Chapter 133: Chapter 133 Minor Sky-Severing Technique
After repeated efforts to wear it down, the Ghost Qi Mark finally dissipated,
If a disciple of the Dan Ding Sect received a similar tracking mark, they could request a True Monarch to remove it—safe, quick, and risk-free; however, the infusion of mana could likely detect the abnormalities in Zhou Yi\'s body.
Despite being nearly four hundred years old, his vitality was indistinguishable from that of an eighteen-year-old!
And without a Spirit Root, his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage!
"A True Monarch might casually remove the mark, but it\'s still too risky,"
Zhou Yi took out a Cultivation Technique jade slip that contained various Lightning Methods.
There were ten variations of the Five Elements Thunder Art; beyond the Five Elements were three, and four variations of Side-Branch Thunder Art, costing a total of 270,000 merit points.
"If it weren\'t for the Black Skull Demon Head, just to inherit these Lightning Methods would have taken who knows how long to accumulate. Yet I must not take any more risks; in the turmoil of war, luck will not always be on my side for a counter kill!"
Zhou Yi pinched out a spell with his hands, and a stream of Yin Thunder from the Water Thunder Technique blasted forward. As it neared the wall, it sharply turned, zipped out of the room, and fell in the Hundred Flowers Valley.
"After the second turn of the Spirit Refining Technique, my mana is one-tenth richer; I can now control the direction of Thunder Art, another step closer to coalescing and mastering it! The gap in talent between people is truly vast. Brother Jiang controlled it in ten years, but it took me a hundred years just to be able to change its direction!"
"Fortunately, no spell can withstand the test of time!"
Creating a new Cultivation Technique might require inspiration or an epiphany, while practicing is a step-by-step process.
Even if growth slows down the further one progresses, there will ultimately be a day when one reaches the summit and attains the realm where spells become divine.
"At that time, will I also be able to kill a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage with three to five rounds of Thunder Art?"
Zhou Yi, satisfied, put away the Lightning Method jade slip and took out another jade slip, which contained the Minor Divination Technique.
"The workings of heaven involve the five phases and six energies, the principles of all things... The sages align with the earth and serve the heavens, observe the times to use talismans, and respond to circumstances to handle affairs, thus they command life and death, secure success in their endeavors... They see the paths to success and failure, understand the mechanisms of life and death..."
Over the past several months, Zhou Yi had read the Minor Divination Technique daily and had become extremely familiar with it.
"Using talismans to divine, to see into the workings of heaven, grasping a thread of vitality!"
Talismans here do not solely refer to magical charms; tortoise shells, the Zhou Yi, compasses, straw divination tubes, and more can all be used for divination.
Using the Minor Divination Technique, depending on the proximity of the matter divined, will consume his own lifespan, ultimately peering into the workings of heaven to seek auspiciousness and avoid misfortune, thus spared from calamity.
"To divine for one day consumes one year of life, for ten days ten years, for a hundred days a hundred years... No wonder they say this spell is of little value; even if one masters it, they would only use it to divine auspiciousness and misfortune when necessary!"
"Such a life-shortening method, nobody can afford to use it unless it\'s a matter of life and death!"
"Looking at it from another perspective, the Minor Divination Technique seems like an equivalent sacrifice, trading lifespan to grasp the workings of heaven, seeking auspiciousness and avoiding misfortune to prolong life..."
"Gain and loss, one sip and one peck, it seems in the end there\'s no real benefit?"
Zhou Yi clicked his tongue in amazement, unsure of the creator\'s purpose behind the Minor Divination Technique, or perhaps the spell was so incomplete that it required consuming so much lifespan.
"Let\'s try a divination!"
He took a divination straw tube from his storage bag, made of ordinary sandalwood, containing eighty-one jade divination sticks.
Gently shaking it, he channeled his mana according to the Minor Divination Technique, infusing a year of lifespan into the tube.
Rustle rustle! Rustle rustle...
The divination sticks clattered. After a moment, one fell to the ground, stable and unchanging.
"An even draw—a day of peace and safety!"
Zhou Yi\'s face showed a hint of joy; not seeking a surge in fortune, stability and peace were best for him.
"Let\'s ask for ten days."
Spending ten years of lifespan, the divination sticks fell to the ground again unchanged.
"Fortune within a hundred days."
Zhou Yi cast the spell for the third time, his body aged slightly but then returned to its original state. A divination stick fell to the ground and, with a snap, broke into three pieces.
"A lower-degree draw? Is this a sign of impending bloodshed!"
All divination sticks were blank and without words; their fortune was determined by how they landed when thrown.
The best omen was indicated by the emergence of mysterious spirit patterns on the stick, a good omen meant everything was favorable, an average omen showed no change, a poor omen meant the stick was broken in two, and the worst omen, signifying a great disaster—an omen of bloodshed—was when the stick broke into three pieces.
A sign of great misfortune, a disaster of bloodshed!
"Within a hundred days there will be a deadly tribulation. According to my original plan, I should be in seclusion at Dan Ding Sect, quietly cultivating for a decade or more..."
"Dan Ding Sect has the treasure that is the backbone of their power, the Divine Fire Fan, under which all things perish. Evil demons and heterodox paths will not be able to breach the Sect in a short time. Therefore, the danger must come from within; perhaps a Golden Elixir True Monarch? Or a Nascent Soul Ancestor?"
"I have been low-key and cautious within the sect, not fighting for power or competing for credit. The only thing worth noting is killing the Black Skull Demon Head."
"Perhaps it was this matter that caught a True Monarch\'s attention and led to the discovery of something unusual about me?"
"Of course, it\'s also possible that a meteor fell from the sky, wiping out the Dan Ding Sect..."
Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, then transformed into a beam of light and flew towards the External Affairs Hall.
Divination shows that the situation will be stable for the next ten days, but Zhou Yi is unwilling to just wait passively, lest some other accidents occur.
The Minor Divination Technique is not omnipotent; it is inherently a way to glimpse the vague designs of fate, susceptible to influence by the power behind the tribulation. The outcome becomes increasingly unclear, even leading to chaos in the divine will and erroneous divinations.
Those who cultivate are going with or against the heavenly path; a whim or a fleeting thought from a Nascent Soul Ancestor can align with or disrupt the divine will.
"The Cultivation World is truly fraught with peril; without sufficient strength, one is destined to meet an untimely demise!"
Zhou Yi\'s cultivation had barely spanned over three hundred years, and during that time, he had faced death threats three times overtly, not to mention the countless ones he had eluded in secret. Stretching time to a thousand, even ten thousand years, the journey could only be described as thorny and filled with crises at every turn.
...
One month later.
The Sect Leader of Dan Ding Sect, Dan Yangzi, emerged from his closed-door cultivation, having made strides in his mana.
"I heard a few days ago that a disciple in the early stage of Foundation Establishment killed a pseudo-Golden Core, showing quite the spirit I had back in the days. I will take a look at his aptitude, and if it\'s decent, I will accept him as an Inner Chamber Disciple!"
Dan Yangzi took out a scroll of yellow silk, his thoughts stirring slightly.
The name Sun Xing appeared on the surface of the yellow silk, followed by rows of text detailing his cultivation history and contribution to the sect.
"Calm in the face of a great catastrophe, not angered by a disciple\'s questioning, instead leaving behind a scripture of the essence of Lightning Method to aid the disciple in eliminating demons and defending the path!"
"Interesting, very interesting!"
"With such a temperament, even with a Quad Spirit Root, there is still the possibility of Core Formation. He should rightfully be my disciple!"
Dan Yangzi became increasingly interested in Sun Xing, his steps generating clouds, as he ascended into the sky.
The flying technique of a True Monarch was profound and exceptional, instantly traversing hundreds of miles, with clouds descending into Hundred Flowers Valley.
Dan Yangzi swept the area with his Divine Sense and found the cave dwelling empty.
"Out and not at home?"
After waiting for most of the day and as night fell, there was still no sign of Sun Xing\'s return.
Dan Yangzi\'s brows furrowed slightly, and a message via a jade slip flew into the External Affairs Hall, inquiring whether Wu Shuo knew of Sun Xing\'s whereabouts.
A few moments later.
The jade slip replied: Sun Xing had taken on a mission to exterminate demons and had left over a month ago. Due to the laziness and slothfulness of the disciples in the External Affairs Hall, this matter had not been recorded in the sect\'s archives.
"I will wait for his return before taking him as a disciple."
Dan Yangzi flew away on his cloud, never imagining that he would not see him again even when his lifespan came to an end.
...
Meanwhile.
Zhou Yi had also taken on a mission to exterminate demons and was returning to Luo Shui on his flying light.
After casting the Minor Divination Technique again, he saw that the hundred days ahead would be smooth and stable, indicating that he had already passed the disaster of bloodshed.
"It really did come from inside the Dan Ding Sect."
Zhou Yi entered the spiritual cave and secretly observed the He family cultivators for several days, but did not detect anything unusual.
The Qing Kingdom in Cloud Continent had become a stronghold for the Ghost King Sect, continuously clashing with the disciples of the Dan Ding Sect. With the main force of the fighting no longer the Loose Cultivators, the He family cultivators hid in the spiritual cave, afraid to go out lest they become cannon fodder for both sides.