133: Secret Technique: Exploding Spirit Seal! Inherited Gu Techniques! The Scripture of Ten Thousand Poisons Gu!

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three: Secret Technique Spirit Explosion Seal! Gu Arts Legacy! Myriad Poisons Gu Scripture!

Tianque Fortress Market, South Street.

Lu Qiu had changed his appearance, transforming into an ordinary Loose Cultivator with a sallow face and an aura no higher than the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. Mingling with the crowd, his gaze swept casually across the roadside shops before finally landing on the sign for "Baogong Shop."

The shop's facade wasn't particularly grand, but the materials used were solid, with bluestones laid seamlessly together. Two copper lanterns hung at the entrance, emitting a soft light even in the daytime, giving off an air of deep heritage.

Lu Qiu stepped slowly into the shop. A scent mixed with metal, Ore, tung oil, and a faint hint of spiritual fire wafted toward him.

The interior was quite spacious, with rows of heavy wooden shelves against the walls displaying various Magical Artifacts categorized from low to high grade. These were mainly common styles like Flying Swords, shields, and long sabers, though there were also a few exotic weapons.

Several attendants were tending to customers, while a middle-aged Cultivator who looked like a manager sat behind the counter fiddling with an abacus.

“Fellow Daoist, what do you need? The Magical Artifacts in our shop are all crafted by experienced Artifact Refiners; the quality is superior and the prices are fair.” A clever young attendant approached him. Seeing Lu Qiu's average aura and ordinary clothes, he did not treat him with any neglect.

Lu Qiu's gaze swept over the shelves, intentionally lingering a moment longer on the Flying Sword section. He then lowered his voice and said, “I need a handy High-Grade Flying Sword with strong attack power, preferably with some fire or metal attributes. As for the price... as long as the item is good, it’s not an issue.”

He deliberately projected the common hesitation and longing of a Loose Cultivator who had saved Spirit Stones for a long time to buy a piece of good equipment.

The attendant's eyes lit up; High-Grade Magical Artifacts offered substantial profit. His attitude became even more enthusiastic: “Fellow Daoist, this way please! We have boutique items on the second floor; there will surely be something to your liking.”

Following the attendant up the wooden stairs, the environment on the second floor was more elegant. There were fewer Magical Artifacts, but the quality was clearly higher. Each piece was displayed individually on a stand covered in brocade, shimmering with spiritual light.

The attendant led Lu Qiu directly to a sword rack and pointed to a slender, crimson longsword with faint flowing fire patterns. He introduced it: “Fellow Daoist, please look at this ‘Flowing Fire Sword.’ It is forged from Red Copper mixed with a small amount of Fire-Melt Crystals. It is incredibly sharp and comes with a burning effect. When activated, it can trigger three streaks of Flowing Fire Sword Qi. Its power is impressive, priced at one hundred and thirty Spirit Stones.”

Lu Qiu picked up the Flowing Fire Sword to weigh it, then channeled a sliver of mana to test it. He shook his head slightly and put it down, his gaze seemingly wandering to another row.

Soon, his eyes fixed on a longsword on the left side of the third row.

The sword had an ancient style with a dark red blade, not as flashy as the Flowing Fire Sword. The hilt was wrapped in old, dark green flood dragon skin, making it look steady and reserved. Two small characters in ancient seal script were carved on the crossguard—Chixiao.

The spiritual energy fluctuations it emitted were not the most prominent among the surrounding High-Grade Magical Artifacts; they were even somewhat obscure.

“This sword...” Lu Qiu pointed at the “Chi Xiao Sword,” looking puzzled.

The attendant quickly explained, “Oh, this ‘Chi Xiao Sword’ is also a High-Grade Magical Artifact. It’s made of solid materials and is especially sturdy, suitable for a head-on fighting style. However... to be honest with you, this sword was acquired by our shop and has been here for some years. If you're interested, I can offer a discount; one hundred and ten Spirit Stones will do.”

Lu Qiu showed a look of hesitation, picked up the Chi Xiao Sword, examined it closely, and tested it with mana again.

The mana flowed smoothly through the blade, but there was no special reaction. It truly seemed like a standard High-Grade Flying Sword.

“Sturdy... that is indeed useful.” Lu Qiu seemed to make up his mind. “I'll take it then. One hundred and ten Spirit Stones.”

The attendant was secretly delighted that this old stock was finally sold. The smile on his face grew even broader: “Fellow Daoist is decisive! I’ll wrap it up for you right away.”

The transaction was completed smoothly. Carrying the Chi Xiao Sword in a brocade box, Lu Qiu soon disappeared into the crowd of the market streets. After confirming no one was watching, he returned to his rented small courtyard.

In the Quiet Room, Lu Qiu set up a Restriction and took out the Chi Xiao Sword.

He examined it repeatedly, his Divine Sense carefully probing every inch of the blade. He even tried several common techniques for revealing hidden information and channeled mana of different attributes. The sword remained quietly on the table, showing no abnormalities other than the spiritual light of a High-Grade Magical Artifact.

“It’s hidden quite well.” Lu Qiu stopped wasting effort and directly took out the sky burning gilded plumes.

His fingers lightly stroked the gorgeous and dangerous golden feather as a wisp of pure and overbearing Crimson Heaven Mana was injected into it.

“Buzz!”

The tip of the sky burning gilded plumes suddenly lit up with a point of golden light so condensed it seemed capable of slicing through space!

Holding the plume like a pen, Lu Qiu gave a light stroke at the junction of the Chi Xiao Sword's hilt and blade!

There was no loud noise, only a faint but piercing sound of friction.

The High-Grade Magical Artifact blade, which was enough to withstand the full-force strike of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was silently cut open with a neat slit under the sharp edge of the sky burning gilded plumes, like a hot knife through butter!

There was no metal cross-section at the slit; instead, it revealed a hollow structure inside.

A strange page, thin as a cicada's wing, pale silver-white, and made of neither metal nor silk, was embedded perfectly within!

Lu Qiu carefully extracted it with mana.

The silver page felt cold to the touch and was exceptionally tough. It was covered in dense ancient characters and complex spiritual energy flow diagrams written in a kind of silver light.

The four large characters at the beginning were written with powerful strokes, exuding a sense of resolute destruction—Spirit Explosion Seal!

Lu Qiu immersed his mind and read carefully.

The more he read, the deeper the astonishment in his eyes became.

The principle of this “Spirit Explosion Seal” secret technique was actually so overbearing and resolute!

To Cultivate this art, one needed to use a unique method to condense a special “Spirit Explosion Mark” within the body.

This mark was formless and immaterial, yet it could be split into sub-marks at the user's will and integrated into any object containing spiritual energy—Spirit Stones, Talismans, Magical Artifacts, Magic Treasures, and even certain special spiritual materials or Formation Plates!

Once integrated, the user only needed a thought to instantly detonate all the spiritual energy within that object, creating a terrifying explosion far exceeding its own physical limits!

Its power depended on the quantity and purity of the spiritual energy contained in the detonated object.

An example in the detailed explanation of the secret technique: if a “Spirit Explosion Seal” sub-mark was integrated into a Top-Grade Magical Artifact and detonated at a critical moment, the instantaneous destructive power would be enough to threaten or even heavily injure an Early Core Formation Stage Cultivator!

If it were integrated into a Magic Treasure... the power would be even more unimaginable.

Moreover, the scope of this technique was extremely broad and not limited to low levels.

In theory, as long as the user's cultivation was high enough and the condensed Spirit Explosion Mark was strong enough, even the Magic Treasures of Golden Core Cultivators could be branded and detonated!

“What a desperate, life-risking Move that burns bridges!” Lu Qiu couldn't help but sigh after reading.

Although this secret technique was powerful, the cost was equally enormous.

Who among Cultivators would be willing to use the Magical Artifacts or Magic Treasures they had worked so hard to obtain or even carefully nurtured for many years as one-time explosives?

Especially a Lifebound Treasure, which was connected to the Cultivator's heart and blood. Once detonated, they would surely suffer a backlash. Unless it was a matter of life and death or an absolute necessity, one would never use it.

“However, as a hidden trump card, it might truly turn the tide and save a life at a critical moment.” Lu Qiu solemnly put away the silver page.

The difficulty of cultivating this technique was not low. It required reaching a extremely high level of spiritual energy control, and condensing the Spirit Explosion Mark would also cost quite a bit of time and effort, but it was definitely worth the investment... The night was deep, with the moon hidden and stars sparse.

Outside the “Jinmu Courtyard” in the west district of the Tianque Fortress Market.

A nearly transparent shadow flitted silently over the wall. It was Lu Qiu, wearing the invisibility gauze and pushing the Myriad Transformations Hidden Origin Art to its limit.

With a slight thought, the light of the gray spatial bead retracted, and over a thousand Illusion Spirit Butterflies surged out silently.

They perfectly concealed their forms in the night, the light on their wings fully withdrawn. They turned into a formless wave, like the gentlest night mist, silently enveloping the entire “Jinmu Courtyard.”

Lu Qiu did not sneak in directly. Instead, he reached out a finger and lightly touched the protective Restriction outside the courtyard gate.

The Restriction shimmered with a faint light and emitted a low hum, signaling to the interior that someone had arrived.

A moment later, footsteps were heard inside. The light of the Restriction flowed, and the courtyard gate opened with a “creak.”

A middle-aged man in the standard yellow robe of Tianque Fortress, with a lean face and a short beard, poked his head out. His cultivation was at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and his face was filled with vigilance and confusion.

This was Hu Yong from the intelligence reports.

He looked outside the door, but there was no one there, and he was just about to be surprised.

At that moment, the Illusion Spirit Butterfly Swarm that had already enveloped the area quietly struck!

Hu Yong only felt an extremely faint seven-colored halo flash before his eyes. The scene of the surrounding courtyard seemed to distort for a moment, and a kind call vaguely sounded in his ear: “Senior Brother Hu?”

The voice was blurred, yet it carried a strange sense of familiarity, making him subconsciously think that a familiar Junior Brother had come by.

In the instant his mind relaxed slightly due to this sudden, “familiar” call—

The illusion had already invaded!

Hu Yong's eyes suddenly went blank, and the vigilance on his face was quickly replaced by vacancy. He seemed to lose his spirit instantly, standing frozen at the door.

Lu Qiu's figure slipped into the courtyard like a ghost past him, closing the gate behind him.

The courtyard layout was simple, with only a Quiet Room and a guest room.

Lu Qiu did not hesitate. An Intermediate “spirit calming talisman” that had been held in his hand turned into yellow light and was stuck to the back of Hu Yong's neck.

Hu Yong's body went limp and was about to fall, but Lu Qiu caught him and dragged him to a chair in the guest room to sit down.

Next, Lu Qiu took out a pale pink Talisman drawn with a strange incense burner pattern—an Incense Illusion Talisman.

This Talisman was not for attack; instead, it combined hypnotic incense with illusion, capable of putting a person into deep hypnosis and making them answer questions in an unconscious state.

The Talisman was activated, turning into a wisp of pink smoke with a sweet, cloying fragrance that drifted into Hu Yong's nose.

Hu Yong was already suppressed by the illusion and the spirit calming talisman. Now, he completely lost consciousness, his head drooping as his breathing became long and steady.

Lu Qiu quickly took the Storage Pouch from Hu Yong's waist and wiped away the Divine Sense brand to investigate.

Inside, besides several hundred Spirit Stones, some Medicinal Pills and Talismans, and a few Magical Artifacts, he indeed found a Jade Slip in the corner that was deep yellow, worn at the edges, and exuded an ancient aura.

He was in no hurry to examine it. Instead, he began to ask questions in a low, steady tone to the deeply hypnotized Hu Yong:

“Hu Yong, where did you obtain the Legacy Jade Slip three days ago?”

“...Luoyu Mountain Range... eastern edge... ‘Black Wind Cave’... deep stone chamber...” Hu Yong answered intermittently and unconsciously.

“Does anyone else know?”

“...No... explored alone... heavily injured a Second-Grade Demonic Beast... only then entered...”

“The contents of the Jade Slip, have you ever copied it or told anyone else?”

“...No... just got it not long ago... was just about to comprehend it...”

“Inside Black Wind Cave, besides the Jade Slip, what else was there?”

“...A skeleton of a deceased Cultivator... already weathered... a few Mid-Grade Spirit Stones... nothing else...”

He asked a few more questions about the specific location of that ancient Cultivator's cave dwelling and the remaining internal Restrictions. After confirming there were no omissions, Lu Qiu stopped his questioning.

He took out a pitch-black pill the size of a dragon's eye that emitted a bitter scent—a soul forgetting pill.

This was an enhanced version of the Dust Forgetting Pill with more potent medicinal power, enough to make a Foundation Establishment Cultivator forget specific events that happened over several days, leaving only blurred fragments or a complete blank.

Lu Qiu pinched Hu Yong's mouth open, shoved the soul forgetting pill into his throat, and helped it dissolve with mana.

Then, he withdrew the Incense Illusion Talisman and the spirit calming talisman, tied Hu Yong's Storage Pouch back onto his waist, and slightly adjusted his sitting posture to make it look like he had accidentally fallen asleep while meditating in the chair.

Having done all this, Lu Qiu did not linger. His figure faded away, and he quietly left the Jinmu Courtyard as if he had never appeared.

The Illusion Spirit Butterfly Swarm enveloping the courtyard also withdrew, vanishing into the night.