158: Chapter 158 Attack, Defense, Escape Techniques: A Trinity

The Cultivation Technique section of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion was on the third floor. Su Cheng had come here last time to buy Divine Sense Spells, so he was familiar with the way this time.

His Personal Disciple jade plate saved him a lot of trouble; he didn't need to queue to enter or exit, and he could freely browse the jade shelves in the back rows specifically for second-tier Cultivation Techniques.

Su Cheng spent most of the morning repeatedly picking through hundreds of Jade Slips, eventually selecting three.

The first: [Green Vine Binding Kill], a High Grade tier-two wood-attribute attack Spell.

This technique uses spiritual power to grow hundred-zhang-long vines that can be hard or soft, binding or strangling. It has a large attack range and strong control.

The best part was that the core concept of this Spell shared some similarities with the 'One Thought, Flowers Bloom' from the Qiankun Creation Art, as both used vitality to stimulate vegetation.

The difference was that 'One Thought, Flowers Bloom' had a wide range but dispersed power, while 'Green Vine Binding Kill' condensed all its strength into two vines, making it highly directional with concentrated lethality.

The second: [Thick Earth Barrier], a High Grade tier-two earth-attribute defensive Spell.

It channels earth-attribute spiritual power to condense multiple layers of Thick Earth Barriers in front of the user, with thickness and range adjustable based on the amount of spiritual power injected.

This Spell's strength lay in its stability; it wasn't flashy, but it was enough to block what needed to be blocked.

The third: [Wood Evasion Technique], a High Grade tier-two wood-attribute movement method.

The practitioner can merge their aura into surrounding vegetation, using the roots and branches of plants to perform short-distance concealment and displacement.

In forests, spiritual fields, or even Immortal Caves containing spiritual plants, the effect of this movement method would be multiplied.

Interestingly, the operating principles of the Wood Evasion Technique highly coincided with the passive spiritual plant affinity of Su Cheng's Cultivation Technique, so it should be very easy to practice.

Altogether, the cost in contribution points for the three Spells was not small: two thousand eight hundred points.

Su Cheng felt a bit of a sting in his wallet as he paid.

When paying the contribution points, the Deacon Disciple responsible for registration flipped through the records and looked up at Su Cheng.

"Senior Brother Su, of the three Spells you've chosen, two are wood-attribute and one is earth-attribute?"

"Yes."

The Deacon Disciple looked hesitant but spoke up anyway: "Isn't Senior Brother from the Alchemy lineage? It's one thing to choose combat Spells, but why choose two different attributes? Generally speaking, specializing in one attribute is more efficient for spiritual power usage..."

Su Cheng took back the registered jade plate, "They're all useful."

Seeing that he didn't want to chat, the Deacon Disciple didn't press further.

As he walked out of the third floor of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion, Su Cheng almost bumped into two people at the corner of the stairs.

Wei Tian and Lin Xuewei.

The two were walking up the stairs side-by-side, whispering something in a low but intimate tone.

Wei Tian held a blue mission token in his hand, while Lin Xuewei was browsing a Jade Slip beside him, nodding in agreement from time to time.

Su Cheng paused.

It wasn't that he intentionally stopped; it was simply that the stairs were only so wide, and the three of them were blocking each other.

Wei Tian was the first to look up.

After not seeing him for over half a year, the aura of this Personal Disciple of Elder Chiyang had changed quite a bit. The Spiritual Pressure on him was a layer heavier than during the sect entrance selection, and his cultivation had progressed significantly from Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, likely not too far from the Late Stage.

Dressed in fine silks with a jade belt, he also had an extraordinary Flying Sword hanging from his waist, at least a supreme grade Magical Artifact.

Talk about showing off; he certainly looked the part.

Lin Xuewei also appeared more composed than during the entrance selection, her temperament cold, and her cultivation was also at Foundation Establishment Mid-stage.

Her Bone Spirit Cold Fire had left an impression on Su Cheng during the selection. Although it was provided by her Family, being able to command a tier-three exotic fire itself proved that her Divine Sense and talent were extraordinary.

Su Cheng didn't avoid them and openly cupped his hands toward the two: "Senior Brother Wei, Senior Sister Lin."

Lin Xuewei's impression of Su Cheng wasn't particularly deep.

There was indeed such a person among the top ten during the selection, but at the time, her entire mind had been on her own Alchemy, so she paid limited attention to others.

Seeing him take the initiative to greet them, she gave a slight nod in return without saying much.

Wei Tian's reaction was a bit more complex.

He remembered this name. This was the fellow who had scored full marks in both purification and Fusion in two consecutive rounds during the selection and had ultimately refined a foundation establishment pill with a one hundred percent success rate.

To be honest, Wei Tian had felt a bit indignant for a while back then.

But after more than half a year, looking back, it didn't seem like much anymore.

Ultimately, Su Cheng was a Disciple of Elder Qingmu, and Qingmu Peak was not a core mountain in the Danding Sect to begin with, nor did it have top-tier Alchemy resources tilted in its favor.

Whereas he, Wei Tian, was backed by Elder Chiyang, had a powerful Family background and an exotic fire, and had access to whatever Pill Formulas and resources he wanted. Their starting lines were completely on different levels.

One doesn't strike a smiling face; there was no need to put on airs with a fellow Disciple who posed no threat to him.

"Junior Brother Su," Wei Tian also cupped his hands and smiled, "long time no see. Has your cultivation been going smoothly lately?"

"It's alright, just slowly grinding away."

"That's good." Wei Tian put away the blue token and gestured toward the upper floor with his chin, "Apologies, Junior Sister Lin and I have some urgent business to attend to. We'll chat another day."

"Please, go ahead, Senior Brother Wei."

The two groups passed each other, going their separate ways.

Su Cheng didn't think much of it.

There was no conflict of interest between him and Wei Tian, nor any personal grievances; they were just fellow Disciples from the same intake, nodding acquaintances.

As for that blue token in Wei Tian's hand, Su Cheng caught a glimpse—it was a mission token from Contribution Peak.

He didn't care what the mission was, nor could he be bothered to care.

After returning to his Immortal Cave on Qingmu Peak, Su Cheng placed the three Spell Jade Slips on the table in order, sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, took the first one, and began to study it.

The incantation for [Green Vine Binding Kill] wasn't particularly complex. The core lay in how to stimulate spiritual power through specific Meridian routes to simulate the growth trajectory of vines.

To put it simply, it was about making spiritual power 'grow' out, rather than just releasing it.

While this concept required repeated contemplation for others, for Su Cheng, it was practically his bread and butter.

He practiced the Qiankun Creation Art, and the essence of Creation Spiritual Power was vitality.

Making spiritual power grow things? He could do it with his eyes closed.

On the first day, Su Cheng read through the incantation three times, memorizing the spiritual power circulation route thoroughly.

On the second day, he attempted to trigger it. Qi of Creation surged from his Dantian, circulating for one full cycle along the Meridian routes required for Green Vine Binding Kill.

From the palm of his right hand, a thumb-thick section of green vine poked out, swayed twice in the air, and then snapped with a 'pop.'

His spiritual power control wasn't refined enough yet.

From the third to the fifth day, he practiced repeatedly.

The vine went from snapping immediately to lasting for one breath, and then for ten breaths.

By the seventh day, Su Cheng could already grow a complete three-zhang-long vine, whipping it back and forth inside the Immortal Cave with a fierce whistling sound.

The efficiency of Creation Spiritual Power in driving wood-attribute Spells was even higher than he had estimated.

An ordinary Cultivator practicing this Spell would take at least three to five months just to get started.

He saw results in seven days, not because his talent was Heaven-Defying, but purely due to the overwhelming compatibility of his Cultivation Technique's attributes.

Next was [Thick Earth Barrier].

The difficulty of practicing this earth-attribute defensive Spell was a step higher than Green Vine Binding Kill.

Although Su Cheng's Creation Spiritual Power was balanced and compatible with all attributes, he didn't specialize in the earth-attribute after all, so driving it required an extra step of spiritual power attribute conversion.

Fortunately, the 'All Methods Return to the Source' characteristic of the Qi of Creation played a role here.

The conversion process wasn't difficult; it just had a slight delay compared to practicing wood-attribute Spells.