Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Chapter 194 - 192: Divine Techniques

"Hm? It vanished!"

In the night sky, beneath the firmament, two figures—a man and a woman—stood side by side. They were none other than Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu.

At that moment, Li Xianyu’s delicate brows furrowed, a hint of confusion on her face.

Shi Xiao looked the same.

It hadn’t been long since they learned of their disciples’ deaths.

Suddenly, they discovered that the aura of the Divine Soul Marks left on Wu Yu and Changzhu had reappeared.

Although this method, unique to Refining God Venerables, was miraculous, it had its limitations.

It was completely impossible to sense anything in the Inner Earth World.

For this to be happening now, there was only one possibility: the murderer who killed their disciples had come to the surface.

"It seems the deaths of Changzhu and Wu Yu weren’t so simple. There’s likely more to this than meets the eye."

Shi Xiao said coldly.

Hearing this, Li Xianyu also nodded.

"Let’s first ask the others about the situation. Perhaps there’s a hidden reason for this that we’re unaware of."

As Refining God Venerables, neither of them was a fool.

A Food Master would never come to the surface unless absolutely necessary. After all, a single misstep could result in being permanently trapped here.

Therefore, this anomalous phenomenon was clearly a sign that something was wrong.

Shi Xiao remained noncommittal.

But the murderous intent in his eyes was so intense it was almost impossible to hide.

"The Golden Buddha Temple and the Thunder Gate entered the Inner Earth World with us, yet their disciples are fine. They must give us an explanation for this!"

A Refining God Seed was basically the face and future successor of a School.

The resources poured into one were by no means a small number, yet now, one had died so inexplicably.

If they had died at the hands of a Food Master, it would be one thing. Those creatures were hiding in the Earth Core, and there was little that could be done about them.

But now, the perpetrator had actually appeared on the surface.

This couldn’t help but make them wonder if the one who killed Changzhu and Wu Yu was truly a Food Master.

Or if it was a disciple from one of the other Seven Great Schools!

...

「Half an hour later, on a deserted island a thousand kilometers away from the original one.」

This place wasn’t as desolate as the previous island.

Traces of human habitation remained here.

There were even beer bottles washed up on the shore by the waves.

About twenty to thirty nautical miles from the island, the faint silhouettes of buildings and neon lights were visible.

After checking the map on his phone, Hu Qi understood that this was an island nation affiliated with the Xia Federation, composed of four large islands and several thousand smaller ones.

However, most of the smaller islands were deserted, just like the one he was on now.

The island nation’s permanent population was around one to two hundred million.

The strongest publicly known Secret Martial Artist among them was only a single Martial Arts Master.

He could kill a Secret Martial Artist of that level with a casual slap.

Therefore, Hu Qi wasn’t worried about any unexpected trouble.

He sat cross-legged on the ground and opened his panel again.

His gaze swept over the panel. Two new Inheritance Secret Martial Arts had appeared: the Extreme Falling Cold Moon Sword Scripture and the Cloud-Flipping Tai E Divine Record.

The former was from the Sword Pavilion, the latter from the Holy Rain Sect.

Just as Hu Qi had expected, these two Secret Martial Arts were somewhat more profound in content compared to the Inheritance Secret Martial Arts he had obtained before.

While the gap between them wasn’t as vast as that between the clouds and the mud, with Hu Qi’s insight, it wasn’t hard to see that their contribution to a Secret Martial Artist’s overall strength far surpassed the Secret Martial Arts practiced by the middle and Lower-tier Schools.

It could only be said that there was a reason why the Sword Pavilion and the Holy Rain Sect were able to become Upper-tier Schools.

At the very least, their starting points weren’t on the same level.

Shaking his head, he reined in his thoughts.

Hu Qi continued to look at the panel.

Because he had eliminated the Soul Anchor’s brand, his Modification Points had decreased by twenty, but they still held steady at nine hundred.

It was enough for his next modifications.

He didn’t immediately choose to enhance his Bloodline. Instead, he decided to first merge all the Inheritance Secret Martial Arts on his panel into the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.

The deeper a Secret Martial Artist’s foundation, the greater the benefits they would naturally receive upon breaking through.

The Refining God Realm was a massive leap between Realms.

The methods a Refining God Venerable could use were countless times more powerful than those of a Qi Dao Grandmaster.

Now that he had the ability to deepen his own foundation, he naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

If he weren’t worried about the matter of him killing Changzhu and Wu Yu being exposed, Hu Qi might have chosen to wait a while and find more Inheritance Secret Martial Arts before breaking through.

However, it was safer to break through sooner rather than later.

Having made this decision, Hu Qi spoke immediately:

"Crimson, merge all Inheritance Secret Martial Arts into the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map!"

With a BUZZ, the panel blurred slightly.

The dozen or so remaining ordinary Inheritance Secret Martial Arts from the Lower-tier Schools, as well as the text representing the Extreme Falling Cold Moon Sword Scripture and the Cloud-Flipping Tai E Divine Record, all disappeared.

They transformed into a streak of red light that flowed into the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.

In an instant, the once densely packed Skill section on the panel was more than half empty.

At that moment, a vast amount of information on Secret Martial Arts appeared in Hu Qi’s consciousness, like countless points of light.

Most of these points of light were somewhat dim, with only three being the most conspicuous.

One was the size of a fist, and two were the size of bottle caps.

They corresponded to the three Secret Martial Arts: the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map, the Extreme Falling Cold Moon Sword Scripture, and the Cloud-Flipping Tai E Divine Record.

At this moment, the dim points of light representing the ordinary Inheritance Secret Martial Arts, as well as the orbs of light for the Extreme Falling Cold Moon Sword Scripture and the Cloud-Flipping Tai E Divine Record, exploded directly, turning into specks of starlight that merged into the light orb of the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.

In an instant, countless pieces of information were continuously combined and deduced in his mind, ceaselessly optimizing the Secret Martial Art, the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.

It was a good thing Hu Qi’s Soul Power was now incredibly strong, allowing him to digest so much information.

If this had happened before, even with Crimson’s assistance, such a massive amount of information would have undoubtedly been a heavy burden for him.

But with his current Soul Strength, processing this level of information wasn’t difficult.

Within his Qi Vein Divine Treasure, a Crimson True Pill, like a great sun, was situated in the very center.

The volume of the True Pill hadn’t changed too noticeably compared to before, but its light had grown much richer.

Hu Qi wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he noticed several faint golden threads appearing on the surface of the Crimson True Pill.

These threads were extremely thin and would be easily missed if one wasn’t paying close attention.

The Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map seemed to have no records of the True Pill undergoing such a transformation.

Hu Qi guessed that it was probably because he had merged too many Inheritance Secret Martial Arts, causing the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map to undergo some sort of qualitative change.

It was just that this change wasn’t very obvious yet.

’But regardless, for me, this shouldn’t be a bad thing.’

When the stream of information that was being combined and deduced finally disappeared, Hu Qi slowly opened his eyes.

————

[Divine Techniques: Water Control, Intention Sword]

[Unknown Secret Martial Art (Qi Veins Chapter Ninth Layer) △Traits: Wolf Transformation...]

...

[Modification Points: 760 (9%)]

After a glance, Hu Qi casually changed the name of the "Unknown Secret Martial Art" back to "Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map."

Then, his gaze shifted.

He looked at the new category that had appeared on the panel.

As his line of sight fell on the new "Divine Techniques" category and the two Divine Techniques within it, a strange light flickered in Hu Qi’s eyes.

The moment the Divine Techniques section appeared, information about it flooded into his mind.

Hu Qi tilted his head back slightly and looked up at the night sky.

The weather here was exceptionally good. The moon hung high in the sky like a giant silver lantern, casting a gentle glow.

A gentle sea breeze blew, bringing with it a hint of coolness.

In the distance, waves crashed against the reefs, creating a rhythmic sound.

Seeing this, Hu Qi extended his hand, palm open and fingers spread.

He activated the Water Control Divine Technique. The next moment, dark, heavy clouds rolled in across the night sky, quickly gathering to block out the moonlight and stars.

All around, a fierce wind began to howl, causing the island’s trees to shake violently and their leaves to rustle.

A moment later, a flash of lightning split the dense clouds.

Immediately after, a torrential downpour began.

Raindrops the size of beans slammed onto the ground, making a PITTER-PATTER sound.

But this Divine Technique wasn’t so simple. Hu Qi could feel the water vapor drifting between heaven and earth.

He could sense the water in the air, in the sea, in the crevices of rocks, and even the water and blood inside some of the living creatures on the island.

’In my opinion,’ Hu Qi thought, ’it’s more accurate to call it the ability to control liquids rather than just Water Control.’

With this thought, Hu Qi dispersed the Water Control Divine Technique.

The torrential downpour quickly subsided, and the thick, dark clouds began to scatter.

Hu Qi paid no attention to this.

He reached out a hand and made a gentle grasping motion.

Instantly, his True Essence Power shot out like an invisible rope, hurtling into the distance.

A palm-sized lizard on a nearby branch was snatched up by this powerful force and hovered before his eyes.

The green-skinned lizard was clearly startled by this sudden turn of events. It twisted its body in a panic, struggling constantly, trying to escape its bonds.

Its tiny claws flailed wildly in the air, and its tail thrashed about.

However, held by Hu Qi’s powerful True Essence Power, it was all in vain.

Its struggles seemed so feeble, like a small insect caught in a spider’s web.

The next second, a white light flared in Hu Qi’s eyes.

From his perspective, the whole world changed.

Inside the lizard’s head, there was a white speck of light the size of a grain of rice.

The moment he saw this speck of light, an impulse surged through Hu Qi’s heart.

Immediately after, a white sword shadow seemed to flash through his eyes.

Instantly, the struggling lizard went still.

Inside its mind, the white speck of light popped like a bubble and vanished without a trace.

Intention Sword. As the name implied, it could condense one’s own will into a longsword to directly slay an enemy’s soul.

There was a clear distinction between Talents and Divine Techniques.

The former was an innate method, originating from one’s Bloodline and soul.

The latter was acquired through Postnatal cultivation.

Comparing the two, Talents were undoubtedly rarer and more precious.

However, in terms of power, there was no clear superiority.

Some powerful Divine Techniques were not necessarily weaker than Talents.

It was just that Talents grew stronger as their user did, giving them a higher ceiling.

Divine Techniques, on the other hand, were related to the Secret Martial Arts one cultivated and had a fixed upper limit.

However, for now, although the two Divine Techniques brought by the Extreme Falling Cold Moon Sword Scripture and the Cloud-Flipping Tai E Divine Record were good, they were still a bit lacking compared to his two Talents.

Another point was that when using Divine Techniques, one consumed not only True Essence Power but also one’s own Soul Power.

For an ordinary Secret Martial Artist to use such a Divine Technique, they would have to reach the Unity of Essence and Qi Perfection, also known as the Qi Dao Grandmaster Peak.

This was also why Wu Yu and Changzhu hadn’t used this kind of Divine Technique before.

Although their strength was not weak, they were still a considerable distance from the Qi Dao Grandmaster Peak and simply lacked the ability to use such Divine Techniques.