A New Idea o(￣▽￣)d

Hu Gan was waiting outside. When he saw Qin Yu emerge, his gaze unconsciously fell on the scroll in Qin Yu's hand.

"Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art, an Earth Tier Mid-Rank cultivation method?"

After seeing the grade of the cultivation method Qin Yu had brought out, Hu Gan's pupils widened slightly, and he could not help scratching his head.

Some Great Dou Masters might not even be able to break the sealing barrier around an Earth Tier Mid-Rank cultivation method, yet Qin Yu was only a Four-Star Battle Master...

Forget it. There were already too many strange things about this kid Qin Yu. One more hardly mattered.

Tsk. An Earth Tier Mid-Rank cultivation method. Qin Yu's combat ability was about to rise another level.

"Now that you've got what you came for, head back. As for returning with the recruitment team, come tell me whenever you've made up your mind."

After saying that, Hu Gan pondered for a moment before adding,

"Don't take too long. Don't wait until the team has already set off."

"That won't happen."

Qin Yu put away the scroll, thanked Hu Gan, then turned and left the pavilion.

After returning to his dormitory, he spread the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art scroll across the table and carefully read through it from beginning to end.

Eight Desolations Return to Origin, Bearing All Things.

Those eight words were the most concise summary of this cultivation method.

The cultivation method was divided into two parts. The first half was "Bearing," meaning the practitioner's meridians and dantian were like land that carried all things.

The deeper and broader the land, the more it could bear.

Thus, the first step in cultivating this method was continuous reinforcement, making the body's capacity to bear things even greater.

The second half was "Return to Origin," meaning that all kinds of power between heaven and earth ultimately originated from the same source.

The special feature of the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art was that it could use a unique suppressive method to allow powers of different natures to coexist within the practitioner's body.

At this point, Qin Yu's brows rose slightly.

Coexist.

Those two words instantly made him think of the Attribute Conversion he had been pondering.

He had long grasped the principles of the Five Elements' generation and restraint, but every conversion required an immense amount of concentration, and the converted Dou Qi would not last long before dissipating.

This trait of the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art happened to solve his biggest problem.

If his previous Dou Qi had merely been a patch of ordinary soil, then the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art would tamp that soil into a solid foundation.

The next day, Qin Yu took leave and skipped class, plunging straight into the mountains.

When ordinary practitioners switched cultivation methods, the Dou Qi in their bodies would become extremely unstable, and there was a high chance their cultivation realm would regress.

But Qin Yu did not need to worry about that.

After all, what he was doing was not replacement, but fusion.

Where the two cultivation methods conflicted, he altered them. Where they were redundant, he removed them. Where they complemented each other, he merged them.

Time passed second by second.

After an unknown amount of time, a deep muffled sound suddenly came from within Qin Yu's body, as though something had been opened up.

Immediately afterward, a warm sensation rose from his dantian and slowly flowed through a brand-new meridian route toward his limbs and bones.

The Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art was complete.

More precisely, it was a new cultivation method centered on the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art and fused with the strengths of the Mysterious Earth Qilin Formula, retaining the essence of Mountain Qilin Suppresses the Mountains—resonating with mountains and embodying the intent of a Qilin.

Qin Yu opened his eyes and raised his right hand, gathering a ball of earth-brown Dou Qi in his palm.

The Dou Qi was several shades darker than before, and a faint sheen flowed over its surface.

He could feel that every wisp of Dou Qi was now more vigorous than before. The power it could unleash would surely be even greater.

Qin Yu sank his awareness into his body and discovered that a faint yellowish-brown membrane had formed over his meridians, like a protective layer firmly shielding them.

Bearing All Things first required the ability to bear them. This layer of protection was the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art's interpretation of the word "Bearing."

However, an even greater surprise was yet to come.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and sank his awareness into the earth beneath his feet, cautiously drawing a wisp of Earth Vein Force into his body.

The instant the Earth Vein Force entered his meridians, that heavy pressure returned, but it was much lighter than before.

His meridians could now fully bear this wisp of Earth Vein Force.

Moreover, Qin Yu could sense that the membrane formed by the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art was slowly wrapping around that wisp of Earth Vein Force, seeping inward bit by bit.

Though the speed was slow—so slow it was nearly imperceptible—it truly was seeping in.

If Qin Yu's absorption efficiency for this Earth Vein Force had previously been only one percent, it was now two percent.

Numerically, it had indeed increased by only one percent.

But compared to his former self, it had doubled outright!

The Earth Vein Force was so vast that even changing from one drop to two drops would, over time, make a world of difference.

And this was only just after completing the switch in cultivation methods. Once his grasp of the Eight Desolations Return-to-Origin Art became more refined, this efficiency would definitely continue to rise.

He withdrew his awareness, stood up, and stretched his limbs.

The Dou Qi within him flowed like a broad river, steady and powerful, without the slightest trace of the instability ordinary practitioners experienced after switching cultivation methods.

"Eight Desolations Return to Origin, Bearing All Things..."

Qin Yu softly repeated those eight words, when suddenly...

Eh!

I've got another idea o(￣▽￣)d.

Qin Yu once again tried to communicate with the Earth Vein's power, but this time, he was not trying to draw it into his body.

He tried using the Earth Vein beneath this mountain as a foundation, extending his perception outward along the Earth Vein network.

As Qin Yu's perception spread outward along the Earth Vein beneath the mountain, everything within dozens of li around Canaan Academy seemed to enter his sight.

In some places, vast forests covered the ground, and the power contained within their Earth Veins was vastly different from the Earth Vein beneath this mountain.

"If that's the case..."

Following the new idea that had just emerged in his mind, Qin Yu attempted to draw a small wisp from each of two Earth Vein Forces with completely different properties.

Then, following the Earth Vein network, he brought those two powers back.

Heh, it really worked!

Like someone discovering a new continent, Qin Yu tried guiding those two strands of Earth Vein Force into his body.

The next second, an intense burning sensation erupted from within him, and his body surface turned bright red in the blink of an eye.

"Hiss... Ah, fufufufu, that's hot."

The two strands of Earth Vein Force were respectively mixed with fire- and wood-attribute power.

Qin Yu had drawn those two powers into his body because he wanted to try using the product of their reaction to strengthen his Earth-Attribute Battle Qi.

Yet if fire became excessively strong, it would turn parched and violent, causing earth to lose its function.

In plain terms: Burning was fine, but if it burned too fiercely, it would be ruined.

Qin Yu did not dare relax. He swiftly fused the two powers together.

With the wood-attribute power drawing away the fire power, the burning sensation indeed eased considerably.