Chapter 148 - 143: A Brand New Cultivation Technique! Unheard-of

Chapter 148: Chapter 143: A Brand New Cultivation Technique! Unheard-of

"A mortal can command a Wood Spirit?"

The disciples who had gone treasure hunting had already returned. They were all watching from a short distance away from Lin Huayang and the other two.

Seeing Jiang Zuo’s actions, they voiced the question that was on the minds of Lin Huayang, Fang Changtao, and Master Jianqin.

"How is that possible!"

Lin Huayang was completely bewildered.

The mysteries surrounding this man were piling up. Failing to Promote to Innate or Awaken a Spirit Root was already baffling enough.

Now, he could even command a Wood Spirit as a mere mortal.

"It’s Divine Sense!"

A thought struck Fang Changtao, and he spoke slowly.

"Divine Sense? But he’s still just a mortal!"

Hearing this, Lin Huayang was even more shocked.

It was recorded in the Divine Wood Sect’s annals that Divine Sense could command Wood Spirits.

The Divine Wood Sect once had a disciple who opened his Sea of Consciousness and birthed Divine Sense during his Cyan Wood Spiritual Qi Infusion—an absolutely heaven-defying feat.

That disciple later soared through the ranks, becoming the strongest person in the history of the Divine Wood Sect.

The Divine Wood Sect’s secure position as one of the Ten Great Sects on the Ancestral Continent was largely thanks to that disciple.

But now, someone had managed to open their Sea of Consciousness as a mortal?

’Heaven-defying!’

This thought surfaced in the minds of Lin Huayang, Fang Changtao, and Master Jianqin alike.

"If that’s true, then his refusal to Promote to Innate probably means he’s after something else. We need to prepare in advance."

Lin Huayang took a deep breath.

He recalled Master Jianqin saying this man was even stronger than the disciples who had received the Cyan Wood Spiritual Qi infusion. ’This trip to the Secret Realm probably won’t end peacefully.’

"In that case, I’ll leave things here to you, Lin. I’ll be going on ahead."

Fang Changtao immediately stood up and left.

Master Jianqin followed suit, heading in a different direction.

「 」

Jiang Zuo had only casually tested his Divine Sense on a nearby Wood Spirit, not expecting it to immediately start flying toward him.

However, Jiang Zuo didn’t want this particular Wood Spirit, which was holding a large iron hammer.

Although he didn’t know the exact format of the competition, Jiang Zuo knew that picking the fastest one couldn’t be a mistake.

And the fastest one was...

Jiang Zuo circled around and came to a stop before a Wood Spirit that wasn’t holding any weapons.

All the other Wood Spirits were armed; only this one was not.

’This Wood Spirit is either very strong or very weak.’

But judging by the Divine Wood Sect disciples who had already chosen their Wood Spirits, the ones further back were likely stronger.

This Wood Spirit was positioned almost at the very back. ’It probably isn’t weak.’

Jiang Zuo made contact with the Wood Spirit using his Divine Sense. It immediately opened its eyes and looked at him.

After confirming that Jiang Zuo was contacting it with Divine Sense, it flew over happily and landed on his shoulder.

Jiang Zuo wasn’t the last to choose his Wood Spirit. Some Divine Wood Sect disciples hesitated for a long time before making their decision.

As long as one had received the Cyan Wood Spiritual Qi infusion, no Wood Spirit would refuse them.

But it wasn’t always better to pick a Wood Spirit from the back. The stronger the Wood Spirit, the more Spiritual Power it consumed to control.

If one wasn’t compatible enough with it, the Wood Spirit might even disobey commands.

The disciples of the Divine Wood Sect knew this, which was why they were so cautious when making their choice.

The fact that Jiang Zuo was able to choose a Wood Spirit made some of the Divine Wood Sect disciples’ expressions shift slightly.

They were all slated to become Inner Sect Disciples, so they were naturally very knowledgeable about the Divine Wood Sect’s affairs, especially those related to the Cyan Wood Secret Realm.

But when they saw that Jiang Zuo had chosen a Wood Spirit from the very back, they breathed a sigh of relief instead.

After everyone had chosen their Wood Spirit, the remaining ones all retreated back into the ground.

At the same time, clusters of green light flew out from the top of the Cyan Wood Longevity Stele.

Like stars orbiting a moon, these green lights circled the stele, rotating at different speeds.

The larger and stronger the light, the faster it spun.

Among the first clusters of light to fly out, most were like specks of starlight, with a few as large as a fist.

But near the end, a ball of light as large as the moon descended from above.

"The Cyan Wood Longevity Technique!"

"It really appeared this time!"

Seeing this ball of green light, the Divine Wood Sect disciples were all invigorated.

In the past, whenever an Inheritor of supreme aptitude appeared, the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique would often manifest as well.

But to everyone’s surprise, another green ball of light of a similar size descended from the top of the stele right after it.

"Is that... a brand new Cultivation Technique?"

"Weren’t we told that the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique was the only one in the Cyan Wood Secret Realm that hadn’t been obtained?"

Seeing another such massive ball of green light, the Divine Wood Sect disciples burst into an uproar.

Without even looking closely, they knew it was a completely new Cultivation Technique.

’What on earth is this man’s background? Did this new technique appear because he developed Divine Sense while still a mortal?’

Lin Huayang’s expression became incredibly grave.

Lin Huayang would never believe that this newly appeared Cultivation Technique had nothing to do with the outsider.

A brand new technique that no disciple had managed to trigger in the Divine Wood Sect’s several-thousand-year history had been drawn out by the man before them.

The only explanation Lin Huayang could think of was that the man possessed Divine Sense.

’But on second thought, that doesn’t seem right either.’

’If it were because of Divine Sense, then that ancestor who birthed Divine Sense during his Cyan Wood Spiritual Qi Infusion should have been able to draw out this technique as well.’

Lin Huayang felt a headache coming on. Meanwhile, all the balls of light had emerged, and a message once again appeared in the minds of the Inheritors.

"Control your Wood Spirit to capture a Cultivation Technique and bring it back to you to receive its inheritance. All Inheritors may only obtain one Cultivation Technique."

"After a quarter of an hour, the competition will end, regardless of whether a technique has been obtained."

As the voice faded, Jiang Zuo narrowed his eyes and looked at the green orbs of light continuously circling the stele.

These orbs were not random; staring at them revealed basic information.

"Thick Wooden Shield, a low-tier Defense Technique..."

"Iron Wood Heart Scripture, a Cultivation Technique that can be cultivated up to the Three Flowers Realm."

"Wood Element Escape Technique, a high-tier Escape Technique..."

Jiang Zuo looked them over one by one, discovering that the orbs contained not only Cultivation Techniques, but also defensive and offensive magic, Escape Techniques, and more.

There was a bit of everything, so to speak.

"The first three layers of the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique. Upon mastering each layer, Lifespan for the corresponding Cultivation Level increases by fifty percent, and the effects of Lifespan-related Spiritual Medicines and Spirit Pills are boosted by fifty percent."

Jiang Zuo looked at the largest green orb of light among them.

In the Cultivation Realm, a normal mortal’s Lifespan was about one hundred years. It was one hundred and fifty for Qi Cultivation, two hundred and fifty for Dao Foundation, and five hundred for the Divine Body.

The Cyan Wood Longevity Technique could increase the lifespan boost from cultivation by fifty percent, meaning a cultivator at the Divine Body Realm could live for seven hundred years.

By also consuming a few Longevity Elixirs, a Divine Body Realm cultivator could easily live as long as someone in the Three Flowers Realm.

That was several hundred years of extra life out of thin air.

The seven Divine Wood Sect disciples gazed at the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique, their faces filled with fervent desire.

As disciples who practiced the Life Essence Returning Skill, they had heard of the famous Cyan Wood Longevity Technique countless times.

Jiang Zuo looked at the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique, his expression unmoved.

This Supreme Technique, coveted by the Divine Wood Sect for generations, was no different from trash in his eyes.

’What’s the use of a mere few hundred extra years of life?’

In Jiang Zuo’s opinion, this technique was even worse than the Iron Wood Heart Scripture. At least that one granted some extra defense and recovery.

Jiang Zuo immediately turned his gaze to the other green orb of light.

"Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill. When practicing this skill, upon facing death, one can consume a large amount of Lifespan to transform their body into wood and achieve Nirvana Rebirth."

The information about the Cultivation Technique appeared in Jiang Zuo’s mind.

Not only Jiang Zuo, but the Divine Wood Sect disciples also received the information on this technique.

"Transforming the body into wood for Nirvana Rebirth?"

"Doesn’t that mean practicing this technique makes you immortal?"

"Impossible! Being able to revive from death is already heaven-defying. You can’t revive infinitely!"

"Even so, a technique that lets you revive from death is unheard of!"

Several Divine Wood Sect disciples began discussing it excitedly.

’The technique’s description is a bit vague, but judging by the size of its light orb, it’s only about as powerful as the first three layers of the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique.’

’That suggests this technique probably has significant drawbacks.’

’Perhaps it consumes a huge amount of Lifespan upon use?’

’If so, this so-called Nirvana Rebirth would be mediocre for the average Cultivator. No wonder its rating isn’t high.’

’However, I have plenty of Lifespan to spare. This is something I could practice.’

Jiang Zuo mused internally.

He looked down on the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique, but this Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill seemed pretty good.

On the other side, a Divine Wood Sect disciple was already controlling his Wood Spirit to grab for the Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill.

It was the disciple who had reached the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation.

The Cyan Wood Longevity Technique and the Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill were circling at extremely high speeds, but this person was also quite formidable.

The Wood Spirit he controlled wasn’t particularly fast, but he had sharp eyes and quick hands, predicting the orb’s flight path in advance.

The Wood Spirit reached out and grabbed the orb of light.

But unfortunately, it was too difficult to hold onto this orb.

The Wood Spirit couldn’t even hold on for a second before the orb of light broke free from its grasp.

"It’s no use. The force is too strong. I can’t hold it."

The disciple sighed.

From that single attempt, he already understood that he could capture neither the Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill nor the Cyan Wood Longevity Technique.

Seeing this, the other disciples gave up on the idea, though they were reluctant.

Even if some of them were slightly better at controlling Wood Spirits, they weren’t that much stronger than this disciple.

Trying to grab those two techniques would just be a waste of effort.

Controlling a Wood Spirit consumed a massive amount of Spiritual Power. Wasting too much would affect the subsequent competition.

Several disciples turned their attention to other targets.

Only two of them quietly looked toward Jiang Zuo.

With only a quarter of an hour left, Jiang Zuo didn’t stand on ceremony and made his move.

The target: the Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill!

Jiang Zuo controlled his Wood Spirit and made a grab for it.

Jiang Zuo’s Wood Spirit gave off a feeling of being both fast and ruthless.

’He can grab it!’

This thought couldn’t help but surface in the minds of those watching Jiang Zuo.

Then, the wild orb of light was seized firmly in the Wood Spirit’s hand.

The orb struggled desperately to escape at first, and Jiang Zuo felt an immense pressure on his own hands.

There was a strange connection between him and the Wood Spirit.

If he himself weren’t strong enough, he would have no hope of obtaining this Cultivation Technique.

Jiang Zuo immediately activated various cultivation techniques, and the strength in his arms surged.

The orb of light struggled a few more times, then went still.

"He caught the Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill!"

"It was that easy?"

The crowd of Divine Wood Sect disciples stared over in shock.

The process of Jiang Zuo capturing this Supreme Technique looked even simpler than their attempts to catch ordinary techniques.

The Wood Spirit flew back toward Jiang Zuo with the technique, but just then, two other Wood Spirits suddenly shot out from the side to intercept it.

In a battle for inheritance, it was of course possible for Inheritors to snatch from one another.

These two Divine Wood Sect disciples had a good idea. If they could get their Wood Spirits to snatch the technique from Jiang Zuo’s Wood Spirit’s hands, it would become theirs.

’I was willing to leave you alone, yet you dare to make the first move?’

Jiang Zuo raised an eyebrow, and his Wood Spirit unceremoniously threw a punch at the two attacking Wood Spirits.

Jiang Zuo was now certain that his own Cultivation Attributes could be channeled through the Wood Spirit.

BOOM!

With two loud bangs, the two Wood Spirits that had tried to snatch the technique were sent flying by the punch.

The Wood Spirits were fine, but the two disciples controlling them instantly spat blood and were thrown backward.

One of them was at the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, the other at the seventh.

But after taking a single punch from Jiang Zuo, channeled through his Wood Spirit, both of them were knocked unconscious.