Chapter 100: Turtle Shell Divination Skill, Fortuitous Encounter in the Sword Testing Valley
Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Turtle Shell Divination Skill, Fortuitous Encounter in the Sword Testing Valley
Ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators couldn’t withstand the Celestial Secret Retribution, and their Divine Souls weren’t strong enough. Unless they were exceptionally talented, they were simply unqualified to practice any Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill.
But Zhang Chi was an obvious exception. He had the Jade Pendant to protect him, and barring any accidents, it could directly absorb the Power of Celestial Secret Retribution.
Stargazing Inference Technique, Turtle Shell Divination Skill, Water Mirror Celestial Secret Technique...
The sheer variety of such techniques was dazzling to Zhang Chi.
After half an hour of browsing the descriptions, Zhang Chi finally selected one: the Turtle Shell Divination Skill.
The advantage of this particular Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill was its simplicity. As long as one had a Spirit Turtle Shell, it could be performed anytime, anywhere.
This was unlike the Stargazing Inference Technique, which could only be used at night when the starry sky was visible and required a great deal of related knowledge just to reach the Entry Level.
However, the Turtle Shell Divination Skill had its drawbacks. For instance, the Power of Celestial Secret Retribution was stronger, and each divination consumed a turtle shell.
This was acceptable for Tiers One and Two, but at Tier Three, consuming a turtle shell with every use was an extravagance.
After all, a Tier Three Turtle Shell was quite expensive on its own.
As for Tier Four and Tier Five, the cost was even more prohibitive.
But those were concerns for the future, far too distant for the current Zhang Chi.
Additionally, Zhang Chi had actually considered finding a Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill that consumed Lifespan or Essence Blood to cast.
However, such techniques were generally classified as the work of Evil Demons and Outsiders. Even if the Sect possessed them, they would never be displayed here for Disciples to risk practicing.
After all, the Celestial Secret Retribution from a Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill already caused severe depletion of the user’s Lifespan. If casting the technique also consumed Lifespan, its master would have no hope of living a long life.
Zhang Chi quickly figured this out and gave up his search for such a Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill.
Besides, Zhang Chi suspected that while the Jade Pendant could nullify the Celestial Secret Retribution and prevent Lifespan depletion from it, it couldn’t stop Lifespan from being consumed directly. If it could, he would be immortal.
"So expensive!"
As he was about to purchase the Turtle Shell Divination Skill, Zhang Chi finally took a close look at the price, and his face couldn’t help but twitch.
The Tier One version of this Inference Technique cost a staggering three thousand Spirit Stones, while Tier Two required a full thirty thousand.
And unbelievably, this price was only considered mid-range among all the Inference Techniques.
"I’ll take it!"
In the end, however, Zhang Chi gritted his teeth, took out thirty-three thousand Spirit Stones, and bought both Tiers One and Two of the Turtle Shell Divination Skill.
After all, if he could master this Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill, it would certainly help him seek fortune and avoid disaster to some extent, allowing him to go further on the path of Immortal Cultivation, even if it didn’t generate direct income like Alchemy.
Of course, it was a good thing no one else knew about this.
If other Cultivators found out about his choice, they would surely think Zhang Chi had lost his mind to be so extravagant.
’I had over two hundred ten thousand Spirit Stones. I spent one hundred thousand upgrading the Spiritual Spring and over seventy thousand on techniques, leaving me with just a little over forty thousand. Now that I’m at Foundation Establishment, if I continue my Cultivation with the Earth Milk Spirit Liquid, I can go through one drop a month. At market price, that’s one hundred twenty thousand a year.’
’By that calculation, I’m still desperately short on Spirit Stones. Thankfully, once I raise my Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation to Tier Two, I’ll definitely earn more. Otherwise, I really won’t be able to afford this!’
’And that’s not even considering Realm-Breaking Spiritual Objects. No wonder most Foundation Establishment Cultivators like Xie Yu are stuck in their Realm for years without making any progress!’
Zhang Chi sighed inwardly. He put away the Jade Scroll, left the Inheritance Hall, and went straight to the Sword Testing Valley.
’As expected, I can go deeper and last longer now. I just hope I can improve my Sword Control Technique as much as possible in this last month!’
Zhang Chi soon arrived in the valley. He advanced a great distance in one go, feeling no pressure at all.
However, he did not head for the center of the canyon.
The last time he passed through, he had the feeling of being watched. This made him highly suspicious that there was something wrong with the Sword Tomb.
It was very likely that the Sword Dao Ancestor Master had left behind a remnant of his Divine Thought, or perhaps his personal sword was still there and had gained sentience.
Alternatively, the Sect might have set up some kind of surveillance Array deep within the Sword Tomb.
An ordinary young disciple of the Cangwu Sect with the ability to venture deeper might have seen this as a great opportunity and gone to try their luck.
But Zhang Chi was focused on steady development; the less trouble, the better. He had no intention of investigating.
But as fate would have it, his worries soon came to find him.
Zhang Chi had just been practicing his Swordsmanship for a short while when an old but kindly voice echoed in his mind.
"Junior, you are quite impressive. I never expected the Cangwu Sect to have a disciple as outstanding as you, reaching Foundation Establishment at such a young age and even cultivating an Upper Grade Sword-controlling Skill to the Great Success stage."
"I have been waiting for someone like you for I don’t know how many years. Are you willing to become my successor?"
"That’s right. I am the will left behind by the master of this Sword Testing Valley. It would not be wrong for you to call me Ancestor Master."
The voice spoke with the tone of a venerable master.
"What the hell?"
Zhang Chi was completely startled.
He didn’t respond at all. Instead, he immediately prepared to flee the Sword Testing Valley, not even bothering with the Array he had set up around himself.
"Junior, trying to run? Are you refusing me? Then don’t blame me for what happens next!"
"After waiting so many years for a suitable candidate, how could I possibly let you escape? To tell you the truth, I’ve had my eye on you ever since you passed by last time!"
"It’s just that your Cultivation was too low back then, and your Spirit Root seemed rather ordinary, so I hesitated. But now you’ve reached Foundation Establishment so quickly! You must possess some great fortune, which makes you perfect for my Possession!"
The moment Zhang Chi showed his intent to retreat, the voice changed. It became childish, yet also shrill and venomous.
Then, though nothing changed in his surroundings, an image suddenly appeared in Zhang Chi’s mind: a chubby, rosy-cheeked child with pigtails, looking to be three or four years old at most.
But this child was not cute at all. He exuded an incredibly sharp and fierce aura and wore a ferocious expression.
From its words, Zhang Chi knew instantly that this thing was trying to pull a Possession stunt.
This made Zhang Chi panic a little, unsure of how to deal with the situation.
After all, this was his first time encountering such a thing. He’d never studied it, and the enemy’s methods were just too bizarre.
"White Bone Demon God, suppress!"
But at this moment, he had to bite the bullet. Zhang Chi immediately visualized the White Bone Demon God, hoping to intimidate his opponent.
The last time he had successfully scared off the Phantom Beetles by revealing the aura of the White Bone Demon God, which proved that visualizing it had at least some effect.
"Huh? The White Bone Demon God? You actually mastered this Cultivation Technique? You really do possess a great fortune!"
"Wait, that’s not right. Why is it so empty in here? Besides the White Bone Demon God, there’s nothing else. Where is your Divine Soul hiding? Don’t tell me... have you already been Possessed by the will projected by the White Bone Demon God?"
Zhang Chi’s mind was a vast, empty space, like a perfectly silent ocean.
As he visualized, a White Bone Demon God with a powerful and ferocious aura appeared in the middle of this ocean.
The child was somewhat surprised to see this, but he didn’t seem to be afraid of the White Bone Demon God.
In fact, he quickly became puzzled and started looking around as if searching for something.
’What does he mean?’
Zhang Chi was dumbfounded by its words, having no idea what the child was talking about.
"Found you!"
Just then, the child’s eyes suddenly lit up. Ignoring the White Bone Demon God completely, he charged toward a spot not far away.
And that spot was precisely where the Jade Pendant was.