Chapter 73

After returning from Niu Geng, Zhuge Xiang fell asleep immediately. He had been killing for half a year, training day and night in the Endless Mountains, with his nerves constantly on edge, unable to sleep well, always on guard against the attacks of beasts and poisons. Now back at the sect, he naturally needed a good rest.

He woke up the next day, feeling refreshed. After washing up, before Zhuge Xiang could even step out of the door, he had visitors. Opening the door, he saw Lu Yuling and Hua Nongying standing together at the entrance.

"Please come in," he stepped aside, welcoming Lu Yuling and Hua Nongying into the living room. Zhuge Xiang sat down, feeling the steady and powerful aura emanating from Lu Yuling. He knew she had indeed reached the Body Tempering stage. Looking at Hua Nongying beside her, he was secretly surprised; he didn't expect her to have reached the eighth level of the Qi Cultivation stage.

"I heard you're back, so I came to see. As expected, you've already reached the Body Tempering stage," Lu Yuling nodded, understanding the aura Zhuge Xiang was emitting. She seemed to have gotten used to his cultivation speed.

"Really, I don't know how you manage to cultivate. Do you even let others live?" After more than half a year, Hua Nongying still had her lively and cheerful personality, giving Zhuge Xiang a glare.

"Why blame me? Your cultivation speed isn't slow either. With your speed, you're considered one of the top geniuses in the Asura Sect," Zhuge Xiang smiled and replied.

That was the truth. Reaching the eighth level of the Qi Cultivation stage in half a year at the Asura Sect, such a cultivation speed, although not as fast as Zhuge Xiang and Lu Yuling, was far superior to that of ordinary geniuses.

Lu Yuling just smiled at Zhuge Xiang's words and didn't respond. Hua Nongying pouted, "Is it because you're a so-called combat genius that you can cultivate so fast? We took the Nine Apertures Mystic Pill and worked hard day and night, but still can't keep up with you. What's there to be proud of?"

"Alright, Hua Nongying, Zhuge Xiang is right. You shouldn't belittle yourself," Lu Yuling shook her head and smiled, then her expression turned serious as she faced Zhuge Xiang, "You've reached the Body Tempering stage. Have you heard about the major sect mission recently?"

"Yes, I've heard a bit. Did you come to see me about this?" Zhuge Xiang nodded and said.

"Yes, the number of wolf beasts has exceeded fifty thousand. The sect can only tolerate about twenty thousand. So, this major cleanup will require at least thirty thousand wolf beasts to be killed. Compared to other types of beasts, these pack-dwelling beasts are more terrifying in large numbers. Most are one-star beasts, but some have reached two-star and even three-star levels. If you encounter a large pack, one person's strength is clearly insufficient," Lu Yuling explained, revealing some unknown information.

"Alright, even if you hadn't come to see me today, I would have asked you. Let's rest for a day and set out tomorrow. The usual spot at the main gate," Zhuge Xiang nodded, somewhat surprised. Although the sect had limits on the strength and numbers of beasts below the mountains, no one knew where these limits were. He didn't expect Lu Yuling to know.

After sending off Lu Yuling and Hua Nongying, Zhuge Xiang left Green Bamboo Peak and headed towards the Martial Arts Pavilion. Although he still had a skill point reserved, having an extra skill for the sect mission would be better.

At the familiar entrance, he took out his identity jade token and embedded it, showing that he had reached the first level of the Body Tempering stage, qualifying him to choose a martial art. Zhuge Xiang directly entered the Martial Arts Pavilion.

The Martial Arts Pavilion was divided into six floors, corresponding to the six stages of Essence Refinement. Zhuge Xiang had already broken through to the Body Tempering stage, so he was eligible to go to the second floor. The martial arts on the second floor were clearly better than those on the first floor.

On the second floor, there were relatively fewer martial arts. A rough estimate showed about two hundred, far fewer than the three hundred on the first floor.

Choosing a martial art required caution. Each martial art had a detailed description of its cultivation method and characteristics. Zhuge Xiang carefully read through them.

About 60-70% of the martial arts on the second floor were external cultivation techniques like the Golden Bell Cover and Iron Shirt. At the Body Tempering stage, one begins to use qi to temper the body, and the body's defense is already strong. Therefore, it was suitable to cultivate such techniques after breaking through. However, since Zhuge Xiang already had the skill of Qi Protection, he skipped these external cultivation techniques.

For attack, he had the Killing Sword, which could store the Blood Thunder Slash, which was enough. For defense, he had Qi Protection. Zhuge Xiang's main goal on the second floor was to find a stepping technique.

Although he had the Burst Step, its cooldown was 10 seconds, and it was an instant skill, not a continuous stepping technique like the Phantom Step. Over the past half year, Zhuge Xiang had thought deeply about this.

With a clear goal, the selection became much easier. Although there weren't many martial arts on the second floor, there were still about twenty to thirty stepping techniques to choose from.

There were various stepping techniques, such as the Eight Steps to Catch a Cicada, which involved linear movement, the Fleeting Shadow, known for its agility, and the advanced Phantom Step skill, Ghost Shadow Step. However, although the Ghost Shadow Step was the best among these, it required the cultivation of the Phantom Step first. The Fleeting Shadow, although good in both linear movement and agility, could only be better cultivated with water attribute techniques.

"Hmm? What's this?" While carefully searching, a martial art placed in a corner, ignored by everyone, suddenly caught Zhuge Xiang's attention.

This secret manual was placed in the lowest corner of the Martial Arts Pavilion. If he didn't squat down, he wouldn't have seen it. The manual, placed in a light membrane, looked worn and tattered, having been untouched for many years. Unlike other manuals, which were frequently handled and thus replaced with new copies when worn, this one had been left untouched.

The Phantom Ghost Flash, when performed, not only made the body extremely agile but also left afterimages to confuse the opponent. When cultivated to perfection, it could leave thirty-two afterimages, making it difficult for the opponent to distinguish the real from the fake. Cultivation is extremely dangerous, proceed with caution!

The introduction of this martial art was simple, but it was clear that it was a very powerful stepping technique. However, the extreme danger of cultivation explained why it was ignored. Since he was interested, even if he decided to give up, he wanted to know why it couldn't be cultivated. Extremely dangerous? Even the Blood Thirst Technique didn't have such a serious warning.

"Little brother, are you interested in the Phantom Ghost Flash? I advise you not to play with your life," while Zhuge Xiang was paying attention to the Phantom Ghost Flash, a kind-looking young man walked over. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and his every move exuded humility and politeness.

"Senior, the Phantom Ghost Flash is extremely dangerous to cultivate. Could you tell me what the danger is?" Seeing that this person seemed to know about the Phantom Ghost Flash, Zhuge Xiang asked.

"The Phantom Ghost Flash, from its effects, should be a high-level martial art found on the fifth floor of the Martial Arts Pavilion or higher. Over the past few decades, more than two hundred disciples have been attracted to this martial art, but none have succeeded. They all went mad and died. It is said that when cultivating the Phantom Ghost Flash, ghostly qi from the heavens and earth appears, corroding the body and eroding the mind. Unless one has the Yin Spirit Jade to protect them, no one can cultivate it," the kind-looking disciple explained.

"Yin Spirit Jade?" Confused, Zhuge Xiang clearly didn't understand what the Yin Spirit Jade was.

"Beasts in the world can be divided into three levels: beast, spirit, and demon. Similarly, certain souls with strong wills or those that have found auspicious locations and refuse to enter the cycle of rebirth can become ghost cultivators, divided into three major levels: malevolent spirits, evil ghosts, and ghost kings. The Yin Spirit Jade is the essence left behind by the death of an evil ghost, and its value is comparable to the demon essence of a spirit, which is as valuable as the golden core of a Deity Transformation stage disciple," the kind-looking disciple explained, seeing that Zhuge Xiang didn't understand the value of the Yin Spirit Jade.

Now, Zhuge Xiang understood the value of the Yin Spirit Jade. When a beast reaches the peak of the sixth star and passes the heavenly tribulation, it can condense the demon essence and become a spirit, with a value comparable to the golden core of a Deity Transformation stage disciple. The Yin Spirit Jade was no less valuable. No wonder the Phantom Ghost Flash was left untouched.

"Thank you, Senior, for your explanation," Zhuge Xiang thanked him. The kind-looking disciple, seeing that Zhuge Xiang understood, smiled and left.

"Phantom Ghost Flash? Interesting..." If it were an ordinary disciple, they would have given up after learning about the dangers of the Phantom Ghost Flash. But Zhuge Xiang, with the skill points, didn't care about these dangers.

Like the Blood Thirst Technique, although it was extremely dangerous to cultivate, Zhuge Xiang didn't need to cultivate it. He just needed to spend a skill point to learn it, gaining a basic understanding. Such a powerful but extremely dangerous martial art was almost tailor-made for him.

Reaching out, he passed through the light membrane and grabbed the secret manual of the Phantom Ghost Flash, flipping through it.

Not far away, the disciple who had patiently explained the dangers of the Phantom Ghost Flash to Zhuge Xiang saw him take out the manual. His eyes flashed with a strange light.

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(We've barely made it to the front page of the new book list, but we're in the second-to-last position, which is very dangerous. I need your support to stay on the list. During the listing period, I will update one extra chapter daily, with updates at 8 AM and 9 PM, and an additional update at 2:30 PM. I also need your support to stabilize the category click and recommendation lists. Brothers and sisters, let's rise up! At least we should move up a few positions on the front page of the new book list!)

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