Vol. 1 - Ch. 338 - Cultivation Methods

After discussing the matter with Chen Tianyu, Chen Tianjing decided to reserve the blue weapon for Chen Qingyu.

By the time he returns, he will likely have broken through to the Qi Manipulation Realm.

Only a martial artist in the Qi Manipulation Realm can unleash this sword's full power.

Fortunately, Chen Qingyu also possesses a high-tier sword technique.

Although Chen Tianyu has also learned the Seven Emotions Six Desires Sword, he has not used this combat technique so far for the sake of the family’s security. This was to prevent members of other families from discerning the grade of the technique and to avoid unnecessary risks for the clan.

Not even the Nine Severing Clouds, which Chen Tianquan and Chen Tianmo had only recently learned, were exposed during their previous battle with an Innate Realm ferocious beast.

An Earth-tier combat technique does not match the family’s current strength.

In addition to this sharp weapon, the clan had obtained several combat techniques and multiple cultivation methods from the Shi family.

These techniques were ordinary at best; the highest was only mid-tier Profound.

In the past, Chen Tianjing would have certainly regarded them as treasures.

Now, however, they were somewhat lacking. At most, they could replenish the clan’s arsenal and give clan members more options.

Still, these items were indispensable; they formed the foundation of a powerful clan.

After examining the several cultivation methods, Chen Tianjing carefully stored them away.

They were not particularly profound. The best of them, the Wind-Thunder Art, could only be cultivated up to the third level of the Qi Manipulation Realm. It was inferior to the Three-Cycle Mystical Art currently practiced by clan members.

Now, it should be the Six-Cycle Mystical Art. After the clan elders were resurrected, they supplemented the last three cycles of the method. Now, clan members no longer need to worry about subsequent cultivation issues.

In the clan’s glorious past, this method was the Nine-Cycle Mystical Art, which allowed martial artists to cultivate up to the Divine Concentrating Realm. Although he had never seen a Divine Concentrating Realm martial artist in the clan, this method was still key to becoming a high-tier martial artist.

If the clan's Nine-Cycle Mystical Art still existed, it would not be considered weak. After all, it could allow cultivation up to the Divine Concentrating Realm.

In this regard, it was already far better than many other small clans.

However, even though the clan elders had been resurrected, the records of the last three cycles of the cultivation method were missing.

This meant that once clan members reached the final level of the Qi Manipulation Realm, they could not advance further.

Although the clan did not yet have even a single Qi Manipulation Realm martial artist, let alone a Divine Concentrating Realm one and such matters were still far in the future as clan leader, he had to plan ahead.

In the hands of low-tier martial artists, cultivation methods could not exert much effect; they were often used merely to circulate the Qi and Blood within a martial artist’s body, unless they were some top-tier methods.

But after reaching the Qi Manipulation Realm, different cultivation methods would unleash entirely different powers and characteristics. They could even enable martial artists to generate different types of battle-qi. This was extremely important.

He needed to consider the clan’s future, and thus naturally had to address the issue of the clan’s subsequent cultivation methods. If, in the future, the cultivation methods were cut off, perhaps a genius might still emerge within the clan, drawing inferences from other methods and deducing the subsequent stages?

This was the reason Chen Tianjing had carefully preserved these several cultivation methods.

After storing the methods away, Chen Tianjing’s gaze quickly fell upon an utterly unremarkable stone before him. A trace of solemnity appeared on his face.

This stone was only about the size of a fist. Its surface was covered with a faint layer of gray, bearing ring-like patterns resembling tree rings. It appeared largely unexceptional at least, with Chen Tianjing’s Innate Realm perception; he could detect nothing special about it.

However, at that moment, several locust leaves were wrapped around the gray stone.

Based on Chen Tianmo’s description, this object was likely the Shi family’s clan totem and had been placed on the topmost level of the Shi family’s Stone Warm Pavilion.

Objects imbued with spirit are rare and contain peculiar divine power. This could be seen from the family’s Divine Tree.

Thus, Chen Tianjing did not act carelessly nor attempt to remove the locust leaves on top of it. After observing it for a while, he instructed Chen Tianyu to return it to Chaotic Burial Mountain immediately.

Seeing Chen Tianjing’s caution, Chen Tianyu did not linger in Yong’an City long. After a brief exchange, he and several clan members took the stone, mounted their Azure Wolves, and hurried back.

Three days later, Chen Tianyu successfully returned to Chaotic Burial Mountain.

Upon returning to the clan, they once again appeared in the ancestral hall.

Ji Yang, who had already received news through the locust tree’s branches, had been anticipating this for some time.

The Shi family’s totem was still intact. Moreover, the surprise attack was overwhelmingly swift, preventing the remaining Shi family martial artists from drawing upon the Divine Stone’s power. Therefore, the Divine Stone should be in good condition and provide more spiritual power than the green bamboo before.

The clan was developing rapidly these days. Occasionally, Ji Yang awakened the spiritual consciousness of the giant trees surrounding Chaotic Burial Mountain. Despite the clan’s sacrifices and cultivation methods, his spiritual power remained insufficient. He hoped to replenish some of it with this divine stone.

After entering the ancestral hall, Chen Tianyu offered a brief prayer. Then, he carefully took the gray stone from its box and placed it on the ground.

Wrapped in several locust leaves, the Divine Stone still appeared ordinary, showing no signs of mutation.

Even when Ji Yang scanned it with his spiritual energy, he detected nothing special about it, as if it were truly just an ordinary stone.

Yet this only heightened Ji Yang’s interest.

A gentle breeze blew past and quickly blew away the few locust leaves originally covering the stone.

The next moment, Ji Yang gathered his consciousness power and pressed it down upon the stone.

As his power invaded the stone, the unremarkable gray stone suddenly burst forth with brilliant radiance.

The grayness of the stone gradually faded, revealing a crystal-clear body.

A “thump-thump” sound came from within the fist-sized stone, like the beating of a heart—powerful and rhythmic.

Chen Xingzhen and those nearby also watched the scene before them with considerable astonishment. After all, such occurrences were rare. Yet, none of them panicked.

After all, this was the land of the family’s Divine Tree!

Above, Ji Yang’s interest grew stronger when he saw this.

The more you resist, the more excited I become!

Sensing resistance, he immediately gathered more consciousness power and directed it toward the Divine Stone, attempting to crush it.

Perceiving the vast gap between them, the Divine Stone’s consciousness suddenly relaxed.

At the same time, Chen Xingzhen and the others nearby suddenly felt as though a great calamity were upon them. They felt as if they were about to fall into a deadly crisis at any moment.

But before they could react, the crisis abruptly vanished without a trace.

When they looked again, they saw that the Divine Stone, which had just been radiating brilliant light, had shattered into several pieces.