Chapter 61
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Chapter 61: Strange Cultivation Technique
“Thundercloud Lightning Sword, Little Absorption Technique, Senior Brother, please check these.” Ye Yun handed the two books to the black-robed disciple handling registrations.
“Little Absorption Technique? What’s that?” The black-robed guard froze for a moment, blurting out the question.
His reaction surprised Ye Yun.
“Is there an issue? The description says it’s an auxiliary technique for absorbing spiritual energy. I picked it randomly,” Ye Yun answered, watching the guard.
“Does this exist among the Ninth-Grade Cultivation Techniques?” The guard furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
Ye Yun’s own brows drew together. After the black-and-white light had guided him to this technique and he’d mustered the resolve to choose it, how could there suddenly be a problem?
“Wait here.” The guard waved over Qu Yiping and the others behind them, starting to process their selections first.
“Senior Brother, what’s wrong with the Little Absorption Technique?” Ye Yun’s heart sank.
“There’s no record of it here. It might not belong to the Ninth-Grade Cultivation Techniques. Wait while I consult Elder Zi.” The black-robed guard remained courteous, dismissing Qu Yiping’s group before explaining.
Ye Yun stiffened. “Not part of the collection here?”
“Don’t worry. If there’s a mistake, you’ll get to pick another.” The guard offered reassurance before leaving.
Ye Yun’s frown deepened. His concern differed entirely from the guard’s assumption—he wanted only this technique, not complications.
A few breaths later, a figure materialized before Ye Yun.
“You found the Little Absorption Technique?” The aged voice dripped with icy detachment.
Ye Yun recognized it as the same voice that had greeted Elder Lan’s group upon entering Zang Wu Pavilion.
“Greetings, Elder Zi!” Ye Yun bowed, having deduced the elder’s identity from the guard’s words.
Elder Zi wore a black Daoist robe similar to Elder Chunyu Yan’s, golden threads embroidered at the collar marking equal rank. Yet Ye Yun recalled Elder Lan’s greater deference here compared to with Chunyu Yan, hinting at Elder Zi’s higher actual standing.
“Why choose this particular technique?” Elder Zi’s frosty tone ignored formalities.
“The sect trial approaches. With limited time to master new techniques, I sought one to boost spiritual absorption and strengthen my cultivation—especially since I have spirit stones to utilize.” Ye Yun kept his head lowered.
“You know the trial’s dangers. Why not pick defensive Celestial Techniques instead?” The elder’s words cut like winter steel.
“My aptitude is poor. Mastering complex techniques quickly is impossible, so I chose an attack skill and this absorption aid.” Ye Yun met the unspoken challenge. “Should I survive the trial, I can return for better techniques later.”
Elder Zi’s piercing stare lasted several heartbeats before he waved dismissively. “At least you’re self-aware. Take it, but return it in three days.”
“Thank you, Elder Zi!” Ye Yun bowed again, carefully storing both texts in his storage pouch. After nodding to the guard, he departed. The technique’s oddity was undeniable, but answers wouldn’t come from the elder—only through personal study.
As Ye Yun left, Elder Zi’s face darkened.
“To discard the Little Absorption Technique among trash…” Murderous intent flickered in his eyes. “Do they forget my origins?”
Unaware, Ye Yun hurried to collect his spirit stone reward at the Trial Hall before retreating to his Small Courtyard.
Inside his cottage, he set aside the Thundercloud Lightning Sword manual and opened the Little Absorption Technique.
The black-and-white light in his dantian erupted into violent tremors, thrumming with eager recognition.
*All spiritual energy submits to transformation!*
Eight stark characters dominated the second page—simple yet audacious. Spiritual energies varied wildly, some requiring special constitutions or techniques to harness, others proving lethally incompatible. Yet here was a mere Ninth-Grade auxiliary technique claiming universal mastery.
Ye Yun almost scoffed at the boast matching the Thundercloud Lightning Sword’s hyperbolic “slaying foes across mountains” claim. But the pulsating light in his chest radiated exhilaration, its sentient-like excitement nearly deterring him from proceeding.
He turned the page.
Tiny seal script characters squirmed like tadpoles, coalescing into a black stream that shot into his chest. Before Ye Yun could react, it flooded his dantian, destabilizing the symbiotic balance—white light dimmed as blackness surged.
Panic struck. During his duel with Duan Chenfeng, he’d sensed the white light’s solar brilliance locked in precarious harmony with the black’s abyssal chill. Their equilibrium was everything.
Now the invasive darkness threatened to consume its counterpart. Ye Yun steadied his breathing, drawing on years of Heart Calming practice to enter a trance. His consciousness merged with the warring energies, becoming their battleground.
Black and white swirled—heaven and earth, yang and yin, opposing forces defining existence itself. Time lost meaning until a jolt returned him to his body.
The manual lay unchanged beside him. Checking his dantian, he found balance restored, the light’s duality preserved yet somehow… deeper. The technique’s secret remained, waiting to be unraveled.
