Chu Mu was rather fond of opening blind boxes.

After all, be it a Jade Scroll or a book, he wouldn’t know what was recorded inside until he picked it up to take a look.

There might be information beyond his current understanding, or perhaps some knowledge or Secret Skills he had never encountered.

This was, of course, the unexpected joy of opening blind boxes.

He finished scanning a Jade Scroll, and a Wood Attribute Cultivation Technique for the Foundation Establishment Realm flooded his mind.

Cyan Wood Mysterious Spirit Skill!

The name of the Cultivation Technique was ordinary, but the technique itself seemed anything but.

Chu Mu shifted slightly, his interest clearly piqued.

The Cyan Wood Mysterious Spirit Skill was actually a Cultivation Technique for a Spirit Plant Master!

A Wood Attribute Cultivation Technique and a Spirit Plant Master’s Cultivation Technique might share the same Attribute, but the concepts behind them were completely different.

An ordinary Wood Attribute Cultivation Technique, when compared to techniques of the other Five Elements, differed only in its Attribute and overall power level.

A Spirit Plant Master’s Cultivation Technique, however, was designed specifically for tending to Spiritual Plants.

The Magical Power it generated was bound to be extremely weak in combat, but when it came to nurturing Spiritual Plants, its effects were nothing short of miraculous!

For instance, it could accelerate the growth of Spiritual Plants, increase their survival rate, and even raise the probability of them breaking past their natural limits...

He even knew that there were many exclusive types of Magic for Spirit Plant Masters, such as the Spirit Rain Skill and the Spring Breeze Skill...

With other types of Magic, as long as one possessed the appropriate Spirit Root, it was possible to forcibly cast a spell even if one’s Magical Power didn’t match the Magic’s Attribute.

But with a Spirit Plant Master’s Magic, without the special Magical Power generated by their unique Cultivation Techniques, it was impossible to achieve those miraculous effects on Spiritual Plants, even if one managed to forcibly cast the spell.

A Cultivation Technique like this was undoubtedly exclusive to the major powers.

An ordinary Loose Cultivator would obviously never practice a Cultivation Technique that offered no combat ability and only served to benefit Spiritual Plants.

’Useless to me...’

Chu Mu sighed softly, tossed the Jade Scroll into his Storage Space, and casually picked up another.

He didn’t know much about the subject, but it wasn’t hard to tell that this Cyan Wood Mysterious Spirit Skill was definitely a top-tier Cultivation Technique for a Spirit Plant Master. To him, however, it was completely meaningless.

He didn’t specialize in the Wood Attribute, had no intention of practicing such a Support-type Cultivation Technique, and wasn’t in charge of any faction.

It was utterly and completely useless to him.

Extending his Divine Sense into another Jade Scroll, Chu Mu continued opening his blind boxes of books and scrolls.

Several Jade Scrolls and books in a row all contained Cultivation Techniques of little use to him, some Magic of various Attributes, and other miscellaneous information that was equally unimportant.

’So far, these blind boxes weren’t yielding many surprises.’

’This is...’

When Chu Mu picked up the last Jade Scroll and his Divine Sense delved inside, the information that flooded his mind made him bolt upright.

The sudden movement startled Wangcai. He leaped to his feet with a low whimper, scanning the surroundings as if ready to lunge and attack at any moment.

"It’s okay, it’s okay..."

Chu Mu clutched the Jade Scroll, the shock still evident in his eyes. He patted Wangcai while trying to calm himself down.

The Jade Scroll in his hand looked perfectly ordinary, with nothing unusual about it.

But the Cultivation Technique within it was anything but ordinary! It was extraordinary!

Chu Mu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his shock. He once again focused his Divine Sense, slowly delving back into the Jade Scroll.

Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique!

Four ancient, powerful words materialized in his mind the instant his Divine Sense made contact.

Immediately after, the full text of a Cultivation Technique surged forth.

Chu Mu recalled that after observing Wangcai’s transformation up close and getting a look at a Demon Beast Bloodline, he had developed many, many theories about them.

For instance, why could Demon Beast Bloodlines be inherited? Why could Demon Beasts cultivate via their bloodlines, while humans were restricted to Cultivation through their Spirit Roots?

When he first entered the Cultivation Immortal Realm, he had pondered more than once about the function of Spirit Roots. Why couldn’t people sense Spiritual Qi without one? Did all Cultivation Techniques truly require a Spirit Root to practice...?

Limited by his knowledge, he still had no clear answers to his many theories.

And now, this Jade Scroll in his hand, this Cultivation Technique, seemed capable of answering... many of his questions, of providing many... answers.

The Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique.

The name of the Cultivation Technique was nothing special.

But this technique was far, far more special than even the Cyan Wood Mysterious Spirit Skill for Spirit Plant Masters!

The entire Cultivation Technique revolved around a single, core concept... for a human... to become a Demon!

To use a human body to accommodate, refine, and master a Demon Beast Bloodline, thereby allowing a human to wield the power of that bloodline.

The Cultivation path no longer followed the human Cultivation Immortal Realm’s progression through the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Realms, and it was free from the restriction of needing a Spirit Root.

Instead, it converted directly to the Demon Beast’s path of bloodline Cultivation!

To cultivate a Demon Beast Bloodline within a human body!

However, this Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique seemed to be incomplete; it only contained the initial Chapter on bloodline conversion.

It detailed how to use a human body to accommodate and refine the bloodline of a creature called a Longevity Turtle, thereby allowing a human to walk the path of bloodline Cultivation and unearth the power within a Demon Beast’s bloodline.

According to the Cultivation Technique’s description, upon successful conversion, the Cultivator would obtain the bloodline of the Longevity Turtle. Their lifespan would be greatly extended, and they would also gain all of the Longevity Turtle’s various traits.

They could even partially transform their human body into the Demon Body of a Longevity Turtle.

Furthermore, this transplanted Demon Beast Bloodline could be passed down to one’s descendants through reproduction, just like that of a normal Demon Beast.

However, as time went on and more descendants were born, the bloodline would become increasingly diluted, requiring sufficient Bloodline Essence to supplement its potency.

The most fatal flaw, however, was the erosion and influence of the Demon Beast Bloodline on a person’s Spiritual Wisdom.

After all, Demon Beasts started with limited Spiritual Wisdom, which only increased little by little as their Cultivation rose. It wasn’t until the legendary Nascent Soul Realm that a Demon Beast could possess Spiritual Wisdom like a human.

Humans, on the other hand, were born as intelligent beings with fully-formed Spiritual Wisdom. Anyone who transplanted a Demon Beast Bloodline, or any descendant who inherited it, would naturally be influenced by the instincts carried within a bloodline passed down through beasts for eons.

Take the Longevity Turtle, for example. The Cultivation Technique described it as being extremely fond of sleep, having a gentle temperament, and greatly preferring quiet.

Anyone who cultivated this Bloodline Technique and transplanted the Longevity Turtle’s bloodline would inevitably find their personality changing to match the turtle’s. This was an almost irreversible process.

’Bloodline Cultivation...’

After a long while, Chu Mu finally lowered the Jade Scroll, his eyes unfocused as he muttered to himself.

He had only one feeling after reviewing this Cultivation Technique.

Utter shock.

To cultivate a Demon’s bloodline in a human body.

To ignore the limitations of the human body and bypass the need for a Spirit Root, a gift of natural creation.

This was practically seizing the power of creation itself, a terrifying prospect.

Unfortunately, this Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique was clearly just a fragment. It only contained the bloodline conversion Chapter and nothing more.

’There must be other flaws...’

Chu Mu shot to his feet, his gaze fixed on Wangcai as he muttered to himself.

Wangcai’s bloodline was that of a Black Mountain Wolf. With such a bloodline, an adult Black Mountain Wolf’s Cultivation was a mere Tier One Late Stage, reaching Tier One Perfection at its absolute peak.

Barring some heaven-defying fortune or someone willing to nurture it at any cost, it would be impossible for one to ever break through to Tier Two.

If a human obtained the Black Mountain Wolf bloodline and all its benefits, would they not also be subject to its limitations?

But then, Chu Mu shook his head. This Longevity Turtle possessed the bloodline of an Ancient Profound Turtle. At its peak, it was a legendary Tier Four Demon Beast with a lifespan of ten thousand years!

Across the entire Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World, among its countless Cultivators, how many had reached the Nascent Soul Realm?

And which of those in the Nascent Soul Realm could live for ten thousand years?

’If one could use a legendary Dragon or Phoenix as the source for bloodline Cultivation...’

"How terrifying," Chu Mu muttered.

’But is Bloodline Essence easy to obtain?’

’In some ways, yes. But in other ways, not at all.’

For him, for example, a Tier One Demon Beast was a complete pushover. He could slaughter one and casually refine its Bloodline Essence.

But if he encountered a Tier Two Demon Beast, he’d have to flee immediately.

But anyone who wanted to practice this Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique would first need a dose of Bloodline Essence from a peak Tier Four Longevity Turtle.

And according to the process for refining Bloodline Essence, one would first have to slaughter a Tier Four Longevity Turtle, keep its body intact, and extract the complete Bloodline Essence before it had been dead for too long.

And according to this Cultivation Technique, bloodline Cultivation could only be started from scratch. Once a person stepped into the Qi Cultivation Realm, they could no longer begin this path.

In other words, to practice the Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique, one would have to begin immediately after reaching the peak of mortal Qi Blood and achieving Divine Appearance.

That was, without a doubt, ridiculous.

Forget someone who had just achieved Divine Appearance; could even a Golden Core True Master with a Tier Three Cultivation kill a Tier Four Demon Beast?

How could a mere mortal possibly obtain the Bloodline Essence of a Tier Four Demon Beast?

Clearly, the only way to meet the prerequisites for this Cultivation Technique was to either have a heaven-sent stroke of luck and obtain the Longevity Turtle’s Bloodline Essence, or to have a legendary Nascent Soul Cultivator as a backer—and a very close one at that.

Close enough that this Nascent Soul Cultivator would be willing to fight to the death against a Tier Four Demon Beast that possessed Spiritual Wisdom like a human.

That seemed even more ridiculous...

Chu Mu shook his head with a smile, pushing these stray thoughts aside and once again reviewing the Longevity Turtle Spirit Technique.

The Cultivation Technique itself might be useless to him, but its description of bloodline transplantation was of immense referential value.

’If a human can have a Demon Beast Bloodline transplanted...’

’...then what about another Demon Beast?’

Chu Mu glanced at Wangcai.

’Rather than banking on a transformation or an Ancestral Return that relied purely on luck, a practical bloodline transplant was a much better bet...’

He was powerless against High Tier Demon Beasts with strong bloodlines, but this Secret Realm, a remnant from ancient times, surely had plenty of Low Tier Demon Beasts that possessed powerful bloodlines but hadn’t matured yet.

"Let’s go, Wangcai! Let’s go find you some better blood!"

Any thought he’d had of resting until the time limit was up instantly vanished. Chu Mu snatched up Wangcai and shot off toward the nearby mountain forest in a mad dash.

Whether he actually knew how to perform the transplant, or whether it would even succeed, was no longer within the scope of Chu Mu’s considerations.

Just knowing the possibility existed, that such a path was available, was enough for now. As for whether it would actually work and how he would do it—those were problems for later.

Once he left this Secret Realm, finding a Demon Beast with a powerful bloodline back in the Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World would be no easy task!

...