Spiritual Fiends Surge, Supreme Palm Seals: Blazing Sun, Netherworld, Heart Guardian, Dragon Might

Chapter 38: Spiritual Tide Surges, Traces of Sorcery

While the surprise was welcome, the Mass Grave Hill was, after all, a dangerous place, not somewhere to linger.

Lin Zhao bent down and searched another corpse wearing a ghost-face mask. He only found over twenty taels of loose silver—judging by the appearance, it was a destitute wandering Martial Master.

As a high-level Martial Master, to only have this much wealth on him was truly pathetic!

After a thorough inventory, Lin Zhao had confiscated a total of over three thousand four hundred taels in silver notes and loose silver, along with two fine horses.

"A horse doesn't get fat without night fodder, and a person doesn't get rich without windfalls!" Lin Zhao truly understood now. The money earned from his Blacksmithing Livelihood and farm yields previously was like a drop in the bucket compared to this "Gaining Wealth from the Jianghu"!

But then he thought again and quickly suppressed his greed: "I can't get addicted to this path! If I engage in too much plundering, I'll eventually slip up and fall. It's better to stick to an honest livelihood."

He bundled up all the weapons and armor from the ground, slung them onto the horse, and then mounted the magnificent Dark Steed of the middle-aged man.

He muttered to himself, "I didn't want to act personally, but you were a subordinate of Duke Wei, so don't blame Lin Zhao." With that, he spurred his horse towards Night Raven Tower's Northern Garrison City outpost.

Under the cover of night, Lin Zhao crept into the outpost silently. He saw that the courtyard was covered in cobwebs and thick dust, long abandoned by its inhabitants, leaving only a chilling silence.

"What are Night Raven Tower's plans? Are they really going to send top experts? Are they their 'diamond-level assassins' who can contend with Heavenly Gang Realm Grandmaster Warriors, or perhaps an even more formidable 'Night Raven Master'?" Lin Zhao couldn't fathom their intentions and dared not stay long. Under the moonlight, he rode his horse away from Northern Garrison City and headed straight for Lin Family Fortress.

This trip's harvest far exceeded his expectations.

He had initially only hoped to buy a usable cultivation technique, but he unexpectedly obtained such a treasure as the Spirit Taming Secret Record—compared to it, the Iron Rhinoceros Technique and Brute Ox Technique were merely supporting acts, not worth mentioning.

After safely returning to Lin Family Fortress, Lin Zhao first threw the confiscated weapons to the blacksmith workshop, instructing the artisans to dismantle and reforge them. He then impatiently retreated into the secret chamber, taking out the yellowed Spirit Taming Secret Record to study it carefully. Although the ink on the ancient parchment had faded somewhat, the characters were still clearly legible:

"While the world enjoys the Great Ming's imperial grace and peace, our Four Great Clans fight an endless, deadly battle in the shadows against those terrifying fiends considered mere 'legends of the Jianghu.'

Since the founding of the Great Ming, the 'Spiritual Fiend Energy' that had been dormant for a hundred years has quietly begun to revive.

Unfortunately, only our Four Great Clans are aware of this strange energy fluctuation.

Our ancestors repeatedly submitted memorials to the imperial court, wishing to publicize the revival of Spiritual Fiend Energy and implore the recall of those Sorcery Warriors banished due to the 'Sorcery Dispute' to jointly resist the calamity of the Spiritual Tide.

However, the imperial court dismissed our ancestors as 'remnants of sorcery spreading false rumors,' and since then, we have had to hide in the Jianghu, bearing this responsibility alone.

But I know deeply that one day, when Spiritual Fiend Energy sweeps across the land, and the barrier between the otherworldly and the present world's mystic energy cracks, those 'Otherworldly Fiends' that the imperial court fears and the royal family dreads will inevitably reappear.

Paper cannot forever contain fire. When the world witnesses the rampant evil spirits with their own eyes, the imperial court will surely regret it.

And what can save all this is not the royal family secluded in the imperial palace, nor the incompetent government, but the Sorcery Warriors who, before the founding of the Great Ming, angered the founding emperor and voluntarily exiled themselves to the [Realm of Unfettered Intent]!

I, Wen Shijie, the last 'Spirit Taming Warrior' of the Wen Clan, and my close friend Kang Tianyou—the last 'Exorcist Warrior' of the Kang Clan, were unfortunately trapped in a Spiritual Fiend secret realm while jointly killing an Otherworldly Fiend.

My friend has perished, and I am also at the end of my strength, with little time left.

When I left home, the bloodline descendants of my clan were still infants. I carry my old friend's dying wish and have recorded the 'Blazing Sun Palm Seal' and 'Netherworld Palm Seal' of the Kang family, along with the 'Heart Guardian Palm Seal' and 'Dragon Might Palm Seal' of my Wen family—the insights from these four lifelong studied palm seal techniques—in this scroll.

If a destined person obtains this secret record, I hope they can find the descendants of the Wen and Kang families and hand it over. They will surely be greatly rewarded. If they cannot be found, this item is nothing but waste paper to you. Remember, do not attempt to cultivate it forcefully, lest your internal energy becomes disordered!

—Wen Shijie, Year 9 of Great Ming's Zhengtong Era, Grain Rain."

Lin Zhao read it word by word, feeling that this thin scroll of parchment contained such astonishing information.

"Firstly, this secret record is not a sorcery inheritance, but a special palm seal technique of the Four Great Clans—activated by a special internal energy, it requires no bloodline but needs a corresponding mental cultivation method to complement it. It can be considered a top-tier technique among high martial arts.

Although it cannot compare to divine-grade internal energy cultivation, its advantage lies in its ability to restrain Spiritual Fiends, making it a rare 'evil-warding technique' in the Jianghu.

Secondly, the so-called 'Spiritual Tide' is the revival of Spiritual Fiend Energy in the world.

Those 'otherworldly existences' are Otherworldly Fiends that break through the cracks in the Spiritual Fiend Energy.

The royal family is not unaware, they simply refuse to admit it and even banished those who can fight fiends, the Sorcery Warriors... The imperial court's intentions are quite complex.

Finally, Sorcery Warriors do exist, but they went to the [Realm of Unfettered Intent] as early as the founding of the dynasty—that is a mystic energy secret realm independent of the present world. Its entrance is hidden within ordinary things, perhaps an ancient temple's bronze bell, an old house's wooden box, or even an old book. But without a Sorcery Warrior to guide them, mortals can never find it."

"As for the Four Great Clans, the 'Spirit Taming Warrior' Wen Clan, the 'Exorcist Warrior' Kang Clan, the 'Demon Suppressing Warrior' Fan Clan, and the 'Monster Slaying Warrior' Deng Clan... The Fan and Deng families disappeared two hundred years ago. The last inheritors of the Wen and Kang families were also a hundred years ago. I don't know if there are any descendants still alive."

Lin Zhao mumbled to himself, stroking his chin, his direction gradually becoming clearer: directly seeking out legendary reclusive sorcerers, like the "Hermit Luo" or "Gu Yuewei" rumored in the Jianghu, would be like searching for a needle in a haystack; but finding the descendants of the Wen and Kang families had a better chance—after all, only a hundred years have passed, and the probability of bloodline continuation is not small.

With his direction confirmed, Lin Zhao's mood became even more cheerful. His gaze fell on the four palm seal techniques recorded in the latter half of the scroll, and a hint of anticipation flashed in his eyes: "Since the Proficiency Panel can ignore bloodline restrictions and allow me to cultivate various bloodline internal energy techniques, then these palm seal techniques driven by internal energy should also be trainable, right?"

Up to this point, Lin Zhao had cultivated numerous internal energy cultivation methods without ever experiencing a qi deviation.

Once there were any signs of abnormality, he would immediately stop cultivating. Everything has been normal so far, which should be a hidden effect of the Proficiency Panel.

Lin Zhao planned to master the incantations on this Spirit Taming Secret Record first, and then return it to the descendants of the Wen or Kang families.

Among the Four Symbols Dharma Seals, the ones passed down by the Kang family are the "Blazing Sun Seal" and the "Netherworld Seal."

The Blazing Sun Seal can activate scorching internal energy from the palm, wrapping medicinal powder to ignite and erupt into a stream. Its power depends on two factors: first, bloodline compatibility. The purer the Kang family bloodline, the higher the compatibility with the internal energy circulation method in the incantation, and the fiercer the flame.

However, the Kang family bloodline has gradually thinned with each generation, leading to a daily decrease in internal energy compatibility and a successive decline in power.

They once attempted to avoid this situation through close-kin marriages, but after giving birth to several generations of deformed children, the family finally accepted this unchangeable fact.

The second factor determining the power of the flame stream is the depth of cultivation.

The higher the cultivation level, the more vigorous the internal energy mobilized by the incantation, and the stronger the flame stream.

In essence, the incantation is a simplified application method of an ultimate martial art.

The "Blazing Sun Seal" is actually a weakened version of the incantation for the Jianghu ultimate martial art, "Heaven Burning Palm."

The "Netherworld Seal" is a simplified version of the high-level secret technique, "Corpse Control Art."

The latter can control newly deceased bodies using a special internal energy, while the former can only inject icy internal energy into existing corpses to drive their actions. These controlled objects are called "Walking Corpse Puppets," and their combat power depends on the strength of the corpse's owner in life, though they will always be a few points weaker. They are suitable as cannon fodder.

The "Heart Guardian Seal" passed down by the Wen Clan is a simplified version of the ultimate martial skill, "Body Protecting Aura." It can condense internal energy around the body to form a protective layer, offering strong resistance to physical attacks and also warding off the icy intrusions of malevolent spirits.

The final "Dragon Might Seal" is an offensive seal of the Wen Clan. It is said to require the blood of a Scaled Earth Dragon as a catalyst to be performed.

This can be any mountain forest ancient dragon, sub-dragon variant, or even a mixed-blood dragon descendant. The purer the beast's blood essence, the higher the power.

However, the Wen Clan usually uses the blood of ordinary exotic beasts like the Scaled Earth Dragon from the Taihang Mountains, which aren't even considered mixed-blood dragon descendants, to perform the technique. What shocked Lin Zhao was that this method could actually barely work.

Based on this, the Wen Clan inferred that the Scaled Earth Dragon might be a remnant bloodline from the combination of ancient mixed-blood dragon descendants and common beasts.

The blood of the Scaled Earth Dragon itself is not rare. Hunters in the Taihang Mountains often obtain it, and the yield is much greater than Pangolin Dragon Essence. Lin Zhao was not worried about a shortage of this material.

The Dragon Might Seal is a special internal energy attack that can use exotic beast blood essence to intimidate the enemy's mind and even directly strike the origin of internal energy of those who practice evil arts, posing the greatest threat to malevolent spirits!

It is the Wen Clan's trump card, which is why their family is also known as "Spirit Taming Warriors."

Among the Four Great Clans within Great Ming, apart from the Kang Clan, each has its own specialty: the Wen Clan excels against malevolent spirits, the Fan Clan specializes in countering exotic beasts and demons, and the Deng Clan can control demon races.

The Kang Clan is more versatile, capable of dealing with all sorts of malevolent spirits.

"Blazing Sun, Netherworld, Heart Guardian, Dragon Might."

"Which path should I cultivate first?" Lin Zhao muttered to himself.

"Never mind, I'll learn them all, and then see which seal's materials are easier to obtain, and focus on cultivating that one."

Lin Zhao immediately began studying the hand seals and the techniques for circulating internal energy for the Dharma Seals.

"It's a pity that the Spirit Suppressing Secret Record doesn't contain any Mind Calming Meditation Methods. If it did, I might be able to try cultivating it and prepare to become a Spirit Suppressing Warrior."

Although he had not yet become a Spirit Taming Warrior, based on the current intelligence gathered and the descriptions in the Spirit Suppressing Secret Record, the three fundamental pillars for cultivating a Spirit Taming Warrior are: first, a "Mind Calming Meditation Method" to temper the mind; second, "internal energy," which is the source of power for performing seals; and third, an "Internal Energy Circulation Diagram," which is the "core" for transforming internal energy into various seals.

The spellcasting materials are merely a medium; not all seals require external substances.

Lin Zhao was already content to have obtained the seal techniques.

He immediately began studying the hand gestures for forming the Four Symbols Dharma Seals. From initial awkwardness to growing proficiency, Lin Zhao gradually understood the intricacies of internal energy circulation.

In his mind, the key points for cultivating the Four Symbols Dharma Seals were being imprinted over time. Lin Zhao forgot to eat and sleep, dedicating himself to practicing.

Only when he was ravenously hungry did he realize he had been engrossed in practicing the seals for an entire day.

Opening the Proficiency Panel, there was no entry for the Dharma Seals yet.

"It seems the timing isn't right. Perhaps to be recorded by the Proficiency Panel, one needs to use the spellcasting materials to successfully activate the internal energy. Otherwise, no matter how skilled the hand gestures are, the seal cannot be successfully performed."

Lin Zhao got up to stretch his muscles and ordered the household retainers to search for and collect the spellcasting materials.

Among the materials currently required for the Four Symbols Dharma Seals, with his current knowledge, he could only gather those for the "Blazing Sun Seal": Sulfur Stone Powder, Oak Charcoal Powder, and Ash from Hundred-Year-Old Grave Bones.

"This is a fire attack catalyst used by Spirit Taming Warriors?" Lin Zhao chuckled.

As for the "Dragon Might Seal," in addition to Scaled Earth Dragon blood, it also requires "Wicked Bone Fragments," or bone powder left behind after a practitioner of evil arts dies.

The problem is whether Lin Zhao can defeat them, let alone obtain "Wicked Bone Fragments."

"If I can kill a malevolent spirit myself, what use would the Dragon Might Seal be?" Lin Zhao couldn't help but laugh and cry.

The "Netherworld Seal" requires "Icy Marrow," which is something that can only condense within creatures in the extremely cold and harsh northern regions, eroded by malevolent cold. Lin Zhao had never heard of it.

Regarding such creatures, he did have a guess: the "Cold Fiend Corpse Fiend" that appeared in the harsh, cold regions of Nurgan Regional Military Command in the far north. According to surviving wandering warriors, it is highly likely to be a variant that condenses Icy Marrow.

And the "Heart Guardian Seal," which warriors like Lin Zhao who focus on defense desire most, requires a material called "Radiant Stone."

This item, like Mithril and Mystic Iron, is produced from extraterrestrial meteorites, but it is even rarer than the latter two, to the point that Lin Zhao had never heard of it.

Without spellcasting materials, Lin Zhao had no choice but to put aside the seals for the time being and continue cultivating his internal energy.

Several days later, the materials for the Blazing Sun Seal were finally gathered, and Lin Zhao could finally attempt to activate the seal.