Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"In the future, if you have any questions about your cultivation, you can come directly to Divine Needle Peak and ask me," Zhang Chi added.

"Yes, Martial Uncle!"

Hong Jin’Er and Hong Hu were ecstatic, clearly not expecting Zhang Chi to be so straightforward.

"Yes, but remember, you only get one chance. If you waste it or fail to satisfy me, you’ll have only yourselves to blame for not being destined for this," Zhang Chi warned.

"Yes, Martial Uncle. We’ll be sure to work hard!"

Hong Jin’Er and Hong Hu quickly nodded, then took the supplies and left.

Zhang Chi, meanwhile, wrote another letter to the Sect, explaining the situation to Fu Hongchang.

Afterward, he returned to Divine Needle Peak.

As far as he was concerned, the matter was now closed.

He seemed to have given a lot, but in reality, the total came to less than two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Of course, to a Qi Cultivation Cultivator, or even a typical Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator, this was an astronomical sum.

For example, back when he ambushed and killed several Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Xie Family, his total haul was merely two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Back in his cave residence, Zhang Chi finally took out the Star Divine Iron to inspect it carefully once more.

He discovered that the Token’s surface was bare of any words or even patterns; its only distinguishing feature was its sword-like shape.

After that, he attempted to refine the Token.

He channeled Magical Power into it, but there was no reaction. Dripping his blood on it had no effect either.

He tried scorching it with Fire and even smashing it with all his might, but that was useless as well.

He wasn’t discouraged, however. He was certain that Senior Brother Hong had tried all these methods while he was alive.

So, he took out several Tier Two Turtle Shells and performed a divination.

Soon, he confirmed that the Token did indeed hold a secret, and he even got a clue on how to unlock it: by using the Power of the Divine Soul.

He had tried probing it with his Divine Thought before to no avail. So this time, he directly employed a method from his White Bone Divine Forging Technique, channeling the Power of the Divine Soul into the Token. The next moment, the Token finally reacted.

SWOOSH!

The Token suddenly projected a torrent of information that flooded into his Divine Soul.

Thankfully, his Divine Soul was powerful enough. Otherwise, the sheer volume of information would have shattered it, killing him instantly.

This torrent of information contained a Top Grade Cultivation Technique called the Star Sword Manual.

The Sword Manual was divided into three parts: the Star Sword Essence Technique, the Star Sword Control Technique, and finally, an accompanying Star Sword Array Map and refining diagram for the Magical Treasure Star Sword.

Furthermore, the stream of information revealed that this collection of texts was the core canon of the Star Sword Sect, an Ancient Sword Cultivation Sect. The Token itself was the sect’s Inheritance Secret Order.

Its function was similar to a Jade Scroll, but it could only be used once. Moreover, unlocking the Inheritance Secret Order required not only a sufficiently powerful Divine Soul, but also for the user to have cultivated one of the Star Sword Sect’s related Cultivation Techniques.

When Zhang Chi looked at the Token again, it appeared unchanged. It still emanated a faint Sword Intent, but he could no longer use the Power of the Divine Soul to activate it and draw out any more information.

Fortunately, the information was now stored within his Divine Soul and would not dissipate.

However, to make it easier to study, Zhang Chi took out a blank Jade Scroll and imprinted the contents onto it.

’Not bad. An inheritance from an Ancient Sword Cultivator, and a Top Grade Cultivation Technique at that. Even though I spent a fair amount of Spirit Stones, I’ve definitely come out way ahead on this deal.’

’Of course, this is all thanks to my powerful Divine Soul and my use of the Turtle Shell Divination Skill to find the right way to unlock it. Otherwise, even I wouldn’t have been able to access this inheritance.’

’If Senior Brother Hong had passed this on to Hong Hu, he never would have been able to unlock its secrets in his lifetime.’

’But I wonder, is there some connection between this Star Sword Sect and the modern Star Sect? Or is it just a coincidence that their names are so similar?’

’Whatever. I’ve never heard of the Star Sect having any Sword Cultivator inheritance, and their Sect’s Main Technique certainly isn’t one. Besides, even if there is a connection, no one will ever know if I keep my mouth shut.’

Zhang Chi was delighted and immediately began to ponder.

He surmised that he was able to activate the Token not only because of his powerful Divine Soul, but also because the Token was so ancient that its internal Restrictions had long since faded away.

Otherwise, since he hadn’t cultivated a Star Sword Sect technique, it should have been logically impossible for him to unlock the inheritance.

Of course, it was also possible that the restriction still existed, but his Jade Pendant had simply allowed him to bypass it without a sound.

He then began to examine the Star Sword Manual in detail.

He discovered that while the Star Sword Technique and the Star Sword Control Technique were both Top Grade Cultivation Techniques, their cultivation requirements were extremely high.

For instance, both techniques had Golden Core as the Starting Point. The Star Sword Essence Technique, in particular, was only suitable for geniuses of the Sword Dao.

The "Star Sword Body" mentioned in the technique was the most compatible Physique.

Those with special Physiques, like the Flawless Sword Body or the Innate Sword Bone, could also manage to cultivate it, albeit with difficulty.

Zhang Chi wasn’t surprised by this, however, as most Top Grade Cultivation Techniques were said to have similarly steep requirements.

In fact, even his own Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique had an extremely high barrier to entry.

Furthermore, the Star Sword Essence Technique could be cultivated all the way to the Divinity Transformation Realm, which put it on par with his Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique.

As for the Star Sword Control Technique, the prerequisites for even reaching the Entry Level were twofold: one had to first cultivate an Upper Grade Sword-controlling Skill to the Perfection realm, and second, one needed to possess either Golden Core Cultivation or a Golden Core Level Divine Soul.

These two requirements, however, made Zhang Chi smile. He met both conditions, so he could start learning it right away.

’I can start cultivating the Star Sword Control Technique immediately. As for the Star Sword Essence Technique, once I reach the Golden Core Realm, I can try using my Elemental Transformation Technique to cultivate it alongside the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique.’

’Anyway, with my Jade Pendant, I should be able to ignore the physique requirement for cultivation. Besides, I could be considered a genius of the Sword Dao myself now.’

’Furthermore, once Chen Bufan reaches the Golden Core Realm, I can make a copy of this cultivation technique for him. I could sell it to him cheaply or just give it to him; I’ll decide based on the circumstances. This would be a good way to repay the favor he did me by giving me the Wind and Thunder Sword Control Skill and taking the fall for me back then.’

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Chi made his decision.

It was true that Chen Bufan had helped him in the past, but he had since helped Chen Ling’Er, as well as Chen Bufan and his companions.

But he was the type of person who believed in repaying a drop of kindness with a gushing spring; he disliked being indebted to anyone, which was why he had made this decision.

A Top Grade Cultivation Technique would be of enormous help to Chen Bufan; he would profit immensely from it.

Next, Zhang Chi examined the Star Sword Array Map and the refining diagram for the Magical Treasure Star Sword. He found that both the Sword Array and the Magical Treasure Flying Sword possessed immense Mighty Power.

Furthermore, the more Magical Treasure Flying Swords one used, the stronger the Sword Array became. The number of swords a user could control was directly related to their Cultivation, Divine Soul, and Sword Control Technique.

And in this regard, Zhang Chi clearly had a major advantage.

The only problem was that both the Sword Array and the Magical Treasure required Golden Core Cultivation to be refined and used.

To refine the Star Swords, one also needed to add Star Divine Iron.

The Inheritance Secret Order in his hands was also made of Star Divine Iron, but there wasn’t enough of it. Even if he reduced the amount of Star Divine Iron used per sword, he still wouldn’t be able to refine more than a few.

Fortunately, the Golden Core Realm was still a long way off. He could take his time searching for more Star Divine Iron, and would likely find enough by then.

Even if he couldn’t, he could still refine a few to make do. A Sword Array formed from even a small number of them would far surpass an ordinary Magical Treasure.

Zhang Chi recalled how he had once seen a senior brother from the Divine Sword Sect use the Five Elements Sword Array during an exploration, and how envious he had been. Now that he had obtained the Star Sword Array from the Star Sword Sect, his wish had finally been fulfilled.

After that, Zhang Chi continued his Cultivation in Seclusion. In the blink of an eye, five years passed.