10: An opportunity has arrived! The secret technique of spiritual ascension!

The light screen closed behind him, isolating everything from the outside world.

The space inside Yue Lu Palace was much broader than it appeared from the outside, like a hollowed-out mountain.

In the center of the hall, behind a large nanmu table, a ruddy-faced, slightly plump old man was looking at him with a smile, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"This Martial Nephew must be visiting Yue Lu Palace for the first time?"

The old man spoke with a familiar warmth.

"Greetings, Senior Martial Uncle. This Junior is indeed visiting Yue Lu Palace for the first time."

Lu Qiu bowed, his attitude very humble.

Senior Martial Uncle Xu.

Having read the original work, Lu Qiu had a deep impression of the manager of Yue Lu Palace before him.

A typical old fox of the Sect, his cultivation was not high, stuck at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage for many years with no hope of progress; his greatest hobby in life was to skim some profit and take small advantages from the Disciples who came to do business.

"I wonder what Martial Nephew has come to Yue Lu Palace to seek?" The old man surnamed Xu stroked the sparse goatee on his chin and sized up Lu Qiu with interest.

A Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining Outer Sect Disciple who could enter with a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator's command token must have some wealth.

"This Junior has come to seek a handy Magical Artifact." Lu Qiu answered truthfully, but only told half the truth.

"Oh? A Magical Artifact?" The old man surnamed Xu's eyes lit up. "The Magical Artifacts in Yue Lu Palace are not cheap. Especially the top-tier ones, which often cost several hundred Spirit Stones."

His words were full of implications.

Lu Qiu naturally understood, but his goal today did not require going through this Senior Martial Uncle Xu's connections.

"Please guide me, Senior Martial Uncle." He only responded politely.

"What kind of Magical Artifact do you want? A defensive artifact, an offensive artifact, or a flying artifact?" Seeing that he didn't take the hint, the old man wasn't annoyed and still asked with a smile, like a persuasive merchant.

"This Junior wishes to seek an Intermediate Flying Sword Magical Artifact."

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on the old man surnamed Xu's face visibly faded a bit.

An Intermediate Magical Artifact?

This kind of common goods had dozens of pieces displayed in the Magical Artifact area on the third floor, clearly priced, with no profit to be made at all.

He thought a fat fish had come, but it turned out to be just a pauper.

"Ahem."

The old man surnamed Xu gave a dry cough, and his previous enthusiasm vanished instantly. He lazily pointed to a small teleportation Formation on the side of the hall.

"Go to the third floor. The Intermediate Magical Artifacts are all there. Once you've made your choice, come down and pay the Spirit Stones."

After saying that, he didn't spare another glance at Lu Qiu, taking out a purple clay teapot from his Storage Pouch and leisurely sipping tea.

This change in attitude couldn't be more real.

Lu Qiu chuckled inwardly, not minding it, and walked straight onto the teleportation Formation.

With a flash of light, the scenery before him changed instantly.

He was now inside an even larger grotto.

Rows of shelves made of unknown cold jade were neatly arranged in the grotto, with various Magical Artifacts floating above them.

Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bells, tripods, rings, handkerchiefs... a dazzling array of no less than several hundred items.

The surface of every Magical Artifact was shrouded in a faint layer of spiritual light; that was the Restriction of Yue Lu Palace.

These Magical Artifacts could be picked up and inspected at will, but once someone tried to forcibly take them out of Yue Lu Palace, the Restriction would trigger immediately, with unimaginable consequences.

Lu Qiu's gaze quickly swept over these Magical Artifacts.

It had to be said that as one of the Seven Great Sects of the State of Yue, Yellow Maple Valley's foundation was indeed deep.

Any random Magical Artifact here, if placed in an outside market, would be enough to cause a scramble among Qi Refining Stage Cultivators.

He didn't stop and walked straight towards the area where Flying Swords were placed.

The description of the gold intelligence was very clear.

An Intermediate Flying Sword Magical Artifact named "Jinghong".

Soon, he found his target in an inconspicuous corner.

It was a long sword that was gray-green all over, with a long and narrow blade and an ancient style. It had no extra decorations and looked completely unremarkable.

If not for the System's guidance, if Lu Qiu had come to pick it himself, he wouldn't have chosen it even after a hundred tries.

It just floated there quietly, looking somewhat shabby compared to the nearby Flying Swords that were glowing with light and clearly not ordinary items.

Lu Qiu reached out and held it in his hand. It felt slightly heavy, and a cool sensation came from his palm. He tried to inject a trace of spiritual power, and the sword body emitted a slight hum. Its spirituality was acceptable; it was indeed a standard Intermediate Magical Artifact.

This was the one.

He didn't look at any other Magical Artifacts. Holding this "Jinghong" sword, he turned and returned to the teleportation Formation.

The light flashed again, and he returned to the first floor of the hall.

The old man surnamed Xu lifted his eyelids, glanced at the gray-green Flying Sword in his hand, and seemed a bit disappointed.

"Finished picking?"

"Yes, Senior Martial Uncle, this Junior has chosen this one." Lu Qiu handed the Flying Sword over.

The old man surnamed Xu took the Flying Sword, glanced casually at the price tag on the hilt, and lazily called out a number.

"One hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

This price was the market price for an Intermediate Magical Artifact, neither high nor low.

Lu Qiu's face appropriately showed a hint of pain and struggle.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally seemed to make a huge decision. He slowly counted out a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and piled them on the table.

"Senior Martial Uncle, please count them."

With a wave of the old man surnamed Xu's sleeve, the Spirit Stones on the table disappeared.

He undid the Restriction on the "Jinghong" sword and tossed it back to Lu Qiu.

"Alright, you may go."

"Thank you, Senior Martial Uncle."

Lu Qiu took the Flying Sword as if it were a precious treasure, carefully put it into his Storage Pouch, bowed once more, and then quickly left Yue Lu Palace.

Looking at his "wasted money" back, the old man surnamed Xu curled his lips in disdain and took another sip from the teapot.

"What a pauper..." Leaving Yue Lu Palace, Lu Qiu didn't stop for a moment. He turned into a streak of light and returned to his Immortal Cave on Xuan Kun Mountain at the fastest speed.

The stone door closed heavily with a "rumble."

He cast several hand Seals, pushing the defensive Formation of the Immortal Cave to its limit. Layer after layer of light screens tightly enveloped the entire stone room.

After finishing all this, he let out a long sigh of relief.

He impatiently took out the "Jinghong" Flying Sword he had just obtained from his Storage Pouch.

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, placing the Flying Sword across his knees. His Divine Sense, like flowing mercury, permeated every inch of it, searching carefully.

The sword body, the blade, the guard... everything was normal.

Finally, his Divine Sense stopped at the hilt.

The gold intelligence indicated that the secret art was sealed inside the Magical Artifact.

And this hollow-structured hilt was undoubtedly the best choice for hiding things.

Within the hilt, there was actually a hidden world!

Sure enough, after his Divine Sense scanned it repeatedly, he finally discovered an unusual fluctuation of spiritual power in an extremely hidden groove at the end of the hilt.

There was a small, inconspicuous decorative jade piece embedded there.

Lu Qiu reached out his finger and carefully pried at the edge of the jade piece with his fingernail.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the jade piece popped open, revealing a thumb-sized hollow slot beneath.

Inside the hollow slot lay a miniature Jade Slip as thin as a cicada's wing.

Found it!

Lu Qiu's heart couldn't help but beat a few times faster.

Holding his breath, he carefully pinched the Jade Slip out with two fingers.

Without any hesitation, he immediately probed his Divine Sense into it.

The next moment!

Boom!

A vast and mysterious torrent of information instantly rushed into his Sea of Consciousness!

This flow of information was a hundred times more complex and profound than the Formless Qi Concealment Art he had obtained before!

A long time later, Lu Qiu slowly opened his eyes, digesting the new knowledge in his mind.

The secret art was named "Ascension Spirit"!

This was actually a forbidden secret art that could forcibly raise one's cultivation by one or even several sub-Realms in a short period!

With his current Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, if he performed this art, he could even possess strength comparable to the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection or even the Early Foundation Establishment Stage for a short time!

Lu Qiu's breathing became somewhat heavy.

The value of this secret art could no longer be measured by Spirit Stones!

However, the conditions for performing this secret art were also extremely harsh.

To perform the secret art, one must take a special Medicinal Pill.

Included in the information of the secret art was a Pill Formula.

The Medicinal Pill was named "spirit ascension pill".

Only by taking the spirit ascension pill could one perform the Ascension Spirit Secret Art; otherwise, it would consume a large amount of blood and qi, and could even lead to a drop in cultivation.