"This Bone Scroll can only be viewed three times; after three viewings, its contents will be destroyed. Do not waste each opportunity," Fang Ge explained.

"Another measure to prevent it from being leaked…" Yuan Ming thought to himself.

"Also, you can only memorize the contents of the Cultivation Technique with your heart; you must not copy it secretly, and you certainly cannot pass it on to others. Once discovered, the punishment is death, and then no one can save you," Fang Ge warned solemnly.

"What if I can't memorize it all in three times?" Yuan Ming asked curiously.

"If you can't memorize it within three times, you can go to the second floor of Gui Cang Pavilion to exchange for additional chances; ten Contribution Points for one more reading opportunity," Fang Ge said.

"Alright, thank you, Senior Brother, for the guidance," said Yuan Ming with a fist salute.

"Don't work on refining the embryo today; rest well and go back to memorize and get familiar with the Cultivation Technique," Fang Ge waved his hand and said.

"I'll take Senior Brother's advice," Yuan Ming saluted with his fist and then took his leave.

Watching Yuan Ming's retreating figure, Fang Ge suddenly felt puzzled: "Has Huo Chan'er grown a bit recently?"

...

After leaving, Yuan Ming didn't head straight back to his dwelling; instead, he put Huo Chan'er into the Spiritual Beast Bag and headed directly to Gui Cang Pavilion.

This time, he went straight up the spiral staircase to the second floor.

The second floor of Gui Cang Pavilion was much more spacious than the first floor, with two-thirds of the area filled with matching tables and chairs, where various Sect disciples sat scattered around.

Different from the loose state of the ground floor, the atmosphere upstairs had become noticeably more solemn.

Every person seated here was frowning, looking focused and nervous about their studies, as if afraid that a moment's distraction would waste the precious learning opportunity they had exchanged for with Contribution Points.

The remaining third of the second floor was partitioned off to create a separate room.

Behind the desk outside the archives room sat a middle-aged deacon with dark skin, a slightly plump build, and silver hoops hanging from his ears.

This person had a face full of rough features, giving off a somewhat fierce look, the kind that could frighten crying children into silence.

"Elder, I've come to borrow the 'Exorcism Technique' secret book," Yuan Ming approached, bowed, and spoke.

The middle-aged deacon looked up at Yuan Ming, and slowly said, "Ten Contribution Points."

Yuan Ming took off his waist card and laid it on the desk.

The deacon picked up the waist card without unnecessary words, stood up, pushed open the door behind him, and went in.

In a short while, he returned holding a thin blue book.

"Borrowed books can only be read within the second-floor area, not to be taken out, and are time-limited to six hours," the middle-aged deacon said, as he placed both the waist card and the book on the desk.

After thanking him, Yuan Ming checked his waist card, which now only had fourteen Contribution Points left.

Taking the "Exorcism Technique" book to a set of table and chairs, he sat down to begin his focused reading, maintaining his usual pace, flipping the pages neither too fast nor too slow.

All materials available for perusal on the second floor came at a significant cost, and almost everyone analyzed each word and sentence carefully, reading and memorizing slowly.

In comparison, Yuan Ming seemed quite unique.

About half an hour later, Yuan Ming stood up and returned to the deacon's desk.

The latter frowned and said, "Time is not up yet. If you wish to imprint a secret technique, it will cost one hundred Contribution Points."

Yuan Ming shook his head and smiled, "No need, I am here to return the secret book."

Without considering the middle-aged deacon's reaction, he turned around, walked down the stairs, and left Gui Cang Pavilion.

After leaving, Yuan Ming stopped by Zhao Tong's place and found him just returned from Toad Valley. He repaid the Contribution Points he owed with interest, leaving himself with only seven Contribution Points.

Back at his Fire Refining Hall dwelling, Yuan Ming immediately slapped the Spiritual Beast Bag and released Huo Chan'er. Reader support at * made this translation possible.

Upon emerging, the little creature immediately climbed onto Yuan Ming's shoulder, scratching and grabbing at him, venting its dissatisfaction at having been confined.

Yuan Ming took out a piece of Fire Jade from the Storage Bag and waved it, and Huo Chan'er immediately stopped its tantrum, clambered down his arm, grabbed the Fire Jade, and started gnawing on it.

Yuan Ming took the opportunity to sit down at the table, took out the Bone Scroll that had the Biluo Skill imprinted on it, affixed it to his forehead, and started to read carefully.

"Biluo Skill belongs to the Wood Attribute, its essence promotes growth; if one cultivates it successfully, the Mana will be continuous and endless..."

Seeing the content written within the Bone Scroll, Yuan Ming couldn't help wondering, "Does this mean that the 'Biluo Skill' is a wood attribute cultivation method?"

After pondering for a bit, Yuan Ming continued to read.

After some time, the content of the Cultivation Technique had been etched deeply into Yuan Ming's mind, but a significant doubt emerged with it.

"This Biluo Skill says one can establish the foundation after reaching the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, but I remember the Nine Elements Technique clearly states that one should establish it after reaching the Qi Refining Thirteen Layers?" Yuan Ming mused quietly to himself.

With this doubt, he recalled and compared the two Cultivation Techniques and found that according to the method of cultivating the Biluo Skill, after completing all Ten Layers, the peak one could reach was the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

The Nine Elements Technique had the potential to allow Yuan Ming to cultivate all the way to the thirteen layers.

Merely on this point alone, it was clear that the Nine Elements Technique was significantly stronger than the Biluo Skill.

"Regardless, it's still the orthodox cultivation method of Biluo Cave; it must have its unique features. Let's practice it and see," Yuan Ming pondered silently in his heart.

Recalling how cautious Biluo Cave was about its cultivation techniques, Yuan Ming could guess that exposing his practice of the "Nine Elements Technique" would certainly bring him unnecessary trouble.

In the past, he was just a Fur Beast Slave in the Ten Thousand Mountains, where it was difficult to attract attention no matter what he did. But now that he was in Biluo Cave, he had to be more cautious.

If he could concurrently cultivate the "Biluo Skill," he would be better able to conceal his practice of the other technique.

With this thought, Yuan Ming got up, ready to go outside.

"Huo Chan'er, let's go..."

The Fire Mink had just finished eating the Fire Jade. Hearing Yuan Ming's call, it immediately got up and followed him, leaping onto his shoulder in an instant.

A man and a mink left the courtyard and hurried down the mountain.

Soon, Yuan Ming, accompanied by the Fire Mink, found a sunny slope with dense trees and selected an ancient verdant tree to sit cross-legged under.

Seeing Yuan Ming sit down, the Fire Mink thought he was going to practice the Moonlight Technique again and obediently lay down beside his feet.

The little guy tilted its head and thought for a moment but ultimately didn't dare to climb up his thigh.

Yuan Ming adjusted his breathing and started to form a spell with his hands.

At the same time, he silently recited the mental method of the Biluo Skill in his heart, attempting to cultivate with his mana.

The very next moment, a faint green light shone around him, and strands of nature's spiritual energy started converging toward him from all around, surrounding his body.

Yuan Ming's pores opened wide, absorbing the primordial Qi into his body like breath.

Time ticked away, and the Fire Mink at Yuan Ming's feet noticed that the fluctuations emanating from his body were different from those when practicing under the moonlight and became somewhat restless.

However, feeling the congregation of the surrounding spiritual energy, it also felt a sense of comfort and did not fuss.

After a long while, Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes and couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed.

He had followed the requirements of the cultivation method, specifically choosing a place with lush trees to practice the Biluo Skill. However, the results were not as he hoped; the speed of breathing in the spiritual energy and the conversion rate of mana were simply too slow.

Although it was not as arduous as when he cultivated the Blood Qi Skill, the speed of cultivation was also far slower than that of the Nine Elements Technique.

One could say that the two methods were incomparable.

With this thought, Yuan Ming suddenly realized a problem that he had always overlooked: what was the attribute of the Nine Elements Technique?

According to the Biluo Skill, different attribute cultivation methods should be practiced in their respective fitting environments for varying degrees of enhancement effects. If he could determine the attribute of the Nine Elements Technique, would he be able to improve his practice speed?

Yuan Ming clearly remembered that he hadn't heard about the attribute of the Nine Elements Technique from Master Yu Hu. However, with his long practice, he did have some sense of it.

Based on his previous deductions, the attribute of the Nine Elements Technique should be between the Wood and Water attributes.

"Let's give it a try."

With the thought, Yuan Ming switched spells and started to practice the Nine Elements Technique.

After just a short while, Yuan Ming's eyebrows slightly raised, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

"No wonder, no wonder..." he chuckled softly, his words startling Huo Chan'er.

Yuan Ming had always found it odd that his speed of cultivating the Nine Elements Technique gradually slowed down since he started in Fire Refining Hall. It turned out to be because he had left the environment of the Ten Thousand Mountains with its abundant trees.

It was clearly evident that the Nine Elements Technique, like the Biluo Skill, belonged to the wood attribute cultivation methods.

"Since they both belong to wood attribute cultivation methods, there's no need to worry about anyone noticing something amiss. This lousy Biluo Skill is not worth practicing," Yuan Ming cheerfully concluded.

Only at this moment was he truly convinced of the extraordinary nature of the Nine Elements Technique. It was far superior to the likes of the Biluo Skill. The reason he could cultivate so rapidly in the harsh conditions of the Ten Thousand Mountains, even with his Four Spirit Roots aptitude, was all due to this technique.

Having realized this, Yuan Ming was no longer in a hurry to cultivate the Nine Elements Technique.

After sitting cross-legged, he took a deep breath and began to recall the content of the Exorcism Technique in his mind.

The Exorcism Technique, as its name implies, is a magic that exerts control over objects for one's own use.

The principle behind the technique was not difficult; it required using mana as a medium to establish a connection with the object, allowing mana to flow naturally from the caster's arms into the object, merging with the caster as if it were an extension of one's body.

Generally speaking, items like magic artifacts that inherently contain spiritual energy are easier to communicate with and more convenient to manipulate and control.

Of course, during this process, the intervention of the Divine Soul Power is also necessary.

After all, only when the caster focuses their Divine Soul Power to control the mana can deviations be avoided, allowing for precise manipulation of the object in question.

Due to his experience with the Moonlight Technique, Yuan Ming had some confidence in his Divine Soul Power. He immediately looked for a rock in the forest and held it in his hand.