The green jade slip held the Divine Wood Origin Technique passed down through Bao Siyan's family. It not only included the three secret arts Wei Tu had learned before, but also two additional ones.
Previously, Wei Tu had learned a total of three secret arts from Bao Siyan.
They were: Greenwood Breathing Technique, Divine Wood Longevity Art, and Mayfly Parasitism Technique.
All three were support-type secret arts.
The two additional secret arts recorded in the green jade slip were: an offensive secret art called "Qingyuan Thorn" and a defensive one called "Wood Armor Technique."
But apart from "Qingyuan Thorn," nothing else caught Wei Tu's interest. That Wood Armor Technique was too plain. He skimmed it briefly before tossing it out of his mind.
It wasn't that the Wood Armor Technique was entirely useless compared to the other four secret arts, but in combat, a defensive magical artifact of the same level was clearly much stronger than a mere defensive spell.
As for "Qingyuan Thorn"…
Wei Tu recognized it immediately—it was the very technique Bao Siyan had tried to use to assassinate him earlier. It had failed simply because the difference in power between them was too great.
Still, against an average mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, Bao Siyan might've had a real chance to kill with it—using the weak to defeat the strong.
Qingyuan Thorn was said to be an offensive technique, but it was more of an assassination art.
It worked by compressing one's magical power so that in the instant of attack, the power released would far surpass the cultivator's current realm.
At its peak, the power of this technique could exceed one's own realm by five minor stages.
In other words, a cultivator at the early stage of Golden Core Realm, if successful in mastering this art, might be able to kill someone in the late stage of the same realm.
"Besides Qingyuan Thorn, the most important part of the Divine Wood Origin Technique is the method to craft a life-bound treasure."
Wei Tu's eyes landed on two diagrams in the green jade slip. A faint smile appeared on his face.
The crafting method for a life-bound treasure was standard for third-tier techniques.
According to what Bao Siyan had mentioned before, the Divine Wood Origin Technique came from a Nascent Soul-level sect in the Great Yan Cultivation World. It could be cultivated all the way to the Soul Transformation stage.
In other words, as a third-tier technique with a complete path forward, the Divine Wood Origin Technique had to be at least fifth-tier when complete.
So, it was impossible for this technique not to include the crafting method for a life-bound treasure.
However, back when Wei Tu picked the Divine Wood Origin Technique from the "Heavenly Book Pavilion" on Red River Mountain, the jade slip only recorded the cultivation mantras. It didn't come with any secret arts or treasure-crafting methods.
Because of that, Wei Tu hadn't made a life-bound treasure or gathered the materials needed for it in the past sixty-plus years.
"Rainbow Cloud Thorn, Imperial Butterfly Ruler," Wei Tu glanced at the two crafting diagrams.
Without a doubt, the Rainbow Cloud Thorn was the Emei-style dagger Bao Siyan had used to try and kill him. It paired perfectly with the Qingyuan Thorn technique—a top-tier assassination tool.
"Our techniques come from the same origin. With a little refinement, I can use her life-bound treasure directly. No need to waste money or effort looking for materials to make a new Rainbow Cloud Thorn," Wei Tu thought to himself.
Although most life-bound treasures were crafted by the cultivator themselves, many were passed down through clans or sects.
Otherwise, these sects and families wouldn't have lasted so long. After all, cultivation resources were limited, and high-tier spiritual materials were hard to come by. No force could afford to let every generation start from scratch.
While an inherited treasure might not work as smoothly or be as closely bonded as one crafted personally, it saved a lot of time. After a little refining, it could still be used.
Some life-bound treasures, after being refined over a long time by the same cultivator, had their rank and power exceed what they were originally meant to be.
'If the opportunity arises and I can find a third-tier spirit butterfly and a piece of fourth-tier spirit wood, I might try crafting the Imperial Butterfly Ruler as my life-bound treasure,' Wei Tu thought to himself.
Compared to the single-purpose Rainbow Cloud Thorn, the Imperial Butterfly Ruler had way more functions. It wasn't just for attacking—it could also be used with the Mayfly Parasitism Technique as an escape method.
Its escape ability was extremely fast and could release multiple phantom images to confuse enemies.
It was a life-bound treasure mainly for survival.
…
After reading the green jade slip, Wei Tu extended his divine sense into the white jade slip and began examining its contents.
This white jade slip contained the legacy of Bao Siyan's late Dao partner, Yuji Sanren.
Compared to Bao Siyan's inheritance, Wei Tu valued Yuji Sanren's legacy more.
The top-tier sensory secret art "Know Heaven Crossing" had come from Yuji Sanren's inheritance, which Bao Siyan had passed on to him.
"Yuji Sanren of the Mingquan Sect?" Wei Tu noted the name at the start of the jade slip.
He remembered Bao Siyan had once told him Yuji Sanren was a rogue cultivator.
Clearly, that was a lie.
"Mingquan Sect? Is there a Mingquan Sect among the righteous or demonic factions?" Wei Tu searched his memory but couldn't find any record of it. So he turned and asked Bai Zhi directly.
As a high-ranking member of the Heavenly Maiden Sect, Bai Zhi would definitely be familiar with all the major sects in the Great Chang Cultivation World.
"There's no sect called Mingquan in the Great Chang Cultivation World. He might be from the Great Yan Cultivation World or perhaps the Chiming Sea," Bai Zhi answered after thinking for a moment.
The Great Yan Cultivation World was west of Great Chang and the closest cultivation world to it.
The Chiming Sea lay to the south, a vast ocean that was said to hide another cultivation world beyond a million li of water.
"That's possible," Wei Tu nodded lightly and didn't dig any deeper.
Traveling outside the Great Chang Cultivation World would require at least a Nascent Soul cultivation. A Golden Core cultivator couldn't possibly survive the deadly barriers and perilous zones between cultivation worlds.
Wei Tu had once read about a Golden Core True Lord who tried to reach the end of the Chiming Sea. He flew for over a hundred years and still saw nothing but endless ocean. No so-called cultivation world ever appeared.
That failed journey became a permanent stain on the True Lord's legacy. In his final years, he deeply regretted wasting so much of his life chasing fantasy.
"Thousand Leaf Dew?" Wei Tu soon found something that piqued his interest in Yuji Sanren's inheritance.
Thousand Leaf Dew wasn't a secret art but a special tracking drug.
It was colorless and odorless. Once it touched someone, it wouldn't fade for seven days.
Just seeing the entry made it clear to Wei Tu how Bao Siyan had tracked him down—this drug had definitely played a role.
'This tracking method is even better than my Soul-Sealing Talisman. That one only works after direct contact,' he thought, rubbing his chin.
Still, it wasn't without its flaws. At the very least, it didn't last as long as his talisman.
And the drug required special spiritual materials to make, unlike the Soul-Sealing Talisman, which just needed the corpses of a few Seven-Colored Phantom Moths.