An hour later.
At another bookshelf, Su Yu furrowed his brows as he studied the ancient tome in his hand. This wasn't a cultivation technique for Immortal Dao, nor was it a body refinement art—it was an unusual and peculiar method.
It could even be called a pseudo-divine ability.
That is, a technique modeled after the innate divine powers of ancient almighty beings.
This method was called the Blood Whale Devours the Moon Technique.
It mimicked the innate powers of an ancient demon beast, and was meant to be cultivated alongside body refinement.
According to the tome, this technique was based on the bloodline of the Sky-Devouring Whale Demon Clan, allowing one to forge a pseudo-divine core within their body.
This pseudo-divine core possessed the ability to devour the heavens.
It could consume the essence of heaven and earth, storing it within the core.
When activated, the pseudo-divine power could instantly unleash strength beyond one's normal limits—doubling the cultivator's force or even more.
In ancient times, the Sky-Devouring Whale Demon Clan was once a mighty force. But as the demon race declined, and due to the value of this pseudo-divine power, countless cultivators hunted them down. Now, this once-great clan is long extinct.
Thus, the Blood Whale Devours the Moon Technique, like the Cycle of Verdant Rings, became a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.
"That's enough."
Seeing this technique, Su Yu decisively took both tomes and headed to the counter.
Behind the counter of the Celestial Tome Pavilion stood an elderly man with graying white hair. After the few customers ahead had made their purchases, he glanced at the two tomes Su Yu presented, a bit surprised.
"Two ancient tomes. Fifty low-grade spirit stones each. They're for your eyes only, no sharing allowed. No returns or exchanges."
"Understood."
With a slight pang in his heart, Su Yu took out a hundred low-grade spirit stones from his qiankun pouch and exchanged them for two newly transcribed books.
Flipping through them, Su Yu frowned lightly.
The Cycle of Verdant Rings only detailed three cycles, totaling twenty-seven revolutions.
The Blood Whale Devours the Moon Technique was the first volume and divided into five realms.
Each mastered realm doubled the user's strength—up to fivefold at the peak.
The most crucial part was that the technique required a powerful physical body; otherwise, the force unleashed by the pseudo-divine power could tear the user apart from within.
In short, the stronger your power, the stronger your body needed to be to withstand it.
Otherwise, if not death, then crippling injury was certain.
Seeing that Su Yu had paid, the old man behind the counter chuckled, "Young man, if you manage to master these two ancient techniques, you'll surely secure a name for yourself in Daqian's cultivation world."
"Of course, even if you don't succeed, don't be discouraged. The world is vast—there's always a technique meant for you. And here at the Celestial Tome Pavilion, we have countless ancient arts and immortal methods. Be sure to visit again."
Su Yu: "..."
He grit his teeth, wanting to bite someone.
This old codger clearly had his eye on Su Yu's moneybag.
Or maybe he just thought Su Yu was easy to fool?
Just then, Su Jingbang approached. Seeing that Su Yu had just spent a hundred spirit stones on what looked like two useless manuals, his expression turned a bit odd.
He looked at Su Yu like he was a sucker. No wonder the shopkeeper was so eager to have him back.
"You really fell for it. Looks good on the surface, but it's useless… Learn from this mistake." Su Jingbang shook his head.
He didn't say much more. After seeing Su Yu settle the bill, he led him out of the Celestial Tome Pavilion.
Su Yu tucked the two techniques into his pouch and left, quite pleased with himself.
While it seemed like the pavilion had made a tidy profit, Su Yu, with his Proficiency Panel, knew he wouldn't be losing out either.
In the end, both parties were satisfied.
Next, Su Jingbang brought Su Yu to a store that specialized in demonic beast materials.
"This is the Yu Family's shop from Blackrock Mountain. Their prices are fair," Su Jingbang explained.
Su Yu recognized the Yu Family of Blackrock Mountain.
They were a cultivation clan far more powerful than the Su Family, known to have five Foundation Establishment cultivators in one generation, and specialized in beast taming.
Blackrock Mountain itself was a blessed land, harboring a second-grade spiritual vein beneath it.
Besides this shop, the Yu family also ran another one in the market, which specialized in spirit pets.
Here, Su Yu purchased thirty-five drops of late-stage Tier 1 demonic beast blood. Prices ranged from two to three low-grade spirit stones per drop, totaling nearly a hundred stones.
The stronger the beast, the pricier the blood.
The two continued browsing the market for a while.
There were indeed many treasures. Su Yu was tempted by more than a few items, but his supply of spirit stones was running dangerously low.
After wandering for a bit longer, they returned to the Pill Pavilion.
That night—
Su Yu spent three low-grade spirit stones to buy a pot of spirit wine and invited Su Jingbang and the others to drink with him. After a good meal and some drinks, he returned to the small room arranged by the Second Elder.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Su Yu retrieved the Cycle of Verdant Rings and the *Blood Whale Devours the Moon Technique* from his pouch.
His main focus was on the Cycle of Verdant Rings. Though it only had three cycles and twenty-seven revolutions, it was enough to support him all the way to Core Formation.
Looking at the technique, Su Yu felt a surge of joy. If I can successfully switch to this, it'll become my main path.
The Wutong Evergreen Art was too ordinary. He had no better options before.
Now that he had a superior alternative in the Cycle of Verdant Rings, of course he wanted to switch.
"Let's give it a try."
Su Yu began the attempt.
To get started with the Cycle of Verdant Rings, one needed the aura of Verdant Wood origin—a rare energy Su Yu didn't possess.
He could only rely on slow experimentation, hoping that his Proficiency Panel would help him grasp the technique.
The night passed.
Su Yu gained no breakthrough.
But after a night of trying to cultivate the Cycle of Verdant Rings, he felt unusually invigorated the next morning. His spirit and energy were more vibrant than usual.
This glimpse of progress filled Su Yu with hope—and joy.
—
That afternoon.
Su Yu, along with Su Jingbang and the others, left Yunshan Market to begin their journey home.
Just outside the market—
Su Jingbang swept his eyes across several hidden spots, his expression cold. In the next moment, the faint auras in those places rapidly retreated.
Places like this—on the outskirts of the market—were prime spots for bandits.
But most of them weren't very strong.
"Move quickly," Su Jingbang said in a low voice, speeding up first.
Their return went smoothly as well. There were no attacks along the way, and not even the hostile Lin Family had set any ambushes near Jiang City.
Upon returning to the medicinal garden, Elder Su Changyu saw Su Yu and, knowing Su Yu's heart was no longer in herb tending, fell into thought before saying:
"Another year of learning, and you should be ready to formally study alchemy."
"You've already mastered the Spirit Nurturing Art—that gives you a leg up over others. But your weakness is still your cultivation."
"Most people don't begin alchemy until the fourth level of Qi Refinement. Otherwise, they can't sustain the needed magic power."
Su Yu smiled and replied, "Teacher, I'm not in a rush."
"I'll wait until I reach the fourth level before trying."
Su Changyu sighed and patted his shoulder. "You're more promising than I am. But aside from medicine and alchemy, I can't help you much in other areas."
—
In the days that followed, Su Yu continued his daily cultivation—but focused mainly on switching to the Cycle of Verdant Rings.
And after a full month of effort, a shift in his aura finally began to take shape.
He had successfully entered the Cycle of Verdant Rings