Earth Immortal Path Beginner Technique

Liu Yuanchen opened the beast-hide book to see what secret art it contained.

Inside the cover, the first page bore the three large characters: "Myriad Beasts Scripture." Beside them was a smaller line: "Azure Ape Forest-Piercing Technique."

Judging by this, the contents recorded in this beast-hide book should only be part of the Myriad Beasts Scripture.

After carefully reading through it, he found that this Azure Ape technique bore some resemblance to the Blood-and-Qi Tempering Technique he had cultivated before.

Its contents were divided into four parts. The first was the "Azure Ape Guiding Technique."

It likewise involved performing certain special movements while coordinating the circulation of qi, blood, and spiritual power to strengthen one's blood and qi.

The brilliance of this secret art lay in its ability to consume spiritual power and convert it into blood and qi.

This greatly reduced the resource consumption needed to strengthen one's blood and qi.

The second was the "Azure Ape Astral-Condensation Formula," a method for condensing astral force.

This section differed considerably from the Bloodsteel Secret Art. The book included an Azure Ape Visualization Diagram.

One had to comprehend the Azure Ape's divine resonance and use it to stir one's blood, qi, and spiritual power, condensing them into the image of an Azure Ape.

This Azure Ape should be the Astral Force Seed. Together with the Astral Condensation Formula, it could consume blood, qi, and spiritual power to condense astral force.

Blood and qi came from the body. Even if one's physical body was powerful, they still had to regenerate slowly.

Spiritual power, however, came from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and was nearly inexhaustible.

Refining spiritual energy through cultivation techniques was far faster than replenishing blood and qi.

The third part was a method for tempering the physical body with astral force, and it was quite similar to the contents recorded in the Bloodsteel Secret Art.

The final section contained the spells paired with the Azure Ape Forest-Piercing Technique, all of which were driven by astral force.

When Liu Yuanchen reached the end, his heart surged with excitement.

When he had cultivated the Bloodsteel Secret Art before, it had come with no matching spells, which had always left him regretful.

He had not expected to so easily obtain spells powered by astral force.

And there was more than one such spell.

They included the Forest-Piercing Escape Art, Ape King Fist, and Mountain-Splitting Staff Art—three spells in total.

Aside from the Forest-Piercing Escape Art, the other two were offensive spells, but both were close-range techniques.

It seemed that, like blood astral force, the astral force of the Earth Immortal Path could not leave the body over any great distance.

In terms of offense and defense, control, casting speed, and other aspects, astral force far surpassed spiritual power.

If that were not the case, the Qi Refinement Path, which cultivated spiritual power, would have long since vanished.

Grrrumble—

Just as Liu Yuanchen was engrossed in reading, a rumbling sound came from nearby.

He looked up to see Meng Tieshan clutching his stomach, too restless to sit or stand properly.

Seeing Liu Yuanchen looking at him, Meng Tieshan said awkwardly, "Sorry, Senior Brother Liu. Senior Zhao brought me here, and I haven't eaten for two meals already."

Liu Yuanchen took out a small storage pouch he carried with him. "Deputy Hall Master Zhao's cultivation is profound, so skipping meals would not affect him much. He must have simply overlooked it.

"There are two hundred Grain-Banishing Pills inside. An ordinary person only needs one to avoid hunger for a whole day."

He opened the storage pouch and handed it to Meng Tieshan.

His stomach was growling with hunger, and he could not spare a thought for being in an unfamiliar place. He took the pouch, pulled out five or six Grain-Banishing Pills, and began eating them.

With his mouth full, he mumbled, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

After chewing the pills a few times, he tipped back his head and swallowed them.

One look at the way he ate made it clear that he had quite the appetite.

But Liu Yuanchen was not worried. What did a few Grain-Banishing Pills amount to?

He still had two or three hundred jin of Golden-Thread Rice, all harvested from the Spirit Realms of Yujin Mountain and Bluestone Mountain before he had returned to the sect.

With his alchemy skills, that could yield over a thousand Grain-Banishing Pills—more than enough to last half a year.

That was plenty of time for the Golden-Thread Rice to mature twice.

As an Alchemy Master and Spirit Apothecary, raising a big eater would be effortless.

Meng Tieshan praised, "Senior Brother, your Grain-Banishing Pills are delicious. They're fragrant and sweet, and they even have the aroma of rice.

"Back at Twin Dragon Valley Market, I was good at farming, so my master rewarded me with a Grain-Banishing Pill. But it was nowhere near as good as yours."

With that, he placed the storage pouch and all the Grain-Banishing Pills inside it on the table.

The pills Liu Yuanchen kept on hand were, at worst, of good quality.

A large portion of the ingredients for these Grain-Banishing Pills had been grown in the Bluestone Mountain Spirit Realm, making them far superior to ordinary Golden-Thread Rice.

"Are you full?"

Meng Tieshan gave an embarrassed smile. "Not yet, but I can't keep eating.

"My mother said that if you eat someone else's food, you have to help them work.

"I was too hungry just now. I ate before helping you work, so I already made a mistake.

"Now that I'm no longer hungry, I can't make another mistake."

"By the way, Senior Brother, is there any work you need me to do?

"I may eat a lot, but I can work too.

"Back at Twin Dragon Valley Market, even those Spirit Apothecaries couldn't farm as well as I could, and they weren't as strong as me either."

Liu Yuanchen sighed inwardly. Having seen so much scheming and calculation in the cultivation world, it was rare to encounter such a simple and honest child.

"Deputy Hall Master Zhao saved my life. He entrusted you to my care, so you don't need to work for me."

Meng Tieshan shook his head. "No. I can't use Senior Zhao's favor to get food for myself.

"We don't owe each other anything. I can't eat your Grain-Banishing Pills for free."

Liu Yuanchen sighed. "You really are honest to a fault. Fine, then. I plan to open up more Spirit Fields in front of the cave dwelling.

"The land has not been cleared yet. Help me pull out the weeds, then loosen the soil and water it afterward.

"When you weed, avoid the spirit plants.

"Oh, right. Can you tell spirit plants apart?"

The moment he heard there was work to do, Meng Tieshan's face lit up. "I can. Spirit plants have a very distinctive fragrance.

"When I worked at Twin Dragon Valley Market, I never mixed up spirit plants and weeds."

Spirit plants contained spiritual power and naturally carried a special aura.

Using scent to identify them was indeed a viable method.

Liu Yuanchen took the tools for clearing land out of the storeroom.

Meng Tieshan carried the tools and went to clear the land outside the cave dwelling.

After briefly reading through the beast-hide book, Liu Yuanchen began cultivating the Azure Ape Guiding Technique.

Following the records in the secret art, he circulated his blood, qi, and spiritual power, then moved his body through various forms.

The movements of the Azure Ape Guiding Technique were not particularly twisted or awkward. Instead, they imitated the movements of apes.

The Azure Ape's body structure was already very close to that of humans, only more agile and physically stronger.

Imitating its movements was not particularly difficult.

Liu Yuanchen practiced for only a short while before feeling thoroughly refreshed.

His blood and qi flowed through his entire body, while his spiritual power circulated without the slightest obstruction.

He marveled inwardly, This is merely an introductory technique, yet it is already so extraordinary.

It seems Deputy Hall Master Zhao's sect is far from simple.

After practicing the Azure Ape Guiding Technique for less than half a quarter-hour, the blood and qi throughout his body had increased considerably.

The Guiding Technique contained within the Bloodsteel Secret Art could also strengthen blood and qi, but after cultivating it for only a short time, hunger would strike.

That Guiding Technique could only consume resources to increase blood and qi.

During cultivation, one had to constantly consume spiritual items such as Grain-Banishing Pills and convert their energy into blood and qi.

Without spiritual items, forcibly cultivating the Guiding Technique would instead damage the physical body.

The Azure Ape Guiding Technique, however, consumed a portion of spiritual power while consuming resources.

Even without spiritual items to assist it, one could rely entirely on spiritual power.

In that case, though, the increase in blood and qi would be extremely slow, and the cultivation results would be abysmal.

It was still very worthwhile to consume some resources during cultivation.

Feeling the abundant power of blood and qi throughout his body, Liu Yuanchen thought again, The Azure Ape Guiding Technique alone is this effective.

I wonder whether the astral force condensed through the Azure Ape Astral-Condensation Formula will be stronger than blood astral force.

With that thought, he opened the beast-hide book and carefully studied the Azure Ape Visualization Diagram within.

The diagram depicted a dark greenish-black ape.

Its body hung from a great tree. One hand gripped a branch, while the other reached for fruit on a slender branch nearby.

Its arm muscles bulged from exertion.

Judging solely by its body structure, this Azure Ape was no different from a sturdy Human Race member with long limbs.

The only difference was its coat of dark greenish-black fur.

Liu Yuanchen stared at it for a while but failed to sense any mysteries within.

When he extended his Divine Sense into it, the scene before his eyes abruptly changed.

He had been inside the cave dwelling, but now he suddenly stood in a forest.

Before him stood a great tree. A dark greenish-black ape hung from one of its branches, exactly as depicted in the visualization diagram.

Liu Yuanchen watched quietly from the side, yet the Azure Ape showed no sign of noticing him.

From the looks of it, the ape seemed unable to sense him.

Or rather, everything before him was merely an illusion stored within the visualization diagram.

He was only a spectator and did not belong to this illusion.

That is for the best. Only by remaining uninvolved can I comprehend the Azure Ape's divine resonance from an outsider's perspective.

The Azure Ape plucked the fruit and was just about to eat it.

Suddenly, a pitch-black ape leaped down from the dense canopy and snatched the fruit away.

Ape demonic beasts were never known for their good tempers. With the fruit already in its hand stolen away, the Azure Ape naturally would not let the matter rest.

It roared and leaped from the tree, tangling with the Black Ape in battle.

Liu Yuanchen remained to one side, carefully observing the Azure Ape's movements.

Recalling the combat techniques included with the Azure Ape Forest-Piercing Technique, he realized that the Ape King Fist had clearly been created based on the Azure Ape's movements.

As he watched, Liu Yuanchen could not help imitating the Azure Ape.

Every movement and stance of the Ape King Fist unfolded before his eyes.

The two apes fought hand-to-hand at close range for a full quarter-hour.

Liu Yuanchen also took the opportunity to run through the Ape King Fist several times from beginning to end.

Even when performed with blood astral force alone, its power was quite impressive.

The two apes were evenly matched, and neither could gain the upper hand for the moment.

The Azure Ape swung a palm and chopped through a sapling as thick as an arm. After stripping away its branches and leaves, it became a long staff.

Holding the staff, it swung it with fierce momentum.

Every move was disciplined and precise.

Its movements were also nearly identical to the forms of the Mountain-Splitting Staff Art.

The two apes had originally been evenly matched, but the Black Ape fought barehanded and was naturally no match for the Azure Ape.

After taking several blows from the staff, it no longer dared to fight.

It grabbed a branch, swung into the canopy with its momentum, and attempted to flee.

How could the Azure Ape let it go so easily?

Gripping the long staff, it pursued relentlessly.

Ordinary apes had extremely long arms and very short legs.

The Azure Ape, however, was an exception. Not only were its arms long, but its legs were not short either.

After running for some distance, it kicked off the trunks of several great trees and reached the canopy as well.

Its long legs moved across the densely branched canopy as if on level ground.

Liu Yuanchen carefully observed the Azure Ape's running movements and found them remarkably similar to the Forest-Piercing Escape Art.

It seems the three spells included with the Azure Ape Forest-Piercing Technique were all created by imitating the Azure Ape's movements.

Perhaps these spells were not even intended for combat, but to help practitioners comprehend the Azure Ape's divine resonance.

Afterward, he too imitated the Azure Ape's movements as he ran through the forest, closely pursuing the two apes.

After another half a quarter-hour of pursuit, the Azure Ape beat the Black Ape to death, and the battle finally came to an end.

During that time, Liu Yuanchen practiced repeatedly and brought all three spells to the beginner level.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a faint pain in his head.

Then the scene before his eyes began to twist and distort.

When it returned to normal, he was once again inside the cave dwelling.

His head felt heavy and muddled, as though he might fall asleep at any moment. These were symptoms of excessive Divine Sense depletion.

He took out a good-quality Spirit-Awakening Pill and swallowed it, quickly regaining his energy.

Through the spirit plants cultivated by the Yi Wood Origin-Nourishing Art, he observed the situation outside the cave dwelling. Meng Tieshan had only just cleared a patch of land one zhang square.

It seems that not much time passed while my consciousness was trapped inside the visualization diagram—at most a quarter-hour.

This visualization diagram consumes far too much Divine Sense. It drained mine completely in so little time.

Junior Brother Meng has not even begun cultivating and cannot use Divine Sense. He cannot rely on the visualization diagram to comprehend the Azure Ape's divine resonance at all.

Deputy Hall Master Zhao likely considered this as well when he asked me to teach Junior Brother Meng cultivation.

Once his Divine Sense had fully recovered, he left the cave dwelling and practiced the Ape King Fist beside Reflecting Moon Creek.

Though it was his first time performing it in the real world, he was already extremely proficient.

It seems the experience accumulated within the visualization diagram can be brought completely into the real world, and it takes very little time.

Although it consumes a great deal of Divine Sense, it is entirely worth it.

Over the following days, Liu Yuanchen continuously practiced the Ape King Fist, Forest-Piercing Escape Art, and Mountain-Splitting Staff Art.

As he continued to recall it, the scene he had seen in the visualization diagram grew increasingly clear.

Moreover, Liu Yuanchen imitated the Azure Ape's movements without the slightest deviation.

To cultivate the Azure Ape Astral-Condensation Formula, one had to condense an Astral Force Seed.

The Astral Force Seed of this method differed from the one used in the Bloodsteel Secret Art. It could not be formed simply by condensing one's qi and blood.

It not only required the expenditure of qi and blood, but also a certain amount of mana.

Besides that, one also had to draw upon the Azure Ape's divine bearing.

This was similar to when he had cultivated the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood Technique and outlined the Divine Tree Visualization Diagram within his Sea of Consciousness.

The Astral Force Seed he was condensing now was more like a combination of outlining a visualization diagram and condensing a Blood Astral Force Seed.

Anything involving comprehension was, to some extent, related to the strength of one's Divine Sense.

Thus, the Astral Force Seed of the Azure Ape Astral-Condensation Formula simultaneously drew upon the power of qi and blood, mana, and Divine Sense.

To a certain extent, it could be considered the unification of essence, qi, and spirit.

Drawing on some of his past experience, Liu Yuanchen began attempting to condense the Astral Force Seed.

Whenever he encountered something he did not understand, he continued practicing those three techniques.

After more than ten days of effort, he finally condensed the Astral Force Seed.

At that moment, an ape sat cross-legged within his Lower Dantian.

The ape's fur was entirely blue-black. Aside from standing only an inch tall, it was identical to the Azure Ape in the visualization diagram.

Liu Yuanchen circulated the Azure Ape Astral-Condensation Formula, and the tiny Azure Ape began absorbing qi and blood along with mana.

Before long, streams of Astral Force dispersed from the tiny Azure Ape's body.

Delighted, Liu Yuanchen thought, "I've finally succeeded in cultivating the Azure Ape Forest-Piercing Technique."