Even as he looked forward to it, he didn't forget that he still hadn't cultivated the peerless sacred arts corresponding to the Heaven Swallowing Devil Art.
Cultivating only the method without practicing its corresponding supreme sacred art was unquestionably like keeping the box and discarding the jewel—a fool's mistake of abandoning the root for the branches.
After all, cultivating only the method without honing his combat skills would unquestionably leave him prey to others.
Not to mention that both the Heaven Swallowing Devil Art and the supreme sacred arts recorded within it were peerless treasures.
Take the Myriad Transformations Sacred Art, for example. This sacred art had stood unmatched throughout history, its power overwhelming and unparalleled. It could transform and dissolve every secret art under heaven, reducing all astonishing techniques to the mundane. Hence its name, Myriad Transformations. It was peerless, terrifying to the extreme.
Then there was One Thought Blooms, Sovereign Over All. When used, one immortal blossom after another burst into bloom, each petal crystal-clear and fluttering through the air. Every blossom could become the practitioner's true form. The words "One Thought Blooms, Sovereign Over All" captured its essence perfectly. Combined with the Myriad Transformations Sacred Art, it was truly terrifying beyond compare.
And then there was Heaven Slashing Dao, a supreme divine art of boundless terror, one of the secret techniques in the forbidden chapter of the Heaven Swallowing Devil Art.
This technique was the Dao of slaying Heaven. It comprehensively enhanced one's offensive power, control, divine might, and more, making the practitioner terrifying to the extreme. Thousands upon thousands of immortal blades flew out amid colorful clouds. Some took the form of dragons, others of phoenixes. They threw Heaven and Earth into turmoil, cleaving whatever they encountered and killing whatever they touched! Once mastered, the technique greatly increased one's combat strength. It could be performed in tandem with the Heaven Swallowing Devil Art's source technique, making anything possible and sending one's power soaring.
Qian Xunji guessed that this was the secret technique Ruthless Great Emperor had developed to counter the Ninth Secret's "Before" character.
There was also the I Am Supreme Sacred Art, and others...
Any one of these supreme sacred arts would be enough to suppress an entire era!
With such peerless techniques in his hands, leaving them unlearned would be the greatest waste of resources imaginable.
Besides, there was so much gathered spiritual energy here. Not absorbing it would be a terrible waste.
Waste was shameful!
Thinking this over, Qian Xunji made up his mind.
While the spiritual energy was still here, before it had completely dispersed, he would first learn a supreme sacred art to protect himself.
As for which supreme sacred art to learn first?
Without a doubt, the Great Dao Treasure Bottle Seal!
The Great Dao Treasure Vase!
Once one had reached a certain level of understanding of the Heaven Swallowing Devil Art, they could use their own dantian to form a Great Dao Treasure Vase, allowing it to contain boundless magic power. If cultivated to perfection, the vase could suppress the heavens, inhale the essence of the Sun and Moon, and absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Its might was boundless. It was a vessel for the Dao, one that could gather immeasurable magic power and wield tremendous power in the future.
The Great Dao Treasure Vase was simple and natural, its design not at all complicated. It gave one a sense of the Great Dao in its utmost simplicity. It seemed to be a vessel for the Dao, capable of suppressing the myriad worlds, mysterious and unfathomable!
The practitioner formed the Great Dao Treasure Bottle Seal, with the mouth of the vase positioned where their hands joined. It inhaled the essence of the Sun and Moon and the primordial energy of Heaven and Earth. Shimmering with dark light, the Great Dao Treasure Vase suppressed the myriad worlds. It possessed undying power, swallowed the source of great worlds, and was mysterious and unfathomable—it could devour Heaven and Earth!
Moreover, the Great Dao Treasure Vase was also an indispensable supreme sacred art for practitioners of the Heaven Swallowing Devil Art who wished to devour the Great Dao origins of other powerful beings and forge an unparalleled Chaos Body of their own!
That was why Qian Xunji had to learn this supreme sacred art first.
As Qian Xunji opened the cultivation page for the Great Dao Treasure Vase, the next moment, an image of the Empress appeared in his mind, her hands forming a seal.
The hand seal looked simple, and the Empress formed it with ease.
Then, strands of dark light seeped from her crown, gathering above her head to form a vase.
The vase shimmered with dark light and flowed with the rhythm of the Dao. It looked simple and natural.
Its design was plain, like a vessel for the Great Dao, seemingly able to suppress the myriad worlds. It was mysterious and unfathomable.
Qian Xunji knew this was the Great Dao Treasure Vase! A vessel for the Dao, it could be used to gather immeasurable magic power in the future!
Seeing this, he simply imitated her, raising his hands to form the seal.
Unfortunately, this supreme sacred art was not so easy to learn.
When he formed the seal this time, nothing happened.
Qian Xunji wasn't discouraged. After all, this result was only to be expected.
If a supreme sacred art like the Great Dao Treasure Vase were truly so easy to learn, it would have long since become commonplace in the Shrouding the Heavens World, with everyone possessing a copy.
Thinking this, he took a sip of Divine Spring to moisten his lips, then continued copying the Empress's movements and forming the seal.
Failure... Again... Failure... Again...
Qian Xunji seemed not to know what it meant to give up. He kept observing the Empress and learning her movements...
Throughout the process, the essence of the Sun and Moon in the sky, the concentrated spiritual energy in the secret chamber, and the Divine Spring in the Jade Pure Bottle all turned into streams that poured into his body. Divine radiance continually shimmered across him, while his crystalline, jade-like body was repeatedly tempered.
Before he knew it, flecks of golden light had appeared in Qian Xunji's eyes as they opened and closed. He looked indescribably eerie, like an ancient demon god—bewitching and wild.
After who knew how long, Qian Xunji's absorption of spiritual energy suddenly halted. The space behind him twisted and darkened, sending out rings of black ripples.
Within those ripples, a vase formed entirely of Great Dao Runes, its surface marked with a single grimacing face, quietly emerged from the void behind him.
At first, it was indistinct, but it gradually grew more solid.
At last, it became a simple, natural black bottle that spun gently above his head, radiating an incomparably profound aura. Its dark light was soul-stirring.
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