Chapter 269: Chapter 219: Absolute Skill! [5000-word Chapter!]_2
Cheng Beixuan also nodded and said, "The sect’s intention here is, first, to temper the disciples, encouraging them to slay demons and monsters more frequently, and cleanse heaven and earth. Second, to avoid biting off more than one can chew, worrying that top-tier true inheritors might excessively pursue absolute skills at the expense of their own cultivation."
Wang Zhan had just entered the sect and hadn’t even made it into the top 300 rankings of the ’Immortal List.’ He only had a superficial understanding of the system involving the top-tier rankings, the exchange of absolute skills, and so forth.
This is why he ended up making a fool of himself.
Chen Jichuan had already carefully studied and understood the numerous hurdles set up by the Heaven Mending Sect.
"To exchange for a second absolute skill, you need 6,000 great merits. For the third absolute skill, it requires 12,000 great merits."
"Starting from the fourth absolute skill, it demands supreme merits!"
Chen Jichuan shook his head.
This is far too difficult.
A demon of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer only yields ten great merits upon being slain. Those who reach this level are usually senior old demons—a group of extraordinary individuals with sinister and cunning methods.
How challenging is it to kill them?
Even harder is the task of locating their individual lairs, one by one.
Killing 600 demons at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer to exchange for the second absolute skill?
"This is utterly ridiculous!"
Chen Jichuan also found it too far-fetched.
But he understood.
Those capable of learning three absolute skills during the True Inheritance Stage would undoubtedly reach the Second-order realm in due course.
Moreover, their achievements within the Second-order realm would hardly be mediocre. There would be plenty of opportunities to study other absolute skills in the future, so why rush at this time?
Except for someone like him.
While he may dominate at the First-order stage, upon reaching the Second-order, he’d have to keep a low profile, with little chance of acquiring super-level techniques.
It was with this ambition to secure greater skills upfront that he aimed to accomplish in one go.
If he failed, it was inevitable that some disappointment would follow.
Still, he had 92 years left to give it his best shot. After all, for the next century, cultivation could be slowed down; other than slaying demons, he could explore other avenues of piling up merits as much as possible.
"Perfect timing."
"During this period, I can also undergo multiple heavenly tribulations outside and use my cultivation to advance and refine my techniques and magic."
Chen Jichuan contemplated silently.
The thought of being able to independently refine super-level techniques quelled much of the disappointment in his heart.
...
After chatting with Cheng Beixuan, Xue Xiao, and others for half the day, then having a meal together, there was quite a lively atmosphere.
Only when the four of them left did Chen Jichuan finally find some peace and quiet.
Inside his cave abode.
While cultivating, he silently awaited news from the Examination Hall.
The Examination Hall worked efficiently and didn’t leave Chen Jichuan waiting for long. In just half a month, word came——
"Examination passed!"
"Dai Zong of Qingniu Peak, for slaying the Wulou Island ’Hundred Desires Demon’ Yanchen, is credited with twenty supreme merits."
...
Heaven Mending Sect.
Sea-Gazing Peak, Heart-Shining Hall.
Chen Jichuan followed the two figures—Examination Hall Master ’Chen Pu’ and Heaven Mending Sect’s Sect Master ’Sun Jiuzhang’—to the Heart-Shining Hall.
Through the Heart Question Array, it was verified that he harbored no intentions of betraying the sect.
He then stood before the ancestral tablets of the Heaven Mending Sect and swore a Heart Demon Oath, ensuring that he would never privately pass on the absolute skills obtained from the sect to outsiders.
This ’Heart Demon Oath,’ just by being sworn, held no real power.
However, within this Heart-Shining Hall, the heart’s essence extended outward, with the sect’s supreme treasure—the ’Heart Mirror’ serving as a medium—to make the oath unyieldingly binding.
Should he break the vow, heart demons would inevitably grow, utterly destroying his path of cultivation.
Even if he improbably managed to obliterate the heart demon, the supreme treasure ’Heart Mirror’ of the Heart-Shining Hall would unleash annihilating divine light to devastate his physical body and shatter his soul, leaving no avenue for survival.
"Ordinary cultivators, even when their lifespan reaches its limit, hold onto a faint hope, anticipating divine soul rebirth."
"But if someone were to plan on passing on the sect’s absolute skills in the face of their impending death, they’d likely be destroyed by the annihilating divine light before they could even act—left with their soul utterly dispersed, incapable of reincarnation for eternity."
To any cultivator, this outcome is utterly despair-inducing.
Cultivators may be willing to face death, but never to forfeit even the slimmest chance for rebirth.
"This doesn’t really concern me, though."
"In the future, when I enter another Dao Fruit World, having swapped both my physical body and soul, this Heart Demon Oath wouldn’t apply to me, nor could the ’Heart Mirror’ span the two worlds’ vast void to kill me from such unimaginable distances."
Chen Jichuan silently reflected, feeling unburdened.
Once he completed the process at the Heart-Shining Hall:
"All the formalities are done."
"The next step is to choose an absolute skill."
Heaven Mending Sect’s Sect Master Sun Jiuzhang, an elder with youthful features and crane-like white hair, smiled as he looked at Chen Jichuan and asked, "You only have enough merit to exchange for one absolute skill. Have you decided what you’d like to learn?"
Examination Hall Master Chen Pu stood by his side and suggested, "Your talent in alchemy and artifact refining is exceptional. Among the Heaven Mending Sect’s nine great skills, the ’Daluo Heavenly Fire’ can collect and refine all exotic fires under heaven, fusing them into one’s being. Its power is immeasurable. Whether used for combat or for alchemy and artifact refining, it’s an excellent choice."
"Daluo Heavenly Fire."
Chen Jichuan listened and shook his head inwardly.
Before arriving, he had already thoroughly researched the details of the Heaven Mending Sect’s nine great skills.
These nine super-level techniques are exceptionally comprehensive, covering offensive, defensive, speed-focused abilities, and even the ’Daluo Heavenly Fire’ suggested by Chen Pu, which could slay demons and enemies while also being perfect for alchemy and artifact refining.
Chen Jichuan had deliberated over them for a long time and had already made up his mind.
"The ’Daluo Heavenly Fire’ leans heavily on alchemy and artifact refinement, as well as combat, but it requires seeking out exotic fires to fuse, which is time-consuming, arduous, and perilous—definitely not my first choice."
"The ’Five Directions Five Elements Great Yan True Light,’ when unleashed, carries the oppressive force of a mountain. Even the slightest touch will completely immobilize a cultivator, making it an ideal technique for suppression and refining demons. Yet I already have the ’Innate One Qi Demon-locking Bone-shrinking Great Method,’ which can also suppress and refine demons. Once upgraded to super-level, it will rival the ’Five Directions Five Elements Great Yan True Light,’ while being more ’orthodox’ and easier to comprehend."
"As for the absolute skills ’Pipa Walk,’ ’Five Directions Five Elements Flying Dragon Escape Method,’ ’Cangqing Seal,’ and ’Wisdom Eye,’ which respectively specialize in movement techniques, escape skills, body protection and soul suppression, and insight and detection—I already possess the ’Little Four Nine Wind and Thunder Escape Method,’ the ’Taiyin Primordial Magnetic Stealth Technique,’ the ’Three-in-One Indestructible Golden Light Body Protection Technique,’ and the ’Creation·Insight.’ These can be prioritized later."