The Theory of Immortal Arts

Chapter 31: The Theory of Immortal Arts

Now that he had completed the side quest, he no longer had to worry about being erased. Chen Lin was naturally in high spirits.

Yang Qianqian stood not far away, tense and wary. Seeing that Chen Lin seemed to have returned to normal, she finally let out a breath. "Hey, you stinking monster! What happened to you just now?"

"Heh, it's nothing. And I won't be needing your blood anymore."

Chen Lin chuckled. Of course he wasn't going to tell the girl that he had completely stolen her innate divine ability and now possessed the same Sacred Body as her. Something so shocking was best kept to himself.

"Really?"

Yang Qianqian's face lit up, and she eagerly asked, "Then, about your promise to take me away from the Myriad Demon Sect..."

Before she could finish, Chen Lin waved a hand. "I'll keep my promise, but not right now."

"You!"

The girl's pretty face changed. Thinking Chen Lin was going to go back on his word again, she opened her mouth in anger, ready to curse him as despicable and shameless.

But before she could speak, Chen Lin continued, "You should know that the Myriad Demon Sect controls everything within hundreds of miles. It's an extremely dangerous place. For the sake of your life, we'll need to plan this carefully."

Yang Qianqian parted her lips, her eyes clearly stunned. She hadn't expected Chen Lin to say something like that, and the words she'd been about to spit out caught in her throat.

Thinking it over, Yang Qianqian suddenly realized that Chen Lin really hadn't done anything too outrageous to her. He didn't seem to be the bad person she'd imagined... That was right. What kind of bad person would spend so many Spirit Stones to ransom her for no reason?

With that thought, the hostility in the girl's eyes finally faded as she stared at Chen Lin. She had no idea that he'd saved her only because the Main God Coffin had forced him to...

"Hey, you stinking monster! You seem a little different from the other monsters."

Perhaps it was simply her naturally mischievous nature. Once the girl let go of her wariness toward Chen Lin, her courage suddenly grew. She walked over to him and circled him curiously a few times. Rolling her eyes, she said, "Master says humans and demons are mortal enemies, and that Demon Cultivators are cruel, selfish, vicious, and cunning wretches. But you don't feel like a bad person... Hmm, I guess you barely qualify as a good monster."

"Monster?"

Chen Lin's gaze grew distant. He rolled the word around in his mouth, then gave a self-mocking smile. "A monster, then. So what if I become one, as long as I can bring her back to life..."

Her?

The girl stared at Chen Lin suspiciously, clearly unsure who he meant by "her." But when she heard his words, she couldn't help scoffing. "Bring someone back to life? Who are you trying to resurrect? Hey, you stinking monster, did cultivating make you lose your mind? It's impossible. When someone dies, their soul disperses into this world. How could they ever be brought back?"

"Perhaps..."

Chen Lin shook his head, unwilling to talk about it any further. But whenever he thought of the Main God Coffin's mysteries, a glimmer of hope stirred in his heart. That hope would drive him to evolve as quickly as possible, until he had uncovered every secret of the Main God Coffin. Only then would he have a chance to bring Heart Piercer back to life!

At that thought, a look of determination flashed through Chen Lin's eyes. He gathered his thoughts and ignored the girl, walking straight to a nearby meditation cushion and sitting cross-legged.

He took a jade slip from his Storage Bag. It was the immortal art Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation that Hong Qianlie had ordered him to cultivate. As Chen Lin looked at the jade slip in his hand, an uncertain expression crossed his face.

The side quest was complete. Aside from his trip to the Demon Prison, Chen Lin still had one thing to do: cultivate this so-called Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation. He hadn't forgotten that Hong Qianlie would personally check his progress in half a month. If that unfathomable old monster found out he hadn't cultivated it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Hey, you stinking monster, what are you doing? Are you cultivating some immortal art?"

Yang Qianqian saw that Chen Lin was ignoring her and immediately pouted, feeling bored. But when she saw him close his eyes and press a jade slip to his forehead, his expression shifting between thoughtful and grave, curiosity got the better of her. She couldn't help asking.

Chen Lin opened his eyes and put down the jade slip. "Mm. It's an immortal art that strengthens the soul," he said casually.

"What?!"

The moment Chen Lin finished speaking, the girl darted right in front of him, her little head nearly touching his. She stared suspiciously at the jade slip in his hand. "An immortal art that strengthens the soul? Such arts are incredibly rare across the entire Nanli Continent. Where did a lowly Myriad Demon Sect disciple like you get one?"

"Hm?"

Chen Lin stared at the girl, puzzled. "What, are immortal arts that strengthen the soul rare?"

"Do you really not know, or are you pretending to be ignorant?" The girl looked at Chen Lin helplessly and rolled her eyes. "This is basic knowledge in the cultivation world. Although it's hard to sense the power of the soul in the innate stage, the stronger your soul, the broader the sea of consciousness you can open. That means your future cultivation achievements will naturally be greater. So immortal arts that strengthen the soul are something many cultivators dream of obtaining."

Chen Lin's heart stirred, and he asked in puzzlement, "Wasn't I told that the stronger the soul, the harder it is for the body to withstand its power when opening the sea of consciousness, making the body prone to collapse and death?"

"That only applies to your Demon Race."

Yang Qianqian gave a soft snort. "Heaven favors humanity. The human soul is the most compatible with the world, making humans cultivation's darlings. No matter how powerful our souls become, we humans don't have to worry about our bodies being unable to bear the strain. Unlike you demons—even when you break through to the Sea-Opening Realm, you'll still be struck by a tribulation of lightning."

Chen Lin nodded to himself, enlightened and filled with emotion. No wonder the Demon Race had been in decline for ages, driven into a corner by humans. Human cultivators had every advantage in cultivation, and with one side rising as the other fell, human experts naturally emerged in endless numbers.

Still, that didn't mean the Demon Race had nothing going for it. When cultivation levels were equal, Demon Cultivators had the upper hand over human cultivators. It wasn't only because of their powerful bodies; their innate divine abilities were also strange, unpredictable, and powerful. By comparison, things seemed fairly balanced.

These thoughts flashed through Chen Lin's mind, and he understood the situation. Then his eyes flickered, and he asked, "Little girl, are immortal arts that strengthen the soul really that rare and precious?"

"Of course. The lowest rank of an immortal art capable of strengthening the soul is 'King' rank!"

The girl glanced at Chen Lin. "Do you really not know these basic things about the cultivation world?"

Chen Lin rubbed his nose and smiled wryly. "I only entered the innate stage recently. How would I have had time to learn all this? I don't even know what this King-rank immortal art you mentioned means."

"So that's how it is." Understanding dawned on Yang Qianqian's face. Then her eyes rolled, and she suddenly grinned. "I'm in a good mood, so I'll tell you about some of the basics of the cultivation world. But afterward, you have to let me see the immortal art in your hand. How about it?"

Chen Lin was taken aback and looked at the girl strangely. He hadn't expected the little girl to have her eye on Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation. But the art was only suitable for Demon Cultivators, so even if she saw it, she wouldn't be able to cultivate it. Thinking this, Chen Lin nodded in agreement.

"Really?"

Seeing Chen Lin agree so readily, the girl's face brightened. She gave a light cough and began slowly, "Then first, I'll tell you about immortal arts."

"Immortal arts fall into two categories. Arts in the 'Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow' ranks are merely worldly arts. At most, you can cultivate them to the Sea Opening Realm, after which they're useless. Their power is limited. These are ordinary arts that sects hand out to outer disciples."

"The other category consists of arts that transcend the mundane. The major sects keep these arts in their collections and pass them down to their direct disciples."

"These arts are divided into five ranks, corresponding to 'Human,' 'King,' 'Emperor,' 'Saint,' and 'Venerable.' Of course, according to rumors in the cultivation world, there's an even higher rank above 'Venerable': the 'Ultimate' rank!"

"'Ultimate' arts represent the utmost and the limit. They appear only in rumors and records. Ordinary cultivators could search all their lives and never encounter one."

Chen Lin listened intently. When he heard about Ultimate-rank immortal arts, he suddenly thought of the Dao Heaven he cultivated.

Dao Heaven was a mysterious, ancient scripture. Even the Main God Coffin hadn't given it a definite rank. Its origins were extraordinary and shrouded in mystery. Though it was only a fragment, Chen Lin faintly sensed that Dao Heaven was far from an ordinary immortal art.