"Evil God’s power? Can it speed up the opening of the Ten Thousand Beasts True Body?"
"No, it’s not the power that matters, it should be just that hint of aura up there, which can serve as a marker for positioning, right?"
"I’m afraid there’s some problem with that kind of Evil God; Black Lotus Venerable is probably an import? Even more interesting then..."
Zhong Shenxiu’s mind stirred secretly, and he didn’t explain to Yixin Daoist as the two walked out of the temple. He just waved his hand: "I’d rather not meet with government officials, so I’ll take my leave here."
"The mountains are high, and the rivers are long; Yixin Temple will remember this favor,"
Yixin Daoist bowed respectfully to the ground, watching Zhong Shenxiu leave.
Zhong Shenxiu controlled the breeze, leaving a hundred miles behind in one breath.
This matter at Luo Family Estate was too mysterious; the hidden hand behind it was unfathomable, and even he didn’t want to tackle it head-on.
’No wonder no one took this task; it seems there was already a tacit understanding among the Daoist Officials... But whatever, I wasn’t planning to complete it anyway, at worst I’ll just take the punishment...’
He found a secluded hill and started wildly thrusting with the Poison Dragon Sword.
The flying sword was sharp, cutting through a great amount of rock, and before long he had carved out a cave dwelling.
’With the Poison Dragon Sword in hand, my sword technique is incredibly sharp for mining and splitting rock... although it feels strange, like digging the ground with a golden hoe...’
Zhong Shenxiu sealed the cave dwelling, sat cross-legged, and played with the black crystal in his hand.
Using the black crystal repeatedly to no avail, he had to admit that he couldn’t utilize it, and even Taiyi’s knowledge was of no use.
Of course, it’s not completely unusable; worst case, he could just swallow it whole.
But the outcome would likely be the same as Can Yunzi: deviating from his cultivation, turning into a monster.
"I don’t want this Evil Qi, but it seems the Heavenly Show System can withstand it... After all, it did face an ancient god directly before..."
He thought about it and eventually made a choice mentally.
"Stupid system, come out and eat!"
The black crystal on his palm shrunk continuously; the eyes within it slowly closed, emitting complex emotions, seemingly brewing pain.
But under the absorption of the Heavenly Show System, those eyes became illusory, slowly disappearing.
In the attribute panel, the progress of opening the Ten Thousand Beasts True Body shot up rapidly.
[Ten Thousand Beasts True Body: Ready to Open]
"Another gate to a new world has been opened? It felt particularly easy this time; could it be because of that crystal? Then this world is probably leaning towards the sort of Evil God like Black Lotus Venerable... Perhaps I can take this opportunity to peek at its foundation..."
Even though he had opened the door, Zhong Shenxiu had no intention of passing through immediately.
He had set out on this journey precisely to roam around.
Moreover, since he was following Yan Han’s orthodox cultivation path, it was more fitting for him to stick around locally.
Of course, he still intended to visit these worlds eventually. Even if their power systems were different or had limits, they were still quite excellent for farming Heavenly Show Points.
A single traversal could undoubtedly lead to a rapid increase in power.
"I have already refined the Carefree Wind Escape, Ten Thousand Beasts True Body Technique, and the Earthly Fiendish 72 Transformations—three Yin Evil Skills—into my lifebound skills. I still have slots for six more..."
"Using the Earthly Fiendish 72 Transformations to replace one lifebound skill slot means it’s unlikely to complete the five Divine Skills from the Dragon Tiger Pill Book... I must give up one."
Without much deliberation, Zhong Shenxiu immediately chose the Divine Skill to be abandoned—the fourth-rank Spring Returns to Withered Wood Divine Skill!
"This Divine Skill is also composed of one Yin and one Yang Daoist Skill, which I can fully simulate with the Thousand Changes and Ten Thousand Transformations Divine Power."
"Apart from that, the remaining skill slots must be selected strictly according to requirements... I should successively refine the White Tiger Descending Mountain Seal, Three Suns True Fire, Six Void Yin Fire, Earth Escape Technique, Fire Escape Skill, and Taiching Demon Refining Immortal Light!"
Among these, the White Tiger Descending Mountain Seal could be combined with the Nine Dragons Soaring Cloud Map to form the Dragon-subduing and Tiger-suppressing Divine Seal.
And Earth Escape Technique, Fire Escape Skill, and Carefree Wind Escape are all Yin Evil Skills, while Gold Escape, Wood Escape, and Water Escape are Yang Gang Skills, which could together form the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Divine Power.
Finally, with Heavenly Show Points, he could meld the Taiching Demon Refining Immortal Light and another two Heavenly Gang Techniques, giving him great confidence in cultivating the Nine Pure Immortal Light Protection Divine Power.
After all, in terms of difficulty, the Earthly Fiendish 72 Transformations were certainly more challenging.
If he could refine this Divine Skill, he would have a chance to strive for the status of a True Inheritor within the Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect.
To say Zhong Shenxiu wasn’t coveting this was a lie.
Even though these spells could be simulated with the Earthly Fiendish 72 Transformations, their essence was different, and he would need to refine a new talisman seed.
After all, the Earthly Fiendish 72 Transformations could only replace any one of the Yin Evil Skills to cultivate into a divine seal, for example, replacing the White Tiger Descending Mountain Seal and merging with the Nine Dragons Soaring Cloud Map. That would then form the Dragon-subduing and Tiger-suppressing Divine Seal! However, Zhong Shenxiu had no such plans and wanted to directly use this Earthly Evil Technique to refine into the Thousand Changes and Ten Thousand Transformations Great Divine Power!
Otherwise, if he cannot enter the Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect and has all Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect Divine Skills on him, that would be quite embarrassing.
Time flies swiftly, and a month later.
Zhong Shenxiu stepped out of the cave of retreat and swung his sword behind him.
Numerous fragments of rock fell, burying the cave entrance.
After completing all this, he rose into the air and flew away, riding the wind.
This past month, he had been engrossed in arduous cultivation within his retreat.
Of course, this wasn’t about absorbing the energy of heaven and earth or the arduous cultivation of spells; Zhong Shenxiu wasn’t so foolish.
He was merely familiarizing himself with the incantations of spells like the White Tiger Descending Mountain Seal, which he planned to cultivate in the future.
In this aspect, with the Earthly Fiendish 72 Transformations, which could simulate these Yin Evil Spells, he had a significant advantage.
"To cultivate the White Tiger Descending Mountain Seal, I need the White Tiger Star Light Slaughter. This particular kind of Evil Qi is quite rare... Besides that, I don’t have too many leads on the other Evil Qi. It’s still best to check if there’s an exchange event."
Zhong Shenxiu, on a whim, roamed about Luo State and before many days had passed, spotted a large city.
The city walls were towering and the gates wide, with a broad moat encircling it. The city was bustling with people, clearly a significant urban area.
In terms of prosperity, it could almost rival Fufeng City.
He descended from afar, reverted to his guise as Su Daoshi, and approached, only to see "Yangshui County" emblazoned above the city gates.
’So, this is Yangshui County City. It just so happens I should pay a visit to the government office to check the latest intelligence and also gather some information.’
Last time, he had gotten information about an exchange event from a Loose Cultivator, leading to the acquisition of suitable Evil Qi, which made Zhong Shenxiu all the more hopeful about the government’s intel.