Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Spirit Gathering Technique

Seeing Shen Haoran’s eager gaze, Elder Yan closed his eyes and began to search through his memories.

"I’ve got it!" After a long moment, Elder Yan opened his eyes. He then lightly tapped Shen Haoran’s forehead with his fingertip, and a vast stream of information flooded into his mind.

The sudden influx of information made Shen Haoran’s head throb with pain. It took him a long while to recover.

Sensing the new information that had suddenly appeared in his mind, Shen Haoran began to read it carefully.

"Spirit Gathering Technique: Spiritualists are the foundation of all things. All things possess a spirit; thus, they can ponder, imagine, grieve, and rejoice! To know that all things have spirits is to then gather the spirits of all things, condense a Spirit Seed, plant a Spirit Root, and create the sixth type of Heaven and Earth Spirit..."

"The sixth type of Heaven and Earth Spirit!" Reading this, Shen Haoran cried out in shock.

There are five Heaven and Earth Spirits: the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound, the Water Spirit Wisdom, the Earth Spirit Profound Nether, and the Golden Spirit Bladeless! These Five Great Celestial Spirits were all formed over millions of years of accumulation. The energy they contained was utterly terrifying; burning mountains and filling seas was nothing to them! And now, the creator of this Spirit Gathering Technique actually wanted to artificially gather a sixth spirit, using human power to fight against the Power of Heaven and Earth. How could Shen Haoran not be astonished?

"Elder Yan, this..." Shen Haoran stared blankly at Elder Yan, speechless.

"Don’t be so surprised. This was just an idea of his. Heaven and Earth Spirits can only be formed after millions of years of accumulation; they’re impossible to create with human power. However, this person was truly a prodigy. Although the Spirit Seed he managed to gather couldn’t compare to a true Heaven and Earth Spirit, it was at least similar in nature. If he’d been given millions of years, he might have actually succeeded in condensing one!" Elder Yan seemed to know what was shocking Shen Haoran and immediately explained.

"Then what’s the use in you giving me this, Elder Yan? You can’t possibly expect me to condense a Heaven and Earth Spirit!" Shen Haoran said, exasperated.

"Are you stupid? Didn’t I just tell you that the Spirit Seed condensed by the Spirit Gathering Technique is similar in nature to a Heaven and Earth Spirit? The Heaven-Dominating Tribulation requires a medium to erupt. The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian is one such medium. If you want to unleash the second tribulation, you’ll naturally have to find another Heaven and Earth Spirit. That’s completely impossible in a short amount of time, so we can only use the Spirit Gathering Technique as a substitute!" Elder Yan said, shooting Shen Haoran a look.

"Besides, the power of a Spirit Seed condensed with this Spirit Gathering Technique is weaker than a true Heaven and Earth Spirit, which will conveniently lessen the burden on your body. However, the power boost it gives you won’t be as strong!" Elder Yan continued.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran nodded. He then continued reading, committing the Spirit Gathering Technique’s method to memory.

’I still need to find a place to cultivate!’ Shen Haoran murmured to himself after reading to the end. The first step in cultivating the Spirit Gathering Technique was to condense a Spirit Seed, which had to be done in a place with an abundance of living creatures. The first place Shen Haoran thought of was the Red Flame Mountain Range!

The vast, primordial forest within the mountain range was the most suitable place to practice the Spirit Gathering Technique!

At this thought, Shen Haoran didn’t delay. He got up and left the Cultivation Room. He didn’t have much time; he had to strive to condense a Spirit Seed within three months! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After coming out of seclusion, Shen Haoran had originally planned to fly directly to the Red Flame Mountain Range. But after some thought, he decided to first return to the Yao Sect to take care of a few things. He didn’t know how many days he would be staying in the Red Flame Mountain Range this time, and there were some matters he needed to entrust to Shui Ruolan, the sect’s great "babysitter."

When Shen Haoran rushed back to the Yao Sect, Shui Ruolan was busy distributing the cultivation resources they had recently obtained from the Chen Alliance’s alchemy channels.

When she heard that Shen Haoran was leaving to cultivate in the Red Flame Mountain Range, Shui Ruolan looked at him with a reproachful expression and said, "You’re clearly the Sect Leader of the Yao Sect, yet you ignore all its affairs, big and small. Are you trying to work me to death?"

Hearing this, Shen Haoran could only scratch his head in embarrassment. His mind had never been on managing the Yao Sect; he just wasn’t cut out for that sort of thing.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s awkward predicament, Shui Ruolan pursed her lips and chuckled. She knew he wasn’t good at handling these matters. His existence was more like the soul of the Yao Sect; as long as he was there, the Yao Sect would not fall!

After being teased a few more times by Shui Ruolan, Shen Haoran fled the resource distribution hall as if escaping. Afterward, he found Long Mo and Fatty. Shen Haoran instructed them to be wary of the Chen Alliance making any underhanded moves while he was away. The heavy burden of protecting the Yao Sect now fell on their shoulders.

After leaving the Yao Sect, Shen Haoran paid a visit to the Pill Hall. Elder Song had helped him many times, so he had to inform him of his departure. Otherwise, it would be too inconsiderate to let Elder Song keep waiting for him to discuss the Alchemy Dao.

And upon finding Elder Song, Shen Haoran was, as expected, met with a scolding. In Elder Song’s view, Shen Haoran had such great talent for alchemy that wasting his time on Martial Cultivation was a complete waste!

Shen Haoran could only nod continuously in agreement with Elder Song. It wasn’t until the elder had tired himself out from scolding that Shen Haoran was able to make his escape. After hastily bidding farewell to Elder Song, Shen Haoran headed for the Red Flame Mountain Range.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Shen Haoran looked at the magnificent Sect gate. A grin spread across his lips as he chuckled, "Ouyang Chen, just you wait. In three months, I will defeat you!"

With that, his figure plunged into the vast sea of trees...

...

Meanwhile, the very person on Shen Haoran’s mind, Ouyang Chen, was heading alone toward the back mountains of the Sect. His speed was astonishingly fast, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake. As he moved, he scanned his surroundings as if he were hiding from something.

A moment later, Ouyang Chen arrived before a stone wall and walked straight through it. The wall merely rippled a few times before returning to normal!

Inside the stone wall, it was pitch-black, but Ouyang Chen walked as if in broad daylight, without the slightest hesitation. It seemed he was very familiar with this place!

After navigating a few winding mountain paths, Ouyang Chen arrived in a cave. The air here was dim and cold, with tendrils of black energy swirling about, creating an exceptionally bizarre sight!

Ouyang Chen walked into the center of the cave, knelt on one knee, and called out softly, "My Lord!"

As Ouyang Chen’s voice faded, the black energy in the cave suddenly began to churn violently, finally coalescing into a human figure before him.

The figure was dressed in a black robe, with wisps of black energy constantly seeping out from it. A voice, as grating as fingernails scraping across glass, spoke up: "Well? Are you certain it’s him?"

"Yes. He definitely has the aura of the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian. My subordinates also witnessed him use it with their own eyes!" Ouyang Chen replied respectfully.

"Hee hee hee... the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian. After a thousand years, I’ve finally found it again!" The terrifying and chilling voice echoed from within the black robe, making the hair on Ouyang Chen’s neck stand on end!

"My Lord, what use do you have for the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian?" Ouyang Chen asked cautiously.

But the moment the words left his mouth, countless tendrils of black energy shot out from the black-robed figure, forming chains that wrapped around Ouyang Chen’s neck and lifted him directly into the air!

"Don’t ask questions you’re not meant to ask. I gave you a second life. All you need to do is serve me well!" the cold voice said, as Ouyang Chen’s eyes filled with terror...