Chapter 396: Talent Refresh, Secret Spatial Art

Chapter 396: Talent Refresh, Secret Spatial Art

After spending some time at the Jiu Xiao Peak, Chu Ning returned to his cave abode at Tian Lan Peak.

Cen Zikin had not returned yet.

Chu Ning noticed that the Xue Jing Zhi had already condensed its spirit liquid, so he promptly collected it.

This was one of the benefits of cultivating in Jiuhua Zong.

If he were in the Northern Cold Land, Chu Ning would have had to carry the Xue Jing Zhi with him at all times when he went out, which would greatly affect the condensation of the spirit liquid.

But in Jiuhua Zong, Chu Ning didn't have such worries.

Even when he went to Gui Yuan Zong for a month, the Xue Jing Zhi still grew normally.

After collecting the spirit liquid from both the ten-thousand-year-old and three-thousand-year-old Xue Jing Zhi, Chu Ning also took the opportunity to check on the growth of his other spirit plants.

When he arrived at the planting area for the Ziyuanguo, he paused in his tracks.

Back when Chu Ning left Wuling Island, he brought along many spirit fruits. Besides consuming them, he also tried to plant them.

In the end, only the Ziyuanguo survived.

However, after nearly thirty years of cultivation, there weren't any noticeable results.

Moreover, the fruit had turned blue instead of the original purple color it had on Wuling Island.

It was only after Chu Ning learned the spirit plant nurturing art of sealing spirits from Meng Ling that he was able to apply it to the Ziyuanguo.

This art allowed each Ziyuanguo plant to grow together without affecting each other.

To his surprise, Chu Ning discovered that the Ziyuanguo had started to change. Not only had its color turned indigo, but it also contained two distinct powers: one was the absorbed spiritual energy of the world, and the other was the original power inherent in the seeds.

Although Chu Ning was astonished by this discovery, he didn't interfere too much and instead let the fruit grow naturally.

However, during this period, he first went to the Yun Xiao forbidden grounds, consumed the Wanfa Spirit Fruit, and upon returning, began dual cultivation.

Chu Ning's understanding of the coexistence and fusion of spiritual energy and original power deepened.

At this moment, as Chu Ning stood in front of the Ziyuanguo, he carefully sensed it and fell into deep thought.

"The power of spiritual energy in this Ziyuanguo is obviously higher than that of the original power. After all, it has absorbed spiritual energy for decades since I planted it.

However, since this Ziyuanguo can coexist with two powers, if there is a way to balance the original power and spiritual energy, perhaps they can be fused to create that peculiar energy."

With this thought, Chu Ning's eyes lit up.

It meant that if he succeeded, he would be able to cultivate a fruit similar to the Wanfa Fruit.

Even if its effect couldn't compare to the Wanfa Fruit, it would still be an astonishing achievement.

With this in mind, Chu Ning immediately sprang into action.

He slightly adjusted the formation in the Ziyuanguo planting area, reducing the abundance of spiritual energy.

Then, he took out a huge original source stone from his storage bag and placed it in the medicine garden.

Standing in front of the original source stone, Chu Ning furrowed his brows.

"This won't do. Even if I don't consider whether the original power in this original source stone can be absorbed by the Ziyuanguo, the overflow of original power from the stone will likely affect the other spirit plants."

As he thought this, Chu Ning searched through his storage bag and soon found a jade slip.

"Back in the Northern Cold Land, on Yunyin Island, Di Yan gave me a jade slip that contained an ancient cultivator's formation using the original source stone.

He never managed to research it thoroughly, and he felt quite regretful about it.

I didn't think this formation would be of much use at the time, so I didn't study it in depth. But now, it turns out to be quite useful."

With these thoughts in mind, Chu Ning quickly browsed through the contents of the jade slip.

Indeed, there was a formation that could gather original power with the help of the original source stone.

However, figuring out how to make it coexist with a formation that absorbs spiritual energy was still a difficult task.

"It's a good thing I have the Array Source Spirit Body. Otherwise, I would be stuck again at this point." Chu Ning shook his head.

With his Array Source Spirit Body, he could analyze the array sources, thoroughly dissecting the sources of the two formations, and perhaps find a point of combination to create an entirely new formation.

At this point, Chu Ning simply sat down in the medicine garden and started to study and deduce it bit by bit.

When Cen Zikin returned to the cave abode and saw Chu Ning sitting in the medicine garden, studying a jade slip, and researching formations, she couldn't help but be curious.

She walked over to him.

Upon hearing that the Ziyuanguo could simultaneously condense two types of power, Cen Zikin was astonished.

And when Chu Ning mentioned that there was a formation driven by the original power of the original source stone, she became even more intrigued.

She immediately joined him in examining the formation.

However, as she was originally quite unfamiliar with original power, she found it extremely challenging to understand this type of formation.

Since Chu Ning needed to analyze the array source anyway, he took the opportunity to explain it in detail to Cen Zikin while also studying it himself.

For the next month, Chu Ning dedicated his time to researching this formation.

A month later, Chu Ning re-entered the medicine garden.

"This formation is much more complex compared to alchemy and artifact refining techniques."

Chu Ning held a bunch of formation setting tools in his hands and couldn't help but sigh.

During this month, he had only spent a small amount of time cultivating each day, devoting most of his time to researching the formation.

Even though it only involved the relatively simple application of two powers within a formation, it still took him a full month to achieve results.

And this was only possible because Chu Ning possessed the Array Source Spirit Body, had obtained the formation legacy from the Tianmu Continent, mastered the formation legacy of Lei Huo Zong, and also had access to the formation legacy of Jiuhua Zong.

In a corner of the medicine garden where the Ziyuanguo was planted, Chu Ning either set up formation tools one by one or directly carved formation patterns onto materials.

He also arranged something beneath each Ziyuanguo plant.

After a busy morning, a small-scale formation was finally set up.

After half a day, Chu Ning finally felt the original power overflowing from the source stone, channelled by the formation's effect, flowing into each and every Ziyuanguo plant.

A gleam flashed in Chu Ning's eyes, and a smile appeared on his face.

Seeing Cen Zikin, who had just entered the medicine garden, he smiled and said, "The power of the original source still cannot directly fuse with spiritual energy, so I can't fill this entire space with it.

However, through this formation, I can directly transmit the power of the original source into the Ziyuanguo.

Now, it's a matter of observing how long it takes for the Ziyuanguo to absorb the power of the original source to reach a balance with the spiritual energy.

Then I can verify my previous speculation."

Cen Zikin blinked her bright eyes curiously as she carefully sensed the fruit, filled with wonder.

"The power of the original source that you mentioned can actually fuse with spiritual energy in this way. It's really interesting.

Oh right, the Ziyuanguo is still absorbing spiritual energy, just at a slower rate."

Chu Ning nodded.

"I'm afraid that if it doesn't absorb any spiritual energy, there might be other unexpected situations.

So, I'll keep the spiritual energy in this area thin for now. Once the two powers in the Ziyuanguo truly balance each other out, I'll adjust the formation again.

I want to balance the speed at which the Ziyuanguo absorbs both powers, and then see if there will be any remarkable effects after cultivating it for a few years."

Cen Zikin nodded slightly, then frowned and said, "It's a pity that I've also been trying for a long time, but I still can't sense the existence of the power of the original source that you mentioned."

"It's inevitable that you can't sense the fusion of these two powers within your body." Chu Ning shook his head.

In fact, during this period, Chu Ning had also taught the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique to Cen Zikin.

Although Cen Zikin had achieved some progress in body refining after practicing it, she was unable to activate the power of the original source that had settled in her body after consuming the Wanfa Spirit Fruit.

It was unclear if this was due to the insufficiency of the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique or some other reason.

At this point, it was impossible for Cen Zikin to start over and spend a large amount of time cultivating the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique again.

She could only use it as an auxiliary method and cultivate it occasionally to see if it could strengthen her physique.

As for the bottleneck that might be encountered in the cultivation of the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, Chu Ning wasn't too worried about it for Cen Zikin.

He now had a lot of heavenly treasures and pills at his disposal.

After dealing with the unexpected discovery of the Ziyuanguo, Chu Ning and Cen Zikin's cultivation finally returned to normal.

Chu Ning followed his previous cultivation method, regularly consuming the Xue Jing Zhi spirit liquid to cultivate the Five Elements Chaos Technique.

As for the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, he cultivated it with the help of the original source stone, practicing both methods simultaneously.

This way, not only was the progress of the Five Elements Chaos Technique unaffected, but the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique also caught up.

With normal cultivation, the former still increased his proficiency by 50-60 points every day.

The time spent on dual cultivation was relatively less, with each session occurring about once every two days, and the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique increasing by about 20-30 points every two days.

In his free time, Chu Ning continued to help the sect refine the combination instruments for the Jiuhua Starships.

He also went to the Formation Pavilion to help improve the sect's grand formation, leading a very fulfilling cultivation life.

Thanks to Chu Ning's performance in Gui Yuan Zong, Jiuhua Zong's reputation in the entire Yun Xiao Alliance soared.

In a world where Nascent Soul cultivators were far beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators, Chu Ning's title as the number one Golden Core cultivator in the Yun Xiao Alliance added a lot of prestige to Jiuhua Zong.

Many people even came from far and wide, hoping to join Jiuhua Zong.

Among them were some who wanted to embark on the path of cultivation as mortals, as well as some wandering cultivators who had been cultivating on their own.

However, Jiuhua Zong was extremely cautious in their selection process.

They politely refused most wandering cultivators who had already embarked on the path of cultivation.

As for mortal children, they were also carefully screened before being accepted into the sect.

All of this was, of course, due to the previous incident with the Outer Realm Demon.

Zhuang Zhong, a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator of the Xuan Huo Sect, had been possessed by an Outer Realm Demon.

After that incident, Lu Yuezhang of Gui Yuan Zong, along with Nascent Soul cultivators from other sects, went to Xuan Huo Zong to investigate.

However, they found no clues or traces of the Outer Realm Demon's presence.

They were unable to determine when and where Zhuang Zhong had been possessed.

In the end, they had no choice but to drop the matter.

But this incident put all the cultivators in the Yun Xiao Alliance on high alert.

Decades ago, a cultivator from the Demon Path Alliance had been possessed by an Outer Realm Demon. Later, that demon hid in the Tian Ji Alliance.

In the end, his whereabouts became unknown.

And now, the Yun Xiao Alliance had discovered the traces of another Outer Realm Demon.

No one could guarantee how or when this demon would appear next.

Especially with the news of Chu Ning's slaying of the Outer Realm Demon's hand spreading far and wide, Jiuhua Zong had to be extra cautious and vigilant, lest the Outer Realm Demon try to infiltrate the sect.

However, according to speculation, if the Outer Realm Demon wanted to possess someone, it would generally possess a cultivator.

After all, a mortal body couldn't bear the burden of such a demonic entity.

This was the reason why Jiuhua Zong rejected those wandering cultivators.

But Chu Ning didn't have to worry about such matters.

He continued to cultivate, refine pills, and study formations in peace.

Time flew by, and another year and a half passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, after nearly three years, Chu Ning handed over the last combination instrument for the Jiuhua Starships to the Pill Refining Pavilion.

Chu Ning and Cen Zikin informed the sect that they would be entering seclusion to cultivate, and then they entered the cultivation room.

Without rushing to cultivate, Chu Ning first checked his cultivation proficiency in his mind.

【Refine God Technique, 4th Layer (64,000/64,000)】

"In the past year and a half, while crafting artifacts and setting up formations has taken up some time, it's still a normal part of the ebb and flow of cultivation. Overall, my progress has been quite good. As of now, my proficiency in the third layer of the Five Elements Chaos Technique has reached nearly half, and the second layer of the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique is almost complete."

Chu Ning muttered to himself, a glint of anticipation in his eyes.

According to the hidden talent of his Yin Water Spirit Body, there was a certain probability of awakening an Ice Spirit Root when cultivating a water-attribute technique.

Chu Ning guessed that the refresh of the Ice Spirit Root would occur when he either reached full proficiency in the third layer or halfway through its cultivation.

Now was the time to test his theory and see if he could awaken the Ice Spirit Root by reaching halfway through the third layer's proficiency.

The Ice Spirit Root wouldn't be of much help to Chu Ning's current cultivation.

With his current mastery of the Five Elements Chaos Technique, he wouldn't consider switching to an ice-attribute technique.

However, the Ice Spirit Root would be extremely useful for refining the Primordial Ice Flame; otherwise, he would have to wait until the late Nascent Soul stage or even the Golden Core stage to refine it.

That would truly be an uncertain future.

But if he could refresh his Ice Spirit Root, then once he reached the Golden Core stage, he would have the opportunity to refine the Primordial Ice Flame.

The Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique was also approaching a breakthrough at the second layer of the second volume.

This was something Chu Ning had been anticipating.

Each time he advanced a level in the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, his physical body would strengthen, and his lifespan would increase by a tenth.

Chu Ning had already cultivated six levels, and if he could break through to the sixth level perfection, his lifespan would extend by six-tenths.

Of course, for someone as young as him, the constraints of lifespan were not yet a concern.

However, the breakthrough of the second layer could also bring about a divine ability.

This was something Chu Ning eagerly awaited, as the first layer had granted him the Void Finger divine ability.

Additionally, every time he broke through a layer of the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, his physical body would be enhanced, and any secret techniques involving bodily strengthening would also be improved.

For example, the Undying Golden Body secret technique—if he hadn't cultivated the second volume, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the strike of the Outer Realm Demon back then.

Since both techniques were approaching minor breakthroughs, Chu Ning naturally chose to enter seclusion and cultivate.

First, he took out the Xue Jing Zhi spirit liquid and consumed it before beginning to cultivate the Five Elements Chaos Technique.

Up to this point, the fastest way for Chu Ning to increase his cultivation speed in the Five Elements Chaos Technique was to consume the spirit liquid of the ten-thousand-year-old Xue Jing Zhi and combine it with the refinement of the dual spirit seeds within his body.

This was because the technique didn't require dividing his spiritual energy to fuse and form that peculiar energy.

He cultivated in this manner for ten days straight.

Only when the Xue Jing Zhi spirit liquid was completely refined did Chu Ning open his eyes and emerge from his meditative state.

At the same time, a smile appeared on his face.

"My speculation was correct!"

At this moment, Chu Ning turned his attention to his cultivation proficiency in his mind.

【Five Elements Chaos Technique (Middle-grade Celestial Tier), 3rd Layer (100,000/200,000)】

【Talent Refresh, Reward Talent "Ice Spirit Root"】

Just as Chu Ning had speculated, when he reached halfway through the proficiency of the third layer of the Five Elements Chaos Technique, he awakened the Ice Spirit Root talent.

"The first condition for refining the Primordial Ice Flame has been met; now, I just need to wait for the opportunity to break through to the Golden Core stage!"

Chu Ning smiled faintly, then stood up and took out a Primordial Source Stone from his storage bag. He then began to cultivate both the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique and the Five Elements Chaos Technique simultaneously.

Even though he only needed to increase his proficiency in the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, Chu Ning chose to cultivate both techniques together at this moment.

He wouldn't waste such a good opportunity.

Cultivating the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique couldn't be done in one go like the Five Elements Chaos Technique.

However, for most of the next three days, Chu Ning chose to cultivate both techniques simultaneously.

Until midday on the third day.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by the familiar feeling of shackles breaking within his body, Chu Ning immediately stopped cultivating.

This sensation told him that he had reached perfection in the second layer of the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique.

Indeed, when Chu Ning refocused his attention on his cultivation progress in his mind.

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, Vol. 2, 2nd Layer (90,000/90,000)】

And then, another line appeared.

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, Vol. 2, 2nd Layer Perfection, Refresh Secret Art "Void Escape"】

At the same time, Chu Ning's mind was filled with the knowledge of how to cultivate the Void Escape secret art.

Ever since he started cultivating the second volume of the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, the refreshed secret arts couldn't be directly mastered, and he had to cultivate them himself.

Just like the Void Finger, he had to cultivate the Void Escape to be able to use it.

And when he examined the cultivation method of this art, Chu Ning's eyes widened in surprise and joy.

If one were to put it in simpler terms, this Void Escape was equivalent to two words: instant teleportation!

All the escape techniques that Chu Ning had cultivated so far, including the ones he knew that were extremely powerful, still left some traces that could be tracked.

Only cultivators with powerful spiritual senses would be unable to track them.

But this Void Escape was similar to the Void Finger in that it could utilize the power of space to move his body from one place to another.

Although the distance might be very short at the beginning of his cultivation, or even difficult to reach one zhang, the ability to achieve instant teleportation was still a heaven-defying secret art that brought Chu Ning immense joy.

"Void Escape, no matter how difficult it is to cultivate this heaven-defying secret art, I will definitely master it!"

Chu Ning's eyes shone with unwavering determination.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end