Cultivation Starting from Full Talent

Chapter 35: Chapter 34: Evergreen Technique, Ten Layers!

Ning Daoran nodded, “Snow Clearing Grass is of no use to me, so I plan to exchange it for the second-rank Talismans from Senior Sister Liu. I wonder how many Talismans these three Snow Clearing Grasses can fetch?”

Liu Ruyan became tense immediately.

Lin Sheng frowned slightly, saying nothing. On one side was a brother-in-arms with whom he shared life-and-death, and on the other was his future Daoist couple, leaving him unsure of whom to side with for a moment.

“How about this, Junior Brother…”

Liu Ruyan pursed her red lips and said, “I’ll take all three Snow Clearing Grasses and won’t take advantage of you. In addition to the second-rank mid-quality Frost Freeze Talisman and second-rank lower grade Earth Spike Talisman, I will also add some first-tier Talismans.”

As she spoke, she gently patted her Storage Bag and more Talismans imbued with Spiritual Power flew out.

“I also have three first-tier top-grade Fiery Fire Talismans, two first-tier top-grade Cold Wind Talismans, two first-tier top-grade Divine Speed Talismans. Additionally, there are five first-tier middle-grade Fiery Fire Talismans and over twenty first-tier lower-grade Talismans; these should make up for any difference in value.”

Her pretty face blushed slightly as she took a deep breath, “I’ve almost emptied out the Talismans from my Storage Bag. The value of all these combined should be slightly more than the three Snow Clearing Grasses. The extra is a gift from me to you, Junior Brother, for your own protection.”

Lin Sheng gave a light chuckle and nodded, “Good!”

Looking at the table full of Talismans, most of which were top-quality Talismans refined from high-quality Talisman Paper, Ning Daoran’s heart started pounding.

He never thought that the mere three Snow Clearing Grasses would fetch him so many Talismans; he had even thought that getting the second-rank mid-quality Frost Freeze Talisman would be a good deal.

“It’s a deal!”

Ning Daoran instantly nodded and offered up the Snow Clearing Grass.

Liu Ruyan carefully put away the Spiritual Medicine, her face flushed with excitement and barely able to contain her emotions.

With a pat of his Storage Bag, Ning Daoran collected all the Talismans. Now he had many more means to defend himself,

He felt much more secure in his heart, indeed, the sense of security is something one must provide for oneself.

Not long afterward, delicious dishes and Spiritual Wine and Spirit Rice were served.

“Junior Brother.”

Lin Sheng said gravely, “Actually, I have some good news today; my True Yang Furnace Technique has reached Small Accomplishment. In the entire True Yang Peak, there are no more than twenty disciples who have achieved this with the technique.”

“Congratulations, Senior Brother!”

Ning Daoran’s eyes lit up, “I’ve heard the True Yang Furnace Technique is very difficult to master, and even Great Elder Gongyang Yan has only reached Great Success. It’s truly not easy for you to have reached Small Accomplishment, Senior Brother.”

“Indeed.”

Lin Sheng was in great spirits and downed his cup in one gulp.

Liu Ruyan narrowed her beautiful eyes, gazing deeply at Lin Sheng.

Their affection for each other deepened, and Ning Daoran saw it all but did not feel envious at all. Senior Brother Lin cultivated the Pure Yang, where physical intimacy equates to regressing in cultivation.

Hence, the deeper their attachment, the more they suffered in restraint.

…

Several days later.

Ning Daoran decided to expand the fish pond at the back of his small courtyard. A two-acre pond was proving to be not quite sufficient for raising so many Spirit fish, especially with a covetous Little Blackie lurking inside.

Outer Door Hall.

A Foundation Establishment Elder of the Outer Sect glanced at Ning Daoran, “You want to create a six-acre fish pond at Qiongbi Peak for raising Spirit fish? Master Ning, this isn’t as simple as a small patch of land; you must understand that every inch of Spirit land in the Outer Mountain ultimately belongs to the Sect.”

“I understand.”

Ning Daoran replied respectfully, “What do you think of this, Elder Uncle? I’ll rent the six-acre fish pond and, as compensation, contribute three hundred pounds of Spirit fish to the Outer Sect every year.”

“Three hundred pounds of Spirit fish?”

The Foundation Establishment Elder’s eyes sparkled, and he quickly made his decision, “It’s a deal!”

And so, Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer began their bustling work.

They took up hoes and shovels, operating the Evergreen Technique to excavate large swathes of earth. In just a few days, they had dug out an additional four acres for the fish pond, after which they directed water to fill it, connecting it to the original pond.

Once the new batch of fish fry were in the water, the entire pond rippled with reflections, looking extraordinarily picturesque.

Ning Daoran also planted some lotus leaves for the Spirit fish to rest in, while Big Stupid Deer ceaselessly ground up stems of Green Bamboo Spirit Rice to feed the fish, enhancing their growth significantly.

“Little Blackie!”

Ning Daoran stood by the pond and coughed lightly.

“Squeak-squeak—”

The big black fish instantly showed its head above the water, its tail wagging.

It was filled with vigorous Spiritual Power and had reached First-tier Early-stage Perfection, just one step away from the First-tier Middle Stage.

“Not bad.”

Ning Daoran looked on indifferently, “Eat more Spirit Rice and cultivate well.”

“Squeak-squeak~~~”

The big black fish made a splash with its tail and then sank back into the depths of the lotus pond.

Ning Daoran actually held quite some expectations for this big black fish. For now, he planned to feed it Spirit Rice and fish until it reached First-tier Late Stage. In the future, once Ning Daoran could perform Alchemy, he would prepare more Elixir Pills for Spiritual Beasts to aid in its breakthrough.

Once the big black fish made it to the ranks of a Second-order Spiritual Beast, it would be a whole new concept; the combat prowess of a Second-order Spiritual Beast could even slightly surpass that of an early-stage Foundation Establishment practitioner.

By then, Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer should have both achieved Foundation Establishment themselves. With that…

A Sect with three Foundation-Established members would have great influence in Shanyang County!

…

Months later.

Refining Time had accumulated considerably, and Ning Daoran decided to cultivate the Evergreen Technique once again.

After all, the Evergreen Technique was his basic Cultivation Technique, providing him with an endless stream of Evergreen Magic Power. In fact, after the Body Tempering Technique had reached perfection, the priority of cultivating the Evergreen Technique had naturally risen to the top!

In a secret chamber twenty zhang deep, Ning Daoran sat cross-legged, pouring the refined Time into the Evergreen Technique.

[In the 2,400th year, the Evergreen Technique remained unflappable, and it seemed the seventh layer was already your limit, but you felt you could still push yourself further, so there was not the slightest slack.]

[In the 5,160th year, nourished by the unceasing vitality of the Evergreen Technique, you still looked like a youth, but the fatigue and aging within your heart continued to torment you.]

[The neighboring child asked his mother who the ‘big brother’ next door was. To his surprise, she slapped him and scolded, “You insolent child, speak no nonsense, that’s your great granduncle!”]

[You sighed softly, and as a spark of light emerged in your mind, the Evergreen Technique advanced another step.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow-rank top-grade (Eighth Layer)]

[In the 8,460th year, you sat withered in the ancient temple, discussing Buddhism with an old monk. The monk advised that one should let go when it’s time to let go, and that longevity was unattainable, so why persist? You merely smiled faintly. Within a few days, the old monk passed away, and you clapped your hands, laughing.]

[In the 11,400th year, the power of the Evergreen Technique at the eighth layer became denser, and you felt your life force growing more lush and verdant, leading you to decide to go out for a walk.]

[You sat by the river, watching the spring river’s verdant waters and the porpoises diving up and down, year after year. In this land, everything waned and prospered, decayed and sprang to life, and among them all, only you remained evergreen and undefeated.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow-rank top-grade (Ninth Layer)]

“Huuh…”

Ning Daoran let out a gentle sigh; the ninth-layer Evergreen Technique was already circulating spontaneously within his body, bursting forth with infinite vitality, his lifespan visibly increasing in a straight line.

This feeling of outliving even the oldest of turtles was unexpectedly pleasant!

Continue to cultivate and strive to reach the tenth layer with one go!

[In the 15,000th year, your Evergreen Technique had been at a standstill for four thousand years. The dear friends who had once vowed to pursue the Evergreen Technique and seek longevity with you had all passed away one after another, and now even their descendants were no longer in this world.]

[You felt lonelier than ever before, but the desire for longevity drove you relentlessly forward, never looking back.]

[In the 18,300th year, as you sat withered amongst the leaves of the ancient temple, a young novice monk thought you had finally entered nirvana and was about to exclaim, “Master Ning has finally attained transcendence!” when your body suddenly burst forth with endless vitality.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow-rank top-grade (Tenth Layer)]

[You saw through the mysteries of the Evergreen Technique and realized… this was only a partial scroll of the technique. You sensed that if you devoted a great deal of time to cultivation, there might be a chance to derive a more complete Evergreen Technique.]

[Refining Time remaining: 2,144 years]

…

Ning Daoran took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. As he used his Divine Sense to look within, he discovered that his flesh had transformed into an ancient tree, lush and verdant, teeming with hidden vitality.

At this moment, as a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator, his life span had reached two hundred years, exactly twice that of other Qi Refinement Stage Practitioners.

It seemed he really might end up living as long as an old turtle.

The tenth layer of the Evergreen Technique brought not only a change in lifespan but also an earth-shaking transformation in his own cultivation.@@novelbin@@

At this juncture, whenever Ning Daoran operated the Evergreen Technique, he could continuously draw in the scattered Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth, eventually transforming it into his profound wood attribute spiritual power.

In the future, should he cultivate the Flame Sun Skill or the True Yang Furnace Technique, with the tenth layer of the Evergreen Technique as the foundation, igniting the wood attribute spiritual power and transforming it into fire attribute power would be unimaginably formidable.

He frowned, as the Evergreen Technique could no longer be cultivated further for now. A huge amount of Refined Time would be needed to derive the complete technique.

Unsure of exactly how much was needed, to be on the safe side… it was better to accumulate more before attempting it, and not even consider trying with just twenty or thirty thousand.

Once the complete technique was derived… the benefits to oneself were simply unimaginable!

In a word, Refining Time combined with the Evergreen Technique was simply invincible!

With this thought, Ning Daoran laughed heartily as he got up, “Old Lu, I’m going to stir-fry some dishes for you!”

“Ao~~~”

The Big Stupid Deer, who was cultivating the Shape-shifting Technique, let out a cheerful cry, just as it fancied eating fish.

…

Several days later.

Ning Daoran decided to dispose of Old Demon Ye’s relics, and to be safe, he ventured even farther this time, going directly to several counties located to the east of Qingzhou, disguising himself and selling in over a dozen workshops.

Eventually, those Magic Artifacts, Spiritual Artifacts, and unused Elixir Pills were all converted into Spirit Stones, amounting to over eight thousand!

With this, Ning Daoran’s Storage Bag now contained nearly twenty thousand Spirit Stones!

To call himself the richest man in the Outer Sect was not an exaggeration.

Now that he had Spirit Stones, it was imperative to quickly convert them into combat power, lest he lose out in an unforeseen demise one day.

Two months later, Ning Daoran, disguised as a slender man, headed to Qingfu Square.

Coincidentally, it was Chen Ping’er again.

Her face was blooming like a peach blossom, and she smiled beautifully, “Fellow Daoist, what would you like? This servant can lead the way for you.”

“I’d like to see what Cultivation Techniques your workshop has, is that possible?”

“Of course, Fellow Daoist, please follow me this way.”

Inside a storefront, Jade Talismans were arrayed, giving off a dazzling array of choices, from Yellow-rank top-grade down to negligible techniques, all kinds of Cultivation Techniques were available at a glance.

Ning Daoran couldn’t help but take a deep breath, cursing inwardly that he should have come here earlier.

Yet as he perused, he found that most of these techniques had flaws. Take, for example, the Yellow-rank top-grade Five Elements Thunder Skill, which not only requires a Thunder Spiritual Root but is also incomplete, not worth the price.

Indeed, Cultivation Techniques were precious, and even a powerful Sect like the Chaotic Sect put the Yellow-rank top-grade Evergreen Technique and Flame Sun Skill in extremely high esteem, unavailable to disciples who had not contributed to the Sect.

Could the Yellow-rank top-grade Cultivation Techniques available in Yellow Dragon Square really surpass those of the Chaotic Sect?

In the end, Ning Daoran’s gaze settled on a few Cultivation Techniques that many Cultivators considered trivial.

They were a variety of Escape Skills!