Chapter 71

Returning to Tao Ran Ju, Tang Jie saw that the courtyard had already been cleaned up by Yi Yi.

Yi Yi was sitting on the ground, sorting through the equipment. Seeing Tang Jie come over, she excitedly called out, "Brother, come quickly, come quickly! Look, there are so many good things here!"

"What's so good to see, I've already seen it all," Tang Jie said casually.

While talking to Zhuang Shen, Tang Jie had already looked through the Jiezi Bag and knew what was inside. Besides the Detoxification Pill and the Devil Blood Pill, Zhuang Shen also had two bottles of Spirit Supplementing Pills, three bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills, six Flying Sword Talismans, one Pure Clear Talisman, one Primordial Talisman, and dozens of spirit coins.

In addition, the Purple Fire Sword, Heavenly God Armor, Immortal Binding Rope, and Beast Taming Token were considered four combat magical tools, while the Jiezi Bag was an auxiliary magical treasure with a five cubic meter space, worth at least six spirit jade pieces. This alone greatly benefited Tang Jie, truly proving that killing and arson leads to a golden belt, though the risk was a bit high.

Another auxiliary magical treasure was the array diagram, which was actually the most valuable item among Zhuang Shen's possessions.

Array Diagram!

It was an array diagram that could pre-store magical arrays, not the type Tang Jie thought was used to isolate spaces.

The biggest problem with magical arrays was their setup, which needed to be pre-arranged before battle. Unless one had a talent like Yi Yi, it was impossible to set them up during battle.

This array diagram created its own space, where materials could be pre-stored, but only allowed entry, not exit. The materials placed inside could be directly made into arrays through the diagram, making the creation process faster. It could be used for pre-arranging arrays or for setting up arrays on-site, speeding up the process.

The only downside was that regardless of the array, once released through this diagram, its scale would be greatly reduced, though the materials required remained the same. Therefore, it was only suitable for temporary use and not for regular use.

Despite this, it was still a quite practical treasure, as it was one of the few magical treasures that spirit disciples could use directly.

This array diagram was of a low grade, only able to store arrays of the second rank or below, and only single arrays, not layered arrays. Fortunately, Tang Jie's current level was only at the second rank, and he couldn't set up higher ranks even if given the materials, so he wasn't in a hurry.

Hearing Tang Jie say this, Yi Yi was overjoyed.

She had been dividing the treasures, making piles on the left and right, holding a pile in her hands, and muttering, "This is yours... This is mine... This... is also mine..."

At this moment, hearing Tang Jie's words, she simply swept all the items into her own pile. However, being too small to carry them all, she wobbled and fell into the pile of talismans.

Tang Jie couldn't help but laugh, "Why are you so greedy even at such a young age?"

The little girl wrinkled her nose and huffed, "I don't care! They're all mine!"

"That won't do," Tang Jie said as he walked over. "These are stolen goods, we can't use them now."

"No, no, no!" the little girl shouted.

Tang Jie could only pick her up from the pile of treasures and hold her in his arms, "Yi Yi, be good. When Brother sells these things, I'll let Yi Yi count money at home every day, okay?"

The little girl's eyes darted around, pointing at Tang Jie's nose, "Promise?"

Tang Jie pulled her finger and smiled, "Cross my heart, hope to die, a hundred years, no changing!"

Yi Yi found it amusing and grabbed his finger, shouting, "Okay, okay, a hundred years, no changing!"

Suddenly, she remembered something and jumped out of Tang Jie's arms, holding up an item, "What about this?"

She was holding the Nine Li Black Armament Mirror.

Tang Jie was startled and quickly took it, saying, "This won't do."

The moment his hand touched the mirror, Tang Jie felt a strange sensation from it.

This feeling was so peculiar, as if he had just performed a soul search on Zhuang Shen.

"This is..." Tang Jie exclaimed.

In the next moment, a surge of information flooded his mind. Tang Jie felt a blur, and countless images flashed before his eyes.

He saw a vast, desolate void where a giant, ten thousand feet tall, was holding a massive axe and roaring wildly. The roar shook the heavens and echoed throughout the void.

Around him, countless immortals were attacking him fiercely, their various weapons emitting colorful lights, dazzling the entire world.

Above the giant's head was a magnificent palace complex, shining with a sacred and glorious aura in the jade and rainbow clouds.

Four beings, radiating golden light and with indiscernible faces, orbited the palace like four suns, occasionally emitting rays of light that struck downward.

Amidst the endless attacks, the giant shouted arrogantly:

"Armament!"

Then Tang Jie saw that the weapons of the countless immortals shattered instantly, turning into countless fragments that flew toward the giant and attached to the massive axe, making it grow even larger.

The giant roared and swung the axe, cutting down the palace above his head. The jade and divine palace shattered into countless pieces and scattered...

"Ah!" Tang Jie shouted, dropping the mirror and retreating several steps, panting heavily.

"Brother, Brother, what's wrong?" Yi Yi rushed over.

"I'm fine," Tang Jie shook his head, calming himself.

However, that scene had deeply imprinted itself in Tang Jie's mind, impossible to erase.

Xu Muyang was right; the mirror indeed had a deeper secret, but to unlock it required some special conditions.

Tang Jie wasn't sure which conditions he met to unlock the secret, but he suspected it was related to the soul search experience, as the sensation of information transmission was very similar to using the soul search technique, and the content seemed to be a divine thought left by the Armament Master.

A divine thought is a manifestation of the soul, so it was natural that it could be extracted through a soul search. What was truly amazing was that the divine thought could remain on the mirror for ten thousand years.

However, Tang Jie felt that this alone was not enough. Since he had only used the soul search technique before, even if there were some residual traces of the technique in his body, it wouldn't be enough to make the mirror release the secret. Therefore, Tang Jie suspected that the main reason was the Zang Xiang Scripture.

The Zang Xiang Scripture chose the person, while the soul search technique chose the method. The right person and the right method were needed to unlock the true secret of the mirror. No wonder Xu Muyang could feel something strange but couldn't unlock it.

From this perspective, would the Nine Absolute Immortal Slaying Array also require a specific person to enter?

If so...

Tang Jie's gaze fell on the mirror.

He took a few steps forward, picked up the mirror again, and examined it. The mirror glowed, with countless characters flickering.

But upon closer inspection, Tang Jie realized that these characters were not on the mirror but were already stored in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, he couldn't recall them, but he could see them when comparing them to the mirror, as if the mirror was a mirror reflecting the hidden memories in his mind.

If someone else looked at the mirror now, they would see nothing but the patterns on it, but Tang Jie saw one image after another.

Not only were there characters, but also countless figures moving rapidly, performing various actions.

Although he didn't recognize any of the characters, he somehow knew their meanings.

At the top were two golden characters, ancient and solemn, carrying a vast aura.

Tang Jie blurted out, "Li Jing!"

---

Li Jing!

To be precise, this was the true secret technique left by the Armament Master, and the most important cultivation method of his life.

Unlike the current orthodox cultivation methods.

Modern cultivation follows the path of separating the human and the spirit. Spirit energy is merely a weapon for cultivators, but the weapon is the weapon, and the person is the person; they cannot be mixed. Even at the Transcendent Realm, where one can refine the body, the extent is limited.

In this sense, most cultivators in this world are mages.

Li Jing, however, cultivates blood and qi.

Those who cultivate blood and qi integrate the spirit into their body, strengthening themselves, making themselves the universe and encompassing the world. Because of this, their blood and qi are powerful, their bones hard, and their bodies like steel. The Armament Master was the most formidable in his time, with his physical body being the strongest, making him the most dominant existence in ancient times, relying on his blood and qi.

Later generations called them body cultivators, but in essence, they might be better called blood cultivators.

Because of this, Li Jing is much simpler than other cultivation methods like the Shaohai Dongjin Technique, with no levels. From beginning to end, it is a single cultivation method that is repeatedly practiced, becoming stronger with each practice.

However, the amount of medicinal materials required for cultivation is astonishing.

According to the Li Jing, before cultivation, one must gather a large amount of medicinal materials to make a medicinal bath. Then, in a fierce fire, one must circulate the cultivation method, absorbing the medicinal properties, which is the best way.

These medicinal materials include things like Nine Heavens Phoenix Grass, Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence, Dragon Salamander Phoenix Blood, and Thousand-Refined Demon Core... The list made Tang Jie's head spin.

These are all true treasures, and any one of them would cause the six major sects to go crazy. Where could he find them? Not to mention the note at the bottom: the more, the better, with no limit!

Damn!

From this perspective, although the Armament Master's immortal technique is extremely valuable, it is also extremely impractical.

Because it requires too much, so much that ordinary people cannot bear it or meet the requirements.

If one had the ability to gather such treasures, cultivating other methods might also make one invincible.

In this case, the value of this cultivation method is far lower than expected, leaving Tang Jie somewhat disappointed.

Forget it, forget it.

What path is not a path?

Since he obtained the Armament Master's cultivation method, he might as well follow his path.

At least it gives a direction in life.

Not all the medicinal materials are necessary.

Below the Li Jing, there is a note saying that if one cannot find these, similar substitutes can be used. If one cannot find ten-thousand-year-old materials, one can use thousand-year-old ones, and if that's not possible, even five-hundred-year-old ones will do.

Below is a list, from top to bottom, explaining the attributes and functions of various medicinal materials.

Tang Jie looked at the bottom of the list, a five-hundred-year-old Purple Poria. He calculated that he couldn't afford it. With his current wealth, he could buy a fifty-year-old one, and if he bought a set, he could only afford a five-year-old one.

Five years old it is, better than nothing.

The Zang Xiang Scripture didn't require any medicinal materials and still cultivated a body of copper and iron, Tang Jie thought.

However, thinking about how he had practiced the Zang Xiang Scripture for three years and still couldn't withstand a low-level spell, being told that his body was relatively sturdy, Tang Jie found it hard to comfort himself.

Fortunately, in addition to the Li Jing, there was another spell.

The Armament Word Spell!

This was the fundamental technique that the Armament Master used to dominate the world, shattering all weapons and mastering the way of armaments!

It is said that once the Armament Word Spell is cultivated, one can shatter all weapons in the world, extract their essence, and refine divine weapons.

The "Armament" command Tang Jie saw the Armament Master use in the mirror was the ultimate manifestation of the Armament Word Spell, shattering all weapons with a single command!

Compared to the cultivation method that requires a vast amount of resources, the Armament Word Spell has a much lower threshold. With a sufficient foundation in body cultivation and the ability to stimulate the blood and qi within, one can generate the spell.

Tang Jie followed the method, circulating the blood and qi within his body, feeling a surge of blood and qi, making him very uncomfortable.

Tang Jie gritted his teeth and persisted. Gradually, the surging blood and qi calmed down, and a faint blood-colored light appeared on his body, gradually converging on his right index finger.

Is this the blood energy凝聚 of the Armament Word Spell? Can it really shatter all weapons in the world?

Tang Jie couldn't believe it.

Just then, Yi Yi was holding the Purple Fire Sword, staring at him with wide eyes.

Tang Jie casually pointed at it to test its power.

He thought that as a beginner, he couldn't possibly shatter a magical tool with one strike, but to his surprise, the Purple Fire Sword first made a light "ding" sound.

Then, the sword body suddenly emitted a burst of light, and with a loud "bang," it shattered into countless fragments that scattered and fell.

"How is this possible?" Tang Jie was completely stunned.

How could his light finger strike have such great power?

Although he knew the Armament Word Spell was powerful, he never thought he could shatter weapons like the Armament Master.

This magical tool, though not a powerful magical treasure, was theoretically not something he could shatter with a single point, yet it shattered so easily.

Yi Yi was also stunned.

But her reaction was different from Tang Jie's.

Seeing the sword fragments scatter in the sky, she pouted and sat on the ground, crying, "My treasure..."

"Sorry, Yi Yi," Tang Jie was about to comfort her when he suddenly felt a sweetness in his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body went limp, and he collapsed.

At that moment, he realized he couldn't even move.

His vision blurred with colorful lights, and countless stars danced.

This was the illusion produced by severe exhaustion.

"Stimulating all the blood and qi... damn!" Tang Jie muttered, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.