving an eerie and extremely dangerous feeling.

This large vat was the magical tool Xu Qingfan needed to undergo transformation through a secret method. It was obtained by Liu Huaxiang hundreds of years ago, along with that secret method.

Beneath the vat, the ground was marked with a blood-red formation, as mysterious and incomprehensible as the vat itself. At least Xu Qingfan had never heard of such a formation in the cultivation world.

In the large vat, it was filled with red liquid, and although there was no fire beneath it, the red liquid continued to boil as if it might burst out at any moment.

More terrifying is that if anyone stares at the blood vat and the red liquid, they suddenly hear ghostly wails in their hearts, causing them to feel a shiver down their spine.

If Xu Qingfan weren’t familiar with Liu Huaxiang’s character, he would have thought Liu Huaxiang was conducting some kind of evil ritual and needed to deal with Liu Huaxiang as if he were a practitioner of dark magic.

Seeing Xu Qingfan arrive, Liu Huaxiang showed no expression on his face, he simply tossed a bottle of black pills to Xu Qingfan, saying, "Take all these pills to enhance your body’s energy and then enter the vat."

Xu Qingfan nodded silently, ignoring the pungent smell from the black pills, swallowed them all in one go, and then step by step walked towards the mysterious large vat.

Since three and a half months ago, when Xu Qingfan failed to enter the Condensed Core Stage even after merging with the "Wutong branch," he had been quietly waiting for this moment to arrive.

However, although this secret method has the miraculous effect of changing a cultivator’s aptitude, the less than thirty percent success rate means that if it fails, at the least, the practitioner loses all power or, at worst, falls into a cycle of reincarnation, like a giant axe constantly hanging over his head, threatening him always.

Although for these past three months he seemed emotionally calm, occasionally debating with Liu Huaxiang, and even though today he appeared very serene, sometimes even smiling, his heart remained shrouded in shadow.

In that shadow, he felt fear.

His dream of traveling throughout the Shenzhou Continent had not yet been fulfilled. He had not experienced what it was like to be at the Condensed Core Stage or even the Mahayana Stage. He still had many friends in the world, he still had to take care of Ting’er, and he still had to look after the aging Liu Huaxiang.

Because there were still so many things left undone, there was a shadow in his heart, making him panic at the thought of death that might come.

Yet, when faced with future mediocrity and helplessness, he still chose the success found in adventure.

He hid this shadow well in his daily life, so much so that he had not even noticed it himself. But as he walked step by step toward the mysterious giant vat, the shadow suddenly emerged and quickly spread to every corner of his heart.

To not fear death is called numbness, not courage. True courage is being able to overcome the fear of death, even while feeling afraid.

Xu Qingfan silently spoke to himself in his heart.

He shook his head vigorously, suppressing the shadow within, and Xu Qingfan stepped into the mysterious vat filled with the strange red liquid.

"Are you ready?"

Liu Huaxiang asked.

In his eyes, there seemed to be a hint of nervousness.

"I’m ready."

Xu Qingfan took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then softly said.

Liu Huaxiang nodded and began chanting some obscure and difficult-to-understand phrases while his hands made various intricate gestures.

Under Liu Huaxiang’s control, the blood red array slowly began to emit a crimson glow, and then the various blood-red symbols within the array started spinning rapidly.

Then, the crimson light spread to the mysterious large cauldron, and the blood-red patterns on its surface began to shift rapidly, echoing something with the array.

As the array and the cauldron changed, the red liquid inside began to boil even more vigorously.

At first, Xu Qingfan didn’t feel much, only sensing faint ghostly cries near his ears. Then, the cries grew louder, as if endless restless spirits were wailing around him. Even with Xu Qingfan’s current Divine Sense, he was nearly overwhelmed, breaking out in a cold sweat and hurriedly guarding his mind.

But this was just the beginning.

Suddenly, the temperature of the red liquid in the jar rose sharply, and countless strange energies emerged from the red liquid, quickly entering Xu Qingfan’s body, tearing his skin apart. Then, they tore through his flesh, finally attacking the veins within his body.

At the same time, another indescribable energy continuously healed Xu Qingfan’s torn skin, flesh, and veins.

However, the strange energies from before seemed to work against this, once again tearing Xu Qingfan’s skin, flesh, and veins.

Amid this constant destruction and healing, Xu Qingfan’s body quietly underwent various changes.

Yet, the pain caused by these changes was more than any ordinary person could endure. Even though Xu Qingfan was prepared, he couldn’t help but let out low groans of pain.

More importantly, during this relentless cycle of destruction and healing, although Xu Qingfan’s body had some phoenix-like characteristics and vitality far superior to ordinary people, his life force was still steadily draining away.

This is precisely why enhancing the person’s vitality is necessary when using this secret technique. Without sufficient vitality, the body’s functions would have already failed amidst the endless destruction and healing.

Even though Xu Qingfan had phoenix traits, he didn’t last long, and now his body was on the verge of collapse.

Just then, the black pills Liu Huaxiang had given him took on a crucial role. At the critical moment before Xu Qingfan’s body could collapse, these pills transformed into life force that flowed through Xu Qingfan’s entire body, constantly nourishing it and maintaining his bodily functions.

But Xu Qingfan learned from Liu Huaxiang that this was just the first step; the real test was about to begin.

Indeed, as Xu Qingfan endured the pain, a wave of energy appeared in the red liquid, full of the aura of death, coming from the wronged spirits and blood essence.

Using blood essence and wronged spirits to transform the body brings a deadly energy that can corrode the body, which is the greatest threat.

Whether Xu Qingfan could endure the immense pain and maintain his Divine Sense while organizing the fragmented Spirit Qi in his body to resist the deadly energy was key to successfully completing the secret method transformation.

Xu Qingfan naturally understood the importance, so when the deadly energy appeared, he focused a part of his Divine Sense, enduring the intense pain, to organize his body’s Spirit Qi to resist it.

Xu Qingfan had three types of Spirit Qi inside him: the two qi of Wither and Flourish, and Phoenix Spirit Qi. Xu Qingfan did not dare use Wither Qi without knowing its specific use. The Flourish Qi, or Wood-type Spirit Qi, was easily corroded by the deadly energy due to its strong vitality, so Xu Qingfan kept it protecting his organs and nourishing his body with medicinal power. Only the Phoenix Spirit Qi was used to resist the aggressive invasion of the deadly energy.

Although it seemed he only used one of the three Spirit Qi, after gaining the power of the "Wutong branch," the Phoenix Spirit Qi in Xu Qingfan was the strongest and purest. More importantly, the Phoenix Spirit Qi’s strong yang energy was, in a way, the nemesis of the deadly energy, so Xu Qingfan wasn’t worried about his body falling in a short time.

As expected, when the deadly energy encountered Xu Qingfan’s Phoenix Spirit Qi, it quickly dissipated, as if it was easier than Xu Qingfan imagined.

Thus, while Xu Qingfan maintained his Divine Sense against the interference of ghostly cries, he endured the intense pain in his body and focused on using the Phoenix Spirit Qi to counteract the deadly invasion. He was using one mind for three purposes, suffering yet incredibly busy. But from Xu Qingfan’s condition, there seemed to be no immediate worry.

But just at that moment, a sudden change occurred!