63: Senior Brother Lin has fallen! His scheme to master the Great Evolution Technique is complete!

Chapter Sixty-Three: "Senior Brother Lin" Falls! Plotting for the Great Evolution Art!

Chixiao Cave, insect breeding room.

Soft light spilled through a specially carved skylight covered with transparent crystal, and the air was filled with a moist, clear scent, mixed with the faint sweetness of nectar and a strange fluctuation of illusion-attribute Spiritual Qi.

Lu Qiu stood in the center of the room, with dozens of nail-sized, crystalline stones shimmering with dreamlike seven-colored luster floating before him.

These were "illusory spirit crystals" he had purchased at a high price from the market, a rare illusion-attribute spiritual material that greatly promoted the growth of Illusion Spirit Butterflies.

With a slight movement of his fingertips, a wisp of pure mana lifted an illusory spirit crystal and slowly sent it into the air above the insect breeding room.

There, over a hundred miniature butterflies with translucent bodies and wings flowing with a blurred seven-colored glow were dancing in groups.

Their size was already several times larger than when they were born, about the size of a thumb's fingernail, and their flight posture was much more stable and agile.

Sensing the aura of the illusory spirit crystal, the butterfly swarm immediately emitted a subtle but joyful mental fluctuation, gathering like they were pulled by an invisible wind, swarming to surround the illusory spirit crystal in the center.

Their tiny mouthparts extended, gently landing on the surface of the crystal, absorbing the pure illusion-attribute energy within.

As the energy was absorbed, the seven-colored glow on the butterfly wings seemed to brighten slightly, and the illusory spiritual charm emanating from their bodies became increasingly obvious.

The light in the insect breeding room became blurred and uncertain due to the presence of these little guys, and the edges of objects distorted slightly, as if covered by a thin veil that could never be touched.

Even though Lu Qiu had already placed a Divine Soul brand on them and could clearly perceive their existence as their Revered Master, an occasional glance would still give him the illusion that "there seems to be nothing there."

This was a sign that the Illusion Spirit Butterflies' innate talents, "Illusion Form" and "Spirit Concealment," were beginning to manifest.

"Little guys, grow up quickly."

Lu Qiu looked at the butterfly swarm absorbing energy in the air, his eyes filled with expectation as he muttered to himself.

After feeding the illusory spirit crystals, he took out several jade bottles containing carefully prepared nectar spiritual dew, mainly made from the nectar of several kinds of hundred-year Spirit Medicine flowers and mixed with a little diluted spirit eye spring water, which was very beneficial for the physical growth of the Illusion Spirit Butterflies.

He poured the spiritual dew into several shallow dishes fixed on the wall, and the butterfly swarm immediately split off a part, buzzing down to begin feeding.

The entire insect breeding room was filled with a peaceful and vibrant atmosphere.

After finishing the daily feeding of the Illusion Spirit Butterflies, Lu Qiu returned to the main quiet room.

He sat cross-legged, and with a flash of light in his hand, a warm jade box appeared.

Opening the lid, a Spirit Medicine shaped like a Vermilion Bird with its wings spread, its entire body crimson like condensed flames and its leaf veins flowing with a luster like molten gold, lay quietly inside, emitting a pure and majestic fire Spiritual Qi. Its medicinal age was actually over one thousand three hundred years!

A smile appeared on Lu Qiu's face.

This "Vermilion Bird Flame Heart Grass" was an extra "thank-you gift" Han Li had sent when he visited again a month ago.

That day, Han Li still had that ordinary dark face, but his eyes had a bit less hidden wariness and a bit more sincerity than before.

He admitted that he had managed to get the corresponding gold intelligence page from his Revered Master Li Huayuan using the silver page clue provided by Lu Qiu.

With the two pages combined, he indeed obtained the complete Legacy of the Qing Yuan Sword Art, and the secret techniques and the method to solve the "Three Revolutions Heavy Origin" hidden danger recorded within allowed him to see a broader path of the Dao.

"I will keep Senior Brother Lu's guidance in mind. The previous transaction is over; this item... is a small token of my appreciation, please do not refuse it, Senior Brother."

At that time, when Han Li said this, his attitude was quite sincere, and he presented the jade box containing the "Vermilion Bird Flame Heart Grass" with both hands.

Lu Qiu accepted it after a slight refusal.

He could see that Han Li's gift this time was both to express gratitude and, to some extent, to pre-establish a friendship for the "two instances of assistance" agreement they might have in the future.

After all, no one wanted a cold transactional relationship when seeking help in the future.

Now that both had become formal Disciples under Li Huayuan and were nominally fellow Senior and Junior Brothers, this interaction was also reasonable.

"He certainly knows how to conduct himself."

Lu Qiu smiled and closed the jade box to put it away.

This thousand-year spirit herb was extremely valuable; taking it directly would be too wasteful, and he had a better way to use it.

He then took out a longan-sized, crimson Medicinal Pill with flame cloud patterns on its surface.

The heat emitted by the pill caused the surrounding air to distort slightly, and the medicinal fragrance carried a hint of the mellow charm unique to thousand-year spirit herb.

This was precisely the "red sun pill" he had carefully refined over several days, using a small portion of the leaves of the "Vermilion Bird Flame Heart Grass" as the main medicine and supplemented by more than a dozen types of hundred-year-old auxiliary medicines.

This pill was based on an ancient Pill Formula and was of great help to Cultivators practicing fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques, capable of purifying mana, tempering fire spirits, and increasing cultivation speed.

Refining it with the complete thousand-year spirit herb would naturally yield the best results, but Lu Qiu was not so "extravagant." He only cut off about one-tenth of the most pure medicinal part of the "Vermilion Bird Flame Heart Grass" for the medicine, properly storing the rest for future refining of more important pills or for use when the Crimson Sky Burning Heaven Technique reached a critical point.

Even so, the efficacy of this red sun pill far exceeded that of ordinary pills for increasing cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Lu Qiu put the red sun pill into his mouth, and the pill instantly turned into a scorching yet gentle torrent, surging into his limbs and bones, and finally flowing into the Dantian Qi Sea.

He dared not be careless and immediately operated the Crimson Sky Burning Heaven Technique.

Dark gold liquid mana roared through his broad and tough Meridians like an awakening river of lava.

The pure medicinal power of the red sun pill was quickly refined and absorbed, merging into the Crimson Heaven Mana.

Above the Dantian, the dark gold natal fire seed mark throbbed slightly, as if it were also being nourished. Its color became increasingly deep and restrained, and mysterious flame runes faintly circulated and flickered deep within the mark.

Time passed in the silence of Cultivate.

After an unknown amount of time, the surging aura around Lu Qiu slowly calmed down. He opened his eyes, and a flash of dark gold fire light passed through the depths of his pupils.

"The red sun pill indeed lives up to its reputation."

He felt the mana in his body, which had clearly grown by a significant amount, and the sense of satisfaction from the fire seed, feeling joyful in his heart.

With the assistance of the spirit eye spring and the push from the red sun pill, his cultivation speed far exceeded that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He estimated that at this rate, in at most another half a year, he could try to break through to Middle Stage Foundation Establishment!

"Cultivation, techniques, spirit insects... everything is steadily improving." Lu Qiu calculated in his heart, quite satisfied with the current progress.

The path to longevity is taken one step at a time; one cannot be anxious, but one also cannot be slack.

The next day, early morning.

After completing the routine nurturing Cultivate of Spirit Shocking Thorn, Lu Qiu's mind moved, and the familiar information panel appeared before his eyes.

His gaze swept across; the first two pieces of white information were as ordinary as ever, pointing to some hundred-year-old Spirit Medicine or the legacies of low-level Cultivators. He was about to skip them when his gaze landed on the third one and suddenly stopped, his pupils constricting sharply!

[gold intelligence: Cultivator Lin Yuan is heavily poisoned and will die from the poison at noon in a valley ten li to the northeast. His Storage Pouch contains the world-shocking secret technique Great Evolution Art.]

gold intelligence!

After so long, gold intelligence had appeared again!

Lu Qiu's breathing hitched slightly, and his heart involuntarily accelerated.

"Great Evolution Art"?

Could it be... that "Junior Martial Uncle Lin" in the original work who possessed the Great Evolution Art?

No, he should be called Senior Brother Lin now.

Both being in Yellow Maple Valley and being Foundation Establishment Cultivators, their seniority was now the same.

Lu Qiu's eyes flickered, showing a look of contemplation.

His impression of the Great Evolution Art was too deep.

This art was created by the brilliant and extraordinary Divine Lord Dayan, a supreme secret method specifically for cultivating Divine Sense!

Its core lies in continuously expanding and condensing Divine Sense, and it even possesses the Heaven-Defying Divine Ability of "Divine Sense Division."

When cultivated to a high level, not only is the Divine Sense strength far beyond those of the same stage, but it can also be divided into multiple independent Divine Senses, allowing the simultaneous control of multiple Magical Artifacts, the performance of multiple Spells, and offering incomparable advantages in combat, Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Puppet manipulation.

For Lu Qiu, who had cultivated Spirit Shocking Thorn, the temptation of the Great Evolution Art was too great.

To Cultivate Spirit Shocking Thorn to a higher level, one must possess a stronger Divine Sense.

And if he obtained the Great Evolution Art, it meant his potential for cultivating Spirit Shocking Thorn would be even greater.

Not to mention the ability of "Divine Sense Division," which would have strategic significance for his future simultaneous control of multiple Magic Treasures and the arrangement of complex Formations.

Lu Qiu definitely did not want to give up such a secret technique.

But... the risk was also enormous.

In the original work, this "Senior Brother Lin" was pushed into a corner by pursuers from the Thousand Bamboo Sect and died of a strange poison.

The Thousand Bamboo Sect was a Sect famous for its Puppet techniques, with influence spreading across several countries and acting quite strangely.

Among the pursuers, there were likely Cultivators in the Middle or Late Stage, or even the False Core Realm!

If he went there rashly on this trip, it was highly likely he would run head-on into people from the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

"Wealth is sought amidst danger..."

Lu Qiu's gaze gradually became sharp, "But I can't just go and die for nothing; I need to plan carefully."

He glanced at the time indicated by the information prompt—"will die from poison at noon."

It was still early, nearly two hours before noon.

"Only by planning ahead can there be a chance of success." Lu Qiu made a decision instantly.

He stood up and acted quickly.

First, he put all the important items in the Immortal Cave, including the yin yang pearl, the remaining thousand-year spirit herb, magic treasure fragments, and important Jade Slips, into the gray spatial bead and hid it close to his body.

He only left commonly used Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, and some Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch.

Next, he went to the insect breeding room and communicated with his mind.

The over one hundred Illusion Spirit Butterflies felt their Revered Master's call and immediately stopped playing, gathering together like a flowing cloud of seven-colored light, hovering in front of Lu Qiu.

"Little guys, I might have to borrow your power this time."

Lu Qiu spoke in a low voice and took out a specially made spirit beast bag—this was a high-quality item he had obtained from the Storage Pouch of a Spirit Beast Mountain Disciple, with stable internal space and a suitable environment for spirit insects to reside briefly.

He opened the bag's mouth and issued a command with his Divine Sense.

The Illusion Spirit Butterfly swarm seemed to understand something, turning into streaks of fine seven-colored light and flying into the spirit beast bag one after another.

Although they were far from mature and the power of their group illusion was limited, in specific environments, they could be used to confuse or interfere with a Cultivator's perception or create brief illusions, which might have unexpected effects.

Subsequently, Lu Qiu began to check his equipment.

qingming sword, golden origin bell, yellow net umbrella, cloud treading boots, qing ning mirror, talisman treasure... the invisibility gauze was draped under his outer robe, ready to be activated at any time.

Several bottles of Medicinal Pills for healing, recovering mana, and detoxification were placed in the most accessible positions.

One of the bottles of Medicinal Pills was precisely what Lu Qiu relied on for this adventure.

This was the earth-grade spirit ascension pill Lu Qiu had refined a month ago.

The earth-grade spirit ascension pill required the essence blood of a level-four Yao Beast to refine, and its effect was aimed at Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.

With Lu Qiu's current wealth, it wasn't difficult to obtain level-four Yao Beast essence blood; it was just a matter of spending more Spirit Stones.

With this Earth Spirit Pill, Lu Qiu could perform the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Ascension Spirit Secret Art.

With his current cultivation near Middle Stage Foundation Establishment, after performing the Ascension Spirit Secret Art, he might be able to temporarily reach the Late Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation.

At that time, even if he encountered a False Core Cultivator, with the enhancement of the cloud treading boots, he could still escape.

Finally, he also took the Formation Flags and Formation Plate of that Lesser Four Symbols Guardian Array.

This Formation had strong defensive power and could be set up as a temporary fortress or used to trap enemies if necessary.

Having finished all preparations, Lu Qiu stood at the entrance of the Immortal Cave and took a last look at the Chixiao Cave he had managed for over a year.

"Success depends on human effort, but the outcome is up to heaven. This time, I must fight for that glimmer of Opportunity!"

He no longer hesitated, his figure flickered, and he had already left the Immortal Cave, turning back to activate all protection and concealment Formations.

The green flying shuttle was sacrificed, turning into an inconspicuous green rainbow, quietly heading toward the valley ten li to the northeast.

It was still early; he wanted to arrive at that valley before noon, carefully survey the terrain, set up in advance, and wait for that "Senior Brother Lin" who possessed the Great Evolution Art, as well as the pursuers who might follow...