Burning Incense

Seeing that his fingers were not seriously injured, Yuan Ming stopped paying attention to them and reached for the incense burner.

Just then, the last spark on the Black Incense went out completely. A hazy glow rose, and his fingers passed straight through the incense burner.

The next instant, the Green Ceramic Incense Burner vanished completely, turning into a streak of light that flew into the mark on his arm.

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted. His mind, which had still been somewhat muddled, instantly cleared.

He rolled up his right sleeve and saw the blue mark had appeared there again, only it no longer gave off any light.

Yuan Ming gently stroked the mark with his fingers. The memories of becoming the Young Emperor not long ago began surfacing in his mind bit by bit.

"It seems this incense burner merely sent me into the Young Emperor's body for a time. Once the time limit was up, it immediately returned to its original form." After pondering it briefly, he came to a realization.

The experience had been extremely novel. Young and hot-blooded, Yuan Ming could not help wanting to experience it again.

Unfortunately, there was not the slightest trace of mana left in his body, and he could not summon the incense burner.

"Though the incense burner's experience was mysterious, the most important thing right now is still cultivating enough mana to use the Fur Transformation Technique!" Yuan Ming steadied himself, cast aside his playful thoughts, and sat down cross-legged, about to circulate the Blood Qi Method.

"My progress with the Blood Qi Method is truly too slow. That Old Daoist Jade Pot bragged that the Nine Yuan Art accumulated mana extremely quickly. Why not give it a try?" A thought suddenly sprang into his mind.

Yet the Nine Yuan Art and the Blood Qi Method were two entirely different cultivation arts. Could the mana cultivated by this art be used to perform the Fur Transformation Technique?

"Never mind. I'll try it first and see."

Having made up his mind, Yuan Ming slowly closed his eyes and began carefully recalling the contents of the Nine Yuan Art, silently chanting it within his heart.

Before long, he felt the acupoints throughout his body slowly open. Spiritual energy from the outside seeped in through those opened acupoints, turning into threads of warm current that flowed through his eight extraordinary meridians.

"The Nine Yuan Art can actually absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through acupoints all over the body at once!" Yuan Ming was both shocked and delighted.

The Blood Qi Method could only use several easily controlled acupoints, such as the Yongquan points on the soles of the feet and the Baihui point atop the head, to connect with the outside world. In terms of acupoints alone, the Nine Yuan Art surpassed the Blood Qi Method by who knew how many times.

Yuan Ming continued meditating and circulating the art, breathing in and out the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

At first, the spiritual energy merely seeped in gradually. But as he continuously circulated it through the heavenly cycle, the speed at which it entered his body steadily increased. The entire process met with no delay or obstruction, leaving him incomparably refreshed.

Gradually, more and more spiritual energy gathered in his eight extraordinary meridians, slowly filling them until they felt somewhat swollen.

Yuan Ming did not know whether this was normal. He could only continue circulating the Nine Yuan Art and try to smooth out the spiritual energy. Before long, it formed a clear rushing current, entirely different from the faint, barely perceptible airflow of the Blood Qi Method.

He controlled the torrent of spiritual energy through one full cycle within his body before finally sinking it into his dantian.

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

Yuan Ming stared fixedly at the torrent of spiritual energy, afraid it would disperse again.

Yet his worries did not come to pass. The torrent smoothly broke through the bottleneck of his dantian and entered it.

"It succeeded that easily?" Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

The problem that had troubled him for half a month while cultivating the Blood Qi Method had now been resolved without a sound.

This was all due to the Nine Yuan Art. It was a genuine cultivation method, and its rank was unquestionably far above the Blood Qi Method. One could even say the two were not on the same level at all.

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

What Yuan Ming did not know was that the Nine Yuan Art was the top-tier introductory cultivation method of Changchun Temple in the Great Jin Kingdom of the Central Plains. Even ordinary inner disciples of Changchun Temple might not have the chance to glimpse it. Its guidance and attainments regarding the mysteries of cultivation were far beyond those of the Blood Qi Method, an ordinary cultivation art of the Southern Frontier.

Yuan Ming took a deep breath and continued circulating the art. The spiritual energy condensed in his dantian suddenly began to stir restlessly, like wild horses breaking free of the reins, as though it might charge about wildly.

He immediately recalled the phrase, "Let the spirit enter the Grand Void Garden, let the intent guard the dantian palace." At once, he gathered all his focus and consciousness, concentrating his attention on his dantian.

After a short while, the spiritual energy in his dantian became intensely hot, faintly seeming as if it were about to ignite.

Yuan Ming did not panic. Daoist Master Yuhu had already told him during his earlier guidance that this sensation was precisely the sign that spiritual energy was about to transform into mana.

He immediately sped up his silent recitation of the Nine Yuan Art, assisting that scorching spiritual energy in breaking through its shackles. Before long, it completed its final transformation and became a thread of faintly cool mana.

"The Nine Yuan Art is also far more brilliant than the Blood Qi Method when it comes to refining mana." Yuan Ming clicked his tongue in wonder.

He did not continue cultivating. Instead, he guided the mana he had just refined into his finger and pressed it against the blue mark on his right arm without hesitation.

Everything that had happened to him today had begun with this mysterious incense burner. In particular, he had stumbled into obtaining a heaven-defying cultivation method like the Nine Yuan Art. He could not help wanting to summon the incense burner again and see whether it might bring him other fortuitous encounters.

Just as he had expected, the mark emitted a suction force once more and swallowed that thread of mana. Blue light flashed over the mark, and the mysterious incense burner appeared out of thin air.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming let out a breath of relief.

He could now basically confirm that the blue incense burner was not a one-use consumable. The blue mark had formed after the incense burner attached itself to him, and as long as he injected a little mana into it, he could summon it forth.

He happily examined the incense burner in his hand, then suddenly gave a soft cry.

Every other part of the blue incense burner was the same as before, except the taiji pattern on it was dim and lusterless, no longer shining brilliantly as it had earlier.

Yuan Ming raised his brows and felt around the taiji pattern. He even channeled mana into it, yet nothing unusual happened.

"It seems this taiji diagram is connected 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, his expression turning contemplative.

Judging by what had happened before, lighting these two black incense sticks would allow him to cross space and possess someone's body. Only two incense sticks remained, which meant he still had two chances to travel and possess others.

But the incense burner was unfathomably mysterious, and it had attached itself to him. Unless he grasped the full picture, he truly could not set his mind at ease.

After weighing the matter for a long time, Yuan Ming gritted his teeth and started a fire again. He lit a scrap of cloth and brought it close to the black incense sticks in the burner.

This time, he tried to light one of the two long incense sticks.

Yet no matter how the flame scorched it, the long black incense stick showed no sign of catching fire.

"What's going on? It clearly lit so easily before." Yuan Ming frowned and brought the burning scrap of cloth near the other long black incense stick, but it likewise would not ignite.

"How strange. Could it be that this incense burner needs some condition met before the incense can be lit for travel?" he muttered, his gaze suddenly falling upon the dim yin-yang taiji pattern.

"Perhaps the incense can only be lit when this taiji pattern is glowing?" Yuan Ming guessed inwardly.

Other than that, he could think of no other possibility. Yet he had no clue how to make the taiji pattern light up.

"Grrr..."

His stomach rumbled like a drum, and a fierce hunger surged up, interrupting his thoughts.

"Forget it. This incense burner really is mysterious. It is unrealistic to hope to investigate it thoroughly in a short time. I'll deal with it later." Yuan Ming shook his head and stopped wasting his efforts.

Holding the incense burner in his palm, he considered how to store it back inside his body.

The incense burner had previously returned to his right arm on its own. He had yet to comprehend the method of putting it away.

The moment that thought arose, the blue incense burner suddenly became transparent, turning into a mass of blue light and shadow that returned to his right arm, forming that mark.

"It truly is a treasure." Delight appeared on Yuan Ming's face, and he became even more convinced that the incense burner was a rare treasure.

But no matter how powerful a treasure was, it could not solve the problem of an empty stomach.

He rose and went deeper into the earthen cave, taking out a piece of beast hide that contained five or six wild fruits left over from before.

The meat in the cave had already been eaten clean. He still could not use the Fur Transformation Technique, and leaving the cave to search for food was far too dangerous. For now, he could only rely on these wild fruits to barely make an offering to the temple of his five organs.

"I must master the Fur Transformation Technique before the fruit runs out!" Yuan Ming silently made up his mind. He grabbed a fruit and wolfed it down, and the fire of hunger abated slightly.

Without wasting a moment, he immediately sat down cross-legged and circulated the Nine Yuan Art.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby gathered toward him, pouring into his body through acupoints all over him. Mana began condensing in his dantian once more.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

Yuan Ming sat cross-legged within the earthen cave. His whole body looked somewhat haggard, and his lips were pale and cracked.

At his age, when he was still growing, how could one wild fruit a day possibly fill him? It could only barely keep him alive. Fortunately, the cultivation of the Nine Yuan Art went astonishingly smoothly.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered continuously from all directions, entering his meridians through the acupoints around his body. It then circulated according to the route of the Nine Yuan Art, transforming into threads of mana.

The mana in his dantian gathered from threads into strands, slowly circulating. Half a day later, it formed a small vortex.

"I've finally formed a mana vortex." Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

According to what Elder Huohuo had said earlier, condensing a mana vortex meant one had established a small foundation in mana and could use the Fur Transformation Technique.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes and impatiently draped the White Ape Skin from his waist over himself. Forming hand seals and chanting an incantation, he activated the Fur Transformation Technique formula Elder Huohuo had taught him along with it.

As he cast the technique, threads of white light appeared over the White Ape Skin. Then, as though it had come alive, it covered his body. Blood-red patterns like roots emerged from the inner side of the ape skin and plunged into his body.

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

However, just as Elder Huohuo had said before, since he was casting the technique himself, the pain of the Fur Transformation Technique was greatly reduced.

The White Ape Skin quickly covered Yuan Ming's entire body, transforming him into a white ape-man. A powerful strength filled his body.

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

After twenty days, he had finally used the Fur Transformation Technique through his own efforts once more. He had gained the strength to protect himself and was no longer a weak, powerless existence.

Still, he had gone hungry for several days, and his body was weak and feeble. The strength surging within him was much less than before.

Yet Yuan Ming did not care much about that. Being able to accumulate enough mana in five days and use the Fur Transformation Technique had already left him completely satisfied.