133: The beginning of the

“The waterway is not open, and there are not enough Cultivators to set sail.”

After complaining about these nine large characters, Shen Li fell into deep thought.

Ps: Sorry, I typed it wrong. Jiu and ji are indistinguishable.

Originally, he thought that after collecting the loulan treasure ship of the Loulan Ancient Kingdom, he could enter the Loulan Ancient Kingdom as promised to seek Opportunity.

He didn't expect that this item had already been placed under a Restriction, and it couldn't be activated without enough people.

This raised some doubts.

What kind of Opportunity required so many Cultivators to explore?

Was that area a den of wolves and tigers, waiting to open its bloody maw and devour them completely?

What exactly was in the Loulan Ancient Kingdom… what secrets?

To be honest, although he had found many clues about the Loulan Ancient Kingdom from the Wang Family Market, he had never known anything about specific events or secrets.

Whenever he found a few clues, they quickly led to nothing.

It was as if an invisible, intangible large hand had forcibly cut off the clues.

But it wasn't for concealment; it seemed to be… not wanting it to be discovered so quickly by others.

Was someone plotting something?

Shen Li’s first suspicion fell upon Qingchi Mountain.

After all, if anyone knew the Yellow Sand Plains best, it could only be Qingchi Mountain.

But… what was the motive?

Was it plotting something?

The Shen Family is also from Qingchi Mountain, and my search for the loulan treasure ship is not a secret. Wang Chen of the Wang Family only told me not to get too engrossed in it earlier.

But he didn't stop me…

Then he gave me the treasure ship fragments… subtly giving me a push.

Immortal Master’s Dharma Sword…

All sorts of suspicions took root in his heart. After a long while, Shen Li shook his head, no longer thinking about it.

After all, this matter would eventually come to light.

He would simply deal with whatever came his way.

After thoroughly sorting out all his gains, Shen Li first took out some items that were crucial for his cultivation.

“Three enlightenment stones.”

“One yan dao stone.”

“myriad laws golden foil.”

His eyes flashed, and he instructed Qiu Ya and the others to handle all matters in Black Ridge City themselves. Then, he slowly entered the cultivation room.

The door closed… He sat cross-legged.

The Spirit Gathering Array confined the Spiritual Qi from the damaged Spiritual Vein within it, and Shen Li began to adjust his cultivation structure.

First, there was no need to elaborate on the function of the enlightenment stone. Currently, his Ice Law, Water Law, and even Little Vajra Technique and Small Cloud Rain Technique had all reached Perfection.

As for those that had not reached Perfection, only Little Sand Burial Technique and Rainstorm Pear Blossom remained.

Little Sand Burial Technique…

To be honest, Shen Li was a bit conflicted.

In the Yellow Sand Plains, the Little Sand Burial Technique, which conformed to the geographical and temporal advantages, could unleash 100% of its power, even exceeding that limit.

But he couldn't do it.

The reason was simple: his Spiritual Root affinity was not enough.

Little Sand Burial Technique, in the final analysis, is cultivated by those with an earth-attribute Spiritual Root affinity.

However, although he now had many Spiritual Root affinities, some strong, none of them were related to the earth attribute.

The highest affinity within Shen Li's body now was the ‘Taiyin’ affinity forged by the Taiyin Sword Pill and moon essence spirit water.

This method was the most mysterious and profound. Taiyin Dao traditions and Taiyin objects were extremely difficult to find, so it was also the most difficult Spiritual Root to improve.

The next in line was the Ice Law affinity, obtained by consuming two ninth-rank heaven and earth treasures from the Juejia Workshop and forged by Treasure Collecting Daoist’s Ice Muscle Jade Bone.

If one were to speak of what helped Shen Li the most in actual combat, it was this Ice Law.

As for why it couldn't be compared with or surpass the Taiyin affinity?

Excuse me, go tell that to the seventh-rank Taiyin Sword Pill.

And since the Ice Law originated from the Water Law, Shen Li's water-attribute affinity was also quite good.

Wood Law… ranked second to last.

As for the last… who else could it be? It could only be other Spiritual Root affinities like the earth attribute. These few had almost no affinity improvement, and he didn't have any special Physiques.

So they were the weakest.

So… should he seek out earth-attribute heaven and earth treasure to improve his affinity… or abandon this minor art?

He pondered for a long time, and an answer had already formed in his heart.

It was the simplest principle: biting off more than one can chew.

Earth Law… was not very compatible with him either.

He would just drop it.

But this did not mean Shen Li was going to discard this minor art.

The Little Sand Burial Technique was a one-time Jade Slip that Second Master Shen had him seek from that Loose Cultivator.

This minor art was not cheap, both in terms of favor and price.

If he were to abandon this minor art like this, he would probably be scolded for being out of touch.

Of course… he wasn't such a wasteful person either.

So he was thinking about whether he could use the yan dao stone… to change the spell structure of the Little Sand Burial Technique into the structure of other minor arts.

To put it bluntly, it was like switching professional skills.

For example, switching from the Small Cloud Rain Technique to the Little Wind and Snow Technique.

He looked down.

The yan dao stone… possessed the power of deduction. This object was shaped like a honeycomb, hollow in texture. Although it belonged to the metal and stone category, it felt as light as willow catkins in his hand.

When activated with Spiritual Qi… this object could allow a Cultivator to enter a mysterious state.

It was not an Epiphany… but a rarer and more uncommon flash of inspiration.

Legend has it that many Seniors created spells by relying on many flashes of inspiration, thus forging the brilliant and prosperous cultivation world’s spells.

Therefore, this yan dao stone was especially important to Shen Li.

Shen Li slowly closed his eyes, and the honeycomb-like yan dao stone in his hand underwent some subtle changes.

Dense, crystal-clear Spiritual Qi shuttled through the honeycomb… erupting with a soul-stirring intent.

The willow-catkin-like yan dao stone in his hand began to become incredibly heavy.

Then, with a plunge, Shen Li seemed to be forcibly dragged underground by the yan dao stone.

When he regained his senses, his body felt clear… Looking around, he was in a state of primal chaos.

This… was his Sea of Consciousness.

And his true body… was his Divine Soul, or rather, his spiritual nature.

Beneath his feet was an incredibly dark abyss.

As his foot stepped on it… ripples spread out.

He took a deep breath, and the spell structures in his mind began to appear one by one.

First… an aura of clear wind turning into rain lingered on his fingertips. Then, these threads condensed into a scribbled pattern, hanging high in the dark sky, its emerald color illuminating a corner.

“Small Cloud Rain Technique.”

And then came a golden yellow light.

The Dharma Seal of the Little Vajra Technique set off a shimmering golden light.

Named Little Vajra, this art was not a metal or earth Law… but a general method.

After that… came the bone-chilling Ice Law minor arts.

“Frost Wall.”

“Little Wind and Snow Technique.”

“Small Cold Cicada Art.”

“Small Ice Cone Art.”

The clear, cold light occupied most of the space, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

Then… the tottering Dharma Seal structure of the Little Sand Burial Technique slowly formed.

This was because this art had not yet reached Perfection, so its appearance was much slower.

After that… acrack opened at the top of Shen Li’s hazy head.

Then a crescent moon hung high above his head.

Vaguely, one could see behind this crescent moon… the faint shadow of a Sword Pill.

“Taiyin Wumeng Sword Art.”

Seeing this, Shen Li’s eyes flickered. The spell structure of the Little Sand Burial Technique began to glow brightly, while the others were hidden away.

Dense, tadpole-like patterns constantly swirled around his body… The complex structure was analyzed frame by frame by him.

Gradually, this place became pure.

Shen Li was immersed in it.

The task was arduous, and the Dao was long.