Chapter 428: Chapter 426: Unexpected Gains Lou Yi looked at the Attribute Panel: Name: Lou Yi Age: 24/280 Realm: Martial Master Peak (159/?), Martial Artist Peak (134/?), High-tier Anomaly (0/600), Three-star Body Cultivator (105/600), Qi Cultivation Stage 4 (132/600) Cultivation Techniques: Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique (Second Stage, Perfection)... Demon Summoning Scripture (Minor Achievement 0/10000+1 Yellow Springs Fruit), Mystic Yin-Yang Interaction Secret Record (Not Practiced) Skills: Lou’s Axe Skill (Perfection)... Magic: Corpse Control Technique (Perfection)... Ghost Shoulder Slap (Not Practiced), Wind Management Technique (Not Practiced)... Wind Blade Technique (Minor Achievement 0/10000) Talents: Petrification (Perfection), Swift (Minor Achievement 0/5000+1 Wind Walking Pill), Disguise (Proficient 0/2000+1 White Tai Sui), Tenacity (Proficient 0/1000+1 Spirit-devouring Vine), Wolf Bone (Skilled 0/500+1 Wolf Demon Pill)... Silk Spitting (Entry Level 0/20+1 Ice Silkworm Husk) Energy: 6326 The greatest change by far was in lifespan, jumping from 172 years to 280 years! It was the largest increase in lifespan in Lou Yi’s history. This again verified that after Qi-Blood reached perfection, True Strength transforming into Glaring Qi is a tremendous metamorphosis. It is comparable to Qi Cultivation Stage advancing to Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator; it is an elevation of the essence of life, hence the lifespan received a leap. Of course, it’s still a little short of the three-hundred-year lifespan of Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator. But once his Immortal Cultivation also breaks through, Lou Yi is very much looking forward to how much upper limit his lifespan can achieve. This time, a breakthrough occurred unexpectedly, advancing to High-tier Anomaly. The practice speed of the Minor Achievement level Demon Summoning Scripture changed from originally six points a day to one point a day. Therefore, reaching the pinnacle of the High-tier Anomaly level still takes less than two years of effort. By then, the path of Mutated Martial Arts, like the Breathing Technique and Skin Refining Technique, will reach its end. Martial Arts strength will truly stagnate. ’Either explore new paths in Martial Arts or find ways to touch upon ancient martial arts inheritance,’ Lou Yi thought. Cultivation is like rowing against the current; not advancing means retreating. Although his Martial Arts Cultivation now reaches a level comparable to Foundation Establishment, it is often said to be cautious in times of peace; if complacent and not progressing, there’s no telling when troubles may arise. Besides, although Foundation Establishment is formidable, it’s far from the peak in the Cultivation Realm, merely offering some self-preservation. Only reaching the level of a Golden Core Master can be considered stable, right? Lou Yi began organizing his cultivation and future path. His current strength consists of four parts: Martial Arts, Qi Cultivation, Body Refinement, Talent. The main strength is concentrated on Martial Arts, with others as auxiliary. Qi Cultivation is currently only at Qi Cultivation Stage 4, the lowest. Its sole function is to resist enemy attacks by outputting all Spiritual Power to form a thick Yin Light Shield, which is better than nothing. Now the speed of Qi cultivation has increased to close to the level of Upper Grade Spirit Root, but wanting it to play a pivotal role isn’t possible in a short time. Body Refining Cultivation is currently Three-star Body Cultivator, comparable to Late-stage Qi Refining. The only function is to enhance his physical defense capabilities and strength. Even lacking this doesn’t greatly hinder his strength. To advance to Four-star Body Cultivator, reaching Foundation Establishment Level, still requires about ten years, so it can’t be counted on in the short term. As for Talent, it is second only to Martial Arts, one of the two most important components of his current strength. Of course, there are differences in priority within Talents. Talents like Tenacity, which can comprehensively resist damage, Swift, which rapidly increases speed, and Wolf Bone, which significantly increases Qi-Blood and strength, are prioritized for advancement. Talents like Venom and Silk Spitting, although potentially useful at crucial moments, are quite limited and should be prioritized later. Once returning to the sect, he must find a way to collect the necessary key items for advancing these talents. After sorting out the path forward, Lou Yi suddenly remembered that he hadn’t inspected the Storage Bags of the two Yellow Springs Elders. Opening the Storage Bags, a pile of shiny items fell out: Magical Artifact Spiritual Artifact, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, talismans, Elixirs... The more Lou Yi looked, the brighter his eyes shone; indeed, a horse without nighttime feed won’t get fat, a person without sudden wealth won’t become rich. The wealth of these two Yellow Springs Elders was mainly as follows: Three Spiritual Artifacts, consisting of a red Flying Sword, a silver Flying Sword, and a black Bone Spike. The Spiritual Artifacts are currently unusable for him since his Qi Cultivation Stage is only at Stage 4. Even if used, their power is not as great as the treasure artifact embryo. Lou Yi plans to exchange them for sect contributions or other materials needed to enhance strength to maximize benefits. Among the three spiritual artifacts, it was this black bone spike that caught Lou Yi’s attention the most. After all, it could penetrate his defenses and pierce through his chest directly, indicating its power was a whole level stronger than the other spiritual artifact flying swords. The other seven or eight offensive magical artifacts, along with the three upper-grade defensive magical artifact armors, weren’t of much use to the current Lou Yi and could all be sold later. There were two flying magical artifacts, namely the black banner and the blood-red small boat they had used for travel. Though not spiritual artifacts, flying magical artifacts are extremely rare and often fetch a price higher than spiritual artifacts. Unfortunately, it’s a large consumer of spiritual energy, which Lou Yi’s current cultivation can’t sustain. Two special magical artifacts of unknown function. One was a palm-sized black compass, inside which was a strand of shiny black hair, now pointing straight at him. Lou Yi pulled out the hair and realized it had fallen from his own body. It must have been dropped during the battle with the Bone Devourer Enchantress earlier. It’s likely the two elders from the Yellow Springs tracked him down using the hair. Lou Yi secretly vowed to be vigilant, ensuring that he cleaned up the battlefield after every fight from now on. All sorts of bizarre methods exist within the cultivation realm. This time, he was found through a hair; next time, they might directly attack or curse him through it, which would be unpredictable and unavoidable. The other was a red conch-shaped magical artifact that Lou Yi had seen the ugly man in red robes use to summon that spider demon. Inputting his spiritual power, he found it empty inside. Could it perhaps be used to carry spirit pets with him? Lou Yi pondered for a moment and decided to take it back and ask Bi Yaoyao how to use it, as she was wild and knowledgeable. Aside from the aforementioned magical artifacts, there were dozens of colorful talismans and more than ten bottles of elixirs for cultivation enhancement, breaking realms, or detoxification. Two black metallic tokens of special material, with faint fluctuations emanating from within. Lou Yi tossed them immediately, fearing that they might contain hidden tracking mechanisms. There were also several Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. An ancient ginseng that had grown into the shape of a human, possibly seven or eight hundred years old; a clover emitting a green glow; and an unknown root with small spikes all over it, exuding a fragrant milky-white liquid... ’Hmm, what is this?’ A snow-white Lingzhi-like Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, seemingly alive, wriggling slightly in Lou Yi’s hand. At the same time, a commotion occurred in his Disguise talent, with a faint "+" sign appearing afterwards. Clearly, this Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure was the rare White Taisui. After searching so hard everywhere, Lou Yi found it effortlessly. Without hesitation, Lou Yi spent 2,000 points of energy to advance. Disguise (Proficient 0/2000+1 White Taisui) → Disguise (Small Success 0/10000+1 Black Taisui) Strange memories appeared in his mind. In the memory, Lou Yi transformed into an ordinary gray tree lizard, palm-sized, quietly clinging to tree bark. It was like an emotionless hunting machine, swiftly flicking out its tongue to swallow mosquitoes buzzing by. But the tree lizard was extremely weak; apart from mosquitoes, most forest animals, like birds, snakes, beasts, and large poisonous insects, were its natural enemies. To survive, it concealed itself carefully. Its skin color, matching the tree bark, was its best camouflage. But that alone wasn’t enough. If sunlight shone directly or the seasons changed, altering the bark’s color, it would be exposed. To survive, the tree lizard continually strengthened itself, ingraining the Disguise skill into its genes. Generations of genetic selection and improvement. This led to the emergence of tree lizard species that could change their skin color, then ones that could even slightly alter their body shape... Eventually, a tree lizard accidentally consumed a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, gaining full transformation abilities, and passed down its superior genes. After thousands of generations, the tree lizard’s Disguise talent became increasingly comprehensive and extraordinary... In reality, Lou Yi opened his eyes. A vast chill surged into his body, rapidly transforming him. His qi-blood did not increase, but an inexplicable change occurred. The introduction of the Disguise talent also changed: Disguise (Passive): The longer you stay in a fixed environment, the easier it becomes to blend into it. Disguise (Active): Significantly reduces your presence, making others overlook you; can apply continuously in dynamic situations; allows for substantial alteration of muscle arrangement and even bones, enabling good imitation of others’ auras. ...