Nine Astra Skies - Chapter 359
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A hundred years for mystical and Celestial Beasts were equal to ten years for humans.
A thousand years for them were equivalent to a hundred years for humans. Even for the mystical and Celestial Beasts, this was a very long time. Tong Tian the Leo King initially thought that he would never be able to reach grade one Boundless Stage within this lifetime. After such a long wait, Master Lion had used some unknown technique which allowed Tong Tian the Leo King to break through!
Tong Tian the Leo King raised his head. When he saw that Master Lion had already sprawled on the floor with his eyes closed, Tong Tian the Leo King merely offered a deep bow and left respectfully.
Now that Tong Tian the Leo King had achieved grade one Boundless Stage, the Leo King’s Palace would not lose to the Wolven Kingdom again.
If it were not for Ye Chen, how would Tong Tian the Leo King have encountered such an invaluable opportunity? Tong Tian the Leo King cast a look of gratitude at Ye Chen who was in the distance.
At this moment, Ye Chen was sitting in one corner of the Heavenly Astra Seal, trying to open the secret technique jade slips. Besides the one secret technique jade slip that he had already opened, there were eight other jade slips in his possession. Two of them were unusable, so Ye Chen tried to open the remaining six with fresh blood.
It could not open!
It could not open!
Four consecutive pieces could not be opened. Looking at the opportunities slipping by one after another, Ye Chen’s heart was in turmoil. Could it be that none of these six secret technique jade slips could be activated by him?
Ye Chen took out another secret technique jade slip and dripped a drop of fresh blood on it. There was a flash of light and Ye Chen sensed the energy vibrations from the secret technique jade slip.
Success!
Another one was opened!
Ye Chen was overjoyed. His consciousness dove deep into the secret technique jade slip. Once again, he heard old man Tian Ji’s voice.
“Young man, what secret technique do you wish to learn this time?” old man Tian Ji inquired.
Ye Chen did not know what other people would choose to learn upon entering the secret technique jade slip. In all likelihood, most people would not dare to choose any Thunderbolt, Divine or Tianyuan Secret Techniques because these secret techniques required too much time to cultivate. Each of them would require at least a few years or even a few decades to master. On the other hand, Ye Chen was not concerned about this issue.
The Daylight Thief secret technique, for example, only took him a few hours to learn the first grade. This was because after mastering the Nine Astra Skies, all these secret techniques seemed quite easy to learn.
“Senior Tian Ji, is there any powerful Tianyuan Secret Technique that can be used as an offensive attack?” Ye Chen asked. Although he remembered old man Tian Ji telling him that the more advanced the secret technique, the more difficult it would be to master, after cultivating the Nine Astra Skies, Ye Chen was prepared to cultivate the most powerful secret technique.
Upon hearing Ye Chen’s request to cultivate the most powerful Tianyuan Secret Technique, old man Tian Ji was vaguely surprised. Not too long ago, Ye Chen had chosen a Divine Secret Technique, the Daylight Thief. Thus, Ye Chen already knew how difficult it was to cultivate these high-grade secret techniques. Why would he request to learn the most difficult secret technique this time? Could it be that Ye Chen had already completed the cultivation of Daylight Thief?
“I have seventeen types of Tianyuan Secret Technique here. However, cultivating each type of Tianyuan Secret Technique would require a certain linkage levy.”
“What’s a linkage levy?” Ye Chen frowned.
“Take the example of Tianyuan Secret Technique, Breaking Void. It requires thirty Grand Supreme Stage Psyches as a sacrifice before you can cultivate it.”
“You mean I have to kill thirty Grand Supreme Stage masters?” Ye Chen immediately shook his head. Whether or not he was able to kill a Grand Supreme Stage master was inconsequential. The fact that he had to kill thirty innocent people for his own gain was unacceptable to him. “Are there any others?”
“Another example is Tianyuan Secret Technique, Thunder Strike. This one requires you to have six Thunder-type spirit arcana to be able to cultivate it.”
Six Thunder-type spirit arcana, my god, the difficulty was sky-high. Ye Chen continued to listen. He discovered that the requirements to cultivate these Tianyuan Secret Techniques were extraordinarily challenging. Some of them required the killing of super powerhouses as a tribute, some of them required spirit arcana, and some of them required some unique mystical beast items as an offering. Regardless, all of them were extraordinarily difficult and not what Ye Chen could achieve at this stage.
“One of the Tianyuan Secret Techniques requires the fusion of World Spirits. I have a Celestial Martial Chi with me, but that Tianyuan Secret Technique in question requires at least three World Spirits.” Ye Chen winced. He realized that he could not cultivate any of the Tianyuan Secret Techniques right now. However, after some thought, Ye Chen felt that it was not a problem. In the future, if he had achieved all the requisite requirements, he could always search for another secret technique jade slip that he could use.
“Then, what about Divine Secret Techniques? Are there any Divine Secret Techniques that are suitable for me to cultivate?”
“I do have something suitable for you. It’s related to Celestial Martial Chi and is called the Celestial Martial Cage.”
Ye Chen looked at the image of the secret technique. This Celestial Martial Cage, Ye Chen had already seen before. It was a gigantic water prison that could trap either oneself or an enemy. No one on the outside could enter and no one on the inside could escape.
If Ye Chen had many other useful secret techniques, this could be a useful addition. Nonetheless, he only had one chance to choose, so he would rather choose something else.
“Secret technique, Heavenly Execution Breath. Allows you to kill someone invisibly.”
“Secret technique, Thunder Dash. Anyone who has cultivated Thunder-type Celestial Chi can use this technique to move instantaneously. However, it consumes a staggering amount of Celestial Chi from your body.”
Thunder Dash was similar to Bi Lin’s Thunder-type secret technique, Thunder Flash. It could increase one’s movement speed and allow the person to escape from danger. Moreover, it was much more advanced than Bi Lin’s secret technique. Just cultivating the first grade of this secret technique would yield the same effects as Bi Lin’s Thunder Flash. If Ye Chen continued to cultivate it further, he could even move a thousand miles in an instant. This was certainly a superb life-preserving secret technique. Even an ordinary Boundless Stage powerhouse would not be able to catch him. Of course, other secret techniques could overcome Thunder Dash, such as the Celestial Martial Cage from earlier as well as some energy-locating secret techniques.
As for the Heavenly Execution Breath, it was also immensely powerful. It was able to kill someone silently and invisibly, the prime assassination tool.
Ye Chen’s heart struggled between these powerful Divine Secret Techniques. In the end, he decided to cultivate Thunder Dash first. No matter what, protecting his life was the first priority. If he lost his life, no matter how powerful his secret technique was, it would be useless. Next time, if he had the opportunity, he would learn the Heavenly Execution Breath.
Another Divine Secret Technique!
Among the combatants who had managed to find a secret technique jade slip, not many would choose to receive a Divine Secret Technique. Take this Thunder Dash, for example. Even a talented prodigy would have to spend a few decades just to cultivate grade one of this secret technique. Those who were less gifted, on the other hand, could spend upward of hundreds of years and never complete their cultivation.
Any secret technique received from a secret technique jade slip was a mysterious ancient heritage. Only those with specific bloodlines could cultivate them. If the recipient failed to cultivate the secret technique, they would not be able to pass it on to someone else. Hence, if the cultivation ended up becoming a failure, it would be a waste of a precious secret technique jade slip.
After choosing the Thunder Dash secret technique, the secret technique jade slip in Ye Chen’s hands was shattered into pieces. He picked up the last remaining secret technique jade slip and dripped a few drops of blood on it. He could not open it.
Among the six secret technique jade slips, Ye Chen had only managed to open one. He smiled bitterly. The success rate was really low.
Ye Chen also got Little Wingsy to try it but as Little Wingsy’s bloodline was incredibly unique, there were no suitable secret techniques for him to cultivate either. Ye Chen could only keep these seven unusable secret technique jade slips. Although these secret technique jade slips were useless to him, each of them could fetch a hefty sum. He could exchange them for some items he needed.
Ye Chen began to cultivate the first grade of Thunder Dash secret technique. The Nine Astra inside his body whirled and transmuted into Thunder-type Celestial Chi, drawing him into the realm.
After three hours, Ye Chen could see some progress.
After six hours, small milestones of the first grade of Thunder Dash were accomplished.
Two days later, a flash of lightning floated around Ye Chen’s body. He had finished cultivating the first grade of Thunder Dash. However, the second grade was too difficult. Ye Chen’s cultivation level was not advanced enough to learn it. Regardless, the first grade of Thunder Dash was enough for Ye Chen to face a Boundless Stage opponent, as long as they did not use any secret technique to overcome his Thunder Dash.
The difficulty level of cultivating Thunder Dash was many times over the difficulty level of cultivating Daylight Thief. The more Ye Chen cultivated, the more he realized the intrigue and power of the Nine Astra Skies cultivation system. At the moment, he had just finished cultivating the first grade of Nine Astra Skies, but already he found that cultivating these martial arts techniques and secret techniques was a piece of cake. The cultivation of secret techniques, in particular, was astoundingly fast.
This was a secret technique that an ordinary person would spend decades to master!
Ye Chen exited the Heavenly Astra Seal. Inside the tent, he continued to cultivate his cultivation system, martial arts techniques, Astral Body, and secret techniques. He also studied the uses of the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron and Emperor Ming’s Belt. Time passed quickly.
While Ye Chen was concentrating on his cultivation, Zi Lin rushed in excitedly, a joyous grin plastered on his face.
“How’s the negotiation going?” Ye Chen asked at once. His greatest concern was of course the two remaining components of the Purple Demon Armor. Once he had the last two Purple Demon Armor components, Ye Chen could assemble a complete set of Purple Demon Armor and face a top Daemon King opponent without any fear. With the addition of his Thunder Dash secret technique, he could also escape even if he happened to cross paths with a Boundless Stage opponent.
“The negotiation has been completed. I staked the Spirit Artifact Council’s reputation as a guarantee and got them to hand over the Purple Demon Armor helmet and sollerets first!” Zi Lin said excitedly. He took out the Purple Demon Armor helmet and sollerets and placed them on the table. A purple glow surrounded the two items, illuminating the entire tent with a purple light. “Both of them are Tier Eight. Your Excellency can check the goods.”
Ye Chen picked up the Purple Demon Armor helmet and sollerets. They were indeed Tier Eight.
“Hmm?” Master Lion suddenly exclaimed.
“Master Lion, I sensed it too.” Ye Chen was only a fraction of a second slower than Master Lion and had discovered some oddities on the Purple Demon Armor helmet and sollerets. Someone had placed a secret technique on the two items. There were two energies hidden within them. If the person’s Psyche or Celestial Chi was not extremely sensitive, they would not know that these two items had been tampered with. Ye Chen glanced at Zi Lin and deliberated silently for a moment. He was a major patron of the Spirit Artifact Council, so Zi Lin had no reason to tamper with the items. If such an act was discovered, it would certainly bring a great loss to the Spirit Artifact Council.
“It’s not the Spirit Artifact Council.” Master Lion concluded.
“Elder Zi Lin, who did these two items come from?” Ye Chen turned to ask Zi Lin.
Zi Lin bowed his head apologetically. “I’m sorry Your Excellency, the Spirit Artifact Council is obliged to keep the secrets of our clients.”
Ye Chen nodded. He had no reason to blame Zi Lin for that. If Zi Lin had simply disclosed the other party’s information, Ye Chen would be more worried that his identity would also be leaked to others.
“The person who tempered with this item is a human Transcendent Stage master!” Master Lion’s voice filtered into Ye Chen’s ear.