Chapter 71: Immortal Techniques
Chapter 71: Immortal Techniques
What Li Yan did not know was that, at the same time he descended the mountain, deep within a stone cave atop a remote peak behind the stone stele, an elderly man with a tall and imposing figure slowly opened his eyes.
This man sat cross-legged on a woven mat, dressed in a coarse grey robe. His head was full of silver hair, yet his face was as smooth and ruddy as a newborn's. He murmured to himself:
“This little fellow is truly interesting. Since when did Little Bamboo Peak take in such a disciple? A mixed spiritual root, yet his spiritual power is so pure… and he’s even cultivated the Fractured Poison Body. I’ve been in seclusion too long, unaware of the happenings outside.”
“If not for the Heavenly Stele erupting in fury, who knows how many years would have passed in ignorance? That stele truly has a child's temperament. The boy only glanced at it, simply because his cultivation was low, it felt offended!”
After speaking, the tall elder slowly lowered his head, the movement awkward and stiff, as if he hadn’t moved in a very long time. He thought for a moment more.
“That boy being able to successfully cultivate the Fractured Poison Body is a great stroke of fortune. Throughout the sect’s history, only three have achieved it. But his magical power is quite strange…”
“Logically, someone with mixed spiritual roots should have extremely chaotic spiritual energy, yet each of his elements is astonishingly pure. What’s going on here? Could it be that he’s practicing some bizarre ancient cultivation technique? But I’ve never heard of such a method. Or perhaps he ingested some rare heavenly treasure…”
With his head lowered, the elder sank deep into thought.
Li Yan was completely unaware that someone thousands of li away had seen through his Fractured Poison Body, his internal cultivation condition, and even his mixed spiritual root physique in a single glance.
Fortunately, he had arrived here only after advancing and cultivating for another half a year.
At this point, not only was his Water spiritual energy reservoir full, but his Wood, Fire, and Earth energy reservoirs had also reached capacity. Only his Metal energy reservoir was still half-full.
If he had come here right after advancing to the second level of the Qi Condensation Stage, things would have been much worse. At that time, the Guishui True Scripture he had just cultivated harmonized the five elements, but only his Water reservoir contained any spiritual power.
The other four reservoirs had such negligible amounts of spiritual power that the elder might have mistaken him for possessing a Sacred Spiritual Root. That would have surely brought no end of trouble…
…Recalling everything that had happened over the past year, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Li Yan’s lips. He now felt that in just a few more months, he might be able to break through to the third level of the Qi Condensation Stage.
He walked up along the stone path through the bamboo forest. Along the way, he occasionally encountered disciples from other peaks. With just a glance exchanged, they passed by without interacting.
After walking some distance, the path became deserted. After a few more turns, a familiar platform came into view.
Standing on the platform, he looked down at the areas of discolored ground beneath his feet, then turned to glance at the edge of the platform where some scorched and withered bamboo stood. All of these were the result of his immortal techniques practice.
At first, he had been worried that he might cause too much destruction by practicing spells here and would be held accountable by the sect.
But over time, he discovered something unusual. As long as he didn't completely destroy something, the damaged parts of the platform would slowly recover within a few days.
The same happened with the ground around his courtyard. Even the surrounding black bamboo, though easily snapped or burned during spell practice, had incredibly resilient root systems. In just over ten days, new shoots would sprout vigorously to replace the damaged stalks.
Seeing all of this, Li Yan suspected that Little Bamboo Peak might conceal secrets he didn’t yet understand. Otherwise, how could the stones gradually mend themselves, and the black bamboo exhibit such tenacious vitality? Perhaps only by uprooting them entirely could they be truly eradicated.
Even so, he had no intention of practicing immortal techniques within his courtyard.
First, the stone tables and stools had already been replaced several times. Second, some of the fragmented poisons would interfere with the courtyard’s formation array, and replenishing the spiritual stones was painful for him.
Aside from the eight low-grade spiritual stones he received each month, he owned nothing else. He couldn’t afford such waste.
Standing on the platform, Li Yan placed a slender bamboo stalk, over a man's height and a large stone by his feet. He calmed his breath, formed a hand seal, and began chanting an incantation under his breath. A few moments later, he shouted softly:
“Go!”
In the next instant, a red fireball the size of a fist appeared midair and hurtled toward the ground in front of him. With a boom, the fireball struck the platform solidly.
Strangely, despite the impressive impact, not a single spark flew. Instead, the ground appeared to host a crimson leech-like shape clinging tightly to it. The red patch pulsed with bubbling blisters.
The area twitched a few times, then smoothed out. Shortly after, another blister would swell, then once again flatten after some writhing.
Meanwhile, the leech-like crimson flame grew dimmer. The bubbling became smaller and more frequent, until at last, everything faded away.
Before the flame vanished, Li Yan picked up the large stone beside his foot and cautiously approached the area. Squatting beside the fading flame, he scraped at it with the stone, as if peeling off a layer of stubborn ointment.
Then, something bizarre happened. The moment the stone touched the flame, a strand of dark red fire clung to it. Immediately, bubbles began forming on the surface of the stone, expanding, deflating, repeating… until a few breaths later, everything disappeared.
Expressionless, Li Yan watched as the crimson flame beneath his feet faded completely. He examined the seemingly undamaged stone in his hand and the unmarked ground.
He raised his other hand and gently wiped the spot where the red flame had clung to the stone. Instantly, powder flaked off the stone's surface, revealing a deep crimson gouge beneath, just another inch deeper, and it would have pierced the entire rock.
Then, he used his foot to brush over the ground. What had appeared untouched now revealed a larger and deeper groove, like a vivid red scar slashed across the earth.
This was one of the twelve poisons comprising Li Yan’s Fractured Poison Body. He had no idea what poison it was.
He had researched texts on the subject. In Wraith Sect, the immortal techniques cultivated were unlike those of other sects. For example, at Boundless Peak, the basic “Fireball Technique” might be infused with Gu poison.
At Spirit Insect Peak, it might be altered to carry snake venom. At Four Symbols Peak, each fireball could be imbued with miasma. These variations caused endless headaches for other cultivation sects.
Li Yan had no idea what the poisons within him were called. A single fragmented toxin might consist of numerous lethal substances he couldn't even identify.
Though he had recently been studying various texts on toxic herbs and poisonous insects, his current knowledge was still far from sufficient.
That didn't stop him from experimenting with effects. After several months of slow exploration, he could now manipulate all twelve types of Fractured Poison. Every time he cast a spell, he could select one to combine with his spiritual energy for release.
At present, however, his use of the techniques was still rather clumsy and unfamiliar. Each time he cast a single spell, it took him five or six breaths to release it. In actual combat, that would be enough time for an opponent to kill him dozens of times over.
But Li Yan wasn’t too anxious about this. He saw it as a process of familiarization. As for freely combining the twelve types of fractured poison, it was like expecting a toddler who couldn’t yet walk in a straight line to suddenly learn how to run.
Looking at the stone in his hand and the vivid red scar on the ground, Li Yan nodded with satisfaction. What he needed now was to keep familiarizing himself with the effects of the fractured poison in his body.
The venom he had just used possessed extremely strong adhesive and corrosive properties. If it hit the human body, it would adhere tenaciously to the surface. If someone tried to help by slapping it off with their hand, they too would be contaminated, the poison couldn’t be shaken off.
At the same time, the deadly venom would relentlessly corrode inward, burning and consuming everything it touched until the venom's power was exhausted.
What made it truly terrifying was the uncertainty: no one knew what the toxic components were, or whether they could be neutralized at all.
Of course, with Li Yan's current abilities, if he encountered someone like Wei Chongran, a Core Formation expert, even if he managed to land a hit, it would be no more than a tickle through thick boots. Wei Chongran could easily suppress him with sheer spiritual power.
When it came to dealing with his senior brothers, though, there might be a sliver of hope. Still, everyone in the Wraith Sect was a master of poisons. To them, Li Yan’s immature poison techniques were riddled with flaws and easy to see through. That was why Li Yan had to keep practicing, over and over again.
After confirming the fractured poison he’d just used, Li Yan pondered quietly for a while, reflecting on the casting process.
After a moment, he once again focused his mind and began chanting. Five breaths later, the spell Flowing Sand took form.
Roughly a zhang ahead on the platform, the surface trembled faintly, then quickly returned to stillness just like before.
Li Yan picked up the thin bamboo stalk over a person’s height from beside his foot and lightly tossed it forward. With a muffled thump, it embedded itself into the stone platform as if sinking into sand. The bamboo sank more than a foot deep.
Li Yan immediately withdrew the hand seal and hurried forward. He gently scraped the area with the tip of his foot. The ground had returned to being a solid slab of rock, no sign of its earlier softness.
He took a step back and released his divine sense toward the ground. A bizarre sight followed.
Just one breath later, the bamboo shaft stuck into the ground began to ooze thick black liquid from bottom to top. Its branches and leaves curled and softened rapidly, and within mere seconds, it turned into a puddle of black water.
Li Yan squatted down, dipped a finger into the black water, and walked to the edge of the stone platform. He smeared the liquid onto another bamboo stalk. That stalk shook a few times, and soon black liquid oozed from its surface as well. Within five breaths, it collapsed to the ground, another pool of black water.
This time, he had used another type of fractured poison, combined with the Flowing Sand technique. Normally, Flowing Sand was a trap-type spell. In combat, it could ensnare an enemy's legs, giving the caster a chance to land a fatal strike.
For cultivators at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Stage or above, the technique could cause enemies to sink thigh-deep. Below the eighth level, knee-deep at best, still enough for the enemy to strike back.
Only at the Foundation Establishment Stage could one instantly bury an entire person, enabling a one-shot kill.
Nevertheless, even in the hands of a Qi Condensation disciple of Wraith Sect, Flowing Sand was a deadly weapon. The flowing sand would often be imbued with all manner of toxic insects and poisons, impossible to anticipate.
For example, disciples from the Spirit Insect Peak might mix venom from the Five-Spike Horned Snake into the sand, not only corroding matter but also rapidly invading the bloodstream through wounds, reaching the heart in an instant and taking lives on the spot.
The venom Li Yan had just used would seep into the body through the pores, liquefying the flesh from within. So even if the sand only trapped an opponent's feet, the outcome would still be death.
Li Yan differed from the other peak disciples in another way: if they were poisoned by their own venom, it could cost them their lives. Thus, they either used extreme caution or preemptively took antidotes.
But the fractured poison within Li Yan’s body caused no harm to himself. That was why he could dare to smear the black water with his bare hands, something he had learned from the three jade slips he’d studied.
Even so, he hadn’t dared to try it directly at first. After much deliberation, he had selected a paralyzing-type fractured poison to test on himself. When nothing happened, he gained the confidence to gradually experiment with the others.
Even after half a year of trial and error, Li Yan still hadn’t figured out the full nature of the venoms in his body.
For instance, one particular venom had stumped him for nearly a dozen trials before he discovered it only became active under midday sunlight, completely inert at all other times.
With so many unknowns, Li Yan had to keep testing. He also needed to spend huge amounts of time practicing how to integrate the venoms with spells. That was why he always felt there wasn’t enough time for cultivation.
During this period, he finally grasped the uses of a few types of fractured poison. For example, the one he had just used with Flowing Sand could be activated through his divine sense, allowing him to control when the poison would take effect after infection.
After testing the combinations of those two poisons with their respective techniques, Li Yan shifted his focus solely to practicing spells. His casting time was still far too long, making the techniques useless in real combat.
Several hours later, Li Yan finally stopped cultivating.
Throughout the better part of the day, whenever his spiritual power was exhausted, he would sit and meditate to recover. Once his spiritual energy was replenished, he would continue practicing until he was completely drained before stopping.
Looking at the scarred bamboo forest and platform, Li Yan didn’t head back immediately, this was different from usual. In the past, once he finished practicing, he would rest briefly and then descend the mountain.
But today, he dismissed the idea of returning right away.
Because today was New Year's Eve on the Barren Moon Continent.
(Chapter End)