79: Chapter 79: New Cultivation Techniques and Elixir Recipes

"Y-You... why are you here?" Her voice trembled, and the rims of her eyes turned red. "Didn't you leave the Sect for some business? How did you end up here? Do you have any idea how dangerous this place is..."

Xiao Yuan was hugged so tightly he could barely breathe, but his heart felt warm.

He gently patted her back and said softly, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Look at me, I'm perfectly safe."

Su Li didn't say a word, merely burying her head in his chest, her shoulders trembling slightly.

After a long while, she finally raised her head, eyes red, and glared at him with feigned ferocity. "Speak! How did you end up coming here?"

Xiao Yuan smiled and reached out to wipe away the tear stains at the corners of her eyes. "I'm here as a Loose Cultivator recruited by the Tianjian Sect, and I'm going into the Secret Realm too."

Su Li was stunned, and her expression immediately changed. "You're entering the Secret Realm? No way!"

She grabbed Xiao Yuan's hand and urged anxiously, "The Secret Realm is too dangerous! Even those at the Foundation Establishment Stage have a narrow escape from death inside. You're only at the Qi Condensation Stage... No, you can't go!"

Xiao Yuan said helplessly, "Then what about you? Aren't you going in as well?"

She mentioned he was at the Qi Condensation Stage, but she was at the Qi Condensation Stage too, and her strength was even inferior to his!

Su Li bit her lip. "I'm different. I need a foundation establishment pill."

She lowered her head, her voice muffled. "The Sun Family grandfather and grandson have been keeping an eye on me. Working at the Artifact Refining Peak's Earth Fire Room, I live in fear every day. That beast Sun Yue... the way he looks at me... I'm afraid he'll make a move sooner or later."

She looked up, stubbornness flashing in her eyes. "Rather than waiting to die, I'd rather take a risk. As long as I succeed in Foundation Establishment, they won't dare to be so blatant."

Xiao Yuan fell silent.

He knew Su Li was speaking the truth. In the cultivation world, without strength, one was merely meat on a chopping block at the mercy of others.

The only reason she was still safe now was because the Sun Family grandfather and grandson hadn't found an opportunity to act.

"Besides," Su Li continued, "in this Secret Realm, as long as you hand over enough Heaven And Earth Treasures, you can exchange them for two foundation establishment pills. I'll give you one then, so don't go in, it's too dangerous."

Seeing her serious expression, Xiao Yuan felt both sour and warm in his heart.

This silly girl couldn't even take care of herself, yet she was still worrying about him.

He gently pulled her into his arms and whispered, "Are you silly? If I go in, we can look out for each other. I'd be far more worried if you went in alone."

Su Li grew anxious: "But you..."

"No buts," Xiao Yuan interrupted her. "Don't you know my strength? What's wrong with being at the Qi Condensation Stage? It's not like you haven't seen me kill those at Half-step Foundation Establishment in the vein."

Su Li opened her mouth, unable to say anything.

Of course she knew Xiao Yuan was formidable. But knowing was one thing, worrying was another.

Seeing that she was still uneasy, Xiao Yuan simply changed the subject: "By the way, we need to discuss how to meet up after entering the Secret Realm."

He pulled out a simple map from his robes—it was given to him by Yun Feiyang, marking the general terrain of the Secret Realm.

Instead of agonizing over whether to enter the Secret Realm, it was better to plan how to support each other once inside!

"The Secret Realm uses scattered teleportation, so we definitely won't be together when we get in."

He pointed to a spot on the map. "Look here, there's an abandoned Stone Hall in the central area. Let's make that our rendezvous point and head there as quickly as possible after entering."

Su Li looked at the map, silently memorizing the location.

"If you encounter danger, don't force a fight; run first," Xiao Yuan instructed. "Preserving your life is paramount."

Su Li nodded, then suddenly raised her head, looking into his eyes. "You must promise me too not to take risks. If you die, I..."

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Xiao Yuan's heart softened. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Rest assured, I'm tough to kill."

Su Li blushed slightly, but she didn't dodge.

The two held each other quietly in silence.

After a long while, Su Li suddenly raised her head, a hint of shyness as well as determination in her eyes.

She wrapped her arms around Xiao Yuan's neck and whispered in his ear, "It's been a long time... I missed you."

A surge of warmth rushed through Xiao Yuan's heart.

What followed was only natural.

(Three thousand words omitted here)

Who knows how much time passed before the tent fell quiet.

Su Li snuggled in Xiao Yuan's arms, hiding her face in his chest like a satisfied kitten.

Xiao Yuan gently stroked her long hair, feeling the abundant energy inside the creation cauldron within his body, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.

'I have energy again,' he thought with subtle joy. 'This trip was worth it.'

He looked down at the girl in his arms; her brows were relaxed, and a faint smile lingered on her lips.

Xiao Yuan kissed her forehead gently and resumed his energy-replenishing journey. The night passed in such tender intimacy.

Before dawn, he quietly left the Jade Maiden Palace camp.

Xiao Yuan returned silently to his tent, set up an isolation Formation, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Sitting cross-legged, with a thought, he retrieved the scroll of Blood Shadow Demonic Classic and earth-grade foundation establishment pill Formula from the Creation Cauldron Space.

"Come on, let's see what the creation cauldron can upgrade you into."

He threw both Jade Slips into the creation cauldron and activated it with his mind!

The creation cauldron vibrated slightly, glowing with five-colored light that enveloped the two Jade Slips.

Xiao Yuan stared at the mouth of the cauldron, his eyes full of anticipation.

Last time, even damaged Formation Flags were upgraded to Tier 2 High Grade. What would happen this time with a complete Cultivation Technique and Pill Formula?

After a hundred breaths of time.

Buzz—

Two five-colored beams of light shot out from the cauldron!

A brand new Jade Slip and a golden-glowing animal hide scroll slowly emerged, emitting an aura even more profound than before.

Xiao Yuan first picked up the Jade Slip and sent his Divine Sense into it!

Blood Shadow Divine Scripture!

It was no longer a Demonic Technique and had no division of cultivation Realm, but was a true sacred scripture for Physical Body cultivation! Specialized in cultivating the Physical Body, it was easy to get started, but subsequent Cultivation required powerful energy support.

Cultivation Technique core: Absorb the power of Yin Fiend, the power of moonbeams, and even various negative energies from heaven and earth to temper the Physical Body. At the pinnacle of cultivation, the Physical Body's strength could rival an Early Stage Golden Core Stage Magic Treasure! In other words, upon reaching Perfection, one's Physical Body strength could even rival the Early Golden Core stage.

What surprised Xiao Yuan even more were those two secret techniques!

Burning Blood Fierce Flame Burst: Burn essence blood to unleash a fatal blow, increasing power by thirty percent! Yet the consumption was only sixty percent of the original!

Unleashing it with full strength, Xiao Yuan could previously execute it at most once, but now, he could execute it at least three times, or even up to five times!

Blood Spirit Escape: Burn essence blood to instantly flee three hundred miles, a three-fold increase, with consumption similarly reduced significantly, and the damage to oneself was much smaller as well!

"Holy crap!" Xiao Yuan's eyes went wide. "This is a god-tier skill!"

With these two secret techniques, his survival capability shot up drastically!

Suppressing his excitement, he picked up the animal hide scroll.

On it were written five large words!

"Five Elements Foundation Establishment Pill Formula"!

Xiao Yuan took a deep breath and probed his Divine Sense into it.

Then, he froze completely.

The very first line of the Pill Formula read:

"Using Five Elements Foundation Establishment spiritual items as the main ingredients, supplemented by thirty-six types of Spirit Medicines, the Five Elements Foundation Establishment Pill can be refined."

Five Elements Foundation Establishment spiritual items?

Not Cultivator Spiritual Roots anymore?!

Xiao Yuan continued reading down, growing more excited as he read.