After hearing the other party’s words, Han Li did not speak. He merely continued to tightly grasp the other’s primordial spirit, lowering his head in contemplation.
After a long while, Han Li finally raised his head and said coldly, “If I had been caught off guard and your primordial spirit had invaded me, I wonder if you would have spared me? Your magical power is far stronger than that of a junior like me who has just established his foundation. Nine times out of ten, I would have ended up being devoured by you.”
The hostility in Han Li’s words was unmistakable.
“I can tell you a secret, give you a peerless technique!” Senior Martial Brother Lin, terrified, hurriedly transmitted his voice through his primordial spirit.
“A secret? A technique? Could it be the Great Development Art of your Thousand Bamboo Sect?” Han Li’s casual remark immediately caused the green light on the primordial spirit to flicker violently, followed by a stammering, astonished voice: “How do you know about this? You… you’re the one who was spying yesterday!”
It was only then that Senior Martial Brother Lin suddenly realized.
“Alright, since you know I’m not completely in the dark about your affairs, you might as well tell me everything honestly! You wouldn’t want me to destroy your primordial spirit right now, would you?” Though Han Li spoke lightly, his words caused Senior Martial Brother Lin’s primordial spirit to tremble violently in his hand.
“What is there to say? Didn’t you already hear most of it yesterday?” Senior Martial Brother Lin sighed deeply and said gloomily.
Meanwhile, outside the formation, the members of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, seeing no response from within the formation after delivering their message, grew furious and shamefully ordered their puppets to launch a new round of attacks. The area outside the formation became lively again, but inside, it remained calm and peaceful, with only faint sounds and slight vibrations perceptible.
“Junior Brother, what kind of marvelous formation is this? It can actually withstand such fierce attacks—truly unbelievable!” Seeing this, Senior Martial Brother Lin changed the subject, feigning surprise.
“Hmph, don’t worry about what formation this is, and don’t try to change the subject. I have no interest in your Thousand Bamboo Sect’s internal conflicts. All I want to know is whether you know anything about the Great Development Art, what supernatural abilities come with cultivating it, and if you’re deliberately stalling for time. If you are, I’ll destroy you immediately.” Han Li frowned, his voice suddenly turning icy.
As he spoke, the white light in his hand flared brightly, and he applied slight pressure with his fingers, causing Senior Martial Brother Lin’s primordial spirit to let out a miserable cry and hastily plead for mercy.
“The Great Development Art is a unique secret technique created by the founding patriarch of our sect. It is specifically designed to strengthen divine sense and cultivate the art of splitting spirits. It is also a mandatory technique for our Thousand Bamboo Sect to control puppets. Only by cultivating this technique can one attach divine sense to multiple puppets and control them freely! Otherwise, no matter how many puppets we refine, if we cannot control them simultaneously, what use are they?” Having experienced Han Li’s methods, Senior Martial Brother Lin did not dare to delay any further and hurriedly explained in one breath.
“If it’s a basic technique of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, why would you need to scheme for it? And there seems to be something about a half-volume. What’s going on?” Han Li asked calmly without showing any emotion.
“There’s nothing to hide about that. Although the Great Development Art is a basic technique of our Thousand Bamboo Sect, it is also the foundation of our sect and cannot be easily passed on to all members. So, the Great Development Art currently cultivated by Thousand Bamboo Sect disciples is only a simplified version of the first layer of the original. Although it is easy to cultivate and practice, even when fully mastered, it is far inferior to the power of the first layer of the original Great Development Art. The original Great Development Art is only taught to high-ranking members of the sect.”
“Those people outside have all cultivated the first two layers of the original Great Development Art, which allows them to control nearly a hundred mechanical puppets at once! I have cultivated the third layer, so I can control over three hundred, surpassing them. As for the layers beyond the third, only the sect leader and the successor to the sect leader have ever been qualified to cultivate them!”
“Back then, a rebellion broke out in the Thousand Bamboo Sect. My father was ambushed by the current sect leader, Jin Nantian, who even seized the complete Great Development Art. At the time, I, as the young sect leader, was outside handling sect affairs. Upon learning the news, I realized I couldn’t oppose him, so I found a substitute to fake my death and fled thousands of miles to the State of Yue. Although I didn’t have the complete Great Development Art, as the sole son of the sect leader, I had already learned the first four layers and compiled them into the first volume of the Great Development Art.”
Originally, I intended to spend the rest of my life here. But recently, my Great Development Art suddenly showed signs of a breakthrough to the third layer, reigniting my desire for revenge. In a moment of foolish impulse, I contacted some of my loyal followers from back then, hoping they would steal the口诀 for the latter three layers. Yet I never expected things to turn out like this! I don’t know whether they were caught during the theft or simply betrayed me!
Senior Martial Brother Lin explained in great detail, but by the end, his voice was filled with anger and resentment.
Han Li coldly watched the other’s primordial spirit vent its dissatisfaction without taking any action. Only after the other had calmed down somewhat did he mercilessly press further: “What is the secret you mentioned?”
“This…? I hope first—”
“Ah! Stop, I’ll talk, I’ll talk right away!”
Senior Martial Brother Lin’s primordial spirit hesitated for a moment, as if wanting to make some conditions, but Han Li gave him no chance to speak, directly subjecting him to another bout of agony that nearly crushed his primordial spirit, forcing him to immediately change his tune in fear.
“Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Better not bring up any conditions before I’ve heard everything I want to know.” Han Li’s voice was piercingly cold.
For a moment, Senior Martial Brother Lin was completely intimidated by Han Li’s ruthless methods and fearfully hurried on: “Actually, this secret is still related to the Great Development Art, and it has long been circulating among the higher-ups of the Thousand Bamboo Sect. It’s just that no one knows whether it’s true or not! However, when my father was still around, he once secretly told me that this secret has a fifty or sixty percent chance of being true!”
“Since no one knows when, a rumor has been secretly circulating among the successive higher-ups of our Thousand Bamboo Sect: those who cultivate the Great Development Art to a high level find it much easier to form their Golden Core compared to ordinary cultivators and can break through cultivation bottlenecks more easily. Because the success rate of core formation among successive sect leaders and their successors is astonishingly high.” After pausing, he revealed this secret.
“It can increase the chances of reaching the Core Formation stage?” Han Li, who had been expressionless until now, finally showed a reaction!
“Yes, as long as Junior Brother helps me find a body to seize and rebuild my cultivation, I am willing to share the口诀 for the first four layers with you first. Then, the two of us can join forces to find a way to seize the remaining techniques from that Jin scoundrel, and together we can form Golden Cores. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” He began to tempt Han Li again with his smooth talk.
Han Li snorted but did not speak, instead lowering his head again in deep thought, making Senior Martial Brother Lin’s heart uneasy with anxiety.
“Only a fifty or sixty percent chance to increase the probability of forming a core?” Han Li suddenly looked up, muttering with a furrowed brow.
“Junior Brother, a fifty or sixty percent chance is not small. After all, this is about forming a Golden Core—it’s worth a try!” Seeing this, Senior Martial Brother Lin hurriedly persuaded him. In truth, what his father had originally told him was not a fifty or sixty percent chance, but only a thirty percent possibility! But now, in his words, the probability had instantly doubled.
“Is the Great Development Art easy to cultivate? Besides increasing divine sense, can it also enhance cultivation? And, may I ask when you successfully built your foundation, Senior Martial Brother Lin? How long have you been cultivating this Great Development Art?” Han Li suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked coldly.
“The cultivation speed is acceptable, and it seems to increase cultivation a little… I successfully built my foundation over a hundred years ago, when I was just over twenty! I started cultivating the Great Development Art after building my foundation. Huh, why is Junior Brother asking these things?”
Senior Martial Brother Lin had not expected the other to suddenly ask such a series of questions. Caught off guard, he could only stammer through the answers to the first two questions, though he answered the latter two clearly.
Han Li’s expression softened, as if very satisfied with the answers, but the right hand grasping Senior Martial Brother Lin’s primordial spirit suddenly emitted a brilliant white light, and his five fingers clenched tightly! Instantly, the primordial spirit in his hand had only enough time to let out a miserable scream before turning into specks of starlight, completely vanishing from this world.
“Unfortunately! I have a lifelong hatred for others trying to seize my body—it reminds me of some unpleasant memories. Moreover, although I am indeed very interested in the Great Development Art, this technique is not easy to cultivate, and it doesn’t enhance magical power. How could I possibly take it as my main cultivation technique?”
“You must understand, if I haven’t even cultivated my magical power to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, what use is it no matter how marvelously I cultivate the Great Development Art? Your aptitude is quite good, yet after nearly a hundred years of cultivating this Great Development Art, you’ve only reached the peak of the third layer. And because you divided your focus, your magical power has only hovered at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. How can one easily have both fish and bear’s paws? Besides, it’s not surprising that those successive sect leaders of the Thousand Bamboo Sect could balance both and form Golden Cores. Those who can become sect leaders are undoubtedly exceptionally talented, one-in-a-million cultivation prodigies. This makes the credibility of the Great Development Art increasing core formation chances even lower! And I certainly don’t consider myself such a peerless genius—I have no confidence at all in cultivating both the Great Development Art and my magical power to a high level.”
“Worst of all, you don’t even have the complete Great Development Art technique and yet you want to drag me into conflict with an entire sect? Isn’t that seeking death? And even if I were to spare you, who could guarantee that you wouldn’t hold a grudge over today’s events and stab me in the back later?”
“Tell me, with so many reasons, how could I possibly let you go?” Han Li looked at his right hand, which had just ended the life of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and murmured to himself.
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