The Cultivation Method of Devouring Cultivation Methods

"Tsk tsk, not bad at all. No wonder protagonists in novels always love to wipe out entire families at the drop of a hat; it really is satisfying. The loot is absolutely overflowing!"

An hour later.

Under the cover of moonlight, Xiao Yuan happily carried a cloth bag filled with a pile of Storage Rings back to his small courtyard.

This time, just in gold coins alone, he had scavenged a full six hundred thousand!

One must know, the annual profit of the entire Xiao Clan was barely close to one hundred thousand!

And that wasn't even counting the miscellaneous medicinal pills, herbs, cultivation techniques, and Dou Skills inside.

Tsk tsk, no wonder that old geezer Jialie Bi in the original story could pull out five hundred and fifty thousand to win the high-tier Xuan-rank Wind Scroll Art. He really was loaded.

However, judging by the timeline, Ya Fei Mittal should have been stationed in Wutan City for a while now. It's the perfect time to head to the Auction House to fence the goods, and while I'm at it, get a look at the Empress of Gold, one of the must-eat candidates on the Doupo list.

Creak—

Xiao Yuan pushed the door open and walked into his room, feeling quite pleased with himself.

As soon as he entered, he saw a red scroll placed on the tea table.

Beside it, a piece of paper was held down by a teapot, covered in neat handwriting.

It basically said that this technique scroll had been picked up for a low price at the market and was a gift for him to practice, a token of gratitude for accompanying her to buy herbs and lending her money today.

Looking at the technique scroll on the table, Xiao Yuan sighed helplessly.

It went without saying who had sent it.

There was no one else besides Xiao Yan.

Although I'm looking forward to a return on investment, I was hoping for a return from the future Flame Emperor...

This technique is Earth-rank low-tier; he probably squeezed it out of Yao Chen.

My brother, oh my brother...

He didn't know how to describe the situation, only able to offer a bitter smile.

Just as he was about to pick up his teacup for a drink, a light, ethereal voice rang out at the perfect moment.

"Soul-stirring winds sway the clouds, stars circle the altar of the three realms."

"Life and death cycle opens a gate, rising again to wash away the vanity of the world."

"That's a very dashing poem, Brother Xiao Yuan."

As the words fell, the tea Xiao Yuan had just sipped sprayed straight out of his mouth.

He turned his head stiffly, casting his gaze toward the window on the left side of the room, and was instantly startled.

The window, which had been tightly shut, was now wide open.

Faint moonlight flowed into the room like water.

And there, on the edge of the window that should have been empty, a young girl dressed in a golden gown sat leaning against the frame.

Beneath the golden gown, a pair of jade-like, rounded, snow-white calves swung back and forth, tracing alluring and playful arcs in the air.

The moonlight shone on the girl's exquisite little face, making her look like a goddess under the moon—gorgeous and mysterious.

For a moment, Xiao Yuan felt his throat tighten, and he murmured a name, almost like a groan.

"Xun... Xun'er?"

What the hell, why is this little girl acting like Sadako? When did she get here?

And what was the meaning of what she just said?

Xiao Yuan's peripheral vision couldn't help but dart toward the cloth bag he had just tossed onto the tea table.

Seeing that the mouth of the bag was sealed tight, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, her next sentence made his heart jump back into his throat.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, you just went to the Jialie Family, didn't you?"

"I..."

Xiao Yuan had only managed to utter one word when he met Xun'er's slightly mischievous gaze and suddenly felt that something wasn't right.

Wait, why the hell am I nervous? I didn't go there to have an affair!

He immediately became righteous and bold.

"Yeah, I did go to the Jialie Family just now."

"Then, Brother Xiao Yuan, do you admit that the Dou Wang named Gu Yue Fang Yuan was actually you in disguise?"

"Uh-huh, that's right."

Xiao Yuan shrugged.

Although he didn't know how Xun'er had figured it out, he admitted it quite calmly.

Maybe this girl had Ling Ying following me in the shadows and that's how she found out?

That's very likely.

Just as he was thinking this, Xun'er suddenly jumped down from the window sill, approached his side, and scrutinized his complexion and body.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, I don't know what method you used to unleash the power of a peak nine-star Dou Wang, but I hope this is the only time. Do not damage your foundation."

Xun'er's tone was very serious.

Perhaps this was the first time the young girl had spoken to him in such a stern manner.

As a member of the Ancient Clan, Xun'er naturally knew how great the damage caused by secret techniques could be—

The greater the leap in power, the stronger the backlash.

In the most severe cases, one's foundation would be completely destroyed, and all cultivation would be lost!

Although Brother Xiao Yuan had looked very dashing just moments ago, she did not want anything to happen to him.

With that, she took an exquisite little porcelain bottle from her Storage Ring and shoved it into his hand.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, this is a Recovery Pill. It will be good for your body; remember to take it. It is getting late, and I should head back to rest."

After saying this, Xun'er turned and left.

Her departing silhouette looked somewhat indignant, yet also somewhat lonely.

In the end, only Xiao Yuan remained, looking at the porcelain bottle in his hand, then looking up at the empty doorway.

[Handing over a Tier 5 medicinal pill just like that...]

"So, this girl came over to look after me..."

He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the porcelain bottle slightly.

Thinking of his attitude toward Xun'er just now, Xiao Yuan felt like he could wake up in the middle of the night, sit bolt upright, and slap himself twice.

[I am truly a damn fool!]

Xiao Yuan carefully tucked the medicinal pill into his Storage Ring, then sat cross-legged on the bed alone and took out the two cultivation techniques he had obtained during the day.

Oh no, to be precise, there were now three.

The unnamed Earth-tier low-grade fire-attribute technique gifted by Yao Chen.

The Earth-tier low-grade Mystic Flame Art gifted by Xun'er.

And the system reward—

[Primordial Creation Art]
[Grade: Earth-tier low-grade]
[Primordial: recorded before chaos, the beginning of vital energy.]
[Can devour other techniques to evolve.]

"Damn, all three of them happen to be Earth-tier low-grade!"

However, by comparison, the system-rewarded technique seemed to possess more potential.

After all, it could evolve by devouring other techniques.

It felt like it could rival the Burning Art, which evolved by devouring Heavenly Flames.

But how was one supposed to devour them?

While pondering, Xiao Yuan casually picked up the red scroll gifted by Yao Chen.

As a result, the system's voice rang out immediately.

[Ding, a mergeable technique has been detected. Merge?]

So that was how it merged?

"Yes!"

[Ding, fusion successful. Primordial Creation Art has advanced to Earth-tier mid-grade.]

[Learn?]

"...That's it?"

Xiao Yuan blinked, staring blankly at the technique scroll in his hand that had already turned to ash.

He had originally expected some earth-shattering phenomenon to occur when merging techniques, but there was nothing at all.

Immediately after, he took out the techniques he had swindled from the Jialie Family from his Storage Ring.

Everything from Profound-tier down to Yellow-tier low-grade was fed into it.

Yet this time, no evolution notification sounded.

It wasn't until he fed in the Mystic Flame Art gifted by Xun'er that the notification he wanted finally rang out again.

[Ding, fusion successful. Primordial Creation Art has advanced to Earth-tier high-grade.]

[Learn?]