Chapter 165: Chapter 161: Blood War to the End and Quick Passage
Du Youqian confirmed it repeatedly.
The next day, and the day after that... each time, the Spiritual Liquid, prepared with the same formula, would increase the life force of the unknown little life inside the Stone Egg by a mere sliver.
It was truly just a sliver.
At times, Du Youqian felt the sting of the expense.
A single serving of this Spiritual Liquid was worth at least one hundred Spirit Stones.
That amounted to over three thousand Spirit Stones a month.
In about a year and a half, he would burn through the value of one Foundation Establishment Pill.
And just how much was that worth?
An ordinary Qi Cultivation Cultivator probably couldn’t save up that much in a lifetime.
Someone like Yan Jiao, a relatively unremarkable Inner Disciple of a First-class Sect with a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivation, would need about three to four years to save up enough Spirit Stones to buy a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
Even a True Disciple of a First-class Sect, if they didn’t actively seek out fortunes, could only accumulate Spiritual Jade equivalent to about two Foundation Establishment Pills per year.
Du Youqian’s mining operation here was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Still, this fortuitous opportunity was a gift from the heavens, so his initial costs weren’t too high.
As for the profits from the mine, if he gave half to Feng Xiaoyi as a protection fee as promised, the remainder would only be enough to prepare the Spiritual Liquid for... just over two hundred years.
But honestly, given the growth rate of the unknown Demon Beast’s life force inside the Stone Egg, Du Youqian wasn’t confident that two hundred-odd years would be enough for it to hatch.
’Is it worth it?’
Du Youqian was hesitant, so he performed Divination several times.
His Divination Art, now at Tier Two, combined with the status bonus from his ’Knowing the Celestial Mandate’ Great Divine Ability, meant his divinations were finally no longer purely random.
Instead, they began to point in a specific direction.
According to his interpretation of the hexagrams, the little life inside this Stone Egg would bring him great risk.
And extremely high rewards.
So, every day, Du Youqian tearfully spent materials worth a hundred Spirit Stones to give the Stone Egg its "bath."
’He swore that if the Demon Beast that hatched wasn’t up to his expectations, he would learn the Spirit Chef Art, cook the thing, and eat it through his tears.’
’And he’d have to make at least ten different dishes out of it to even begin to soothe his wounded soul.’
After Luo Jinyu returned, having used Du Youqian’s name to collect several Burning Essence Blood Secret Techniques from various Minor Sects, Cultivation Clans, and even Loose Cultivators, Du Youqian once again went into seclusion.
This time, he went into seclusion on and off for two years. He finally managed to combine multiple Burning Essence Blood Secret Techniques, creating his own: a Secret Technique that could burn a hundred years of life in an instant to grant a massive boost in power.
Overall, his self-created Secret Technique was extremely inefficient; the amount of lifespan consumed was completely disproportionate to the power gained.
It would undoubtedly rank first in the "Top Ten Worst Self-Created Secret Techniques of the Century."
No one in their right mind would choose such a Secret Technique.
But for Du Youqian, it was the ultimate life-saving Secret Technique.
Even if he encountered a Core Formation Late Stage Great Power he couldn’t beat or escape from, he could just stand there and—SWISH—burn away a hundred years of life and move on to his next reincarnation.
Ultimately, Du Youqian hoped to merge these two Secret Techniques into one.
One that combined the advantage of being usable by Mortals with the advantage of rapidly burning lifespan.
For now, however, he had no idea how to do it.
’Perhaps he could gain some inspiration in the future, if he ever got the chance to learn the Holy Blood Sect’s exclusive secret, the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique?’
Du Youqian named the Blood Burning Secret Skill he created—the one that even Mortals could use—"Blood War to the End."
He named the Secret Technique that could burn through one’s lifespan in an instant "Quick Passage."
The names were a bit tongue-in-cheek, mainly to commemorate his time on Earth, which was growing ever more distant and difficult to recall.
Even though Du Youqian now possessed a photographic memory and could read ten lines at a glance, some things had inexplicably begun to fade...
After creating these two Secret Techniques, Du Youqian’s sense of security skyrocketed, and he started thinking about stirring up trouble again.
’After all, if he didn’t make some waves, how could he rapidly increase his strength?’
’And how could he improve his evaluation for this lifetime?’
’But before he started anything, he needed to arm himself.’
For instance, he could now properly begin his Cultivation of the Purple Brightness Eye-Cleansing Technique.
His Mystic Clear Concealing God Hidden Breath Skill could also be further enhanced.
Additionally, he picked out a few Secret Techniques from the Holy Blood Sect’s catalog that would help him adapt to different combat environments.
There was also a Secret Technique for enhancing one’s Divine Sense during the Foundation Establishment Stage: the Profound Void Sun and Moon Qi Root Strengthening Technique.
He spent all the Contribution Points he had saved over so many years and went into seclusion to cultivate once more.
In a flash, another two years passed. A quick calculation revealed that Du Youqian was almost thirty-six.
Although his Cultivation remained at the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer, without the slightest progress...
But he hadn’t slacked off in the slightest over these years; the time he spent daily comprehending and accumulating Sword Intent had never diminished.
Combined with the new Secret Techniques he had cultivated, his offensive capabilities were now more than just a notch stronger.
Moreover, the range of his Divine Sense had expanded to a thousand zhang, reaching the limit for a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator.
Du Youqian roughly estimated that once he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, his Divine Sense would be approaching the Core Formation Level.
At that point, he could attempt to advance his Array Art and Alchemy to Tier Three.
Meanwhile, the other members of his team had also seen changes.
Luo Jinyu, with his Upper Grade Spirit Root, was in a period of rapid advancement. He was now approaching the Foundation Establishment Third Layer, progressing with vigorous momentum.
Fang Hua had reached the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer. Considering her talent, overcoming the bottleneck shouldn’t be difficult; her breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage was likely to happen within the next year or two.
Gu Xiaofang had just entered the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, still a long and daunting way from reaching Qi Cultivation Perfection.
However, both he and Du Youqian were confident that he would be able to reach Qi Cultivation Perfection and attempt Foundation Establishment before the age of fifty-five.
Then there was the very low-key disciple of the Fang Family, Fang Simin.
He had spent these years by Du Youqian’s side.
Unaware of the relationship between his own ancestor, Fang Zhongying, and the unpredictable "Lord Yu," he never dared to act out of line, instead focusing on low-key, diligent cultivation each day.
After all these years, his Cultivation had actually surpassed Qi Cultivation Perfection.
Because he majored in the Three Transition Celestial Dance Skill, his Cultivation had become difficult to measure by the standards of ordinary Cultivation Techniques ever since he reached the Qi Cultivation Late Stage.
Du Youqian had checked on his condition; his current Cultivation was roughly equivalent to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Cultivation.
For normal Cultivation Techniques, the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation is the Great Perfection; a so-called Eleventh Layer is impossible.
The Three Transition Celestial Dance Skill, however, completely skips Foundation Establishment. After Qi Cultivation comes Core Formation.
Therefore, Fang Simin had to continue toiling away in the Qi Cultivation Realm.
His Eleventh Layer of Qi Cultivation was far weaker than that of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator.
Although his Magical Power had also begun to liquefy, equivalent to having undergone the "Unity of Spirit and Qi"...
...he had not undergone the other two major steps of Foundation Establishment: "Magic Power Body Purification" and "True Fire Refining God."
In terms of both physical strength and Divine Sense, he was far inferior to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
If he were to actually engage in Magical Combat with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he’d be taken down like a child in a single blow.
However, Du Youqian didn’t expect Fang Simin to contribute much combat power. It was enough that he continued to cultivate the Three Transition Celestial Dance Skill, providing Du Youqian with insights into the technique.
However, Fang Simin’s Cultivation had grown lax recently. Du Youqian had spoken with him a few times, and Fang Simin had cryptically hinted that his "Yang Fire" was burning too strong, causing his mind to be restless. He needed to find "Yin Yang balance."
It took a moment for Du Youqian to understand what he meant.
He offered a few words of comfort and made him a grand promise.
"Look at Fang Hua. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?"
Fang Simin stole a glance at Fang Hua, but withered under her sword-sharp gaze. He nodded, his face slightly flushed. "Beautiful."
Du Youqian said, "As long as you deepen your Cultivation a little more, I’ll take responsibility for finding you a few Kun Cultivators even more beautiful than Fang Hua to help you achieve Yin Yang balance."
Fang Simin immediately perked up. From the look of his renewed vigor, it seemed he could now charge forward like an unstoppable force, breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Twentieth Layer, the Qi Cultivation Ninety-Ninth Layer...
As for the Successor Cultivation Technique to the Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture, Du Youqian had already had Meng Xiao redeem the Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture for him.
According to what Meng Xiao had heard, there was supposedly a continuation to this Cultivation Technique, called the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*.
However, only a fragment of it remained—a very incomplete fragment at that. It was said that even the Qi Cultivation section was incomplete.
Furthermore, it had been taken from the Collection Room by an unknown person long ago, making it impossible to redeem even if he wanted to.
Though Du Youqian felt it was a shame, he could only let the matter drop.
For the time being, the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* would suffice.
He studied it carefully and discovered that the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* was also somewhat incomplete, but not to the point where it couldn’t be cultivated.
The portion he had redeemed could be cultivated up to the Core Formation Late Stage.
Its system was indeed a direct successor to the Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture; it also skipped the Foundation Establishment Stage after Qi Cultivation, proceeding directly to Core Formation.
However, judging by its underlying concept, it seemed one had to use various Divine Abilities during the Core Formation Stage to strengthen and polish the Golden Core. Only then could one go further in the future.
This made it far more profound than the Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture.
But it was also far more difficult.
Comprehending Divine Abilities was no easy task. Although Core Formation Lords kept it a closely guarded secret and would never tell others how many Divine Abilities they had grasped...
...by poring over the notes of his predecessors, Du Youqian concluded that an ordinary Core Formation Lord would typically comprehend only one or two Divine Abilities within their entire lifespan.
And one had to remember that Core Formation Great Powers were already the cream of the crop, geniuses among Cultivation geniuses.
’Just what kind of talent would it take to comprehend multiple Divine Abilities during the Core Formation Stage to strengthen one’s Golden Core?’
’Perhaps there were many such geniuses in the Ancient Times.’
’But now,’ Du Youqian estimated, ’among all the Core Formation Cultivators in the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert, there were probably only three to five people who had comprehended more than two Divine Abilities.’
Du Youqian had a bold theory: only the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture* was a true "Scripture."
The *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* and the *Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* were both simplified versions, created to accommodate cultivators with, relatively speaking, more ordinary aptitudes.
Of the two, the *Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* had the lowest requirements for a Cultivator.
Even someone with the Lowest Grade Spirit Root could cultivate it.
The *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture*, on the other hand, probably required a Middle Grade or even Upper Grade Spirit Root to cultivate.
Fang Simin possessed an Upper Grade Spirit Root.
Du Youqian felt that with his current aptitude, he could, at best, barely manage to cultivate the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture*. However, his progress would be extremely slow; he might even die of old age before he could reach Core Formation.
Let alone the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*.
