46: Chapter 46 Three Methods

Wu Li squatted on the dead wood, the light of his Blood Pupil slowly receding, but countless thoughts surged in his mind.

The Power of Incense was something he had spent more than half of his past life researching.

In the Dharma Ending Age, when Spiritual Qi dried up, those ancient Cultivators turned to studying the Dao of Incense to preserve their heritage, replacing Spiritual Qi with the Power Of Faith to maintain their cultivation and even Breakthrough Bottlenecks.

Although Wu Li did not ultimately choose this path, he had pored over countless ancient texts in his search for the method of longevity, and he knew the essence and weaknesses of the Power of Incense like the back of his hand.

The core of the Power of Incense lay in a "contract"—the believers offered incense, and the deity granted protection, forming an invisible bond between the two sides.

This bond seemed firm, but in reality, it had a fatal weakness: it required mutual agreement.

If the believers no longer acknowledged it, the incense would be cut off; if the deity broke the contract themselves, the incense would backlash.

Mountain Lord Taiyue used Spiritual Qi to control the Yao Beasts in the mountain, a method that was essentially a variation of the Power of Incense.

When Yao Beasts absorbed Spiritual Qi to Cultivate, it was equivalent to accepting the Mountain Lord's gift, naturally marking them. However, since it was the Power of Incense, there had to be a way to break it.

Wu Li's mind raced as various techniques surfaced in his memory.

The first and most direct method was to find an extremely yin and evil treasure, using evil Qi to corrode the mark and pollute the source of the Power of Incense.

Mountain Lord Taiyue used Spiritual Qi as a medium, and since Spiritual Qi belonged to yang, extremely yin and evil things would counter it perfectly. However, such treasures could only be found by luck and could not be sought out, making them impossible to find in a short time.

The second method was to use one's own essence blood as a medium to Cultivate a Blood Sacrifice Technique, forcibly severing the connection between the mark and the heart. The cost of this method was immense, requiring the consumption of a vast amount of essence blood, and might even cause one's Realm to drop.

But the effect was direct and required no external items. Moreover, Wu Li already knew this method and could even execute it immediately.

Of course.

There was also a harmless, advanced version of this method. As long as Wu Li's Blood Pupil could advance to the Third Transformation: Profound-Breaking Realm, runes would naturally form within his pupils like inscriptions from a heavenly tome, shooting out profound light that could break enemy Formations and Restrictions, and anticipate the enemy's movements.

According to Wu Li's recent test, the First Transformation of the Blood Pupil could peer into the Origin and see its essence. Thus, by deduction, the Second Transformation of the Blood Pupil could suppress this thing, and the Blood Pupil at the Third Transformation Realm could definitely break it directly, even tracing it back to its Origin to destroy its root.

However, reaching this step would not be easy.

Aside from this, there was the final, third method, which was also harmless and relatively easy to achieve: using the Power of Incense to counter the Power of Incense.

A sharp light flickered in Wu Li's eyes.

The three methods each had their pros and cons.

"What are you thinking about?"

Su Wanyue's voice came from nearby, interrupting Wu Li's thoughts.

Wu Li looked up and did not say much, but the haze in his heart had mostly dispersed. Since there was a way out, he was in no hurry; five years was enough time to do many things.

Even if nothing worked out, he still had the second method as a safety net, so his mind relaxed considerably.

"It's nothing."

"I was just thinking that Mountain Lord Taiyue is a fucking idiot."

Wu Li cursed directly.

At this, Su Wanyue pursed her lips.

"Everyone has their own perspective. The old Yao who told me this news also said that while this rule is indeed a form of captivity, it has indeed given the living beings of Taiyue Mountain thirty years of survival."

"Otherwise, with the grand trend of the Human Race, how could they tolerate the existence of the Yao Race in their hinterlands? A few waves from the nearby Sects, and Taiyue Mountain would be wiped out."

Once these words were spoken, there was a brief silence.

There was indeed nothing wrong with this logic.

Under his own forces, he wouldn't easily tolerate the existence of a foreign race either.

Whatever.

Anyway, he had his own way and a path of survival. As for the rest...

They could do whatever they wanted.

Thinking of this, Wu Li turned his gaze back to Su Wanyue.

Wu Li focused his gaze on Su Wanyue again and asked, "Tell me about that Secret Realm you mentioned. What's the story?"

Seeing that Wu Li was no longer dwelling on the Mountain Lord's mark, Su Wanyue drifted down to sit on a tombstone. Her skirt draped over the edge of the tombstone, emitting a faint red glow under the moonlight.

She pondered for a moment and slowly spoke, "This Secret Realm is right beneath my feet."

Wu Li looked below the tombstone where Su Wanyue was sitting.

"It was only after my death, during my cultivation Breakthrough, at the very moment my spiritual body formed the Ghost Domain, that I noticed something abnormal about that space."

Su Wanyue's voice was calm, as if she were talking about something from a long time ago.

"At that time, my Ghost Domain had just formed, covering this Mass Grave. As the Ghost Domain expanded, I felt a space deep underground that was completely out of place with the surroundings, as if isolated by something."

"I've tried going there before. I can only enter it during the three days around the fifteenth of the lunar month when the power of moonlight is at its strongest, but..."

"I couldn't go very far."

"Once inside, there is a very strong repulsive force at the entrance. I barely managed to squeeze in, but could only stay on the outer perimeter. I couldn't go any further in. I've tried many times, and it's always like this."

"My initial estimate was that it had to do with my cultivation. But now that I have broken through to the Yin Spirit Realm, I can give it another try."

Wu Li's tiny black eyes stared at Su Wanyue. After a moment of silence, he asked, "When you went in, what did you see inside?"

Su Wanyue recalled for a moment and spoke slowly.

"When I first entered, I could see a tree not far away. Its trunk was very thick, though its branches and leaves were somewhat sparse, and three spiritual fruits grew on it."

"Their color was very unique—not the common red or green, but a pale gold, shimmering in the dim space. I was too far away to see what kind of fruit they were exactly, but the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi were very strong."

A flash of interest flickered in Wu Li's eyes.

"A bit further..."

"There were two decayed corpses lying on the ground, but the armor on them was still intact."

"That armor was not of any modern style. It was very ancient, looking like something from a long time ago. There were runes on it, but they had already dimmed, likely because the Spiritual Qi had completely dissipated."

"Armor, corpses... Could that place be a battlefield?"

Wu Li followed up with a question.

"I'm not sure."

"One was to the left, and the other to the right, not far apart. Judging from their postures, they didn't seem to have killed each other, but rather looked like they were killed by something at the same time."

"I couldn't go that far, so I couldn't see more details clearly."

A sharp light flickered in Wu Li's tiny black eyes.

Wu Li was silent for a moment, the sharp light flickering in his tiny black eyes before he spoke, "Very well, then your target this time should first be to try for those spiritual fruits."

"If you can get the spiritual fruits, there will at least be some chance."

Su Wanyue nodded and responded.

"Yes, the spiritual fruits should be the easiest to get at the moment."

"But my ultimate goal is those two suits of armor. If I can bring them out, finding Mountain Lord Wanyue to request protection shouldn't be a problem."

She paused, hesitating to speak, "But during this time, if I can't get them..."