Chapter 111: Chapter 92: Armory

Although the Sect’s upper echelons suppressed the matter and prevented it from being widely publicized, it still caused quite a stir among the disciples of the Wutai Sect.

In particular, the news that the Infinite Demon Sect had resurfaced after disappearing for many years was like a boulder dropped into a lake, sending out ripples of unease and spurring endless private discussion among the disciples.

「A few days later.」

Inside the Quiet Chamber, Chen Qing sat cross-legged.

Steam rose from his body and his skin was flushed red, as if he were inside a raging furnace!

The blood and energy in his body surged like a raging river, letting out a deep, thunderous roar as it frantically scoured and coalesced within his limbs and torso!

[Cyan Wood Eternal Spring Technique Entry-Level: (499/500)]

With his mind completely focused, he precisely channeled every wisp of roaring blood and energy to assault the final, critical meridian point!

Compress! Condense! Ignite!

HUMMM—!

A strange hum that only he could hear resounded from deep within his Dantian.

It was like a faint spark, stubbornly flickering to life in the endless darkness.

The spark was exceedingly faint, flickering erratically as if it might be extinguished at any moment, yet it contained an ineffable vitality.

The Fire Seed! It was lit!

Chen Qing’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint of light flashing within them for an instant before vanishing.

The roaring torrent of blood and energy within his body gradually subsided, like a raging sea at ebb tide returning to a profound calm.

Great Success in the Transmutation Force Realm! It was a natural breakthrough!

Moreover, he had also reached the entry-level for the Cyan Wood Eternal Spring Technique.

Next, he could attempt to break through to the Embracing Pill Force realm.

Chen Qing took out the valuables he had obtained from Ye Rong’Er. In silver notes alone, there were a full one thousand seven hundred taels.

In addition, there was the Heart Method for the first three levels of the Nine Revolutions Gilded Gold Technique.

Before going to the Law Enforcement Hall, he had hidden these incriminating valuables under a crooked tree.

Only now that the commotion had died down for several days did he dare to quietly go and retrieve them.

Chen Qing opened the thin manual of the Nine Revolutions Gilded Gold Technique.

The instant his gaze swept over the Heart Method Mantra for the first level, a clear, golden light suddenly appeared on his Fate Plate!

[Nine Revolutions Gilded Gold Technique First Level: (1/1000)]

“Huh!?”

Chen Qing was inwardly surprised. ’Could there be some common origin among the Heart Methods of the Five Institutes?’ he wondered. ’Is that why reaching the entry-level with the Cyan Wood Eternal Spring Technique and igniting the Fire Seed acts as a catalyst, allowing me to directly begin cultivating the Nine Revolutions Gilded Gold Technique?’

This was a monumental discovery!

After all, he had never come into contact with any of the Geng Metal Institute’s fundamental Heart Methods before.

For his Fate Plate to show that he could directly begin cultivating the first level was anything but ordinary!

Chen Qing’s mind raced, various speculations flashing through his thoughts, but he lacked the information to investigate further.

’Even though I have the Heart Method for the first three levels of the Nine Revolutions Gilded Gold Technique, I’ll have to practice it in secret.’

He knew full well that Heart Methods were the foundation of a Sect; secretly learning or passing them on was a grave taboo.

As a disciple of the Cyan Wood Institute, if anyone discovered he possessed the Core Heart Method of the Geng Metal Institute, it would be tantamount to playing with fire and would almost certainly bring the matter concerning Ye Rong’Er to light!

After a moment’s thought, Chen Qing committed the first three levels of the Nine Revolutions Gilded Gold Technique to memory, then completely destroyed the manual.

His cultivation of this technique had to be kept extremely secret.

He could never reveal it, unless one day the situation became desperate.

Chen Qing tidied himself up, changed into a clean uniform of a Cyan Wood Institute disciple, and went to the Cyan Wood Institute.

The Transmission Square was much livelier than usual.

Many of his fellow disciples were gathered around a young man in fine robes, a man with an extraordinary bearing. They were all chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was very lively.

“Junior Brother Hu! Congratulations on your initiation. From now on, we’re fellow disciples!”

“You’re new here, Junior Brother Hu. If there’s anything you’re unsure about, just speak up!”

“That’s right, that’s right! Junior Brother Hu is so distinguished. Your talent must be extraordinary. Your senior sister here will have to rely on you in the future…”

…..

Chen Qing quietly made his way over to an acquaintance, Senior Brother Zhao, and asked in a low voice, “Senior Brother Zhao, who is this new junior brother…?”

This Senior Brother Zhao’s name was Zhao Stone, and his circumstances were quite similar to Chen Qing’s. Both were “geniuses” who had stood out in a small town and been recruited into the Wutai Sect.

The difference was that Zhao Stone had a minor family to offer him some meager support.

Now, among the many disciples of the Cyan Wood Institute, both of them belonged to that unremarkable, middle-of-the-pack group.

They had spoken a few times before, and thanks to their similar backgrounds and circumstances, they got along reasonably well.

Zhao Stone jutted his chin toward the center of the crowd and whispered, “That’s Hu Lei, the young master of the Hu Family Fortress. His family is rich and powerful. I heard that to become a disciple, he presented our master with three ten-year-old Treasure Medicines.”

Chen Qing instantly understood.

No wonder even those senior sisters in the Embracing Pill Force realm, who usually acted so high and mighty, were now gathered around him with such enthusiasm.

“Junior Brother Chen.”

Zhao Stone leaned in closer, his voice even lower. “I heard you took the assignment at the Beize Fishery? There was a big commotion over there the other day. You… you weren’t hurt, were you?”

The news of Ye Rong’Er’s disappearance, the Seven Tigers of Yin Sha, and the Infinite Demon Sect’s reappearance might have been tightly locked down by the Wutai Sect’s leadership, but on the disciple level, it had already spread like wildfire, with all sorts of embellished rumors flying about.

Zhao Stone had obviously heard the rumors, and his words were laced with concern.

“Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Zhao.”

Chen Qing didn’t want to discuss it further, so his tone was casual. “I was just a little shaken up. I’m fine now.”

“That’s good.”

Zhao Stone nodded, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then turned to walk away.

A senior brother in the Embracing Pill Force realm was standing over there, and Zhao Stone needed to maintain his relationship with him.

The Cyan Wood Institute had the most disciples of the Five Institutes, with more than thirty members. In stark contrast, however, it had the fewest disciples in the Embracing Pill Force realm, with only seven.

Li Baichuan was in seclusion year-round, studying the art of divination, and rarely made an appearance or concerned himself with worldly affairs.

As a result, the distribution of the institute’s resources and the provision of daily guidance largely depended on the small cliques that had formed around these few senior brothers and sisters in the Embracing Pill Force realm.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep