Chapter 152 - 148: Spirit Ruins Secret Realm
Later that night, Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the main room, circulating the Iron Bull Skill.
He had taken three Evil Essence Pills, so the Evil Qi accumulated in his body was much denser than usual. His Evil Qi Affinity suppressed the negative effects to a minimum, while Evil Qi Body Tempering guided the Evil Qi to permeate the area around his internal organs.
Qi Blood was drawn from his Dantian and poured into his internal organs along the path defined by the Iron Bull Skill.
When the third circulation was complete, the feedback from his internal organs was different from before.
It wasn’t a change in a single spot, but a simultaneous resonance from all his internal organs.
In the Great Success stage of cultivation, the walls of his internal organs had already changed from dense to supple, able to absorb and release. When Qi Blood poured in, it was no longer just passively flushed through but actively absorbed.
After this circulation finished, the absorption didn’t stop.
The Qi Blood completed the Cultivation Technique’s route and returned to the Dantian, but his internal organs continued to operate on their own.
It was as if his internal organs had found their own rhythm. Without needing to be driven by the Cultivation Technique, the Qi Blood circulated on its own along the inner walls of the organs, nourishing every inch of them, cycle after cycle.
The feeling was very similar to when the Nourishing Essence Skill reached perfection.
When the Nourishing Essence Skill reached perfection, the Qi Blood throughout his entire body circulated endlessly on its own. When the Iron Bull Skill reached perfection, his internal organs absorbed Qi Blood ceaselessly on their own.
With the two stacked, his body was in a state of continuous self-reinforcement, from the inside out.
Li Yuan slowly ended his cultivation.
[Cultivation Technique: Iron Bull Skill - Perfection (3200/3200)]
’Perfection.’
Li Yuan raised a hand and tapped his ribs twice.
The bones didn’t budge. Most of the impact was absorbed by the walls of his internal organs, and the rest dissipated into his fascia and skeleton. He felt no pain at all.
He clenched his fist again. His finger strength, wrist strength, and the contraction of his forearm muscles—every aspect was a notch stronger than it had been at Great Success.
Two mortal Body Refining Techniques, both now at perfection.
With the Nourishing Essence Skill at perfection, his Qi Blood circulated on its own. With the Iron Bull Skill at perfection, his internal organs strengthened on their own.
The Iron Bull Skill manual was still in his storage pouch.
The condition to make the "Internal Organ Fortification" entry permanent was to cultivate two mortal Cultivation Techniques to perfection.
The Nourishing Essence Skill was already at perfection and had been made permanent. The Iron Bull Skill had just reached perfection.
Two mortal Cultivation Techniques, both at perfection. The condition was met.
Li Yuan took the Iron Bull Skill manual out of his storage pouch.
With a thought, he unequipped the Cyan Spirit Talisman Brush.
’Equip Iron Bull Skill.’
The panel immediately popped up.
[Condition to make Internal Organ Fortification (White) permanent has been met]
[Make permanent?]
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful]
[Internal Organ Fortification (White) has become a permanent entry]
[Equipment consumed]
The Iron Bull Skill manual between his fingers dissolved into a faint white light and flowed into his body.
A warmth spread from deep within his internal organs.
The walls of his organs tensed for an instant, then slowly relaxed. After relaxing, their resilience was a notch higher than when the skill had just reached perfection. The upper limit of his organs’ ability to withstand the impact of Spiritual Power had been permanently raised.
Another equipment slot was now free. Li Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to equip something else.
Li Yuan sat at the table, his gaze falling upon his storage pouch.
The condition to make the Qi Sensing Disc permanent had been weighing on his mind.
’Reduce one’s own aura to be indistinguishable from a mortal’s.’
’The permanent entry "Aura Obfuscation" can suppress my aura by thirty percent. Suppressing a Qi Refining Seventh Level aura by thirty percent would make it appear to be at the fifth or sixth level. That’s still a far cry from a mortal’s.’
’But I have more than just this one method at my disposal.’
’The Concealing Breath Jade Pendant is still in my storage pouch. I got it back in Qinghe Marketplace. Although I’ve never equipped it, I’ve used it with medicinal liquids to create a Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid. Applying it to my body can hide my aura for about two hours.’
’Then there are the Concealing Breath Talismans I made. Sticking one on can also further suppress my aura.’
’What if I stack all these methods together?’
Li Yuan rummaged through his storage pouch and took out the Concealing Breath Jade Pendant and the herbs needed to make the Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid.
First, he made the Spirit Liquid. He chopped and pounded the herbs to extract their juices, mixed them with clear water, and placed the Jade Pendant in the bowl, guiding his Spiritual Power to seep into the medicinal liquid. The liquid’s color deepened, and a gray mist began to rise from it.
He dispensed it into small porcelain vials and stoppered them.
Then, Li Yuan equipped the Concealing Breath Jade Pendant.
[Equipment successful]
[Obtained entry: Aura Concealment (Green)]
The instant Aura Concealment took effect, the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi emanating from his body were greatly suppressed.
Li Yuan closed his eyes to feel the change.
Aura Obfuscation suppressed his aura by thirty percent, and Aura Concealment suppressed it drastically on top of that. With the two stacked, his outward-facing aura dropped from the Qi Refining Seventh Level to an extremely low level.
But it wasn’t zero.
A very faint Spiritual Power fluctuation still seeped from his body, like a lamp about to go out under his skin. Its light was so faint it was almost invisible, but it was definitely still shining.
Li Yuan took out one of his homemade Concealing Breath Talismans, stuck it to his chest, and infused it with Spiritual Power to activate it.
The Spiritual Power barrier from the Concealment Pattern spread over him, suppressing his leaking aura by another layer.
’A triple stack.’
Li Yuan closed his eyes again to perceive the result.
’My aura is even lower.’
’But it’s still not zero.’
That final layer of Spiritual Power fluctuation seemed to be seeping from the cracks in his bones. No matter how many layers of concealment he put on the outside, the Spiritual Power deep inside was always circulating, and a minuscule fluctuation always managed to pass through his body’s surface.
Li Yuan peeled off the Concealing Breath Talisman, let his aura return to normal, and walked out of the courtyard.
He followed a side alley to the main street and turned toward the Loose Cultivator stall area.
Li Yuan wasn’t looking for an item with an entry; he was going to ask around.
’There must be other methods on the market for restraining one’s aura besides external concealment tools like talismans and jade pendants.’
The stall area was bustling with people, standing or squatting in small groups.
Li Yuan walked along the edge of the stalls for a while before stopping next to one selling miscellaneous goods. The owner was an old man in his fifties, with all sorts of odds and ends displayed before him.
"Do you have anything for restraining one’s aura?"
The old man looked up at him.
"Concealing Breath Talismans? Don’t have any. Try asking at those stalls to the east."
"Not talismans," Li Yuan said, squatting down. "Is there anything else?"
The old man thought for a moment, tilting his head.
He traced a finger across his stall cloth.
"I have heard of a so-called Concealing Breath Pill. After you take it, it can temporarily suppress the leakage of Spiritual Power from your body to an extremely low level. But its effects are limited, and it doesn’t last long—only about two to four hours."
"Where can I buy them?"
"No idea. They show up at the Loose Cultivator stalls occasionally. Depends on your luck."
Li Yuan nodded, stood up, and continued walking.
He passed a few more stalls and stopped in front of one selling medicinal pills.
A dozen or so porcelain vials were scattered on the stall’s surface, and a wooden sign next to them listed the names and prices of various pills.
Li Yuan’s gaze swept over the wooden sign, stopping on one of the lines.
Concealing Breath Pill. Tier One Middle Grade, six Spirit Stones each.
"Do you still have these?"
The stall owner, a young Loose Cultivator in his thirties, heard him and rummaged through a pile of porcelain vials to pull out a small bottle.
"Only one left. The Spirit Ruins Secret Realm is opening soon, so a lot of people have been buying these. They sell out fast."
Li Yuan took the porcelain vial to inspect it. He pulled out the stopper. Inside was a single grayish-white pill with a scent so faint it was barely detectable.
"The Spirit Ruins Secret Realm?"
The young stall owner rested his elbows on his knees, clearly very familiar with the topic.
"You don’t know? About two hundred li north of Yunyang Marketplace, there’s a secret realm ruin. The story goes it was left behind after a Nascent Soul Grand Sect was destroyed many, many years ago. It used to be full of good stuff."
He held up his hand to gesture.
"But it’s been picked clean by now. The most valuable things were cleared out long ago. Now, all that’s left inside are Demon Beasts and some wild Spirit Grass. The Primordial Yang Sect doesn’t care for what little remains, so they just opened up the entrance and charge admission for Loose Cultivators to go in and try their luck."
"How much is admission?"
"Ten Spirit Stones per entry. Once you’re inside, you’re responsible for your own profits and losses. They don’t care if you live or die."
He tapped a finger on the Concealing Breath Pill.
"The Demon Beasts inside the Spirit Ruins Secret Realm aren’t especially strong, but there are a lot of them. Taking a Concealing Breath Pill can suppress your aura, making it less likely for the Demon Beasts to notice you. It’s a big help when you’re gathering herbs. Concealing Breath Talismans are useful too, but not as good."
Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgment.
"Six Spirit Stones."
He placed the Spirit Stones on the cloth and put the Concealing Breath Pill into his storage pouch.
He left the stall area and retraced his steps back to his courtyard.
He closed the courtyard gate and entered the main house.
Li Yuan sat down at the table.
He took the Concealing Breath Pill from his storage pouch and tipped the pill into his palm.
The grayish-white pill was a size smaller than a normal pill and felt cool to the touch.
Li Yuan popped the pill into his mouth.
The moment the pill reached his stomach, a cool stream of energy spread out from its depths—not into his limbs, but seeping deep into his meridians.
Li Yuan closed his eyes to feel the effect.
’My aura has definitely dropped again.’
’But it’s still not zero.’
Li Yuan applied another Concealing Breath Talisman.
’A quadruple stack. Aura Obfuscation, Concealing Breath Pill, Aura Concealment, and a Concealing Breath Talisman.’
He closed his eyes to perceive the result.
’Still there.’
’It’s a sliver weaker than before—so weak that if I weren’t sensing it from the inside, it would probably be very difficult to detect from the outside.’
’But the panel’s standard isn’t "very difficult to detect," it’s "indistinguishable from a mortal."’
’Right now, I can’t achieve absolute zero.’
Li Yuan peeled off the Concealing Breath Talisman.
He stood up and stretched his body.
’I don’t have any leads for now. It seems this can’t be solved just by continuously suppressing my aura.’
Li Yuan put his things away, returned to the table, and sat down.
He spread out a sheet of golden talisman paper, dipped his brush in Dark Gold Spiritual Ink, and continued to draw Spirit Refining Talismans.