Chapter 261: Undead Art! Treasure?!

It took several minutes before Chen Xuan finally recovered.

Even then, he still had a splitting headache.

It felt as though his mind was about to burst apart, and every thought seemed to send another wave of pain through his consciousness.

Fortunately, Chen Xuan had already been mentally prepared for such a situation.

He knew that searching the soul of such a terrifying existence would inevitably carry risks.

Thus, he had already been prepared to suffer some form of backlash.

In fact, the backlash had arrived later than he had originally expected.

At the very least, Chen Xuan had managed to peer into Ye Ziyue's memories.

Through them, he had obtained a better understanding of the secret realm and Ye Ziyue's true identity.

Although the appearance of that terrifying serpent had directly shattered the scenes before he could watch the memories of her real body and learn more about her true identity, merely catching a glimpse of it had still allowed Chen Xuan to obtain some useful information.

More importantly...

He had found a solution to his current problem.

"Netherworld Serpent Sutra." Chen Xuan quietly whispered the name of the technique he had discovered in Ye Ziyue's memories.

Just as its name suggested, this technique had been created specifically for the cultivation of Netherworld Serpents.

However, Ye Ziyue was currently an Undead Noble.

Ordinarily, this would have made practicing the technique impossible.

To overcome this restriction, her real body had given her another technique.

"Undead Art."

The name was extremely unassuming. It sounded as though its creator had simply named it casually without putting much thought into it.

However, Chen Xuan did not dare to underestimate it.

"The main function of the Undead Art is to help its user become an Undead."

"It is divided into different Levels."

"The higher the Level one reaches, the higher the corresponding racial class of the undead body becomes."

Chen Xuan slowly recalled the information contained within Ye Ziyue's memories.

Undead, just like monsters, were divided into different races. Or rather, they were divided into different racial classes.

The undead that had invaded the Tianxuan Domain belonged to the lowest order.

Most of them had not even awakened their intelligence.

They were little different from mindless creatures that acted purely according to instinct.

Above them were undead who possessed intelligence.

They had their own wills, thoughts, and goals.

As for what lay above them...

There were several different races and racial classes.

'Ye Ziyue had practiced the Undead Art to the fifth Level, allowing her to become an Undead Noble.'

'Of course, she was able to do so largely because her reincarnated body was already an undead, and she merely strengthened her bloodline. Compared to non-undead cultivators, she naturally had an advantage when practicing this technique.'

Thinking of this, Chen Xuan's eyes flickered.

The Undead Art was certainly useful.

But that wasn't what interested him the most.

Besides its primary function, the Undead Art possessed another ability that was even more useful to Chen Xuan.

Anyone who practiced it could simultaneously cultivate undead techniques and immortal techniques, regardless of their requirements regarding the user's race and everything else.

In other words, practicing the Undead Art did not mean that one had to abandon their original cultivation path.

This was precisely what Chen Xuan needed.

'According to Ye Ziyue's memories, the only reliable way to determine whether someone is an undead is by sensing the type of energy they use.'

'Humans and other living beings use Spiritual Energy, Beast Qi, Demon Qi, or similar forms of power.'

'As for the undead, their cultivation is based on Death Qi.'

This distinction was extremely important.

As long as Chen Xuan practiced the Undead Art and subsequently learned an undead technique, he would be able to cultivate Death Qi.

At that point, he could conceal his true identity much more effectively.

If another undead detected the Death Qi within his body, they would naturally assume that he was one of their own.

Thinking of this, Chen Xuan immediately made his decision.

He would practice the Undead Art.

With his current comprehension, it would take him at most a few days to cultivate the technique to the first Level.

And if he had his two clones assist him, the required time could be shortened even further.

Although this meant that the three bodies would have to temporarily stop comprehending the Beast Emperor Origin Technique, Chen Xuan knew that he had no other choice.

He had not forgotten that he still needed to deal with the aftermath of his previous actions.

The sooner he handled the matter, the better.

With that in mind, Chen Xuan raised his hand.

Countless runes immediately appeared beneath his fingers.

One after another, they were engraved throughout the cave.

Some of the runes fell directly onto Ye Ziyue's body.

They formed layers of restrictions that sealed her strength and ensured that she would not wake up anytime soon.

The remaining runes spread across the cave walls.

They connected with one another, gradually forming a defensive and concealment formation.

After checking the formation carefully, Chen Xuan sensed a familiar aura flowing through it.

The formation had been reinforced by the Jade Pure Sutra. Clearly, this was another branch of the Jade Pure Sutra's abilities.

Chen Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

'It is worthy of being an Immortal technique.'

'With it as my main cultivation technique, whether it is alchemy, weapon refining, or even formation engraving, the power I can exert is several times greater.' The thought flashed through his mind.

Chen Xuan didn't hesitate any longer.

He sat down and closed his eyes.

His mind gradually became calm.

Then, he began comprehending the Undead Art.

At almost the same time, his two clones, who were still inside the Goddess of the Ocean's secret realm, also began doing the same.

In an instant, countless insights surged through Chen Xuan's mind.

The mysteries of the Undead Art continued to emerge.

When those insights combined with the memories he had obtained from Ye Ziyue, the speed at which Chen Xuan comprehended the technique became even faster than he had originally expected.

Every moment brought new understanding.

His comprehension of the technique continued advancing at an astonishing rate.

--

In an artificially created cave several miles away from Netherflame City, a massive amount of Death Qi continuously appeared.

The dense Death Qi gathered from the surrounding region before flowing into the depths of the cave.

The phenomenon naturally shocked the surrounding undead.

Some wondered whether a treasure was being born. Others believed that a powerful expert was in the process of breaking through.

Either possibility was enough to attract their attention.

If it was a treasure, that would naturally be the best outcome.

If it was an expert, then the benefits they could obtain might be even greater.

After all, the moment a cultivator made a breakthrough was often their most vulnerable period.

If they chose the right moment, they might be able to kill the mysterious expert and obtain everything the other party possessed.

Thinking of this, the flames within the undead's eyes gradually became crimson.

Greed and expectation filled their gazes.

The boldest among them quickly approached the cave.

They began trying to break into it.

The appearance of the formation surrounding the cave did not reduce their enthusiasm.

If anything, it made them even more certain that something extraordinary was happening inside.

Without the slightest hesitation, numerous undead began bombarding the formation. Some even used their trump cards.

Wave after wave of attacks struck the array.

The formation trembled violently. Bit by bit, its energy was worn down.

Cracks slowly spread across its surface.

At first, they were barely visible.

But as the bombardment continued, those cracks quickly spread across the entire formation.

Half an hour later...

Bang!

The array finally shattered into countless fragments.

The undead immediately rushed into the cave. Their eyes were crimson with greed.

Yet the moment they stepped inside, every one of them froze.

At the depths of the cave sat a figure with its eyes closed.

Large amounts of Death Qi continuously poured into its body.

The figure seemed like a bottomless abyss. No matter how much Death Qi entered its body, there was no sign of it reaching its limit.

However, that was not what shocked the undead the most.

It was the sheer amount of Death Qi surrounding the figure.

What they had seen from outside was merely a tiny fraction of the total volume.

Perhaps only one percent of the Death Qi had managed to escape the formation's concealment. The remaining ninety-nine percent had been hidden inside the cave.

The undead who had rushed in suddenly felt their hearts sink.

Such an enormous amount of Death Qi...

How terrifying must the existence absorbing it be?

Instead of making them happy, the realization filled them with fear.

The smartest among them immediately understood the situation.

They took several steps backward. Then they turned around and began fleeing.

Unfortunately, they did not have time to escape very far.

A moment later...

The figure sitting in the depths of the cave slowly opened its eyes.

Although its appearance looked like an ordinary undead, an overwhelming pressure instantly erupted from its body.

The entire cave seemed to tremble beneath that pressure.

The expressions of the invaders changed drastically.

Their eyes shrank.

A single thought simultaneously emerged in their minds.

'It's over!'