Chapter 69

The process of unblocking the meridians went very smoothly, and in just a day and a half, all the meridians were unblocked, allowing the mystic power to flow freely throughout his body.

Having reached the peak of the Black Tortoise Realm, Lu Li was somewhat at a loss because he had no idea how to condense the divine sea. Lu Ling didn't know either, and this was something that couldn't be figured out by trial and error, right?

The Liu family had been very quiet over the past couple of days, with no one causing him trouble. Lu Li was too lazy to go out and put the matter aside, focusing instead on cultivating the Thunderbolt Mystic Technique.

Lu Ling didn't go out either, spending her days reading books at home and occasionally chatting with Cheng Qu's wife, living a comfortable and pleasant life.

Lu Li spent all his time, except for eating and sleeping, comprehending the Thunderbolt Mystic Technique. He had underestimated the profundity of the Earth Rank Mystic Technique. He secluded himself in the courtyard for ten days, but his progress was extremely slow.

"Why does the mystic energy I condense disappear immediately?"

The foundation of cultivating the Thunderbolt Mystic Technique was mystic energy. Only by cultivating mystic energy could one enhance their strength. The technique clearly described how to condense mystic energy: compress and condense the mystic power into a "special" form of mystic power.

After spending so many days, Lu Li had condensed many strands of mystic energy, but without exception, each time he succeeded, the mystic energy would immediately collapse and revert back to mystic power.

What was the problem?

Lu Li didn't know and couldn't figure it out. He had followed the cultivation steps in the technique exactly, without any mistakes, but the mystic energy he cultivated would always disintegrate and disappear.

"Click~"

The door opened, and Lu Ling walked in. Seeing Lu Li's somewhat gloomy expression, she smiled and said, "If one path is blocked, you can try another. Don't keep banging your head against the wall. Go out for a walk, don't stay cooped up in the room all day."

"Go out?"

Lu Li shook his head and said, "I can't leave the Liu family compound. There are many places in the Liu family courtyard I can't go. What good would it do?"

"You need to go to the weapon hall; Xiao Bai has no food." Lu Ling thought for a moment and added, "You can also go to the technique hall and look for techniques or cultivation insights on condensing the divine sea. Since there's no progress with the Thunderbolt Mystic Technique, you might as well try to condense the divine sea first."

"Right!"

Lu Li agreed with Lu Ling. He got up and walked outside. Xiao Bai, who had been hiding in a corner, leaped over and climbed onto Lu Li's shoulder, chirping incessantly, as if silently telling Lu Li that he had no food.

"Alright, alright, I'll take you to find some food."

Lu Li lovingly held Xiao Bai in his hands and gently stroked the mane on his head. This little guy had eaten so many broken mystic weapons but hadn't grown at all, still only the size of a fist, which left Lu Li speechless.

Hiding Xiao Bai in his sleeve, Lu Li left the courtyard and went to the weapon hall. Old He's eyes were somewhat indifferent when he saw him. As Lu Li was about to enter the room storing the broken mystic weapons, Old He suddenly said, "Recently, the family has been preparing for battle, and resources are extremely scarce. Therefore, the Elder Hall has issued an order: all guest experts' exchanges will be doubled, including broken mystic weapons."

"Doubled?"

Lu Li's steps paused as he looked at Old He. Seeing him turn his head away guiltily, Lu Li immediately understood.

It seemed that his refusal of Liu Yi had angered the Elder Hall of the Liu family, and they were deliberately targeting him. Scarce resources? All guest experts? These were just excuses.

What were broken mystic weapons? They were just rusting here, and no family martial artist would use them. Apart from melting them down to remake, what use did they have?

"Kid, don't look at me," Old He said, feeling uncomfortable under Lu Li's gaze. "This is an order from the Elder Hall; I have no choice."

"Oh, oh!"

Lu Li responded and turned to leave. He didn't have many contribution points left, only a little over five thousand. He wouldn't exchange for Xiao Bai's food for now; he would first check how many contribution points were needed to view techniques for condensing the divine sea.

He walked around the front courtyard and found the technique hall. An old woman was in charge there, and she didn't show any unusual expression when she saw Lu Li. However, her face darkened slightly when Lu Li showed his token. She threw the token back to Lu Li and said, "You don't have the qualifications to go to the second floor. Borrowing a secret manual from the first floor costs ten thousand contribution points per day."

"Ten thousand?"

Lu Li almost cursed. The layout here was similar to the Mystic Technique Hall, and it was clear that the first floor didn't have high-level techniques or cultivation insights. Borrowing a secret manual for a day cost ten thousand? The targeting was too obvious.

Lu Li didn't argue; it was pointless. He thought for a moment and asked, "If I just want to read for an hour, how many contribution points do I need?"

He only needed to find a way to condense the divine sea. As long as he found the right technique or cultivation insight, an hour would be enough.

The old woman pondered for a moment and said, "According to the rules of the technique hall, borrowing must be for at least a day. However, considering your young age, I'll make an exception. You can read for an hour for two thousand contribution points."

"Two thousand?"

Lu Li reluctantly handed over his token and walked in. There were only two large rooms inside. Lu Li entered the first room and took a look, immediately cursing.

He had been tricked. This room contained only the lowest-level cultivation techniques, all for cultivating mystic power. He had the "War God Scroll" from the Lu family, so these techniques were meaningless to him.

Since he was already inside, Lu Li picked up a copy of the "Mystic Heaven Technique" and started reading. After a moment, he shook his head and put the manual back. The Mystic Heaven Technique was too low-level, incomparable to the "War God Scroll," and he only had the first section of the "War God Scroll."

He didn't linger and directly entered the second room. After a quick scan, he finally felt relieved.

This room contained various cultivation insights, all left by predecessors. There was definitely something he needed here.

He picked up a copy of the "Liu Yuanlong Record" and started reading. The writing was messy but barely legible. After a while, his head started to hurt because the content was very disorganized, with no structure. It mainly discussed how to unblock meridians, cultivate mystic power, and temper the body, but there was no description of condensing the divine sea.

Lu Li put the book down and picked up another one. This one mentioned condensing the divine sea, but only briefly...

The third book was even worse, seemingly written by a mid-stage Black Tortoise Realm martial artist, with no description of the divine sea realm.

Continuing to read, the fourth book also mentioned the divine sea realm, but it only emphasized how difficult it was to condense the divine sea. It advised future generations to find a spirit herb called Pulucao or use the Earth Rank spirit pill, Dingshen Dan, but didn't mention how to condense the divine sea...

Although he knew the first floor contained only the lowest-level manuals, Lu Li was still very disappointed. He patiently read through each one. When he reached the twenty-eighth book, his eyes finally lit up.

"Got it!"

He found a detailed description of how to condense the divine sea in a yellowed little booklet. He read it carefully, word by word, and memorized all the steps.

"Click click..."

Just as he was about to finish, the door suddenly opened. The old woman stood at the door, expressionless, and said, "Time's up. If you want to continue reading, you need to pay another two thousand contribution points."

"Damn!"

Lu Li cursed inwardly and looked at the old woman pleadingly, saying, "One incense stick, just give me one more incense stick of time."

"No!" The old woman said firmly. "Either leave now or pay another two thousand contribution points."

...

PS: Four updates in three days are complete. Tomorrow, I'll return to three updates, and I'll burst again over the weekend!