Chapter 535: Unexplored Regions (I)
"The Great Evolution Pure Origin Art... This technique isn't cheap."
As he walked out of the library, Lin Zheyu turned over Xia Ping's earlier words in his mind. While browsing techniques, he had seen the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art as well, but after reading its description, he had passed it over. It ranked among the top five Divine Repository realm techniques in the Martial Alliance, yet compared to the three he had chosen, it lacked any particularly standout features.
Could there be some hidden mystery within the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art? Lin Zheyu wondered.
He carefully considered Xia Ping's words. The old man had not said that the three techniques he chose were lacking in value. Rather, he had suggested studying the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art on top of them.
The Great Evolution Pure Origin Art may be somewhat special, but it shouldn't be that critical. At most, it holds some value as a reference; otherwise, Senior Xia Ping wouldn't have described it as merely interesting. There's no rush for that technique. What I've bought is enough to last me for a while.
The main issue was that he was running low on spirit stones. He only had 23 mid-grade spirit stones left, along with the two special dharma artifacts he had obtained from Tu Yuan. Everything else of little use had already been sold off for spirit stones, only to be spent again until just those 23 remained.
Those two dharma artifacts drove Tu Yuan to take such risks, so they must be extremely valuable. They're not something to sell. The formation knowledge I got from Wu Di, on the other hand, could be sold. Formation knowledge should be worth quite a bit, but I wonder if it'll actually sell. Lin Zheyu mulled it over as he walked back to his residence.
Studying formations consumed an enormous amount of resources. Those who pursued it usually had powerful backing, and such people lacked nothing in terms of formation knowledge. That was why Lin Zheyu felt his knowledge would be difficult to sell. If priced too low, it wasn't worth it. Too high, and no one would buy.
Before long, Lin Zheyu returned to his courtyard. With a thought, his spiritual sense spread outward, forming an invisible energy barrier around the yard. He sat cross-legged beneath a large tree in the southwest corner. A gentle breeze stirred the blossoms above, their cherry-like petals drifting as a faint fragrance spread through the air.
Breathing in the faint fragrance, Lin Zheyu's mind grew utterly calm. With a light tap on his storage pouch, three jade slips appeared in his hand. They contained the techniques of the Divine Repository realm he had just acquired. The balanced and orthodox Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art, the unconventional Yellow Springs Nirvana Scripture, and the ultimate Divine Repository technique, the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art. These three had been carefully selected after much consideration.
I'll base my work on the Purple Firmament Repository Return Art. To fill in gaps and create a solid foundation, I'll incorporate the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art. Building on that, I'll utilize the Yellow Springs Nirvana Scripture to advance further and attain a new height. With this approach, even without the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art, I might still access the secret that Senior Xia Ping referenced within the Divine Repository realm.
Cultivation at the Divine Repository realm mainly involved nurturing the three great divine repositories through various methods and secret arts. The stronger the repositories, the more dramatic the transformation when opened. Each nurturing method had its own focus and strengths. In theory, cultivating multiple techniques could produce even stronger repositories, but few people practiced more than one.
Nurturing the repositories required vast amounts of resources, time, and effort. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed that such an investment would translate into true growth or latent potential. The level a repository could reach depended heavily on the foundation laid beforehand. Without a solid base, no amount of effort would help. That was why the unconventional Yellow Springs Nirvana Scripture existed.
This technique walked the path of life through death, seizing opportunity from the greatest terror in existence and defying fate. Succeed, and one would soar. Fail, and it meant death. Almost no one cultivated it due to its extreme danger.
Within the Martial Alliance, the balanced Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art alone was enough for nearly all martial artists. Those with ambition would save up spirit stones to acquire it. Those without means could rely only on less effective techniques, combining several weaker ones to compensate for their shortcomings.
Only those legendary prodigies would cultivate an additional Divine Repository realm technique on top of the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art, or directly attempt the ultimate Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art. Lin Zheyu had great confidence in his own foundation and potential. In his view, a single technique was far from enough to fully unlock his capabilities. Only by combining multiple techniques could he truly bring out his potential.
With his plan set, Lin Zheyu began studying the techniques. They were not particularly profound, but difficult to cultivate. Without proper guidance, creating such techniques himself would require immense martial knowledge and thousands of Origin Force units for iterative refinement.
Time passed slowly. Night fell, yet Lin Zheyu remained motionless. At dawn the next day, as the first ray of sunlight fell, he finally opened his eyes after studying through the night. After an entire night, he had fully memorized and comprehended the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art. As expected of the most balanced technique within the Martial Alliance, cultivating it filled his body with a warm, gentle sensation, with almost no danger throughout the process.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 398]
[Skills: Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Fifth Stage: 3%), Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art (First Stage: 1%), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%), Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art—Beginner (Perfection)]
Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. He had studied the technique until late into the night, and in less than six hours of actual cultivation, his progress had increased by 1%. If he cultivated without rest, he estimated that it would take about a month to reach perfection in the first stage.
Divine Repository realm techniques had three stages, each corresponding to a repository. The first stage corresponded to the essence origin divine repository, the second to the essence and qi divine repository, and the third to the spirit divine repository. This sequence had been verified by countless predecessors as the most optimal path.
"This is much faster than I expected. Is it because my foundation is too deep?" Lin Zheyu muttered, slightly surprised as he studied the data.
He was no longer the ignorant novice he once was. After joining the Martial Alliance, he had gathered extensive information about the Divine Repository realm. For ordinary martial artists, the fastest recorded time to open the first repository was half a year. Some never succeeded, even until death.
Yet for Lin Zheyu, by following a steady pace, even accounting for rest, he estimated that he could reach the perfection of the first stage and open the essence origin repository in just over a month.
Lin Zheyu's lips curled slightly into a faint smile. "If word of this speed got out, it would probably scare a lot of people."
He glanced at his data again. He was only 2 units short of reaching 400 units of Origin Force. He had once thought that within the one-year agreement with that old man from the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, he might not gather enough to break through to the Shackles realm. Now it seemed likely to be sufficient.
If I cultivate normally, it will definitely be enough to break through to the Shackles realm. But if I want to forge the strongest possible foundation and step into the unexplored regions of the Divine Repository realm... that may not be enough.
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