Chapter 176: The Reincarnation Law Disk

Chapter 176: The Reincarnation Law Disk

At this moment, all of the divine consciousness liquid seemed to have grown in size, and what was once formless now took on a faint ebony hue.

Chu Ning was astonished by this peculiar transformation.

However, he knew that this must be a benefit gained from the previous experience in the Reincarnation Illusion.

His heart was filled with joy.

Without further ado, Chu Ning once again released his spiritual sense, focusing it on the forbidden door that had appeared.

He had long memorized and comprehended the method of breaking the prohibition as recorded in the diagram, and now he hesitated no more. With a series of intricate hand seals, he channeled his spiritual power.

As each hand seal was formed, Chu Ning attached a strand of his spiritual sense to it.

After a full incense stick's worth of time, the prohibition before them stirred.

In the next moment, the prohibition vanished, revealing a stone door.

Chu Ning gently pushed it open.

Chu Ning and Ling Xiaobai stepped out.

"This is... the passage we entered when we first came to the cave?"

Chu Ning was slightly surprised as he recognized the familiar passage.

They had emerged midway between the entrance to the cave and the outer hall.

Looking down the passage in both directions, one way led further into the cave mansion, while the other led to the exit.

Chu Ning did not hesitate and headed straight for the exit.

Although there was still one place he hadn't explored in the Reincarnation Ancient Cave, the second floor of the inner hall, and the layout map also provided a method to release the prohibition, he felt he had gained more than enough from this trip, especially with the much-needed Divine Refining Technique already in his possession.

Chu Ning felt there was no need to take any more risks.

Upon reaching the exit stone door, Chu Ning did not rush out. Instead, he sent Ling Xiaobai ahead to scout the way.

When Ling Xiaobai returned with news, Chu Ning's eyes flickered with thought.

"You're saying there might be other Foundation Establishment cultivators nearby, and you sensed the ripple of spiritual sense scanning this area?"

Chu Ning muttered to himself, "Could it be someone from the Song family? I heard that Song Li, the elder of the Song family, is a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. While I'm not completely afraid, engaging in a public battle with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator here in the Thousand Lakes and Islands would definitely draw unwanted attention."

With that in mind, Chu Ning said to Ling Xiaobai, "Let's stay here for a while longer. After another hour, go out and check again. If they're still there, we'll stay put. At most, we'll go and explore that second floor of the inner hall."

However, according to Chu Ning's speculation, even if someone from the Song family did come, they shouldn't be guarding that spot all the time.

At the very least, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't be wasting their time like that.

So, Chu Ning waited for another hour before sending Ling Xiaobai out to investigate again.

As expected, the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was no longer there.

Chu Ning didn't hesitate anymore, as he was worried that the longer he stayed, the more noise he would make while breaking the prohibition.

He had Ling Xiaobai lead him out right away.

As soon as he exited the Reincarnation Ancient Cave, Chu Ning took out the Green Light Bead and released his spiritual sense to scan the area above the water.

"No one!"

Upon confirming that there were no signs of anyone within his spiritual sense range, Chu Ning quickly emerged from the water and sped away.

Instead of heading towards Water Cloud Island, Chu Ning continued southeast.

He had already committed the map of the surrounding area to memory.

About two hundred miles southeast from here, there was another island called Green Stone Island, famous for its abundant spiritual fish.

There were often cultivators in the area, so his presence wouldn't attract attention.

Of course, the precondition was that Chu Ning had to conceal his Foundation Establishment cultivation base.

Even in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, a Foundation Establishment cultivator would stand out.

Disguising his aura to resemble that of a seventh-layer Refining Qi cultivator, Chu Ning flew nonchalantly towards Green Stone Island.

After flying about fifty miles, Chu Ning suddenly stopped and scanned the waters below.

"A demon beast?"

Within his spiritual sense range, there was a first-rank advanced demon beast lurking at the bottom of the lake.

The Thousand Lakes and Islands used to be part of a vast mountain range on the mainland, so there weren't many demon beasts in the water.

Occasionally, some amphibious demon beasts might venture into the sea to hunt spiritual fish, but most demon beasts stayed on the demon beast islands.

A first-rank advanced demon beast wasn't worth Chu Ning's attention, even if its aura was unusually strong among its peers, hinting at a strength comparable to a cultivator at the peak of the Refining Qi stage.

However, at this moment, Chu Ning's heart stirred with an idea.

"Since that late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was searching near the Reincarnation Ancient Cave, there's a chance he might expand his search area.

It's not suspicious for me to be flying here since my cultivation base is low.

But if I'm being chased by a demon beast, it would seem more reasonable."

With that in mind, Chu Ning slowed down a little and flew close to the water's surface. He cast a spell towards a demon beast that resembled a giant toad lurking in the water.

Chu Ning, of course, paid it no heed and flew forward, dodging the water arrow while casting another spell at the toad-like demon beast.

The spell wasn't particularly powerful and didn't harm the beast.

But it did serve to infuriate the advanced first-rank demon beast further, and it pursued Chu Ning from beneath the waters.

In no time, the two were racing ahead, covering nearly a hundred miles.

Along the way, they didn't encounter anyone, and Chu Ning could see that they were only a few dozen miles away from Green Stone Island.

He could even make out the silhouettes of other cultivators in the distance, busy capturing spirit fish.

"There's a demon beast!"

Chu Ning shouted, alerting the cultivators ahead.

At that moment, he also felt a spiritual sense sweep over him.

"What a powerful spiritual sense, it's almost comparable to mine!"

Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat.

He had tested his spiritual sense after exiting the Reincarnation Ancient Cave and found it to be strangely enhanced, with a range of nearly 600 zhang.

And now, this person's spiritual sense matched his own, indicating a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

With this thought, Chu Ning pretended to be unaware and continued flying forward.

About two miles ahead, two cultivators rose from the lake's surface upon hearing the commotion.

Chu Ning quickly assessed their cultivation levels with a glance.

One was a skinny old man with the same cultivation level as him, Refining Qi layer seven, while the other was a young girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, who seemed to be at only layer two.

Worried that the demon beast might accidentally harm them, Chu Ning immediately shouted a warning.

"Be careful, fellow daoists! There's a first-rank advanced demon beast here, comparable to a cultivator at the peak of the Refining Qi stage!"

The old man and the young girl in front paled at his words and flew out of the water, also fleeing forward.

However, their escape technique wasn't very fast, and Chu Ning quickly caught up.

"Fellow daoist, why don't we join forces to kill this beast?"

Chu Ning suggested as he flew alongside the old man.

The old man shook his head vigorously like a rattling drum.

"Fellow daoist, you said this demon beast is comparable to a cultivator at the peak of Refining Qi. Even if the three of us join forces, we won't be a match for it.

But if we encounter other daoists ahead, we can try to fight it together."

As the two were talking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

Chu Ning and the other two subconsciously hovered in mid-air.

A gloomy-faced elder in brocade robes appeared, his entire body exuding a formidable aura.

Upon seeing this person, the skinny old man beside Chu Ning changed his expression and immediately bowed with the young girl beside him.

"Greetings, Elder Song."

Understanding dawned on Chu Ning, and he bowed slightly as well.

Elder Song didn't acknowledge the three of them but instead flashed behind them and waved his hand.

A sharp golden spell shot out and landed on the lake's surface.

At this moment, the toad-like demon beast, which had been in pursuit, realized something was amiss and tried to turn back.

But it was too late, and it was instantly pierced by the golden spell and died.

Seeing this, the skinny old man and the young girl beside him breathed a sigh of relief, their faces filled with shock.

Chu Ning, of course, pretended to be equally astonished.

Then, Elder Song turned to face the three of them and asked the old man, "Do you know me?"

The old man quickly replied, "Junior has seen Elder once before at Illusion Island."

Upon hearing this, Elder Song didn't question further but turned his gaze to Chu Ning.

"Where are you from, and why are you being chased by a demon beast?"

"Elder, I was capturing spirit fish up ahead when this demon beast found me and pursued me relentlessly," Chu Ning explained.

Elder Song didn't question further about the demon beast but instead asked, "You often capture spirit fish in this area. Have you seen any other Foundation Establishment cultivators recently?"

All three of them shook their heads, and Elder Song asked if they had been near Water Cloud Island.

Again, Chu Ning and the others shook their heads.

Elder Song didn't seem to expect much from the three Refining Qi cultivators anyway.

After a few brief questions, he transformed into a flying rainbow and disappeared.

Watching Elder Song's retreating figure, Chu Ning's eyes flickered.

"This Elder Song is indeed a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, but if it comes to a fight, I might not lose.

I must have spent a considerable amount of time in the Reincarnation Ancient Cave, and the Song family probably realized something was amiss when Song Ye, Song Cheng, and the others didn't return.

Seeing Elder Song's behavior, they must have been searching this area recently."

Thinking about how several key members of the Song family had perished by his hand, Chu Ning shook his head.

Soon, not just Elder Song but the entire Song family would face dire consequences.

"Grandpa, is that a Foundation Establishment cultivator? So powerful! I want to reach Foundation Establishment too!"

At that moment, a voice rang out.

The old man beside her spoke indulgently.

The little girl giggled upon hearing this.

Chu Ning, standing beside them, was drawn to their conversation and turned to look at them.

The old man smiled at Chu Ning upon noticing his gaze.

"Children speak without restraint, please don't mind us, fellow Daoist."

Chu Ning smiled in response.

"I think your granddaughter is quite right. At such a young age, she's already at the second layer of Qi Refining, and she'll surely reach Foundation Establishment in no time."

The little girl, Xin Xin, smiled sweetly at Chu Ning upon hearing his words.

The skinny old man knew that Chu Ning was just comforting them, so he didn't say anything more.

Changing the subject, Chu Ning casually inquired, "By the way, who was that elder from the Song family? Why was he searching for someone in this area?"

"That was Song Li, the elder of the Song family," the skinny old man replied.

"I heard that the Song family has recently encountered some troubles. Perhaps Elder Song is here because of that," Chu Ning said with a hint of interest.

"Oh? What kind of troubles is the Song family facing?" Chu Ning asked, his interest piqued.

A hesitant look flashed across the skinny old man's face, and he shook his head. "I'm not sure about the details. I only overheard a bit of gossip a couple of days ago. If you want to know more, you might have to ask someone else."

Seeing the old man's cautious expression, Chu Ning smiled inwardly but didn't press further. Instead, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, fellow Daoist. Then, I shall take my leave."

As Chu Ning turned to leave, the old man hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Fellow Daoist, what about that demon beast...?"

He pointed at the giant toad demon beast's corpse floating on the lake's surface.

Chu Ning glanced at the corpse and then at the old man and his granddaughter. He shook his head and said, "I don't want the demon beast's corpse. You can do with it as you please."

Without paying heed to the old man's confused look, Chu Ning flew away.

Behind him, the skinny old man was initially taken aback but soon broke into a look of elation.

A first-rank advanced demon beast comparable to a peak Qi Refining cultivator was a significant windfall for him.

"Grandpa, didn't we hear that the leader of the Song family has gone missing? Why didn't you tell that uncle about it?

And why didn't he want the demon beast's corpse?" Xin Xin asked, puzzled.

"Xin Xin, remember, we must be cautious on our path of cultivation. Loose lips sink ships. It's best to stay out of the business of those powerful figures.

Let's quickly collect the demon beast's corpse and sell it. We can use the money to buy you plenty of pills for your cultivation." The old man admonished his granddaughter.

Chu Ning smiled faintly as he heard their faint conversation drifting from behind, and he continued flying forward.

After leaving Green Stone Island, Chu Ning made a round of a few other islands.

Along the way, he casually listened in on the conversations of other cultivators, picking up on the news that Song Cheng, the leader of the Thousand Islands Alliance, had not been seen for a long time.

Additionally, several other Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Song family were also missing.

This caused much unease among the cultivators in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, with many speculating about the troubles within the Song family.

Back in his cave abode, Chu Ning paid no heed to the outside world's commotion.

The first thing he did was take out the treasures he had obtained from the Reincarnation Ancient Cave to study them.

The three jade boxes he found in the final stone chamber contained three items.

There was one item that Chu Ning couldn't open, as well as the Divine Refining Technique and the round treasure.

Instead of immediately delving into the Divine Refining Technique, Chu Ning first picked up the round treasure, along with the jade slip that accompanied it.

He also took out the two Soul Fixing Beads from his storage bag.

"These Soul Fixing Beads indeed came from this round plate," Chu Ning mused.

Without hurrying to place the two Soul Fixing Beads back into the round plate, Chu Ning picked up the jade slip and began to read.

"Reincarnation Law Disk, a spiritual sense-type treasure."

Upon reading the introduction to the round plate, Chu Ning finally understood why it had suddenly emitted that ebony light in the stone chamber.

"This treasure is called the Reincarnation Law Disk, a rare spiritual sense-attacking treasure.

To activate it, one must cultivate the Divine Refining Technique and use one's spiritual sense to drive it.

The reincarnation light emitted by this treasure not only possesses spiritual sense-attacking effects but can also annihilate the body and soul of cultivators with low cultivation bases."

As for why the several Song family cultivators in the stone chamber had been severely injured but not directly killed, Chu Ning speculated that it was due to two reasons.

Firstly, the Reincarnation Law Disk had lost two Soul Fixing Beads, reducing its power.

Secondly, it was likely also related to his own insufficient spiritual sense cultivation.

With that in mind, Chu Ning took out the two Soul Fixing Beads and placed them into the two empty slots on the Reincarnation Law Disk.

The jade slip also mentioned this particular function.

Moreover, the Soul Fixing Beads seemed to be even more effective when installed on the Reincarnation Law Disk.

This was because the law disk could synergize the effects of all seven Soul Fixing Beads.

After installing the beads, Chu Ning immediately channeled his spiritual sense into the ancient law disk.

Instantly, he felt the spiritual consciousness liquid in his sea of consciousness being rapidly consumed.

About thirty percent of it was spent before the law disk suddenly erupted with streaks of ebony light.

However, after swirling in the air for a moment without a target, the light returned to the law disk.

Subsequently, Chu Ning realized that he only needed to slightly manipulate his spiritual sense to activate the law disk.

"The reincarnation light of this treasure can actually be stored?"

Understanding this, Chu Ning was delighted.

Now, he could consume his spiritual sense beforehand to store the reincarnation light.

Then, when facing an enemy, he could unleash the stored light.

This way, he wouldn't have to expend a large amount of spiritual sense every time he fought.

Evidently, that was also the case in the stone hall of the Reincarnation Ancient Cave.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have triggered the law disk to emit the reincarnation light by merely probing it with his spiritual sense.

"The power of the reincarnation light emitted by this Reincarnation Law Disk doesn't seem stronger than the one in the stone hall.

Logically, since I've installed all the Soul Fixing Beads and the previous light had been stored for an unknown duration, its power should have diminished somewhat.

So, there's only one possibility: the person who used it before had a spiritual sense far stronger than mine."

With that in mind, Chu Ning immediately put the law disk into his storage bag.

At the same time, he took out the strange book that recorded the Divine Refining Technique.

After carefully examining the cultivation methods of the first two layers, which were identical to what he had practiced before, Chu Ning proceeded to study the third layer of the Divine Refining Technique.

About an hour later, Chu Ning opened his eyes and checked his cultivation proficiency.

【Yuan Fire Divine Wood Art (High-Rank Xuan), Second Layer (1727/10000)】

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Art, First Volume, Immortal Soul (33/3000)】

【Divine Refining Technique, Third Layer (1/8000)】

Over the past few days, while he had learned a lot about breaking prohibitions in the Reincarnation Ancient Cave, he hadn't actually cultivated.

Therefore, neither his Yuan Fire Divine Wood Art nor his Nine Transformations Body Refining Art had progressed.

Now, after attempting to cultivate the third layer of the Divine Refining Technique, his progress had finally updated.

However, the fact that it required 8,000 proficiency points to complete the first layer of this technique left Chu Ning secretly astonished.

It seemed that he would need to spend quite some time on it.

"I should give it a try and see how the Iron Soul Flower affects my cultivation of the Divine Refining Technique after reaching the third layer."

With that in mind, Chu Ning went to the garden where the Iron Soul Flower was planted.

Ever since the flower had matured, he hadn't paid much attention to it because his Divine Refining Technique had almost reached perfection at the second layer.

Later, when he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he hadn't spent much time absorbing the wood essence.

Chu Ning used his spiritual sense to lock onto one of the Iron Soul Flowers and began cultivating the Divine Refining Technique while absorbing the wood essence.

Another hour passed.

As soon as Chu Ning opened his eyes, he checked his cultivation proficiency.

【Divine Refining Technique, Third Layer (3/8000)】

"After entering the third layer, the effect of the Iron Soul Flower is indeed slightly diminished.

But it still provides a 2-point increase in proficiency, which is a pretty good result."

Chu Ning nodded in satisfaction.

After all, he now truly understood the difference between the second and third layers of the Divine Refining Technique.

Moreover, with the enhancement from the Reincarnation Illusion, his spiritual sense should be comparable to that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As he walked back into the cave, Chu Ning casually glanced at the spirit plants and spirit herbs in the other gardens and fields.

However, when he arrived at the hybrid spirit fruit born from the combination of the Golden Primeval Fruit, the Prime Yang Fruit, and the Iron Stem Orchid, he suddenly stopped.

"It's matured?"

Chu Ning muttered as he looked at the colorful fruit.

He didn't feel overly delighted, though.

He had cultivated this spirit fruit for over three years, and the other spirit herbs and plants had already matured.

At this moment, he didn't feel as eager as he had before.

He casually plucked a few of the spirit fruits and brought them back to his cave.

Instead of studying their effects first, he started checking the storage bags of the Song family members.

He emptied the contents of their bags, categorizing the items he found: magical artifacts, talismans, pills, spirit stones, and various spirit plants and herbs...

As important figures in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, they indeed possessed many valuable items.

However, when Chu Ning's gaze landed on one particular item, he froze.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end