Chapter 1087: Two Earth-Grade Daoist Arts, Spirit-Sealing Talisman, Sword Garment Technique

The shelves laden with various items were enveloped by a golden aura. Runes flickered on the surface of the golden glow, clearly indicating a restriction. Wang Changsheng used a token to lift the restriction and stepped forward to examine the contents.

There were magic treasures, artifact refining materials, and pill refining materials. Unfortunately, there wasn't much that a Nascent Soul cultivator could use. This was quite normal; Lu Jiaheng and Lu Yan had low cultivation levels, so their senior brothers and sisters had likely taken all the valuable items. Of course, Lu Jiaheng might also have hidden some away.

Wang Changsheng was particularly interested in the jade slips. Most of the cultivation methods in Zhenhai Sect's scripture pavilion couldn't be practiced to avoid detection by the Sun and Moon Palace. Among wealth, companions, techniques, and land, techniques ranked third. The Wang family had very few Earth-grade cultivation methods. Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators had a high chance of creating new methods. However, creating an Earth-grade method would take at least fifty years, or even over a hundred if slow, not to mention Heaven-grade methods. For this reason, various powers placed particular importance on Earth-grade or higher cultivation methods.

Although Lu Jiaheng and Lu Yan's cultivation levels were not high, they were shrewd. Cultivation manuals and secret arts were not allowed to be copied, and these were the items they mostly sought. Such things were priceless. While items used by Nascent Soul cultivators were precious, they could also be used up. Lu Jiaheng and Lu Yan swore an oath of inner demons, affirming they had not copied any cultivation methods or secret arts.

There were a total of two Earth-grade cultivation methods: the "Spirit Taming Tome" and the "Blazing Sword Art." Both could be cultivated from the Qi Refinement stage to the Spirit Transformation stage. The "Spirit Taming Tome" was a method geared towards taming insects and beasts, suitable for spirit tamers. The "Blazing Sword Art," on the other hand, was a sword art that could be cultivated by any immortal cultivator with fire spiritual roots. In addition to these two Earth-grade methods, there were seven Profound-grade methods that could be cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, and seven spirit arts.

One spirit art, the "Spirit Suppressing Seal," caught Wang Changsheng's interest. Ranked sixty-ninth on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Art List, it manifested a colossal seal, similar to a heavy-type magic treasure. Unlike most heavy-type magic treasures, the Spirit Suppressing Seal could instantly appear above an enemy's head, as most heavy-type magic treasures lacked sufficient speed. Each spirit art was unique. The advantage of a spirit art was its immense power, while its drawback was the time it took to cast. Wang Changsheng had previously obtained over a dozen spirit arts from Zhenhai Sect's Grand Elder, but most were auxiliary types, with few offensive ones, and none were ranked on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Art List. To Wang Changsheng's knowledge, the spirit art "Fiery Aura Finger" attached to Zhenhai Sect's foundational cultivation method, "Blazing Aura True Art," was ranked forty-ninth on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Art List. This "Spirit Suppressing Seal" was ranked sixty-ninth, a difference of twenty ranks, so its power shouldn't be too inferior. For the same spirit art, the more abundant the caster's magical power, the greater its might.

Besides the Spirit Suppressing Seal, there was also a spirit art called "Sword Robe Art." It used sword qi to condense a magical robe, offering both offense and defense. This art was ranked fifty-second on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Art List. "Sword Robe Art" could only be cultivated by sword cultivators. This art was difficult and time-consuming to cultivate, but once the sword robe was condensed, it was equivalent to having an additional magic treasure that automatically protected its master. The longer the condensation time, the greater its power and defense.

"This spirit art is perfect for Qingshan. He has few defensive means, so this 'Sword Robe Art' can be said to be tailor-made for him," Wang Ruyan said with a smile. Wang Qingshan was participating in a battle in the Eastern Wilderness; she wondered if he was well.

"When Qingshan returns, I'll give him this spirit art. My dear, I plan to send someone to deliver this spirit art to Uncle Mingren. His contributions might not be enough for him to be selected as one of the Five Heroes of Taiyi." The Wang family's cooperation with Taiyi Immortal Sect was because Taiyi Immortal Sect needed something from the Wang family, allowing the Wang family to make several demands. Wang Changsheng hadn't done so, mainly to help Wang Mingren gain more merit, but he felt it still wasn't enough. The Wang family had already allied with the powerful Myriad Sword Sect. If they added Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Wang family's development would be even better. If Wang Mingren could be selected as one of the Five Heroes of Taiyi, with his aptitude, forming a Nascent Soul should not be a problem.

Wang Ruyan shook her head and said, "Honestly, husband, I don't have high hopes for Uncle Mingren's selection. Even if you copy and send two Earth-grade cultivation methods to Taiyi Immortal Sect, Uncle Mingren still won't be one of the Five Heroes of Taiyi."

"Why? Chen Haibin?"

Wang Ruyan gave a wry smile and said, "Chen Haibin is one reason, but mainly it's the art of balance. Have you forgotten about Brother-in-law Su Cheng?" Back then, Su Cheng and Ye Tong both attracted Core Formation lightning tribulations at the same time. Guang Dongren helped Ye Tong and abandoned Su Cheng. Guang Dongren's explanation was that Su Cheng was protected by a formation and should be safe, while Ye Tong, without a formation, would surely die. In fact, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan knew very well that Guang Dongren was worried the Wang family would become too powerful. If anything happened to Guang Dongren, the Wang family might outright annex the Hundred Spirits Sect.

There were many instances of immortal cultivation families becoming too powerful and annexing immortal cultivation sects, the most famous being the Murong family from the South Sea. The Murong family sent their clan members to join Listening Sea Sect, one of the ten great sects of the South Sea. For ten thousand years, both parties coexisted peacefully. The Murong family's influence within Listening Sea Sect grew steadily. After the sect suffered a major disaster, severely weakening its vitality, the Murong family members within Listening Sea Sect gained significant power and, in conjunction with other forces, carved up Listening Sea Sect's territory. After this incident, the Murong family became the foremost immortal cultivation family in the South Sea, controlling tens of thousands of islands alone. After thousands of years of development, the Murong family boasted over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators, capable of contending with the Sun and Moon Palace. Unfortunately, after encountering several major catastrophes, the Murong family rapidly declined, was annexed by other forces, and vanished into the river of history. Due to the example of the Murong family, disciples from the South Sea's ten great immortal cultivation families were barred from joining the South Sea's ten great sects. The ancestors for eighteen generations of any elder holding real power in the South Sea's ten great sects had to be thoroughly investigated before they were entrusted with important responsibilities. Not to mention the ten great sects of the South Sea, even sects of decent strength would not allow disciples from powerful immortal cultivation families to wield significant power. Of course, there were exceptions, but such cases were rare.

Wang Changsheng frowned. Wang Ruyan's words made sense, but Taiyi Immortal Sect was so powerful, and Wang Qingshan was a registered disciple of the Free-roaming Sword Venerable, so he should speak up for Wang Mingren, right?

"Forget it. After all, we're family. Let's send the 'Sword Robe Art' spirit art to Taiyi Immortal Sect. We'll do what we can and leave the rest to fate. If Uncle Mingren can't be selected, we'll have a clear conscience. But honestly, I still hope he gets in." Wang Mingren was a member of the Wang family, after all. Even if he hadn't been close to the family before, he had changed now. Wang Changsheng hoped to use this to strengthen Wang Mingren's sense of belonging to the family. Besides that, the family's stronghold in the Northern Frontier was too weak, and the Wang family didn't have many hands. With Wang Mingren's help, the family's development in the Northern Frontier would also be smoother.

Wang Ruyan nodded and said, "I also hope Uncle Mingren gets selected, but I just don't think the chances are high."