Escape Technique: Soaring with the Wind

Chen Heng drew a deep breath and turned his gaze to the last—and most exquisite—storage pouch on the table.

This pouch was neither silk nor brocade. It felt warm and supple to the touch, its surface flowing with fine spirit patterns. It was precisely the exclusive storage pouch Luo Yu Lei wore close to his body, marking his status as a direct descendant of the Luo Family.

Its material alone far surpassed the storage pouches of Rogue Cultivators like Li Zheng and Wang Yi. The faint spiritual fluctuations leaking from it showed that the space within had to be vast as well.

Brushing away the faint remnant spiritual imprint and mana restriction at its opening, Chen Heng poured in his mana and easily erased the restriction.

The moment he opened it, dense spiritual qi mixed with a faint, elegant fragrance wafted out.

Even Chen Heng, who had prepared himself mentally, could not help but have his eyes light up at the sight within.

The first thing that met his eyes was a small mountain of Spirit Stones, stacked in neat rows.

Their number far exceeded the combined total of Li Zheng's and the others'.

Chen Heng swept them with his spiritual sense and immediately knew the count: a full three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!

Moreover, most of them were fire-attributed Spirit Stones, perfectly suited to his use.

This alone revealed the extravagant wealth of the Luo Family's young master.

Though there were no mid-grade Spirit Stones, adding these three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones brought his total to nearly ten thousand. Even many late Qi Refining cultivators might not possess such a fortune.

As the saying went, horses did not grow fat without night grass, and men did not grow rich without windfalls.

The ancients truly did not deceive me!

Besides that, bottles and jars were piled in one corner. Quite a few bore jade labels marked with the distinctive seal of Azure Profound Sect's pill hall, including several costly first-rank top-grade pills Chen Heng had seen listed in the Chen Family's pill catalog.

They must have been deliberately given by Luo Yuyan, who was now cultivating at the Azure Profound Sect. After all, Luo Yu Lei was her full-blooded younger brother.

His aptitude was not bad either. He possessed a sixth-grade fire spirit root, so his chances of entering the Azure Profound Sect to cultivate in the future were considerable.

Several neatly folded dharma robes lay nearby, their spiritual light restrained. Their patterns were ornate, and they clearly bore the Luo Family crest and defensive runes.

There were also two first-rank top-grade dharma artifacts: the Nine Flame Fan and the Flowing Fire Shield. One for offense and one for defense, both were quite valuable.

These were all items difficult to sell in Southern Foothills Market. He would have to find a black market someday to dispose of the stolen goods.

In another corner lay a folding fan already covered in dust—the Green Bamboo Folding Fan he had personally refined for Luo Yu Lei. Clearly, though, Luo Yu Lei had not thought much of this dharma artifact.

Chen Heng took it out, turned it over in his hands for a while, then placed it in his own storage pouch. He still liked this treasured fan he had personally refined.

There were also medicinal herbs and precious materials taking up considerable space, varied in type and mixed in quality.

They were likely all purchased by Young Master Luo at the South Foothill Gathering from those Rogue Cultivator vendors.

Yet what drew Chen Heng's attention most were the two jade slips placed separately in the depths of the storage pouch.

One was lustrous and jade-like, its surface flowing with the gleam of delicate artifact patterns. The other was even more unusual, emitting a pale blue-white glow throughout and giving off an agile, ethereal feeling. Its material was the rare Wind Spirit Jade.

Chen Heng first placed the jade slip covered in flowing artifact patterns against his forehead.

His spiritual sense entered it, and information surged into his mind like a tide—the Abbreviated Secret Manual of Luo Family Artifact Refining.

It indeed recorded some foundational methods of artifact refining accumulated by the Luo Family over many years, techniques for identifying spiritual materials, and refinement diagrams for several first-rank and second-rank dharma artifacts.

It seemed Luo Yu Lei was also devoted to the path of artifact refining.

Though this Secret Manual of Artifact Refining was not a core Luo Family inheritance, it still held considerable value for Chen Heng.

After all, stones from other mountains could be used to polish jade. This would enrich his knowledge of artifact refining as well.

With a trace of anticipation, Chen Heng carefully picked up the Wind Spirit Jade slip that emitted a pale blue-white radiance.

As his spiritual sense sank into it, an abstruse comprehension of the paths of wind between heaven and earth, and the circulation of its aura, instantly flooded his sea of consciousness.

At the beginning of the jade slip stood several large characters steeped in ancient antiquity: Soaring with the Wind!

This was actually an exceedingly rare secret flying escape technique!

And it was only first-rank top-grade, meaning even Qi Refining cultivators could learn it.

The text was obscure, yet it contained the supreme principles of the Great Dao. It explained in detail how to sense the origin of wind, use one's mana to resonate with the wind spiritual qi between heaven and earth, and thereby achieve "a body like willow fluff, feet treading upon the clear breeze," crossing a hundred li in an instant with ease.

Its core mystery lay in borrowing the soft, gentle force of the wind to bear one's body aloft, then using mana to break through wind resistance. Its speed was astonishing, while its expenditure was far lower than ordinary artifact-riding flight!

According to the jade slip, this technique was divided into several stages:

When first entering the gate, one could ride the wind to glide short distances, making one's movement technique even more ghostly and unpredictable.

After fully grasping it, one could truly travel upon the wind, at speeds far surpassing ordinary flying dharma artifacts.

Upon cultivating it to great completion, one could even "stand upon the void," hovering briefly in the air without external support. One could even make all manner of unimaginable turns and evasive maneuvers in midair. It was truly a supreme art for combat, travel, and escape!

"This is actually a precious escape technique manual that even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators might not possess!" Chen Heng was beside himself with joy.

Techniques like this were the sort that were available at a price but impossible to buy even at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Southern Foothills Market. They were often secret transmissions of sects or closely guarded arts of high-level cultivators.

This should be one of the Luo Family's core inheritances. But perhaps because it was difficult and obscure, Luo Yu Lei had kept this jade slip on him, intending to ponder it at all times.

After all, there were no shortcuts to cultivating techniques. If one's comprehension was insufficient, one could only practice diligently.

In that case, it had fallen right into his lap.

He carefully studied the introductory section, mobilizing the water and fire true essence within his body. His mana circulated through him as though following a map, as he tentatively tried to resonate with the wind spiritual qi between heaven and earth.

At once, a subtle sense of lightness gradually spread through his feet.

With a slight movement of thought, his body seemed to grow several degrees lighter, and he felt a faint, almost imperceptible affinity with the flow of air around him.

Yet he was still far from truly rising off the ground. That would require a great deal of time for comprehension and practice.

Even so, it was already wondrous beyond measure.

"What a Soaring with the Wind!" Chen Heng gently set down the jade slip, his eyes gleaming.

"Though it is a wind-based escape technique, it does not conflict much with the cultivation method I practice. I can absolutely cultivate it!"

"And with this technique paired with my Fiery Eyes Water Ape Transformation, I'll seize every advantage in advancing, retreating, evading, and dodging in future battles! Luo Yu Lei, oh Luo Yu Lei, I, Chen, shall not stand on ceremony in accepting this 'great gift' of yours!"

To cultivate a technique, it had to suit one's own Dao Path. Otherwise, whenever it was activated, one's true essence would first have to flow in reverse, and one would only injure oneself.

This was common knowledge in the cultivation world.

Chen Heng solemnly placed the jade slip deep within his storage pouch. Looking at the vast harvest he had sorted out, a surge of bold spirit rose in his heart.

This unexpected fortune was enough to support his cultivation needs for a long time to come.

A smile tugged at Chen Heng's lips as he put all his gains in order.

He began considering how to make the greatest possible use of Luo Yu Lei's nude image recording, ensuring that the Luo Family's young master would never again wish to visit Bamboo Branch Mountain.

As for the black market, he could send a message to ask Wen Ning.

As a Rogue Cultivator, she should know something about it.

Still, there was no rush to seek out a black market. He had to avoid being found by the Luo Family while disposing of the stolen goods.

Chen Heng had no desire to stir up further trouble and affect his cultivation.

By then, daylight had fully broken, and the market outside Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion had become thoroughly bustling.

It was even a little noisy.