The Water Refining Art was naturally a cultivation method for refining water. The spiritual power cultivated through the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art inherently carried a trace of water's weight and gentleness.
It also recorded a secret art for nurturing a Natal Magic Treasure.
Magic treasures were magical artifacts used by at least Core Formation Cultivators.
Although Wei Zhong was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, he could already begin nurturing the embryonic form of a magic treasure.
This art required a vast amount of water, which would be condensed and fused with the cultivator's own spiritual power to form a special secret treasure known as the Yuan Water Pearl.
The more water and spiritual power it condensed, the heavier this treasure would become. To enemies, it would weigh as heavily as ten thousand jun; yet to the cultivator who refined it, it would be as light as a swan's feather.
At the same time, as the cultivator's Natal Magic Treasure, it was linked to the cultivator's spiritual power and could raise the density of the spiritual power within his body to a higher level.
In other words, the stronger the nurtured Yuan Water Pearl became, the higher the quality of the cultivator's spiritual power would be.
Even if the cultivator's cultivation realm did not advance and his total spiritual power did not increase, his strength would continue to grow accordingly.
This was the powerful treasure recorded in the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art, and also why Wei Zhong had sought a spiritual land with water-element spiritual energy.
He had to act quickly regarding the Li family. Wei Zhong understood that he could no longer wait as he had before; he needed to strike while the Li family's situation was still relatively clear.
Otherwise, if other cultivators were drawn in, the situation might become even worse.
If necessary, he could use the Years Dao Method to crush them by force and seize this spiritual land, so long as he did not expose himself before others.
With that thought, Wei Zhong immediately took action and submitted his intention to intervene through the Li family's hidden channels.
Before long, a member of the Li family came to visit.
"This junior is Li Haowen. Greetings, Senior."
Wei Zhong looked at the somewhat aged man before him and spoke in surprise:
"So you are the Li family disciple who took a Foundation Establishment Pill back then."
At those words, bitterness crossed Li Haowen's face. His failure at Foundation Establishment had plunged the Li family into its predicament, so he was often mocked by others. Though Li Haowen had grown accustomed to it, he could not help feeling a trace of shame.
To make up for the mistake he had made, he had spent many years stationed at Bright Moon Market of the Azurewood Sect, hoping to find a senior expert willing to act for the Li family.
Yet the price the Li family could offer was too little, and very few were willing to intervene.
"That is indeed this junior. I beg Senior to save my Li family from the depths of fire and water."
Wei Zhong smiled, but did not agree at once. Instead, he asked:
"That Candle Daoren has been living with your Li family all this time. Has he not discovered your little moves?"
Li Haowen smiled bitterly. "He discovered them, but did not stop us. Perhaps he simply does not care."
Wei Zhong frowned. "After seeking aid for so many years, surely some Foundation Establishment cultivators agreed to help. Why were they unable to turn your Li family's situation around?"
Li Haowen bowed.
"To be frank with Senior, over the past ten years, two seniors at Early Foundation Establishment secretly intervened, but both were defeated at Candle Daoren's hands.
"Moreover, most Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market went to the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range to seek opportunities. That was why we could not find a Foundation Establishment expert willing to stand up for my Li family. Until now, when we finally met Senior."
"Oh? Two people have already acted, and you think this poor Daoist, who has only just reached Foundation Establishment, can win? Could it be that you are joining hands with Candle Daoren to harm my life?"
Wei Zhong feigned anger.
Hearing this, Li Haowen immediately bent down in panic and pressed his head to the ground.
"This junior has no such intention. I truly have nowhere left to turn, which is why I came to seek Senior's aid. I beg Senior to help my Li family."
"Humph."
Wei Zhong said nothing and fell into thought.
There was truly something suspicious about the Li family's situation. Candle Daoren, the invader, had not stopped the Li family's efforts to seek help. Instead, he had allowed them to continue, as though he were using the Li family, this chunk of fat, as bait to keep fishing.
Even if he could not silence the Li family, he should at least have killed a chicken to scare the monkeys.
Yet judging from Li Haowen's words, nothing like that had ever happened.
Strange. Far too strange.
"Get up and speak," Wei Zhong said, flicking his sleeve. A dense wave of spiritual power immediately lifted Li Haowen by the arm. "Tell me about Candle Daoren in detail."
"Yes, Senior. Candle Daoren is a Rogue Cultivator who came here from Hanzhu City to avoid the calamity surrounding True Lord's inheritance...
"His cultivation method is unknown; we only know that it is a powerful fire-element method. He is at Early Foundation Establishment, and the magical artifact he uses is a huge pair of fire scissors, which he calls the Blazing Stone Treasure Scissor.
"It is a high-grade second-tier magical artifact. Its destructive power is astonishing. Those two seniors were defeated because their magical artifacts could not contend with it."
Blazing Stone Treasure Scissor? What kind of thing has a "treasure" in its name just like my Time Treasure Record?
"A high-grade second-tier magical artifact. It seems he is quite a wealthy Rogue Cultivator. What happened to those two fellow Daoists after their defeat?"
"After losing, the two seniors fled in panic and vanished without a trace."
Heh! Wei Zhong sneered inwardly. That man most likely followed them in secret and killed them.
Li Haowen continued recounting information about Candle Daoren, but the more Wei Zhong listened, the more unreliable it all sounded.
No. The Li family has been deceived too deeply. I need to investigate it myself.
Once that thought arose, Wei Zhong could no longer be bothered to listen to his nonsense. With a flick of his sleeve, he swept him straight out into the courtyard.
"Allow this Daoist to consider the matter carefully."
Li Haowen saw that this newly advanced senior had only asked a few questions before sweeping him out of the room, then spoke such words. He was surely giving up.
A miserable smile instantly appeared on his face as he left.
Wei Zhong watched him depart from inside the room, his brow furrowing even more deeply.
The information he had obtained from Li Haowen was too scant. In the end, he would have to investigate for himself.
His gaze shifted slightly and settled upon the Status Panel.
Invisibility Art · Master (43%) Aura Concealment Technique · Master (89%) Soaring Cloud Art · Master (97%) Flying Throwing Art · Grandmaster (11%) Geng Sword Art · Master (68%)
These five arts were the ones Wei Zhong knew best and used most often.
Though he also possessed several higher-tier secret arts from his inheritance, he had no time to learn them. In the short term, he could only raise them to proficiency, which still could not compare to these first-tier arts that he had practiced for years and brought to Master, or even Grandmaster, level.
The Aura Concealment Technique and Invisibility Art were both concealment arts. The Soaring Cloud Art was an escape art, while the Flying Throwing Art and Geng Sword Art were both offensive arts.
Among them, the Aura Concealment Technique and Soaring Cloud Art were both not far from Grandmaster level, so he could focus on grinding them first.
Perhaps, like the Flying Throwing Art, they would produce unexpected effects after reaching Grandmaster level.
Wei Zhong condensed a mass of spiritual power in his hand. A small black sphere was wrapped within it, spinning at high speed under the impetus of spiritual power.
With its Grandmaster-level proficiency and the support of Wei Zhong's Foundation Establishment spiritual power, the current Flying Throwing Art had already surpassed the ordinary concept of a spell.
Ordinary first-tier defensive magical artifacts had truly become paper-thin before it, shattering in a single strike and unable to weaken its power by much at all.
It had even gained a trace of spell-breaking effect. When it struck defensive magical artifacts driven by spiritual power, it could disperse a small amount of the spiritual power upon them and weaken their defensive effect.
In a sense, this greatly enhanced its former penetrating effect. But this time, it was no longer merely directed at physical matter; it pointed toward illusory spiritual power.
This strange transformation was precisely why Wei Zhong wanted to continue practicing these arts.
Once he trained the Aura Concealment Technique and Soaring Cloud Art to Grandmaster level, he would go investigate Sea Moon Lake. With Grandmaster-level concealment and escape techniques, plus the Early Core Formation cultivation granted by the Years Dao Method for one hour—
Even against a Late Core Formation great cultivator, Wei Zhong was confident he could escape from his hands. As for a Nascent Soul cultivator, then he could only hide in his grotto-heaven and cultivate for several hundred years, waiting until he reached Core Formation before coming out again.
If the waters ran too deep... abandoning the Li family's spiritual land would not be impossible.
Wei Zhong had originally taken an interest in the Li family's spiritual land to give Chu Zhong, this alternate identity, a reasonable explanation for his future cultivation advances.
If it could not be done, then he would find a first-tier spiritual land with a body of water instead. In any case, he had the spiritual vein within his grotto-heaven.
It was only that reaching Core Formation in the future would more easily arouse others' suspicion.
Forget it. At worst, he could just change identities again.
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