“Temporary transformation of the natal artifact…” Meng Qi murmured, repeating the words. She had vaguely heard of such things before. Moreover, just as Li Che pointed out, it was only natural for a sect that had survived for thousands of years to possess a couple of powerful secret legacies.
“But I am not a Canglang Academy disciple.” Meng Qi looked at Li Che. “Does your sect allow outsiders like me to learn secret techniques that have restrictions?” She asked frankly after only a moment’s hesitation.
“Yes.” Li Che nodded. “The restriction on this technique…” He smiled wryly. “…is actually very simple. If it’s to save someone’s life, the restriction can be broken.”
Meng Qi was taken aback. “Huh?”
“In other words, if I teach you, it’s to save his life, and that would be permissible.” Li Che paused and then added, “But if the restriction senses that the person inheriting the technique has ulterior motives, it will activate on its own, instantly destroying the natal artifact and the spiritual sea, making it impossible to refine it again.”
Meng Qi: “…”
As expected. This restriction seemed simple but was, in fact, extremely complex, as it directly took the user’s intention into account. Throughout the generations of Canglang disciples, there might have been individuals who wished to pass on this secret technique to others, but surely no one had dared to risk their natal artifacts to learn it. As a result, the restriction ensured the secret technique was passed down in a straightforward and simple way, protecting the sect’s stability.
“I’ll pass it on to you right away,” after explaining, Li Che took out a bamboo slip, a slight glow flowing in his palm, and then handed it to Meng Qi.
Meng Qi was a bit dumbfounded. Nevertheless, she accepted the bamboo slip without hesitation and immediately poured her aura into it. The secret technique wasn’t difficult; after a moment, the glow on the bamboo slip faded.
Has she… learned it?
Meng Qi tried it out, silently following the method recorded in the bamboo slip. In her spiritual sea, a thin thread of aura slowly rose, entwining around the Five Spirit Cauldron floating above her spiritual sea. The thread of aura weaved and intertwined like a lively snake, quickly drawing a delicate pattern around the Five Spirit Cauldron, wrapping it within.
Huh? Meng Qi was somewhat curious. This pattern was neat and precise, not randomly drawn. It resembled an array to some extent, but it was something she had never seen, so she couldn’t identify it.
“How is it?” Li Che asked anxiously when he saw her open her eyes.
Meng Qi smiled slightly, raising her hand. A thread of aura gathered in her palm, a cold gleam flickering, and a fine silver needle appeared in her hand.
Li Che breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the silver needle, he smiled a bit awkwardly, “It took me three whole months to learn this technique, but seeing you effortlessly draw such a complex array, I guessed you would learn it quickly.” He had nothing to hide from Meng Qi, and added, “When my master taught me this technique, he said it had been passed down since ancient times. Although the legacy we have isn’t perfect, it still retains the pattern and structure of ancient times.”
“The pattern and structure of ancient times?” Meng Qi asked curiously. She came from a small sect and had never entered another sect after leaving, so she had never come into contact with such ancient legacies.
“Right.” Li Che nodded. Since he had already taught her the secret technique, he did not intend to hide these details. After pondering for a moment, he continued, “In ancient times, the four major cultivation branches each excelled in their own fields. Every sect had powerful geniuses and experts who often embarked on multiple paths. Therefore, the exchange of techniques between cultivation branches was far more frequent than it is today.”
“My master said that at that time, the strength of medical cultivators and array cultivators was far beyond what we can imagine now. We medical cultivators weren’t just healers; our offensive and combat capabilities were no less than those of sword cultivators, spell cultivators, or array cultivators.” Li Che paused again before continuing, “This secret technique was originally created by a great medical cultivator from ancient times. With the ability to transform his natal artifact at will, this great cultivator healed and saved lives during peaceful times, but could swing a sword to kill enemies when in danger.”
“Swing a sword?” Meng Qi was surprised. “The natal artifact could even transform into a sword?” A vague idea began to take shape in her mind, but it seemed to be shrouded in a dense fog, making it unclear.
“So that’s why I said the legacy we inherited isn’t perfect,” Li Che said, somewhat embarrassed. “According to my master, in ancient times, this technique’s capability was far beyond merely transforming a cauldron into a silver needle; it was even possible to transform it into a natal sword or one of the many diverse natal artifacts that the spell cultivators used.”
“That’s too incredible!” Meng Qi exclaimed, genuinely astonished. The fact that such a powerful technique existed in ancient times was beyond their current comprehension. What could have happened back then that led to the near extinction of the array cultivators, with their lineage almost entirely broken? And why did medical cultivation decline, losing the brilliance it once had in ancient times?
“Let’s not dwell on that for now,” Li Che urged. “Check on Yan Xuan first. How is he?”
“Alright.” Meng Qi concentrated, and with a thought, she guided the silver needle, temporarily transformed from the Five Spirit Cauldron, into Yan Xuan’s wrist. A flash of cold light entered his pulse gate, following his meridians toward his spiritual sea. She closed her eyes, and the aura attached to the silver needle allowed her to observe everything within Yan Xuan’s body. This sensation was remarkable, something she had never experienced before. Yan Xuan’s blood vessels, spiritual sea, and even the fluctuations of his aura… every subtle change was visible to her. A tiny silver needle could reveal the most mysterious processes within the human body, even the growth and decay of aura.
Although the nether aura was immensely powerful, and Yan Xuan himself was strong, they could not resist the small silver needle. As Meng Qi’s mind focused, the vague thought she had earlier reappeared in her mind. She quickly steadied her mind, concentrating on observing the changes in Yan Xuan’s spiritual sea and aura.
The nether aura refined from the Netherworld Thorn was omnipresent, like molten iron, slowly reassembling the man’s shattered golden core bit by bit. When a cultivator’s spiritual sea shattered and their inner core fragmented, aura has nowhere to be generated or stored, and the natal artifact has no place to anchor. Without these, a cultivator couldn’t harness even the weakest spell.
The fragments of Yan Xuan’s golden core, wrapped in nether aura, were gradually reassembling, but they were merely forming larger fragments from countless smaller ones, still far from their original shape. Her silver needle hovered above the spiritual sea, its cold light flickering like a dispassionate observer, watching the nether aura surge and roil but ultimately fail to restore the golden core to its original state. The deep green aura thrashed about like an extremely angry child, unable to do anything about the already reformed fragments of the core, leaving them to tumble about.
Could something be wrong? Countless thoughts flashed through Meng Qi’s mind. She couldn’t understand why certain memories became vague at crucial moments.
What is missing? What else is lacking to repair the inner core?
With a slight shift in her thoughts, Meng Qi retrieved the silver needle back into her palm. She clasped her hands behind her back and paced back and forth.
What exactly was the problem?
“Meng Qiqi?” Li Che asked worriedly, watching her.
Hearing his voice, Meng Qi suddenly stopped in her tracks. The vague thought she had earlier suddenly became clearer, and a wild idea surged into her mind. Since she could use the earth as a cauldron to refine the Netherworld Thorn, why couldn’t she use the spiritual sea to reshape an inner core?!
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