Chapter 10: A Demonic Cultivation Technique

Looking at the three lively and adorable little ones, Lin Jiufeng suppressed the irritation in his heart and said, "If there's anything you don't understand about your cultivation, you can ask me now."

The three little ones took turns voicing their doubts one by one.

Lin Jiufeng was an excellent teacher, guiding them step by step. The three little ones were quite clever as well — they understood everything the moment it was explained.

After resolving their questions, Lin Jiufeng sent them off to cultivate on their own.

He, in turn, went to read.

The Canon Pavilion housed every book that Yuhua Sect had collected since its founding — an enormous and varied collection.

Astronomy and geography, miscellaneous writings and idle tales, the principles of cultivation, technique manuals and secret scriptures, historical biographies…

All of it was here.

If Lin Jiufeng wanted to break through to the Sixth Seal within half a year, he would need to read constantly, enrich himself, and see whether he could activate his Heavenly Comprehension to grasp something new.

This was the only method he could think of that might allow him to break through the Fifth Seal and enter the Sixth Seal within half a year.

And so, Lin Jiufeng began his life of reading.

Every day, aside from brief periods of seated cultivation, he spent all his remaining time reading.

He approached every book with great seriousness, immersing himself fully in each one.

But whether it was because he was trying too hard, after a full month of reading at least several hundred books, his Heavenly Comprehension had not activated even once.

He had certainly accumulated a great deal of new knowledge, but none of it was enough to help him break through to the Sixth Seal.

One evening.

In his study, Lin Jiufeng sat quietly.

A single lamp flickered like a bean of light, illuminating the book in his hands.

The study was silent, save for the soft rustle of Lin Jiufeng turning pages.

Before long, he finished the book.

Lin Jiufeng set it down, rubbed his eyes, and let out a soft sigh. "I've been too eager for quick results. That's why Heavenly Comprehension hasn't activated."

He did not pick up another book. He wanted to let himself calm down.

Over the past month, he had been reading frantically, hoping to trigger his Heavenly Comprehension and achieve a rapid Breakthrough. But looking back on it now, it had been far too reckless.

Lin Jiufeng shook his head. He couldn't keep going like this. He emptied his mind, letting his consciousness drift outward without intention.

Suddenly, Lin Jiufeng sensed a fourth presence within the Canon Pavilion.

He snapped upright.

The Canon Pavilion only housed Wen Xinyun and the other two. Bai Yunfei was still in seclusion. So who was this fourth person?

Lin Jiufeng frowned, careful not to startle the intruder.

Without betraying any reaction, he concealed his aura and melted into the shadows, using his perception to observe the intruder's appearance.

A rat-eyed man with shifty features was skulking silently through the Canon Pavilion.

His cultivation was the same as Lin Jiufeng's — the Fifth Seal, a Divine Soul Master.

Yet despite being at the same level, Lin Jiufeng had detected him immediately, while the man had yet to notice Lin Jiufeng at all.

The gap between their Divine Souls was plain to see.

"With Yuhua Sect under lockdown by the Taishang Sect right now, how did this person slip in?" Lin Jiufeng remained still, wanting to understand the intruder's purpose.

The rat-eyed man surveyed the vast collection of books in the Canon Pavilion, his face lighting up with delight as he let out a sinister cackle. "Amitabha, bless the Bodhisattva — I can't believe it was this easy to get in. Yuhua Sect really has fallen. The whole sect has only five people. That enormous aura at the highest peak must be Yuhua Sect's Sect Master."

"I'll need to be careful not to be discovered by him. Everyone else here is useless — not worth mentioning."

The rat-eyed man picked up a Daoist scripture, flipped through it quickly, found it wasn't what he was looking for, put it back, and immediately moved on to the next one.

As he searched, he muttered to himself.

"Three hundred years ago, the Demon Sect's Shakya Demon King ran amok through the cultivation world, slaughtering countless experts, sending even the Taishang Sect into trembling fear. He was utterly brazen. In the end, he even marched on Yuhua Sect to seize the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture]."

"But no one could have anticipated that Yuhua Sect harbored three cultivators of the Ninth Seal at the time. The three of them surrounded and fought Shakya Demon King in a battle that shook the heavens. The Demon Sect's forces swarmed in, and Yuhua Sect threw everyone into the fight."

"That battle was devastatingly brutal. Shakya Demon King fell in combat, but Yuhua Sect's three Ninth Seal cultivators also perished in Ascension, and the rest of the disciples suffered catastrophic casualties. Even the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] was left incomplete. Yuhua Sect never recovered. The Taishang Sect reaped the benefits, rising to power and suppressing Yuhua Sect at every turn, leaving them perpetually overwhelmed."

"But what the world doesn't know is that when Shakya Demon King died in that battle, the [Ten Kings of Hell] technique he had primarily cultivated automatically concealed itself. It was mistaken for an ordinary scripture and stored in Yuhua Sect's Canon Pavilion."

"If I hadn't found the notes Shakya Demon King left behind, this supremely powerful Demon Sect technique would have remained buried in obscurity forever."

The rat-eyed man grew more and more agitated as he spoke. He seemed to already be envisioning himself cultivating the [Ten Kings of Hell], breaking through to the Ninth Seal, unifying the Demon Sect, and looking down upon the world.

So overcome with excitement that the words burst out of him: "To restore the glory of the Demon Sect — it is our sacred duty!"

Lin Jiufeng listened from the shadows, deep in thought.

"So he came for the technique of that great demon lord from three hundred years ago."

"Back then, even though Yuhua Sect killed Shakya Demon King, the price they paid was devastating. Their upper echelon was essentially wiped out. The new generation of disciples was forced to shoulder everything, dealing with one crisis after another. It's entirely plausible that the [Ten Kings of Hell] technique was left forgotten in the Canon Pavilion."

Lin Jiufeng did not disturb the intruder. He let the rat-eyed man do the searching for him.

The rat-eyed man worked diligently. The books collected by Yuhua Sect across generations were beyond counting — multiple floors, countless shelves. Finding a single secret scripture among all of this was an extraordinarily difficult task.

Especially since Lin Jiufeng had no idea what the [Ten Kings of Hell] technique looked like, and given that it could conceal itself automatically, it might well be disguised as an ordinary Daoist scripture.

The rat-eyed man was tireless, searching on and on with relentless persistence.

But by the time dawn broke, he still hadn't found it.

He was not discouraged. Instead, he found a corner to hide in, went completely still, neither eating nor drinking, reducing his breathing to the barest minimum. Had Lin Jiufeng not been observing him with his consciousness, it would have been impossible to detect that someone was concealed there at all.

"Perhaps that's exactly how he slipped past the Taishang Sect's blockade and made it into Yuhua Sect," Lin Jiufeng murmured.

He acted as though he knew nothing and quietly went about his own affairs.

When night fell, while Lin Jiufeng and the three children were cultivating, the rat-eyed man made his move.

Picking up from where he had left off the previous night, he continued his search.

Tireless as ever.

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

All the way to the tenth day.

The rat-eyed man had turned over more than half of the Canon Pavilion. Finally, on that tenth night, he found the [Ten Kings of Hell] — the scripture that had been concealing itself all along.

The rat-eyed man cradled the [Ten Kings of Hell] in his hands, so moved that tears streamed down his face. He trembled and whispered, "You really made me work for it, didn't you."

At that moment, Lin Jiufeng spoke up. "Thank you for finding this scripture for me."

The rat-eyed man swiftly hid the scripture behind his back and spun around, glaring furiously at Lin Jiufeng. "When did you discover me?"

"From the very first step you took into the Canon Pavilion," Lin Jiufeng answered honestly.

"So all these days while I was searching, you were just watching from behind?" The rat-eyed man was livid.

"Yes. As thanks for your hard work, I can spare your life," Lin Jiufeng said earnestly.

"Fuck that — I won't spare yours!" The rat-eyed man's fury boiled over, impossible to contain. He lunged straight at Lin Jiufeng.

His palm blazed with golden light, carrying a dense, heavy metallic cutting intent — like a golden blade cleaving downward toward Lin Jiufeng.

The rat-eyed man was a Fifth Seal expert, and naturally had his own signature technique.

The [Golden Blade Palm Art] was the supreme skill he had spent half his life honing.

Driven by rage, he opened with his ultimate technique the moment he struck. Thinking of how he had spent all these days searching so painstakingly while Lin Jiufeng simply watched — it was enough to make him explode with fury.

His eyes were fierce and murderous — he intended to kill Lin Jiufeng outright.

Facing this palm strike, Lin Jiufeng did not retreat a single step. He struck back with a palm of his own.

His palm carried no radiance whatsoever — only skin like jade and long, slender fingers.

The two palms met.

The [Golden Blade Palm Art] surged forward with unstoppable momentum, bearing down with overwhelming force.

But it collided with Lin Jiufeng's power of thirty dragons and thirty elephants.

Boom!!

In an instant, the rat-eyed man's body shuddered as though crushed beneath a mountain. Crack, crack — the bones throughout his body shattered, his organs were pulverized, blood flooded his facial orifices, and he became a crimson figure, staring at Lin Jiufeng in utter disbelief.

Lin Jiufeng sighed. "I actually did want to spare your life."