Chapter 149: Chapter 148: The First Attempt
As soon as Zhui Tou landed on the ground, he held the golden hamr at his chest, continuously scanning the area in front with his jet-black eyes, making the two long tentacles on his head quiver incessantly.
“Zhui Tou, my Daoist friend, don’t panic. There are no enemies here,” Shen Luo said with a chuckle when he noticed the caution in Zhui Tou’s eyes.
“Then why have you summoned here? I was in the midst of my training!” replied Zhui Tou, sounding rather annoyed.
“I hadn’t expected you, Zhui Tou, to be so diligent in your training!” Shen Luo mildly praised.
“Of course, our Shrimp Clan has an old saying: Life never stops, and cultivation never stops. Those with lesser strength are destined to be enslaved!” Zhui Tou still seed a little resentful toward Shen Luo.
“Our relationship isn’t that of a master and slave. We both benefit from our partnership. My word is my bond! I called for you to inquire if you know of any thods that might increase the success rate of breaking through the Grain Avoidance Stage,” Shen Luo interrupted Zhui Tou’s discontent, voicing his own doubts.
“I’m not familiar with human cultivation thods,” responded Zhui Tou indifferently, while sizing up Shen Luo from head to toe.
“To be honest, I’m currently tangled up in so problems, and I need to enhance my cultivation level as soon as possible. If you could provide so guidance, I would be imnsely grateful and will undoubtedly repay you in the future,” Shen Luo said candidly.
“I hope you keep your current statent in mind. Let tell you about my cultivation. Our Eastern Sea Shrimp Clan molts every ten years. We infuse demon power into our shed skin by using our Clan’s secret thod. When we’re about to breakthrough to the Grain Avoidance Stage, we consu it. This greatly increases the success rate,” replied Zhui Tou, his deanor easing.
“Your thod is interestingly akin to taking an Elixir. However, do you have any molted skin on hand?” Smitten by the idea, Shen Luo asked, his eyes fixed on Zhui Tou’s shrimp shell.
“Don’t get any ideas. The skin I’ve molted is of great use to . Unless you have sothing to trade for it. Also, I can’t guarantee if this thod will work for your kind,” Zhui Tou warned.
“What would you want in exchange?” inquired Shen Luo.
“Moon Essence Dew,” blurted out Zhui Tou instantly.
“That? I don’t have any right now, but I’ll keep a lookout for it in the future. Did you say you’re from the Eastern Sea?” Slightly disappointed, Shen Luo changed the course of the conversation.
“I’m from the Eastern Sea Shrimp Clan, of course I co from the Eastern Sea! Just like the Southern Sea Shrimp Clan cos from the Southern Sea. Do you have a problem with that?” Zhui Tou retorted.
“I’ve heard that the Eastern Sea is boundless and full of endless heavenly treasures…” Massaging his hands together, Shen Luo started to say.
“I got it! But as you said before, it’s all about quid pro quo. Enough, if there’s nothing else, send back already!” Zhui Tou interjected Shen Luo impatiently, urging him to finish.
Since Shen Luo had nothing to trade, he didn’t say much more. He summoned a vortex passageway to send Zhui Tou back. Hiding his disappointnt, he began to consider silently:
“Seems like these creatures summoned by the Spirit Channeling thod, apart from being limited by the contract and having to protect their master, can’t be completely aligned in other aspects.”
It wasn’t strange, considering anyone living freely would resent suddenly being bound by a contract, with the constant possibility of being called to fight to the death against unknown enemies. Even if they were submissive on the surface, they would be naturally resentful inside, unless they could gain so benefits, in which case they might beco more willing.
Being a forr businessman, he found such an arrangent perfectly acceptable. Mutual exchanges were the key to a long-lasting relationship.
However, he presently had more pressing matters to handle and found it hard to think about such issues. He needed to increase his cultivation level as soon as possible so that he wouldn’t be stuck here.
Early the next morning, after quickly informing Ying Luo and taking so dry rations, Shen Luo closed the courtyard door and sat down by the pond, running his internal mana.
Shen Luo sat there for a full three days and three nights.
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze glead brightly. He looked energized, and both his physical and ntal state were at their peak.
Firstly, he silently reviewed the part of the Naless Cultivation Technique related to breaking through the Grain Avoidance Stage. Then he lifted his right hand, ford a sword technique, then suddenly tapped several tis around his Dantian, sealing several acupoints, temporarily blocking the connection between his Dantian and the ridians.
After doing all this, he placed his hands together in front of his body and slowly began running the Naless Cultivation Technique.
The Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi around him flowed in with the water in the pond and incessantly entered his body, transforming into strands of mana.
As he had sealed the acupoints around his Dantian, this mana couldn’t converge into his Dantian so it circulated within his Eight Extraordinary ridians, at the sa ti continuously absorbing the Spiritual Qi from Heaven and Earth into his body, blending with this mana.
With each circulation, the power of the mana coursing into his ridians grew more robust.
This was a secret technique recorded in the Naless Cultivation Technique, nad as the “Golden Bridge Locking and Ascending Art”. The aim was to allow the mana within the ridians to soar in power, sowhat like climbing a staircase, to assist with the transformation of the mana’s form.
Although this thod may seem easy, it was actually quite risky. A slight mishap could lead to the damage of the ridians and even the Dantian, possibly even resulting in death. Therefore, it had a considerable requirent for the control of mana, urging the need to be able to dissolve the technique quickly when necessary.
Though Shen Luo believed that his Dreamland body was sowhat exceptional, he admitted to himself that he hadn’t yet reached the point of freely controlling the mana. But due to his precarious situation, he had no other choice. Of course, his main confidence was stemming from his ability to resurrect.
Ti flew by, and another three days passed.
Shen Luo sat quietly in the pond. There wasn’t any visible change to his appearance, however, the mana coursing through his ridians had transitioned from a ager stream at the beginning to a surging river, rumbling endlessly in his Eight Extraordinary ridians.
He felt the ridians all over his body swell to the bursting point, causing excruciating pain. He could hardly bear it and felt as if he would be ruptured by this powerful mana.
“This should be enough.”
Shen Luo muttered to himself. He stopped absorbing the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi from outside, instead guiding the dense mana within his body, accumulated in the ridians, to flow toward the Dantian.
Since all the acupoints leading to the Dantian were sealed, the mana was hindered. Like untad horses, it broke free from his control. Before Shen Luo could react, it fiercely smashed into his Dantian.
All the acupoints that he had temporally sealed around the Dantian were blown open almost simultaneously. The mana from the ridians stord into the Dantian like a flood.
The Dantian was already saturated with mana. When the extra mana flowed in from the ridians, it forcefully expanded the Dantian by a notch. The Dantian started transmitting waves of intense pain, even stronger than before.
Shen Luo’s cheeks flushed with an abnormal redness. His body jerked slightly, and his hands started trembling. Sweat started beading on his forehead, trickling down his face.
He felt as if his Dantian was about to explode at any mont!
Taking a deep breath, he held back the searing pain, focusing on guarding his Dantian. He lifted his right hand and made a sequence of taps around his Dantian. Using the Golden Bridge Locking and Ascending Art, he sealed the acupoints to prevent the mana from flowing out.
Just as he finished, an even more intense wave of pain exploded from his Dantian.
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