Chapter 74 - 46: Ancient Cultivator’s Sacrificial Spirit, Ancient Method Inheritance

Chapter 74: Chapter 46: Ancient Cultivator’s Sacrificial Spirit, Ancient Method Inheritance

So, from a certain perspective, he could barely be considered knowledgeable. However, he had no idea how much of this knowledge was real, how much was exaggerated, or how much was completely fabricated.

He just read them for fun, treating them like supernatural fiction, so he never really cared whether they were true or not.

Right now, the things in front of him actually matched a record he had once read.

"A hidden place gives birth to a Spiritual Object within. A sacrificial altar stands before the spirit, and a stele stands before the altar..."

Li Yinsheng’s face was filled with shock and doubt. "Could this thing be a Sacrificial Spirit left behind by the legendary Ancient Cultivators?"

"A Sacrificial Spirit?" Mu Xiaoyu, standing beside him, was full of curiosity. "Senior Brother, what is a Sacrificial Spirit? And what is an Ancient Cultivator?"

Li Yinsheng organized his thoughts for a moment before explaining.

"The Cultivation Realm has a long history with numerous Sect lineages. The path of cultivation has also undergone several evolutions, so there is a significant difference between the current cultivation methods and those of ancient times.

"The vast majority of Cultivators in the world practice the mainstream Magic Techniques of today. However, the ancient Magic Techniques from countless years ago haven’t been completely lost.

"Thus, those Cultivators from the ancient era are referred to as Ancient Cultivators.

"Even in this era, there are still a very small number of Cultivators who practice the Ancient Method."

Mu Xiaoyu half-understood. "Then, Senior Brother, are modern Cultivators stronger, or are Ancient Cultivators stronger?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Li Yinsheng shrugged. "If Ancient Cultivators were stronger, why would they be in the extreme minority?"

"True." Mu Xiaoyu nodded.

"However, I don’t know much about the Ancient Method..."

At this point, Li Yinsheng mocked inwardly, "And all my knowledge comes from the boastful travelogues in the Sect."

"Then what is the Sacrificial Spirit you just mentioned, Senior Brother?" Mu Xiaoyu asked again.

Li Yinsheng explained, "Although the Ancient Method as a whole isn’t as good as the Modern Method—which is why it was phased out—it was still the mainstream path of cultivation in the ancient era. Having developed over countless years, it definitely still has some extraordinary aspects.

"Therefore, there are still some Cultivators practicing the Ancient Method in the world today.

"These Cultivators are few in number, with even fewer fellow practitioners, and finding suitable successors is extremely difficult. So, unlike Cultivators of the Modern Method who value the master-disciple lineage, Ancient Cultivators liked to leave their inheritances and fortuitous encounters scattered everywhere.

"Cultivators who stumble upon these inheritances might obtain an Ancient Cultivator’s Magic Technique."

Li Yinsheng shook his head. "However, it’s said that many of the Ancient Cultivators’ Magic Techniques aren’t very useful to Cultivators of the Modern Method. They are practically useless, and only a very small number are somewhat practical.

"Moreover, compared to current cultivation Magic Techniques, the path of the Ancient Cultivators doesn’t focus as much on the Root Device. They place more emphasis on the Karma Technique."

"Karma Technique?" Mu Xiaoyu didn’t understand.

Li Yinsheng pointed at the peach tree. "For example, this peach tree in front of you is one of the ways Ancient Cultivators left behind their inheritances. It’s called a ’Sacrificial Spirit’.

"It contains the inheritance left by an Ancient Cultivator. The Cultivation Technique is called the ’Ancient Method’, and the Magic is called the ’Ancient Skill’.

"As long as you offer a sacrifice, it’s possible to obtain the inheritance within."

"Possible?" Mu Xiaoyu caught the key word.

"Uh... according to the ancient texts I’ve read... well, the texts record that Ancient Cultivators value the Karma Technique more, so it’s not that the more valuable the sacrifice to the Sacrificial Spirit is, the better...

"The sacrifices required by a Sacrificial Spirit are strange and varied, with no pattern to follow. Only by offering the right sacrifice can you obtain the Ancient Method or Ancient Skill inside."

Mu Xiaoyu looked surprised. "Then wouldn’t we have to try them one by one? We’d be trying for a very long time."

Li Yinsheng shook his head. "The number of times you can offer sacrifices is limited. If you try too many times and still don’t offer the right sacrifice, the inheritance within the Sacrificial Spirit will vanish."

"Ah? But didn’t the Ancient Cultivators leave Sacrificial Spirits behind to pass on their inheritances? How can they pass anything on like this?" Mu Xiaoyu’s face screamed, "I don’t get it."

"That’s why I said Ancient Cultivators place more emphasis on the Karma Technique." Li Yinsheng shrugged. "I’m guessing, in their minds, if the sacrifices to the Sacrificial Spirit exhaust the chances until the inheritance disappears, it just proves that the person who entered isn’t the right successor."

Mu Xiaoyu was dumbfounded.

"So, you see, the Ancient Method is nearly lost, and Ancient Cultivators are on the verge of extinction. There’s a reason for all of this," Li Yinsheng remarked as he patted her head.

Mu Xiaoyu nodded along. Soon after, a disappointed expression appeared on her face. "Doesn’t that mean we finally managed to find this place, but it’s highly likely we won’t get anything at all?"

If the sacrifice was unsuitable, the Sacrificial Spirit would disappear after a few attempts. Even if the sacrifice was suitable, the Ancient Cultivator’s inheritance provided might not even be useful. Wasn’t this just getting someone’s hopes up for nothing!

Li Yinsheng wasn’t too disappointed. In his heart, he was more confused.

Although the thick white poisonous miasma could isolate Divine Sense to a certain extent, its effect on a Daoist’s Divine Sense was rather limited. This small mountain was not far from Xuanzhen Peak. Over so many years, how come it seemed like no one had ever discovered this place?

Ordinary disciples’ Divine Sense couldn’t penetrate the poisonous miasma, and their Cultivation wasn’t high enough to maneuver through it, so it was understandable that they couldn’t come here. But the Xuanzhen Temple had produced quite a few Daoists over hundreds of years. Could it be that none of the seniors had ever explored the vicinity of their own home?

But thinking about it, he was also a Daoist. If Junior Sister Mu hadn’t obtained that Black Stone from the brain of the Black-Scaled Python, and if she wasn’t able to smell the peach blossom fragrance that he couldn’t, then even he, a Daoist, wouldn’t have been able to find this place.

It seemed he didn’t have much right to criticize his seniors either.

Speaking of which, from a certain perspective, Junior Sister Mu’s nose could probably be considered a type of Root Device, couldn’t it? Being able to smell things that even a Daoist couldn’t—how could that not be considered a Root Device?

It was just a pity that this Root Device was of no use for cultivation, or rather, for improving one’s Cultivation.