Chapter 19: The Underworld Cave (Part Six)

Page (1/3)

The Celestial Evolution Stele truly did not disappoint Yao Qian. After the knowledge from the golden page entered her mind, she derived a soul-attack technique called the “God-Slaying Needle Art.” This cultivation method was not too difficult; Yao Qian had already practiced more than half of it previously.

It involved condensing one’s spiritual consciousness into countless needles to pierce the enemy’s sea of consciousness. However, her previous spiritual needles could only be condensed defensively during combat, and if not used immediately after formation, they would quickly dissipate. This was because her method only involved simple condensation of spiritual consciousness without gathering the core power of the spiritual force.

The core of the God-Slaying Needle Art was the God-Slaying Talisman. By condensing the talisman with spiritual energy, one could forge needles that would not dissipate. Once refined, these God-Slaying Needles could be nurtured within the sea of consciousness, and the longer the nurturing, the greater their power.

Yao Qian was overjoyed. With the God-Slaying Needles, her offensive ability would undoubtedly improve by several levels. She might even be able to actively hunt the Yin Soul Beasts. Over the past three years, she must have accumulated considerable resources.

Yao Qian and Jin Xiuer both secluded themselves in their respective caves to cultivate. They only met when the marketplace opened to exchange the information they had gathered. Unlike Yao Qian, who decided what Daoist art to learn after collecting information, Jin Xiuer had already started learning the Gu Insect Scripture the next day. She told Yao Qian, “I’ve played with insects since I was a child and am most skilled at the Gu insects. I don’t want to learn anything else.”

Yao Qian nodded slightly. She had chosen the God-Slaying Needle Art partly because she was already adept at using spiritual power in her previous life. “Since we’re new here, we should focus on what we’re familiar with. Once we improve our cultivation, we can explore other unfamiliar arts.”

Jin Xiuer sighed, “The Gu Insect Scripture is a secret manual only the Hei Miao Great Clan can learn. Even my ancestral elder has only heard of it. Yet here, outer disciples can learn it—this really is a top-tier sect.”

Looking at Jin Xiuer’s delighted face, Yao Qian felt a slight chill in her heart. Since they had joined the sect, Yao Qian had sensed that the Infinite Void Sect did not act entirely like a demonic sect. They merely forbade disciples from going out rather than using other methods to control them.

Now Yao Qian realized the sect’s true strength: controlling the physical body was a last resort, while controlling the mind was the supreme strategy. Jin Xiuer was already a resolute child, yet after only half a year in the sect, she had developed a sense of belonging. Over time, who could truly leave the Infinite Void Sect?

Even Yao Qian was reluctant to leave. Within the sect, there was hope for ascension. If she left, could she join one of the Nine Mysterious Sects of the Profound Gate? As she pondered this, she chuckled silently. Now that she was cultivating immortality, why still think about Profound or Demonic sects? She would take things one step at a time. She asked Jin Xiuer, “What do you want to buy at the market later?”

Jin Xiuer replied, “I want to buy food for the Gu insects and some Three Yang Talisman Water.”

“Three Yang True Water?” Yao Qian was momentarily puzzled. What was that?

“Three Yang True Water is a kind of pure water we Dao children drink because we can only temporarily practice the Taiyin Qi-Absorbing Technique and not the Taiyang Qi-Absorbing Technique. It contains a faint trace of Yang energy that prevents our bodies from being completely corroded by Yin energy.”

After all, pure Yin energy was the essence of ghosts. Humans were a balance of Yin and Yang; too much pure Yin or pure Yang energy was harmful and required regulation.

Yao Qian was surprised that the Infinite Void Sect had such a thing. She asked, “Why can’t we practice both Taiyin and Taiyang simultaneously?”

Jin Xiuer explained, “The Yang energy in the Taiyang Qi-Absorbing Technique is too intense for our souls to endure, so we must first practice Taiyin, then Taiyang.” She winced, “I heard the Three Yang True Water is very expensive.”

Yao Qian said, “No matter how expensive, we have to buy it, or we’ll turn into corpses.”

Jin Xiuer sighed, “You’re right.”

Page (2/3)

Learning from their previous experience, this time the two of them didn’t buy as many items before entering the Hellscape Cave. Yao Qian went back to the talisman shop she had visited before to buy talisman paper and ink. She also sold some of her own loot and recently drawn talismans to the shopkeeper.

Although the shopkeeper only paid fifty spirit pearls per talisman, it was convenient and simple, saving her the trouble. Moreover, buying talisman paper and ink came with a discount. Yao Qian felt this was much easier than setting up a stall. She asked the shopkeeper, “Uncle, do you sell concealment arrays here?”

The shopkeeper replied, “We only sell talismans here. If you want arrays, you can go to the Treasury Pavilion.” He warned her, “Array materials are numerous and expensive. A basic set usually costs tens of thousands of spirit stones.”

“Thank you for the advice, Uncle,” Yao Qian said. Last time, she had received support from fellow disciples and had quite a few spirit pearls and stones on hand. If necessary, she had mined a lot of Yin Spirit Stones herself. Buying a basic array set should be feasible now. She was tired of cultivating while constantly worrying about being discovered.

When Yao Qian entered the Treasury Pavilion, she happened to pass by Luo Ming, the young boy who always tricked her out of Three Yang Talismans. Yao Qian kept a calm expression but was secretly surprised that he could even enter the Treasury Pavilion—he must have swindled quite a few people.

Luo Ming’s heart stirred slightly when he saw Yao Qian. This fellow disciple looked familiar, but he couldn’t recall meeting her before. After a moment’s thought, he realized who she was. A faint smile played on his lips. It was her!

The marketplace Yao Qian frequented was the closest to the Infinite Void Sect. All shops were run by the sect, and the shopkeepers and assistants were sect disciples. Most shops were leased out, but the Treasury Pavilion was directly controlled by the sect.

All the items sold here were supplied by the sect’s Internal Affairs Hall. The prices were not the cheapest, but the quality was guaranteed to be the best. When the clerk heard Yao Qian wanted a concealment array, he understood immediately and asked, “Sister disciple, do you want an array to cultivate safely in the Hellscape Cave?”

Yao Qian nodded slightly. “Yes.” She wanted to cultivate in peace, but without a personal spatial pocket or the Celestial Evolution Stele allowing her body to enter, she’d never be truly safe. She just wanted to set up a tent outdoors.

“We have an array specially made for the Hellscape Cave that can absorb the cave’s Yin energy for concealment,” the clerk said, presenting a set. “Many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect use this array in the Hellscape Cave.”

Yao Qian asked the price.

“Twenty thousand spirit pearls,” the clerk replied.

Yao Qian then asked, “Do you have smaller, cheaper storage bags here?”

In her previous life, storage bags were luxury items worth a fortune, comparable to high-end designer bags.

Yet since joining the Infinite Void Sect, she had received several storage bags from Pei Changqing and Shi Jingtian. She guessed the market-priced storage bags wouldn’t be that expensive; otherwise, Shi Jingtian wouldn’t have given them so freely.

The clerk smiled, “Yes, we have many storage bags. Which kind do you prefer?”

Without hesitation, Yao Qian said, “The cheapest.”

The clerk’s smile didn’t waver. “Our cheapest storage vessel is the storage gourd, costing five spirit pearls each. However, these gourds can only be used for one year. Once the spiritual energy inside is exhausted, the storage space will disappear.”

“Let me see one,” Yao Qian said. She had heard of these natural storage spirit plants. Ordinary gourds were annual crops, while spirit gourds were perennial, with a single mature vine producing hundreds to tens of thousands annually.

Page (3/3)

The only downside to these storage gourds was that once the spiritual energy inside was depleted, the space vanished and everything inside disappeared. But Yao Qian was not worried; she planned to place the small gourds inside the Celestial Evolution Stele’s space, where the spiritual energy would never dissipate.

Yao Qian examined the storage gourd the clerk brought. The internal space was about ten square meters. After a moment’s thought, she said, “I want one hundred of these small gourds.”

The clerk smiled, “I’ll have someone prepare them right away.”

Yao Qian then asked, “Do you have any Three Yang True Water here?”

The clerk replied, “Yes, sister disciple. How much do you need?”

Yao Qian said, “Prepare a three-month supply.”

The clerk agreed immediately. In total, Yao Qian’s purchases were not too expensive, just twenty-two thousand spirit pearls. Considering she was still a Dao child with such wealth, it was clear she either had great strength or powerful backing. The clerk eagerly asked, “Sister disciple, anything else you want to buy?”

Yao Qian shook her head. “That’s enough.” She placed the array and Three Yang True Water into her storage bag. The storage gourds were wrapped inside a large, bulging pouch. The small gourds were no bigger than fingernails, so one hundred didn’t take up much space; the large pouch was full.

After returning to her cave, Yao Qian felled a tree with her Three Yin Flying Fork and made a simple wooden rack inside the Celestial Evolution Stele’s space. She placed all the storage gourds on the rack and meticulously organized the items in her storage bag before contentedly continuing to refine her God-Slaying Needles.

The next day, Pei Changqing, as usual, escorted them to the Hellscape Cave. This time, Yao Qian chose a riverbank as the entry point, guessing their entry spots into the cave were random. With her previous experience, Yao Qian effortlessly leapt into the lake and headed deeper into the Hellscape Cave.

Along the way, she avoided Yin souls when possible, only fighting when necessary. These low-level Yin souls lacked soul crystals; killing them yielded only a few strands of pure Yin energy, which was not very useful and wasted her God-Slaying Needles.

The deeper she went, the thicker the Yin energy became, almost filling the entire mine tunnel. Yin Spirit Stone mines were everywhere, many occupied by Yin Soul Beasts. The weaker beasts controlled fewer mines; the stronger ones controlled more.

Yao Qian dared not challenge the stronger beasts and chose one resembling the Yin serpent she had faced before. This time she was well-prepared and handled it with ease. She first trapped the Yin Soul Beast with a Three Yang Talisman and then decisively ended it with a single God-Slaying Needle.

No wonder the Soul-Slaying Talismans in the market cost five thousand spirit pearls each; soul-attack Daoist arts were indeed much more powerful than ordinary arts. If she used conventional arts, she could not kill in one strike.

After collecting the Yin energy and soul crystal from the subdued beast, Yao Qian set up the array she bought at the Treasury Pavilion and began her routine: cultivation, mining Yin Spirit Stones, and refining God-Slaying Needles.