Three Skill Books

It was a full half hour before that strenuous sensation suddenly vanished.

The blinding divine light dispersed with it. Qin Yang's eyes streamed with tears from the glare. Even after the light faded, all he saw upon opening his eyes was a vast expanse of white, nearly blinding him.

After adapting for a while longer, he could finally make out his surroundings vaguely. The little brat's remains were still there, only now they carried an added trace of peace.

There were unexpectedly three light spheres in his palm.

One was a golden sphere, its interior flickering with light so that he could not see what it contained. Of the other two, one was blue and one was purple.

Within the blue sphere was a blue-covered book, brimming with an imposing aura. Clouds curled around it, and hair-thin lightning flashed amid the mist. Eight large characters were written on its cover.

Shangqing Cloud Piercing Lightning Guiding Secret Method.

The purple sphere contained no book, only countless strange runes gathered into a ball. A layer of flames coiled around its surface, warping everything within. Yet among the outermost runes were several of the largest ones. Qin Yang did not recognize them, but he instantly understood their meaning.

Divine Power, Thunderfire.

Holding the three light spheres, Qin Yang remained unresponsive for a long while, still dazed.

Just who was this little brat?

One golden light sphere, one purple divine power, and one blue secret method.

The color of what he pulled out did indeed represent whether it was good or bad, but not its rank. Color merely represented the quality of the item pulled out within that rank.

It was just that he still did not know exactly how those ranks were divided...

The barbecue seasoning recipes he had pulled out before had all been blue light spheres, while the divine thief skill he found most useful had only been the most worthless white one...

This secret method sounded incredibly impressive just from its name. Moreover, the words "Shangqing" had actually appeared here, making Qin Yang think of many things. He just did not know whether this Shangqing was the Shangqing from his memories.

As for the other purple divine power, it was an existence of a higher grade than a secret method. He did not know the specifics, but he had heard legends before: secret methods had almost no special restrictions on cultivation. So long as they suited one's own cultivation technique, one had a chance of mastering them.

Yet the prerequisites for cultivating divine powers were far too high. Some people obtained a divine power yet could never even enter through its gate in their lifetimes. But once mastered, they were invariably terrifyingly powerful, or possessed strange and wondrous abilities—abilities far beyond a cultivator's rank.

Qin Yang did not hesitate. He first slapped the blue sphere, the size of a basketball, against his head.

Not long afterward, Qin Yang opened his eyes again, his face slightly dark.

This Shangqing Cloud Piercing Lightning Guiding Secret Method was indeed extremely powerful. It pursued the ultimate realm of techniques, using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, wielding one's own strength to draw upon the myriad powers of heaven and earth. So long as it was successfully cast, the power it unleashed would absolutely surpass the cultivator's own rank.

But it was of no use to Qin Yang...

It required too long to draw upon power, consumed too much True Essence, and demanded a stable soul and sufficient soul power to succeed.

At the very lowest threshold, one needed to be at least a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator before qualifying to learn it.

A blue secret method had already left him with nothing but dry stares. Qin Yang had even less expectation for that divine power with its simple description...

He casually slapped the purple sphere against his forehead as well.

Moments later, Qin Yang opened his eyes expressionlessly.

Sure enough, this divine power was outrageously strong—but it was even more of a damned trap...

To condense the divine power, one had to devour Thunderfire Double Evil. Once cultivated, one could open one's mouth and spit, as though a lightning tribulation had descended. Thunder and fire merged, destroying all things; wherever it passed, life was extinguished and all creation erased.

However, this divine power was simply the little brat's Innate Mystical Power.

It was the most common type of divine power, and also the type that was basically hardest to replicate.

The vast majority of demonic beasts possessed their own Innate Mystical Powers, though their strength varied. It was said that the divine powers passed down among cultivators had originally all been knock-offs of other races' Innate Mystical Powers...

This Thunderfire Divine Power counted as one of the stronger types.

What a pity...

Even though this divine power had now been analyzed completely in his mind, and he understood it even more deeply than the little brat himself, it was still utterly useless...

He simply could not cast it. At the very least, it was impossible for him right now.

Even if divine powers consumed less and had greater might, and could even become an instinctive talent after cultivation, the instant his current power began circulating, he feared he would be sucked dry into a human husk...

Two worse ones in a row. He had learned them and understood them thoroughly, yet could not use either one at all.

Qin Yang completely lost interest in the final golden sphere as well.

Even though it was the first golden light sphere he had ever pulled out.

He casually slapped it into his head. Qin Yang could not even be bothered to pay attention anymore, allowing the information within to merge into his mind on its own...

He took out a coffin, dressed the little brat's remains, and put everything in order. He placed the remains inside the coffin, then took out a Storage Bag specifically for it, stored the coffin within, and hung it around his neck, concealing it close to his body.

Just as Qin Yang prepared to continue onward, his steps abruptly halted. His expression stiffened, his pupils slowly widened, and his mouth involuntarily fell open...

"Purple Firmament Dao Scripture!"

With that cry, Qin Yang was so shocked that even his soul became somewhat unstable, leaving him completely dizzy.

He had never, ever expected this...

He had already given up, but as the knowledge contained in the golden sphere poured into his mind, he belatedly realized that the golden sphere actually contained the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture! Without further thought, Qin Yang hurriedly tossed several talismans around himself for protection, then sat cross-legged and sank his consciousness into his body, carefully sensing the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture he had just acquired.

In but an instant, a vast heavenly voice resounded through the depths of his soul. Every word contained the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, drawing one into silent absorption, impossible to break free from.

Every note was unlike the pronunciation of written words, yet seemed to contain boundless information. In an instant, Qin Yang was utterly immersed.

Who knew how much time passed before Qin Yang slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was profound and boundless, and his aura carried an additional trace of ancient, ethereal remoteness.

"As expected of the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture—broad and profound. Even though I pulled out a Skill Book, I still cannot fully comprehend it. I can only deeply imprint it all upon my soul and slowly fathom it..."

Qin Yang rose to his feet and sighed aloud, but there was a trace of regret in his eyes.

It truly was the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture. Unfortunately, just as the legends said, it had long since been incomplete. The portion he obtained could only cultivate through Foundation Establishment and the two realms of Three Origins. There was nothing beyond that.

"Hmm?"

After sighing, Qin Yang's expression froze. Upon sensing carefully, he discovered that all the cultivation techniques he had practiced before had been dissolved, and he had automatically switched to cultivating the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture. His realm had fallen from the ninth layer of Qi Nourishing to the fifth layer of Qi Nourishing.

After making a rough calculation, Qin Yang was secretly shocked. The True Essence throughout his body had actually been compressed by more than a hundredfold.

The True Essence flowing through his meridians trickled like liquid mercury, heavy yet ethereal. Its quality was simply as different from before as heaven from earth.