24 Dark Bone Method
Translator: GGP
“The bones are like rungs of a ladder, still waiting to grow; the ligaments and muscles are exceptionally flexible, seemingly having undergone a certain specialized training, yet there are many signs of strain injuries. If you want to avoid future problems, it’s best to exchange for a few bottles of ‘Sinew Healing Pills’ to use as soon as you have enough contribution points. The meridians throughout your body are quite thick and can handle a capacity of Yuan Energy far beyond your age. Hm, your Spirit Sea is a bit strange, it seems much more condensed than that of ordinary disciples, and does not seem like something a disciple with a three-spirit vein could have,” the chubby elder muttered nonstop as he patted Liu Ming’s body. But when he got to the last sentence, he abruptly stopped and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Seizing the opportunity, Liu Ming twisted his body and finally broke free from the elder’s grasp. He also asked, somewhat taken aback,

“Oh, Uncle Master Ruan, is my Spirit Sea different from the other disciples?”

“Not that it’s different, but such a condensed Spirit Sea usually only appears in disciples with nine spirit veins. Are you truly just a disciple with three spirit veins, or are you trying to make a fool of me?” the chubby elder asked, staring at Liu Ming with a somewhat grave tone.

“This disciple wouldn’t dare deceive Uncle Master. Indeed, I have only three spirit veins. However, I used a little trick when I was breaking through to the Spirit Sea, so perhaps that’s why it’s a bit different from that of an ordinary three-spirit vein disciple,” Liu Ming replied after a brief pause, somewhat helplessly.

“What little trick? Tell me about it,” the chubby elder said, showing a hint of interest.

“When forming the Spirit Sea, I used my mental strength to weave the threads of Yuan Energy inside my body together as if they were materials,” Liu Ming replied slowly after a slight hesitation, feeling there was nothing to hide.

“What?! You can control Yuan Energy within your body with your mental strength? To do such a thing suggests that your mental strength must be extremely powerful?” The chubby elder exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.

“Yes, my mental strength is indeed stronger than that of most people,” Liu Ming nodded slightly.

“Three spirit veins, and mental strength stronger than the average person! Tsk tsk, that technique is simply tailor-made for you,” the chubby elder seemed to recall something, and after sizing up Liu Ming a few times, he clicked his tongue in wonder.

“Which technique? Are you not referring to one of the thirteen basic techniques?” Liu Ming immediately picked up on the implied meaning and was taken aback.

“Given your aptitude, I’ll give you two choices. One is either the ‘Phantom Yang Technique’ or the ‘Ghostly Soul Formula’ from the thirteen basic techniques. However, these two techniques aren’t the focus of your Jiuying lineage, and if you wish to switch to higher level techniques later on, it might be quite troublesome. The other techniques in the thirteen basic ones don’t quite match your aptitude either; if you forcibly practiced them, it would be a waste of your powerful mental strength. If nothing unexpected happens, you might end up like the previous two three-spirit vein disciples—after three or four decades, they might still not have any hope of advancing to the late Spirit Disciple stage, and might even be stuck in the middle stage for life. The other choice is a special basic technique from outside of the thirteen, which is stored in the pavilion. To get started in this technique, you need to meet two conditions: one is mental strength far above ordinary people, and the other requires the disciple’s spirit vein aptitude must be three spirit veins. You happen to meet these conditions,” the chubby elder said, absorbed in his own thoughts.

“Since Uncle Master says so, the junior would like to take a look at these three techniques first?” Liu Ming said, his expression fluctuating uncertainly.

“That’s naturally not a problem.” The chubby elder formed a hand seal with one hand and pointed at three stone platforms in the air.

With three “bang” sounds, the covers on the three stone platforms shattered at once, and two scrolls and a stack of dark bamboo slips flew out, all falling in front of Liu Ming and eerily suspended in the air.

Liu Ming reached out and grabbed a light yellow scroll; he saw the characters “Phantom Yang Technique” written in purple-red on the surface and opened it to examine the details.

But after reading only the first few pages, he calmly closed the scroll and put it back; then, with a flick of his arm, he grabbed another scroll with the silver characters “Ghostly Soul Formula” and examined it closely as well.

This time, he flipped through more than a dozen pages before he also placed it back where it was suspended, and with a moment’s hesitation, he said to the chubby elder as if deep in thought,

“I have looked over the cultivation conditions of these two techniques. If one has strong mental strength, one can indeed practice with half the effort. However, it is also clearly stated that if one practices the Phantom Yang Technique, subsequent techniques will tend to veer toward the path of illusion arts, while the Ghostly Soul Formula will entirely lean toward the art of ghost summoning and corpse refining.”

“Why would I deceive you on such matters? The Phantom Yang Technique is, in fact, the foundational technique emphasized by the Ghost Dance lineage, which is known in the sect for illusion arts. The Ghostly Soul Formula is the main foundational technique for the Corpse Refining lineage. However, your Jiuying lineage emphasizes demonic methods that focus on cultivating demonic entities, not particularly excelling in illusion arts or necromancy,” the chubby elder said with a slight smile.

“But I’ve heard that if one accumulates enough contribution points, one could directly exchange for related high-tier techniques in the pavilion,” Liu Ming inquired slowly.

“If you have enough contribution points, you can indeed exchange them for all the high-level arcane techniques in the pavilion, even including the three great secret techniques of our sect. But do you know how many contribution points are needed to exchange for a single high-level arcane technique? Countless disciples, in their desire to accumulate enough contribution points for a high-level technique, have spent several years not cultivating, but instead worked day and night on sect tasks, and still have not fulfilled their wishes. Are you certain you can accumulate that many contribution points? Besides, the pills and talismans needed for regular cultivation, which of these can you do without contribution points!” The fat elder said with a tone of mockery.

“Thank you for the guidance, Uncle Master. The junior will now take a look at this last technique you recommend.” Liu Ming’s eyes twitched as he forced a smile.

Subsequently, he grabbed the stack of black bamboo slips in his hand, but upon unfolding them and glancing through, he was taken aback.

“Uncle Master Ruan, what is this about?” He asked in surprise, looking up at the fat elder.

The seemingly damaged bamboo slips were filled with dense, green text, but they were all written in crooked characters that he couldn’t recognize at all.

“Hehe, this is the ancient spirit script ‘Green Nether Script’; it’s no wonder you don’t recognize it. Here, this is the translated ‘Nether Bone Secret Formula’ mantra that I have.” After chuckling, the fat elder leisurely pulled out a thin brocade book from his robes and handed it over.

Liu Ming was somewhat speechless, but he still took the brocade book and began to read it carefully.

The fat elder watched nonchalantly on the side, apparently with ample patience.

“This arcane technique indeed requires the three spirit veins, and stronger spiritual power is even better. What, it’s divided into nine levels? The first level only requires one year of cultivation, the second level two years, the third level four years, and the fourth level typically takes eight years. It seems there are only the cultivation techniques for the first four levels here.” As Liu Ming read on, his expression grew darker.

“Hmph, you see, if you finish cultivating the first level, you will be able to advance to the early stage of Spirit Apprentice. If you finish the second level, you’ll reach the middle stage of Spirit Apprentice, and the third level will bring you to the late stage. As for the fourth level, you can become a Spirit Master like me. As for the subsequent techniques, if you really manage to cultivate the fourth level, I have them here, what’s the hurry? Moreover, this technique has one major advantage over the basic technique of our sect.” The fat elder snorted before rolling his eyes and saying.

“Advantage?” Liu Ming looked up, somewhat puzzled.

“During the cultivation at the Spirit Apprentice stage, if you practice step by step, you won’t encounter any bottlenecks. If you don’t believe me, flip to the last page and take a closer look,” the fat elder said unceremoniously.

“Is that so?” Upon hearing this, Liu Ming’s heart surged, and he quickly flipped to the last page, indeed finding a note with related instructions.

“How about it, I didn’t lie to you, did I? If I were you, I would definitely choose this technique; not to mention, as long as you cultivate diligently, within a decade or so you can reach the late stage of Spirit Apprentice and even attempt to break through to the Spirit Master realm. Plus, even after you advance to Spirit Master, you won’t need to go through the trouble of changing techniques; you just continue cultivating the Nether Bone Secret Formula,” the fat elder said, nodding and swaying his head.

“But I heard that some sect secret techniques require related arcane techniques as the foundation. If I cultivate this external technique, I wonder if I can still cultivate the other secret techniques of the sect?” Liu Ming pondered for a while before asking another question.

“You haven’t cultivated the Nether Bone Secret Formula, so naturally you don’t know that the first few levels of this technique actually share a certain ingenious similarity with our sect’s Ghost Spirit Technique, and even the phenomena they manifest are mostly similar. So, according to my guess, any secret techniques that can be driven by the Ghost Spirit Technique should likewise be safely driven by the Nether Bone Secret Formula.”

“Guess it should be safe?” Upon hearing this, the corners of Liu Ming’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

“Boy, this technique guarantees you can reach the late stage of Spirit Apprentice within a dozen years or so, and you won’t have to worry about switching techniques afterward. You’re already taking a huge advantage; what more do you want? If you’re going to be so verbose about it and don’t wish to cultivate it, then forget it. Give it back to me. If it wasn’t for you fitting the criteria, I wouldn’t have bothered to offer it in the first place,” the fat elder seemed a bit angry as he reached out to take the brocade book from Liu Ming.

“Uncle Master, please don’t be angry; I will cultivate the Nether Bone Secret Formula,” Liu Ming said, startled, and quickly tucked the brocade book into his chest.

“Good to know you’re sensible, kid. Oh, and when you go out, don’t mention the Nether Bone Secret Formula in front of others. Just say that you’re cultivating the Ghost Spirit Technique,” the fat elder said, his tone easing a bit.