Qi Yan thought it over. "It feels like... there isn't much difference?"
"There is, big brother," Mu Xunzhen said. "At the lower end, Dao Arts begin with perceiving connections and stirring wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. It's a matter of borrowing power and guiding it; witchcraft first builds up your own power, then forcibly commands external energy. That is dominion."
"What about at the higher end?"
"At the higher end, if you gain dominion over flames, you become the God of Fire, the one and only. Anyone else who wants to reach that step has to kill you first, returning the proof of the Fire God to the void. Dao Arts, well, you know, big brother, there's no such restriction. Anyone who cultivates them to the utmost can command the laws of flame. That's the biggest difference."
Qi Yan found this quite enlightening. "Which do you think is stronger?"
Mu Xunzhen seemed to scratch her head on the other end. "I don't know either. I've never seen anyone that powerful, in either system."
Something stirred in Qi Yan's mind, and he suddenly understood why witchcraft had declined so far that no one around here knew it anymore.
Never mind the surrounding area-by his reckoning, there probably weren't many practitioners on the entire continent.
Perhaps witchcraft was easier to get started with, since it didn't require spiritual roots, but its demands on comprehension and physique were no less exacting. Few people would truly be able to cultivate it well. And once the two systems had developed alongside one another to a certain point, witchcraft's exclusive paths to attaining the Dao meant it would inevitably have fewer top experts than Dao Arts. Even if its ceiling really was higher, unless it was high enough to crush the opposition, their greater numbers could still beat you to death.
If a clash of ideals led to a great war between them, witchcraft would inevitably decline and perish. Some places might even classify it as a forbidden art and prohibit anyone from practicing it.
This little crybaby not only knew it, but was an expert. He really had picked up a cheat.
At this thought, Qi Yan asked very seriously, "Does that mean if I want to practice witchcraft, I need to choose a domain to preside over?"
"Not at the beginning, but you'll definitely need to at a certain point."
"Then is there any domain that's considered the strongest?"
"Yes. Presiding over fate."
Presiding over fate.
The very words carried the flavor of witchcraft, an air of the vast, ancient past sweeping over him at their sound.
The immortal Dao also had the concept of presiding over fate-even the first star of the Southern Dipper was called the Star Lord of Fate by Daoists-but there were certainly no Dao Arts specifically devoted to cultivating in that direction.
Because the subject of "fate" was simply too vast.
It was life, and destiny, and could also encompass marriage and reproduction.
The Dao of life and death, the Dao of karma, the Dao of creation-all lay within it. If he sorted through it in detail, he would probably have to add the Dao of divination and the Dao of time.
Destiny was ever-changing; who could know it in its entirety? Even knowing fate was difficult, yet you wanted to preside over it.
Before he knew it, his magical power was nearly exhausted again... Qi Yan said sincerely, "Thanks, little crybaby. I've really learned a lot this time."
Mu Xunzhen understood what he was implying and sounded reluctant. "Are you ending the call again, big brother?"
Qi Yan said, "You can contact me whenever something comes up. It's not like I'm going to disappear."
Mu Xunzhen sounded aggrieved. "I don't know when it's convenient. I'm afraid I might disturb your secluded cultivation or interfere with a fight."
"It's fine. Our jade pendants only vibrate lightly. It won't interfere with fighting or meditation. If I can't answer, just assume I'm busy. No sniveling."
"I don't snivel!"
"All right, all right. My tough little crybaby."
Putting away the jade pendant amid the little crybaby's lingering reluctance, Qi Yan quietly let out a breath.
Presiding over fate...
It sounded very tempting.
If he were talking about aspirations, this counted as one... Although it seemed even more nebulous and unattainable than becoming Perfected Mu's disciple, he could keep it in mind for now. The biggest benefit of activating his crybaby cheat this time was getting the concepts straight.
Judging by this, his family's ancestral method differed completely from the commonly understood immortal Dao, whether in its theoretical foundations, cultivation methods, or even how its curses worked. No wonder his whole family had failed to achieve much with it. He really couldn't blame them for being stupid.
But now that he had a cheat, at least there would be no more obstacles in this introductory stage of cultivation. It was far too early to decide what direction he would cultivate in. He would advance through the Qi Refining Stage step by step before worrying about anything else.
Holding the fingernail-sized spirit stone, Qi Yan discarded his established approach of sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He simply drew energy from the stone to replenish himself, circulating the qi sea in his dantian according to the first level of the Qi Family Cultivation Method.
Then he discovered that this went far more smoothly than his previous cultivation, when he had forcibly connected to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth... Not only was absorption faster and his qi circulating smoothly, but the cultivation method's effects also simultaneously transformed his muscles, qi, and blood, forming a universe within himself.
It was a little like cultivating the martial side at the same time... Of course, it wasn't as comprehensive as a genuine martial cultivation method, but it was clearly more well-rounded in terms of his overall cultivation.
So those ancient great witches must all have had powerful bodies. Perhaps cultivating it deeply enough would even produce some special physique? He wasn't sure.
Qi Yan opened his eyes. Without his noticing, daylight had fully broken, and the spirit stone in his hand had crumbled to dust, without the slightest trace of spiritual energy left.
The qi within him had almost doubled...
Second Layer of Qi Refining.
Once he went from cultivating blindly to having clear guiding principles, the difference was like heaven and earth-no different from Liu Bei obtaining the Longzhong Plan.
Yet Qi Yan's first reaction to his cultivation breakthrough was actually: Next time, I can talk to the little crybaby for much longer...
Just as he was finding himself rather amusing, an extremely faint sound seemed to come from the center of the dense woods.
Qi Yan's interest stirred. He quietly ventured a few steps forward, parting the thick branches and leaves to peer deeper into the woods from afar.
There was a small clearing in the woods, where several black-clad figures sat cross-legged. A pale-faced young man with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth staggered over and plopped down to one side.
The sound Qi Yan had heard came from him stepping on dead branches. He was probably too injured to control his footsteps.
The others here seemed about as strong as Qi Yan, at most around the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining. This young man, on the other hand, still felt quite oppressive even while injured. Who knew what he was like at full strength? It looked like the usual pattern of a senior taking newcomers out for training, only for the senior to return injured...
Good thing he was injured. Otherwise, Qi Yan's presence certainly wouldn't have escaped his notice.
Someone said, "Eldest senior brother, how did you get hurt so badly? Is Luo Chaoge really that formidable?"
Qi Yan: "..."
What a coincidence. So you're the one who tried to assassinate Luo Chaoge?
Did Jiang Jinyue give him those injuries? She actually failed to kill him. That little demoness isn't pulling her weight.
The young man still sounded shaken. "Some woman appeared out of nowhere and caught my sword between two fingers. A strange power invaded without a sound. If I hadn't used a secret art to withstand it, I probably wouldn't have made it back alive. What's even scarier is that I don't think she was remotely serious. It was just casual, casual, like she was playing..."
The others exchanged glances, all showing a hint of schadenfreude, though none dared express it. Someone coughed dryly. "We said it before. Luo Chaoge is a seed for the Resounding Sword Sect's next generation. The sect might have sent a Dao protector along with her. How could you succeed so easily? Our target is Anding City. Luo Chaoge won't stay long. We could have waited until she left and been done with it. Why provoke her? Sigh..."
"What the hell do you know? This is Luo Chaoge's great Golden Core hurdle. With that sword sect's rotten temperament, Qin Poxu would never arrange a Dao protector. He'd definitely make Luo Chaoge overcome it and gain enlightenment herself. That woman's appearance made no sense whatsoever." The young man said bitterly, "Besides, if I could take Luo Chaoge, I'd be guaranteed to break through to Golden Core. Wouldn't that make our mission in Anding City even more certain?"
Someone gave a lecherous grin. "Luo Chaoge really is beautiful. If we could..."
The young man kicked him. "Fuck off. You think you'd get a share?"
Qi Yan narrowed his eyes.
Someone else said, "Then what now? Senior brother, you've come back injured. What about the mission? If the Demon Venerable gets angry..."
"As long as that woman's here, forget about the mission. We can only wait for her to leave, and I can heal first." At this, the young man swept a cold gaze over them. "All right, I need to heal. Go find me medicinal herbs! Golden Crown Flowers, Heartguard Grass, Heavenly Meridian Grass-go find them all! If the nearby towns don't have them, look farther away!"
The others withdrew meekly and scattered, leaving only two people beside the black-clad young man to guard him as he healed.
Qi Yan thought for a moment, then quietly retreated and followed the man who had called Luo Chaoge beautiful from a distance.
The man hadn't been much stronger than Qi Yan to begin with, and his senior brother's kick had left him slightly injured. He was cursing the whole way. "Bastard. He creates complications over Luo Chaoge, gets beaten like a dog, then takes it out on us..."
Before he finished speaking, his qi and blood suddenly surged into disorder, and he nearly fell flat on his face.
Witchcraft: Blood-Chaos Curse.
Before he could regain his balance, a bolt of lightning struck from right above his head. He had no time to react before it blasted him crisp outside and tender within, sending him crashing to the ground.
Dao Arts: Lightning Attraction Technique. A basic Dao Art Qi Yan had learned during the first eighteen years of his life.
Immediately afterward, a large foot kicked in from the side, striking him squarely in the right flank.
The man curled up on the ground in pain, without the slightest ability to fight back.
He struggled to raise his head and saw a tall, handsome man crouching before him, smiling brightly. "Tell me, who are you, and what are you planning to do to Anding City?"
The man gritted his teeth and said nothing.
Qi Yan pressed a hand against him and activated the Blood-Chaos Curse again.
With added power at such close range, the man screamed. Blood boiled and surged wildly throughout his body, even bursting through his blood vessels and seeping out through his skin. In an instant, he became a figure drenched in blood.
Even Qi Yan hadn't expected this witchcraft to be so sinister. The sight alarmed him somewhat, but he kept smiling. "Why put yourself through this? Wouldn't answering properly settle everything?"
Unable to hold out any longer, the man answered with difficulty, "W-we're from the Extreme Dao Sect..."
Qi Yan had heard of the Extreme Dao Sect, a demonic sect that had emerged on the Tianliang Continent in recent years, said to be exceedingly evil and vicious. Anding City was a small city, after all, and he had never seen them active here before. He hadn't expected their tentacles to have reached this far already.
"So what are you trying to do?"
"S-set up formation nodes, to welcome... the Abyssal Rift..." The man struggled to get this far. Perhaps he had triggered some taboo, for his eyes suddenly bulged.
Qi Yan immediately retreated at full speed, and the man exploded with a bang, leaving no intact corpse.
Qi Yan frowned slightly. Why did these so-called demonic methods feel similar to witchcraft in so many respects?