Burning Incense

Yuan Ming saw that his finger was fine and no longer paid it any mind. He reached out to take the incense burner.

Just then, the last ember on the black incense completely extinguished. A hazy light flared up, and his finger passed right through the incense burner.

The next instant, the green ceramic incense burner vanished completely, transforming into a stream of light that flew into the mark on his arm.

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted. His previously groggy consciousness instantly cleared.

He rolled up his right sleeve and saw the green mark reappear there, though it no longer emitted light.

Yuan Ming lightly stroked the mark with his finger, and the memories of having transformed into the Young Emperor not long ago began to surface in his mind, bit by bit.

"It seems this incense burner only sent me to the Young Emperor's body for a period of time. Once the time limit was up, it returned to its original body immediately," he mused, feeling a sense of sudden realization.

This experience was novel. Yuan Ming, young and eager, couldn't help but want to experience it again.

It was a pity that he had no mana left within him, so he couldn't summon the incense burner.

"Although the incense burner experience was wondrous, the most important thing now is to cultivate enough mana to perform the Fur Transformation Technique!" Yuan Ming steadied himself, casting aside his playful thoughts. He sat down cross-legged and was about to circulate the Blood Qi Method.

"My progress with the Blood Qi Method is truly too slow. That Old Daoist Jade Pot boasted that the Nine Yuan Art accumulates mana incredibly fast. Perhaps I should give it a try," a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

However, the Nine Yuan Art and the Blood Qi Method were two completely different cultivation techniques. He wondered if the mana cultivated by this technique could be used to perform the Fur Transformation Technique.

"Whatever, I'll try it first and see."

Yuan Ming made up his mind, slowly closed his eyes, and began to carefully recall the contents of the Nine Yuan Art, chanting it silently in his heart.

Before long, he felt the acupoints all over his body slowly open. External spiritual energy seeped in through the opened acupoints, transforming into wisps of warm current that circulated through his meridians.

"The Nine Yuan Art can actually absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through all the acupoints in the body simultaneously!" Yuan Ming was both surprised and delighted.

The Blood Qi Method could only communicate with the outside world through a few easily controlled acupoints like the Yongquan point on the sole of the foot and the Baihui point on the crown of the head. In terms of the sheer number of acupoints, the Nine Yuan Art far surpassed the Blood Qi Method.

Yuan Ming continued to meditate and cultivate, breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Initially, this spiritual energy only gradually permeated his body. As he continuously circulated it through his meridians, the speed at which the spiritual energy entered his body gradually increased. The entire process was smooth and unimpeded, incredibly satisfying.

Gradually, more and more spiritual energy gathered in his meridians, filling them and making them feel somewhat swollen.

Yuan Ming didn't know if this situation was normal, so he could only continue to circulate the Nine Yuan Art, attempting to smooth out this spiritual energy. Soon, a clear stream of spiritual energy formed, completely different from the faint airflow of the Blood Qi Method.

He guided the stream of spiritual energy to circulate through his body for one full cycle, finally sinking into his Dantian.

Whether it was the Nine Yuan Art or the Blood Qi Method, the basic principle was the same: circulate the absorbed spiritual energy through the body and then sink it into the Dantian to transform it into mana.

Yuan Ming stared intently at the stream of spiritual energy, afraid it would dissipate again.

However, his worries did not materialize. The stream of spiritual energy smoothly broke through the bottleneck of the Dantian and entered it.

"It's done so easily?" Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

The problem that had troubled him for half a month with the Blood Qi Method was now resolved silently.

This was all thanks to the Nine Yuan Art. This cultivation technique was a true cultivation method, its grade was definitely far beyond the Blood Qi Method; in fact, the two were not even on the same level.

"No wonder Old Daoist Jade Pot held the Nine Yuan Art in such high regard," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

What he didn't know was that the "Nine Yuan Art" was the top introductory cultivation technique of Changchun Temple in the Central Plains' Great Jin Kingdom. Even ordinary inner disciples of Changchun Temple might not have the opportunity to glimpse it. Its guidance and mastery in the intricacies of cultivation were far beyond ordinary Southern Border techniques like the "Blood Qi Method."

Yuan Ming took a deep breath and continued to circulate the technique. The spiritual energy concentrated in his Dantian suddenly became restless, like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, showing signs of rampage.

He immediately recalled the phrase, "Let your spirit enter the Great Void, and guard your Dantian Palace." He immediately restrained all his mental focus and concentrated his attention on his Dantian.

After a moment, the spiritual energy within his Dantian became extremely hot, giving the faint impression that it was about to ignite.

Yuan Ming did not panic. Daoist Master Yuhu had told him during his guidance that this sensation was precisely the sign of spiritual energy transforming into mana.

He immediately quickened his chanting of the Nine Yuan Art in his heart, assisting the hot spiritual energy in breaking through its constraints. Soon, the final transformation was complete, and it turned into a cool stream of mana.

"The Nine Yuan Art is also much more advanced than the Blood Qi Method in condensing mana," Yuan Ming marveled.

He did not continue cultivating. Instead, he circulated the mana he had just condensed to his finger and unhesitatingly touched the green mark on his right arm.

Everything that had happened to him today was caused by this mysterious incense burner, especially the fact that he had accidentally obtained such a heaven-defying technique as the Nine Yuan Art. He couldn't help but want to summon the incense burner again to see if he could have any other fortunate encounters.

As he expected, the mark emitted another suction force, swallowing this bit of mana. A green light flashed on the mark, and the mysterious incense burner materialized out of thin air.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

He was now basically certain that the green incense burner was not a one-time consumable. The green mark had formed after the incense burner attached itself to him. As long as he injected a little mana, he could summon it.

He happily examined the incense burner in his hand, then suddenly let out a soft "Oh?"

The other parts of the green incense burner were the same as before, but the Taiji diagram on it was dim and lusterless, unlike its previous brilliant radiance.

Yuan Ming's eyebrows rose. He fumbled with the Taiji diagram, even injecting mana into it, but the Taiji diagram showed no unusual reaction.

"It seems this Taiji diagram is related to some mechanism of the incense burner," he thought to himself. He then shifted his gaze to the two black incense sticks inside the burner, a contemplative look on his face.

Based on the situation before, lighting these two black incense sticks would allow him to traverse space and possess someone. With only two incense sticks left, it meant he had two more chances to traverse and possess others.

However, this incense burner was mysterious and had attached itself to him. If he couldn't grasp its full capabilities, he couldn't feel at ease.

After weighing his options for a long time, Yuan Ming gritted his teeth and reignited a fire, lighting a piece of cloth and bringing it close to one of the black incense sticks in the burner.

This time, he lit one of the two long incense sticks.

However, no matter how the flame burned, the black long incense stick showed no sign of igniting.

"What's going on? It lit up so easily before," Yuan Ming frowned, bringing the burning cloth wick closer to another black incense stick, but it still wouldn't light.

"Strange, could it be that this incense burner requires a certain condition to be met before lighting the incense for travel?" he muttered to himself, his gaze suddenly falling on the dim Yin-Yang Tai Chi symbol.

"Perhaps the incense can only be lit when the Tai Chi symbol is bright?" Yuan Ming guessed inwardly.

He couldn't think of any other reason. The only problem was how to make the Tai Chi symbol light up; he had no clue.

"Gulp..."

His stomach rumbled, and a strong sense of hunger interrupted his thoughts.

"Forget it, this incense burner is indeed very mysterious. It's unrealistic to figure it out in a short while. I'll deal with it later." Yuan Ming shook his head, no longer wasting his energy in vain.

He held the incense burner, considering how to put it away.

The incense burner had always returned to his right arm on its own before. He hadn't yet figured out how to store it.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the green ceramic incense burner suddenly became transparent, turning into a ball of green light and returning to his right arm, forming that mark.

"It really is a treasure." Yuan Ming's face lit up with joy, becoming even more convinced that the incense burner was a rare and valuable treasure.

However, even the most powerful treasure couldn't solve the problem of hunger.

He got up and went into the cave, taking out a piece of animal hide. Inside were five or six wild fruits, leftovers from before.

The meat in the cave was all gone. He still couldn't use the Fur Transformation Technique, and leaving the cave to forage for food was too dangerous. For now, he could only rely on these wild fruits to barely fill his stomach.

"I must master the Fur Transformation Technique before I run out of these fruits!" Yuan Ming secretly resolved. He grabbed a fruit and wolfed it down, his hunger slightly abated.

Without any delay, he immediately sat down cross-legged and began circulating the Nine Yuan Art.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby gathered, flowing into his body from various acupoints. Mana began to condense in his Dantian again.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Yuan Ming sat cross-legged in the cave, looking somewhat gaunt, his lips pale and dry.

At his age, he was still growing. One wild fruit a day was hardly enough to satisfy him; it could only sustain his life. Fortunately, his cultivation of the Nine Yuan Art was surprisingly smooth.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth continuously gathered from all directions, entering his meridians through the acupoints around his body. It then followed the routes of the Nine Yuan Art, transforming into wisps of mana.

The mana in his Dantian gathered from threads into strands, flowing slowly. After half a day, it formed a small vortex.

"Finally, a mana vortex has formed." Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

According to Elder Huohuo's previous words, forming a mana vortex meant that his mana had a small foundation, and he could now use the Fur Transformation Technique.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes and eagerly draped the White Ape Skin from his waist over himself. He formed hand seals and chanted incantations, activating the incantation for the Fur Transformation Technique that Elder Huohuo had taught him.

As he performed the spell, faint white light emanated from the White Ape Skin. Then, as if it came alive, it covered his body. Root-like blood-red patterns emerged from the inner side of the ape skin and burrowed into his body.

Yuan Ming clenched his fists, barely enduring the needle-like pain throughout his body.

However, as Elder Huohuo had said before, the pain of the Fur Transformation Technique was greatly reduced when he performed it himself.

The White Ape Skin quickly covered Yuan Ming's entire body, transforming him into a white humanoid ape. A powerful force surged through his entire being.

Yuan Ming looked at his furry appearance and let out a long sigh.

After twenty days, he had finally managed to use the Fur Transformation Technique on his own again. He now had the power to protect himself and was no longer a weak being without strength.

However, he had been starving for several days, and his body was weak and listless. The power surging within him was much less than before.

But Yuan Ming didn't pay too much attention to this. He was already very satisfied to have accumulated enough mana in five days to perform the Fur Transformation Technique.