Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 194 - 139: Elemental Break Technique! Visitors from the Spirit Realm?

Chapter 194: Chapter 139: Elemental Break Technique! Visitors from the Spirit Realm?

Zhao Xing nodded, his expression as cold as ever, then turned and left.

Lu Chang’sheng glanced at him, then turned back into the house. Following the experience that Zhao Xing had shared, he began practicing the Root Source section of the Elemental Refining Technique.

But it wasn’t long before he sensed something was off.

If it had been about the Qi Cultivation Chapter, he’d naturally be clueless.

But ever since his Root Bone Talent had been amplified by the Golden Finger, his comprehension of Martial Dao was truly exceptional.

That was why he could detect a thread of anomaly within this Root Source Technique.

Was it an accident?

Or intentional?

In the night, the flickering lamplight fell on Lu Chang’sheng’s face, making his features seem to shift between shadow and flame.

He had always followed his instincts—before he figured out what was going on, there was no way he’d continue cultivating this technique.

······

In the blink of an eye, more than two weeks had passed.

"Going by the Martial Arts Chapter traits of the Elemental Break Technique, with Lu Chang’sheng’s cultivation speed, he should be almost finished by now."

In a small courtyard within the market town, Zhao Xing sipped his tea, thinking to himself.

Lu Chang’sheng had stepped into the Qi Cultivation stage after all. If Zhao Xing kept staying at the Lu Mansion, he’d end up paying too much attention and might just reveal his true intentions.

He’d made that mistake before. So when it came to blending into his persona, he’d learned to fine-tune the details.

Right now he was just a Immortal Sect disciple repaying a favor, no malice toward Lu Chang’sheng, but not especially warm either, so he’d turned down Chang’sheng’s invitation and found lodgings here in town.

After that thought, he stood up, left, and went to the Lu Mansion. Before long, he saw Lu Chang’sheng.

But when he learned about Lu Chang’sheng’s progress in cultivation, his heart skipped a beat.

Had he caught on?

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why the other still hadn’t even managed to get the Root Source Technique started.

"Is Scholar Lu trying to play me?" Zhao Xing’s thoughts spun rapidly, a flash of annoyance crossing his face.

"You’re pretty well-known in the whole Great Yuan lands for your martial talent. By rights, you should be able to get started with this."

To be honest, Zhao Xing actually envied that kind of talent.

If only the Spirit Realm still revered Martial Dao above all, that kind of talent would make you a true prodigy.

"I wouldn’t dare. It’s just, every other Root Source Technique I’ve practiced was smooth going, but with this one, I always feel restless, can’t seem to get in the right state of mind," Lu Chang’sheng explained hastily.

Zhao Xing suddenly felt a headache coming on.

With Lu Chang’sheng putting it like that, he had an idea—this kid probably had particularly sensitive Spiritual Sense.

People like that would show extraordinary reactions in the face of danger.

When cultivators reached the higher stages, that sort of spiritual intuition would be strengthened immensely—some could even sense a crisis days or even years in advance.

He hadn’t expected Lu Chang’sheng to be one of them.

"It’s rare, but not unheard of. Usually shows up when building your Immortal Foundation,"

Zhao Xing soothed.

When Lu Chang’sheng still looked hesitant, Zhao Xing frowned. "You’re overthinking. With my strength and status, if I wanted you dead, why would I bother with all this bullshit?"

He said this and struck out casually— a ball of fire roared out over thirty feet and slammed into a tree, leaving a blackened mark.

Pulling off something like that so effortlessly genuinely shook Lu Chang’sheng.

Even Meng Ping and that evil cultivator surnamed Mo couldn’t pull that trick.

If either of them could have fired off a Flame Technique like that, he and his would never have managed to kill them.

"If you don’t want to learn, then forget it. I’ve repaid my debt—it’s time for me to leave."

"Immortal—"

Zhao Xing didn’t give Lu Chang’sheng a chance, directly controlling the air and taking off.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t feel particularly moved by this.

Any Innate Martial Artist had some basic ability to control the air— just couldn’t do it for long and not very fast either. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Naturally, a Qi Cultivator much stronger than Innate Martial Artists had no difficulty with this.

"The hook’s been set. Won’t be long before we see the results."

Zhao Xing hadn’t gone far.

He stopped a few miles away, changed his disguise, and quietly slipped back into town to wait for things to play out.

He didn’t believe that someone as pure as Lu Chang’sheng could possibly resist the temptation of an Immortal Technique.

His leaving was just about the right timing—he’d already stayed here longer than usual. Any longer and it’d look suspicious.

So, every once in a while he would sneak around to the Lu Mansion, just keeping a distant watch on Lu Chang’sheng, assessing his progress purely by small external signs.

The true name of the Elemental Refining Technique was actually ’Elemental Break Technique’, which could rapidly burn through your life force to boost your cultivation, leaving you half man, half ghost.

Rumor was it was created by a Martial Dao prodigy—his talent was incredible, but sadly, his root bone was flawed, keeping him from stepping from Martial Saint into Qi Cultivation.

A once-praised genius, what everyone called a ’model child’, toppled in an instant into a deeply awkward predicament.

Even contemporaries he’d once left far behind entered the Immortal Dao thanks to their Spirit Roots. Decades later, he faced his still-youthful peers with a head of white hair and a wrecked mind.

So, after torturing himself for years, he devised this technique—burning his own Life Essence to break into the Immortal Path.

Once Life Essence is lost, you’ll never fill the gap again.

Just like a levee giving way.

You can’t patch the hole.

You can only keep burning, so then he turned to the outside world to replenish his Life Essence.

At first he tried monsters, but found their life force was too different from humans. In the end, descending further into madness, he set his sights on other cultivators.

If this method could be cultivated forever, then maybe it really would be a high-grade Immortal Technique, abandoning Spirit Root Talent to forge a new path for the masses.

But once you advanced far enough, this technique would eat through all your Life Essence and kill you outright; later on, it would even erode your mind.

That’s why it’s called Elemental Break Technique—a true method of the evil cultivator, always purged on sight.

Cultivation is for longevity, so once people learned of its flaws, no matter how fast it worked, everyone despised it.

And Zhao Xing was using this very technique, to bait the ignorant.

The Elemental Break Technique is just that tempting.

First, it lets you ignore Spirit Root Talent and step into the Immortal Dao.

Second, since you burn through Life Essence, your progress sky-rockets in the early stages—almost as fast as someone with a Grade-B Spirit Root.

For those who don’t know the price, those two traits are almost irresistible.

Once, Zhao Xing fell into the hands of a mid-stage Qi Cultivator, and managed to slip away thanks to this very technique.

That cultivator was a recluse, didn’t know what the Elemental Break Technique was, and couldn’t resist the temptation.

After just a few years, his skyrocketing progress drew the notice of a small power, who wanted to bring him into their sect. In the midst of his glory, he was found out for using an evil method, and was executed on the spot.

"My Zhao Xing’s technique isn’t so easy to take, is it?"

Zhao Xing chuckled. The bland tea in his cup suddenly tasted much sweeter.

Just then, a large bird suddenly landed on the window sill.

"A message?"

Zhao Xing’s eyes turned sour with annoyance.

The bird was a message bird, especially used for passing information.

For them, Sound Transmission Shells were far too expensive—no way you’d just walk around with one, so mostly they had to make do with this mortal technique.

They were all too familiar with this method—no need to guess, it had to be those evil cultivators from Jinghua Prefecture.

But in Zhao Xing’s eyes, this kind of behavior was risky.

Nip trouble in the bud.

Zhao Xing had survived this long by obsessing over details. If there was any risk of exposure, he always pressed pause.

So, before coming here, he’d already sent word to those in Jinghua Prefecture—don’t send me anything. When there’s progress, I’ll contact you first.

But when he saw the letter, Zhao Xing’s face turned distinctly grim.

"New developments at the boundary between the two realms—looks like someone from the Spirit Realm has crossed over."

Immortal Sect?

Or another evil cultivator?

For them, this was critical news.

It’d decide whether they just lay low, or disappeared for good!