Chapter 290: Heaven-Level Cultivation Technique

Heaven-grade cultivation techniques are not rare, but the easiest way to acquire them is through the Heavenly Secret Treasury, making merit points indispensable for any cultivator.

The circulation paths for each cultivation technique differ within the human body, which has a total of three hundred and sixty spirit apertures. The potential circulation paths are countless, and the quality of a technique is directly reflected in its path. An effective path leads to more efficient and faster cultivation and combat, while a poor one yields less desirable results.

Connecting spirit apertures is not an arbitrary process. Even two adjacent spirit apertures cannot necessarily be connected at will, and rash attempts could lead to extremely severe consequences.

The various cultivation techniques currently circulating in Kyushu have all been tested by time and generations of cultivators. Regardless of their quality, they are all techniques that can be safely activated.

If one deviates from a cultivation technique's specified circulation path when connecting spirit apertures, they might be lucky and suffer no immediate ill effects. However, they could also experience chaotic spiritual energy and damaged spirit apertures, severe consequences that no cultivator can easily bear.

While cultivation techniques are important, they are not the sole determinant of a cultivator's strength. Even with a slightly inferior technique, a cultivator can still demonstrate formidable power if their foundation is strong enough.

The Heavenly Secret Treasury contains nearly a hundred Heaven-grade cultivation techniques suitable for Lu Ye, with a wide range of prices. The cheapest costs over 1,300 merit points, while the best costs over 5,000, a fourfold difference. However, the cultivation efficiency between them is not four times greater, nor will it even exceed 40%. Lu Ye estimated the difference to be at most 10 to 20 percent. In other words, choosing the most expensive technique would result in 10 to 20 percent higher cultivation efficiency and a similar boost in combat strength compared to the cheapest option.

Such an improvement is significant for any cultivator and is the advantage gained by spending more merit points. However, over 5,000 merit points is an exorbitant amount. Even cultivators from top sects would likely not accumulate that many points from the first to the ninth stage of cultivation. For instance, Sima Yang's goal was only to accumulate 1,500 merit points, yet he failed to gather them before his death. Otherwise, he would have already switched to a Heaven-grade cultivation technique. Another example is Feng Yue. As the garrison commander of the Feng family's outpost, she would occasionally use her authority for personal gain, yet only managed to accumulate over 4,000 merit points. In the end, she donated all of them to the Bloodfire Sect.

Lu Ye checked his battlefield imprint.Identity: Bloodfire Sect Disciple.Cultivation: 155 apertures.Location: Spirit Stream Battlefield.Merit Points: 5,132.

He was still short of about 200 merit points for the most expensive technique. After previously conquering the outposts of the Feng family and the Skyfiend Hall, he had gained many sect merit points. Before purchasing the Heavenly Secret Pillar's blessing, Hua Ci had given him a monthly stipend, bringing his merit points to exactly 5,000. However, Lu Ye soon spent another 2,000 points to buy ten portions of Earth Core Flame, subsequently obtaining spirit patterns like Abundant Thorn, Breath Concealment, and Insight. When he left the Bloodfire Sect's outpost, his merit points were less than 3,000. His current substantial amount of merit points was only partly from killing enemies; the other part was obtained from processing spoils of war on Silverlight Island during his previous visit.

He had acquired many cultivators' storage bags from the Heaven-Supporting Sect. Many of the spirit artifacts within them, including the empty storage bags themselves, were sold to the Heavenly Secret Treasury. For a certain reason, he needed to accumulate a large sum of merit points, so he rarely used his merit points recently, except for occasional trips into the Mirage Realm. However, the merit points for a Heaven-grade cultivation technique were not to be saved, as this was crucial for his future cultivation and the ease of his advancement to the Cloud River Realm.

Taking out a few spirit artifacts from his storage bag and selling them to gather the necessary points, Lu Ye purchased the cultivation technique. Instead of a physical item, a speck of firelight imprinted itself on his forehead and vanished. A warm sensation spread throughout his body, and a rush of information flooded his mind, revealing the profound mysteries of the cultivation technique.

The technique was called the Great Sun Glazed Art. Unlike the Crimson Lotus Soaring Sky Art, which came with supplementary spells, this technique had no such additions. However, when cultivated to its peak, it manifested various miraculous powers, perfectly suiting Lu Ye's needs. From acquiring the Golden Cicada Unfettered Art from Steward Yang, then purchasing the Crimson Lotus Soaring Sky Art from the Xuan Sect, and now obtaining the Great Sun Glazed Art, Lu Ye had come a long way. His gradual growth filled him with many emotions. Of course, his current cultivation had not yet reached the ninth stage, so he didn't need to switch to this technique for now.

He checked his remaining merit points: a mere thirty-odd points, not even enough to enter the Mirage Realm once. He looked at Ju Jia, who was still absorbed in the Heavenly Secret Treasury, wondering if he was overwhelmed by the choices. Lu Ye nudged him, and Ju Jia finally withdrew his attention, turning to look. Handing him a pre-prepared storage bag, Lu Ye instructed, "Keep anything you want, sell the rest, and buy a cultivation technique." Ju Jia took it, then turned back to connect with the Heavenly Secret Treasury.

Lu Ye didn't know how many merit points the items given to Ju Jia would fetch, but estimated around 2,000 would be no problem. A considerable number of cultivators had died at their hands in Xianyuan City, and Lu Ye had collected all their storage bags, each of which generally contained spirit artifacts. Cultivators at the seventh stage naturally wouldn't use poor spirit artifacts; most could fetch twenty to thirty merit points. Selling dozens or even hundreds of them would accumulate a substantial amount of merit points. Moreover, the storage bag Lu Ye gave Ju Jia also contained some flying spirit artifacts, which were even more expensive.

After waiting for about a short while, Ju Jia came to his senses and gave Lu Ye a slight nod, indicating he was done. Lu Ye said nothing more, leading him towards the exit. However, after only a few steps, a soft "pop" sound came from behind them. Lu Ye couldn't help but glance back at Ju Jia, whose expression was innocent. They took another step, and another "pop" sound came from behind. Lu Ye glanced left and right, then quickened his pace. Ju Jia followed with large strides, the "pop pop pop" sounds continuing incessantly...

To an uninformed listener, it might sound like Ju Jia was passing gas, but Lu Ye knew it wasn't flatulence; it was the sound of spirit aperture barriers breaking. Earlier in Xianyuan City, when Ju Jia showed him something resembling a monster core, Lu Ye realized that although Ju Jia's cultivation had been stuck at the ninth stage for a long time, his progress hadn't fallen behind significantly. He could still cultivate and accumulate spiritual energy, which meant he could break through quickly with a suitable cultivation technique. However, what Lu Ye didn't expect was that Ju Jia's breakthroughs would be so rapid and continuous.

Normal cultivators always go through a process to open spirit apertures, and Lu Ye was no exception. He needed to rouse his spiritual energy to break through the spirit aperture barriers, thus completing the process of opening new apertures. When his cultivation wasn't high enough, this process was not pleasant and took a considerable amount of time. Now that his cultivation was higher, breaking through spirit aperture barriers had become somewhat easier, but it was still nothing like Ju Jia's speed. Ju Jia's spirit aperture barriers seemed like mere decorations; spiritual energy effortlessly broke through them as it flowed. Of course, this might be related to his sufficient accumulation of energy, much like how a small dam can withstand a stream's gentle flow but cannot possibly stop the force of a powerful river.

All the way back to their residence from the Heavenly Secret Hall, Lu Ye silently counted the continuous fifty-nine pops coming from Ju Jia. In other words, in this short period, he had opened fifty-nine apertures consecutively! He was originally a cultivator with 180 opened apertures. With an additional fifty-nine, he now had 239, just one aperture short of the next realm. This was clearly not a coincidence, but Ju Jia's deliberate action.

Upon returning to their residence, Ju Jia immediately began cultivating, likely eager to replenish the heavily expended power of his "monster core." He was the kind of person who possessed both strong cultivation talent and the ability to cultivate with a calm mind. Lu Ye had noticed this in Xianyuan City: when there was nothing pressing to do, Ju Jia always remained in a state of cultivation, seemingly unwilling to miss even the slightest opportunity to accumulate spiritual energy. Inspired by him, Lu Ye also took out a book and cultivated while studying it.

The two were currently staying in a small, beautifully landscaped courtyard, which was likely specially used by the Divine Hidden Palace to host guests. While the two were resting at the Divine Hidden Palace, the Windflower Court and the Sun-Illuminating Mountain gradually investigated the events in Xianyuan City. They learned that their cultivators had been completely wiped out there, all thanks to Lu Yiye of the Bloodfire Sect, leaving both sects furious. The Windflower Court, in particular, already held some enmity towards Lu Ye, though it was previously limited to one disciple being killed by him on Golden Light Peak. Now, this vendetta had escalated significantly.

Though they desired revenge, they had nowhere to exert their efforts and felt stifled. They could only join forces to target the cultivators of the Divine Hidden Palace. This led to a sharp increase in conflicts between the Divine Hidden Palace cultivators and the two factions in recent days. Even the Cloud Soaring Hall became involved, and for a time, all four parties engaged in intense skirmishes, causing mutual damage and creating a lively scene.

Several days later, Gu Canyang listened to Ji Yan report on the recent clashes between their disciples and the Windflower Court and Sun-Illuminating Mountain. He nodded slightly and said, "Tell the disciples to be as cautious as possible recently, and not give those two factions any opportunities."

"Yes," Ji Yan replied.

Another young man in white robes, sitting nearby, asked, "Senior Brother, is there nothing we can do about Ju Jia?" This person was the Deputy Garrison Commander of the Divine Hidden Palace. During large-scale operations, Gu Canyang usually led the team, while he remained to guard the outpost. A powerful body cultivator like Ju Jia was hard for any sect to refuse. He had previously always followed Sima Yang, but now that Sima Yang was dead, the young man naturally had some ideas. Recruiting Ju Jia into the Divine Hidden Palace would undoubtedly strengthen the sect's power. Furthermore, in future conflicts with the Windflower Court or Sun-Illuminating Mountain, having Ju Jia at the forefront would significantly reduce losses.

Gu Canyang shook his head. "Don't think about Ju Jia anymore. Brother Yiye has shown kindness to me and to our sect. Since Ju Jia has chosen to follow him, he is Brother Yiye's person. Rashly trying to win him over will only cause displeasure."

The young man in white said, "But I heard that Ju Jia hasn't officially joined—"

Before he could finish, Gu Canyang stared at him with a stern expression. The young man in white quickly said, "I understand, Senior Brother, I won't try to win over Ju Jia anymore."

"That's for the best."