There were quite a few concealment-type arts, but most were movement techniques or footwork techniques. After searching for a long time, she had not found a single art capable of concealing cultivation.
"Could it be that there simply isn't any art capable of concealing cultivation?"
Xu Chunniang set down the art in her hands and helplessly picked up another one. After reading a few pages, she shook her head and tossed it aside. "There's even one for concealing spiritual energy..."
"Ah, wait!"
Xu Chunniang hurriedly picked up the art she had just thrown aside and carefully read through it again.
"Hidden Spirit Art: after cultivation, one can control the spiritual energy around one's body, thereby concealing one's cultivation. At most, it can conceal three levels of cultivation. It can only conceal one's cultivation from cultivators of the same realm and is ineffective against higher-realm cultivators."
Seeing this, relief appeared on Xu Chunniang's face.
She had truly searched herself stupid. Concealing spiritual energy was the same as concealing cultivation, wasn't it? She had nearly thrown this book away.
"I finally found it!"
After picking up the Hidden Spirit Art, Xu Chunniang headed toward the Earth element sorcery section. Since she had gone through such trouble to come to the Scripture Pavilion, she might as well choose an Earth element sorcery while she was here.
Earth-element support arts were not difficult to find. The difficult part was choosing suitable ones from among so many arts.
She picked through and compared quite a few arts before finally finding a copy of the Earth Moistening Technique.
"Earth Moistening Technique: after casting it, one can transform one's spiritual power into earth spiritual energy, thereby improving the soil and enriching the spiritual energy within it."
Fine, this one it was.
Holding the two arts, Xu Chunniang went to the Merit Pavilion's administration desk to have them copied.
The female cultivator in charge glanced at the two arts on the table. When she saw the red Hidden Spirit Art, a trace of surprise appeared in her normally placid eyes.
The disciple before her was only at the second level of Qi Condensation. At a glance, she could tell that Xu Chunniang was one of the new disciples admitted this time.
Rarely, she spoke up to offer a reminder. "Although the Hidden Spirit Art can conceal cultivation, it only works when one does not use spiritual energy. Once you fight someone and lose control of your spiritual energy, it becomes difficult to conceal your cultivation any longer."
At this point, the female administrator paused.
Naturally, there were people who could fight others without revealing any flaw while using the Hidden Spirit Art to conceal their cultivation. But doing so was exceedingly difficult, and she did not believe a minor Qi Condensation cultivator could manage it.
"Your cultivation is still low. There is no need for you to conceal it at all. You would be better off choosing another, more practical art."
Xu Chunniang was slightly stunned. She had not known that the Hidden Spirit Art had such a limitation.
However, she had searched through all the concealment-type arts and was quite certain that only this art could conceal her cultivation.
Thus, after only a brief hesitation, Xu Chunniang quickly nodded again.
"This disciple is certain. I'll choose these two."
Seeing this, the female administrator said no more. She merely lifted her eyelids. "Ten spirit stones."
She had only reminded this disciple because Xu Chunniang had reached the second level of Qi Condensation after merely half a year in the sect, which was rare even in the outer sect. Since the disciple was determined to choose the Hidden Spirit Art, she would not stop her.
Xu Chunniang scooped every spirit stone from her Storage Bag. There were exactly ten, not one more and not one less.
With a light sweep of the female administrator's hand over the table, the spirit stones vanished. Immediately afterward, two brand-new Jade Slips appeared in her hands.
Not long after, she placed the copied Jade Slips on the table and spoke indifferently. "Same old rule: arts are strictly forbidden from being passed on to others. Violators will bear the consequences themselves."
Xu Chunniang accepted the Jade Slips and nodded solemnly.
After returning to her residence, Xu Chunniang decided to set the Spring Growth Technique aside and cultivate the Hidden Spirit Art first.
Grain Abstinence Pills could only be collected in a two-month allotment at most. Every two months, she had to visit the Dining Hall once.
The sooner she learned the Hidden Spirit Art and concealed her cultivation properly, the less attention she would attract.
The Hidden Spirit Art had three stages. Each stage learned could conceal one level of cultivation, and its key lay in the word "hide."
Setting down the Jade Slip, Xu Chunniang's eyes flickered with contemplation.
"By suppressing and concealing the spiritual energy within the body, reducing its fluctuations, one can create the illusion of lower cultivation. If it is merely suppressing spiritual energy, it may be somewhat difficult, but I am somewhat confident I can do it."
After saying this, Xu Chunniang sank her qi into her dantian and began suppressing the spiritual energy within her body.
After practicing the Spiritual Rain Technique thousands of times, Xu Chunniang's control over spiritual energy had become exceptionally skilled and precise. Without much effort, she compressed the spiritual energy in her body by half.
Yet after being compressed, the spiritual energy did not lessen in fluctuation as Xu Chunniang had imagined. Instead, due to the compression, its fluctuations became even more violent.
Her true cultivation had only just broken through to the second level of Qi Condensation.
The pressure revealed by her current spiritual energy fluctuations was actually slightly stronger than before, making her seem unlike someone who had just made a breakthrough.
"Something's not right... The spiritual energy fluctuations have grown stronger."
Frowning, Xu Chunniang sensed it for a moment before directly giving up control of her spiritual energy. Immediately, the suppressed spiritual energy slowly spread out and returned to its original state.
She picked up the Jade Slip again and began studying it.
"It clearly says here that suppressing spiritual energy can reduce its fluctuations. Why did the fluctuations become more intense after I compressed it?"
A trace of confusion flashed through Xu Chunniang's eyes as she tried again. But the result was the same as before.
"Let's compress it further! Once the spiritual energy is compressed to the extreme, perhaps a new change will occur!"
As Xu Chunniang sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations, she increased the force with which she compressed her spiritual energy. Soon, it was compressed twofold, threefold...
And correspondingly, the pressure of its spiritual energy fluctuations grew ever more violent!
"Still no turning point?" Beads of sweat appeared on Xu Chunniang's forehead. By now, the spiritual energy in her body had been compressed an astonishing fivefold!
The originally light and ethereal spiritual energy visibly grew denser under fivefold compression.
The pressure of the spiritual energy emanating from her body had reached the peak of the second level of Qi Condensation, only a hair's breadth away from the third level Qi Condensation.
Xu Chunniang vaguely realized that something was amiss, but since the spiritual energy had not yet been fully compressed, she would not stop.
Compressing, continuing to compress... Under her control, the spiritual energy in its fivefold-compressed state changed once more!
And the spiritual energy pressure that had remained at the peak of the second level of Qi Condensation suddenly transformed, as though it had broken through some barrier. Its pressure increased by more than double, reaching the third level Qi Condensation!
Xu Chunniang was exhausted. For that final degree of compression, she had mobilized every scrap of her concentration and spent more time and effort than on the previous fivefold compression combined. She had no spare attention to observe the fluctuations of her own spiritual energy.
Once she caught her breath and carefully sensed herself, Xu Chunniang's eyes widened in shock.
"What's going on? Why has the spiritual energy pressure around me become so strong? It's nearly three times my own! This kind of spiritual energy pressure can only be emitted by a cultivator at the third level Qi Condensation, right?"
Realizing this, Xu Chunniang felt dizzy.
She had clearly cultivated the Hidden Spirit Art in order to conceal her spiritual energy pressure and thus hide her true cultivation. Why had that pressure increased rather than decreased after cultivating it?
"I must have done something wrong somewhere."
Xu Chunniang withdrew her suppression of the spiritual energy. Immediately, the spiritual energy compressed to the extreme scattered in all directions.
As the spiritual energy dispersed, the pressure around her gradually declined, dropping from the third level Qi Condensation to the peak of the second level Qi Condensation, then to the late second level Qi Condensation...
Finally, it fell to the early second level Qi Condensation that matched her actual cultivation.
Sensing the changes in the spiritual energy pressure around her, a flash of understanding appeared in Xu Chunniang's eyes. "So that's how it is. I understand now!"
She closed her eyes and gently pressed her spiritual energy outward!
The aura around her immediately changed, making her appear to be at the second level Qi Condensation but teetering on the verge of falling back to the first level.
Xu Chunniang pressed down fiercely once more. Her cultivation immediately "fell" to the peak of the first level Qi Condensation, then to the late, middle, and early stages of the first level Qi Condensation, until finally, it became spiritual energy entering the body!
Xu Chunniang still felt unsatisfied. Compared to compressing spiritual energy inward, suppressing it outward was easier by an unknown margin.
It was simply that her cultivation had already been suppressed to its lowest point and could not be suppressed any further.
Feeling the spiritual energy around her, she muttered, "For now, it seems I can only suppress it as low as the spiritual energy entering the body stage."
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