69novels Chapter 34 Leveraging Power
Chapter 34 Leveraging Power
Chapter 34 Leveraging Power
Having offended such a troublesome woman, Chen Yi inwardly groaned.
He examined himself and realized that he had been steady and low-key enough over the years.
Yet, this cause and effect cannot be avoided.
Reflecting on it, Chen Yi realized that even if he had to do it all over again, it would be difficult to avoid it.
From the moment he encountered the traitorous body cultivator Zhao Jingwu, Chen Yi was placed on the Dong family's kill list. Qin Chengcheng played the zither to urge him to confess.
Chen Yi inevitably had to use the system to absorb the divine power within the music; otherwise, he might not have survived until now.
"Fortunately, this woman doesn't dare to make a sound. I'd better settle her matter as soon as possible and then stay far away."
This woman is beautiful, and she can sing, dance, and play the piano. Wherever she goes, she attracts the attention of powerful figures!
Chen Yi didn't want to get caught up in any vortex.
However, the soul restriction left by Qin Chengcheng was too complex, at least a peak second-tier restriction.
In situations where the system cannot be directly used to devour the data...
Chen Yi could only rely on his soon-to-be-mastered [Divine Sense Needle] to gradually unravel the problem.
However, this requires him to have a strong foundation in divine sense and a foundation in formations of level two or above.
This is equivalent to having a difficult formation problem set up.
Even with Qin Chengcheng's guidance, Chen Yi still needed basic knowledge of second-order formations to figure out a solution.
At the same time, one must have strong spiritual power to support it, so as to avoid running out of spiritual strength halfway through, which would not only cause all previous efforts to be wasted, but also potentially cause the restriction to explode.
This process is quite difficult, especially considering there are only five years available.
The spiritual power within the tortoise shell was nearly exhausted. Since Chen Yi didn't have a specific cultivation method for spiritual sense, he would need to find another way to enhance it.
For example, he could use a tortoise shell-like object, or find someone to play the piano for him.
"What a hassle!"
Chen Yi felt a headache coming on.
Qin Chengcheng just left behind a "Preliminary Understanding of Formations" manual and that complicated Soul Dao restriction jade tablet, saying that he would come back in a month to check on Chen Yi's progress. If he could not master the basics of formations, he would be severely punished. Then he left.
I need to learn formations, improve my spiritual sense, practice spiritual acupuncture, and then figure out how to break that soul-path restriction.
The most troublesome part is that Chen Yi needs to work with Qin Chengcheng to study the whole process.
This inevitably means the two of them will be together, which could easily cause trouble for Chen Yi.
He had to make a three-point agreement with Qin Chengcheng: in front of outsiders, they absolutely could not show that they were close friends.
Of course, this is all predicated on Chen Yi having sufficient talent in array formations and demonstrating the ability to break her soul restriction; otherwise, there's no point in even discussing it.
In the following days, Chen Yi processed talisman skins, practiced talisman making, and processed demon beast meat, absorbing its energy to improve his body refinement cultivation.
In the evenings, which were originally his time for practicing the [Turtle Breath Water and Wood Technique], he would spend half of his time studying formations.
Fortunately, after cultivating immortality, my mind became clear, and many deep memories from my past life were able to surface one by one.
He recalled the advanced mathematics, analytic geometry, and spatial geometry he had studied at a prestigious 985 university.
Based on these knowledge frameworks,
In his view, the knowledge of formations in this world was not that difficult.
It's nothing more than the interaction of several basic energies of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, producing special effects through specific energy planning methods.
Moreover, he doesn't need to conduct innovative research; he only needs to understand the principles and methods of existing formations.
In just fifteen days, Chen Yi had memorized all nine basic formations in the "Introduction to Formations" book perfectly.
They have even mastered the thirty-six composite formations that combine two elements into one.
The three-in-one formation is slightly more complex. Without a standard answer and setup tools, Chen Yi would have spent a lot of time verifying it by relying solely on theoretical deduction. He didn't do that foolish thing.
The combined array of two elements has already reached the standard of the most ordinary first-level array master. For the subsequent content of the array, you can ask Qin Chengcheng for the current textbook.
Formations are not difficult.
The difficulty lies in solving the formation, or rather, in solving the formation with only one chance and absolute certainty.
The study of formations has come to a temporary end.
Chen Yi still needs to return to cultivating his core techniques.
He has now completed the second level of his Vajra Skill, which involves refining the flesh; the third level is bone refining.
This is also a level of transformation in the Vajra Technique. If the bone refining is successfully completed, the strength and defense will be no weaker than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If he were to have the cultivation level of the third stage of Body Refinement, he would not be afraid at all even if Qin Chengcheng turned against him afterward. Or if he caused a major incident, he could simply run away and ensure his own safety.
However, to achieve bone refinement, the energy requirement far exceeds that of the second level, flesh refinement.
The energy of mid-stage first-tier demonic beasts that Chen Yi usually deals with has a negligible effect on his body refinement cultivation.
Late-stage first-tier demonic beasts are somewhat useful, but the number available in the shop is very small. It might take decades to push Chen Yi's body refinement cultivation to the third level using these demonic beasts.
Chen Yi is already thirty-eight years old. He can't possibly go to the lake every night to hunt monsters himself, can he?
That's too dangerous.
We need to think of a solution.
Chen Yi thought to himself.
that night,
In the backyard of the talisman shop, inside Chen Yi's room, an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated.
Suddenly, the spiritual energy of the entire courtyard surged towards Chen Yi's room.
In the courtyard, other talisman master apprentices were also affected and stood in the courtyard to watch.
"That old guy seems to be trying to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining?"
A fellow fifteen-year-old Qi Refining Level 3 apprentice was slightly jealous.
"Heh, he's too old. Even if his bottleneck has long been established, he'll need three to five attempts to break through it."
This was a fourth-level Qi Refining apprentice, and he commented with the experience of someone who had been there before.
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than...
The room was filled with the magical power fluctuations of the fourth level of Qi Refining, and its pressure was twice as high as that of the third level of Qi Refining!
The apprentices outside all changed their expressions.
"Did that old guy really succeed?"
"Don't worry, even if he succeeds, he'll be thirty-eight years old. At that age, there's no hope of reaching the later stages of Qi Refining."
Compared to your and my age, in ten years, he'll only be able to see our backs.
Some people, while feeling a bit jealous, offered words of comfort.
The apprentices nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
In the world of cultivation, age and cultivation level signify talent. Generally, those who want to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage must reach the late Qi Refining stage by the age of 30 at the latest.
Someone like Chen Yi, who's almost forty and only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, has no chance.
A short while later, Chen Yi emerged from the room; he had already sensed the situation outside.
He clasped his hands slightly in apology to everyone: "I apologize. I had some insights late at night and couldn't help but try to break through my bottleneck. I failed to inform you all in advance and disturbed your cultivation."
"It's alright, this is a good thing. Congratulations to Senior Brother Chen on reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining, you've taken another step closer to immortality."
The Qi Refining Level 3 apprentice who had previously been jealous now offered his congratulations with a smile.
Even if Chen Yi's talent is poor, he is still at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, which gives him an edge.
"Old Chen, it's truly remarkable that you've reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining at your age. This is a good thing. I will inform Master tomorrow, and I believe you will soon be able to master the crafting of first-tier talismans."
The apprentice at the fourth level of Qi Refining smiled and congratulated him, but in reality, he was also testing him. He and another apprentice at the middle stage of Qi Refining had always been refining the first-tier low-grade talismans, and there was a lot of profit in it.
Chen Yi sighed and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang is too kind."
At my age, I'm like the setting sun, unlike you all who are like the rising sun. The future belongs to you; I'm just barely surviving.
Moreover, I'm not actually very good at crafting talismans; I'm more experienced in dealing with demonic beasts and making talisman skins. Although my cultivation level has improved, I probably still won't have much experience with high-level talismans. However, I can make more exquisite talismans for the shop.
Chen Yi made it clear that he would not take the other party's position as a core apprentice, which brought a smile to the other party's face.
"Haha, Old Chen, you really are a lucky charm for the shop! I'll definitely put in a good word for you with Master tomorrow!"
Chen Yi's words made each apprentice feel comfortable and dispelled any resentment they might have towards him.
The next day, news of Chen Yi's breakthrough was spread throughout the talisman shop, and several apprentices spoke up for him.
Liu Chenggang was overjoyed. He took out a piece of rare demon beast hide and asked Chen Yi to test his skills.
Chen Yi publicly displayed his mid-stage Qi Refining power and superb skills, crafting three exquisite talisman skins from it.
This made Liu Chenggang's eyes light up and his mood improve greatly:
"Good! Chen Yi, you're doing well. From now on, all the premium talisman skins in the shop will be yours!"
As for the special monsters or spiritual plants required for high-quality rune skins, you don't need to worry about it.
I'm applying to the Dong family!
Chen Yi was secretly pleased. Sure enough, with the Dong family's help, he didn't need to personally go to the lake to hunt monsters for cultivation resources.
The way of cultivation lies in leveraging existing forces.
(End of this chapter)