Mental Cultivation Methods and Hidden Weapons

As Zhao Ping'an opened one of the sandalwood boxes and placed his hand on a Third-tier Spirit Grass with three palm-sized leaves, the familiar pop-up window reappeared on the game panel before his eyes.

This was a new function of the panel that he had accidentally discovered while previously browsing the Sun Family Medicine Repository.

There was no need for him to swallow the spirit medicine; the game panel could directly absorb its medicinal effects, as long as he touched it with his own hands.

Furthermore, it could only be converted into [Deduction Points] and could not directly increase his cultivation.

"Yes!"

As Zhao Ping'an made his choice, the spirit grass in his hand immediately began to wither and turn yellow. A stream of heat quickly entered his body, eventually disappearing into the depths of his body, its whereabouts unknown.

In just a few seconds, the Third-tier Spirit Grass in his hand had completely turned into a withered weed, turning to dust with a light touch.

Previously, to avoid attracting attention, he had not absorbed any spirit grass.

"This is quite convenient. It's a pity that the medicinal effects of First-tier and Second-tier spirit grass are probably too low, and the game panel didn't react at all. What a shame..."

Looking at the powder in the box, Zhao Ping'an sighed and muttered with some regret.

He had also tried touching First-tier and Second-tier spirit medicines before, but no pop-up window had appeared on the panel.

It was worth noting that First-tier and Second-tier spirit medicines were everywhere on this Medicine Mountain, sold by the jin. However, Third-tier spirit grass was only found near the spring at the summit, and it took at least ten or even decades to mature. There wasn't even a single Fourth-grade one.

It was rumored that the reason the Sun Family Supreme Elder, Sun Hongxi, was able to break through to the Grandmaster Realm was that he had cultivated two Fourth-grade spirit medicines – Mother-Child Yuan Gathering Grass – at the peak of the Medicine Mountain.

Afterward, he refined a batch of pills using various Third-tier spirit grasses and over a hundred types of First and Second-tier spirit medicines. Out of twelve pills, only three were successful, and he took all of them to achieve his breakthrough.

Soon, the entire box of Third-tier spirit grass turned into powder.

Of course, although it looked like a lot, there were only twenty-five plants in total. They provided Zhao Ping'an with 75% of his [Deduction Points]. Combined with the good food and drink he had been enjoying these past few days, his [Deduction Points] had directly increased from the previous 6% to the current 90%.

He had a total of over thirty Third-tier spirit grasses plundered from the Sun Family, and now only the last eight remained.

Zhao Ping'an did not continue to absorb the remaining Third-tier spirit grass. Instead, he opened another wooden box that was noticeably larger.

Inside, martial arts manuals were neatly arranged.

Body tempering, Qi cultivation, saber, sword, staff, spear, whip, Qinggong, hidden weapons, and so on. There were over a hundred books in total.

This was after Zhao Ping'an had carefully selected them. In the Sun Family's library, there were actually thousands of cultivation methods.

"It's a pity that the highest level is only a First-rate Martial Art. There isn't even a single Human-grade Cultivation Method..."

Looking at the stacks of manuals in the box, Zhao Ping'an muttered with some regret.

However, he didn't consider that before Sun Hongxi, the strongest person in the Sun Family was only at Xiantian Peak. They were not qualified to obtain Human-grade Cultivation Methods. Or rather, in the entire South Ridge City, apart from Ouyang Yun, who was a Fourth Level Grandmaster, no other force, including the City Lord Zhou Ruiming, possessed any Human-grade Cultivation Methods.

(Half-step Grandmaster is still Xiantian Peak, but the Xiantian True Qi has already begun to transform into Qi, increasing its power.)

This is also one of the main reasons restricting the development of these forces; there is no path forward and no door to ascend.

Back to the main topic...

Among the hundreds of secret manuals, eight were First-rate Cultivation Methods, and the rest were Second-rate Cultivation Methods. Zhao Ping'an didn't take any below Second-rate.

Of course, he couldn't cultivate them all.

He now had complete external and internal cultivation, saber techniques, and movement techniques. If there was anything he lacked, it would be ranged attack methods like hidden weapons and close-combat martial arts such as fists, palms, and fingers.

As for those messy sword techniques, spear techniques, whip techniques, hammer techniques, and so on, he had no interest in practicing them.

He couldn't possibly carry an arsenal with him wherever he went.

After picking and choosing from the secret manuals for a long time, Zhao Ping'an held three secret manuals in his hands.

Two of them were the hidden weapons and hand-to-hand combat he needed, and the last one was a rare cultivation method called Mystic Pupil Soul Bewildering Technique.

Mystic Pupil Soul Bewildering Technique: Through the eyes, release a soul-bewildering technique on the opponent, causing them to fall into an illusion. The higher the cultivation, the shorter the duration; the reverse is true.

"This is? A Mental Attack?"

Flipping through the secret manual in his hand, Zhao Ping'an's eyes lit up.

According to the description in the manual, after mastering the Mystic Pupil, one could not only release the soul-bewildering technique but also greatly enhance their eyesight. However, it was extremely difficult to cultivate, and releasing it consumed a lot of one's spirit, energy, and mind.

As a First-rate Cultivation Method, its cultivation starting point required reaching the Innate Realm. Unlike other First-rate Martial Arts, Houtian Martial Artists could also practice a few moves for self-defense.

Moreover, after mastering it, even a Xiantian Peak expert could only release it five times a day at most. Releasing it further would cause splitting headaches and mental fatigue.

"I wonder what it will become after the Game Panel simplifies it?"

Closing the box, Zhao Ping'an began to earnestly read the three secret manuals in his hands, prioritizing Mystic Pupil Soul Bewildering Technique.

The remaining two secret manuals were the Second-rate Martial Art Willow Leaf Dart and the First-rate Martial Art Iron Mountain Palm.

A full hour passed, and the bright moon was already high in the sky when Zhao Ping'an finished reading all three martial arts.

On his Game Panel, the three cultivation methods had appeared at some point.

[Mystic Pupil Soul Bewildering Technique (First-rate Martial Art): 0/500 (Entry not achieved, Simplified) Concentrate both eyes on the center of the square hole of a copper coin five meters away for 1 minute to increase training progress by 1 point]

[Iron Mountain Palm (First-rate Martial Art): 0/500 (Entry not achieved, Simplified) Hit an iron pillar continuously with both palms 100 times to increase training progress by 1 point]

[Willow Leaf Dart (Second-rate Martial Art): 0/300 (Entry not achieved, Simplified) Hit a target with a diameter of one meter at a distance of ten meters with a stone 100 times to increase training progress by 1 point]

"Not bad, they're all quite easy. It's time to cultivate properly."

Looking at the cultivation methods for the three new martial arts on the panel, Zhao Ping'an nodded with satisfaction.

Of course, for him now, the power of these three cultivation techniques was just so-so. It would only be when the panel deduced them a few more times, bringing them to the same level as his cultivation, that these martial arts would truly be useful to him.

Afterward, Zhao Ping'an sat cross-legged on the bed, inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth while meticulously planning his daily cultivation schedule.

First, there were the two cultivation techniques that increased his cultivation realm, the Golden Armor Technique and the Primordial Chaos Art. These two were his foundation, and he had to spend a significant amount of time cultivating them.

As for the remaining five martial arts of varying levels, Zhao Ping'an decided to first deduce them to the same level.

After planning for over half an hour, Zhao Ping'an finally arranged the cultivation time for all his cultivation techniques and martial arts.