Chapter 78: Jade Slips

Jiuyou swept his gaze across the spirit materials and pills.

Among them were products unique to the continent, their quality respectable and spiritual energy abundant.

But under his Divine Sense probing, he quickly discerned their functions. Most were aids for cultivation or healing, of little use to a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator like himself.

After a moment's thought, he still stored them away in his Storage Pouch. If they proved useful someday, keeping them was better than discarding them.

Then, his gaze fell upon those several jade slips.

He took out a golden jade slip. A faint dark light flashed as his Divine Sense delved into it. Within a single breath, he had already grasped its contents.

Jiuyou suddenly widened his eyes.

He raised a hand and waved. Over a dozen streaks of golden light flashed past. Those thirty-two golden flying swords flew straight out of the Storage Pouch, layer upon layer, slowly revolving around him, sword light flowing, sharpness radiating an intimidating edge.

"The Jinli Sword Formation... an ancient sword formation."

His voice was low, yet it concealed a barely perceptible tremor. His gaze continuously examined the golden spirit swords slowly rotating around him.

What this jade slip recorded was actually a complete ancient sword formation. It required a full eighty-one "Jinli Ember Moon Swords" to assemble.

Once the formation was complete, all eighty-one spirit swords would unleash together. Sword light surging like tides, killing intent vast as the sea, might overwhelming. The jade slip stated explicitly that this formation could slay enemies beyond one's cultivation level.

Killing beyond one's level.

These four words meant more to Jiuyou than anyone else in the current cultivation world.

With his current cultivation, if he truly possessed such a sword formation, even facing a Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator, he would not be the least bit intimidated.

Jiuyou took a deep breath, suppressing the burning excitement in his heart.

Eighty-one Jinli Ember Moon Swords. That young man surnamed Ye had only managed to refine thirty-two. To deploy the complete Jinli Sword Formation, he was still far off.

Even so, with merely those thirty-two incomplete swords forming the formation, that young man could already rampage unchecked among Early Nascent Soul cultivators. Even Ghost Granny had been instantly slain by the sword flames within it. This alone showed the terrifying power of this formation.

To assemble the complete sword formation, he would need to personally refine the remaining flying swords.

Among the materials required to refine spirit swords, two were most important. One was called Sky Blue Flower. The young man surnamed Ye's Storage Pouch had some stock, with decent quality.

Jiuyou already had a plan in mind. With the Sky Blue Flower in hand, plus the Little Green Bottle for accelerated growth, this requirement was nothing to worry about.

The other material was called Jinli Stone, yet he had never even heard of it. It must be extremely rare, otherwise that young man surnamed Ye would likely have long since refined all eighty-one spirit swords and assembled the formation. How could he have so easily fallen to Jiuyou's hands?

"Jinli Stone... I must keep an eye out for this item everywhere in the future."

Jiuyou withdrew his thoughts, his gaze falling upon the remaining two jade slips.

Who knew what opportunities these two jade slips might conceal.

His Divine Sense delved into the second jade slip.

"The Blood Soul Art... it's actually a soul-path technique."

Jiuyou's heart stirred. The Nether Capital Art he cultivated was likewise a soul-path technique. The two shared the same ultimate goal, their principles interlinked.

He carefully perused the technique's contents and quickly found a specific spell within it, precisely the teleportation escape technique that young man surnamed Ye had used earlier.

The Blood Soul Evasion.

The jade slip recorded: if one had cultivated the Blood Soul Art, one could directly channel it with Blood Soul mana. If one had not cultivated it, one could forcibly activate it with Essence Blood or soul power. When deployed, it could conceal one's aura and traverse a hundred miles in an instant.

Jiuyou's eyes lit up.

Soul power could be used as a substitute.

His Nether Capital Art specialized in devouring souls and refining spirits. As long as he killed enough people and devoured enough divine souls, he could condense vast amounts of soul power. Using soul power to activate this technique, while not as ferocious as the Hundred-Mile Inch Hairpin, had the advantage of not requiring burning Essence Blood, which suited him perfectly.

He was about to put the jade slip away when his Divine Sense inadvertently swept across the final page. He suddenly froze.

The last page recorded a secret technique.

Jiuyou glanced at its introduction.

It was a forbidden art that could increase the probability of breaking through to the Spirit Transformation stage.

"Increasing the probability of breaking through to Spirit Transformation?!"

Jiuyou was shaken to the core. He drew in a sharp breath of cold air, then slammed the jade slip onto the stone table with his palm. His gaze swept around vigilantly as his Divine Sense probed at full strength. Only after confirming no one was watching did he slightly relax and once again extend his Divine Sense into the jade slip.

The Blood Soul Forbidden Art.

This method was extremely perilous. The slightest mistake would cause soul backlash, annihilating both body and spirit. But once successful, the probability of breaking through to Spirit Transformation could increase by nearly thirty percent at most.

Cultivating this forbidden art required meeting three harsh conditions.

First, one needed the Nascent Souls of at least nine Late Nascent Soul cultivators as catalysts. Through a special secret method, their divine souls would be refined and condensed into a single Blood Soul Seed. The divine souls of Late Nascent Soul cultivators were immensely powerful. Nine combined would be enough to shake the Spirit Transformation bottleneck.

Second, one needed to find a place where yin-sha energies gathered. The sha energy would nourish the Blood Soul Seed for eighty-one years until it fully matured. Yin-sha locations were already rare. Those capable of withstanding such prolonged nourishment without dispersing were even rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Third, one had to merge the matured Blood Soul Seed into one's own divine soul at the critical moment of breaking through to Spirit Transformation. Timing, mental state, and mana were all indispensable. The slightest error would result in being devoured by the Blood Soul Seed, degenerating into a bloodthirsty madman.

Three conditions, each harder than the last.

Moreover, the entire process absolutely required a massive amount of souls as assistance to greatly increase the success probability. Otherwise, there was a high chance the fusion would fail, and all efforts would be wasted.

But if all conditions could be met...

Thirty percent.

Jiuyou's heart beat slightly faster.

With his current cultivation and aptitude, even if he enjoyed a thousand years of lifespan, following the normal path of cultivation, whether he could even touch the threshold of Spirit Transformation in this lifetime was unknown. But with this forbidden art, everything changed.

"The divine souls of nine Late Nascent Soul cultivators..."

Jiuyou muttered to himself, dark light flickering in the depths of his eyes.

The war was raging across the Lingchuan continent now, and Nascent Soul cultivators were not rare. But as for Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators, counting those he knew of, including the few Grand Cultivators from the Abyssal Sea and Lingchuan, the total came to only six. Where could he possibly find nine entire Grand Cultivators?

And even if they existed, who had the strength to battle nine Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators? It would be practically declaring war against heaven and earth, drawing the shocked attention of the entire world.

Jiuyou shook his head and let out a sigh.

This matter could not be rushed. It would have to be planned carefully over the long term.

He suppressed the surging thoughts in his mind, his gaze falling upon the last jade slip. The previous two jade slips had brought him such great surprises. Who knew what this one concealed.

His Divine Sense delved into the third jade slip.

After a moment, a strange expression flickered across Jiuyou's face.

What this jade slip recorded was not a technique or divine ability, nor a formation diagram or talisman script.

It was a map.

Drawn entirely with blood-red lines, intricate and complex, it looked quite eerie. The map depicted what appeared to be a mountain valley, its surroundings densely marked with runes. Some he recognized, some he had never seen before.

Jiuyou examined it repeatedly for a while but could not discern any mystery within.

But this jade slip was stored alongside the Jinli Sword Formation and the Blood Soul Art. That young man surnamed Ye clearly regarded it as treasure of equal importance. Something so cherished by this man could not possibly be ordinary.

He tried probing his Divine Sense deeper into the map and vaguely sensed a faint trace of spatial fluctuations, the lingering aura of an ancient prohibition.

Where could this be?

Many speculations flashed through Jiuyou's mind, yet none could be confirmed.

He stored the jade slip in the deepest part of his Storage Pouch, keeping it close to his person. Whatever it was, he would keep it for now and let the future reveal the answer.

Jiuyou took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and organized the night's gains in his mind.

The Jinli Sword Formation, once he found a large supply of Jinli Stone and succeeded in refining it, would become a devastating killing weapon.

The Blood Soul Evasion, activated with soul power, could be relied upon both for fleeing and pursuing enemies.

The Blood Soul Forbidden Art, a stepping stone on the path to Spirit Transformation, though its threshold was absurdly high.

And that nameless blood-red map, concealing unknown opportunities.

Each of these items, if thrown out into the world, would be enough to stir a storm of bloodshed across the Tianyuan Sea and the Lingchuan continent. And now, all of them belonged to him alone.

Just then, the communication jade token at his waist suddenly lit up.

Jiuyou's Divine Sense delved into it, and a brief message came through.

"Fellow Daoist Jiuyou, come to the Endless Boat at once to discuss the Nascent Soul competition."

Jiuyou stored away the jade token, rose to his feet, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

He glanced at the war-torn horizon outside his cave dwelling, his expression impassive.

"A Nascent Soul competition?"

It seemed... another major move was about to happen.

He took a single step, transforming into a pitch-black streak of light, and vanished into the night.