Chapter 1010 - 734: Spirit Turtle Divination of Calamity and Fortune

Celestial Peak Daoist perished and his Dao vanished, a hundred years of accumulation, cultivation treasures, and legacy fundamentals all fell into Chen Hua’s hands.

Inside the cave dwelling, Chen Hua stood in the hall, his expression calm as he leisurely counted the numerous spiritual objects left behind by the Daoist.

Celestial Peak Daoist devoted his lifetime cultivation to the path of Gu poison; naturally, what was left were all sorts of Poisonous Gu secret treasures and Gu refinement materials.

In the jade boxes were stored a Thousand-Year-Old Poisonous Spider Core, Netherworld miasma water soaked with poisonous insects, Yin soil muddy for nurturing Gu eggs, and a wood box that locks Gu spirits...

Also, there were dozens of rare exotic poison eggs and Gu insect husks, a dazzling array, all sinister and poisonous strange objects.

Just by carefully scanning around, a slight sense of regret arose in Chen Hua’s heart.

These common Gu poison spiritual materials, although rare in the eyes of ordinary cultivators, none could provoke the gray mist palace’s intake and digestion like the previous six-tailed flying scorpion.

Even the life origin Gu left by Celestial Peak Daoist placed in his palm for repeated probing, the gray mist space remained silent without any devouring reaction.

Chen Hua gently shook his head, muttering in his heart:

"It seems the threshold for the gray mist is not low."

"Though the six-tailed flying scorpion was not perfected, it was a treasure Celestial Peak Daoist spent decades of effort refining day and night, using myriad poisons and nurturing through earth veins, comparable to a Dao Foundation spiritual object."

With this in mind, he secretly set his future course:

"In the future, I must travel the world, seek rare treasures, accumulate more to continuously nourish the gray mist and resolve my source depletion issue."

Collecting his thoughts, Chen Hua no longer tangled with external items but instead reviewed the various legacy Daoist texts left by Celestial Peak Daoist.

He unfolded volume by volume of ancient books and secret manuscripts, with aged ink and complex records.

Soon, a volume with the most worn binding and the most deep Dao Rhyme caught his eye; it was precisely the life inheritance of Celestial Peak Daoist.

[Cultivation Technique: Myriad Poison Gu Sutra]

[Grade: Dao Foundation · Inferior]

[Annotation: Theoretically cultivable to Dao Foundation Early-stage, at most will go no further, with only theoretical possibilities.]

Chen Hua slightly shook his head, eyes without a ripple:

"Combining impurities and turbid air to cultivate; even if lucky, reaching Dao Foundation would still be at the bottom of the realm, easily defeated."

This poison sutra’s two core lethal moves, one was the peach blossom miasma, and the other was the six-tailed flying scorpion.

During the encounter earlier, Chen Hua personally experienced it; the peach blossom miasma was instantly dissolved by his mana, and the unformed flying scorpion was easily defeated, broken with a casual move.

This superficial means were naturally of no interest to him.

Chen Hua continued swiftly flipping through other Daoist texts and secret manuscripts, becoming more clear with each look.

"Indeed born of a loose cultivator background, the entire inheritance can only be summed up in the word ’miscellaneous’."

A large pile of texts, encompassing everything, extremely mixed.

There were records of mountains and earth veins, poisonous insects, and exotic beasts in the "Southwest Mountain Travels," records of crude Gu refinement incantations in the "Hundred Gu Breeding Forms," records of simple weapon and artifact refining techniques in the "Basic Iron Smelting Record," and even side-door doctrines in the "Yin Yang Absorption Simplified," including scattered notes on seeking spirits in the wild, recognizing medicine and identifying poison...

None were profound yet covered an extensive range.

Chen Hua slightly nodded within, not dismissive.

Having traversed to this world, he knew very little of the cultivation realm structure, the immortal path system, and the secrets of heaven and earth, almost a blank slate.

These superficial miscellaneous studies, with low grades and shallow Great Dao, excelled in their wide coverage, just right to make up for his cognitive shortcomings, allowing him a clearer, more comprehensive understanding of the cultivation path in this world.

Page by page, the outline of the cultivation realm grew clearer in his mind.

Suddenly, his gaze brightened with a trace of surprise shining through:

"Hmm? There’s even a surprise! Hidden here is a divination technique!"

With a flash in the palm, a quaint cracked spiritual turtle shell quietly appeared, its textured markings faintly winding with a subtle glow.

The surface of the shell was inscribed with dense thousands of characters of secret text, each character profound, containing the principles of celestial secret deducing.

[Daoist Technique: Spiritual Turtle Divine Disaster Elucidation]

[Grade: Respiratory Energy · Decent]

[Annotation: An incomplete foundational fragment of the "Ghost Shell Exercises in Micro Divination Sutra," one of the seventy-two side-door inheritances of the Demon Sect.]

"Demon Sect inheritance!! There’s such a heritage!!"

Chen Hua now understood; this world is called Divine Land Continent, with orthodox cultivation realm progressing sequentially: Respiratory Energy, Dao Foundation, Purple Mansion, Golden Core.

The top sect forces in the world are all governed by True Monarch Golden Core powerhouses, dominating regions.

The Taiyin Demon Sect is one of them.

It is said to be the oldest Taoist system in this world, with unfathomably deep foundations.

It comprises nine true inheritors, thirty-six orthodox sects, seventy-two side doors, and three thousand external Dao branches, with divisions spread throughout the world, infiltrating various factions.

"Seventy-two side-door inheritances, the complete ones lead directly to the Purple Mansion Great Dao, incomparable to ordinary loose cultivator techniques."

Chen Hua suddenly understood, solving many doubts.

Previously, he noticed "Myriad Poison Gu Sutra"’s conditions for cultivating the six-tailed flying scorpion were exceptionally harsh; the Gu nurturing land had to align with Yin poison earth veins, gather evil spirits, and hidden danger, nearly impossible to find one.

Originally thought Celestial Peak Daoist was exceptionally lucky, accidentally obtaining this treasure land in the wild.

Now it seems it was not luck at all.

Celestial Peak Daoist relied on this fragmentary divination method to deduce mountains and earth veins, discern evil spirits and blessed lands, finding the Celestial Ridge Immortal Stronghold, an unrivaled secret realm for Gu refinement, rooted for decades, diligently nurturing Gu.

"I see."

Chen Hua’s gaze deepened, and a sense of vigilance arose in his heart:

"In this world, once cultivators step into the Dao Foundation Realm, they can glimpse celestial secrets, calculate cause and effect, deduce fortunes and misfortunes."

"Though I carry gray mist, ordinary deductions may not unravel my origins."

"Yet celestial secret calculations, causal deductions are even more insidious and hard to defend against than direct combat, cannot go unguarded."

"Just right, I will cultivate with this fragment in hand, and later use gray mist to deduct and complete it, pushing it to the utmost."

"To have the method of calculating others is to have the method of not being calculated, grasping celestial secrets first, firmly holding one’s fate."

...

Outside the hall in the cave dwelling.

More than a dozen disciples of Celestial Peak still trembled with fear, prostrated on the ground, not daring to rise.

The highest cultivation among them was merely the third layer of Respiratory Energy, their cultivation weak, called disciples but actually merely slaves driven by Celestial Peak Daoist.

Gu insects were similarly planted in their bodies, and their Gu poison was deeper and more intense than common mountain villagers.

However, some relied on the Immortal Master’s reputation to bully and oppress the mountain villagers in the stronghold, wreaking havoc.

Celestial Peak Daoist regarded them as sacrificial lamb feed, and they would unleash all their ferocity on innocent mountain villagers, abetting the wicked, cruel by nature.

Many had worse infamous reputations than Celestial Peak Daoist, who secluded himself behind the scenes.

Such sinful ones had no reason for leniency.

Chen Hua thought, eyes suddenly flashed with a spark of fire, indifferent and silent.

In the next moment, several extremely distressing screams erupted; seven or eight disciples, who committed the most evils, had their bodies spontaneously combust without fire.

"Immortal Master, spare us! Senior, show mercy!"

The distressing pleading cries came one after another, yet not a trace of lenience was exchanged.

In an instant, only seven or eight groups of black ash remained on the ground.

The hall immediately became deathly silent, the remaining five or six disciples were terrified out of their wits, their bodies weak, prostrate firmly on the ground, not daring to breathe, trembling incessantly.