After glancing over his status panel, Liu Bai felt thoroughly satisfied.
However, this wasn't the time to be allocating attribute points, so he closed the system and began heading deeper into the valley toward the wolves' den.
"For the Blood Fiend Adventurer Group to go through such lengths, whatever is inside can't possibly be ordinary."
With that thought in mind, Liu Bai charged directly into the den.
A pungent stench hit him in the face, nearly causing this pampered young lord to pass out from the sheer foulness.
"Damn… this smell is way too strong, it burns the eyes…"
He stirred up the spirit energy within his body, and a crimson light surged from him, forming a barrier that kept the overwhelming stench at bay.
After breaking through to the Spiritual Wheel Realm, the spirit energy within Liu Bai's body had multiplied several times over and become far more condensed.
If previously, while in the Spiritual Movement Realm, his qi sea only held a mass of spirit energy about the size of a chicken egg, now there was nothing left in his qi sea except for a small, pigeon-egg-sized spiritual light wheel.
Although this light wheel was several times smaller in size than the previous spiritual energy mass, Liu Bai could clearly sense how boundless the energy contained within it was.
At this moment, the spiritual light wheel was slowly rotating, and wisps of hazy crimson radiance drifted out, forming a shield of spiritual energy around Liu Bai's body.
With a wave of his hand, he casually killed over a dozen trembling wolf cubs. To his surprise, not a single point of experience was gained. Perhaps it was because these cubs hadn't even reached the level of a low-level spiritual beast yet?
Shaking his head, Liu Bai didn't dwell on it. What caught his attention now was the realization that the wolf den was actually a man-made stone chamber.
"Could this place be a cultivation abode left behind by some practitioner?" At that thought, Liu Bai was instantly startled.
Yet, after searching all around, he didn't find anything particularly special. It seemed to be just an ordinary stone chamber. If there was one thing noteworthy, it was the presence of a large stone statue deep within the chamber. The statue sat cross-legged, eyes lowered. When standing in front of it, one would feel as though it were staring directly at them.
Frowning slightly, Liu Bai found that each time he approached the statue, something felt off. Thinking for a moment, he closed his eyes and used his Heart Array state to sense the entire statue and instantly, he discovered something unusual.
"So that's it. No wonder this place has gone unnoticed for so long and ended up being occupied by a pack of Scarlet Flame Wolves."
This stone statue was the array core of the formation. If Liu Bai's guess was correct, this was at least a Rank 3 Concealment Array. As for the method to break it, he had no idea. After all, he was currently only a Rank 1 Spiritual Array Master and hadn't studied anything related to concealment-type arrays, so breaking the formation was out of the question.
But not being able to break the array didn't mean there was no way in.
This stone statue was the designated entrance to the formation, deliberately left behind by the array's creator!
Liu Bai used his Heart Array state to carefully sense the statue. After a moment, he formed a profound hand seal with his fingers. Instantly, the statue radiated with light, and waves of distortion rippled across its surface.
In the next second, Liu Bai stepped forward and walked directly into the interior of the statue.
"As I expected, the internal space isn't very large…"
Liu Bai observed the small hidden chamber before him, roughly twenty square meters in size, and thought silently to himself.
With a sweep of his gaze, the entire scene came into view. Aside from a skeleton as white as jade, there was nothing else inside.
"Bones white as jade… this senior must have been extraordinarily powerful in life. It's a shame that no inheritance seems to have been left behind quite odd indeed…"
Just as he was mulling this over, a flash of light suddenly caught Liu Bai's attention.
Only then did he notice a palm-sized white jade coral growing from the chest of the jade-white skeleton.
"What is this?"
Liu Bai stepped forward and gently plucked the white jade coral. The next moment...
"Ding, congratulations to the player for obtaining a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Item: Jadebone Grass. Consuming it grants the physique Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone, reduces experience required for cultivation by 10%, and lowers requirements for cultivating special body-forging techniques by 50%."
"Ding, discovered special body-forging Deity Technique: Frostskin Jadebone Codex. Would you like to record it?"
"Ding, system reminder: Player's physique has not yet met the requirements to cultivate Frostskin Jadebone Codex. Unable to progress. Please improve your physique."
"Ding, discovered secret art of array mastery: Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays: Volume I. Would you like to record it?"
The moment Liu Bai's hand touched the white jade skeleton, a series of system prompts rang out continuously, leaving him dumbfounded on the spot.
"So... this senior actually stored all of their inheritances within their own remains?"
That was truly... an odd quirk.
A body-forging Deity technique, a secret text of array mastery both were incredibly valuable. Even if he enrolled in Beicang Spiritual Academy, he might not obtain such treasures. And now he had acquired them right here, in this small, nameless valley on the Northern Spiritual Fields a truly unexpected fortune.
"Record both techniques."
"Ding, congratulations to the player. Frostskin Jadebone Codex successfully Recorded. Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays: Volume I successfully Recorded."
Without hesitation, Liu Bai chewed up the jade coral-like Jadebone Grass and swallowed it.
In the next instant, a chill surged from within his body, flooding rapidly into his limbs and bones. A tingling itch crept out from deep within his bones, making Liu Bai feel like peeling off all his flesh and using a blade to scrape at the bones inside.
This sensation lasted for nearly half an hour before it gradually began to subside. By then, Liu Bai was lying on the ground, completely drained, gasping for breath as if he had just survived death.
"That... was absolutely miserable…"
After a long while, Liu Bai finally recovered some strength. He couldn't help but rub his face with his hand and felt as though a layer of skin had peeled off.
"What…"
He quickly sat up and felt the slimy sensation on his body, immediately stripping off his clothes and tossing them into the corner of the chamber.
"So this is what it feels like to change one's physique?"
Liu Bai looked down at his own body. It had become as smooth and fine as white jade. Without even needing to check a mirror, he was certain that his facial features must have undergone another stunning transformation as well.
"This is the Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone physique, huh?"
Of course, the improved appearance was merely a side effect. What Liu Bai could now clearly sense was that the surrounding spiritual energy had become much more active and far more attuned to him.
As for the enhancements to vitality, strength, and other attributes brought by this special physique, they were naturally essential and went without saying.
But more importantly, after acquiring the Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone physique, and with the Jadebone Grass's additional 50% reduction in cultivation requirements, Liu Bai now met the conditions to cultivate the Frostskin Jadebone Codex!
Liu Bai's status panel now read:
------
Player: Liu Bai
Cultivation: Initial Phase of the Spiritual Wheel Realm
Class: Spiritual Array Master (Rank 1 Spiritual Array Master)
Spiritual Pulse: Grade 1 Human Pulse (12/50)
Physique: Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone
Techniques:
Blazing Sun Art (Fifth Layer 0/2700)
Fundamentals of Spiritual Arrays (Heart Array - Low Tier)
Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays: Volume I (Uninitiated 0/200)
Low-Grade Body-Forging Deity Technique: Frostskin Jadebone Codex (Uninitiated 0/1000)
Skills:
Common-grade High-level [Wind-Piercing Finger] (Greater Mastery)
Common-grade High-level [Senluo Death Seal] (Greater Mastery)
Spirit-grade Low-level [Starshatter Fist] (Initial 0/100)
Spirit-grade Low-level [Blaze Step] (Greater Mastery, 0/1500)
Spirit-grade High-level [Great Sun Burning Sea Palm] (Minor Mastery 0/1200)
Arrays:
Flame Serpent Spirit-Breaking Array (Greater Mastery)
Experience: 2225
Beast Soul Point:30
-------
"Tsk tsk, truly worthy of the title Deity technique. Just reaching the Initiated stage already requires one thousand experience points!"
Even so, Liu Bai did not hesitate in the slightest to invest points into Frostskin Jadebone Codex. For no other reason than the fact that it was a Deity technique something that, for Liu Bai in his current stage, was a rare and priceless opportunity.
"Ding. Congratulations to the player. Consumed 1000 experience points. Frostskin Jadebone Codex Initiated."
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang within Liu Bai's body. Immediately after, a grand and ancient voice echoed in his mind.
"Frosted skin and jade bones — the root of the Spirit Dao; all laws and myriad paths, converge within my body!"
As the voice resounded, Liu Bai felt as if he were standing in the midst of endless void, grounded in neither sky nor earth. Before him loomed a colossal giant, whose body exuded the translucent glow of frost and jade.
The giant towered in the starry sky, and with a single thunderous roar, countless stars transformed into boundless spiritual light, surging into its body. Then, a terrifying pressure erupted from within it, causing the entire astral plane to tremble violently.
"Whoo…"
When Liu Bai finally felt himself return to the real world, he exhaled a long breath.
"So this… is the terror of a Deity technique…"
Liu Bai murmured. Then, he calmed his mind, drew a deep breath, and with a solemn expression, pressed his palms together and formed an ancient and mysterious hand seal with some difficulty.
As soon as the seal was completed, Liu Bai instantly felt the surrounding spiritual energy surge violently and begin gathering at high speed. His own aura swelled explosively, even momentarily rising to the late Phase of the Spiritual Wheel Realm.
"This is way too powerful!"
Liu Bai couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
He hadn't expected the Frostskin Jadebone Codex to be so fearsome, capable of forcefully drawing the surrounding spiritual energy directly into the body.
And according to the knowledge within his mind, this was merely the most basic effect of the Frostskin Jadebone Codex. If he could cultivate it to its peak, he would be able to refine all laws into himself. The benefits this would bring to his cultivation were immeasurable.
Next came the Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays. This was something Liu Bai could put to immediate use, so he didn't hesitate and directly invested points to initiate it.
"Ding. Congratulations to the host. Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays: Volume I Initiated."
"Ding. Detected that Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays can be fused with Fundamentals of Spiritual Arrays. Would the player like to fuse them?"
"Fuse."
"Ding. Fusion successful. Congratulations to the player. Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays successfully fused."
After fusion, Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays remained at the Initiated stage, but its experience requirement for the next level had risen to 1200, indicating that the system rated this technique at a very high tier.
-----
Player: Liu Bai
Cultivation: Initial phase of the Spiritual Wheel Realm
Class: Spiritual Array Master (Rank 1 Spiritual Array Master)
Spiritual Pulse: Grade 1 Human Pulse (12/50)
Physique: Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone
Techniques:
Blazing Sun Art (Fifth Layer 0/2700)
Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays: Volume I (Initiated · Heart Array - Low Tier 0/1200)
Low-Grade Body-Forging Deity Technique: Frostskin Jadebone Codex (Initiated 0/2000)
Skills:
Common-grade High-level [Wind-Piercing Finger] (Greater Mastery)
Common-grade High-level [Senluo Death Seal] (Greater Mastery)
Spirit-grade Low-level [Starshatter Fist] (Initial 0/100)
Spirit-grade Low-level [Blaze Step] (Greater Mastery, 0/1500)
Spirit-grade High-level [Great Sun Burning Sea Palm] (Minor Mastery 0/1200)
Arrays:
Flame Serpent Spirit-Breaking Array (Greater Mastery)
Experience: 1025
Beast Soul Points: 30
-------
This venture into the Scarlet Flame Wolf Valley had brought about an earth-shaking transformation in Liu Bai.
His cultivation improvement was one thing, but the Deity technique and the Array Dao and the acquisition of a special physique had granted Liu Bai boundless potential for growth.
Seeing that it was already getting dark, Liu Bai naturally wouldn't stay alone in the wilderness to rest. He hurriedly departed from the valley and made his way directly toward the outer camp on the Northern Spiritual Field.
By the time Liu Bai returned to the camp, many students had already come back. Judging from their expressions, it seemed their day of cultivation had been quite tough, and their gains even harder to speak of.
However, Liu Bai's return immediately drew attention. Seeing his robes spotless without a trace of dust, many couldn't help but harbor malicious speculation perhaps this guy had just hidden somewhere to rest all day and only returned now, which explained his composed demeanor.
Liu Bai paid no mind to their thoughts. At that moment, Instructor Xi was already walking over.
"Hm? Liu Bai, did you… break through?"
Xi sensed the noticeably stronger aura radiating from Liu Bai and widened his eyes, asking in a low voice.
Liu Bai smiled and nodded. "I was fortunate enough to make a breakthrough…"
Instructor Xi was momentarily speechless. Looking at this youth who wore a modest expression on his face, he truly didn't know what to say.
"Good. Very good. It seems this time, one of the five academy slots is surely yours…" Soon enough, Instructor Xi beamed with joy.
Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something about Liu Bai had subtly changed since the day before though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Perhaps it was simply the breakthrough in cultivation.
With that thought, Instructor Xi didn't dwell further and simply offered Liu Bai a few words of encouragement before going off to check on the other students.
Liu Bai didn't concern himself with the rest. He found a campfire and sat down cross-legged.
His mind had been flooded with information today especially from the Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays, which was truly vast and all-encompassing. Though it didn't contain specific array diagrams, it included all kinds of secret arts and techniques from the Array Dao.
Now, Liu Bai intended to organize this information and deepen his understanding.
Night fell. Most students had already retired to their tents, but a few remained seated around the campfire, meditating and organizing their gains from the day.
After finishing his review of the Hundred Scrolls of the Dao of Arrays, Liu Bai didn't rest. After a moment of contemplation, he prepared to begin condensing his second Death Seal.
The reason he chose to do it now was that his breakthrough in cultivation had given him sufficient conditions to condense not only a second, but even a third Death Seal. More importantly, he was eager to test the effects of his Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone Physique combined with the Frostskin Jadebone Codex and see whether he could surpass even Mu Chen of the same realm by condensing more Death Seals.
....
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