The two fog spiritual roots exercises they found were low-level exercises, and not perfect, the highest they can cultivate to is early stage Jindan, afterwards, a breakthrough was impossible. Zhou Yun Sheng examined them for a few days then threw them away.
Then there was the "Nine chaotic circles body refining technique", this cultivation method could be described as extravagant. The first circle was a skin refining technique, it required ten thousand years' worth of spiritual essence, ten thousand years of Zhi [purplish or brown mushroom with great properties] flesh, an extract of each of the five elements, ten thousand years' worth of Bao spiritual fruit, and other priceless treasures blended into a liquid drug. After being immersed in it for 7×7 or 49 days, your skin would become invincible.
The second circle was a bone refining technique, it required a Devil Pill, Bone Purifying Pill, Condensed Jade Pill, a Gold Pill and more than a dozen more of the top level medicinal pills, then the bones would be refined into immortal bones. Don't even mention how difficult this stage was, collecting the ingredients for just one of those medicinal pills was a very long process.
The third circle was for hardening the five viscera and six bowels, the fourth circle was to harden the eight arteries, the fifth circle to refine the spiritual openings, the sixth circle to refine the dantian, the seventh circle to refine the Zifu, the eighth circle to refine the Yin sprit, the ninth circle to refine the Yang spirit, each circle required extremely precious spiritual herbs or medicinal pills, otherwise it would result in last minute failure.
However, once you cultivated the ninth circle, you'd have immortal flesh, every part of your body would be indestructible, and you would be turned into a god-like weapon.
After reading the jade book, Zhou Yun Sheng had to sigh for the son of fate's indulgence from heavenly law. With this cultivation method, forget about the ninth circle, even just practicing to the seventh circle would make you the most powerful person in Grand Heaven World. No matter if it was 4×9 tribulations, 6×9 tribulations, or 9×9 Heavenly Tribulations, they could easily be defeated.
Fortunately, Zong Yi had taken away the cultivation method, basically taking away a big opportunity for Song Yufei. However, for the protagonist this was an opportunity, in the hands of a cannon fodder, it was a disaster. If you temporarily put away the fact that this cultivation method was against the natural order, even the names of these strange medicinal pills and spiritual herbs could not be found in Grand Heaven World.
Zhou Yun Sheng returned the jade book to Zong Yi and sighed, "This method is good, but I'm afraid the required spiritual herbs can't be found here. It's incomplete, no use taking it."
Zong Yi gave it a slight once over, then said in an unconcerned tone, "Master will refine the medicinal pills, master can also find the spiritual herbs. From the spirit world to the demon world, there's no place master cannot go. Small disciple is thinking too much, practice the first circle first. Heavenly law doesn't tolerate the two of us, before you even get to Jindan Qi, you will probably experience 9×9 Heavenly Tribulations, so this body refining technique is useful."
Zhou Yun Sheng nodded thoughtfully. He was all too clear on how determined heavenly law was to kill him, not only Jindan Qi, probably every breakthrough in the future would be punished by 9×9 Heavenly Tribulations. Heavenly law bullied the weak while cowering from the strong, it couldn't do anything to his lover, so it picked on him to make up for it.
He would let it pick on him for now, but sooner or later, he would cut off its hands.
Seeing his small disciple's suddenly ferocious, then suddenly contemptuous, then suddenly sneering, then suddenly richly adorable expressions, Zong Yi's heart couldn't help but tremble, wanting to pull the boy up onto his knee to hug and pinch him.
The medicines required for the first circle wasn't precious to Zong Yi, he took them out from his ring, placing them one by one in the shattered jade spiritual pool. After waiting for 7×7 or 49 days, his small disciple's skin really did become lustrous like jade, yet tough and matchless. Then he led them to Grand Heaven World's Great Fog Border to cultivate.
They first went to the hallucinogenic fog border, most of the cultivators who entered this place were trapped by illusions, unable to break away, eventually dying from using up all their spiritual energy. The fog here not only reflected light to form a life-like mirage, it also reflected the hidden secrets in the cultivators' heart, leading them to produce internal demons.
They were not killed by external forces, they also tortured themselves to death.
Zhou Yun Sheng wandered in the fog for two years, appreciating the countless demons and monsters, he moved on after he fully absorbed the fog's spiritual energy.
Then they visited the Devil Realm's Poisonous Miasma Land. Here had perennial poisonous fog, its toxins not only corroded the cultivator's body, it also damaged their dantian. Even worse, it attached itself to the cultivator's Yuanshen, slowly draining away their life force over time.
"It sounds scary, but you only need to cover the surface of your body with a layer of spiritual energy to isolate yourself, then the poisonous fog becomes negligible. The fog's damage to a cultivator is really limited." Zhou Yun Sheng came out from the poison fog after standing in it for 49 days and reported.
Zong Yi waved his hand, "You need to stand in it for another 49 days."
Zhou Yun Sheng complied silently, he stood in the fog for another 49 days, but on the last day, his face suddenly paled and his lips turned purple. When he finally saw Zong Yi's silhouette appear in the poison fog, he was weak and half kneeling on the ground.
Although he'd covered the surface of his body with a layer of spiritual energy, his skin and robe was still covered with the water droplets, making the poison fog somehow penetrate his defenses and invade his body. This process was so slow and noiseless, he actually hadn't noticed until the last minute.
Zong Yi immediately embraced him, fed him a grain of Purge Pill, then gave him some of his own spiritual power to help him dissolve the toxins in his body.
"Feel better?" He tenderly touched his small disciple's cheek.
"Much better." Zhou Yun Sheng nodded and laughed softly, "This poisonous fog can unexpectedly attach itself to spiritual energy, as long as I absorb aura, I couldn't avoid poison damage. But, is there a cultivator in this world who doesn't need to absorb spiritual energy? No, so this is the most basic yet the most powerful way a fog spiritual roots cultivator can fight, by refining his own fog to attach to spiritual energy."
Who said fog spiritual roots was the most useless and weakest spiritual roots? When they really understood the horror of fog, they would never think so again.
Fog was liquefied gas, yet also vaporized liquid, it could be as tangible as intangible, or as intangible as tangible. It was born out of thin air, spreading everywhere in the blink of an eye. Its greatest characteristic was diffusion, invasion, and attachment, seemingly harmless, but it could mix the power of the five elements together to form a very destructive weapon.
It was actually a substance that could encompass everything, even without a physical form, it could cause devastating damage to the cultivation base.
Zhou Yun Sheng smiled, he took out a jade book and slowly engraved a few words: Fog Arts. One, convert fog; two, fog convert; three, convert fog.
These words were repeated. Combined together, there was no way to make heads or tails of it, but Zong Yi just glanced over it slightly with his spiritual awareness and suddenly nodded, "Well done."
"You can understand it?" Zhou Yun Sheng raised his eyebrows.
Zong Yi opened up his robe and wrapped his small disciple in his arms, then slowly said, "First convert fog, make mist, compress spiritual energy into a liquid fog form in your field, then confront your enemies in this field for half the work, twice the effect. Two fog convert, turn your body into fog, making your physical body incorporeal, you can hide, attack, escape; Three, convert fog… …"
Here Zong Yi's eyes brightened and he sighed admiringly, "Make all living things into fog, if you cultivate to this point, as long as you raise your hand, anything can become intangible, provided that the cultivation base of the cultivator or device is lower than yours. You could dissipate them into fog instantly with a touch. It's the most powerful technique master has ever seen in his life. So master said 'Well done'."
Zhou Yun Sheng engraved the jade book while nodding, the contents he was recording and Zong Yi's interpretation were basically the same. He was completely immersed in his own mind, constantly modifying the jade book pressed against his forehead with his soul until it was perfect.
Zong Yi took him away from Devil Realm Poisonous Miasma Land, found a spiritual energy rich Immortal Cave, wrapped him in his arms and settled down. The two sat like this for three years.
Three years later, Zhou Yun Sheng had fully engraved the jade book and handed it to Zong Yi, smiling, "Help me edit."
Zong Yi carefully read the fog conversion article and added in a time and space law. Once the two laws were fused, those who cultivated this method could become fog spirits with a range of thousands of miles, the whole world was their field. When they concealed themselves, no one could find their trail, and they could even turn themselves into water vapor to attach themselves to any cultivator's clothes or magic tools, to come and go as they pleased without boundaries.
Zhou Yun Sheng took the jade book and meditated on it for a long time, then asked, "Since it can attach to the bodily surface of cultivators, can it invade their dantian or Zifu through spiritual energy?" As for what he would do after the invasion, the answer was self-evident.
The more he perfected the method, the more treacherous and unpredictable it became, it seemed to become less like a righteous sect cultivation method, and more like a devil sect method.
Zong Yi was also aware of this, but he didn't pay it any mind, he rubbed the back of his small disciple's head and said, "You should be able to, but you also need to confuse the cultivator's sanity to succeed. Know this, it's dangerous behavior to enter someone's internal organs, their Yuanshen can attack and kill you at any moment."
Zhou Yun Sheng nodded, but thought: I only need to draw poisonous fog into the Yuanshen to destroy it, then it's no longer dangerous. The fog itself is unpredictable, because of its source, I can produce an unnatural and matchless cultivation method. Once I cultivate to its end, I could let out a fog that can instantly kill untold numbers of cultivators in a radius of thousands of miles.
Fog spiritual roots weren't junk spiritual roots, this time, heavenly law would face severe despair.
——————-
They traveled the Great Fog Border, perfecting the cultivation method little by little. In the final two years, Zong Yi brought his small disciple to Grand Heaven World's most spiritual energy abundant and most dangerous immortal mountain for experience.
Because the spiritual energy was excessively rich and compressed, it became tiny droplets suspended in the air, it was also perennially shrouded in white fog in the center, where even objects five meters away were not visible. The areas where the spiritual energy was more agitated formed a strong spiritual whirlpool that could entangle a Dujie Qi master and twist them into pieces.
Therefore, even if the immortal mountain had rich spiritual energy, very few cultivators would dare visit it.
Zong Yi pointed to the thick fog in front of them and said, "Absorb that. Suck in as much as you can, master will stand here to guard you."
Zhou Yun Sheng licked his lip and hoarsely said, "Master, although this place is abundant in spiritual energy, enough for me to absorb, I have a faster cultivation exercise I wanted to try."
"What cultivation method?"
"Dual cultivation." Zhou Yun Sheng stared at his lover with hot eyes. He had already endured for eight years, it really hadn't been easy, and he'd never been the celibate type.
Zong Yi fixed his eyes on him, his eyes darkening.
Zhou Yun Sheng saw his solemn expression and stiff body, like he couldn't accept turning his back on the ethics of mentor and student, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: This reincarnation of his lover not only has face paralysis, he doesn't understand amorous feelings, too obsessed with cultivation. What an unlucky break ah! Guess he has to wait a while longer.
He waved his hand, about to say that he was joking, when he saw Zong Yi hand over a jade book, his voice hoarse, "This is the dual cultivation method I selected, memorize all the positions for when we practice again."
Zhou Yun Sheng took the jade book and pressed it against his forehead, then his mouth couldn't help but twitch. This so-called method was actually a number of mating poses, they looked very wild, very pornographic, the degree of shame was simply enough to break through the horizon.
If the man hadn't prepared in advance, how could he take out a dual cultivation jade book the moment he said he wanted one? While he was recording the cultivation method, the man had watched him from the side, this idea clearly already well ripened in his mind. He couldn't guess how many times the man had browsed through it! Zhou Yun Sheng ferociously glared at Zong Yi, sure enough, bad habits were hard to break, no matter who the man became, he would always be a big sex fiend, just occasionally his openness changed to cold on the outside but passionate on the inside.
Zong Yi's heart grew hot at the look of his glaring, glittering peach eyes, but his expression was even more solemn, he asked, "You memorized it?"
Zhou Yun Sheng hesitatingly nodded, but he still got up.
"That's good." Zong Yi laid out an array, isolating them from all outside nuisances, then he stripped off his clothes and sat cross – legged on the ground, he straightforwardly beckoned to his small disciple, "Come into my arms."