Chen Mu was secretly amazed. The Heaven-Questioning Pavilion could produce more than a dozen of these Divine Soul techniques that were unheard of in the outside world. The ancient academy was indeed worthy of its reputation.
After browsing the first floor, Chen Mu's knowledge increased considerably. He learned that soul skills, like martial arts skills, are divided into four major levels from high to low: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.
A Xuan-level secret technique is something that even many martial artists at the True Spirit Realm might not possess, let alone a soul skill, which is extremely rare. The champion reward from the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion is indeed very valuable.
Chen Mu walked to the bookshelf, picked up the leftmost book on secret techniques, and browsed through its description.
Soul-Extinguishing Needle, a single-target soul skill, can condense the Divine Soul into a needle shape to annihilate the enemy without warning.
Chen Mu nodded secretly; this soul skill was very useful.
He wasn't in a hurry to make a decision and continued browsing the other soul skills.
Vortex Great Art, a multi-target soul skill, generates a vortex of Soul Power to restrain a large number of enemies...
Spiral Shuttle, Eye of Bewilderment, Soul-Bewitching Great Art...
Chen Mu read through the books one by one, finally stopping in front of a secret manual.
Heart-Burning Flame is a comprehensive soul skill that can burn the enemy's Divine Soul, drawing them into an illusion from which they cannot escape, thus rendering them powerless.
This ability is remarkably similar to the Karmic Fire within the Karmic Fire Cushion, except that the Heart-Burning Flame is purely offensive and has no effect on tempering the Divine Soul.
I want this one!
Without hesitation, Chen Mu picked up the Heart-Burning Flame Manual and waved it at Qingying.
"This one? With your current level, it would probably take you eight to ten years to achieve anything with this one. I think you should choose another one."
Qingying seemed quite familiar with this soul skill and kindly offered a reminder.
"Why?"
"In terms of power, the Heart-Burning Flame is indeed the strongest among these Xuan-level soul skills."
However, the more powerful a technique is, the better; it also depends on whether it suits you.
According to records, the last disciple to master the Burning Heart-Burning Flame was over a hundred years ago. In the past hundred years, dozens of disciples have tried to obtain this secret technique, but all of them gave up after several years of cultivation without any progress. Therefore, I hope you will seriously consider it."
Qingying was very helpful and patiently explained things to Chen Mu.
Chen Mu remained silent for a while, but still had confidence in the Karmic Fire Cushion, and gritted his teeth.
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister, but I've made up my mind. This is the only one I'll take."
Seeing that Chen Mu insisted, Qingying did not try to dissuade him further and nodded.
"Alright, since you've made up your mind, let's go!"
Chen Mu's decision actually made Qingying look at him with higher regard. After hearing her example, he still had the courage to cultivate. Not everyone has that kind of boldness.
Evening, at Treasure Arrival Peak, inside Chen Mu's courtyard.
After Chen Mu returned home, Chen Duo had already prepared a meal. The two ate a simple meal and then went back to their rooms to cultivate.
Chen Duo went to the Spirit Martial Hall for a lecture today and benefited greatly. She is slowly digesting what she has learned.
After returning to his room, Chen Mu took out the Heart-Burning Flame Secret Technique and began to cultivate it.
Chen Mu carefully read through the Heart-Burning Flame Secret Technique, memorizing its key points, and then sat cross-legged on the bed.
Whoosh!
A gray phantom floated out from his forehead, constantly shifting in the air.
" Heart-Burning Flame, ignite!"
The gray phantom collapsed towards the center, then exploded.
With a loud bang, a spark seemed to flash by, but it disappeared in an instant. The powerful Soul Power surged outwards, and the Spiritual Power throughout the house became extremely chaotic.
Chen Mu groaned, let out a long breath, and opened his eyes.
Profound-level soul skills are indeed not so easy to master.
Then, he took out the Karmic Fire Cushion and sat down on it.
The illusory image of his Divine Soul reformed in mid-air, with pale red Karmic Fire burning beneath it. Wisps of flame slowly merged into his Divine Soul, bringing him pain while also making his Divine Soul more solid.
Since acquiring the Karmic Fire Cushion, he has been using Karmic Fire to temper his soul every day, and his Soul Power has been growing rapidly. His tolerance for Karmic Fire has also become stronger, and now the first level of Karmic Fire can no longer cause him significant pain.
He felt the Karmic Fire tempering him, recalled the key points of cultivating the Heart-Burning Flame, and began to condense the Heart-Burning Flame anew.
" Heart-Burning Flame!"
The gray phantom coalesced into a ball again, and then exploded.
With a bang, fueled by the Karmic Fire, the phantom exploded, and a Xiao Huo actually condensed in the center. This Xiao Huo was very weak and was extinguished in a short while.
"Haha, as expected, with the help of the Karmic Fire, the cultivation speed of the Heart-Burning Flame has greatly increased!"
Chen Mu was overjoyed. His guess was correct. If that was the case, he should be able to cultivate the Heart-Burning Flame to the minor completion level at an extremely fast speed.
He wasted no time and continued practicing, striving to master this soul skill as soon as possible.
The next day, Chen Mu got up early to go to the Talisman Rune Hall for a lecture.
He was actually quite tempted by Elder An's offer to take him as his personal disciple, but his greatest passion was the Dao of Talismans, and he couldn't possibly change his cultivation path just for a better master.
" Duoduo, you can visit several halls these next few days. Although the Spirit Martial Hall is the most comprehensive, the Overlord Body Hall and the Heavenly Sword Hall are also quite good."
Duoduo is young, but her Spiritual Power is not low and she has great potential. Yesterday, she received notices from two or three elders of the Spirit Martial Hall, saying that they were willing to accept her as their disciple.
However, Chen Mu told Duoduo not to rush into making a choice, but to spend half a month understanding the abilities of each elder before making a decision.
"Okay, I understand, bro!"
After their chat, the two set off separately to attend the lecture in the main hall.
Chen Mu walked for more than half an hour and arrived at the gate of the Talisman Rune Hall.
The main hall of the Talisman Rune Hall was very spacious, somewhat similar to the previous apprenticeship hall, but there were fewer people inside; from a distance, only a few dozen students could be seen meditating cross-legged.
Without disturbing anyone else, Chen Mu tiptoed to the back of the crowd, and like the others, sat down cross-legged to listen to the elders on the platform giving their lecture.
Above the Talisman Rune Hall, an old man was giving a lecture. In his hand was a compass covered with runes, its surface shimmering with light and various illusions flashing within it.
"The way of talismans is to correspond with the timing of Heaven above and to align with the advantages of Earth below, connecting Heaven and Earth, and its transformations are endless..."
As he described, the Spiritual Power of heaven and earth transformed into all things in the world, and abstract images were displayed one by one in his compass illusion.
Chen Mu listened with rapt attention, and quickly took out paper and pen from his storage ring to jot down some key points.
Although he was already a true Earth Talisman Master, he was still a self-taught practitioner when it came to advanced rune structures and complex rune combinations.
This kind of academic theoretical knowledge is precisely what he currently lacks most.
At this moment, he was like a sponge, frantically absorbing the knowledge taught by the elder. Many things that he didn't understand before suddenly became clear to him, and this feeling was simply wonderful.