Of the hundred or so disciples who had come to join, at least thirty were spies from various sects. However, Lu Xuan didn't care at all; there was even one among the inner disciples. Among the outer disciples, roughly one in three was a spy.
However, this situation changed dramatically in just one year. First, the so-called spies among the outer disciples basically cut off all their training with their original sects.
Unfortunately, these are mostly from smaller sects. In the cultivation world, truly talented individuals are carefully nurtured and cultivated by the major sects. They are generally not sent out as spies. Therefore, these so-called spies are disciples with average talent but quick thinking and resourcefulness.
These disciples naturally don't receive the same treatment as the core disciples in the sect. Magical treasures and ammunition? Forget about it. They understand that they come out on missions to accumulate contribution points, hoping to receive a magical treasure or pill as a reward from the sect upon their return.
However, since arriving at the Hidden Immortal Sect, they've felt something's amiss. The sect's benefits are simply too generous.
Inner disciples, needless to say, are provided with magical treasures and elixirs from the very beginning. They are personally instructed by core members of the sect, receiving treatment comparable to that of core disciples of the three major sects. This kind of treatment almost instantly captivated the spy. He would never receive such treatment in his own sect.
Even outer disciples receive various forms of assistance for their cultivation every now and then; those who perform well are even rewarded with magical treasures. This treatment gives these outer disciples, whose chances of cultivating immortality are almost nonexistent, a sense of hope for advancement. They painstakingly risk being discovered as spies, only to return home with a single pill as a reward. How can that compare to life here?
Returning to their sect meant their lives would remain the same. But within the Hidden Immortal Sect, they saw the possibility of further advancement. This was an irresistible temptation for these low-level cultivators. And so...
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Chapter 433 Bloodline Awakening
In fact, quite a few truly intelligent individuals have already realized this. The Hidden Immortal Sect wasn't unaware of them; they were simply waiting for them to make a choice.
As expected, a year later, the Hidden Immortal Sect launched a purge. Eleven spies were killed on the spot. Afterwards, Lu Xuan announced that from now on, all remaining disciples were members of the Hidden Immortal Sect.
This finally put the minds of those spies who had been living in constant fear at ease. From then on, they devoted themselves to serving the sect.
Having more people brings one huge advantage: it allows us to send out a large number of people to collect herbs and assist at various branch halls.
Xin Shisi Niang selected four disciples to assist her in alchemy. Hong Xiu selected eight to help her maintain the formation. She herself focused on studying Lu Xuan's rune system.
The only pity was that Lu Xuan had never found a talent for weapon crafting. It's important to understand that while Qi cultivation and alchemy share some similarities, they are not the same thing. Alchemy requires meticulousness, patience, a good memory, the ability to identify spiritual herbs, and a precise control over heat and temperature, among other things.
Refining artifacts requires a deep understanding of various materials. In the world of cultivation, Qi cultivation isn't simply about forging with fire. Many materials cannot be refined using this method.
For example, a piece of ten-thousand-year-old mystic ice nourished and imbued with spiritual energy. To burn this, you'd need the true fire of the sun. Then, it would simply melt the mystic ice into a puddle of water...
This material requires powerful spiritual pressure and meticulous manipulation to shape. Simultaneously, a rune system is used to enhance the material's inherent spirituality or amplify its properties, granting it more supernatural abilities.
Besides these, toxic materials, materials with yin attributes, and materials with wood attributes are all difficult to forge using ordinary spiritual fire. The required techniques are varied and the various processing details are countless. If we were to talk about it all, it would take three days and three nights.
This leads to an interesting phenomenon: true masters of weapon crafting are even rarer than those exceptionally talented cultivators.
The Hidden Immortal Sect entered a 2.0 era. This era lasted for ten years.
..............
Little Gray is the three-eyed spirit monkey we brought back from the bamboo forest of Dazhu Peak. Now, this little guy has grown quite a bit.
During this process, Lu Xuan fed it various spiritual herbs and occasionally used moonlight to refine it. The little guy had accumulated enough merit. It was already highly intelligent, and after Lu Xuan's careful nurturing, it completely awakened its sentience.
However, this guy doesn't seem to have any sense of transforming into human form at all. As I said before, in the world of Jade Dynasty, apart from the fox demon clan, there are basically no demons that can transform into human form.
Lu Xuan tried to have it cultivate a technique modified from the fox clan's transformation magic. However, after several years of practice, there was no improvement. This made Lu Xuan stop paying attention to this issue and instead begin preparing to open its third eye. A three-eyed spirit monkey? Of course, it needs three eyes.
This thing is described as extremely powerful in the world of Jade Dynasty. Lu Xuan also wanted to see it for himself.
At this moment, Little Gray was already sitting upright in the middle of an array. Like a human, it sat cross-legged with its eyes closed. In the hole above its head was an empty space, through which one could clearly see the stars and the bright moon.
Lu Xuan has extensive experience in raising demonic beasts. After all, he raised Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai from a young age, and has been raising them for decades.
The most important thing to do to get Little Grey to open its third eye is to trace its bloodline. This little guy isn't a true three-eyed spirit monkey; the proportion of its bloodline is actually not high.
Therefore, Lu Xuan needs to use external force to activate its three-eyed spirit monkey bloodline. Once this powerful spirit monkey bloodline is activated, it will quickly begin to erode the surrounding bloodlines, transforming it into a true three-eyed spirit monkey.
Lu Xuan placed a pill into Little Grey's mouth. Then, his spiritual energy surged, and he gently waved his hands. A faint red light appeared on the array beneath Little Grey. This light grew stronger and stronger, eventually enveloping its entire body.
In the original story, Little Grey drank the spiritual liquid and elixir from the Heavenly Treasure Vault. His internal spiritual power surged, forcing the awakening of the Three-Eyed Monkey's bloodline. Because at that moment, if the Three-Eyed Monkey's bloodline hadn't awakened, it would have instantly exploded and died. Its success was largely due to the protagonist's halo effect, as seen with Zhang Xiaofan's character.
Now, Lu Xuan is using essentially the same method, but with greater precision. He is also forcibly injecting spiritual power into Little Grey's body. However, after the transformation by the runes beneath it, this power is more refined and more targeted towards the bloodline.
The little monkey quickly showed a pained expression. This was destined to be an uncomfortable process. But Lu Xuan was prepared. Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai beside him had already used the Demon-Binding Lock to firmly fix Xiao Hui to the formation.
Gradually, Little Gray couldn't maintain its composure and began to struggle. Monkeys are like that; they can't endure hardship. However, Lu Xuan didn't soften his stance; instead, he intensified the injection of spiritual energy.
Little Gray let out a terrible scream. Its whole body turned red, like a boiled shrimp.
Lu Xuan could feel the blood within its body beginning to boil. This was a sign that the spirit monkey's bloodline was awakening. Without hesitation, he increased the injection of spiritual power once more. This was already the limit he had calculated. Any more, and the little guy might explode and die.
The surrounding protectors watched this scene with tense expressions. Suddenly, Xiao Hu let out a painful, yet strangely pleasurable, scream. Then, its eyes opened a crack. Its two eyes had been sealed by Lu Xuan's magic, so the eye that opened this time could only be its third eye on its forehead.
It had constricted pupils, clearly possessing a strong bestial nature. A sliver of red light shone through the slits of its eyes, adding an air of mystery to its beastly nature.
Xiao Hu's screams grew louder and louder, and his pupils gradually opened.
Lu Xuan stared at the changes before him, his expression suddenly shifting slightly. With a wave of his right hand, a mirror appeared in front of him. The next second, a dazzling beam of red light shot out from Xiao Hui's pupils, striking Lu Xuan's mirror artifact.
The mirror-like magical artifact seemed capable of absorbing the failures of spells. The beam of red light showed no energy leakage. However, Lu Xuan's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he directly activated another formation prepared in the cave. A beam of silvery-white moonlight descended from the sky, illuminating Little Gray's body.
The awakening of bloodline requires a large replenishment of spiritual energy. Insufficient spiritual energy may interrupt the process, resulting in an unsustainable situation. Therefore, the Moon Essence Refinement is activated directly to replenish its spiritual energy.
Finally, the pupil fully opened, radiating a brilliant red light. Lu Xuan's magical artifact also made a clicking sound.
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Chapter 434 The Treasure Vault Appears
The magical artifacts Lu Xuan uses are naturally of a different level. This one is Lu Xuan's eternal companion, the Five Elements Mirror. Lu Xuan generally doesn't rely on magical artifacts for attacks. His two strongest divine abilities, Thunder Magic and Solar True Fire, don't require the aid of magical artifacts. As for the Nine Nether Ice, he's not yet proficient in manipulating it.