First, Zhao Xuanqi connected his consciousness to the Rebirth Jade to check his accumulated Merit. Inside the Ghost City, with its frequent anomalies and constant battles, he had been so focused on killing Evil Spirits that he hadn’t yet had a chance to check the change in his Merit Points.
Merit: Two Benevolences, Six Merits, Seven Credits
Before entering the Ghost City, he had spent Six Merits to redeem the second part of the Golden Fire Heavenly Ding Skill, leaving him with only nine Merits and one Credit. This meant that during his time in the Ghost City, he had earned a total of one Benevolence, seven Merits, and six Credits in Merit Points.
This was a considerable sum. Back in the Divine General world, he had only received a single Benevolence in Merit Points for killing a Bloodline Species.
However, upon seeing this number, Zhao Xuanqi frowned slightly. ’I thought I would have earned even more Merit Points this time.’
After all, before heading to the Huang Mansion, he had killed a large number of ordinary Evil Spirits, as well as one intelligent Evil Spirit and one special Evil Spirit. Logically, if the source of the Ghost City had been killed, he shouldn’t have received only this much Merit.
’It seems I didn’t destroy the source of the Ghost City. That final strike probably only damaged its foundation, making it unable to sustain the Ghost City any longer.’
Zhao Xuanqi pondered, recalling the details of his final strike. His Talisman Seal had hit the statue at the heart of the Ghost City, but part of the power had been dispersed among the surrounding Evil Spirits. A few of the Evil Spirits, already severely injured, couldn’t withstand the shared damage and died instantly. The Merit he gained must have come from those affected intelligent Evil Spirits.
’The source of the Ghost City wasn’t completely destroyed... does that mean the event could happen again?’
Zhao Xuanqi thought to himself, then focused his senses, but he couldn’t perceive that subtle danger.
’It seems the Ghost City event won’t happen again anytime soon.’
Zhao Xuanqi relaxed a little, then continued to ponder.
’The situation in the Ghost City was too chaotic, making it impossible to hide many of my abilities. I revealed too much. And now that something has gone wrong with the source of the Ghost City, the memory blocks have been lifted. Disciples from every School are returning with their memories intact, so my existence is bound to attract a great deal of attention. Dealing with the other Schools and the imperial court should be manageable, but the Red Heart Sect will definitely investigate and scrutinize my identity.’
’If the top figures in the sect investigate me personally, I won’t be able to hide who I am now. I’ll definitely be exposed.’
Zhao Xuanqi thought to himself. He had revealed a great deal. If the sect had its top masters screen the Blood Strengthening Realm disciples one by one, it would be very difficult for him to hide his physical condition.
However, he didn’t want to expose his identity.
This body came from Guming County and had a very clear history of development. If he were exposed, there would be many things he couldn’t explain. He was afraid some of the experts in the Red Heart Sect might harbor malicious intentions. As the saying goes, one must always be on guard against others.
But hiding his identity wouldn’t be easy either. The best way would be to leave the Red Heart Sect immediately. With his current strength, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to make his way in the Jianghu.
But he didn’t want to do that. Once he left the Red Heart Sect and was branded a "traitor," he would be separated from the "fortune" of the Red Heart Sect and the Spirit Official Dao. Then, the corresponding Celestial Secret would once again conceal the top-tier Cultivation Techniques, and it would cost him a much greater price to obtain their subsequent parts. Besides, the Red Heart Sect itself was an excellent platform.
’I have to find a way to hide my strength. At the very least, I need to fool the sect’s experts during their investigation.’
Zhao Xuanqi sank into thought, his consciousness slowly connecting with the Rebirth Jade.
He didn’t have a good method for concealing himself, but that didn’t mean one didn’t exist in this world. He couldn’t look into the top-tier Cultivation Techniques hidden by the Celestial Secret, but among the second-tier ones, there might be a suitable option.
’I need a Cultivation Technique that someone in the Blood Strengthening Realm can practice, has strong concealment effects, and that I can master quickly...’
Zhao Xuanqi silently set his conditions and began to quickly browse through the second-tier Cultivation Techniques that weren’t obscured by the Celestial Secret.
He couldn’t view the specific details of these Cultivation Techniques, but without the interference of the Celestial Secret, he could read their simple summaries.
About an hour later, a Cultivation Technique caught Zhao Xuanqi’s eye.
This Cultivation Technique was called "Hundred-Star Pill Battle."
The essence of this Cultivation Technique was to condense one’s Primordial Qi into the major acupoints throughout the body. Through constant nourishment and condensation, the Primordial Qi within these important acupoints would form a "Pill."
On one hand, this could greatly increase the body’s Primordial Qi reserves. On the other hand, when all hundred "stars" were released at once, its explosive power was extremely strong when paired with the corresponding Techniques.
Moreover, when not in combat, the Primordial Qi was gathered within the acupoints, making it very difficult to perceive and granting an extremely strong aura-concealing ability.
However, this method had one drawback: it was very difficult to practice. Controlling Primordial Qi and gathering it within the acupoints was not something a Martial Artist below the Innate realm could easily do. It required a certain level of talent, and the entry-level stage took a very long time to polish.
However, for Zhao Xuanqi, this was not a problem.
The cultivation method of this technique was somewhat similar to the Hundred Dragon Acupoints Method from the Harmony realm of the Hundred Beasts Fist. However, the Hundred Dragon Acupoints Method was even more domineering and difficult than this technique.
After all, one simply involved gathering Primordial Qi to nurture it within the acupoints, while the other forcefully broke through the limits of the acupoints to release terrifying potential. The dangers involved were naturally incomparable.