Mu Chen had already lost count of how many times he'd gasped in amazement. In short, the events of this single day were more unbelievable than anything he had heard in all his twelve years.
"Heh heh, no need to make that face. You'll understand in due time. However, this effect alone isn't enough for the Extreme Spirit Pearl to be considered a Chaos Supreme Treasure. Every Chaos Supreme Treasure possesses the power to shatter worlds," the Profound Old Ghost chuckled.
"So the Extreme Spirit Pearl has that kind of power too?" Mu Chen was beside himself with excitement, already imagining how the Extreme Spirit Pearl would shatter worlds. But to his surprise, the Profound Old Ghost said with disdain, "I'm talking about a *true* Chaos Supreme Treasure. The Extreme Spirit Pearl is only called a Chaos Supreme Treasure because a Cultivation Method is inscribed within it. Its real value lies in that method."
Cultivation Techniques were essential for every cultivator on the Extreme Martial Continent. Without a Cultivation Technique, you could not directly communicate with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, let alone absorb it for your own use. Cultivation Techniques were also divided into five tiers, from lowest to highest: White Tier, Yellow Tier, Profound Tier, Earth Tier, and Celestial Tier. Each tier was further divided into four grades: Lower Grade, Middle Grade, Upper Grade, and Peak.
The Grade of a Cultivation Technique directly affected the speed at which one could absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. The higher the Grade of the technique, the faster one's cultivation speed. For example, a genius possessing a High Grade Cultivation Technique might become a prodigy of their generation. Conversely, if a genius with perfect Cultivation Talent used a White Tier Cultivation Method, their cultivation speed might not even match that of an ordinary martial artist using a Profound Tier technique. This showed just how important a good Cultivation Technique was to one's cultivation path.
Mu Chen was stunned. "A Cultivation Technique? Could it be a Heavenly Rank Technique?"
The Profound Old Ghost scoffed. "You're dreaming. There aren't more than a hundred Heavenly Rank Techniques on the entire continent."
"Is it an Earth Tier then?" Mu Chen was instantly disappointed, but then he recalled that the highest-grade Cultivation Technique in his Mu Family was only a Yellow Tier Middle Grade technique. By comparison, an Earth Tier Cultivation Technique was already incredible.
The Profound Old Ghost said irritably, "This Cultivation Technique is No Grade. I don't know what Grade it is, either. No one has ever cultivated it, so you'll have to find out its Grade for yourself. However, based on its contents, it's definitely not some piece of trash."
Mu Chen asked curiously, "Does that mean it can advance in tier?"
The Profound Old Ghost was furious. "You brat! Do you think a Cultivation Technique is a Magical Beast? Advance in tier? That's impossible! And let's be realistic, even if this technique *was* trash, you have no other choice. This is the original text of the technique, which I spent tens of thousands of years deciphering. Take a look and you'll see."
After the Profound Old Ghost finished speaking, a gray scroll materialized out of thin air in front of Mu Chen and slowly drifted down. Mu Chen reached out and caught it. The scroll felt incredibly soft, its material extremely light and ethereal. It felt almost weightless in his hand.
Mu Chen only had one arm, but having adapted over many years, opening the scroll was a simple task. As the scroll unfurled, four large words glowing with a white light appeared before him.
"Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique?" Mu Chen softly read the four words aloud—the name of this Cultivation Technique. Below these four words, a line of smaller text was written: 'I am Extreme Spirit. I traversed the void and, by a stroke of fortune, chanced upon a peculiar space where I observed the evolution of Chaos. Following a sudden epiphany, I spent a thousand years creating this technique. As it was without a name, and born from my enlightenment in the Chaos, I shall call it: Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. Thus it came to be.'
To cultivate this technique, one must first destroy their qi source. My own million years of Cultivation were hard-won, a price I was unwilling to pay. Thus, I have hidden it here to await the continent's evolution, until it can descend upon the world and be gifted to one who is destined to find it. May whoever obtains it fulfill my wish. —Words from Extreme Spirit.
After reading this passage, Mu Chen felt his blood boil and his mouth go dry. He muttered, "Traversed the void... A million years of Cultivation, hard-won... Spent a thousand years creating this technique..."
Although he hadn't read the contents of the Cultivation Technique yet, Mu Chen was now certain that this technique was by no means trash.
"So? What do you think?" The Profound Old Ghost's teasing voice sounded out. He had seen Mu Chen's expression perfectly clearly.
Mu Chen swallowed and replied, inwardly rolling his eyes, "I haven't read the contents yet. What's the rush?"
He continued reading. The small characters remained vivid, and the further down he read, the more shocked Mu Chen became, utterly astounded by the immense might of the Great Power who had created this technique.
The Chaos Realm is the initial state of a world's formation. To form a world, seven elements are necessary: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, and Dark. In addition to these seven, three more elements are derived from Wood, Water, and Earth: Wind, Ice, and Thunder. Thus, there are ten elements in total. Among them, Light and Dark are collectively called the Chaos elements; where there is light, there must be darkness, and where there is darkness, there must be light. Therefore, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Ice, Thunder, and Chaos—these nine elements form the foundation for building a world.
The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique worked by transforming one's qi source into a sea of Chaos, absorbing these nine elements from the world to strengthen oneself and gain power that surpassed the world itself. However, Chaos is inherently turbulent at the beginning. Therefore, to cultivate this technique, one must destroy their Dantian, returning it to its initial state. Then, following the method within the technique, one must reforge the Dantian, splitting it into nine parts so it can accommodate the nine different attributes. Only by doing this can one avoid the danger of the original Dantian conflicting with other attributes and causing one's body to explode.
"GASP!" Mu Chen drew a sharp breath. 'A Dantian with Nine Attributes... That's completely unheard of!' On the Extreme Martial Continent, innumerable attribute martial artists had appeared over the years. These attribute martial artists were always much stronger than ordinary martial artists of the same rank, but ninety-nine percent of them possessed only a single attribute. The few Dual Attribute martial artists who did appear would inevitably die, their bodies exploding from their inability to balance the two attributes. And yet, this Cultivation Technique required one to reforge their Dantian into an all-powerful, Nine-Attribute Dantian, with the guarantee that their body wouldn't explode. This was...
"Heh heh, your Master didn't lie to you, did I? This is an absolutely unprecedented Cultivation Technique. Now you know why the Extreme Spirit Pearl can't shatter worlds but is still called a Chaos Supreme Treasure, right? But... the more powerful the Cultivation Technique, the stricter the restrictions," the Profound Old Ghost said with a sudden chuckle.
"Restrictions?" Mu Chen scanned the text of the technique again but found no mention of any, so he asked, confused.
The Profound Old Ghost said, "It's true, it's not written in there. But think about it. The cultivation speed of an attribute martial artist is much slower than an ordinary martial artist's. Do you know why?"
"That's common knowledge. Of course I know," Mu Chen answered without hesitation. "When an attribute martial artist absorbs Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, they have to spend time filtering out any Primordial Qi that conflicts with their Dantian's attribute. This makes their own attributed Primordial Qi much purer. Ordinary martial artists don't need to do this; they can absorb all Primordial Qi directly. But that also means their Primordial Qi isn't as pure, which is why they're much weaker than an attribute martial artist of the same rank."
"But a Nine-Attribute Dantian doesn't need to filter anything, either," Mu Chen added.
The Profound Old Ghost didn't mock Mu Chen, but patiently explained, "It's true that a Nine-Attribute Dantian doesn't need to filter. The problem lies with absorption. This Cultivation Technique splits the Dantian into nine, but you still only have a single main channel feeding them. To use an analogy, if your main channel is a river, a single-attribute martial artist just has to filter out the conflicting attributes. Their whole river flows with one kind of water. Once their Dantian is full, they can advance to the next rank. But you're different. Your single main channel has to carry nine different kinds of water, but the river is still the same width. Each type of water has to reach its respective Dantian, and only when all nine of your Dantians are full can you advance. That is your restriction."
Mu Chen was stunned for a moment, then wailed, "That restriction is too harsh! A single-attribute martial artist's cultivation speed is at least twice as slow as an ordinary martial artist's. If I cultivate the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique and become a Nine-Attribute Martial Artist, wouldn't my speed be nine times slower than an ordinary martial artist's?"
The Profound Old Ghost laughed heartily. "Of course not. Have you forgotten? Cultivation speed also depends on the Grade of the Cultivation Technique. The higher the Grade, the faster the absorption speed, and the greater the amount of Primordial Qi you naturally take in. However, since you haven't officially started cultivating this technique yet, I can't be sure how fast its cultivation speed is. But I'm sure it won't be too slow."
"Master, is there a solution?" Mu Chen shook his head, resigned. 'The creator of this Cultivation Technique didn't even indicate there was a solution, so how could my Master know? Even though I know he's very powerful...'
"Of course there is."
"Sigh, I knew it. Master, don't trouble yourself over it. I was just being too greedy. The fact that I can stop being a cripple and am able to cultivate is already more than... huh? Master, what did you just say?" Mu Chen hadn't reacted at first. Only after he finished his dejected sigh did he suddenly realize that he had just heard four words.
The Profound Old Ghost said irritably, "I said of course there's a solution! Otherwise, do you think I spent the last hundred thousand years studying for nothing?"
"As expected of my Master! My admiration for you is like a surging river..." Mu Chen's eyes shone, and he immediately started laying the flattery on thick. Ever since he learned that there was hope for him to no longer be a cripple and that he could cultivate, Mu Chen's entire mentality had changed. It was a feeling of excitement and anticipation, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the bright sun.