My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar-Chapter 31: A Secret Technique

Yu Lian’s voice made Wang Ping raise an eyebrow. He subconsciously took out his Copper Coins to perform a divination. The result showed no issues, but just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he remembered Zuo Sizi’s death.

So, he performed another divination, this time for Feng Miao...

It was a Yin Trigram!

He cast it again.

A Yin Trigram.

Once more.

Still a Yin Trigram.

’Three Yin Trigrams... This means it can’t be done!’

Just then, he heard Feng Miao say, "This is the most common method used by the ’First Day.’ They absorb a person’s essence, qi, and spirit to connect with a fire spirit as a sacrifice. This creates a catalyst for the Blast Technique!"

As she spoke, her gaze was fixed on the altar ahead. On it were several small spheres emitting sparks.

"I don’t detect any demonic beasts, nor the aura of any ’First Day’ followers!" Guangxuan’s focus was different from Feng Miao’s. The moment he entered the grand hall, he had released his divine soul to sense the surroundings.

Xia Yao was concerned about the people tied to the pillars. She formed a hand seal for a Magic Formula and said, "Those people on the pillars... they’re still alive."

"They’ve all been fed Soldier’s Pills to keep them from starving. Then, the altar up front will continuously absorb their essence, qi, and spirit for half a month. It’s a fate worse than death!"

Feng Miao’s grip on her long saber tightened. "We need to destroy the altar first!"

With that, she prepared to charge forward...

"Wait!"

Wang Ping stopped the charging Feng Miao. His left hand quickly formed a hand seal. The next moment, the steel sword in the scabbard on his right hip flew a circle around his body, gathering power.

SWOOSH!

The empowered steel sword shot through the dense stone pillars of the grand hall at incredible speed...

Then, before the astonished eyes of the four, the Arrays on all the stone pillars activated. A blinding light erupted from above the altar, and an instant later, they felt a wave of heat blast toward them.

The whistling steel sword instantly melted into a puddle of molten iron as the heatwave struck. Wang Ping, who was controlling the sword, felt a scorching aura follow his Spiritual Qi connection and attempt to invade his Qi Sea. At the critical moment, Yu Lian reverted to her full length, coiling around Wang Ping and using her own Spiritual Qi to block the invasive energy.

The heatwave was gone in a flash, but the scene before them had changed dramatically. The exquisite altar had melted into a crystalline block. A third of the stone pillars had crystallized and crumbled into sand. The floor around the altar and the ruined pillars glowed red like lava.

GULP. Feng Miao swallowed hard, looking at Wang Ping with lingering fear. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Changqing..."

"You’re also proficient in the Divination Technique, Fellow Daoist?" Guangxuan asked, a look of surprise on his face. He had noticed Wang Ping casting two divinations earlier.

"I just like to use it for a few experiments now and then. I’m far from proficient," Wang Ping said, shaking his head. Yu Lian shrank back to a foot in length and coiled around his wrist.

’The energy here is strange,’ Yu Lian said within Wang Ping’s Spirit Sea. ’It feels warm and peaceful, yet it’s filled with danger. It can make you fall under its spell without you realizing it, making you trust and worship it! That blast just now has completely eradicated this unknown power.’

"What now?" Feng Miao asked, looking at Xia Yao’s back. Xia Yao had already walked to a nearby pillar, cut down the person tied there, and was checking their condition.

"These people... can’t be saved."

Guangxuan pointed toward the left side of the palace. "My divine soul senses many weak auras over there. The missing people who were purchased might be inside!"

Hearing this, Wang Ping, Feng Miao, and Xia Yao all turned to look at Guangxuan, but none of them, not even Xia Yao, acted rashly to rescue anyone.

"Let’s wait for the temperature in the hall to cool down and for the miasma to clear. Then we can go take a look."

Guangxuan’s reasoning was sound. The temperature in the grand hall was currently sky-high, and the sudden heat had created a toxic miasma. An ordinary person would likely pass out upon entering, to say nothing of the weakened prisoners.

They waited for the entire night.

「Early the next morning.」

Guangxuan and Xia Yao led a dozen or so Qi Cultivators into the ruins to rescue the prisoners, while Wang Ping and Feng Miao remained in the pavilion on guard against any unexpected developments.

Nothing unexpected occurred.

After a night of inventory, the silver lumps and gold ingots in the pavilion had all been cataloged. In total, there were 520,000 taels of silver, ninety-eight gold ingots, over one hundred pounds of Earth Vein Iron Ore, and various other materials.

Wang Ping’s personal share was about ten pounds of the Earth Vein Iron Ore, which was perfect for forging weapons and the Inner Armor worn by Qi Cultivators.

「3:00 PM.」

Wang Ping and Feng Miao, who were meditating in the pavilion’s Dao Field, were woken by Xia Yao.

"We found an underground passage that led to a huge Alchemy Room. There’s a young disciple inside who says he’s from your Qianmu Temple. He said his master is named Li An Tian!"

A ripple went through Wang Ping’s calm heart. He blurted out, "Take me there."

...

After half a day of exploration, the ruins within the mountain had been thoroughly searched. They found nothing of note, just some exquisite but empty rooms. Some places had incredibly lifelike murals, which particularly fascinated Guangxuan.

The Alchemy Room Xia Yao had mentioned was, if Wang Ping’s sense of direction was correct, located in the southeast corner of the ruins. It was a proper Alchemy Room, complete with a full set of alchemy facilities and an attached apothecary.

The Alchemy Room was now guarded by six Qi Cultivators. In a corner, a young man in a gray and white short shirt spotted Wang Ping and immediately cried out, "Martial Uncle! Martial Uncle, it’s me! I’m Cai Tong! Eight years ago, I served you tea at my apprenticeship ceremony!"

Wang Ping did recognize him. He was the second disciple of his eldest senior brother, Li An Tian. He had always studied medicine under Li An Tian. When Li An Tian left Qianmu Temple, he had taken no one with him but Cai Tong.

"Come here and speak," Wang Ping commanded.

Upon hearing the command, Cai Tong scrambled over, falling to his knees before Wang Ping. With a sob in his voice, he said, "After Master took me down the mountain to get revenge, we ran into villains while selling medicine. I was captured in the confusion and brought here... Save me, Martial Uncle, please save me! The people here are all madmen... They use living people to refine their spiritual roots..."

"Calm down and speak clearly."

Wang Ping’s tone softened considerably.

Trembling, Cai Tong stretched out his right hand and pointed toward one of the walls in the Alchemy Room. He was pointing at a solid section of the wall. "There’s... a secret door there. If you... go inside... you’ll see... you’ll know."

He spoke with an expression of pure terror, as if what was inside had shattered his perception of reality.

Nearby, Xia Yao and Feng Miao exchanged a glance and immediately went to inspect the wall. After searching for a good while and finding nothing, they came back and hauled Cai Tong over for more questioning.

Wang Ping was about to go over as well, but he heard Yu Lian say, ’Look at this mural. It seems to be a Cultivation Technique!’

’A Cultivation Technique?’

Wang Ping stopped in his tracks and looked at the magnificent, gilded mural illuminated by the flickering torchlight...

The most striking feature of the mural was a Five Elements Diagram. Beneath each of the five symbols representing the Five Elements Spiritual Qi, there was a set of techniques written in an unknown script.

’It seems to be for refining some kind of elixir?’

As Wang Ping murmured to himself, the familiar glowing panel popped up. It first displayed a string of strange text, then translated it:

[Five Elements Condensation Technique: A stroke of genius from a mad Alchemist. It is a Secret Technique he created using the principles of mutual generation and suppression among the five elements. Once activated, the five types of Elemental Energy will automatically absorb the surrounding Spiritual Qi and multiply infinitely. Upon reaching a critical point, a massive explosion will occur.]

[1: Using standard Alchemy methods, simultaneously refine different Five Elements Spirit Medicines to bring their internal elemental attributes into perfect balance. During refinement, you must constantly monitor the resonance between the five medicines. Refine at least 10 times daily. Success can be achieved in three years. (Progress: 0/100, Daily Progress: 0/10)]

[2: Fuse the refined Five Elements Spirit Medicines into a single entity. Pay close attention to the attribute correlations between the medicines. Attempt this at least five times daily. Success can be achieved within six months. (Progress: 0/100, Daily Progress: 0/5)]

[Note 1: Spirit Medicines are not required. Any items with different five-element attributes will suffice, but they must be refined until their internal Five Elements Spiritual Qi reserves are nearly identical. Therefore, the closer the initial Qi reserves of the five items, the higher the success rate.]

[Note 2: The best method is to experiment on a human body. Teach someone to cultivate this technique, guiding the Five Elements Spiritual Qi into their body. When their cultivation reaches its peak, they become the ultimate human weapon. The power of their self-detonation is enough to destroy an entire city!]

[Note 3: Under no circumstances should you experiment on yourself.]

[Note 4: During refinement, you will need a balancing Array. The Array Map is as follows...]

The moment he finished reading the description on the glowing panel, Wang Ping felt the knowledge of the "Five Elements Condensation Technique" flood his mind. He instantly understood the method for condensing and fusing the five types of Elemental Energy.

’I don’t have to cultivate it myself... but I could use it to make... Hand Grenades!’

"Are you all right?"

Yu Lian’s childlike voice interrupted Wang Ping’s wild thoughts. At the same time, a series of grinding gears echoed in his ears.