Chapter 654 482: The Method of Continuing the Path (2)

Both demons were holding a Cloud Octopus, each half dead, their eight tentacles gnawed clean—clearly all had gone into these two monsters' bellies.

Hui Yao, seeing the strength of the two, now showed no trace of his previous posture, stowed away the bell and became humble, his attitude changing dramatically, calling out:

"My lord… My lord, such thunderbolt! Mage, such spell!"

This demon had obviously never flattered anyone like this before; all it could say was "good" over and over. Demons are always like this, bearing no moral burden; changing faces happens in an instant. Li Qinghong was not surprised, pointed to the Cloud Octopus, and spoke:

"Let's not discuss how to divide the rest of the spoils for now. That one is mine—I still have some use for it."

Hui Yao nodded repeatedly. Kongheng glanced at the Cloud Octopus heads in their hands, displaying hints of doubt, and spoke up:

"These two abominations seem a bit weak."

Li Qinghong silently turned his head, secretly amused, though unsure if Kongheng's remarks held deeper meaning. The Hui Fish brothers likely hadn't noticed at all and quickly said:

"Master may not know, but this Cloud Octopus' Taoist Foundation is quite unique; these two creatures aren't ordinary Foundation Establishment, it's all a stroke of fortune."

"Back then, it broke off eight tentacles, each splitting into a new Cloud Octopus. By linking their innate talents with its Taoist Foundation and nurturing them with mana over the years, it did manage to raise two Foundation Establishment underlings… only, with innate defects, they're inevitably a tier weaker."

"Mage's Divine Skills are vast—naturally these two creatures cannot shake him."

Hui Yao boasted on for a while, fully displaying the demon clan's awe of power but lack of virtue, then quickly added:

"That old beast's treasures are plentiful. Let me lead the way and show both of you."

The two demons changed back to their true forms and dove into the sea. Li Qinghong took an Elixir, calculating that he had not used even one Mysterious Thunder from his Thunder Pool, and effortlessly followed behind.

After searching at the bottom of the sea for a while, the group emerged empty-handed. Hui Yao looked a bit embarrassed, dragged over the Cloud Octopus, and slapped it a dozen times to force it to reveal the cave mansion.

Unexpectedly, the Cloud Octopus, knowing its own demise, kept its mouth shut, not revealing a word. Hui Yao and Hui'er glanced at each other and said:

"My lord, best leave this for us to deal with."

"Keep it alive—for now it's still useful."

Li Qinghong ordered coolly, watching as the two Hui Fish dove into the sea again. The surface fog thickened, leaving only Li Qinghong and Kongheng behind.

Kongheng pressed his palms together, hesitated for a few moments, even closing his eyes. Li Qinghong gazed toward the horizon, quietly observing.

They had pushed several hundred miles deeper, now at the edge of the sea. Spiritual Mechanism grew ever thinner; the sky was endlessly dark. It was said the Spirit Mechanism here was so scarce, even The Great Void was broken; a Zifu cultivator must land to fly here.

Moreover, as the seawater fell at the sea's edge and turned into rising mist, the clouds grew denser. If one could find a spot with ample Spirit Mechanism, it would be an excellent place for cultivation.

Li Qinghong watched for a while. Beside him, Kongheng was sweating, until finally, the two Hui Fish leapt up, handed over the Cloud Octopus, and led the way ahead.

The Cloud Octopus's eyes were tightly shut, its body covered in blood, seemingly unconscious, half of its flesh gone limp, leaking drops of blood. Each drop transformed into rising golden mist, drifting everywhere.

The group flew into the sea, quickly found an entrance, used the Cloud Octopus's token to open it, and entered.

The Cloud Octopus's cave mansion was empty and sticky, much like a sea grotto; wet, swirling spirit mud, undoubtedly the Cloud Octopus's preferred habitat. After a round of searching, they picked out spiritual objects.

This spirit mud was rather unusual—besides its stench, it could erode the body through mana. But, being Foundation Establishment cultivators, everyone was fine, only bothered by the smell. Hui Yao, sick of the place, dragged the Cloud Octopus over and slapped it dozens more times just to vent.

The most abundant treasures were all kinds of broken magic artifacts—some refined by demons, some left behind by cultivators. Next came spiritual objects: various spirit waters and spiritual energy.

Li Qinghong picked out some spears and swords, surveyed all the spiritual energy, but didn't recognize a single one. He casually chose a few, then picked out some spirit waters for the juniors to practice their pupil techniques.

'To speak of wealth… nothing truly stands out… it's just taking some rare spiritual objects back for ourselves.'

Li Qinghong had seen the power of these medicines and had no high hopes from the start. Hui Yao had raved about treasures all the way, just the usual tricks to stir greed. Now their enemy was dead, and his laughing, unembarrassed manner showed no discomfort.

After dividing everything evenly, Hui Yao was in high spirits and escorted the two back to the island with utmost courtesy. He didn't mention tribute, nor did he ask about the division of the sea's mineral resources.

Li Qinghong worried that the fish would be too eager, saying he wanted to split the minerals—but that was taboo for Dragon Kind. If word got to the dragon scion, he himself would fall into disgrace. So he declined politely and quietly went into closed cultivation on the island.

...

Southern Border, Yi Shan City.

Li Xuanfeng had waited over two years in the Southern Border before finally being summoned by Yuansu Perfected Person.

Returning to the entrance of the cave mansion, he carefully inspected the spiritual beast statue—sure enough, it was very similar to what he'd seen in the Cave Heaven. With confidence, he stepped inside.

Yuansu was, as always, reclining on his jade dais, spiritual energy surging below, white mist curling around. He sized up Li Xuanfeng for a moment, then softly intoned:

"You truly killed Yu Muxian."

Li Xuanfeng bowed and replied:

"I acted rashly, I beg Perfected Person's pardon."

Yuansu shook his head, sitting up slightly, his voice light and airy.

"Doesn't matter. Yuanwu must die before me; by then, Tang Shedou will be unable to touch you."

He did not respond directly to Li Xuanfeng and instead spoke to himself:

"Two years of rain at Sui Guan, no sign of stopping. Jin Yu surely won't remain inactive—a turbulent season is upon us…"

Yuansu Perfected Person chatted for a few sentences before falling silent. Li Xuanfeng stepped forward and said:

"In the Cave Heaven, I saw a beast statue much like the one in the Perfected Person's cave mansion. I obtained a gemstone from it and have brought it as an offering."

"Three-eyed Hill Beast?"

Yuansu showed some interest and watched Li Xuanfeng present the gem with both hands. He glanced at it—the gem was dark and seemed to contain a flickering splash of water—then expressed disappointment:

"Nothing worthwhile. A Feminine Water Stone—no use to me; you can keep it."

He leaned back on the jade dais, as if reminded of something by this matter, and casually asked:

"Which cultivation technique did you seek in the cave?"

Li Xuanfeng had prepared already; he took out three jade slips from his storage bag and solemnly said:

"First is 'Washing Dew Primordial Secrets', said to be cultivated in parallel by Perfected Person; second is 'Heart Sinking Chant', cultivated in parallel by Fairy Ning Wan; third is my own 'Golden Radiance Inquiry Method'."

Yuansu laughed heartily, taking several breaths to calm before speaking:

"You're quite thoughtful. The 'Washing Dew Primordial Secrets' and its 'Washing Tribulation Dew' is exactly the Divine Skill I'm missing. Pity that at the Three Drum Wall, it only goes as far as Foundation Establishment, so it's no use to me!"

He straightened slowly and explained softly:

"Once a Zifu cultivator completes their first Divine Skill, they must begin anew for a second, and only a cultivation method reaching Zifu level allows mastery of Divine Skills. Without a co-cultivated technique aimed at Zifu, the path is already severed."

Li Xuanfeng slightly furrowed his brow; Yuansu, propping his chin, replied offhand:

"Are you wondering why, among the Chi Family's five cultivation methods, three only reach Foundation Establishment, yet Chi Wei could reach Zifu Peak?"

Li Xuanfeng already suspected the answer, but still bowed and said:

"I ask Perfected Person to enlighten me."

Yuansu shrugged and explained:

"No Zifu cultivation method? Simple—find a genius to cultivate it. Once he reaches Foundation Establishment Peak, devour him by various means, supplement with all kinds of Zifu spiritual objects, and thus trigger a Divine Skill."

He squinted with a smile, voice echoing in the empty cave mansion:

"There are many such methods, collectively called 'Path Extension Good Methods': they save time and extend your path… Naturally, all under heaven scramble for them."

"After all, most Zifu cultivation methods were lost in the southern migration, and each family guards their scraps jealously. If one does not resort to devouring, there is no path forward; one can only sit, as I do, abandoned at the frontier, with death looming ever closer!"