Now that Long Xuan had solved the route of spiritual power circulation and the attributes of spiritual power, he still had no idea about the second element of his cultivation: the magical techniques.
Although the techniques in the treasure pavilion all had their own magical techniques, he could simply copy them all. However, he despised those magical techniques as being too weak and unsuitable for his Ten Absolute Body.
Magical techniques were the most complex part of cultivation. Long Xuan found himself stuck for a while and unable to progress further.
So, he decided to skip this part for now and focus on completing the third element of his cultivation: supplementary spiritual arts. These spiritual arts could be singular or multiple, with no limit in number, as long as they perfectly complemented his cultivation method.
Of course, Long Xuan did not intend to create just one supplementary spiritual art for the "Ten Absolute Scriptures". Due to time constraints, he would start with one spiritual art and create more when he had sufficient time in the future.
Long Xuan had many inspirations for spiritual arts, drawn from the anime novels he had read in his previous life. To create a self-made spiritual art, he first had to discard abilities that were impossible to achieve, such as spatial or time manipulation, or abilities that could destroy the world.
Spiritual arts were limited to abilities achievable through changes in spiritual power. The more powerful the ability, the more challenging it was to create it through spiritual power alone.
Therefore, when creating a self-made spiritual art, Long Xuan had to avoid aiming for the strongest ability possible, as it would likely be unattainable. There were very few abilities that could be executed through changes in spiritual power, making the task far from simple.
Furthermore, the matching spiritual art had to align 100% with the cultivation method, fully utilizing its characteristics to maximize its power. It wasn't just about coming up with a usable ability.
Additionally, the first matching spiritual art should primarily focus on offensive abilities. This further narrowed down the options, leaving Long Xuan with few divergent thoughts. Because of these limitations, Long Xuan quickly formulated an idea.
Since his cultivation method involved the five elements, a method unseen in this world, the initial idea for his spiritual art should incorporate all five elemental attributes simultaneously. This characteristic perfectly aligned with his cultivation method.
Spiritual arts capable of utilizing all five types of spiritual power simultaneously were known as combination skills. Even in a world where spiritual arts with multiple attributes existed, they were rare. This combination skill was likely to be more potent than single-attribute spiritual arts.
His idea was to gather spiritual power in his palm, rapidly rotate it, compress it continuously, and then form a highly compressed, rapidly rotating spiritual power sphere. Finally, he would throw it at his opponent to explode on impact.
If it were composed solely of a single type of spiritual power, this technique might not be very powerful and would be a common spiritual art that anyone could learn.
However, Long Xuan possessed spiritual power infused with all five elements. By injecting these five types of spiritual power into the spiritual power sphere, allowing them to complete a cycle of the five elements, and then rotating and compressing them, the explosion's power would be considerable.
Long Xuan couldn't estimate the exact power, but he anticipated that the attack would be formidable.
Moreover, this spiritual art was a perfect match for the "Ten Absolute Scriptures". Both involved the five elements, unseen in this world. Their alignment was undoubtedly 100%, tailor-made for his technique.
Satisfied with his idea, Long Xuan nodded. He was confident that this technique would deliver impressive power, so he decided to adopt it.
The principle behind this spiritual art was straightforward, requiring only a few words to describe it as a spiritual art.
The primary challenge lay in the practitioner's need for exceptionally precise control over spiritual power and strong soul power.
As an alchemist, Long Xuan possessed a robust soul power as a prerequisite and had developed highly controlled spiritual power through his mastery of fire. He fulfilled both requirements.
Therefore, it took Long Xuan very little time to research and develop this spiritual art—just one month.
Looking at the spiritual art he named "Five Elements Jade" in his hands, Long Xuan felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
His self-created "Five Elements Jade" comprised four styles based on various circulation methods derived from the Five Elements Theory:
Mutual Generation Cycle: This style prioritized endurance, continuously producing five elements jades with strong stamina.
Reciprocal Cycle: Known for its unstoppable attack power, this style generated five elements jades full of momentum.
Rejection Cycle: This style focused on explosive power, causing significant damage upon impact with its explosive five elements jades.
Single Attribute Style: Named "Jiyu", this style featured five elements jades with only a single attribute. Each had unique characteristics but comparatively weaker power.
This spiritual art marked Long Xuan's first creation based entirely on his own ideas and efforts. Despite its simplicity, its power was impressive.
He had effortlessly shattered the Qian family's treasure pavilion in the illusion, demonstrating its effectiveness.
Considering that this was achieved in his current low realm with limited spiritual power—only a fusion of two attributes—who knew the potential power of this technique once his spiritual power encompassed all five attributes in the future?
Excited by the possibilities, Long Xuan's only frustration stemmed from his inability to devise magical techniques for the "Ten Absolute Scriptures".
He was unwilling to adopt the ordinary techniques' magical techniques and struggled to articulate his conceptualized magical techniques in words. Sitting in his chair with a troubled expression, he found himself at an impasse.
"Young friend Long? Are you in?"
An elderly voice sounded from outside the inn's door.
The voice was familiar—belonging to Old Taoist Li, who often resided nearby when he set up his stall.
Had it not been for the formidable Gu refined by Old Taoist Li, Long Xuan might not have acquired the Eye of Heaven so early on.
Without the Eye of Heaven, creating his own techniques might have taken much longer. In that sense, Long Xuan owed him a debt of gratitude.
"You always manage to find me when I'm staying at the inn. Your sources are impressive," Long Xuan remarked as he opened the door to welcome the visitor inside before closing it behind them.
Old Taoist Li had a knack for connecting with people and enjoyed being sociable. Long Xuan couldn't fathom how he managed to track him down even when he tried to lay low at the inn. It was somewhat exasperating.
"Don't say that, as if I made a special effort to locate you."
"Everyone in the market knows that you, the masked hero, frequent this place. Rumors are rife that you've taken a fancy to the Qian family's eldest daughter. Otherwise, why would you be here every day without a home to return to? Are you burning through extra spirit stones?" Li Laodao teased.
"Nonsense! None of that is true. It's all baseless slander against me!"
"Who's spreading such malicious rumors? How dare they besmirch someone's reputation without any basis!" Long Xuan retorted defensively, his expression betraying his annoyance.
"Why get so worked up? It's only natural to appreciate beauty. I won't mock you for that."
"Speaking of which, ever since Qian Jinjin stopped wearing her veil, her beauty has captivated all the talented individuals. Many admire her, so you're not alone in that regard. There's no shame in admitting it," Li Laodao teased, his tone playful.
Exhausted by the conversation, Long Xuan conceded defeat. He was too weary to argue or explain himself further. To justify oneself was to obscure the truth; sometimes, silence spoke louder than words.
"Well, there's no need for pleasantries. Just tell me your purpose. I'm busy and don't have time for idle gossip," Long Xuan interjected, cutting off any further digressions and steering the conversation back on track.