Chapter 46

As winter's chill set in, snowflakes danced through the air, and the world was enveloped in a bitter cold.

By the shore of Mirror Lake, the mountains were all white, and beneath the azure, transparent ice, the flow of the lake water and the shadows of fish could be faintly seen.

At this moment, a palm-sized green bird flew in from the east and curiously perched on Tanggu's shoulder.

It gently trembled its feathers, looked at its reflection on the ice of the lake with a self-pitying gaze, and then, out of curiosity, pecked Tanggu's shoulder lightly twice, seemingly a bit puzzled.

At this moment, a powerful current of air suddenly formed within Tanggu's body, creating a peculiar repelling force that instantly rushed to his shoulder, sending the green bird flying several yards away.

The green bird was suddenly startled and let out a shrill cry, "Gah," before flying away instantly.

After the green bird flew away, the changes within Tanggu's body did not stop.

His body began to tremble violently, then slowly became still, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his forehead, wetting his shoulders.

The thin layer of ice on Tanggu's shoulders and eyebrows instantly melted, and a strangely shaped spiral current of air continuously rotated, bursting out of his head, forming white smoke that rose straight up several feet, like a pillar of smoke.

It seemed that some invisible barrier within Tanggu's body had been broken, and a faint blue light flickered continuously beneath his skin, radiating a precious glow all over his body, as if enveloped in a divine aura.

After being closed for half a month, Tanggu suddenly opened his eyes and extended one hand.

Between his fingers, blue light swirled, like smoke, like mist, and like a constantly flickering sword light.

Suddenly, Tanggu's left hand flicked, and all the blue light instantly solidified, turning into transparent, elongated blue ice blades.

In the next moment, a faint, dark red flame suddenly ignited on these blue ice blades.

These dark red flames were extremely terrifying, burning anything they touched silently and without a sound, even melting iron and stone into molten metal, and the surrounding space slowly became void and blurry.

However, despite the flames, the inner blue ice blades seemed to feel no heat at all, instead becoming even more blue and more dazzling.

It seemed that the fire was not warm but cold.

"Melting ice into fire, transforming water into ice, the secret technique has reached the half-step transformation realm."

"Fourth transformation of blue qi, accomplished!"

A faint, barely contained joy appeared in Tanggu's eyes, as he had not expected this breakthrough to be so easy.

All of this was due to the fish in the ice lake, which seemed to contain an unimaginable abundance of primordial energy, making up for the insufficiency of the primordial energy Tanggu absorbed during his cultivation.

However, with the breakthrough to the fourth transformation of qi, Tanggu's time to leave was also approaching. He cast a reluctant glance at the fish in the lake, knowing that the time for the Inner Courtyard competition was not far off.

With a leap, Tanggu flew up, pursed his lips, and let out a light whistle. Soon, the silver weasel and the panjiu, who had gone to find food and medicinal herbs, each returned, one hugging Tanggu's chest and the other perching on his shoulder.

Man, bird, and weasel quickly headed back to the outskirts of the Ancient Python Mountain Range. A day later, they arrived at the outskirts of the mountain range.

Another day later, Tanggu returned to Stone Rock Town.

...

Dusk. True Treasure Pavilion.

Tanggu, carrying a large package, walked to a counter at the True Treasure Pavilion where demon beast materials were purchased, and casually threw the package onto the counter.

"Exchange for stone coins!"

"Sure thing, please wait a moment, I'll calculate it right away!"

Behind the counter stood an old man in a purple robe. Upon seeing Tanggu, his small eyes squinted into slits with a smile, and he opened the package, quickly tallying up the contents.

"A first transformation demon beast, the Tailless Monkey, worth 350 stone coins; a first transformation demon beast, the Ground-Cleaving Mantis, worth 370 stone coins... A second transformation demon beast, the Green Wind Bear, worth 430 stone coins; a second transformation demon beast, the Gold-Armored Beast, worth 460 stone coins... A second transformation demon beast, the Storm Bull, worth 520 stone coins; a second transformation demon beast, the Silver-Souled Demon Sparrow, worth 540 stone coins..."

The more he calculated, the more surprised the old man in the purple robe became. Finally, he looked up at Tanggu, his expression becoming even more respectful: "The total is 5,460 stone coins. Please check, is there any mistake?"

"No mistake, exchange it."

"Sure-thing, please wait a moment, I'll exchange it right away."

A short while later, Tanggu, holding the newly obtained 540 gray stone crystals, walked up to the second floor of the True Treasure Pavilion.

Stone crystals were a higher-grade equivalent to stone coins, appearing pale white with a faint grayish hue, and were all square in shape.

One stone crystal was equivalent to about ten stone coins, making them easier to carry.

As soon as he walked up to the second floor, a green-robed girl immediately came forward.

"Sir, what do you need to purchase?"

Tanggu glanced at the girl, then nodded and began listing his items: "Two Cymbidium orchids, three Flame Flowers, one Dragon Baby Fruit, two inches of Heavenly Vine, and four Bloodless Heart Leaves."

After a moment's thought, he added: "Also, give me two Qi Transformation Pills, one Qi Condensation Pill, and one Qi Formation Pill. Prepare everything and bring it here for me."

"Yes, please wait a moment, I'll prepare it right away."

Although the items Tanggu listed were complex, their ranks were not too high. As the largest treasure pavilion in Stone Rock Town, the True Treasure Pavilion naturally had all these low-level items.

The green-robed girl quickly turned and left, while Tanggu began to slowly wander around the second floor of the True Treasure Pavilion.

Finally, he came to a counter.

This counter sold various secret manuals.

Tanggu looked closely and saw that the counter was filled with secret manuals of various colors—pale blue, fiery red, dark red, and golden yellow—arranged there.

"First-grade medium secret manual, Hundred-Cracking Lion Heart Claw, price: 120 gray stone coins!"

"First-grade high secret manual, Eight Extremes Seizing Technique, price: 240 gray stone coins!"

"First-grade supreme secret manual, Thunder Transformation Mystic Palm, price: 480 gray stone coins!"

...

"Second-grade low secret manual, Green Blade Extreme Inch Force, price: 850 gray stone coins!"

"Second-grade medium secret manual, Yi Wood Great Sword Qi, price: 1,200 gray stone coins!"

"Second-grade high secret manual, Sea Blue Blade Light, price: 1,900 gray stone coins!"

...

The secret manuals ended here, with the highest rank being second-grade high. Second-grade supreme secret manuals belonged to the third floor, and their prices were far beyond what ordinary people could afford, often reaching two to three thousand.

As for third-grade secret manuals, even the lowest and most common ones would cost at least 5,000 gray stone coins. Even with Tanggu's current financial resources, he could barely afford one, but he certainly couldn't learn it.

In the end, Tanggu's gaze focused on a very peculiar pale red thin book on the side of the counter.

This secret manual had no rank marked on it, but instead had the words "Odd Technique" written in strange black letters. Most importantly, it was only half a book, the lower part having vanished.

The label beside it read: "Odd Technique, Blood Thirst Technique (Incomplete), instantly triples combat power. After use, weakness for one month. Usage rank: Qi Dao fifth transformation and above."

"Price: 3,000 gray stone coins!"

"What is this?" Tanggu asked curiously.

Behind the counter stood the third manager of the "True Treasure Pavilion," surnamed Chen, named Sangmu, about sixty years old, but still spirited and kind-faced.

He seemed to have been waiting on the side, and upon seeing Tanggu's question, immediately smiled and replied, "Sir, this technique is only half a book, incomplete, called 'Blood Thirst Technique.' It does not belong to ordinary martial techniques but is one of the odd techniques."

"What are odd techniques?"

Tanggu asked again, curious, as he had never heard of this term before.

Seeing this, Manager Chen Sangmu showed no impatience and immediately smiled and explained, "Odd techniques are a very rare type of cultivation combat technique, distinct from ordinary martial techniques. Their origins often come from imitating the extremely rare and magical skills of demon beasts, which are then replicated and imprinted."

"For example, the Ghostly Black Leopard has a skill where, if its speed reaches its peak, its body can merge into the void, like a common breeze, making it hard to detect. Later, a powerful cultivator was inspired by this and created the 'Leopard Concealment Technique,' which is one of the odd techniques."

"Another example is the 'Spider Silk Technique,' inspired by the silk spiders produce, which can be used to bind and restrain others in battle. The 'Mystic Shield Technique,' primarily for defense, was inspired by the defensive abilities of the Thick Earth Mystic Turtle."

"There is a kind of mermaid in the sea that can sing, possessing a strong hypnotic ability, capable of killing silently, with the deceased bleeding from all seven orifices, extremely tragic... Some evil cultivators created the 'Sound Arrow Technique' based on this, which can kill with sound."

"Furthermore, some odd techniques can even temporarily grant low-level cultivators the ability to fly... such as the 'Swallow Wing Technique' and the 'Wind Control Technique,' allowing them to glide through the air."

"Therefore, every odd technique must possess a special ability, making them extremely rare. Regardless of their function or rank, they are always extremely precious and cannot be compared to ordinary combat techniques. In critical moments, they can serve as a trump card."

PS: Second update, please give 1 recommendation.

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