Chapter 29: Revised Entangling Art

Xū Yè, who had been sitting, sprang up with a "seng" sound, sweat forming on his forehead, and started pacing back and forth.

Wei Yuning smiled warmly at Xū Yè, saying the offer was very sincere; he didn't think Xū Yè would refuse. Moon beetles have a price but no market, and cannot be measured merely by the amount of spiritual stones.

Suddenly, Xū Yè's eyes lit up, he slapped his forehead, and laughed at Wei Yuning, "Ha ha, deal! The technique I pass on will surely not make Uncle Tai Chong blame me, and it's perfect for you!"

Strictly speaking, what Xū Yè is passing down is not a new technique, but merely a spell‑use skill, a secret method specifically targeting the wood‑root innate spell Entangling Art.

The original owner of this secret skill was not someone else but a disciple of Elder Tai Chong, the junior sister of Senior Xū Yè, a cultivator named Xū Rou.

The basic attack of the Entangling Art is vines formed from Qi that wrap the target. This attack is limited by the attacker's Qi strength and capacity, its lethal power is low, serving only as a brief slowing effect; against a cultivator of higher level or an opposing element, the opponent can simply force it open with strength, nullifying the delay and reducing it to merely a nuisance.

Therefore, relying only on an innate Entangling Art, one will likely be crushed when facing an equal‑level opponent.

The reason Xū Rou's spell skill is called a secret technique is that she vastly improved the Entangling Art, turning a mere nuisance into a powerful enemy‑trapping method.

The new Entangling Art has two upgrades: the basic level is simply the Primitive Entangling Art, the intermediate is called Plant Entangling Art, and the advanced is called Spatial Entangling Art.

Plant Entangling Art, as the name suggests, combines spell entangling with plant entangling, creating a technique that simultaneously employs magical and physical attacks. To use it, one must know Plant Growth Art; for wood‑root cultivators, Plant Growth Art is not even an innate spell—it is their instinct. Thus, the intermediate Plant Entangling Art is practically tailor‑made for wood‑root cultivators.

Of course, plants do not appear out of thin air; the Plant Entangling Art requires conditions: during casting, there must be plants nearby, and the art will adaptively use the surrounding flora to form a cage that is not limited to any specific plant shape. Additionally, there is an invisible factor: all else equal, the more the nearby soil favors plant growth, the stronger the entangling effect.

"Senior Xū Yè, what if there are no plants nearby?" Wei Yuning asked after hearing Xū Yè's explanation of Plant Entangling Art, unable to hold back.

"Hehe, a child can be taught. Back then Junior Sister Xū Rou also faced this problem; guess how she solved it?" Xū Yè asked with a smile.

"Um… does that mean bringing plants along with herself?"

"Good answer, that's roughly it. But even a tiny plant is inconvenient to carry; a Qiankun bag can't hold living things, and you can't just strap it to yourself, right?" Xū Yè said.

"Got it, bring seeds. Also, you need water; without water the plant won't grow. Moreover, you must bring spiritual soil to ensure growth, and the water is best if it's spiritual spring water…"

"Enough already. Tomorrow you're just going to the beast arena to hunt, not to an outer‑realm battlefield, so there's no need for such hassle!" Xū Yè cut off Wei Yuning's rambling.

"As for Spatial Entangling Art, its principle is the same as Plant Entangling Art," Xū Yè said, then suddenly paused, fixing Wei Yuning with a sharp gaze. After a while he continued, "The spatial secret technique involves our sect's secrets; I was momentarily careless and almost forgot you're only a newly initiated disciple. Since we've come this far, there's no reason to stop, but you must first swear not to tell anyone outside our sect—ideally not even outer‑sect disciples—so that I can proceed."

"What kind of oath?"

"Any will do."

"You trust me that much?"

"Cultivators must have a clear mind; if you break the oath, Heaven will deal with you. I trust you won't joke with your Dao foundation!" Wei Yuning's ignorance made Xū Yè look disdainful.

"Alright, I'll swear right now. If I break the oath, may I be cursed to never return… to my hometown!" Wei Yuning said earnestly.

Xū Yè listened to Wei Yuning's odd oath, raised no questions, and simply nodded, "Alright, that will do."

"The spatial secret technique is profoundly deep, obscure, and heavily restricted; it is among the hardest spells to master. Legends say that a supreme cultivator can create an entire world from nothing. As for this technique, I only know a little, but to use Spatial Entangling Art you don't need to understand much—just employ a spatial barrier."

At this point Xū Yè paused again, deliberated, then continued, "A spatial barrier can be cast using existing spatial stones, but this method is inefficient—costly and yields poor results. The same amount of spatial stones, if given to formation cultivators in the refining workshop, could trap an enemy two great realms higher. So unless absolutely necessary, there's really no need to use this method."

Wei Yuning nodded in agreement, though internally he felt otherwise; any problem solvable with spiritual stones isn't a problem—only the quantity of spiritual stones matters, not whether they're wasted.

"There's another way: rely on your own ability. Visualizing a spiritual butterfly is a quick method; the butterfly carries its own spatial law, allowing you to slip into an outer space for a short time when facing a strong enemy. Once you comprehend the spiritual butterfly's innate concealment art, you can naturally use Spatial Entangling Art."

Wei Yuning was dumbfounded; his visualization had already turned into a golden giant pine, which meant he couldn't practice the advanced Entangling Art. Xū Yè clearly had already anticipated this issue, and seeing Wei Yuning's worried expression, he couldn't help but laugh, "You are a wood‑root… "

"…root disciple, and you're in the alchemy hall's herb garden; dangerous battles never reach you. Even if you later have an out‑field herb‑gathering mission, combat disciples will accompany you, and Plant Entangling Art is sufficient for any situation you encounter. When you reach the Golden Core stage and your spirit sense splits in two, then visualizing a spiritual butterfly will no longer be too late."

Wei Yuning thought, "You really think highly of me; the entire sect has only about twenty elders above the Golden Core, so what ability do I have to stand out among tens of thousands of disciples?"

Regarding Spatial Entangling Art, he was still coveting it; recalling a great figure from Earth who said, "Nothing in the world is difficult; only the unmotivated are afraid," he felt he was still a bit hesitant.

Since his golden giant pine visualization is beyond his control, he might as well ignore it and instead visualize an obedient spiritual butterfly.

Fortunately, Wei Yuning didn't reveal his thoughts to Xū Yè; otherwise, this senior elder of the transmission hall might have been driven mad by the "reckless fool" of the cultivation world.

It wasn't until midnight that Wei Yuning left the transmission hall. Returning to his quarters, the sturdy ox was seated in meditation with eyes closed; upon hearing his return, it immediately opened its eyes.

"Yuning, hahaha, my old ox has also successfully established a foundation!"