Chapter 230: Five Elements Chaos Technique

Chapter 230: Five Elements Chaos Technique

Upon seeing two Celestial tier techniques in this place, Chu Ning was slightly taken aback but quickly approached with curiosity.

Using a jade token, he retrieved one of the scrolls.

Mystic Ice Frost Technique

With just a brief glance, Chu Ning could roughly discern the nature of this technique.

It was a rare cultivation technique focused on ice attributes.

Moreover, it was ranked as a lower-tier Celestial technique.

"It seems that the Nine Floret Sect used to have a highly accomplished ice attribute cultivator," Chu Ning thought to himself as he browsed through the technique.

After a quick perusal, he put it back.

While the technique was powerful, and the Golden Core one could forge with it would be mighty, it was of little use to him without an Ice Spirit Root or, at the very least, a Water Spirit Root.

Replacing the jade slip, Chu Ning used the token to unlock the restrictions on the other Celestial technique.

"Golden Sword Canon!" he murmured the name, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Judging from the name alone, it seemed to be a metallic-attribute technique.

As he inspected this lower-tier Celestial technique, his suspicions were confirmed.

It was indeed a metallic-attribute technique renowned for its offensive capabilities. The metallic spells one could cast with this technique were incredibly powerful.

Those who cultivated it could expect their attacks to be roughly thirty percent stronger than those of cultivators at the same level.

However, Chu Ning had never paid much attention to metallic-attribute spells or techniques, and for a simple reason—he lacked a Gold Spirit Root.

Chu Ning even doubted if he would ever come across a metallic-attribute spirit body in his future refreshes.

For now, he had no interest in it whatsoever.

Chu Ning then turned his attention to several empty slots on the shelf, each marked with a restriction. The attributes—fire, earth, wood, and wind—were written above them, along with a note indicating that the techniques were lost.

Seeing this, Chu Ning's eyebrows knit together slightly.

"The Nine Floret Sect was once renowned for pill refining and artifact crafting. I would expect there to be a high-ranked fire-attribute cultivation technique among their Celestial techniques.

I never would have thought that it, too, would be among the lost legacies. No wonder the sect's knowledge of pill refining and artifact crafting has declined," Chu Ning mused, shaking his head.

For pill refining and artifact crafting, fire-attribute technique cultivators were the most suitable. Without a top-tier technique, it would be difficult to produce top-tier cultivators in those fields.

If it weren't for his presence, the Nine Floret Sect would undoubtedly lose this time.

"I wonder how many legacy techniques the sect will be able to recover from that ancient site," he thought with a hint of regret.

If he couldn't find suitable tri-attribute techniques, he might have to consider the fire-attribute Celestial technique.

Of course, the ideal scenario would be to find a tri-attribute technique.

If his speculation about refreshing to an Earth Spirit Root next was correct, having three different spirit bodies would be far more beneficial for his cultivation speed than simply cultivating a Celestial technique.

It would also aid him in mastering other skills.

With that in mind, Chu Ning turned his attention to the Earth tier techniques.

There were significantly more Earth tier techniques than Celestial ones.

In addition to single-attribute techniques, Chu Ning also spotted several dual-attribute ones.

However, what furrowed his brows was his inability to find a suitable tri-attribute cultivation technique.

Not only had he failed to find a wood-fire-earth technique, but he also couldn't locate any other tri-attribute techniques.

Among them, however, was a jade slip that introduced a technique called the Five Elements Chaos Technique, which piqued Chu Ning's interest.

After jotting down the name and information, Chu Ning glanced over at the Immortal tier techniques.

There, he found a mid-tier Immortal technique suitable for wood-fire-earth tri-attribute spirit roots. He memorized its contents before giving the rest of the room a cursory glance and then heading downstairs.

In the first-floor hall, in addition to Xie Sanshui, there was an elderly man with white eyebrows and a long beard.

Chu Ning recognized him as Elder Liu Zhaolin, the Golden Core elder in charge of the Treasury Pavilion and the Technique Pavilion.

A cultivator at the mid-stage Golden Core realm, Liu Zhaolin was said to possess profound cultivation among the sect's Golden Core cultivators, second only to the sect master Yu Changle, the first elder Gong Yuquan, and the second elder Yuan Zhuo.

As Chu Ning had some questions about techniques he wanted to ask someone, he was delighted to see Liu Zhaolin and immediately greeted him with a cupped fist salute.

"Elder Liu!"

The benevolent-looking Liu Zhaolin smiled and asked, "Chu Ning, did you find what you were looking for?"

Chu Ning nodded and then shook his head.

Meeting Liu Zhaolin's curious gaze, he explained, "Our sect truly lives up to its thousands of years of heritage. I never expected to find so many Celestial and Earth tier techniques here.

I've never come across such profound techniques before, but the technique I'm seeking to comprehend is rather unique, and I haven't found a suitable one yet."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhaolin let out a soft "oh" and, raising his white eyebrows, slowly said, "Why don't you tell me what kind of technique you're looking for, Chu Ning? I've spent many years in the Treasury Pavilion, and I've researched quite a few techniques.

Even for some lost legacy techniques, while I may not know the cultivation methods, I do know quite a bit of information about them."

As this was precisely what Chu Ning intended, he asked directly, "Elder Liu, do you know if anyone in our sect has cultivated the Five Elements Chaos Technique in the past and how it ended up being lost?"

"The Five Elements Chaos Technique?" Liu Zhaolin was slightly taken aback by Chu Ning's question.

"I never would have guessed that you'd be interested in that technique."

Although he was a bit surprised, Liu Zhaolin didn't hide anything and began to explain.

"Indeed!" Liu Zhaolin nodded. "This senior possessed pseudo-spirit roots with the five elements, lacking only fire. Cultivators with such spiritual roots are already considered extremely fortunate to reach the Core Formation stage, but for this senior to also achieve the Nascent Soul stage is truly astonishing."

As he finished explaining, Liu Zhaolin turned to Xie Sanshui and instructed, "Go and find that senior's cultivation notes from before his passing and bring them to Chu Ning to see."

"Yes, Master!" Xie Sanshui replied and promptly made his way to the first floor of the treasury to retrieve the requested item.

It was then that Chu Ning realized that Xie Sanshui was actually a disciple of Elder Liu Zhaolin.

Elder Liu Zhaolin continued, "According to the notes left by this senior, the ancient cultivator who created the Five Elements Chaos Technique did so based on the cultivation methods described in a primordial immortal-ranked manual. The manual was incredibly profound and difficult to cultivate, making it unsuitable for most cultivators. Thus, he created the Five Elements Chaos Technique."

"An immortal-ranked manual?" Chu Ning exclaimed in surprise. "I thought there were only four tiers of cultivation methods: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Why is there a mention of an immortal tier?"

Stroking his white beard, Elder Liu Zhaolin smiled and said, "Immortal-ranked manuals are rarely recorded in the cultivation world, so it's no surprise that most cultivators are unaware of their existence. Immortal-tier manuals refer to cultivation methods that surpass what even Nascent Soul cultivators can handle. It is said that such manuals did not originate from our realm but were created by immortals from a higher realm, only to be left behind here for unknown reasons."

Chu Ning fell silent as he processed this new information, though he wasn't entirely surprised. After all, if he could traverse worlds, it stood to reason that beings from other realms could enter this one as well.

Elder Liu Zhaolin continued, "Now, let's return to the topic of the Five Elements Chaos Technique. According to the records of our sect's seniors, they learned from the ancient cultivator's cave that the immortal-ranked manual actually involved the cultivation of all five elements together. In our realm, not only is it unheard of to cultivate all five elements simultaneously, but even finding someone with a five-element spirit root is incredibly rare. To reach the Golden Core stage with such a root is almost impossible, let alone advancing further."

Elder Liu Zhaolin sighed, "However, this ancient cultivator was truly a genius. Based on the cultivation methods described in the manual, he created the Five Elements Chaos Technique."

He went on to explain, "To cultivate this technique, one must possess at least three spirit roots of the five elements. Those with four or five spirit roots can also cultivate it. However, unless one has exceptional luck, the progress of their cultivation will still be slower compared to those with heaven-grade or earth-grade spirit roots. Nonetheless, it does provide pseudo-spirit root cultivators with the opportunity to advance to the Nascent Soul stage and beyond. Moreover, this technique is quite powerful and is not inferior to many other cultivation methods, hence its classification as an upper-tier Earth-ranked technique. The only downside is that it doesn't come with many innate abilities."

Elder Liu Zhaolin paused for a moment before adding with a smile, "In fact, this senior of our sect seemed to have always wanted to classify this technique as a Heaven-ranked one. After all, a technique that can help cultivators with ordinary talent reach the Nascent Soul stage can indeed rival many Heaven-ranked techniques. However, the sect back then considered that this technique would mainly benefit those with relatively lower talent within the sect, so it was placed among the Earth-ranked techniques."

A hint of sadness crept into Elder Liu Zhaolin's voice as he continued, "But the talent requirement is indeed a significant limitation. After that senior, no other sect member was able to cultivate this technique to a high level, not even reaching the Golden Core stage. Then, with the internal strife within the Dual Cloud Alliance, this technique was lost."

Hearing this, Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Are you saying that this technique was lost during that internal strife?"

"Most likely," Liu Zhaolin confirmed. "There's a high possibility that it was lost at the Wolong Mountain site. This senior used to be the peak master of Tianyu Peak, and he participated in the battle at Wolong Mountain. After that, he never returned to the sect, and it is believed that he perished there."

As Elder Liu Zhaolin spoke, Chu Ning silently mouthed three words to himself.

"Wolong Mountain."

At that moment, Xie Sanshui returned with a jade slip in his hand.

Elder Liu Zhaolin took it from him and handed it to Chu Ning. "This jade slip contains the notes left by that senior of our sect. The contents are quite disorganized, but we have left them untouched to preserve their authenticity. Chu Ning, if you're interested, you can take it and have a look."

Chu Ning nodded and accepted the jade slip before bidding farewell and leaving the Treasury Pavilion.

As Elder Liu Zhaolin watched Chu Ning's departing figure, a hint of confusion crept into his eyes. "This Chu Ning clearly possesses a unique spirit root like the Wind Spirit Root, so why would he be interested in a technique like the Five Elements Chaos Technique? Strange."

Puzzled, he shook his head. The Nine Floret Sect was relatively lenient with its disciples, rarely interfering in their cultivation affairs. This was why Yu Changle and the others, despite knowing that Chu Ning's displayed cultivation methods and artifacts were not all that he possessed, didn't pry too much. After all, his cultivation techniques and treasures far exceeded those of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Chu Ning, holding the jade slip, flew back to Lingyan Peak, where his cave abode was located.

Wang Ping stood outside the cave and greeted him with a simple-minded smile. "Master, you're back! I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Chu Ning's eyes swept over Wang Ping, and he asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "You've been waiting for me for a long time? Is there something you need?"

Wang Ping nodded eagerly. "The elders in the pavilion said that you've been in seclusion for a long time, so it's been a while since I last collected spirit herbs for you. They asked if you needed any specific spirit herbs or when you would need them for pill refining so that they can prepare in advance."

Upon hearing this, Chu Ning smiled. "You're not as simple-minded as you seem. You do have your moments of quick wit. Go ahead and tell them that I'll be collecting spirit herbs tomorrow and will refine some pills while I'm at it."

"Yes, Master," Wang Ping replied, turning to leave.

"Hold on," Chu Ning called out, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't you have something you want to tell me?"

Wang Ping turned back, looking bewildered as he stared blankly at Chu Ning.

"Master, the pavilion only entrusted me with that one task. There's nothing else," he said, sounding confused.

Chu Ning smiled and asked, "What about you? Don't you have anything to tell me?"

"Me? I don't have anything to report," Wang Ping said, scratching his head.

"I just said you weren't simple-minded, and now you're proving me wrong," Chu Ning shook his head with a smile.

He then pointed at Wang Ping and said, "Your cultivation progress isn't slow at all. You reached the peak of the Qi Refining realm six years ago, and now you're at the pinnacle. It's time for you to attempt Foundation Establishment, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Wang Ping's face lit up with joy at Chu Ning's words. "Master, I plan to accumulate more contribution points. In another six months, I'll be able to exchange them for a Foundation Establishment Dan. Then, I'll start my attempt at Foundation Establishment."

Chu Ning glanced at Wang Ping, surprised to find such an honest and sincere disciple.

Without further teasing, he took out a small jade bottle and handed it to Wang Ping.

"Take this," he said.

"What is this? Is it for the pavilion?" Wang Ping asked as he accepted the bottle.

When Chu Ning confirmed that it was for him, Wang Ping finally seemed to realize something. He quickly opened the bottle and let out a startled cry.

"Foundation Establishment Dan!"

Wang Ping stuttered, "Master, are you... giving me a Foundation Establishment Dan?"

"Why? Don't you want it?" Chu Ning asked with a smile.

"Yes! Yes, I do!" Wang Ping finally shed his simple-mindedness and bowed respectfully to Chu Ning. "Thank you, Master, for the pill!"

Only then did Chu Ning smile and nod. He waved his hand and said, "Off you go. Keep those contribution points of yours for exchanging other resources in the future."

After sending off a grateful Wang Ping, Chu Ning returned to his cave abode on Lingyan Peak, which he had left just the day before.

"I never expected that right after breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, I would stumble upon such a major event in the sect," Chu Ning mused, shaking his head slightly.

He sat down and picked up the jade slip he had brought back from the Treasury Pavilion, studying it intently.

After a while, Chu Ning set down the jade slip. "The name of this senior from the sect was Shen Bai, and the ancient cultivator was called Wuji Zhenren."

The contents of the jade slip were mostly consistent with what Liu Zhaolin had said, although it provided more detailed information. For instance, Wuji Zhenren's cave abode had not been discovered by Shen Bai himself but by a friend from the Daluo Sect. The friend had given it to Shen Bai because he thought it might be of help to him.

Later on, the cultivator from the Daluo Sect was trapped at the Golden Core stage as his lifespan ran out, while Shen Bai had advanced to the Nascent Soul stage.

Reading this, Chu Ning couldn't help but feel a sense of vicarious emotion.

It seemed that the relationship between the Jiuhua Sect and the Daluo Sect had once been quite amicable, but now, with the passage of time, their ties had weakened.

After his moment of reflection, Chu Ning's attention turned to the Five Elements Chaos Technique.

"If I follow this senior's introduction to the cultivation method, it does seem very suitable for me. With this, I can cultivate it regardless of which attribute my spirit root refreshes to next. Even if I refresh to other attributes in the future, I may not need to frequently change my cultivation technique," Chu Ning thought.

Although Chu Ning was aware that he could exploit a loophole in the system's cultivation technique by refreshing his talent after completing each layer, he also suspected that it might not be as easy as it seemed.

Intentionally looking for loopholes in the system didn't sit well with him; it felt like he was causing trouble for no good reason.

Instead, he preferred to follow the system's guidance and find the most suitable cultivation technique.

Moreover, the higher his realm, the greater the difficulty and risk involved in changing cultivation techniques.

Chu Ning didn't want to cut off his nose to spite his face, especially since the spirit root talents he had refreshed so far had already made his talent exceptionally strong.

And there was more to come.

These thoughts flashed through Chu Ning's mind as he made up his mind.

"Since I have this opportunity now, I might as well give it a shot. If I can find the Five Elements Chaos Technique, it'll be a good backup plan," he decided.

After browsing through the Treasury Pavilion, Chu Ning had realized how rare multi-attribute cultivation techniques were. Now that he had this chance, he was determined to give it a try.

However, he also acknowledged that Ling Cang's words made sense. By injuring Ao Xuan, he had ruined the Daluo Sect's plans. The Daluo Sect would undoubtedly view him as an eyesore, a thorn in their side. Going to the site directly would be too risky.

With his decision made, Chu Ning paid a visit to Yu Changle's cave abode on Jiuxiao Peak that very night.

A month later, news arrived from the sect.

The small space within Wolong Mountain had stabilized, and the sect was sending twenty cultivators to explore and search for any lost legacies of the Jiuhua Sect.

Half a month earlier, after refining pills at the Pill Refining Pavilion, Chu Ning had once again announced his seclusion to the outside world, citing the need to consolidate his late Foundation Establishment realm cultivation.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end