After burying the bodies, Hong Yu returned to the valley from the previous day.
The valley was as quiet and secluded as ever, giving off the feeling of a paradise, a world apart.
Breathing in the fresh air of the valley, Hong Yu couldn't help but let out a long sigh. 'This ti I've really stirred up a hornet's nest. I killed seven of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies, so there aren't even enough people to fill the four slots designated by the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. When I get back, the factions behind those prodigies will definitely investigate the truth. Even with the Cyan Nether Sword Sect's rules in place, I doubt it'll be enough to stop them from taking revenge in secret.'
Each of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies represented a family or a powerful faction.
These families and factions were bound to have Earth Soul Realm powerhouses, and perhaps even more formidable experts. Take the Lin Family Patriarch, for instance. He is a powerhouse at the Peak of Earth Soul Realm. I hear he was once a Celestial Pride Son himself, possessing imnse combat prowess.
Within Shishui City, apart from the Patriarchs of the Hong and Wang Families, you could count the number of people who could rival the Lin Family Patriarch on one hand.
And I killed Lin Hai and Lin Tao—both sons of the Lin Family Patriarch.
Once the Lin Family Patriarch discovers that I'm the murderer, I can only imagine the terrifying, thunderous retribution I'll face.
'Looks like I have no choice but to break through to the Earth Soul Realm.'
Hong Yu was currently only at the Late Ninth Layer of the Essence Realm. But because he had sensed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and, relying on his Fire Spirit Body, guided it into his Lower Dantian, he had reached the Half-Step Earth Soul Realm, capable of slaying even an Early-stage Earth Soul Realm powerhouse.
But if he faced a stronger opponent, even a Mid-stage Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse just one minor realm higher, that would be enough to kill Hong Yu.
After one's cultivation reached the Earth Soul Realm, every seemingly minor advancent resulted in a terrifying increase in combat power!
"With my current foundation, I have what it takes to break through to the Earth Soul Realm," Hong Yu murmured.
The reason so many Martial Artists got stuck at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of the Essence Realm, unable to advance an inch, was the insurmountable chasm of comprehending Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. But Hong Yu had already crossed this chasm and successfully gathered Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within his Lower Dantian, which was enough for him to attempt a breakthrough to the Earth Soul Realm.
However...
The amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in his Lower Dantian was just too little right now. At its fullest, it only filled about a third of his Lower Dantian, and after the recent battle, it was completely empty.
'These are all the Treasures I looted from those prodigies. First, let's see what I got.'
Hong Yu returned to the cave and took out the personal belongings of the seven prodigies.
He emptied the seven embroidered pouches, and as he stared at the dazzling array of items spreading across the floor, Hong Yu blinked, stunned.
"Damn, these... these guys were all filthy rich, weren't they?" Hong Yu said with a wry, bitter smile.
Just look at the things on the ground...
A thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, a thousand-year-old Blood Ginseng, a five-hundred-year-old Thousand-Star Grass, and other First-Grade Spirit dicines; five or six jade bottles filled with Pills; stacks of gold cards with denominations ranging from ten thousand to a million; and even so Secret Cultivation and Martial Arts Manuals that the various prodigies carried, along with many other strange odds and ends...
The total value of these items actually exceeded fifteen million Gold Coins!
Many of these things couldn't even be bought on the open market!
'Damn it, I'm almost tempted to beco a professional robber specializing in hunting down prodigies,' Hong Yu thought with a twinge of jealousy.
'Sure enough, no matter the world, you can never escape the ga of relying on your family background...'
'Look at them, and then look at !'
'They go out carrying fortunes worth tens or hundreds of thousands. Thinking back on all my years before becoming the master of the Profound Celestial Tower, the most I ever had in my pocket was probably fifteen hundred Gold Coins!'
'This is the difference in our birthright!'
But Hong Yu wasn't jealous. What they had, he could obtain with his own two hands. And what he had was sothing their fathers could never give them...
"Huh?"
As Hong Yu was sorting through his spoils, he suddenly noticed a black Jade Token among a pile of strange trinkets. At first glance, it was just a simple Jade Token. It would be easy to overlook even if it were dangling right in front of your eyes, let alone when placed amidst a pile of Spiritual Pills and Treasures and Gold Coins.
But when Hong Yu saw it, he felt a sense of familiarity.
It was as if this plain, unremarkable black Jade Token held an endless allure for him.
"What is this thing?"
Hong Yu frowned and picked it up.
Flipping it over, he saw that the Jade Token was covered in ancient, incomprehensible Runes. They were sparse and scattered, leaving him in a state of half-understanding. Hong Yu raised an eyebrow and muttered, "There should be more to it than just these symbols. It looks like this is only a piece of sothing. Too bad I can't read this gibberish..."
"Hey, kid. Need so help?"
Just then, Little One's lazy voice drifted out from the Profound Celestial Tower.
Hong Yu was taken aback. He asked, "What? You can read these Runes?"
"Hehe, who do you think I am? I'm the Tower God of the Profound Celestial Tower!" Little One's voice was full of cockiness, but he quickly showed his true colors, adding slyly, "But, you know, I've been pretty tired lately, almost to the point where I can't stay awake..."
"..."
Hong Yu was speechless.
He rubbed his nose and gave a bitter smile. "Alright, spit it out. What do you want?"
Little One giggled. "Didn't you just get so Spirit dicines? I think that, if you were to use them to... replenish my strength, I might, perhaps, maybe... be able to help you solve your problem!"
"..."
Hong Yu's eyes widened in anger. "I'm the master of the Profound Celestial Tower, and you're its Tower God! Aren't you supposed to help voluntarily?"
Inside the Profound Celestial Tower, Little One took a slow drag from a large pipe, puffing out a faint cloud of white smoke. "Kid," he said coolly, "don't forget what we agreed on. I helped you with the Restoring Yin Grass quest, and from then on, we were even. If you want soone to do sothing for you now, you have to pay the price. It's a fair transaction!"
"A transaction?"
"That's right, a transaction. You give appropriate paynt, and I'll help you with your corresponding problem. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?" Little One chuckled.
Even though he couldn't see him, Hong Yu could perfectly picture a cute, chubby, childish face bearing the sinister smile of a profiteer just from that laugh.
He gritted his teeth hard. "Fine. How much do you want?"
"Not much, not much at all. I've always been fair in my dealings. How about this: give ninety percent of the First-Grade Spirit dicine you just acquired, and I'll help you interpret the Runes on this Jade Token!" Little One said with an air of self-righteousness.
"What?"
Hong Yu was so shocked he nearly jumped to his feet in fury. "Damn it, ninety percent? You might as well just rob !"
"Rob you? This is much easier than robbing," Little One muttered, then urged, "So, do we have a deal or not? If not, I'm going to sleep! Sigh, it's just a sha about that peerless Secret Technique. If you could cultivate it, your future would be so bright. What a pity... ah, well!"
"..."
After a round of haggling, Hong Yu was utterly defeated, trading fifty percent of his haul for the aning of the Runes on the Jade Token.
Hong Yu, who had been quite disgruntled at first, found all traces of dissatisfaction wiped from his face after hearing Little One's translation and explanation. In its place was pure excitent and elation.
The Runes on this black Jade Token actually recorded an incredibly heaven-defying Secret Technique!
This Secret Technique was called the >.
As the na suggested, it was a Secret Technique used by Earth Soul Realm and Celestial Soul Realm powerhouses to refine their Primordial Spirit and Celestial Soul.
According to Little One, the > was an extraordinary Cultivation Technique for Earth Soul Realm and Celestial Soul Realm powerhouses, but it had been lost for a long ti. The Jade Token in Hong Yu's hand contained the Upper Volu, which corresponded to the > for Earth Soul Realm experts to cultivate their Primordial Spirit.
"Little One, are you saying that by cultivating the >, I can create the legendary, flawless Nine Revolutions Primordial Spirit?" Hong Yu asked, filled with shock and doubt.
Whether it was the Primordial Spirit or the Celestial Soul, when condensed, they would form a corresponding number of Qi Vortexes based on the Martial Artist's talent. Generally, an ordinary Earth Soul Realm powerhouse's Primordial Spirit would only have one Qi Vortex. A so-called genius would have two. Hong Hu had a two-vortex Primordial Spirit, and his combat power was a cut above that of an Earth Soul Realm powerhouse with a single vortex.
If Hong Yu hadn't slain him with overwhelming, thunderous montum, given Hong Hu's combat power, Hong Yu would have been no match for him at all!
"A flawless Nine Revolutions Primordial Spirit and Nine Revolutions Celestial Soul do exist, but it's absolutely impossible to be born with the talent to form one. In the entire world, you might not see a genius like that in ten thousand years. However, it is possible to reach that realm through certain special thods."
Little One continued, "The > I ntioned is one such extraordinary technique, but it has a huge flaw. Unless you can cultivate it to the Nine Revolutions Realm, you can't break through to the next level. But you must understand, the great Path of Heaven and Earth itself is imperfect. You can only imagine the difficulty of cultivating such a flawless Primordial Spirit and Celestial Soul..."
"If I can't succeed, can't I just give up halfway?" Hong Yu asked, confused.
Little One shook his head. "Give up? Forget giving up halfway—once you start cultivating, you must achieve the Nine Revolutions Primordial Spirit to break through to the Earth Soul Realm. And I forgot to ntion, once you start, you'll also have to find the Lower Volu, >, when you break through to the Celestial Soul Realm in the future. You'll have to cultivate your Celestial Soul to the Nine Revolutions Realm to break through as well. You may have the Upper Volu, >, but no one can guarantee you'll ever find the Lower Volu, >. The choice is yours!"
Hong Yu nodded.
He toyed with the black Jade Token in his hand, gazing at the ancient, obscure Runes covering its surface.
Looking at the few fragnted Runes at the edge, he realized the missing part must be the contents of the Lower Volu, >.
'A flawless Nine Revolutions Primordial Spirit and Nine Revolutions Celestial Soul!'
'This is a supre talent that countless Celestial Pride Sons of the Grand Thousand Worlds could never possess. If I could reach such a realm, my potential and combat power would beco unprecedentedly strong. But the biggest problem is, once I start cultivating this Secret Technique, I have to walk this path to the very end. I'll either soar to greatness or plunge into a bottomless abyss...'
What should I choose?
Hong Yu was silent for a long ti.
Finally, he stood up...
...having made a decision that would change his life forever!
"Better to be the tail of a phoenix than the head of a chicken. In this life, I, Hong Yu, only seek to live a magnificent life with no regrets. I refuse to be a person of diocrity ever again..."
PS: Third update is here! Sorry for the late update, sothing ca up!
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