Chapter Sixty-Six: The Drifting Clouds and Falling Rain Technique

Blood Soul Escape was a technique that burned both vital essence and spiritual sense, enabling the practitioner to flee dozens of miles in an instant—a terrifying effect that could save one’s life when encountering foes too powerful to overcome. The only drawback was that the entry requirement for this technique was Foundation Establishment cultivation; only those who had reached the early Foundation Establishment stage possessed spiritual sense and physical strength sufficient to prevent their bodies from exploding under the strain.

Leaving aside whether or not Blood Soul Escape could be cultivated, how could that old man possess two cultivation methods so diametrically opposed—one righteous, one demonic? Could it be that he had simply acquired both jade slips by happenstance?

Chu Xiner, sharp as ever, quickly grasped the key to the matter. She put the jade slip containing the Blood Soul Scripture back into her storage pouch, then took out all the remaining slips to examine them one by one.

Even with her limited cultivation, it took Xiner several hours to peruse the two main scriptures, even superficially. To Xiao Wenzi, she appeared motionless for long stretches, a jade slip pressed to her brow.

Seeing the girl sometimes frown, sometimes smile with delight, Xiao Wenzi did not disturb her. Cultivation methods were of no use to him; refining his own arts was a far more pressing concern.

Time slipped quietly by. Most of the day had passed when, at last, Chu Xiner set down the final slip, let out a long breath, and her lovely face shone with excitement.

From the jade slips, she had more or less pieced together what had happened.

The gaunt elder had indeed been a lone cultivator. The mid-tier storage pouch, along with all the scriptures, spirit stones, and treasures within, had come into his possession by chance from several Foundation Establishment experts who had perished together.

The exact number of those involved was impossible to determine, but the presence of more than one storage pouch seemed evident, corroborated by the black banner and several mid-grade magical tools. Why, then, had the old man only one pouch on him? The answer was simple: because of the laws governing such items, mid-tier storage pouches could not be placed inside one another.

To avoid attracting the covetous eyes of others, the pouches were either sold off or hidden away. As for the precise circumstances, the old man’s soul had long since scattered—there would be no way for Chu Xiner to verify it.

She did not trouble herself with such pointless speculation. The gains from this venture were already more than enough.

Her spirits lifted, for among the jade slips she had just discovered another cultivation method perfectly suited for her training.

The Drifting Cloud and Falling Rain Manual, a superior water-element technique, was no weaker than the main method she had obtained from the Green Leaf Sect. Most importantly, the slip contained all the incantations and secret arts needed up to the Golden Core stage.

After joining the Green Leaf Sect, disciples could freely receive all methods for the first through thirteenth levels of Qi Refinement, but anything beyond Foundation Establishment required the expenditure of sect contribution points.

Of course, compared to Golden Core techniques, those for Foundation Establishment demanded far fewer points—simple tasks would suffice to earn them. Now, with the Drifting Cloud and Falling Rain Manual in hand, Chu Xiner could spare herself needless errands and cultivate without concern all the way to the Golden Core stage.

Anything beyond Golden Core was, for now, too distant to worry over.

But it wasn’t just the new technique that delighted her. Having lost her pair of water-element flying swords, her combat power had been greatly diminished. Now, with a mid-grade water-element willow-leaf blade, and in addition to the sharp and resilient mid-grade gold-element Vajra Sword, she possessed two mid-grade flying swords. With practice, she could soon wield them with ease, and defeating opponents of the same rank would become simple.

Resolved, Chu Xiner devoted herself to refining the willow-leaf blade and Vajra Sword.

Though the Vajra Sword was not a water-element tool, neither were the other two mid-grade flying swords. Compared to fire-element weapons—which countered water—she naturally preferred the sharpness of the gold element. Mid-grade magical weapons were powerful, but required far more spiritual energy than lesser tools; thus, Chu Xiner reserved the willow-leaf blade and Vajra Sword as trump cards, relying on lesser weapons for day-to-day flight.

Another half month slipped by. At last, having mastered the two weapons, Chu Xiner put them away, stood, and left her cultivation chamber.

It was time to depart. There was no spirit vein here; the spiritual energy was thin and impure. Even with a superior technique, progress would be slow.

With more than ten thousand spirit stones in her possession, Chu Xiner decided to visit the market to see if she could purchase suitable pills. At the same time, she would seek out lone cultivators for Xiao Wen to feed upon as they made their way back to the sect.

As for venturing into the Blackrock Forest to find herbs, the old man had already collected over a dozen varieties for her. She could simply take a few and present them—no need for unnecessary risks.

“Xiao Wen, you’ve grown stronger again. That’s wonderful. Let’s go.”

Entering the main hall of the cave dwelling, Chu Xiner saw that Xiao Wenzi had not only fully recovered, but his cultivation had increased as well. She smiled and called out.

He nodded, spread his wings, and flew to her waist, disappearing into the spirit beast pouch.

Chu Xiner quickly tidied up her belongings, pulled out the formation flags at the cave entrance, mounted her flying sword, and sped off in a streak of light.

Winter sunlight lay languidly across the land. Snow still lingered in the shadows of the mountains, but such cold meant nothing to a cultivator.

By noon, Chu Xiner had left the nameless mountains far behind and was approaching the wilderness near Lingnan Market.

In the cultivation world, what were the most precious treasures? Undoubtedly, pills that aided breakthroughs in cultivation. Especially those for the Golden Core stage and above—ordinary marketplaces rarely offered such products; one had to attend grand auctions or underground exchanges to find them.

However, pills for the Qi Refinement stage were not so rare. Lingnan Market had a dedicated alchemical building, and it was there that Chu Xiner headed.

“Welcome, honored immortal, to the Marvelous Elixir Pavilion. May I ask if you are here to purchase pills, or to sell spirit herbs and flowers?”

At the entrance, a young attendant spotted the masked girl. Sensing her eleventh-level cultivation, he did not dare be careless and greeted her with a beaming smile.

From his words, it was clear the pavilion not only sold pills but also bought all kinds of herbs and flowers.

Chu Xiner was not surprised. Most alchemical shops operated this way. She smiled in return.

“I’m here to purchase pills, of course. Do you have any that can help me overcome a bottleneck in my cultivation? How many spirit stones do they cost each? Oh, and I am of the water-element earth-root type.”

The myriad cultivation methods and elixirs in the world were astonishingly diverse. Different spirit roots, different cultivation stages—each required specific formulas. Only by taking pills suited to one’s own attributes could one gain the greatest benefit.

Unlike the last time, when she had received a wood-element Nurturing Spirit Pill from Feng Liang, Chu Xiner now held the initiative and would buy the pills most suitable for herself.