Chapter 258: Heaven Fire Sword Art and Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique

Chapter 258: Heaven Fire Sword Art and Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique

Upon hearing Liu Zhaolin's words, Chu Ning remained calm and replied, "I've just formed my Golden Core, so I'd like to try these extremely powerful techniques first. If I can't cultivate them, I'll come back to you, Senior Brother, and exchange them for something else."

Liu Zhaolin, who was helping Chu Ning replicate the jade slips, said, "With your cultivation, Senior Brother, cultivating the Heaven Fire Sword Art and the Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique will be challenging, but I believe it's only a matter of time before you master them."

The Heaven Fire Sword Art and the Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique were the two techniques Chu Ning had chosen for this trip. Both were top-tier, mid-grade techniques.

The Heaven Fire Sword Art was a fire-attribute technique passed down in the Jiuhua Sect, renowned for its destructive power. It could be used to condense sword qi with spiritual power or in conjunction with flying swords.

For Chu Ning, who would be refining the Fire Spirit Sword for the Five Elements Sword Array in the future, this sword art was an excellent choice.

However, the Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique was not a part of the Jiuhua Sect's heritage. It was another sect's signature technique brought back from Wolong Valley, and that sect had been destroyed over two thousand five hundred years ago.

Upon returning to his abode on Tianlan Peak with the two jade slips, Chu Ning immediately took out the jade slip containing the talisman-making techniques.

"There are quite a few high-level talismans recorded here. Even if I don't take them to the Tianying Pavilion for trading, making some for sale wouldn't be a bad idea."

Thinking about the fact that he didn't even have a single mid-grade spirit stone in his storage bag made Chu Ning feel uneasy.

As the saying goes, it's better to have something in hand than nothing at all.

Since his trip to Yanji City, Chu Ning had maintained a relatively abundant supply of spirit stones. Now that he suddenly found himself without any, he couldn't help but feel a little unsettled, even as a Jindan cultivator.

Without further ado, Chu Ning began to study the jade slip. He selected a few high-level, mid-grade talismans to try his hand at, and within a few days, his storage bag was filled with newly crafted talismans.

Instead of keeping them for himself, Chu Ning gave them all to Wang Ping, asking him to sell them in Jiuhua City.

With his current status, there was no need for secrecy about his talisman-making abilities. Even if the other sect members found out, they would probably just admire his versatility and not pry further.

The Jiuhua Sect was not known for its expertise in talismans. While they had some talisman masters who could draw intermediate-level talismans, high-level talismans were typically only crafted by Golden Core cultivators.

Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator possessed exceptional talent in talisman-making, they could, at most, craft high-level, low-grade talismans.

None of the Golden Core cultivators in the Jiuhua Sect, however, had delved deeply into the art of talismans. As a result, high-level talismans were rarely seen in the Jiuhua Sect and its surroundings.

Now that a large number of high-level talismans had suddenly appeared in Jiuhua City, even some of the Jiuhua Sect's cultivators went out of their way to purchase them.

In just two months, Chu Ning's storage bag had gained nearly a thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

This gave Chu Ning some peace of mind. Even if he didn't have anything impressive to offer at the Tianying Pavilion, he could always fall back on his stash of spirit stones.

Over these two months, Chu Ning had also been busy preparing pills and talismans.

He had reached a level where he could refine high-level, mid-grade pills without the aid of the Refining Spirit, a feat that left Ling Cang deeply impressed.

However, Chu Ning decided against using the Refining Spirit any further, as it was a unique ability granted by the system. He didn't want to risk exposing pills that he might potentially trade away.

As for talismans, Chu Ning prepared a significant number of high-level, top-grade ones. These talismans were not suitable for sale in Jiuhua City, so he planned to bring them to the exchange event, hoping to trade them for something useful.

Having just formed his Golden Core, Chu Ning focused on stabilizing his cultivation base rather than spending too much time cultivating the Five Elements Chaos Technique.

Instead, he dedicated himself to the three techniques he was currently practicing: the Fiery Flame Art, the Heaven Fire Sword Art, and the Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique. He had made considerable progress in these techniques and had already mastered their basics.

Given the complexity of these top-tier techniques, it was unrealistic for Chu Ning to expect to master them completely in just two months. However, he could already perform them without any issues.

The only aspects he needed to improve were the speed of casting and the power of the techniques.

One morning, after practicing the Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique on Tianlan Peak, Chu Ning dispersed the rocky armor that had been enveloping his body, created from his spiritual power.

His gaze then turned towards the depths of the Jiuhua Mountain Range.

"In another month, Senior Brother Ling and I will be heading to the Tianying Pavilion for the exchange event. I'm afraid these items won't be enough to impress those Golden Core cultivators."

Chu Ning's eyes sparkled with determination as he felt the need to prepare more.

The Jiuhua Mountain Range was teeming with demonic beasts and spiritual herbs, and he knew it would be a waste not to take advantage of these abundant resources.

With that thought, Chu Ning whistled lightly, summoning the two Golden Thunder Eagles. He leaped onto the back of one of the eagles, with Ling Xiaobai joining him.

Soon, they were soaring towards the depths of the Jiuhua Mountain Range.

"Xiaobai, Dajin, Xiaojin, when you come here to hunt, do you ever come across creatures that you'd rather not mess with? Take me to see them."

At Chu Ning's words, both Ling Xiaobai and the Golden Thunder Eagles let out joyful cries.

Ling Xiaobai often accompanied the eagles on their hunting trips, and Chu Ning usually allowed it. Firstly, it allowed Xiaobai to find some spirit fruits to eat. Secondly, having experienced various events with Chu Ning, Xiaobai was much more alert and cautious than the eagles, reducing the likelihood of accidents.

Indeed, the trio had safely hunted in the Jiuhua Mountain Range for over a decade, partly because they knew when to avoid certain formidable creatures.

Hearing Chu Ning's request, they were naturally delighted.

"Guuuuu!"

Dajin let out a loud cry as it carried Chu Ning eastward.

He unleashed his spiritual sense and flew straight towards the bottom of the cliff.

This place was the Wanxiang Cliff, which Chu Ning had visited once over two decades ago.

If he wanted to trouble a Golden Core-stage demon beast, the first place that came to Chu Ning's mind was the Yin-Yang Mule Deer residing here.

Back then, Chu Ning had severely injured this demon beast by countering its spiritual sense with his own. However, this fifth-grade demon beast was quite cunning and managed to escape.

Chu Ning wanted to see if it was still around.

As soon as he swept the area with his spiritual sense, he detected the presence of the demon beast at the bottom of the cliff.

"This demon must be taking advantage of the colorful mist at the bottom of the cliff to cultivate. Perhaps its illusion technique requires this environment," Chu Ning mused.

He flew down, activating the Spirit Suppressing Technique, ensuring that even a demon beast adept at spiritual sense like the Yin-Yang Mule Deer couldn't detect his presence.

This was why Chu Ning had stowed away his spirit beasts—to avoid any accidental detection.

Chu Ning's body gently landed outside the Yin-Yang Mule Deer's lair. The fifth-grade demon beast seemed to finally realize that an intruder had breached its domain.

Its body turned ethereal, and it attempted to hide itself.

On its distinctive black and white head, the white antlers shimmered as it prepared to cast an illusion.

It intended to seize the opportunity to launch a spiritual sense attack on the intruder.

However, when it recognized who had intruded, the Yin-Yang Mule Deer had only one thought: Run!

This was the same late Foundation Establishment cultivator who had grievously wounded it over two decades ago. Now, that cultivator had become a Golden Core cultivator.

It had taken the deer over twenty years to regrow its antlers and recover. If it didn't flee now, was it expecting to stay here and wait for death?

It didn't even bother trying to create an illusion because it vividly remembered that such tactics were useless against this particular cultivator.

Maintaining its ethereal state, the Yin-Yang Mule Deer prepared to bolt out of its lair.

At that moment, Chu Ning chuckled softly.

"So, this demon has the ability to exhibit a talent similar to an invisibility technique.

And it also has a slight effect akin to the Spirit Suppressing Technique.

If not for the significant enhancement in my spiritual sense, I might not have discovered it."

As he chuckled, Chu Ning casually waved his hand, and a fiery red sword beam shot out from his palm.

It streaked directly towards the head of the Yin-Yang Mule Deer, which was trying to escape.

This startled the deer, almost scaring it out of its wits.

It realized that its spiritual sense was no match for Chu Ning's.

Seeing no way out, the Yin-Yang Mule Deer had no choice but to materialize and counter with its spiritual sense.

However, its spiritual sense was far inferior to Chu Ning's, so how could it possibly harm him?

After the backlash from the Spirit Suppressing Technique, the Three Thousand Jade Silken Threads bound it, followed by a sword beam formed from the Heaven Fire Sword Art.

With ease, Chu Ning slew this fifth-grade demon beast.

This type of demon beast, with its formidable spiritual sense, would be a formidable opponent for other cultivators at the same stage.

After all, enhancing one's spiritual sense was notoriously difficult.

However, for Chu Ning, since the other aspects of the demon beast were mediocre, killing it was as easy as pie.

Chu Ning approached the corpse of the Yin-Yang Mule Deer and extracted the three most valuable items: the black and white antlers and its demon core.

Of course, he didn't waste the carcass either. The deer's hide was an excellent material for refining artifacts and could even be crafted into a special type of treasure that concealed one's body and aura.

Then, Chu Ning released the two Golden Thunder Eagles.

When Dajin and Xiaojin saw that there was a fifth-grade demon beast's meat to feast on, they let out joyful cries.

As for Ling Xiaobai, that little rascal sniffed around and then darted into the cave of the Yin-Yang Mule Deer.

Chu Ning knew that Ling Xiaobai must have discovered something good, so he followed suit.

"Hey, Serene Heart Fruits!"

Led by Ling Xiaobai, Chu Ning soon found a spiritual fruit growing deep within the cave.

This fruit not only had the effect of detoxifying poisons but also helped in enhancing one's spiritual sense when consumed.

Chu Ning fed two of the fruits to Ling Xiaobai and then plucked the remaining dozen or so fruits.

Unfortunately, this type of spiritual fruit couldn't be transplanted, so Chu Ning could only pick the fruits and leave.

"Let's go!"

Chu Ning exited the Yin-Yang Mule Deer's lair and summoned the two Golden Thunder Eagles, which had already devoured their fill of the demon beast, to carry him to another location.

After flying for a short while, Chu Ning arrived at a large pond that was even bigger than the Black Dragon Pool. It was already the size of a small lake.

"Fifth-grade Black Dragon Flood Dragon, if you want to eat its gallbladder, sure, let's do it! Die!"

As Chu Ning's voice fell, a gigantic black python surged out of the pond.

Unfortunately for this Golden Core-stage demon beast, famed for its robust body and astonishing defensive capabilities, it had encountered the monstrously talented Chu Ning.

Intent on honing his magical techniques through this battle, Chu Ning didn't even bother using his dual fire rings or other treasures.

Relying solely on his powerful spells, he effortlessly slew the Black Dragon Flood Dragon.

Naturally, he reaped a trove of valuable items from its body.

Near the pond where this demon beast had dwelled, Chu Ning also discovered several rare medicinal herbs.

"In terms of rarity, these herbs are no less valuable than the Immortal Dew Grass. It's a pity that they're not what I need the most right now," Chu Ning mused to himself.

Filled with mixed emotions, he continued on his way to the next destination.

For about half a month, Chu Ning remained deep within the Jiuhua Mountain Range, even venturing into the Yunxiao Mountain Range.

It was quite a coincidence.

This demon beast had just completed its advancement when Chu Ning showed up at its doorstep.

Although it had reached the sixth stage, its various supernatural abilities were not yet fully formed.

After a strenuous battle where Chu Ning employed a variety of tactics, he ultimately emerged victorious.

This encounter made Chu Ning realize the importance of refining his signature treasure as soon as possible.

If he possessed a signature treasure that perfectly harmonized with his Five Elements Chaos Technique, even facing a sixth-grade demon beast wouldn't be so troublesome.

Of course, the half-month of battles with various demon beasts also allowed Chu Ning to rapidly improve his top-tier spells in real combat.

The Blazing Sun Spirit Bird form could now be fully condensed, and both the Heaven Fire Sword Art and the Earth Spirit Rock Armor Technique had seen significant enhancements.

Naturally, the commotion Chu Ning caused in the Jiuhua Mountain Range over the past half-month didn't go unnoticed by others.

Initially, many Jiuhua Sect cultivators who ventured into the relatively outer regions of the mountain range heard the tumultuous demonic aura emanating from its depths from time to time.

Then, when it became apparent that a high-level cultivator was present, they were filled with surprise.

After several consecutive days, they even reported it to the sect, prompting Palace Master Gong Yuquan to investigate.

When he discovered that it was Chu Ning, the newly advanced Golden Core cultivator, he could only shake his head in amazement.

Normally, a cultivator who had just formed their Golden Core wouldn't dare to provoke fifth-grade demon beasts so easily.

These demon beasts possessed extremely powerful supernatural abilities.

When a cultivator has just formed their core, their cultivation is still unstable, and their abilities are not yet fully developed.

Compared to cultivators of the same stage, they are at a significant disadvantage, and fighting a fifth-stage demon beast is extremely challenging.

But when it came to Chu Ning, an oddity even among his peers, Palace Master Gong could only sigh and leave him to his devices.

"The sect leader said that our Jiuhua Sect has produced a powerful Golden Core cultivator. It seems that it's true!"

After spending half a month in the depths of the Jiuhua Mountain Range and even venturing into the Yunxiao Mountain Range, Chu Ning returned to the Jiuhua Sect.

Firstly, he had already killed most of the fifth-grade demon beasts in the surrounding area and had indeed collected quite a few valuable items.

Secondly, Chu Ning was also worried that if he continued, he might attract the attention of an even more powerful demon.

Of course, Chu Ning also needed to make some more preparations.

Over the past half-month, he had gathered a considerable number of spirit herbs and fruits, which could be directly traded for other resources.

However, Chu Ning thought that it would be better to refine a few more pills, especially those that even Golden Core cultivators would covet.

Perhaps there would be someone in need of them.

Time flew by, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Soon, it was time for Chu Ning and Ling Cang to depart as they had agreed.

The two left the mountain gate of the Jiuhua Sect, and Ling Cang asked with a smile, "I heard that you've been causing quite a stir in the depths of the mountain range lately, and your harvest must have been substantial."

Sitting atop the Golden Thunder Eagle, Chu Ning nodded slightly.

"I've made some small gains, mainly because I wanted to see if I could get my hands on something good at this trading event.

The things I had before were really not presentable."

Ling Cang looked at Chu Ning's nonchalant expression and couldn't help but feel amazed.

"This junior disciple of mine, I don't know what kind of talent he possesses. When I formed my Golden Core, it took me a full ten years to consolidate my cultivation, cultivate my supernatural abilities, and then dare to go out and kill demon beasts of the same level.

But this guy, in just two or three months, can directly confront fifth-grade demon beasts in battle and refine his spells..."

Even the Golden Core cultivators of the Jiuhua Sect were unaware that Chu Ning had slain a total of ten Golden Core-level demon beasts in this short period.

Including a sixth-grade demon beast comparable to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

If they knew, they would surely be astounded.

The two chatted along the way as they flew towards the Tianying Pavilion.

The Tianying Pavilion was also located in the Yunxiao Mountain Range, but the two sects were quite far apart.

Even with Chu Ning and Ling Cang's cultivation, it took them two full days to reach Tianying Mountain, where the Tianying Pavilion was located.

During the journey, Chu Ning learned from Ling Cang that the trading event would not be held within the Tianying Pavilion itself.

Instead, it would take place in Tianying City, on the outskirts of the pavilion.

After all, many of the attendees were cultivators from other alliances.

At this stage, with the spiritual realm formed in Honghukou, the next step was to decide how cultivators from different alliances would enter it.

The relationships between the alliances were still somewhat delicate.

Chu Ning had already taken the opportunity to express his desire to enter the spiritual realm to Tang Xuan and Yu Changge.

They were somewhat surprised by Chu Ning's ambition and were concerned for his safety.

However, since the spiritual realm was not yet fully open, they asked Chu Ning to wait and see for a while.

With the commotion Chu Ning had caused in the depths of the Jiuhua Mountain Range, they might change their minds.

Ling Cang was obviously no stranger to Tianying City, and upon entering the city, he confidently led Chu Ning to the tallest building in the city.

The Tianying Tower.

Just hearing the name, Chu Ning guessed that this place should be where the Tianying Pavilion managed the city.

Indeed, as soon as the two entered, they were greeted by a middle-aged cultivator in the late stage of foundation establishment.

After introducing himself as a disciple of the Tianying Pavilion, the man's gaze swept over Ling Cang and Chu Ning, and he asked respectfully, "Are the two seniors here at the invitation of Elder Xue? Please forgive my boldness, but may I ask for your esteemed names?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Chu Ning, and his expression became uncertain.

Chu Ning exuded the aura of a Golden Core cultivator, but his appearance was exceptionally young, appearing to be only around twenty years old.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end