Chapter 351 - 346: Switching the Cultivation Technique

The Zouma Gang had just completed a change in leadership, and the new Gang Leader and new Vice Gang Leader were now wrestling with the problem of the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s corpse.

Du Youqian, for his part, had already finished taking stock of all the possessions in his dilapidated hut and was now contemplating which Cultivation Technique he should practice next.

In the Endless Desert Western Domain, Body Tempering Techniques were actually quite popular.

Whether human or ghost, anyone could cultivate a bit of Body Tempering... an exaggeration, of course. Ghosts still couldn’t do it.

But regardless of how good or bad one’s Spirit Root was, it was never a mistake to cultivate a Body Tempering Technique or a Secret Technique.

In a godforsaken place like this, if your Physique wasn’t up to par, your chances of survival were very low.

Besides, the key thing was that Body Tempering was easy!

Of course, it wasn’t that simple.

Why was it that in Momenan, everyone thought Body Tempering Techniques were difficult, but here in the Endless Desert Western Domain, they became easy?

Because human life was even cheaper here!

Generally speaking, in the Human World, the odds of someone from the Human Race being born with a Spirit Root seemed to be slightly higher.

Their Life Force was also a bit more resilient.

So... Cultivators weren’t exactly a rare commodity.

Instead, it was cultivation resources that were in the shortest supply.

In truth, the Human World had far, far more cultivation resources than Momenan.

But it couldn’t keep up with the sheer number of people! And the number of Cultivators! When divided among each Cultivator, the amount of cultivation resources per person became much smaller.

What’s more, the Endless Desert Sea was a notoriously barren land!

Therefore, Cultivators here were forced by circumstance, left with no choice but to opt for Body Refining Techniques as much as possible.

And why was that?

Because Body Refining Techniques included methods like those in Momenan that consumed vast resources, as well as methods that relied on Human Dao Fortune.

But they also included methods that consumed few resources and depended on destiny.

In any case, you would first get your foot in the door, then consume whatever you could find, and finally look for a natural Evil Pool or some such place to temper yourself.

Evil Pools were generally used by Cultivators at Foundation Establishment or higher to cultivate Magic and so on. However, some could also be used for Body Refining. But for safety’s sake, one also had to be at Foundation Establishment or higher to use them.

When Du Youqian was in Momenan, he had also waited until the Foundation Establishment Stage to begin using Gang Domains and Evil Pools for Body Tempering.

But things were different here in the Endless Desert Sea.

Cultivators of low birth, who started cultivating with some incomplete, knock-off technique, would go look for an Evil Pool to try their luck as soon as they got their foot in the door.

If they were lucky, their Body Tempering would succeed, and their Cultivation would advance greatly.

If they were unlucky or had average luck, their flesh and blood would naturally dissolve, and they too would become part of the Evil Pool.

Generally speaking, the unlucky and the ordinarily lucky were the majority.

But there were always some who were truly lucky.

In the eyes of these lucky few, Body Refining was the easiest way to cultivate. You just sat in an Evil Pool, circulated your technique to resist, and your Cultivation would grow naturally—so much easier than orthodox cultivation.

As for those whose blood and bones were dissolved by the Evil Pool? That was just their bad luck; you couldn’t blame heaven or man.

Therefore, Du Youqian immediately rejected the path of Body Refining.

Although he possessed a brilliant Body Refining Technique, he currently had neither Treasures of Heaven and Earth nor Human Dao Fortune. He couldn’t just gamble with his life, could he?

However, taking the orthodox cultivation path also had its problems.

He didn’t dare to casually practice the techniques from the scriptures of the Major Sects he had obtained in Momenan.

Because even if it were a third or Fourth-class Sect from Momenan with only a single "Art"-level Cultivation Technique as its inheritance, its main sect in the Human World would have a Divinity Transformation Cultivator presiding over it!

And that was to say nothing of the First and Second-class Sects. For instance, if Du Youqian were to cultivate something like the *Crimson Scripture of Profound Mystery and Spiritual Mechanism* or the *Red Phoenix General’s Qi Circulation Technique*, a Great Power at the Void Step or Harmonization Realm might sense it. They’d take one look and think, ’Hey, this kid isn’t a junior from our Sect. Where did he steal our technique from? Whatever, I’ll just kill him with a long-distance sword strike and then use Soul Search.’

So, until he could find a legitimate way to practice those Top Grade Cultivation Techniques, Du Youqian absolutely could not cultivate them.

Fortunately, however, Du Youqian had planned ahead, having considered this possibility long ago. That was why he had spent so much effort and so many resources back then to support the Fang Family.

He had wanted the Fang Family to complete the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* for him.

Of course, its superior version, the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*, was naturally better, though it was also far more incomplete.

Furthermore, it had been acquired by Pang Master back then and was lost along with him.

However, after Pang Master and Master Nine were killed, and the Major Sects had plundered the ruins of the South Sea Blessed Land, the Cultivation Technique was recovered. It even included a small portion that Pang Master had attempted to complete.

Some clues indicated that the Great Saint Incarnation, Yuan Liulang, had been extremely interested in this Cultivation Technique, which was why he had his Split Soul, Pang Master, deliberately collect it.

As for why Yuan Liulang was interested in the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*, that remained unknown. Perhaps it involved some hidden secret.

’So, should I cultivate the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture*, or go straight for its superior version, the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*?’

He didn’t hesitate for long. Du Youqian quickly made his decision: he would cultivate the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture*, which had been more completely supplemented by Xiaofang and was verified to allow one to reach Core Formation.

He didn’t have much time left in this life; there was no time to figure out how to complete the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*.

However, the experience he gained from cultivating the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* in this life could lay a solid foundation for him to cultivate the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture* in a future life.

Without any hesitation, Du Youqian immediately began his Cultivation.

Switching Cultivation Techniques was a simple matter for a mere Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer Junior Cultivator. He hadn’t even established his Dao Foundation yet, so what was there to be complicated about?

After sensing his cultivation speed, Du Youqian estimated that with sufficient resources, he could hope to reach Core Formation again within fifteen to twenty years. He should be able to return to Golden Core Perfection within his lifetime.

For him, with his rich cultivation experience, there would be no bottlenecks along the way. Even with just a Middle Grade Spirit Root, he could achieve a speed that others with an Upper Grade Spirit Root could only dream of.

The gang’s young man, Zong Li, happened to have a Fire Spirit Root, which was an element Du Youqian was familiar with. This meant Du Youqian wouldn’t need to spend any time practicing Magic; he already knew Fire Magic like the back of his hand.

Although back in Momenan, he had spent most of his time using Swordsmanship to solve problems—or to solve the people who created them...

But that didn’t mean his Magic was subpar.

Just as Du Youqian finished switching his Cultivation Technique, someone knocked on the door and shouted, "The gang is holding a meeting! All members at the rank of Low Level Steward and above must attend!"

Zong Li was, in fact, a Low Level Steward.

The Zouma Gang’s structure wasn’t anything fancy.

It was a simple hierarchy: ordinary gang member, Low Level Steward, Senior Steward, Vice Gang Leader, and Gang Leader.

They couldn’t even come up with titles like "Incense Master," "Squad Leader," or "Guardian."

’So uncultured!’

No wonder there wasn’t a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the entire gang. The highest Cultivation belonged to the Gang Leader, Zou Zhiyong.

’Immortal Cultivating requires not only a Spirit Root and Comprehension, but also a bit of culture!’

Otherwise, take a single verse: "Above is the Soul Spirit, below is Guan Yuan; to the left, Lesser Yang, to the right, Taiyin; behind, the secret door, in front, the Life Sect. Exhaling the sun, inhaling the moon, breath is preserved. Four Qi Combined Star Division; Purple Smoke and Three Pure Clouds. Irrigate the Five Flowers Planting Spirit Roots; Seven Liquids Cave Flowing Through the Lujian; Returning Purple and Embracing Yellow into the Dantian. In the Dark Chamber, light illuminates the Yang Sect."

Can you even understand that?

Do you know how to use this incantation to cultivate?

This is a top-tier Foundation Establishment Technique from a Major Sect, but without culture, even if such a supreme Cultivation Technique were placed right in front of you, you wouldn’t be able to cultivate it!

Du Youqian still had some ideas for the Zouma Gang, with its generally low level of culture.

’They might not be very cultured, but they are the local power, after all!’

’Using the Zouma Gang as a springboard is a pretty good option. I estimate I can reach Foundation Establishment again within two years. At that point, I’ll first take over the Zouma Gang and become its Gang Leader, then expand my influence and conquer the surrounding oases. Then, I’ll "crowdfund" my cultivation, exploiting all the nearby Cultivators to support myself alone, striving to reach Core Formation again within fifteen years. When the time comes, I can consider giving back to the surrounding area. As for what to do after that—whether to try and unify the Endless Desert Western Domain or just settle down as a regional hegemon—that will depend on what the world looks like once I reach that level. The things Zong Li knew were quite limited; they couldn’t provide me with enough information to make those kinds of decisions.’

When Du Youqian arrived at the gang headquarters, he found that the person sitting in the Gang Leader’s seat was not Zou Zhiyong, but the veteran Vice Gang Leader, Ma Cong.

Looking at the expressions on the faces of the gang’s upper echelons, Du Youqian had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

’Was there a violent takeover?’ he wondered.

’From the looks of it, the Gang Leader... no, the former Gang Leader, Zou Zhiyong, has probably met with a mishap.’

Sure enough, Ma Cong soon announced that Gang Leader Zou Zhiyong had been despicably ambushed while attacking the Sanquan Gang. After returning, his injuries had flared up, and while circulating his energy to heal, he suffered a cultivation deviation and unfortunately died.

Given that none of Zou Zhiyong’s heirs possessed a Spirit Root, Ma Cong "reluctantly" took over the position of Gang Leader and promoted Liu Jinlong to Vice Gang Leader.

There were a few other personnel changes, and anyone who wasn’t a complete idiot could see that he was suppressing the former Gang Leader’s confidants and promoting his own.

Then, Ma Cong declared that he would lead the Zouma Gang to become bigger and stronger, that everyone would have resources and techniques to practice from now on, and so on and so forth.

Du Youqian pretended to listen intently, but in reality, he was already circulating his energy, unwilling to waste time listening to this nonsense.

As the meeting was about to end, Ma Cong added that he hoped everyone would keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals. He also said he would be speaking to everyone individually and would require them to explain their recent whereabouts in detail.

Du Youqian then knew that the loss of the Spring and Autumn Brush had likely been discovered.

Of course, he wasn’t about to voluntarily confess, and he believed that no matter what skills these people had, they would never be able to trace it back to him.

All he had to do was sit tight and watch the show.

’What interests me, however, is that the Zouma Gang must have previously promised to hand over the Spring and Autumn Brush to a more powerful faction in exchange for their protection. The Sanquan Gang’s attack was unfortunately timed; the Foundation Establishment Cultivator sent by that powerful faction to receive the Spring and Autumn Brush had just arrived at the oasis and wiped out the Sanquan Gang as a matter of convenience. But now that the Spring and Autumn Brush is lost, what will that powerful faction do? And can I fish in troubled waters and gain some benefits for myself?’