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Chapter 540: The True Spirit Decree
Chapter 540: The True Spirit Decree
"The True Spirit Decree!"
Hearing this name, Chu Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, before this, he had been worried that Master Shenmeng had merely made a hollow promise.
The so-called advanced alchemy secret technique was just a ruse to get those who obtained the Alchemy of Refining Gods to return the Empty Spirit Key.
Now, hearing Shi Hansong's words, it seemed that Xuanlingzong truly had a more advanced alchemy secret technique.
And its name was probably the True Spirit Decree.
At this moment, Chu Ning had no intention of hiding anything:
"Indeed, I am here this time to catch a glimpse of this supreme secret technique."
Shi Hansong nodded slightly.
"It is only right that we juniors follow the agreement made by the elders of our sect, given that you, Fellow Daoist Chu, have traveled so far to deliver our sect's treasure.
However..."
Hearing this, Chu Ning furrowed his brows slightly.
"But what, Fellow Daoist Shi, do you have something difficult to say?"
Shi Hansong saw Chu Ning's expression and immediately waved his hand with a smile:
"Fellow Daoist Chu, there's no need to misunderstand. I, Shi, do not intend to make things difficult for you.
The True Spirit Decree is indeed profound and greatly beneficial to the cultivation of divine sense, but its cultivation difficulty is extremely high.
It has extremely high requirements for the strength of one's divine sense, and since its inheritance within the sect, only Nascent Soul stage cultivators have been able to cultivate it.
I must admit, Fellow Daoist, that although I am but a step away from the late Nascent Soul stage, just like you mentioned, I am also unable to cultivate it.
It is truly embarrassing!"
Hearing this, Chu Ning's tense expression eased slightly.
As long as the other party didn't go back on their word, he wouldn't mind the difficulty of cultivating the technique as long as he could obtain the True Spirit Decree.
After all, with the Alchemy of Refining Gods as a foundation and the various experiences he had gone through, his divine sense should be comparable to that of an ordinary late Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Shi Hansong continued:
"In fact, it is precisely because the cultivation difficulty of this decree is so high that when our sect experienced a change thousands of years ago, Master Shenmeng disappeared, and another great cultivator of our sect unexpectedly fell.
The rest of the cultivators were not strong enough, which ultimately led to our sect being forced into this predicament by the Star Feather Sect."
Hearing the implication in Shi Hansong's words, Chu Ning was secretly astonished.
In its peak condition, Xuanlingzong actually had two late Nascent Soul stage great cultivators.
This made him realize the true strength of the top sect powers on the Tianmu continent.
Perhaps because they had reached this topic, neither of them was in a hurry to exchange the Empty Spirit Key for the True Spirit Decree anymore.
Shi Hansong's face showed curiosity as he asked Chu Ning:
"Fellow Daoist Chu, I must ask, when and where did you obtain Master Shenmeng's cave inheritance?"
After a slight hesitation, Chu Ning decided there was no need to hide the truth:
"There's no particular reason to keep it a secret. I obtained Master Shenmeng's inheritance of techniques and treasures over a hundred years ago on the Dongsheng continent."
"The Dongsheng continent." Shi Hansong's expression became extremely complex upon hearing this, and he sighed.
"So it turns out that not only are you not in Beichuan, but you're not even on the Tianmu continent.
No wonder our sect has searched for thousands of years and found no trace of it."
Hearing Shi Hansong's words, Chu Ning also vaguely understood the reason.
"Fellow Daoist Shi, is your sect being oppressed by the Star Feather Sect, and you're staying here in Beichuan instead of fleeing elsewhere, all because you're searching for Master Shenmeng's cave?"
Shi Hansong nodded.
"That is indeed one of the most important reasons. The Empty Spirit Key is of utmost importance to our sect. It was originally kept by Master Shenmeng and another great cultivator of our sect.
Later, when Master Shenmeng disappeared, the other great cultivator sent the Empty Spirit Key back to the sect before his demise, predicting that the sect would face a great disaster.
He instructed the sect's cultivators to find the Empty Spirit Key in Master Shenmeng's possession, or else the sect's lineage would be severed.
As expected, after the sect was besieged by the Star Feather Sect, the surviving elders fled overseas to recuperate, while another group hid in Beichuan and lived in secrecy for many years, forcing both groups to abandon their names and identities."
Hearing this, Chu Ning finally understood.
He had previously wondered why the Xuanlingzong sect was so insistent on staying in Beichuan despite the Star Feather Sect's targeting them.
Now he knew it was because of the Empty Spirit Key.
Thinking about how he would have to interact with these top sect powers on the Tianmu continent, especially since he had already offended Wang Jifeng of the Star Feather Sect, Chu Ning asked Shi Hansong:
"Fellow Daoist Shi, may I ask you to elaborate on the grudge between the two sects and the current strength of the Star Feather Sect? I'm afraid that my actions this time will eventually come to their knowledge.
It would be helpful for me to be prepared."
"In fact, Fellow Daoist Chu, I was also going to bring this up with you."
Shi Hansong said slowly.
"Back then, our Xuanlingzong sect, along with the Star Feather Sect and Liuyun Valley, were all considered major sects in the Beichuan region.
Due to the vastness of Beichuan and its large population, the sects agreed to establish the country of Beichuan to manage secular affairs.
The Beichuan royalty would be appointed by the sects in turns, and initially, it was peaceful."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning shook his head inwardly.
This model was not ideal, and it was only a matter of time before the sects started to disagree.
Sure enough, Shi Hansong continued:
"After hundreds of years, each sect developed its own ideas.
Although the so-called Beichuan royalty only managed secular affairs, the scope of their jurisdiction and the population they governed were vast, which could bring significant benefits to the sects.
"For example, some mortals with exceptional spirit root talent, some previously undiscovered treasure grounds, and some resources inadvertently spread across the land, and so on.
Over time, each sect wanted to hold power for longer, and disputes arose.
Later, it evolved into a competition to determine authority, with Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators participating in separate contests. The ultimate winner would gain control over the Beichuan royalty.
But that did not resolve the issue either. The winner would feel insecure and arrange for cultivators to infiltrate the royalty and various cities, while the losers would also start to scheme and place their own spies.
Gradually, the conflicts between the sects intensified, and they ended up harboring deep grudges."
As Shi Hansong spoke, he couldn't help but sigh.
"In fact, our sect's ancestors once suggested dividing the land and ruling separately.
However, when it came to the specifics of territory, the sects couldn't reach an agreement, and so it never came to fruition.
Later, our sect encountered a calamity, and the Star Feather Sect took the opportunity to strike, ambushing us.
If it weren't for the fact that our sect had made some preparations, we might have been truly wiped out in that catastrophe.
As for Liuyun Valley and the other sects, their situations are more or less the same."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning gained a general understanding of the cause. He turned to Shi Hansong and asked, "So, how strong is the Star Feather Sect now?"
When Chu Ning asked this question, Shi Hansong's expression turned solemn.
"After the Star Feather Sect seized control of Beichuan, they had abundant cultivation resources at their disposal, and over the millennia, they produced many talented cultivators.
Currently, there are twelve Nascent Soul cultivators in their sect, three of whom have reached the late Nascent Soul stage."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning was secretly astonished.
He hadn't expected the top powers of the Tianmu continent to be so formidable.
A dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, three of them in the late Nascent Soul stage—this strength was comparable to the True Martial Alliance, currently the number one alliance in the Western Continent.
However, the True Martial Alliance was a union of many sects, while the Star Feather Sect was a single sect, which made a significant difference.
With this revelation, Chu Ning realized that for Xuanlingzong to have survived and maintained its heritage in Beichuan for millennia, its cultivators must have been extraordinary as well.
As Chu Ning pondered this, Shi Hansong spoke again.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, after obtaining the Empty Spirit Key, our sect will leave Beichuan.
I suggest you also leave Beichuan as soon as possible to avoid attracting the attention of the Star Feather Sect."
"Thank you for your advice, Fellow Daoist Shi," Chu Ning said as he extended his hand and took out the Empty Spirit Key once more.
"Fellow Daoist Shi, I can hand over the Empty Spirit Key now. May I ask about the True Spirit Decree...?"
"I can give you the True Spirit Decree as well," Shi Hansong said as he took out a jade slip from his storage bag and handed it to Chu Ning.
"This jade slip is a copy I made, but the content is complete. With your knowledge, you should be able to tell at a glance."
Chu Ning nodded and generously handed over the Empty Spirit Key to Shi Hansong, while also accepting the jade slip.
He wasn't worried about Shi Hansong trying anything underhanded. If he did, it would only be asking for trouble.
Shi Hansong's face lit up with joy as he received the Empty Spirit Key. He held the two keys together and examined them carefully.
Meanwhile, Chu Ning took the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense.
"True Spirit Decree!"
The first thing that caught his eye was the title, True Spirit Decree.
Without hesitation, Chu Ning quickly browsed through the contents.
With his current cultivation and knowledge, he could tell that the cultivation method within was indeed related to the Alchemy of Refining Gods, but it was even more profound and intricate.
After reading from start to finish, Chu Ning closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. He didn't detect anything amiss.
A smile of satisfaction appeared on his face.
He had been anticipating this alchemy technique for too long.
After reaching the fourth layer of the Alchemy of Refining Gods, he had not come across any related secret techniques to further his cultivation.
He could only rely on ordinary cultivation methods to slowly improve.
Now that he had obtained the True Spirit Decree, he finally felt relieved.
Of course, for Chu Ning, verifying the authenticity of this technique was simple. All he had to do was start cultivating and check if the proficiency level appeared on the status panel in his mind.
After all, the cultivation of divine sense was something that others couldn't sense.
At this moment, Chu Ning appeared to be deep in thought with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was following the cultivation instructions of the True Spirit Decree and beginning to cultivate.
He didn't cultivate for too long, just enough to get a feel for it, before withdrawing his divine sense.
Then, he checked the status panel in his mind.
【Five Elements Chaos Technique (Heavenly Mid-Grade), Fourth Layer (500,000/500,000)】
【Nine Transforming Body Refining Technique, Second Volume, Third Layer (220,000/220,000)】
【True Spirit Decree (0/640,000)】
Seeing the proficiency levels displayed on the status panel, Chu Ning felt a mix of joy and worry.
He was glad that Shi Hansong hadn't tried to deceive him; the True Spirit Decree was indeed genuine.
However, he also felt concerned because the True Spirit Decree was extremely challenging to cultivate, just as Shi Hansong had warned.
Unlike the Alchemy of Refining Gods, the True Spirit Decree didn't have distinct layers. To reach perfection, one needed to accumulate 640,000 proficiency points, which was ten times more than what was required for the fourth layer of the Alchemy of Refining Gods.
Nevertheless, after spending over two months on the Tianmu continent, Chu Ning had finally achieved one of his primary goals.
With a joyful heart, he slowly opened his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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