Chapter 4: Magic Skill Pavilion

During the dual cultivation period, several junior brothers came here; they were all summoned by other senior sisters to have Lu Chen come over.

As the sect grand competition approached, Lu Chen guessed he would be busy, but he indeed didn't expect that, after a day, over half of the senior sisters practicing dual cultivation were looking for him.

I originally thought I would have to stay up sleepless, but the summoned junior brothers were all driven out by Mei Qianxue's stern attitude.

During that period, two senior sisters also wanted to cause trouble at his door, but after discovering he was in Mei Qianxue's room, they let it go.

As the sky grew dark, the room gradually quieted down.

After Lu Chen tidied the scattered clothes on the floor, he waited for Mei Qianxue to wake again.

During that time he originally wanted to take the opportunity to cultivate, but worried about being noticed, he could only sit quietly by the bed waiting.

After nearly an hour, Mei Qianxue finally woke up, and only then did they prepare to go out.

"Junior Brother, you truly... let Senior Sister look at you with new eyes. I never realized before how capable you are... In that case, I really am a bit reluctant."

"Senior Sister, what are you reluctant about?"

"Nothing."

Mei Qianxue put her arm around Lu Chen's hand, and the two walked out of the room like Dao companions, heading for the Magic Skill Pavilion.

Although it was already night, every training room along the road was brightly lit.

"No wonder the demonic cultivators are strong; these people really are grinding hard."

Walking along the road, although it wasn't the first time seeing such a scene, Lu Chen's heart was still greatly shocked.

At that moment, a male cultivator not far away suddenly noticed them.

"Look, isn't that Senior Sister Mei Qianxue? She is one of the top candidates likely to be elected Holy Maiden this year."

Although the male cultivator's voice wasn't loud, in the quiet night it sounded especially clear, instantly drawing the attention of many disciples.

"It really is Senior Sister Mei Qianxue! The male cultivator beside her looks like Lu Chen?"

"That's exactly the top-tier male furnace Lu Chen?"

"They're heading toward the Magic Skill Pavilion; could Senior Sister be taking him to select a technique?"

"Is being a furnace really that enjoyable? I don't know if I can handle it."

"What good is being able to handle it if you don't have someone else's high-grade Yang Spiritual Root?"

The crowd chattered endlessly, and hearing it made Lu Chen a little anxious.

Senior Sister Mei is stunningly beautiful, with many suitors, but those suitors lacking a Yang Spiritual Root are basically turned away by her.

And because of his spiritual root attribute, everyone knows he is favored by Senior Sister Mei.

This already makes those people very jealous; if they continue to openly walk hand in hand, it will likely provoke their hostility.

Still, as the saying goes, demonic techniques erode the heart, and most cultivators practicing them have tempers that are easily provoked.

If he were to be targeted by someone because of walking this road tonight, the loss would outweigh any gain.

"Senior Sister, why not take the small path?"

Lu Chen thought of this and quickly suggested a detour.

Mei Qianxue, hearing his words, gave him a seductive, lingering stare.

"What, Junior Brother, do you still want to have a romp outdoors with Senior Sister?"

"No, no, Senior Sister, I just think the small path is faster."

Lu Chen's true thoughts naturally would not be revealed to the other party.

Upon hearing that, Mei Qianxue's eyes flickered slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

I thought she would respond, but she merely smiled faintly and did not reply.

After an agonizing walk, the two finally arrived before the Magic Skill Pavilion.

The Magic Skill Pavilion is entirely black and divided into five levels.

The first level is open to all disciples; the second requires inner-door disciples; the third and fourth levels are accessible only to core disciples.

The fifth and final level stores the sect's six great demonic techniques, accessible only to talents of Holy Son/Holy Maiden caliber.

Upon reaching the door, Mei Qianxue stopped, took a token from her storage bag, and handed it to Lu Chen.

"Take the token, go in and select a technique; remember you may choose only one."

"If you pick more than one, you'll have to spend the night with Senior Sister."

Lu Chen had just taken the token when he heard Mei Qianxue add a second sentence.

Upon hearing that, his hand's motion paused for a moment.

He is now only one step away from Establishing Foundation; if he were to break through during tonight's dual cultivation, wouldn't he end up being taken by her for bodily research?

Lu Chen has also witnessed how crazy demonic cultivators can be.

"Understood, Senior Sister."

He gave a bitter smile, took the token, and entered the Magic Skill Pavilion.

After entering, he did not rush to the third or fourth levels, but first took a look around the first and second levels.

For him now, a technique with good cultivation effect is not necessarily one of the higher-level demonic arts.

If a demonic technique has extremely severe side effects, its cultivation effect for him might not be bad either.

Holding that thought, Lu Chen examined every demonic technique volume.

But the more he looked, the more evident his disdainful expression became.

"Reduces lifespan by half a year only upon reaching Great Accomplishment?!"

"How is this only a minor effect on the foundation?!"

"Regressing by a minor realm is also called regression?!"

For these demonic techniques, he would pick up a volume only to put it down quickly.

After repeating this for a long time, he suddenly sighed, and the motion of his hand stopped.

Although the Demonic Sect is a Demonic Sect, to keep disciples from directly cultivating themselves to death, it is unlikely to place those cultivation techniques with enormous side effects on the lower levels.

To maximize the system's effect, one must seek those demonic arts with great side effects.

But to find such demonic arts, one probably needs to go up to the third or fourth floor.

Only those core disciples have the confidence and ability to cultivate those demonic arts that are both dangerous and opportunistic.

"Let's go up and take a look."

At night, the Demonic Arts Pavilion had few people; Lu Chen, holding his token, passed through smoothly and quickly reached the third floor.

The third and fourth floors, as the core disciples' level, store a great many cultivation methods, all of which are of third rank or higher.

He stood before the shelves on the third floor, his finger gliding over one demonic arts tome after another that emitted a faint glow; each time he passed over a book, an interface appeared before his eyes—that was the Reverse System's analysis of the cultivation method.

【Demonic art detected, Netherworld Ghost Step!】

【Original effect: Consumes killing qi to condense a Netherworld clone; the clone possesses a certain combat power. Repeated use may attract the Heavenly Dao's scrutiny, inviting heavenly tribulation.】

【Reverse effect: Consumes killing qi to condense a Netherworld clone; the clone possesses a certain combat power. Repeated use may attract the Heavenly Dao's blessing, bringing good fortune.】

【Demonic art detected, Blood Escape Technique!】

【Original effect: Burns essence blood to greatly increase escape speed; continuous release easily damages the foundation.】

【Reverse effect: Burns essence blood to greatly increase escape speed; continuous release can stabilize the foundation.

【Demonic art detected, Blood Sacrifice Grand Technique!】

"This is what demonic arts are all about!"

"Cultivating one heavenly circuit reduces lifespan by ten days; that is, spending about an hour to cultivate one heavenly circuit lets me gain ten days of lifespan. If I cultivate ten heavenly circuits in a day, that's gaining roughly half a year of lifespan!"

"Moreover, this manual not only affects appearance but also makes one easily irritable. If I cultivate it, wouldn't I become more handsome and also calm my mind?"

"Damn! Using the Blood Escape Technique actually stabilizes the foundation?"

Seeing the dazzling array of cultivation techniques before him, Lu Chen couldn't contain his joy.

Although the effect seems inferior to the demonic art granted by Empress Qi Luo, it is still remarkably impressive.

"However, I can only choose one of them; otherwise I'd have to spend the night with my senior sister."

"Forget it, forget it; can't be greedy, better to be steady."

"Although the other techniques are not bad either, to be safe I'll first pick an escape technique."

"I'll wait for a future opportunity to try other techniques."

After careful consideration, he made his decision.

"It's you, Blood Escape Technique."