Long Jiuyyao no longer dared take out the Illustrated Manual to look at it. Perhaps only after becoming a Heavenly Symbol Master would he have the spiritual power to resist the erosion of that Mysterious Demonic Power.
Of course, the most precious thing was not just the set of Blades of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Secret Technique for controlling the Seven Original Sins was even rarer. It was a method for cultivating spiritual power.
There were methods for cultivating spiritual power on the Tian Xuan Continent, but they were extremely rare. Only a handful of the top powers might possess complete methods, and even then, they would not have many. Every copy of a spiritual cultivation method was a priceless treasure.
Some powers and sects had none at all. Those that did might have only incomplete copies.
The spiritual cultivation method Long Jiuyyao had now was God-tier, but it only allowed him to cultivate spiritual power at an extremely fast pace.
Everyone cultivated spiritual power at a different rate. Some lacked the talent and would remain Spirit Talisman Masters for their entire lives, while others might cross into the ranks of Heavenly Symbol Masters thanks to some special opportunity. With even better luck, they might advance to Immortal Talisman Masters.
For now, Long Jiuyyao could only slowly explore ways to improve his spiritual power on his own. With the help of a high-tier spiritual cultivation method, however, his spiritual power could make tremendous progress in the early stages.
He had also formed the most difficult kind of Natal Celestial Talisman, making every breakthrough immensely challenging. With this spiritual cultivation method, at least the process would be a little easier.
This spiritual cultivation method was mainly used to control the Seven Original Sins and strengthen and refine one's own spiritual power. It was not meant to be used directly for spiritual attacks.
A spiritual cultivation method was different from a Spiritual Secret Skill. The former was like a cultivation technique for spiritual power, while the latter was like a martial art for spiritual power. The difference between them was enormous.
Once his spiritual power was strong enough to control all seven Blades of Original Sin, he would be able to use the Killing Array that the Shadow Figure had used at the end in his Sea of Consciousness. That was the method's true killing move, but it was far too early for Long Jiuyyao to use it.
Given the Natal Celestial Talisman Long Jiuyyao had formed, he would need to reach the Nine-Seal Heavenly Talisman Master level before his spiritual power could fully control all seven Blades of Original Sin and wield them as easily as his own limbs.
After all, they were seven genuine Heaven-grade High-rank Spirit Treasures, and all part of the same series. Even among Heaven-grade Spirit Treasures, they stood in a class of their own. They were not some worthless junk one could find just anywhere.
The spiritual power needed to properly control each Blade of Original Sin was immeasurable. At the moment, even as a Talisman Master with a two-seal Natal Celestial Talisman, Long Jiuyyao could not fully control a single one of them. He could barely maintain Sin of Lust's levitation with his spiritual power.
To control Sin of Lust well enough to perform even the simplest attack, he would need to reach the Three-Seal Talisman Master level.
Long Jiuyyao put the Illustrated Manual into the Jade Box, then stowed the box in his Universe Bag. He planned to keep this secret hidden. At the very least, it was not something he could understand just yet.
Long Jiuyyao returned to his Courtyard. There, he saw his adorable little sister swinging from a swing hung from an ancient tree, while a mighty lion pushed her from behind, sending her higher and higher.
"Xin'er!" Long Jiuyyao shouted from the entrance.
When the swing reached its highest point, the soft, adorable girl leaped off. Long Jiuyyao opened his arms to catch her as she came flying toward him.
"Brother!" Yuan Xin leaped into Long Jiuyyao's arms. He spun around, holding his adorable little sister close.
"Xin'er, what brings you here?" Long Jiuyyao tapped Yuan Xin on the nose with his right hand.
"Hmph! Does Brother not want me to come?" Yuan Xin looked displeased, gazing at Long Jiuyyao with her big, watery eyes.
Long Jiuyyao immediately backed down. "Of course I do! I've been hoping you'd come. It's been so long since I've seen you. Let your brother give you a kiss."
Yuan Xin refused to indulge him. She wriggled out of Long Jiuyyao's arms and made a face at him. "No way! Nyah!"
Long Jiuyyao wasn't about to let her get away. He went after her at once.
Soon, a boy and a girl were chasing each other around the courtyard. In the end, Long Jiuyyao came out the clear winner.
"Xin'er, you've already reached the Great Perfection of Core Formation. You're advancing so fast!" Long Jiuyyao exclaimed.
When Long Jiuyyao had gone to Fierce Hurricane Gorge, Yuan Xin had only just entered the Heaven Origin Realm. Now, a year had passed, and she had already reached the Great Perfection of Core Formation. And she was only ten years old, wasn't she?
Actually, Yuan Xin was older than Long Jiuyyao. But Long Jiuyyao had been born in the Bone Burial Hall and given his name by the Six-Fingered Sacred Dragon Emperor. In terms of seniority, very few in the Dragon Clan could outrank him. That was why Yuan Gan had made Yuan Xin Long Jiuyyao's little sister.
The Heaven and Earth Yuan Power within the Dragon Clan was so dense that it was practically liquid. Even without deliberately cultivating, one's strength would improve imperceptibly over time. Given the Dragon Clan's natural advantages, advancing from the Heaven Origin Realm to the Great Perfection of Core Formation in a year was not particularly fast.
As for Yuan Xin, she didn't care about cultivating Yuan Power at all. At least until she entered the Nirvana Realm, her strength would naturally come along in time.
After reaching the Nirvana Realm, she would have to work hard to advance further. But that was not something Yuan Xin needed to think about yet.
If Long Jiuyyao had not tempered his body in Fierce Hurricane Gorge and had instead worked hard on cultivation elsewhere, he would have entered the Creation Three Realms within a year.
But he didn't regret it. Tempering his body in Fierce Hurricane Gorge was far more valuable than advancing in cultivation, and the two were not even comparable.
Only when he had laid a solid foundation would he have the confidence to fight and kill enemies above his own level. That was why Long Jiuyyao was willing to do it.
To be invincible at whatever realm he reached—that was his belief and the path he pursued.
"Brother, what are we having today?" Yuan Xin asked as the sky began to darken.
"Ah, I see! So that's why you came—you wanted something to eat." Long Jiuyyao laughed.
"Of course not. I came to see you, Brother. But getting to eat your cooking is even better!" Yuan Xin protested.
He couldn't blame her. Everything he made was so delicious.
Long Jiuyyao was proud of it, too. After all, he had different memories and knew countless dishes, as well as all sorts of unusual things.
"All right! Go get what I asked you to make and bring it out." Long Jiuyyao ruffled Yuan Xin's hair.
Before long, a hot pot set appeared before them. Long Jiuyyao boiled the broth he had prepared, and soon it was bubbling.
Yuan Xin watched, thrilled. A several-meter-long Azure Scaled Dragon Fish floated in midair as the Seven Original Sins appeared out of nowhere. The seven blades whirled around Long Jiuyyao's fingertips. On closer inspection, they never touched the fish itself; the sharpness emanating from the blades was enough to carve it apart.
With Long Jiuyyao's spiritual power guiding the Seven Original Sins, every slice of fish came out equally thin.
Of course, the Dragon Fish wasn't his only ingredient. He also had meat from several powerful demonic beasts: Ironback Ox Rhino, Silver-striped Blood Python, and Jade Arch Eagle.
The vegetables were Spiritual Medicine rarely found outside the Dragon Domain. What people in the outside world considered precious Spiritual Medicine grew everywhere within the Dragon Clan's territory.
That was not true of every kind, of course. Some Spiritual Medicine was considered extremely rare even by the Dragon Clan.
But the Spiritual Medicine Long Jiuyyao was eating now grew everywhere in the Dragon Clan's territory. Naturally, he would never waste precious Spiritual Medicine like this.
Yuan Xin stared wide-eyed at the Seven Original Sins dancing on Long Jiuyyao's fingertips. Given her knowledge, she could tell the rank of those seven blades.
Heaven tier—and he was using them to slice vegetables. What extravagance!
In just a few minutes, all the ingredients were ready. Long Jiuyyao put away the Seven Original Sins, picked up a Beef Slice, and swished it around in the hot pot.
Yuan Xin copied him, and soon she was moving faster and faster. Long Jiuyyao naturally remembered Jin Ming and Zi Lin, too, and swished half the ingredients for them.
They ate happily nearby, and Yuan Xin ended up eating most of what was left.
Long Jiuyyao looked at Yuan Xin's flat stomach and couldn't help wondering where all that meat and Spiritual Medicine had gone.
Of course, the meat here was dozens of times better than what he had eaten in his previous life. It had no bloody taste at all; instead, it carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.
As soon as he finished eating, he could feel a warm current flowing through his body. It was an indescribably comfortable feeling.
Time passed as they ate. Yuan Xin didn't leave once she was done. Instead, she clung to Long Jiuyyao and refused to go.
Jin Ming and Zi Lin had already returned to their own place and fallen fast asleep.
Yuan Xin had even taken over Long Jiuyyao's bed. As she put it, she wanted to sleep with her brother.
But Long Jiuyyao didn't indulge her. Instead, he went to the mountaintop where he usually spent his time. It was one of the few highest peaks in the Dragon Domain.
Long Jiuyyao sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. The two seals of his Natal Celestial Talisman appeared between his brows, and a faint trace of spiritual power rippled outward as the seven Blades of Original Sin emerged from his body.
He was now cultivating his spiritual power according to the method described in the Illustrated Manual.
His invisible spiritual power controlled the Seven Original Sins as they floated in the air. At once, the blades radiated their own colored light. The round moon in the dark night gave off a pale glow that shone in tandem with the light from the seven Blades of Original Sin.
The light from the Seven Original Sins blended together, forming one image after another. At times, they resembled Scorpio; at others, a furious lion or Capricorn, with a goat's head and a fish's tail.
The images were blurry, though. As the seconds ticked by, they stopped changing and settled on the first image. As it gradually shifted from blurry to solid and clear, then from solid and clear back to blurry, it kept alternating between the two states.
Ten minutes later, the pale moonlight finally disappeared. The light from the Seven Original Sins gradually returned to normal, and Long Jiuyyao opened his eyes. He could tangibly feel his spiritual power growing.
By using the moon's radiance to link with the light of the Seven Original Sins and form images, then using his spiritual power to make those images solid, he could strengthen his spiritual power. The clearer and more solid the images became, the more powerful his spiritual power would be.
For now, Long Jiuyyao could only barely make the first image solid enough that it was not too blurry. He still had a long way to go before it became clearly visible, let alone before he could maintain several different images and refine them all at once.
And that was only the first image. There were still the second and third. He did not even know whether there would be a fourth, a fifth, or more.
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