A flicker of joy flashed in Qin Changsheng's eyes.
He hadn't expected to hear about the Five Elements cultivation technique so soon.
Right now, what Qin Changsheng lacked most was a cultivation technique.
And this technique just happened to be in Lin Hao's possession!
He only needed to seize this technique from Lin Hao.
"Do you know what this Five Elements cultivation technique is called?" Qin Changsheng asked.
Liu Yong dared not conceal anything, fearing to anger the Foundation Establishment expert before him, and quickly replied, "It's...it's the 'Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique'!"
"Senior Qin, this junior remembers it clearly. Senior Brother Lin specifically boasted that this technique was something the Lin family had spent a fortune to find, and that it could quickly nourish the dantian and gather spiritual energy!"
"The 'Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique'..." Qin Changsheng repeated the name softly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
The Five Elements cultivation technique is inherently compatible with the five elemental spiritual roots, and moreover, this technique can nourish the dantian, not only solving his current weakness of lacking a Foundation Establishment stage technique, but also perfectly complementing the advantage of the "Source of Mana" attribute—it's practically tailor-made for him!
He looked at Liu Yong, a faint smile appearing on his face, his tone softening, revealing genuine gratitude: "Get up. Let's pretend today's events never happened."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yong felt as if he had been granted a pardon, his face instantly lighting up with wild joy, thinking his life had been spared. He hurriedly struggled to stand up, repeatedly thanking, "Thank you, Senior Qin, for sparing my life! Thank you, Senior Qin, for sparing my life!"
But as soon as he propped himself up, before he could even stand upright, Qin Changsheng's smile vanished instantly, his expression turning icy cold, his eyes devoid of any gratitude, only filled with undisguised killing intent.
Liu Yong's elation froze instantly, a strong sense of crisis washing over him. He instinctively wanted to retreat, to beg for mercy, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Qin Changsheng remained seated, his hand moving slightly. A wisp of pure Foundation Establishment spiritual energy silently surged forth, instantly condensing into a fireball several times thicker than usual.
"Senior Qin... what... what are you doing?!" Liu Yong was terrified, his legs giving way, and he collapsed to the ground again, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair, his voice a shrill scream.
"I've already told you everything, I know I was wrong, didn't you say you'd spare me?!"
Qin Changsheng looked at his desperate screams, his expression unwavering, his tone icy cold, and slowly revealed the reason for his execution: "I am indeed grateful for you telling me about the cultivation technique, but you shouldn't have taken my courtyard."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Changsheng pointed slightly, and the scorching fireball shot towards Liu Yong like an arrow, its speed as fast as lightning, leaving Liu Yong no chance to dodge.
"Boom—" A muffled sound rang out as the fireball slammed into Liu Yong, instantly engulfing him. The scorching flames burned his body relentlessly, and his piercing screams echoed throughout the courtyard, but only lasted a moment before gradually dissipating.
The fireball technique, fueled by Foundation Establishment stage spiritual power, far surpassed that of Qi Refining stage cultivators. In a mere instant, Liu Yong's body was incinerated, leaving only a wisp of black smoke drifting away in the wind, without a trace of ash, as if he had never been there.
Qin Changsheng waved his hand, a surge of spiritual power dispelling the lingering aura of fire and blood in the air. The courtyard returned to its usual tranquility, as if the battle had never occurred.
Qin Changsheng showed no emotion at Liu Yong's death.
After all, Liu Yong had come to rob Qin Changsheng's courtyard.
If Qin Changsheng hadn't possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation, this courtyard would surely have been taken by Liu Yong.
He might even have been in mortal danger.
Moreover, he could never tell anyone about his Foundation Establishment cultivation.
The moment he unleashed his Foundation Establishment aura, Liu Yong was already dead.
Qin Changsheng's gaze then turned to the golden-text information entry.
He wanted to use this golden entry to search for information about the Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique.
As Qin Changsheng began his search, he could clearly feel the probe's power, like invisible threads, rapidly traversing and searching through the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The process was extremely swift yet precise, without the slightest unnecessary movement.
In an instant, the probe's power withdrew, following the golden patterns and converging into the golden entry's information.
Immediately afterwards, a clear text message surged forth from the entry like a tide, slowly suspending in his sea of consciousness. The handwriting was neat and clear, each character radiating a faint golden light, presenting all the information about the Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique before Qin Changsheng's eyes without reservation.
[Technique Name: Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique]
[Cultivation Technique Grade: High-Grade Profound (Foundation Establishment Stage)]
[Cultivation Technique Attributes: Suitable for mixed spiritual roots of the Five Elements, gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth with the power of the Five Elements to nourish the dantian and expand the spiritual meridians]
[Cultivation Technique Characteristics: 1. The speed of gathering spiritual energy far exceeds that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques. When combined with a spirit-gathering array or a place with abundant spiritual energy, it can increase the efficiency of spiritual energy absorption by 30%; 2. It can repair minor damage to the dantian, suitable for cultivators with damaged dantians to recover their cultivation; 3. Upon reaching perfection, it can condense a Five Elements spiritual energy shield, with strong defensive capabilities and a certain degree of offensive ability.]
[Drawbacks of this cultivation method: It requires a large amount of spirit stones to assist in the initial stages of cultivation; otherwise, the cultivation speed will slow down significantly. It also demands a high level of mental discipline from the cultivator, requiring them to eliminate distracting thoughts and maintain a balanced control of the five elements of spiritual energy; otherwise, spiritual energy disorder can easily occur, damaging the spiritual veins.]
[Current Owner: Lin Hao (Inner Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, son of Lin Zhentian)]
[Location: Hall of Enforcement]
[Source of this cultivation method: Purchased by the Lin family at great expense from an auction]
Looking at the intelligence report, Qin Changsheng made his decision.
Now, all Qin Changsheng had to do was wait.
From the message Liu Yong had just brought, Lin Hao wanted a secluded place to cultivate this technique.
Qin Changsheng only needed to wait until Lin Hao went to that secluded place.
Then, when night fell and no one was around, he would steal Lin Hao's Five Elements Technique.
...
Qingyun Tower.
Qingyun Tower was built against the mountain, its architecture elegant. Although the spiritual energy wasn't as dense as that of the inner sect disciples, it was still quiet and pleasant, making it an excellent place for outer sect disciples and fellow villagers to gather, chat, and strengthen their bonds.
Every year at this time, fellow townsmen from Beihai County gather here to chat about their cultivation progress and exchange news.
Today, on the second floor of Qingyun Tower, a dozen or so cultivators, all appearing to be in their early twenties, were already seated in an elegant private room.
Qin Changsheng, controlling his avatar Hu Nan, arrived here.
He had sent Hu Nan to Qingyun Tower to inquire about the major events that had occurred in the Heavenly Sword Sect over the past year,
as well as some important news and Lin Hao's whereabouts.
Hu Nan's cultivation was concealed at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining; he did not display any Foundation Establishment cultivation.
As Hu Nan entered the private room, the entire room fell silent instantly.
Many of his fellow townsmen stood up and bowed to Hu Nan.
"Senior Brother Hu, you've finally arrived!"
"Senior Brother Hu, only you and Zhao Lei are missing!"
"Senior Brother Hu Nan, long time no see!"
"It's been a year since we last met, Senior Brother Hu Nan looks even more energetic; he must have made a great breakthrough in his cultivation!"
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, their tone filled with respect and envy.
Qin Changsheng, controlling Hu Nan, nodded slightly: "You're too kind, fellow villagers."
As he spoke, he guided Hu Nan to an empty chair and sat down, his gaze subtly sweeping over everyone in the private room, his mind rapidly probing each person's cultivation level.
With this one glance, Qin Changsheng made his judgment, inwardly lamenting that these fellow villagers hadn't made a single improvement in a year.
Zhang Han remained at the fourth level of Qi Refining, his spiritual energy fluctuations barely perceptible, showing no improvement compared to last year. The two cultivators sitting beside him were still at the third level of Qi Refining, their expressions showing a hint of laziness, clearly indicating they hadn't been diligently cultivating.
The rest of the group were also at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining. Only Lin Yao, sitting on the other side of the room, had a slightly higher cultivation level, reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining. She was the most talented among them, but even so, compared to a year ago, she had only barely improved by one level, her progress slow.
Qin Changsheng understood. The gap between the inner and outer sects of the Heavenly Sword Sect was enormous. Outer sect disciples lacked resources, good cultivation techniques, and access to sufficient spirit stones, making it incredibly difficult to improve their cultivation.
These fellow villagers, mostly of mediocre talent and lacking opportunities, had naturally stagnated in their cultivation over the past year, which was understandable.