Chapter 239: Bloodline and ashes

To be perfectly honest, Huang Liyue was rather convinced that Cao Yun would not be able to master the technique that much. Even if he did, he had no way to duplicate her bloodline and even manifesting his Qi within his own body should be quite a challenge. Over time, he could probably resolve most issues but he still wouldn't have the right blood for the technique which had been tailored to the Huang family by Huang Liyue herself. She hoped to one day transmit this technique to another generation of the Huang family. But for now, she still found it lacking.

Hopefully though, Cao Yun would be able to discern some things in it to allow him to improve his stealth. Besides, the young man had given her an altered version of his mind cultivation that had had immediate, albeit faint, effects. Huang Cixi had not given her mind cultivation to Huang Liyue but as her bodyguard, she had still seen parts of it. And clearly, what Cao Yun had given her was different. But it was perfectly tailored to the problem she was faced with.

Mastering the full version in a short period would be impossible. However, with this watered-down version, she could probably reap many benefits in a matter of months, or even weeks. Already, she could feel the two characters shining in her Chamber of Medicine Field. Besides, the concepts of the chambers of a Dantian was very well known to her. The 'Nine Chambers of Life Fire' blood cultivation made use of the nine chambers of the Middle Dantian as well.

While Huang Liyue was circulating the method she had received and was witnessing the soothing effect on her Soul Embryo, Cao Yun was reading the 'Ashen Feather Seal' manual he had just received. It was obvious that this manual had been written by Huang Liyue herself. She had taken inspiration from many different techniques. Cao Yun had read some introductions on stealth techniques when he had looked at 'Locking the Seven and Stopping the Waves'. Right now, he was able to see some of those notions inside this new technique.

The concept behind the technique was very similar to a seal, hence the name. The idea was rather simple and yet ingenious. Mastering this technique consisted in manifesting one's Qi in the form of ashes to then coat the acupoints from the inside with it. In fact, the goal would be to coat the entire body and even soul with those ashes. As such, nothing could get out of the body, either Qi or soul. But since those ashes were literally Qi, the practitioner could easily turn them back into pure Qi and get rid of the technique at any moment.

So it would be a kind of seal that the cultivator using it could break at any moment. Actually, he could also only partially release it in some places to keep some of his stealth and still attack, or attack for only an instant before disappearing again. In a sense, that was similar to his own technique, the 'Locking the Seven' part consisted indeed in locking the seven apertures of the head. For example, it entailed to reduce breathing to erase one's presence.

Huang Liyue had even given him the chapter about improving one's senses, 'Burning the Cinders of the Six Openings'. She felt that this would be the most beneficial to Cao Yun. Since Huang Cixi had asked her to protect the young man, and because she was reluctant to, she had decided to give him this technique. In a sense, she would be protecting him. Moreover, by helping him out of this world as well, she would have completely resolved their karmic bond. But she had no intention of helping him any further than that. Keeping him alive was enough.

'Ashen Feather Seal' was made up of several more chapters: 'New Life Through Ashes', 'Covering the Mud with Cinders' and 'Blood Withers While Life Flourishes'.

'New Life Through Ashes' was the very basis and consisted in turning Qi into ashes. Of course, they were not mere ashes. They had to be very special to seal any disturbance from leaving the body. As such, there were a few mantras and mental images. Obviously, most images were based around the True Fiery Fenghuang. It was evident that this technique had been created for the Huang family. Probably, they would work by activating the True Fiery Fenghuang bloodline in the cultivator so produce these specific ashes. Although he could try to imitate them, Cao Yun would not reach the same level any time soon.

However, Cao Yun had energized the Chamber of Jade. Thus his intuition and wisdom were enhanced. Even compared with a Spirit Warrior, his mind had an incredible ability to get in new information and make connections with what he already knew. His Shen character was made of fire and the Drop of Wrath was also full of Fire element, so was his blood now. Instead of using the bloodline of the True Fiery Fenghuang which he had not, he could maybe use the new blood that was coursing through his veins.

The problem was that he had little experience in terms of Qi Manifestation even inside his body. In theory, it should be possible because he could control his Qi within. After all, Qi Manifestation was an enhanced form of Qi control outside of one's body. Yet the idea had never come to mind. And there was a reason for it, manifesting one's Qi within could damage the tissues inside. If someone were to manifest a literal sword of Qi inside his own organs, he would probably suffer the consequences.

But once more, it wasn't really a problem for Cao Yun because he had the Po character that enabled him to have a better control over his Qi. By combining it with Yi and even the intent of the Drop of Wrath, controlling his Qi within his own body was very easy. Thus, this chapter should not be a problem. From what Cao Yun could gather from his reading, he would be able to manifest traces of ashes in a matter of days.

Then, 'Covering the Mud with Cinders' was even easier. In fact, this was the easiest chapter probably. It merely consisted in sending those ashes in specific locations to seal one's presence. Furthermore, since Cao Yun had almost opened all of his acupoints, sending Qi manifested ashes to them would not be a problem at all. There were other points though that would be an issue. For example, he could not easily send them into his own soul for now. Although he had some understanding of souls, he was not to the level of a Spirit Warrior at all. And there were even some other points that Cao Yun had not even discovered. Only after fully mastering the 9th-grade Mortal realm, could he fully seal his Qi within his body.

But by combining this technique with his understanding of 'Locking the Seven' and by controlling his Qi with his mind cultivation, he could still reach a great level of stealth.

Finally, 'Blood Withers While Life Flourishes' was probably the most complicated chapter. Indeed, it made full use of the bloodline to even warp other people's perception. It was very complicated for Cao Yun to understand because it related heavily to both soul and bloodline. Although his mind cultivation had some relationship with his soul, Cao Yun had no Soul Embryo and he had never directly worked on his soul. Until now, he had always used his mind cultivation to form some connections with his souls, nothing more.

Maybe his new blood could replace the bloodline necessary for this last chapter, but even then, Cao Yun had just obtained this blood. Even the 'Cultivation of Wrath' did not mention what he could do with this blood or how he could cultivate it. This was completely uncharted territories. By seeing the blood cultivation of the Huang family, he could maybe find some clues. But this was one of their most precious secrets. Although no one outside of the Huang family could cultivate it, they were afraid of people finding weaknesses in it.

For such powerful or intimate techniques, it was not rare to be hidden from the public.

-

The winds were still very violent outside so both Cao Yun and Huang Liyue worked on the techniques they had just received from the other.

Cao Yun had been right. In three days, he had been able to form some tiny particles of ashes from his own Qi. His understanding of array formations had been very useful. Manifesting Qi was in reality some form of array formation. By circulating one's Qi in a specific way, it could gain new properties that could then be used in the physical world. The most basic Qi Manifestation was allowed by circulating one's Qi according to their own martial arts. But a cultivator could willfully control his Qi Manifestation if he had enough understanding of what he was trying to achieve. Usually, experts in a martial art could easily produce any Qi Manifestation because the Qi circulation of that specific art had become intuitive.

On the other hand, Huang Liyue had been able to reduce the pain in her soul. In fact, she was now able to see a possibility of not only healing completely but even breaking through. This mind cultivation, even a small part of it, was truly incredible. Now she wanted to ask Cao Yun for the full version. But Huang Cixi also had it. And she was not going to master it in a matter of weeks or months. So instead of asking to the young man against whom she had mixed feelings, she would wait and ask Huang Cixi, even if she had to wait several years.

Unfortunately, her recovery was still too superficial and she could barely use her spiritual senses. Besides, each use would put further strain on her Soul Embryo. So as much as she could, she would avoid it. Even Qi Manifestation was dangerous in her condition. Initially, she had believed that she would get better over time, but apparently the damage was way worse than she had thought. The more she waited, the more powerless she would become. Leaving this dead world was really an emergency.

Looking at Cao Yun, she was able to feel that his presence had decreased by quite a lot. His breathing and his heartbeat were almost nonexistent. But even his Qi was barely leaving his body. The first part was due to another stealth technique that she didn't know. But the extreme decrease in Qi was clearly thanks to her own art. Of course, this surprised Huang Liyue. In three days, he had been able to form some ashes to seal his acupoints!

It was no wonder he was so valued by the Wubei Sect. This young man was a true genius. Of course, she didn't know that Cao Yun had energized his Chamber of Jade and had gained an unfair advantage over everyone else. But even considering that, he was very quick in learning new techniques. Most likely, it came from the fact that he did in fact love to learn new arts. Each technique or martial art had its own specificities but also the same principles. And seeing what was new and what he already knew but was in a different form were things he loved to do. Comparing completely different techniques to see what they had in common was also thrilling.

Huang Liyue wished she could have looked inside Cao Yun's body. But she would not take such a risk with the wounds on her Soul Embryo. As much as it wounded her pride, she had to admit though that her technique had been at least partially mastered by Cao Yun. Of course, forging the very first ashes was not even considered Small Success. But this was the first step to take. And she honestly did not expect Cao Yun to take this step so fast. Considering what she had heard about him, she was confident that he could extract some benefits from her technique, but not so fast. Besides, she had even only given him a rough version of 'Ashen Feather Seal'.

The full version was still in her spatial ring. For now, it still wasn't totally to her satisfaction. Moreover, she was certain that Cao Yun could not master the full technique because he had not the bloodline of their family. What she didn't know was that Cao Yun had obtained a special bloodline as well, and it was even more potent that their True Fiery Fenghuang bloodline. With her spiritual senses though, she could have determined it because she was an expert in terms of bloodline.

But even without her spiritual senses, she could feel that Cao Yun was special. No matter how advanced his mind cultivation was, he should not have achieved such a result without any help. Huang Liyue did not even consider the possibility that he had a bloodline as powerful as their family's. Instead, she thought that he had obtained some treasure from Xiao Xuefeng or the Wubei Sect.

For several more hours, she watched him intently and was amazed by his ability to understand and perform her art. Of course, he was clearly not on par with her for now. But if he were to break through to the Mortal Warrior realm, he probably would be. Indeed, considering his mind cultivation, the parts referring to soul and mind would probably be quite easy for him to master while they had been the most difficult for her. She had been forced to look up many ancient and profound documents to create that aspect of the technique.

But that was what made this technique so powerful. With those ashes, she could not only hide her Qi and her bodily functions, but she could even conceal her very soul and mind. Right now, she was able to hide from Spirit Warriors as well. As long as their spiritual senses were not too good, she was able to completely erase her existence in front of them. Of course, it wasn't perfect because she still lacked some understanding of both souls and minds. But this boy's mind cultivation was insane. Most likely, he had a real chance of advancing her art even further.

For an instant, she was in doubts. Had she made a mistake by giving him such a dangerous technique? If he mastered, or even improved it, he would probably be able to hide from her own senses... But on the other hand, she was excited to potentially see her technique be brought to new heights. And she was also a bit vexed that a young man would be able to do so while she had been the one to invent that technique. But for now, she was just speculating. Maybe he would never reach such heights.