Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 42: Secrets (Extra - , Please Bookmark)

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Secrets (Extra Chapter, Please Bookmark)

Accompanying Zhong Shenxiu’s dalliance with idleness, the second Black Mountain Small Meeting soon approached.

Black Wind Ridge.

Crow Elder, attaching his consciousness to a paper crow, gazed up at the full moon in the sky and felt somewhat of a headache coming on.

Although these attendees were the same as usual, he sensed an impending storm and had to strengthen his precautions.

For instance, around the canyon, there were paper effigies on patrol.

These paper effigies, personally crafted by him, looked nearly as tall as ordinary people but were as thin as cicada wings, appearing as if they could be carried away by a gust of wind.

Yet it was precisely these paper soldiers, each moving with swift agility, their movements as sharp as a knife’s edge.

Especially since Crow Elder had reached the realm of ingesting the eighth Yang, this paper-cutting art was Yang Gang Skill!

Ordinary methods like splashing dog’s blood tainted with ink, Red Dragon, and peach wood cores, known to counter such things, were of little use.

This was also why the old man could remain at large and keep hosting the Black Mountain Small Meeting.

Even with these measures, Crow Elder still felt somewhat lacking in confidence.

After all, the most powerful spells are no match for Divine Skills!

This was a consensus in the Cultivation World!

And now, an unknown number of gazes were converging on this place.

"Crow Elder seems troubled?"

At that moment, a light chuckle rang out.

Crow Elder nearly fell from the tree branch.

He shook his paper feathers and saw Zhong Shenxiu.

The other man seemed to have been standing there all along, with no attempt at concealment, holding an ivory folding fan, exuding the casual grace of a young nobleman on an outing.

"The old man has seen Young Master Shen Xiu."

Crow Elder let out a wry smile, spread his wings, lowered his head, and paid respect, "I am here to guide the young master."

"Very good."

Zhong Shenxiu seemed oblivious to the solemn atmosphere and strolled into the valley.

Inside the valley, it was the same as last time, with various people from all walks of life surrounding numerous campfires.

But occasionally, glances would pretend to be casual as they sneaked a look, then swiftly shifted away.

Zhong Shenxiu turned a blind eye and sat down in Crow Elder’s circle, glanced around with a light chuckle, and said, "There are fewer familiar faces, and indeed a few new ones."

Now this circle, apart from Crow Elder and the disheveled Lu Swordsman seen last time, the monkey, paper effigies, and women were all absent.

’Why would anyone dare get involved with the circle of a Superpower Expert? Just my bad luck, and then there’s this reckless Swordsman...’

Crow Elder cursed inwardly and managed a forced smile, "Allow me to introduce to the young master, this is Spiritual Crane Daoist, the Seventh-rank Demon Suppression Envoy from the Protector Mansion!"

"An honor to meet the senior."

Spiritual Crane rose, offering a formal and courteous bow, truly a paragon of gentility, a stark contrast to the disregard shown previously.

"Acting snobbish at first and respectful later, pah!"

Zhong Shenxiu spat inwardly and gave no indication on his face. He nodded in greeting and then looked towards the other two individuals.

Among those present, only these two gave him a particularly strong sense of danger.

"This one is the White Bone Scholar, and the other is fellow Daoist Fei Luan. Fellow Daoist Fei Luan cultivates on Scattered Flower Mountain and is the eldest of the Fei Hua sisters. There is also fellow Daoist Hua Ye, whose divine powers are truly extraordinary..."

Crow Elder continued.

The White Bone Scholar looked like a down-and-out Scholar, his cheeks tinged with the pallor of destitution, as he performed a polite bow with ease.

Fei Luan was dressed like a Daoist woman and waved her horsetail whisk, using Daoist etiquette.

"Pleased to meet you both."

Zhong Shenxiu made their acquaintance, then suddenly smiled and said, "Crow Elder, your circle here seems to be gaining fame by the day. Congratulations are in order, congratulations indeed!"

"Congratulations my ass... With so many people targeting me now, I’ll be moving out tomorrow!"

Crow Elder grumbled inwardly and called out, "Everyone... let’s begin!"

Zhong Shenxiu looked around and saw that both the Bai Gu Daoist and Fei Luan were looking at him, while the Spiritual Crane Daoist even seemed about to speak. He smiled and asked, "I wonder, which of the fellow Daoists will go first?"

"Then let me be the first."

The Spiritual Crane Daoist looked at the superpower experts without any sign of intimidation, and declared loudly, "Our Cloud Mirror Sect sincerely seeks to recruit a Divine Power Realm elder. I heard that Young Master Shenxiu is looking for a Daoist Skill inheritance? Our Sect Leader has promised that he can impart all our sect’s Daoist Skills without reservation."

His main purpose for being here was to recruit the expert Zhong Shenxiu.

A Divine Power Realm Cultivator, for the Cloud Mirror Sect, which only had a single Primordial Pill Ancestor, could already serve as an elder. This was why he had previously pressured Feng Xixi into working for him. Recruiting such an expert would be a great achievement for the sect.

As for the other Divine Power Loose Cultivators from the Protector Mansion? Either they were wanted criminals, or they had already declared their allegiance, like the Fei Luan sisters, who had their own spirit land for cultivation and had long since firmly refused.

Zhong Shenxiu was slightly taken aback and soon showed a pondering expression.

Seeing this, the eyes of the Spiritual Crane Daoist brightened, and he was about to press with further persuasion.

At this moment, the White Bone Scholar chuckled and said, "We, who have developed our Divine Skills, even if we obtained the true teachings of the Xuanmen, could we afford to discard our cultivation and start anew? Besides... among those who have cultivated divine powers, which one does not have their own legacy?"

’I truly don’t have that...’

Zhong Shenxiu answered internally and said, "I’m only looking for Daoist Skills for a beloved junior; their constitution doesn’t quite match with my own Daoist Skills."

"The descendant of fellow Daoist is truly fortunate to have such an ancestor to provide guidance. Who knows how many detours that spares them," praised the Feiluan Woman Crown from the side.

"Indeed... Not to mention that we Loose Cultivators originally lack the true teachings, some even rashly rely on Elixir Pills to break through realms, resulting in mixed and disorderly mana, which is far inferior to those of the Xuanmen Orthodox—by more than tenfold... And without guidance, reckless cultivation of spells in the Gang Sha Realm can completely sever the path to divine powers," the White Bone Scholar sighed somberly. "Divine powers are formed from a combination of magic talismans; there are standards to them... Those who covet powerful Daoist Skills without consideration and cultivate a mishmash of them may reach the peak of the Gang Sha realm, but without a systematized approach, they won’t be able to form divine powers and their prospects of advancement are doomed. We Loose Cultivators have had our fair share of hardship on this front."

At these words, both Crow Elder and Lu Swordsman’s countenances drastically changed: "Please enlighten us, senior."

On the surface, Zhong Shenxiu appeared nonchalant, but inwardly he was deeply alarmed: ’Indeed... There are so many pitfalls in the practice of Daoist Skill. If I just broke through on my own, I might have been buried.’

The White Bone Scholar surveyed the room, smiled, and said, "Today, I shall discuss this, and perhaps it can be your chance... After the Gang Sha Realm comes Divine Power, the consumption of the Nine Yin and the absorption of the Eight Yang, followed by the Seven-locking Technique!"

"This ’seven’ simultaneously represents the maximum of seven Divine Skills a cultivator can form and indicates the Divine Power Tiers. The predecessors have left a standard by which the divine powers of the world are divided into seven tiers. The higher the tier of divine power, the greater the hope for Core Formation... Of course, you can’t afford to worry about these things. The threshold for divine power will sweep away a large number of people. With the Seventeen Inherent Techniques being limited, some Loose Cultivators who lack a legacy, each technique cannot be paired, and even conflict with one another—how can they hope to progress to the Divine Power Realm?"

"As for how the techniques should be combined to transform into divine powers, that’s the True Inheritance of the various sects."

"If a Loose Cultivator is greedy, without the guidance of predecessors’ experiences of divine power to refer to, they either have to waste all their mana and start afresh, or they have to figure it out on their own, developing new divine powers based on their existing skills. It’s a feat only achievable by those with extraordinary talent."

"That’s why I say it’s tough being a Loose Cultivator. If you don’t get guidance from the start, you might as well compare to those true inheritors of the Daoist sects who follow the process step by step to build their unparalleled foundation. After advancing to the realm of divine powers, the gap only widens."