Pingtu looked at Li Yan, who had opened his eyes from his deep meditation. He saw a trace of excitement in Li Yan's eyes. Pingtu's huge face also nodded slightly. He had roughly guessed what Li Yan had seen.
"Boy, the cultivation method of your Gui Water Immortal Sect is indeed somewhat similar to this Malevolent Spirit Sect. It's not like my Ji Earth Immortal Sect , the Ding Fire Immortal Sect , or the Xin Metal Immortal Sect , which are devastating and earth-shatteringly powerful. You, like the Yi Wood Immortal Sect , follow a path of yin, softness, and treacherous poison."
Li Yan couldn't help but nod upon hearing this. When he had just checked the True Scripture of Gui Water, the first thing that had caught his eye was the golden, flashing incantation of the Foundation Establishment cultivation method. Li Yan had no intention of cultivating it immediately. He skipped over it directly and looked behind the incantation. The first thing he saw was a set of cultivation methods for the "Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike." Li Yan suppressed his excitement and began to read it carefully.
The Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike, the supreme weapon of the Gui Water Immortal Sect, was an extremely important part of a Gui Water Immortal Sect disciple's cultivation. Almost half of their combat strength came from this set of cultivation methods. This weapon was a mother-son pair, held in each hand. When successfully refined, it was already a low-grade Magical Treasure . As it was continuously nourished in the cultivator's Dantian, its grade would continuously increase with their cultivation. When its grade reached high-grade Magical Treasure, it could be nurtured and tempered in the Niwan Palace like a powerful Sword Cultivator's weapon. At that time, it could unleash power equal to that of a Sword Cultivator. And because its body was pointed and thin, it had the insidious and cunning nature of a flying-needle-type Magical Treasure that Sword Cultivators lacked. Its comprehensive attack power far surpassed that of a Sword Cultivator. At the same time, it also had the properties of water and ice. It could instantly turn hundred-refined steel into a soft thread around the finger, and when urged, it could also turn into indestructible, eternally solid ice, making it extremely difficult to deal with.
These features made Li Yan's eyes light up, but he immediately shook his head with a wry smile. He had the method and cultivation art to refine the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike, but he had only collected about twenty percent of the materials so far. Most of the main materials were still nowhere to be found. Li Yan looked at the cultivation method and wondered if he should first buy a pair of ordinary water-parting spike Spirit Treasures to see if he could barely control this cultivation method. This was the best method he could think of for now.
After lingering on this cultivation method for a moment, Li Yan's gaze continued to move backward. There, he found another set of cultivation methods, named "Stealthy Night Art." It was a set of cultivation methods for hiding and concealing one's tracks. It could restrain the fluctuations and aura on a cultivator's body. When cultivated to a high level, even if the opponent was a major realm higher than oneself, they would be unable to detect them.
When Li Yan first saw this set of cultivation methods, he was a little disappointed. He actually wanted more offensive means. His current offensive means were lackluster. But in a flash of thought, he had already rejected his own idea. In the cultivation world, what was the most important? Life. So defensive-type Magical Treasures, talisman papers, and cultivation methods were extremely rare on the market. They would often be snatched up the moment they appeared.
The "Stealthy Night Art" was essentially a defensive-type cultivation method, and it should be a top-tier one. The reason it appeared at the same time as the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike cultivation method was that they were meant to be complementary. Even if he couldn't cultivate the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike cultivation method for the time being, this concealment cultivation method was extremely applicable to other attacks. With his Fragmented Poison Body, coupled with this set of cultivation methods, he estimated that there was a certain possibility of poisoning and killing even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator without them knowing.
Pingtu's words were quite similar to what Li Yan was thinking. Li Yan himself was the type who disliked direct combat. If he could kill with his brain, he would never use physical strength.
Actually, Pingtu hadn't fully guessed the reason for his excitement. Just after Li Yan had finished reading the cultivation methods and was checking his body again, what surprised him even more was that the Qiongqi Porgatory Art, which was extremely difficult to advance, had unexpectedly broken through to the mid-stage of the first layer. The difficulty of cultivating this art was not only personally experienced by Li Yan. Even Zhao Min, who had cultivated it for more than ten years, was only at the late stage of the second layer. It had only been less than a year since his last breakthrough. According to his previous calculations, even with the support of the True Scripture of Gui Water, allowing him to perform two more cycles a day, it would still take at least two years or so to have another breakthrough. He never expected such a result this time.
Li Yan guessed that the Qiongqi Porgatory Art might have undergone a strange change caused by the rules of heaven and earth when he finally broke through to the ninth tier. But after checking his body, there was nothing abnormal. All that was left was a heart full of joy.
"What are your plans next? Are you going to leave the sect to find the materials to refine the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike? However, you'd better consolidate your realm for about three months before considering this issue," Pingtu looked at Li Yan and asked slowly.
"Senior is wise. I also plan to go out after consolidating my realm. The matter of refining my natal Magical Treasure cannot be delayed for too long, otherwise my subsequent cultivation will be greatly affected." Li Yan nodded. He planned to leave it at that for today. This year of seclusion and breaking through to Foundation Establishment had left him physically and mentally exhausted. He wanted to rest well for a day before returning to the Secret Room to consolidate his cultivation.
"Mm, that's it for today. Go back and get a good night's sleep first," Pingtu said in a deep voice, naturally seeing Li Yan's fatigue.
Li Yan stood up, bowed to Pingtu, and was about to teleport out when his footsteps suddenly paused. He remembered something, which made his brows furrow. He then turned back and spoke again.
"Senior, I have a matter that I don't know how to resolve." Li Yan suddenly remembered that Lin Daqiao had once told him that when a Malevolent Spirit Sect disciple successfully established their foundation, they had to leave a wisp of their essence soul in the sect to light a Soul Lamp. For the Li Yan of that time, he only half-understood. But now he was very clear. The soul of a living being was a matter of life and death. Even if only a wisp was left in the hands of others, especially those with great magical power, they could easily take your life in an instant, even from tens of thousands of li, or even hundreds of thousands of li away.
Although Li Yan now had a sense of belonging to the Malevolent Spirit Sect, it had not reached the point where he would hand over his life to them. This made Li Yan worry when he remembered this matter. He himself had no solution and could only ask Pingtu for help. If there was even the slightest possibility, he didn't want to commit treason at this time.
After hearing Li Yan's words, Pingtu pondered for a moment and then said, "This kind of thing actually exists in many sects. This is also a kind of restraint on cultivators. Although the Five Immortal Sects do not have this practice, there are also many such sects in the Spirit Immortal Realm. However, where there is restraint, there are corresponding countermeasures. There are some methods in the Spirit Immortal Realm to deal with this, but with my current condition, I can't use any too-brilliant methods."
Hearing this, Li Yan's face did not show the anxiety that Pingtu had expected. Instead, his expression was as usual as he continued to listen. Seeing this, Pingtu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. 'Everyone from the Gui Water Immortal Sect is a deep schemer. He clearly knows he is in a hurry and doesn't want to betray the Malevolent Spirit Sect at this time, but he still maintains this expression.'
Li Yan, on the other hand, heard Pingtu speak. Although his words seemed to be blocking all avenues of retreat, he could still see a trace of calmness in Pingtu's subtle expression, so he simply remained silent.
As expected, Pingtu paused for a moment and then continued, "However, there is a method. That is to find a soul with an aura similar to yours, with a cultivation level close to Foundation Establishment. After extracting a wisp of its essence soul, eliminate its consciousness, and then refine it with a method from the 'Soul-Forgetting Sect' of the Spirit Immortal Realm. You will then nurture it in your Divine Sense for forty-nine days, and this wisp of essence soul will be stained with the aura of your soul. This aura will slowly merge into itself and will be very difficult to separate, almost as if it were one body. You can take it out at that time, and it will not damage your soul in the slightest."
"Even if this wisp of essence soul is used or destroyed by someone in the future, it will have no effect on you personally. The reason is that the refining method is brilliant, and this old man happened to obtain this refining method from the 'Soul-Forgetting Sect' in my early years. However, the drawback here is that due to the limitations of my current cultivation, if a Nascent Soul or higher cultivator personally inspects it, it will be very easy to expose. A Golden Core cultivator will be completely unable to find any clues. But I imagine that for a small Foundation Establishment cultivator to light a Soul Lamp, it will at most be supervised by a Golden Core cultivator. After all, this is just the Mortal Realm, and Golden Core cultivators are already high-level cultivators in a sect."
After Pingtu finished speaking, he looked at Li Yan's still calm face and couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.
"May I ask Senior, does that wisp of essence soul need me to kill someone and bring it back? It's just that if I want to find someone with a similar aura, it will be a bit difficult to find in a short time..." Li Yan's heart first relaxed after hearing this, but then his brows furrowed again.
Although he had a method, after he went out this time, he could quietly leave the sect for a trip and find a late-stage or Great Perfection Qi Condensation cultivator or rogue cultivator from another sect near the Malevolent Spirit Sect and kill them. Whoever he encountered, it would be them. How could another's life and death be more important than his own? It was just that how could he be so lucky as to find someone with a similar aura to his own? And he couldn't stay outside the sect for too long. After all, he would be sneaking out as a Qi Condensation cultivator, and he was not sure if the sect's protective formation could check the cultivation of those entering and exiting. For a moment, he was hesitant.
As Li Yan embarked on the path of cultivation, his temperament had unknowingly changed a lot. He valued his own gains and losses more.
"Hehe, that won't be necessary. I said just now that it's the essence soul of a living being, but it doesn't have to be human. As long as it's a living being, it will do. You don't have to worry about this. There are plenty of first-tier demonic beasts in this Secret Realm. There are still demons with mixed bloodlines similar to the five-element spirit roots. This old man will go and find one. After refining it, I will give it to you. It's just that during this period, you can only stay here to nurture it. Otherwise, if your Foundation Establishment aura leaks out in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, it will not be good."
Li Yan's heart was overjoyed upon hearing this. He immediately gave up the idea of returning to Little Bamboo Peak right away. He chatted with Pingtu a little more about matters needing attention while nurturing the essence soul, then walked directly to a corner of the Secret Room and lay down without a care, falling asleep in a moment.
At this moment, in the outside world, in the Peiyang Trading City, Sun Guoshu was standing in a shop, speaking to the shopkeeper with some exasperation. From time to time, the sound of arguing could be heard, causing the other cultivators in the shop to stop and look.
"I say, Sun Guoshu, you don't have to use the Malevolent Spirit Sect to pressure people. This item has been reserved for you for a full four months. Even if what you say is all true, I'm going to sell it today. Even if that Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator you speak of really exists, my shop has also reserved it for him for four months. My shop is small and my profits are meager; I can't afford to be dragged down like this."
The shopkeeper was a skinny middle-aged man with a small goatee and a look of impatience in his small eyes.
Sun Guoshu's face froze upon hearing this, and he said with a gloomy expression, "Hu San, I'll say it again. My young master is a disciple of Little Bamboo Peak, and an inner disciple at that. Based on your information, you should know how hard it is to get into Little Bamboo Peak, right? There are only eight of them. The young master must have gone out for training or is in seclusion. Otherwise, would he care about this little money? If you keep this thing here, are you afraid you won't be able to sell it? I can make the decision. I'll raise the price by another ten percent for you. How about it?" Sun Guoshu gritted his teeth and raised the stakes a little.
"Ho ho, you'll raise the price by ten percent for me? I think I'll pass. As long as you take out twenty thousand Spirit Stones now, I'll immediately sell it to you at the previously agreed price. You don't need to raise it." Shopkeeper Hu San had a look of disdain on his face. Four months ago, he had acquired a "Nine-Dragon Root" herb that was a full five hundred years old. On the same day, this scoundrel from the trading city had set his eyes on it. He immediately said he wanted this herb, but he couldn't produce that many Spirit Stones right away and asked Hu San to wait a little. Then he sent a voice transmission talisman in front of him and then proudly told him that he was now working for a cultivator from the Malevolent Spirit Sect and that this "Nine-Dragon Root" was what that cultivator needed. Then he went on a boasting spree that left Hu San stunned and envious of Sun Guoshu. How many people had tried everything to get on the good side of the Malevolent Spirit Sect but had no way in? He never thought that this scoundrel from the market would have such an opportunity. He couldn't help but become respectful toward Sun Guoshu, and Sun Guoshu became even more proud upon seeing this.
But as time went by, half a day passed in their idle chat, forcing Hu San's business to be taken care of by a few assistants. When several very important customers came, he had to apologize and not attend to them personally. But by evening, the voice transmission talisman that Sun Guoshu had sent was like a stone sinking into the sea, without a single reply. And no Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator came either. This made Hu San's face gradually change.