Chapter 399 - 375: Sword Containment Technique

Chapter 399: Chapter 375: Sword Containment Technique

’Not bad. The three Palace Masters didn’t discover anything unusual about me. Or perhaps, they didn’t pay much attention to me and the other disciples, so they didn’t investigate too closely.’

’Besides, I used a Secret Technique from the Turtle Shell Divination Skill long ago to conceal my destiny. So even the Grand Palace Master, who is rumored to be skilled in the Celestial Mechanism Calculation Skill, shouldn’t be able to sense anything special about me.’

’Unless she noticed me from the start, grew suspicious, and specifically performed a divination on me—but that’s highly unlikely.’

As Zhang Chi flew out of the great hall of the Desert Divine Palace with Qin Yushan, Qin Yuyan, and the others, he couldn’t help but heave a silent sigh of relief.

They first went to the Central Immortal City, found an inn, and celebrated with some Spiritual Food and Spirit Wine before going their separate ways.

Zhang Chi, on the other hand, went straight to his new dwelling.

It was situated in a relatively remote corner of the solitary peak that housed the Desert Divine Palace.

Though not as high up the peak as Qin Yushan’s dwelling, it possessed a Tier Four Upper Grade Spiritual Vein.

Although this Spiritual Vein was diverted from the Divine Palace Main Spiritual Vein, its Spiritual Qi was exceptionally rich, fully meeting Zhang Chi’s needs. It was practically no different from having a Spiritual Vein all to himself.

The dwelling itself, however, was relatively simple: a mountain cave situated behind a large bamboo grove.

The inside of the cave, however, was a world of its own, fully equipped with a Spirit Beast Room, an Alchemy Room, a Cultivation Quiet Chamber, and more—it wanted for nothing.

Zhang Chi used his Token to cast a ray of Spiritual Light. The misty bamboo grove immediately parted, and he entered the cave.

With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind swept through the cave, blowing out all the accumulated dust.

Next, he took out a set of Tier Four Upper Grade Array Flags and deployed them around the outside of his dwelling. Only then did he brush a hand over his Storage Ring, taking out the Profound Ice God-Sealing Coffins one by one.

"Where is this?"

"Are we in the Endless Desert Sea already?"

After the Ice Coffins were opened, Chen Bufan and the others awoke. They all thanked Zhang Chi before curiously surveying their surroundings.

"That’s right, this is the Endless Desert Sea," Zhang Chi said with a nod. "However, you are currently inside my dwelling, which is on the territory of the Desert Divine Palace. You can learn about the Endless Desert Sea and the Desert Divine Palace at your own pace. The most important thing right now is to figure out your plans for the future."

"We’d like to hear your suggestions first," said Chen Bufan, who had already given the matter some thought.

The others nodded in agreement.

"I can arrange new identities for you so that you can join the Desert Divine Palace, or I can settle you in other Oases. Of course, you could also venture out and make your own way..."

Zhang Chi had already considered this, so he began to explain, laying out the pros and cons of each option.

"I want to join the Desert Divine Palace and head north to pioneer the frontiers."

"I’ll go with my brother."

"I’ll go as well."

Just like that, the Chen Family Siblings and Xiao Yunhong made their decision. They chose the path of courageous advancement, wanting to temper themselves through battle and compete for more Cultivation resources, undeterred by the potential danger.

"Junior Sister Wen and I would like to go to the Canglan Sect you mentioned," Zhong Yu said after some thought. "We’ll enter Cultivation in Seclusion there until we reach the Nascent Soul Realm, and then we’ll join the Desert Divine Palace."

Female Cultivator Wen nodded in agreement.

In truth, with Zhang Chi’s current status, he could have sent them to cultivate at a top-tier Sect like the Hundred Flowers Palace.

However, the Canglan Sect was more than sufficient, and Zhang Chi already had connections there.

That was why the two women had made this choice.

"We’ll follow your arrangements."

As for Lan Xuan and Qin Susu, they didn’t make their own decision, choosing instead to place their complete trust in Zhang Chi.

The reason was simple: they were Zhang Chi’s women, which naturally set them apart from Chen Bufan and the others.

"Alright. I’ll make the arrangements. As for you, Lan Xuan, and you, Susu, you’ll stay by my side."

Zhang Chi nodded slightly.

He immediately sent a transmission to Qin Yushan, who soon arrived in person. After learning the situation, Qin Yushan readily agreed to help and led the group away.

Of course, since Zhang Chi had been using Chen Bufan’s name, Chen Bufan had to take a new one and use a Cultivation Technique to slightly alter his appearance to avoid exposing Zhang Chi’s false identity.

Chen Bufan was already aware of and prepared for this, and he had no objections.

After all, compared to all the help Zhang Chi had given them, this was a trivial matter.

Zhang Chi didn’t explain the origins of Chen Bufan and the others, and Qin Yushan didn’t ask.

With Qin Yushan’s help, it took less than half a day for all seven of them to receive new identities and successfully join the Desert Divine Palace.

Moreover, this didn’t interfere with their individual plans.

For the next few days, the group stayed temporarily with Zhang Chi and took the opportunity to explore the Central Immortal City.

A few days later, after being seen off by Zhang Chi and the others, the Chen Family Siblings, Xiao Yunhong, Zhong Yu, and Junior Sister Wen departed via a Teleportation Array.

The first three headed north, while the latter two went to the Canglan Sect, carrying a letter from Zhang Chi.

Meanwhile, Qin Susu and Lan Xuan remained with Zhang Chi. They were nominally the stewards of his dwelling; aside from their usual Cultivation in Seclusion, they could also accept missions posted by the Desert Divine Palace.

Of course, their role as dwelling stewards was in itself a mission, for which the Desert Divine Palace would periodically provide them with Cultivation Materials.

It was an excellent and very relaxed arrangement.

Chen Bufan and the others were quite envious of this, but they knew they were different from the two women. Although they had a good relationship with Zhang Chi, they couldn’t simply depend on him in the same way.

Perhaps they could for now, but to achieve true success, they would have to rely on their own efforts.

Otherwise, over time, even the strong bond they shared with Zhang Chi would eventually erode.

It is also worth mentioning that Qin Yushan, Xie Yulin, and Cheng Ran also headed north together.

The three of them also promised to look out for Xiao Yunhong and the Chen Family Siblings for Zhang Chi’s sake.

Qin Yuyan, however, remained in the Central Immortal City, deciding to seek out Qin Yushan in the north after a hundred years.

After that, Zhang Chi began his Cultivation in Seclusion.

According to the Divine Palace’s rules, every Palace Master’s Disciple was granted a hundred years free from any mandatory missions, and he had no intention of wasting this opportunity.

Before beginning his seclusion, however, he first made another trip to the Outer Hall of the Desert Divine Palace at the peak. There, he registered and underwent an assessment, revealing his dual status as an Alchemy Master and an Artifact Refiner.

When they learned that Zhang Chi’s skills in both Elixir and Artifact refining had reached the Tier Four Upper Grade, even the Stewards and Elders of the Desert Divine Palace, who had seen countless prodigies, couldn’t help but take special notice of him.

However, it was only special notice. They didn’t overthink it, simply assuming Zhang Chi was gifted in these two areas.

After all, the Desert Divine Palace was the Human Race Sacred Land of the entire Endless Desert Sea, and the Palace Master’s Disciples were the cream of the crop. For Zhang Chi, one of their number, to have mastered two Immortal Cultivation Techniques was not considered particularly astonishing.

In fact, many of the Palace Master’s Disciples, aside from those with powerful backers like the Hundred Flowers Saintess, were masters of one or more specialized skills.

Zhang Chi understood this, which was why he revealed these two skills. It would also make it much more convenient for him to collect various Alchemy and Artifact Refining Materials.

By collecting a large amount of Artifact Refining Materials, he could also discreetly gather materials for refining Puppets, creating Array Deployment Tools, and performing the Turtle Shell Divination Skill.

Some of the Spirit Medicines among the Alchemy Materials could also be used for planting, giving him a chance to apply his Spirit Plant Techniques and the Spirit Brewing Technique he had recently started studying.

Next, Zhang Chi went with Qin Yuyan on a special trip to the Inheritance Hall.

This Inheritance Hall was also part of the Desert Divine Palace at the peak of the solitary mountain and was open exclusively to Palace Master’s Disciples like them.

Other members of the Desert Divine Palace, including Core Disciples, were not qualified to enter.

They could only go to the one at the Central Immortal City’s City Lord’s Mansion.

The Inheritance Hall inside the Desert Divine Palace, however, had a far more numerous and comprehensive collection of Cultivation Techniques and Secret Techniques, including many Celestial Grade ones for the Palace Master’s Disciples to choose from.

Having just become Palace Master’s Disciples, both Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan had one chance to obtain a Celestial Grade Cultivation Technique and a Secret Technique for free.

Inside the Inheritance Hall, Zhang Chi didn’t find any Celestial Grade Cultivation Technique that could significantly boost his power or Cultivation speed. However, he did discover a Divine Technique called the Sword Containment Technique.

This Divine Technique was a tier above a Celestial Secret Technique, its value far exceeding that of a Celestial Grade Cultivation Technique and a Secret Technique combined.

However, Zhang Chi converted his opportunity to acquire a Celestial Grade Cultivation Technique and Magic into Merit Points, added the Merit Points he had just received, and successfully signed a Spirit Contract to obtain this Divine Technique.

As its name suggests, the Sword Containment Technique could nurture a Flying Sword. Not only could it accelerate the quality improvement of a Lifebound Flying Sword, but it could also be used to build up a reserve of Sword Intent within it.

The longer it was nurtured, the more devastating the Sword Intent would become.

For example, if nurtured for a hundred years before being released, it could unleash a strike with power far transcending the user’s own Realm.

However, the requirements to cultivate this Divine Technique were steep. A Cultivator needed an incredibly powerful Divine Thought and will, a high-quality Flying Sword, immense patience, and alternative offensive methods to use while the sword was being nurtured.

Otherwise, if one used the Sword Intent before it had been nurtured for long, it would be ineffective.

Alternatively, failing to suppress the Sword Intent could result in a backlash from it.

Because of these demanding conditions, the exchange price for this Divine Technique was relatively low. Otherwise, even if Zhang Chi had used his free chance for a Celestial Grade Cultivation Technique and Secret Technique and spent all his Merit Points, he still wouldn’t have been able to afford it.

Only those whose Cultivation reached the Nascent Soul Peak and became a Palace Master’s True Inheritor were qualified to obtain a Divine Technique for free.

Before reaching that stage, one could only rely on accumulating a massive amount of Merit Points and Spirit Stones to exchange for one.

Of course, there were other Divine Techniques and Secret Skills he wanted to acquire as well, but the Merit Point requirements were too steep, so he would have to wait.

In the days that followed, Zhang Chi enjoyed a rare period of leisure. He practiced his swordsmanship, worked on Refining God, engaged in dual cultivation with Lan Xuan and Qin Susu, and would sometimes visit the Central Immortal City or exchange Cultivation Experience with Qin Yuyan at various trade fairs.

With his status as a Palace Master’s Disciple and an Alchemy and Artifact Refining Master, he was no longer short of Tier Four Upper Grade Cultivation Materials.

However, this was also because his gains from the Demon Abyss had been immense. Not only did he get back the Merit Points Qin Yuyan owed him, but he also had a massive surplus of materials himself.

If he were to offload so many materials at once, he would likely attract the attention of even the three Palace Masters.

Therefore, he was in no hurry. Over the following years, he gradually and discreetly processed these items through various channels, converting them into materials that would aid his Cultivation.

In this way, forty-five years passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhang Chi reached his five-hundredth birthday.

Under his protection, Qin Susu and Lan Xuan had finally reached the Golden Core Limit and were preparing to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.