Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"I see. So the core essence must be about how to avoid going berserk, right?" A wave of realization washed over Zhang Chi, and his heart pounded with excitement.

’I thought I’d have to abandon the Blood Flame Technique, but now it looks like I have to salvage it.’

"That’s right. Otherwise, whether you’re cultivating normally or condensing the Blood Flame, it’s far too dangerous. Of course, even with the core essence, it’s said that the danger is only reduced by half at most. The ones who succeed are all heaven-defying individuals," the Shopkeeper said with a nod.

"This technique is called the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique. Does that mean you can condense a maximum of nine Blood Flames?" Zhang Chi asked.

"Precisely. The more Blood Flames you condense with this technique, the higher its quality. One flame is Low Grade, three are Middle Grade, six are Upper Grade, and nine are Top Grade."

"Of course, aside from the number of Blood Flames, the cultivation paths are also different. The version you’re practicing is the simplest one—the least difficult, but also the least effective."

The Shopkeeper explained patiently.

"How incredible."

Zhang Chi marveled.

’A single Blood Flame can increase cultivation speed by over thirty percent. Nine must be even more heaven-defying; it’s surely not just a simple additive effect.’

This made Zhang Chi all the more tempted. He immediately resolved to find a way to get his hands on the complete Cultivation Technique and practice it in secret.

’After all, others might not be able to condense so many Blood Flames, but he was sure he would have no problem.’

"Indeed. Sir, would you be interested in purchasing this Cultivation Technique? We have it here at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower—and the original version, at that. We have the sections for both the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Realms."

"If you can master it, it’ll be even more powerful than a typical Top Grade Cultivation Technique! Even if you only manage to condense three or six Blood Flames, it will still surpass ordinary Middle and Upper Grade Cultivation Techniques."

The Shopkeeper nodded, continuing his sales pitch with a smile.

A branch store like this would never possess a typical high-quality Cultivation Technique, but this impractical one was clearly an exception. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Heh, I’d rather not die. To be frank, I haven’t even managed to condense a single Blood Flame. Besides, I’m about to join the Golden Sun Sect, where I’ll have more choices. It’s too late to even dissipate my current cultivation, let alone practice this Demon Technique. You think I have a death wish?"

Zhang Chi was inwardly delighted but didn’t let it show, refusing with a light chuckle.

’Even though he wanted to cultivate this technique, he didn’t want anyone to find out and suspect he was hiding something.’

"You haven’t even condensed a single Blood Flame, Sir? Very well, just pretend I never said anything."

The Shopkeeper was taken aback. Realizing the Cultivation Technique wouldn’t sell, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

"If you don’t want to start over from scratch, Sir, there is another way. You could practice the Element Transformation Secret Technique. It can convert the Spiritual Power from your Blood Flame Technique into fuel to advance a new technique," the Shopkeeper said, getting back on topic.

"The Element Transformation Secret Technique?"

Zhang Chi’s eyes lit up.

"Precisely. This Elemental Transformation Technique can partition off an independent area within the Qi Sea to act as a transfer hub for Spiritual Power. Although the conversion is very slow, it’s still much faster than starting your cultivation from scratch. It also saves a lot of cultivation resources," the Shopkeeper explained with a nod.

"There must be drawbacks, right? If it were really that good, wouldn’t cultivators just use this whenever they switched techniques instead of having to go through a Dissipation Technique?" Zhang Chi asked skeptically.

"There are. Using this technique requires extreme caution. If you accidentally convert the power too quickly, you risk damaging your Meridians and Qi Sea. You could even go berserk due to the clash of different types of Spiritual Power," the Shopkeeper confirmed with a nod.

"No wonder." Zhang Chi finally understood, but he was still very interested. "Can I take a look at it first?"

"Of course. This Jade Scroll contains the Element Transformation Secret Technique, but it’s been placed under a Restriction, so you can only see the beginning. Besides, this Elemental Transformation Technique isn’t expensive. If you want it, it’s only one hundred Spirit Stones," the Shopkeeper said with a smile.

As he spoke, he retrieved an azure Jade Scroll from his Storage Bag and slid it across to Zhang Chi.

"Not so fast. I’ll decide after I’ve seen it."

Zhang Chi nodded, took the Jade Scroll, and placed it against his forehead. He extended his Divine Thought into it and immediately "saw" the information within.

This was his first time actually using a Jade Scroll of this kind, but he had long heard of them and knew how they worked, so he wouldn’t expose himself as a complete novice.

"It’s passable, but the drawbacks are too glaring. How about this: sell it to me for ten spirit stones. If not, we can forget it."

Zhang Chi quickly finished reading. He was secretly overjoyed but deliberately put on a disappointed tone.

As it turned out, while the Elemental Transformation Technique was impractical for a normal Cultivator, to him, it was a godsend.

’With the Jade Pendant protecting my body, I don’t have to fear going berserk or worry about damaging my Meridians and Qi Sea. I might even be able to use this Secret Technique to convert all my Spiritual Power instantly and without limit.’

’That way, I can cultivate the Demon Technique as planned. At critical moments, I’ll just need to use this Secret Technique to conceal it.’

"Fine." The Shopkeeper agreed readily. "Do you need anything else?"

Clearly, he also knew this Secret Technique was impractical. Like the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique, it was something no one ever asked about.

Therefore, even selling it for ten spirit stones was still a profit.

"I also want a form of Magic that can hide my Qi Cultivation and even my Physical Cultivation. But not the Qi Concealment Technique—I already know that one, and its effects are just too mediocre," Zhang Chi continued.

"We don’t have anything like that. To be honest, if you cultivate the Qi Concealment Technique to the level of Perfection and combine it with a powerful Divine Sense, it should be enough to meet your needs," the Shopkeeper said, shaking his head.

"Cultivate it to Perfection? Easier said than done!" Zhang Chi was a little disappointed, though not surprised.

’This is just an ordinary Marketplace. The only reason I was able to buy an Immortal Ascension Order for a top-tier Immortal Sect is probably because the thing is so impractical.’

’Ordinary Loose Cultivators can’t afford it, and even if they could, it would be useless to them.’

’Meanwhile, those who can afford it are from extraordinary backgrounds and don’t need it in the first place.’

"Do you have any Cultivation Techniques for Divine Sense?" Zhang Chi continued, just trying his luck.

"We don’t have those either. Those are the closely guarded secrets of the major powers; even if we had one, it would come with a sky-high price. However, I do know of a technique called the White Bone Divine Forging Technique. It should be relatively easy to get your hands on. Once you’re in the Golden Sun Sect, you could try to find it."

The Shopkeeper shook his head again, but feeling that this might reflect poorly on his branch, he quickly supplemented his answer with some related information.

"The White Bone Divine Forging Technique? That doesn’t sound like a righteous Cultivation Technique, does it?" Zhang Chi asked, his interest piqued once more.

"It isn’t. Like the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique, it’s a Demon Technique. As the name suggests, you visualize the White Bone Demon God in order to temper your Divine Sense and enhance the Power of the Divine Soul."

"But the hidden dangers of this Cultivation Technique are also immense. It’s easy to be influenced by the will of the White Bone Demon God and become its Puppet. During the cultivation process, it’s also highly likely you’ll go berserk, leading to the utter annihilation of your Divine Soul," the Shopkeeper admitted, blushing slightly.

"Then forget it. The risk is too great for the reward; it’s not worth it. Besides, I doubt the Golden Sun Sect would have that kind of Demon Technique anyway."

Zhang Chi was overjoyed, thinking this Cultivation Technique was also perfect for him, yet he deliberately spoke with a scoff.

"The Golden Sun Sect definitely has them. Cultivators from the Immortal Sects spend their lives slaying demons, so they collect many Demonic Cultivation Techniques. They wouldn’t practice them, of course, but they can study them for reference or to understand their enemies’ capabilities."

"Besides, it’s said that in ancient times, the Righteous and Demon Dao originally stemmed from the same source. They only went their separate ways later due to differing philosophies and circumstances."

"But you’re right, that Demon Technique really isn’t worth cultivating. It just happened to cross my mind, so I mentioned it in passing, haha," the Shopkeeper said with an awkward laugh.

"It’s no problem. In any case, I must thank you for the information, Shopkeeper. Well, enough idle chat. I have some Artifact Refining Materials here. Do you buy them?" Zhang Chi said with a casual wave of his hand.

With that, he finally took out the Cold Iron.

The density of Middle Grade Cold Iron was extremely high. Zhang Chi had well over one hundred and fifty pounds of it, yet it was only a block half a foot square, completely unnoticeable when concealed on his person.