The Fire Crow Technique and the Fire Shield Technique!
Which one should he practice?
He Pingsheng first looked them over.
After mastering the Fire Crow Technique, he could release the fire spiritual power within his body and condense it into fire crows to send out against his enemies.
It was only a low-level spell.
Its offensive power, however, was nothing to scoff at.
Once he reached minor mastery, he could release a single fire crow and control it with his divine sense to attack enemies within ten zhang.
Any farther was impossible, because He Pingsheng could currently extend his divine sense only ten zhang.
At major mastery, he could release nine fire crows at once to fight his enemies.
At perfection, he could release a hundred and eight blazing crows in a single breath, their offensive power unrivaled.
With the flock wheeling wildly through the air, he could easily kill even a cultivator at the twelfth level of the Qi Refining Stage.
Of course, reaching perfection would be difficult.
Then there was the Fire Shield Technique.
This was a defensive spell.
Once mastered, it allowed him to instantly form a fire-aspected shield capable of blocking one strike from an enemy at the same cultivation level.
All in all, both spells were very useful to He Pingsheng as he was now.
Which should I practice first?
The Fire Crow Technique, of course.
Without a way to attack, what good would even the most formidable defense do?
Naturally, an offensive spell took priority.
He Pingsheng first memorized the key instructions for practicing the Fire Crow Technique, then began training in his room.
In the early stages, he had no need to worry about burning down his room.
He could not condense any flames at all.
Once he could circulate his fire spiritual power properly through his meridians, he would be able to condense it into the shape of a fire crow.
Practicing spells was somewhat easier than cultivating.
As long as he used the right method, it was merely a matter of honing his proficiency. The moment he could draw the fire spiritual power out of his body, he would have completed the first step.
This depended not on aptitude, but on proficiency alone.
One day!
Two days!
Three days!
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days passed.
That day, He Pingsheng was practicing the Fire Crow Technique as usual when a tongue of flame suddenly sprang from his right palm, transforming into a dazzling crow in an instant.
The crow was small, only a little larger than his palm.
Blinding fire blazed all over it as it beat its wings incessantly in his palm, as though ready to soar at any moment.
Overjoyed, He Pingsheng took a deep breath and withdrew his magic power. With the fire spiritual power withdrawn, the fire crow in his palm lost its foundation and vanished instantly.
"The room is too cramped. I can't put it to use here!"
"Hmm... I'll find somewhere secluded to test this divine ability!"
He Pingsheng stood up and brushed himself off. Just as he was about to head outside, he suddenly noticed the Treasure-Gathering Basin lying beneath his bed.
This place was different from Bamboo Peak.
Someone could barge into his room at any moment.
The scene of his parents' treasure being stolen all those years ago remained vivid before his eyes.
He Pingsheng therefore felt uneasy about leaving the Treasure-Gathering Basin in his room while he was away.
Most likely, even a thief would not bother touching it, but what if one did?
This was a treasure.
He Pingsheng could not afford to gamble.
Yet taking it with him would be too much trouble.
"Ah!" He could not help letting out a deep sigh. "If only I had a Storage Bag!"
Unfortunately, that was only a beautiful dream.
Even among the exceptionally gifted inner disciples of the Great Void Sect, more than ninety-nine percent lacked such a high-grade item as a Storage Bag.
Such things were usually reserved for elders in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
How could he dare hope for one?
"Maybe... I should bury it after all!"
He Pingsheng picked up the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
But just as he was about to dig up the floor, a flash of inspiration struck him.
When he was little, he had seen his father cut his finger and drip blood essence onto a magical artifact.
Could dripping blood onto this treasure bind it to me?
I'll give it a try!
If it did not work, he could still bury it afterward.
Deciding to try his luck, He Pingsheng picked up a small knife from the table and, with a quick slice, made a small cut on his left hand.
A few drops of fresh blood immediately welled out.
He Pingsheng dripped the blood straight into the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
Soon, something miraculous happened.
A flash of golden light suddenly appeared where the blood had landed.
Then the blood followed previously invisible patterns, merging into the entire body of the Treasure-Gathering Basin in an instant.
Within a few breaths, the blood was gone.
"Again!"
He Pingsheng let another drop of blood fall, and another flash of golden light appeared.
After he repeated this several times, the basin suddenly changed. With a whoosh, it transformed into a streak of purple-gold light and flew into his body.
This...
He Pingsheng was dumbstruck.
Where's my treasure? Where's the basin?
It hasn't disappeared, has it?
The next moment, He Pingsheng stirred his divine sense and looked within himself.
There, inside his Dantian, a black basin lay quietly beneath a crimson qi vortex.
What else could it be but the Treasure-Gathering Basin?
"Come..."
He Pingsheng willed his divine sense to move.
With a whoosh, the Treasure-Gathering Basin once again turned into golden light, flew out, and landed in his hand.
"Return..." With another stir of his divine sense, the Treasure-Gathering Basin returned to his Dantian.
He drew in several sharp breaths...
Wonderful.
He Pingsheng burst into laughter, then flopped onto the bed with a thump and took a deep breath.
From now on, he would never have to worry about someone stealing the Treasure-Gathering Basin again.
After quite some time, He Pingsheng's excitement faded, and he began thinking again.
The Treasure-Gathering Basin is safely put away.
But there are still two Jade Bottles in the room.
Those two Pill Bottles still contain two Supreme Qi-Gathering Pills. What should I do with them?
Carry them with me?
He wondered whether he could place items inside the Treasure-Gathering Basin and then put it away.
Hmm...
Let's try!
"Come..." With a stir of He Pingsheng's divine sense, the Treasure-Gathering Basin appeared in his hand.
Clink...
A sound rang out!
He Pingsheng dropped the two Jade Bottles into the basin.
"Return!"
This time, he tried putting the Treasure-Gathering Basin away.
Whoosh...
The Treasure-Gathering Basin really did enter his Dantian.
He Pingsheng swept his divine sense through his body and found that the two Jade Bottles were indeed inside the Treasure-Gathering Basin in his Dantian.
Ha!
It really can take them inside.
Since it can, I might as well put everything in together.
"Come..." He Pingsheng summoned the Treasure-Gathering Basin from his Dantian, then placed the two books inside as well.
Besides the two books, he noticed that there was also a sack of spirit rice in the room.
It weighed a little over a hundred jin.
That definitely would not fit.
He Pingsheng had tried before, and the basin could hold only a little over ten jin of spirit rice.
Any more was impossible.
"Ah..." He sighed and said, "It's a little small. If only the Treasure-Gathering Basin could be a bit bigger!"
As soon as He Pingsheng's words fell, the Treasure-Gathering Basin sitting on the table suddenly grew a size larger.
From the size of an ordinary basin, it became as large as a bathtub.
Now, fitting the spirit rice inside would certainly be no problem.
At that moment, however, He Pingsheng no longer had any interest in putting away the spirit rice. He stared excitedly at the Treasure-Gathering Basin and said, "Bigger, bigger... bigger..."
The Treasure-Gathering Basin grew larger and larger.
Only when the entire basin measured three chi across did it stop growing.
In other words, three chi was the basin's limit.
Before you continue