Chapter 72: The Ultimate Perfection

Day by day, month by month.

Two months later.

Du En's Breath-Restraining Technique was ground to the level of Great Accomplishment.

Just as he expected, the Great Accomplishment Breath-Restraining Technique also incorporated a portion of its origin, the Life-Concealing Death-Feigning Technique, enabling a certain degree of life concealment and death feigning.

Using this method as an entry point to attempt to gain insight into the Corpse-Burial Wasteland, the situation changed quite significantly.

The noise faded, the auditory hallucinations subsided, and he felt as if he were standing before a pool of stagnant water; quietly lifting his eyes to look, he could only see a boundless, silent ocean.

Du En watched like this, but gained nothing.

Du En stood up, responding to the words.

His lifespan limit increased by twelve years.

This caused the others, who could only boil strange owls and gray jackals if left to their own devices, to cheer immediately; after taking off their headcloths, they began to shower him with flattery in a continuous stream.

At this moment, Du En completely finalized this basic policy.

If his comprehension were truly good, would he have wasted so much time, watching himself go from full of drive to becoming numb, and now, even casting aside all reserve to curse directly?

At the very least, he could now "see."

It was very wondrous; he adapted quickly, then gathered his strength in one go to once again gain insight into this mysterious and strange Corpse-Burial Wasteland.

The two gray jackals, raised to be plump and sturdy, were even better at reading the atmosphere; they took the initiative to pull the cart over, wagging their tails to invite people to board.

Clearly, it was not with the naked eye, nor with divine sense, but merely through insight—it seemed empty and illusory, similar to the level of consciousness, yet such a scene still occurred, a scene that appeared so practical!

Eh?

Du En was somewhat surprised; he no longer focused on the dead sea that the wasteland had transformed into, but instead looked only at his own hand, turning it over and over as if wanting to study it thoroughly.

Where had they ever seen such a Qi Refining stage cultivator?

He continued his self-disciplined and diligent grinding.

He raised his hand and was shocked to actually see his own hand.

It was changing quietly, and no one noticed.

Ren Li wore a sour face, shaking his head: "Let's not talk about such unlucky things. Since work is over, let's go, let's go eat something good!"

Therefore, if one were to rashly conduct an investigation, the best result would probably be like this overseer Ren, trapped in a desperate cycle, from the initial manic anxiety to the current gradual numbness.

The overall cultivation speed increased by forty-three percent!

It was outrageous!

Moreover, being stuck at the threshold of "Lightly Skilled" in Culinary Arts, which could take a shortcut, was not a solution.

Du En experienced and felt it, as if seeing it all with his own eyes.

When the situation was calm and waveless, steadily reaching the end of early June, he once again accumulated enough, and the breakthrough came naturally.

"I always feel like you're splitting hairs."

And as for the bad result, this Corpse-Burial Wasteland is certainly no place of kindness!

And now that his cultivation method was ground to the end and there were no new ones for the time being, he could shift a bit of his energy here.

Of course, even so, first-grade high-tier spirit meals were already proving insufficient, and even the first-grade perfect spirit meals he had recently managed to create were only barely enough.

Regarding this, he already had a complete plan.

Ultimate, reaching the extreme point.

Once proficiency reaches the Ultimate, it has reached the end.

Ren Li's grumbling from another wasted day reached him, causing Du En to hide his panel and look over.

If this speed were spoken aloud, it would definitely terrify the other low-level cultivators in the shanty area.

The biggest difference this time compared to before lay in himself.

"Damn it! Bad luck!"

In fact, if he could, he actually did not want to step into or go deep into this dead sea.

The basic cultivation efficiency increased by another ten percent, which was the baseline situation.

With just one more year, he would be able to break through to the late Qi Refining stage.

But, he was indeed closer to the mysteries of the wasteland.

Facing Du En's re-raising of the old topic, this time, Ren Li did not say anything about him having low comprehension or not understanding.

Without lack, satisfactorily reaching the extreme point—this is the Ultimate.

【Cultivation: Qi Refining Mid-stage (35/100)】

This is the external imprint left on the mind after one's sensitivity to spiritual energy reaches a certain level.

【Age: 20/128】

【Spirit Root: Low-grade】

"In your dreams."

"If the death-feigning isn't enough, make up for it with cultivation methods."

【Hundred Arts: Appraisal (Lightly Skilled 0/50), Culinary Arts (Lightly Skilled 0/50), Spirit Seeking (Initial Glimpse 0/20)】

Ren Li was completely undignified at this moment: "I'll provide the ingredients, you be the cook, and we'll all join in the fun together!"

There was no help for it; his foundation was too thick and heavy, and to drive it forward, he needed higher and stronger power!

Pumped from the lower dantian sea of Qi, traveling through the hundred bones and meridians, reaching up to the Heavenly Spirit point at the crown, and down to the land that carries virtue with thick earth, perfectly fused and whole, without lack or leakage.

It could be said that everyone avoided it, and countless people held an inexplicable taboo against it; although it never showed abnormalities during the morning, day, or evening, the corpse-burial workers had historically been replaced frequently, and the record for the longest duration was a mere few years.

In the end, his own insight and exploration of the Corpse-Burial Wasteland was like crossing a river by feeling the stones, relying on Ren Li to wade through the water.

Because the facts proved that his own comprehension, in front of these corpse-burial workers, was indeed not something to boast about.

The Yellow Earth Technique was at the Ultimate, and he had already "seen" something different, seen himself, but it still required time to slowly grind...

However, the commotion of sensing spiritual Qi, as his cultivation level rose and his practice continuously broke through, went from being able to pass for fish eyes among pearls and remain inconspicuous at the start, to becoming increasingly intense and standing out from the crowd now; it had already become a factor that had to be considered.

Not to mention that basic understanding is severely lacking, just by looking at Ren Li, who is still stuck, one can judge that this path of advancing by feigning death most likely contains errors.

Du En came before that Dead Sea once again.

Perfection, without flaws, satisfying to people.

【Divine Ability: None】

Roughly estimating, with this cultivation method that can be called a qualitative change, the number of daily practice sessions could reach an astonishing thirty times.

Time slipped away unconsciously, but he noticed it, so when the others finished their work in the afternoon, he withdrew from this state of enlightenment.

【Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Mastery 10/300), Sand Raising Technique (Grand Mastery 155/500), Breath Concealment Technique (Grand Mastery 40/500), Earth Armor Technique (Mastery 138/300)】

Everyone gets a share!

The feeling of the transition changed abruptly.

The Yellow Earth Art that Du En practiced had now been grinded by him to the extreme; the entire form of circulating the art had undergone a clear adjustment, and the thick, refined gaseous magical power could already move spontaneously.

"Eat in the city?"

"Watch the fire from the other shore, do not get involved."

Opening his eyes, a personal panel appeared within his field of vision.

The treetops swayed in the wind, the sun moved in the high sky, and on the Corpse Burial Wasteland, the corpse buriers were working as usual; the yin filth was transformed into Qi and worn away by the yang energy, and the foul-smelling dead corpses were swallowed by the dead earth.

No need to rush, take it slow.

【Cultivation Method: Yellow Earth Art (Perfected to the Extreme)】

Du En contemplated and explored, neither arrogant nor impatient.

"However, the Spirit Gathering and Subduing ability of the Lacquer Shadow Dharma Robe is indeed very good; thanks to it, when sensing spiritual Qi during practice now, I can be more composed and unrestrained, and won't attract attention because of it, unlike before, when I had to rely on thinning out my dietary energy to make up for the gaps."

It immediately made Ren Li feel much more comfortable.

Du En mingled among them, listening to and watching the bustling scene around him, saying nothing more.

(End of this chapter)