Chapter 348 - 279: Little White Bone Dharma Aspect, Identity Exposed!
Chapter 348: Chapter 279: Little White Bone Dharma Aspect, Identity Exposed!
Even if it’s a Demon Seal, it’s worth a look.
The cultivation of the Demonic Dao does not mean that all Dharma Seals are sinister. If one doesn’t cultivate Heaven-Slaying Life-Seizing Seal but only refines Heaven-Ascending Seal of Borrowed Life, it becomes a profound mysterious technique that exhausts longevity, seeking only the final moment’s brilliance.
Three years as a Golden Core can accomplish many things.
The only pity is that the Heaven-Ascending Seal of Borrowed Life has limitations. If one is nearing the end of life with only a few years left, the exchanged body won’t be exceptional.
To use this method to pass the Celestial Tribulation, at least three hundred years of longevity is required!
As for the Thousand Demon Palm Seal and Four Demons Escape Seal obtained by the Demon Cultivator from the Secret Realm, they all require the souls of living beings to cultivate Demon Techniques, which Gu Yuan won’t touch.
But the Substitute Death Avoidance Seal is a legitimate profound mysterious technique, requiring many spiritual materials to refine.
It is unclear if the Demon Cultivator obtained this many spiritual materials from the Secret Realm and refined it in such a short time, ultimately benefiting Gu Yuan.
A Token Master can break through to Golden Core, but what of the other two?
Gu Yuan’s heart and spirit sank into the Dantian, sensing the profundity of the Golden Seal, with a sense of anticipation emerging in his heart.
So many new Golden Cores from the Demonic Dao; it must not be missed.
...
...
Seven days later, Celestial Trace Mountain Range.
This mountain range is long and stretches far, filled with miasma inside. From a distance, it looks like a hideous long worm coiled upon the earth.
Along the mountain range, there is only a humble town built at the entrance of the mountain range.
The town is called "Heartless Town," and most residents are cultivators, along with some ordinary people dependent on the cultivators, with roughly a population of ten thousand.
Every few years, three medicine collection teams in the town agree to enter the mountain range and gather the rare herbs and grasses inside.
This Heartless Miasma is a forbidden zone for spiritual life but a paradise for emotionless plants.
For survival and cultivation, the medicine collection teams take great risks to enter the mountains and gather.
The higher the cultivation, the more intense the erosion of the Heartless Miasma, so the exploration team’s cultivation level is uniformly at the Qi Refining Stage, led by a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator.
Most are over sixty years old because young cultivators have stronger desires and are more prone to being eroded by miasma.
With age, cultivators become well-experienced, developing stable personalities with fewer desires, making them most suitable for gathering medicine.
Living by the mountains and water.
The Heartless Town’s medicine collection teams have explored the mountains many times and know everything well. As long as they return within three days, the miasma won’t erode deeply, and after several months of rest, they can recover.
If they don’t return within three days, all desires will slowly vanish, eventually losing the will to live, ending up as walking corpses and becoming food for Demon Beasts.
Therefore, the requirements for recruiting companions in medicine collection teams always demand individuals proficient in Magical Combat and Escape Light.
The faster the Escape Light, the further they can explore and gather precious spirit medicines, but simultaneously, they must possess proficient combat skills, or the medicines may be devoured by Demon Beasts protecting them.
"By the rules, new faces aren’t usually recruited into medicine collection teams on their first attempt, but your Escape Light is swift, so I made an exception this time."
"However, once in the mountains, you must follow my command, or don’t blame me for showing no mercy!"
At the mountain entrance, a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator with gray temples, a broad face, and a high nose spoke seriously to a tall, dark-skinned man.
"I follow Brother Qiux completely!"
The dark-skinned man smiled and nodded in assent.
"Let’s go!"
Upon hearing this, the cultivator surnamed Qiux nodded with satisfaction and headed into the mountains.
The dark-skinned man followed closely, blending into the crowd.
This man was none other than Gu Yuan.
Seven days prior, he conceived the idea of exploring the Secret Realm and began preparations.
In the Qiankun Bag of that Demon Cultivator Golden Core, Gu Yuan found a map and a set of instructions.
Recorded on the map was the route the Heartless Town’s medicine collection team took to enter the mountains.
And those instructions activated the restriction formulas for the Demon Cultivator Golden Core’s artifact, the "White Bone Yaksha."
This White Bone Yaksha was modeled after a Spiritual Artifact Yaksha acquired from the Secret Realm by the Demon Cultivator Golden Core, refined using the bones of countless living beings.
The White Bone Yaksha has two capabilities: during Magical Combat, it can summon White Bone Divine Light.
This divine light carries a strong sense of filth, capable of slowing the opponent’s artifacts and Dharma Seals.
The second is that it can be absorbed into the body, altering the cultivator’s bones and flesh, transforming into an entirely new body while changing the aura.
This ability is known as "Little White Bone Dharma Aspect."
This ability is just a bonus and not very strong, as it can be detected by anyone with slightly powerful Power of Divine Sense among Golden Core cultivators.
Generally speaking, it can only fool newly advanced Golden Core cultivators.
Along with the map, Gu Yuan vaguely understood the intentions of this Demon Cultivator Golden Core.
The medicine collection team’s entry route overlaps with the location of the unnamed valley. The Demon Cultivator likely planned to blend into the medicine collection team in a Qi Refining form to first assess the current strength of the other two Token Masters before taking action.
With good luck, there might be some unusual effects.
Since the Demon Cultivator planned for this, Gu Yuan chose to utilize this convenient method.
After all, it was a handy thing to do.
Moreover, his Power of Divine Sense comparable to the Mid-Stage Golden Core allows him to infiltrate the mountains and observe the enemy cultivators first without being discovered.
...
...
Gu Yuan utilized the artifact’s ability to alter his form and aura, naturally undetectable by Qi Refining cultivators.
Led by the cultivator surnamed Qiux, more than ten people swiftly moved close to the ground.
In the Celestial Trace Mountain Range, flying too conspicuously would attract attacks from flying Demon Beasts in the mountains, thus they can only move close to the ground.
These are the lessons learned the hard way by the medicine collection teams.
However, Gu Yuan’s transformation technique could deceive cultivators but not the pervasive miasma.
Miasma, like mist, penetrated the heart and spirit, swallowing desires, unaffected by physical transformation.
Fortunately, he held the Skull Token, which, when activated close to the body, formed an invisible magical robe, filtering the miasma, allowing him to act freely.
This token was crafted from unknown materials, not only isolating miasma but also possessing concealment abilities. As long as Gu Yuan didn’t actively activate it, others couldn’t discern he had a magical robe to isolate miasma.
This was crucial for implementing the "smoke and mirrors" tactic.
"Ahead is the growth area of the Enchanting Flower. Quickly gather; we must leave within one incense stick’s duration, not linger!"
Soon, everyone arrived at a valley.
Both sides of the valley were sheer cliffs, with smooth rocks like mirrors, but the valley floor was flat, with countless Seven-Colored Spirit Flowers growing, appearing from afar like dazzlingly beautiful rainbows.
The Enchanting Flower, a Tier Two High-grade Spirit Flower, is an exceptional spiritual material for refining Dual Cultivation Pills and Enchantment Pills, highly valuable.
Only in such remote places can Qi Refining cultivators gather such quantities of Tier Two Spirit Flowers.
And just as everyone entered the valley, a vast Divine Thought suddenly swept across from above the cliffs.
Though vast, this Divine Thought was extremely concealed; without reaching a certain cultivation level, it was impossible to perceive, like a gentle breeze sweeping across the valley.
"Oh!"
Originally, this Divine Thought was merely a subconscious sweep, not paying much attention, but suddenly it seemed to sense an anomaly and returned for another sweep.
Aiming directly at Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan observed and sighed helplessly in his heart.
The Little White Bone Dharma Aspect was refined too crudely and couldn’t deceive the Major Sect Golden Core cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist Donghua, why are you here?"
"If you’re here, why hide so veiled?"
A surprised voice sounded in Gu Yuan’s ear.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan no longer concealed his form, his figure flickered, and he disappeared from the valley.
Reappearing atop the mountain.
Amid rugged rocks, beneath a Spirit Wood resembling a coiled dragon, a young cultivator with white clothing, sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, and a jade ring on his finger looked at Gu Yuan with surprise.
"Fellow Daoist Zuo, long time no see!"
Gu Yuan’s Divine Sense was slightly superior. He had already detected this person’s presence upon entering the valley.
Only due to the crude Little White Bone Dharma Aspect, his presence was uncovered.
This person was none other than Zuo Tianlun, the youngest Core Formation cultivator in recent years from the Sunset Glow Sect!