A Secret Art (Please Follow, Please Bookmark)

Yulian's voice made Wang Ping raise an eyebrow. Out of habit, he pulled out a Copper Coin and cast a divination. There was no problem, but just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he thought of Zuo Suzi's death.

So, he cast another divination for Feng Miao...

It was actually a Yin Trigram!

Another cast.

A Yin Hexagram.

Again.

Another Yin Trigram.

Three Yin Hexagrams—this meant the matter could not be done!

Just then, Feng Miao said, "It's the method most commonly used by 'First Day.' They drain a person's Essence, Qi, and Spirit, connect it to the Fire Spirit, and use it as a sacrifice. In return, they obtain the catalyst for the Fiery Burst Technique!"

As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on the altar at the very front. Several small spheres emitting sparks sat atop it.

"No Monster has been found, nor is there any trace of 'First Day' believers!" Guangxuan had focused on something different from Feng Miao. The moment he entered the Main Hall, he summoned his divine soul to sense the surroundings.

Xia Yao cared about the people tied to the pillars. She formed a hand seal and said, "The people on those pillars are still alive..."

"They have all taken Ration Pills to ensure they do not starve to death. Then, the altar ahead will continuously drain their Essence, Qi, and Spirit for half a month. Living is more agonizing than dying!"

Feng Miao's grip on her saber tightened. "Destroy the altar first!"

With that, she was about to rush forward...

"Wait!"

Wang Ping called out to stop Feng Miao. His Left Hand rapidly formed a seal, and the next instant, the Steel Sword inside the scabbard in his right hand flew around his body once, gathering momentum.

Whoosh

The charged Steel Sword shot through the dense Stone Pillars in the Main Hall at astonishing speed...

Then, before the astonished eyes of the four, the formations atop every Stone Pillar activated. A blinding light erupted above the altar ahead, followed at once by a wave of heat crashing toward them.

The howling Steel Sword instantly turned into a puddle of Molten Iron when the heat wave struck. Wang Ping, who controlled the sword, felt a scorching aura following the spiritual energy connection between himself and the sword, trying to invade his Qi Sea. At the critical moment, Yulian returned to her original length and coiled around Wang Ping's body, using her own spiritual energy to block that aura outside.

The heat wave flashed past in an instant, but the scene ahead had changed completely. The exquisite altar had melted into Crystal Blocks, a third of the Stone Pillars had crystallized into sand, and the floor around the altar and the crystallized pillars glowed red like magma.

"Gulp!" Feng Miao swallowed, looking at Wang Ping with lingering fear. "Thank you, Fellow Changqing..."

"Fellow Daoist, you are also skilled in the Divination Art?" Guangxuan looked surprised. He had noticed Wang Ping cast two Divination Signs earlier.

"I usually like experimenting on myself. I can't be called proficient!" Wang Ping shook his head. Yulian returned to a length of one chi and wrapped herself around his wrist.

"The energy here is strange. It feels warm and peaceful, yet it is full of danger. It can make you unknowingly fall into it, then believe in it and worship it!" Yulian said within Wang Ping's Spirit Sea. "That strike just now has already eradicated this unknown power."

"What do we do now?" Feng Miao asked, looking at Xia Yao's back. Xia Yao had walked to a nearby Stone Pillar, rescuing the people tied there and checking their condition.

"The people here cannot be saved..."

Guangxuan pointed toward the left side of the palace. "My divine soul senses many weak auras over there. Those Missing Persons who were bought may be inside!"

Wang Ping, Feng Miao, and Xia Yao all looked toward Guangxuan upon hearing this, but none of them, including Xia Yao, rashly went to rescue anyone.

"Let's wait for the temperature in the palace to drop, clear out the miasma, then go in and take a look."

Guangxuan had considered things thoroughly. The Main Hall was currently scorching hot, and there was also miasma formed by the sudden rise in temperature. An Ordinary Person might faint outright upon entering, let alone those who had been imprisoned.

They waited through the entire night.

Early the next morning.

Guangxuan and Xia Yao led more than ten Qi practitioners into the ruins to rescue people, while Wang Ping and Feng Miao remained behind in the pavilion to handle any possible accidents.

No accident occurred.

After a night of inventorying, the Silver Ingots and Gold Ingots in the pavilion had all been recorded. There were a total of five hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver, ninety-eight Gold Ingots, more than a hundred jin of Earth Vein Iron Ore, and various other materials.

Wang Ping personally received around ten jin of Earth Vein Iron Ore. It was best suited for forging weapons and Inner Armor for Qi practitioners.

Shen Shi.

Wang Ping and Feng Miao, who had been meditating and resting in the pavilion's training ground, were awakened by Xia Yao.

"We found an Underground Passage and discovered a huge Alchemy Room. There is a Young Disciple inside who says he is from your Thousand Wood Temple. His Master is called Li Antian!"

A ripple passed through Wang Ping's calm heart, and he immediately blurted out, "Take me to see..."

After half a day of exploration, the ruins within the Mountain Body had been turned upside down. There was nothing particularly special left, only some exquisitely decorated rooms that were all show and no substance. Some places even had lifelike murals, and Guangxuan was especially obsessed with them.

If Wang Ping's sense of direction was correct, the Alchemy Room Xia Yao mentioned should be located in the Southeast Corner of the ruins. It was a genuine Alchemy Room, complete with full alchemy facilities and an accompanying medicine storehouse.

At that moment, six Qi practitioners were guarding the Alchemy Room. In the corner, a Young Man wearing a grayish-white Short Shirt immediately shouted when he saw Wang Ping, "Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle, it's me! I'm Cai Tong! Eight Years Ago, when I became a Disciple, I even served you tea."

Wang Ping did indeed recognize him. He was the second Disciple of his Eldest Senior Brother, Li Antian, and had always followed Li Antian to Study Medicine. When Li Antian left Thousand Wood Temple, he had taken no one but him.

"Come over and speak!" Wang Ping snapped.

Upon hearing this, Cai Tong scrambled over on hands and knees, knelt before Wang Ping, and said in a Sobbing Tone, "After Master took me down the mountain to avenge himself, we encountered Villains while selling medicine. I was muddleheadedly captured and brought here... Save me, Martial Uncle, save me! Everyone here is a Madman... They use Living People to refine Spiritual Roots..."

"Speak properly..."

Wang Ping's tone softened considerably.

Cai Tong tremblingly raised his right hand and pointed toward a direction in the Alchemy Room. Where he pointed was a solid wall. "There is a Secret Door there. You... go in... go in and take a look, then you'll... know."

Terror filled his face as he spoke. There should be something inside that had overturned everything he knew.

After Xia Yao and Feng Miao exchanged a glance, they immediately went over to inspect it. After searching for a long while without finding anything, they came back and dragged Cai Tong over to question him.

Wang Ping was also about to go over when he heard Yulian say, "Look at the mural here. It seems to be a cultivation technique!"

A cultivation technique?

Wang Ping halted and looked toward the resplendent mural beneath the firelight...

The most eye-catching part of the mural was its Five Elements Pattern. Beneath each of the five symbols representing Five Elements spiritual energy was a set of techniques written in Unknown Script.

"Could it be refining some kind of pill?"

As Wang Ping muttered, the familiar Light Screen Panel appeared. It first displayed a string of strange words, then translated them:

[Five Elements Condensation Technique: A brilliant idea conceived by a mad Alchemist. A secret art he created by utilizing the rules of Mutual Generation and Restraint among the Five Elements. Once this secret art is activated, the five types of Elemental Energy will automatically draw in the spiritual energy of the surrounding space and multiply without limit. Upon reaching a critical point, they will erupt in a violent explosion.]

[1: Use ordinary Alchemy Methods to simultaneously refine Spiritual Medicine of different Five Elements attributes, causing all Five Elements attributes within the Spiritual Medicine to tend toward balance. During refinement, you must constantly monitor the resonance between the five types of Spiritual Medicine. Condense them at least ten times every day. Success can be achieved after three years. (Progress 0/100, today's progress 0/10)]

[2: Fuse the condensed Five Elements Spiritual Medicine into one. Pay attention to sensing the attribute connections between the Spiritual Medicine. Attempt at least five times every day. Success can be achieved within half a year. (Progress 0/100, today's progress 0/5)]

[Note 1: Spiritual Medicine need not be used. Any items with differing Five Elements attributes will suffice, but they must be condensed until the amount of Five Elements spiritual energy within them is infinitely close. Therefore, the closer the spiritual energy reserves of the five items, the higher the success rate.]

[Note 2: The best method is to use human bodies for experiments. Teach a person to cultivate it, guide Five Elements spiritual energy into his body, and when he cultivates it to the utmost limit, he will become the finest humanoid weapon. The power produced by his self-destruction will be enough to destroy an entire city!]

[Note 3: Never use yourself for experiments.]

[Note 4: During refinement, you will need a set of Balance Formation. The Formation Diagram is as follows...]

The instant he finished reading the Light Screen Panel's introduction, knowledge of the Five Elements Condensation Technique flowed into Wang Ping's mind, immediately allowing him to understand the methods of condensing and fusing the five types of Primal Energy.

He did not need to cultivate it, but he could use it to make... grenades!

"Are you alright?"

Yulian's childish voice interrupted Wang Ping's wild thoughts, while a series of turning gear sounds rang out beside his ears.