CHAPTER 421

Lu Qing’s current primary cultivation technique, the Five Elements Body Refining Technique, was a method focused on body cultivation. Its highest level allowed one to reach the Golden Core Realm at perfection.

However, after studying the techniques left behind by the white-robed youth, Lu Qing estimated that, according to the classification of the white-robed youth’s world, the Five Elements Body Refining Technique fell short of the Nine Transformations of the Golden Core Realm. At most, it only reached the seventh transformation.

This limitation explained why, in the ancient cultivation era, the creator of the Five Elements Body Refining Technique—a cultivator in the Golden Core Realm—had ultimately failed to achieve the Nascent Soul Realm. The technique’s lack of refinement and perfection hindered the transition to the next stage.

Lu Qing even suspected that the so-called “self-termination” of that Golden Core cultivator back then was actually a failure in attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm without a perfected technique, leading to their demise.

Of course, this was merely conjecture; events from tens of thousands of years ago were impossible to verify. But the fact that the Five Elements Body Refining Technique was imperfect remained indisputable.

Now, with the fortuitous formation of his Perfect Golden Core, continuing to cultivate this technique in a step-by-step manner was no longer appropriate.

Even more importantly, a technique purely focused on body cultivation no longer suited him.

The Perfect Golden Core was formless, boundless, ever-changing, and could condense or disperse at will. After forming his Golden Core, Lu Qing’s vitality, energy, and spirit had already fused into one.

His spiritual power and physical strength could seamlessly convert into one another, flowing without obstruction.

Whether using body cultivation methods or spiritual cultivation techniques, he could wield them with ease.

Thus, the distinctions between body cultivation and spiritual cultivation no longer applied to him.

In a sense, he was now the perfect dual cultivator of body and spirit.

As such, neither pure body cultivation techniques nor spiritual cultivation techniques could meet his current requirements.

Nonetheless, Lu Qing was unfazed.

“If there is no suitable technique, then I’ll create one that belongs to me alone.”

A gleam of determination flickered in Lu Qing’s eyes.

He possessed the legacy of the Li Huo Sect, along with several otherworldly techniques from the white-robed youth.

Most importantly, he had a chapter of the Heavenly Dao granted by the Thunder Tribulation Whirlpool.

While this Dao chapter contained no specific cultivation method, its words were invaluable, unraveling the profound mysteries of the Golden Core Realm.

Using it as a foundation, combined with the many techniques he had mastered, and with the aid of his spiritual abilities, Lu Qing was confident he could create the perfect cultivation technique for himself.

Without hesitation, Lu Qing activated his spiritual powers and began his attempt.

This time, he wasn’t cultivating but rather relying on his spiritual abilities to spark a massive collision of insights into cultivation techniques within his mind. They merged, clashed, and resonated as he embarked on the journey of creating a technique uniquely his own.

...

“This secret realm actually contains all five elements?”

Deep within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a gray-robed man entered a hidden realm, his expression showing astonishment.

The spiritual energies of the five elements were perfectly balanced and intricately intertwined, a testament to the extraordinary nature of this hidden realm.

But soon, he put aside his wonder and carefully sensed his surroundings.

He could still detect traces of his junior brother’s aura lingering in the air, proving that the latter had entered this hidden realm not long ago. His junior brother had even unleashed powerful techniques here, leaving behind a dense trail of energy.

“Was he slaughtering indiscriminately here, or did he clash with that mysterious killer?”

The gray-robed man speculated based on his junior brother’s temperament.

However, when he arrived at a certain location and saw a massive handprint on the ground, along with two indistinguishable lumps of mangled flesh, he fell silent.

In that instant, he understood. His junior brother had indeed gone on a rampage here.

After a moment of silence, the gray-robed man continued following the trail.

Along the way, he encountered many marks of destruction left by his junior brother’s techniques. At each site, corpses were strewn about, their deaths utterly tragic.

The gray-robed man’s expression grew colder with every scene.

Eventually, he reached a high mountain, now a desolate wasteland. The once vibrant place, where spiritual energy had gathered, had been completely ravaged and stripped bare.

Judging by the destruction, the gray-robed man deduced it wasn’t the work of his junior brother.

Given his junior brother’s personality, he would have claimed the hidden realm as his own and would never have engaged in such crude and ruinous behavior.

This suggested that someone else had beaten his junior brother to it, plundering the treasures in advance.

The gray-robed man silently calculated, and soon, a mental image formed in his mind.

His junior brother, filled with excitement, had arrived only to find the treasures gone. Enraged, he began capturing and interrogating those in the hidden realm, which escalated into a massacre as he pursued the culprit who had taken the treasures.

“Was it this person who killed my junior brother?” the gray-robed man murmured.

He couldn’t be certain, but he knew his junior brother hadn’t perished within the hidden realm. There were no signs of a large-scale battle or the aura of death.

Unfortunately, due to his junior brother’s slaughter, no one remained in the hidden realm for him to question.

Unable to obtain more clues, the gray-robed man didn’t linger. He transformed into a streak of light, flying toward the hidden realm’s entrance.

Reaching the black vortex, he stepped into it and left the hidden realm.

Once outside, he brought out an Eight Trigrams Artifact, imbued it with vital energy, and placed a broken jade tablet on it.

With a thought, the artifact spun rapidly, soon halting and pointing in a specific direction.

The gray-robed man’s eyes glowed faintly, and in the void, a fine red thread of causality appeared in his vision, twisting and leading forward.

“So, my junior brother headed this way after leaving the hidden realm?”

Eyes glowing with clarity, the gray-robed man followed the red thread of causality, flying along its path.

Yet as he progressed, he noticed his junior brother’s route was erratic, akin to a headless fly wandering aimlessly.

This likely reflected his junior brother’s frantic search for the person who had taken the treasures.

Patiently, the gray-robed man pursued the chaotic red thread.

Along the way, he sensed numerous beings hiding in the forests below. However, the strongest among them were only at the Precelestial Realm, so he ignored them, focusing solely on the thread.

He had a feeling he was close to uncovering the location of his junior brother’s demise.

...

“So there is some progress. As expected, using the Dao chapter as a foundation for deducing techniques was the right choice.”

At the Lu Family’s estate, Lu Qing smiled faintly after a round of deductions.

The Dao chapter bestowed by the Thunder Tribulation Whirlpool was indeed profound.

With the aid of his spiritual powers, he had already made significant strides toward crafting a technique uniquely suited to him.

Just as Lu Qing prepared to press forward, his brows suddenly furrowed.

Simultaneously, above the outskirts of Jiuli Village, the gray-robed man caught sight of the small village below, shrouded by a formation barrier.