Chapter 36: Tier Five Cultivation Methods
Once past the hall for tier two cultivation methods, Zen looked around. Only four other people had accompanied him. One of them was the towering strongman who always held a great sword.
Zen knew that this strongman was physically powerful and had boundless energy. He had not expected this strongman to also have a mighty soul. As Zen suspected, Cloud Sect had many outstanding disciples.
As Zen walked ahead, the hall that housed tier three refinement methods came into his sight.
An eerie purple light radiated from this hall.
Five people entered this hall. Except for Zen, all other people looked unwell.
One of them had turned ghastly pale as soon as he had stepped into the hall. From his attire, Zen guessed this was a disciple from a noble clan. Judging from his pallid face, it was evident that he was finding it difficult to resist the intent of the Vengeful Beast. This disciple reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark grey pill. Then, he closed his eyes and swallowed the pill. When he opened his eyes again, gold rays of light radiated from his eyes. At this sight, Zen realized that the pill invigorated the soul and helped the disciple withstand the intent of the Vengeful Beast.
“Disciples from noble clans are so fortunate!” Zen murmured and shook his head. Then he thought, 'How can disciples from ordinary clans acquire such pills?'
The five disciples surveyed the hall. Since they had entered the hall, tier 3 cultivation methods were accessible to them.
In the Eastern Region, cultivation methods were classified into four tiers.
Of these four tiers, tier 1 cultivation methods were the most common. Since there were innumerable tier 1 cultivation methods, they were the cheapest and could be acquired at martial arts clubs.
However, tier 2 cultivation methods were limited in comparison to tier 1. In general, these were inherited by small clans. For instance, the Purple Light Fist that Zen practiced was just one of many tier 2 cultivation methods. The Luo Clan was neither rich nor big. For such a clan, a book on Purple Light Fist was fairly precious. Hence, they generally didn't share their knowledge of cultivation methods like Purple Light Fist with others. The Purple Light Fist was so rare that even collateral branches of the Luo Clan were not allowed to practice this cultivation method.
Compared to the first two tiers, tier 3 cultivation methods were even more precious.
This kind of knowledge was usually given to collateral branches of noble clans.
In the hall for tier 3 cultivation methods, there was only a single-layer bookcase. Since the bookcase held hundreds of books for tier 3 cultivation methods, the powerful influence and reach of Cloud Sect were obvious. Zen was certain that it wouldn't be hard for him to find a cultivation method suitable for him.
He sifted through the bookcase while thinking about which cultivation method he should pick.
Surely, Purple Light Fist was a good choice for Zen. But it would be not enough now that he had joined Cloud Sect, as he couldn't harness his power to the greatest extent by practicing Purple Light Fist exclusively. As a consequence, he would be in an extremely unfavorable situation when he fought with people who practiced hightier cultivation methods.
After thinking for a long while, Zen decided to continue walking toward the next hall.
The purple light pouring out of this hall was extremely bright, but it was less overwhelming than the intent of the cyan dragon.
Moreover, Zen's soul had been calcined by the black flame inside his body. His soul was far stronger than an ordinary person's. Thinking of this, Zen decided to choose a more powerful cultivation method for himself.
The other four men stared at him in shock when Zen started to march ahead.
“Do you want to die? The intent of the Vengeful Beast appears to be rather predominant in the hall for the tier 4 cultivation methods. You won't be able to withstand it,” the towering strongman gently reminded Zen.
Zen smiled in acknowledgment at the strongman before replying, “I know that, but I want to try.”
“Hehe. Don't stop him if he wants to die. I have seen many guys like him who overestimate their abilities. It is said that the intent of the Vengeful Beast is substantial inside the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods. In fact, it is so strong that it can kill people intangibly. Anyone who enters that hall before cultivating his or her state of mind will not gain anything except death,” the disciple from the noble clan said haughtily.
Zen laughed flatly as soon as he heard that disciple. Instead of refuting, Zen stepped into the next hall.
Finally, Zen had reached the hall with the rarest cultivation methods.
The hall for tier 4 cultivation methods was much smaller than the former ones.
Every book on these cultivation methods was quite rare. These books even contained hidden secrets, which were almost impossible to inherit by even core members of large noble clans.
There was only one bookcase inside this hall too. Compared with other tall and luxurious bookcases that Zen had seen in the former halls, this one appeared to be very short, shabby, and old. The wood had decayed over the centuries.
Zen felt as though he was surrounded by a completely different intent of the Vengeful Beast when he stepped into this hall.
The purple light had been replaced by purple shadows, which looked like rare beasts.
These shadows slowly floated up and down in the hall. Once Zen stepped into the hall, these shadows began bumping into Zen. Perhaps they could sense that a human being had entered the hall.
Since the purple shadows were intangible, they couldn't harm Zen's body. However, Zen discovered that these shadows were attacking his soul with every blow to his body.
Deep in his brain, Zen felt a sharp stabbing pain.
For others, this kind of pain might be fatal. But Zen had a far stronger soul.
In spite of this, he was in deep agony.
Every shadow bumped into him like an awl and Zen felt a sharp stab in his head. As a result, Zen felt intense pain deep in his brain.
Such pain was not physical, but spiritual. There was nowhere for Zen to hide and escape from the shadows. As a result, he had no choice but to endure the pain caused by the shadows.
His soul couldn't withstand the attacks, and it throbbed every time a shadow attacked Zen.
He could bear the attack of one shadow. But since all the shadows were attacking Zen one after another, the pain was unbearable.
At last, Zen felt as though he would succumb to the pain of being attacked by many shadows.
Spiritual things were rather mysterious, and he had never heard of attacks against a person's soul. Naturally, Zen didn't know how to counterattack the shadows.
Zen gritted his teeth and closed his aching eyes. The pain was so terrible that Zen felt as though his eyes would pop out. At that moment, he even considered giving up.
But after further thinking, Zen realized that he must be persistent.
Before coming to Cloud Sect, he had been subject to inhumane levels of mental suffering.
At that time, dominated by the intent of the cyan dragon, he was torn and smashed unceasingly. The pain he had suffered when he was still at the Luo house was more intolerable than what he was experiencing now.
“This pain is nothing! I should just treat it as exercise for my soul!”
Zen murmured in a bid to encourage himself to stay strong. He shook his head and tried to work up the courage to continue walking into the hall. Soon, Zen found that he could march further into the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods.
As he approached the small wooden bookcase, despite the attacks of the shadows, Zen noticed that there was a passageway behind the hall.
“Why would there be a passageway here? Isn't the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods the last hall?” Zen was a little shocked.
Ever since he was a child, Zen had heard that there were only four tiers of cultivation methods. He had never heard of a cultivation method higher than tier 4.
All of a sudden, his curiosity was aroused. 'Perhaps I should enter the passageway and see if there are any higher-tier cultivation methods, ' thought Zen.
Still undecided, Zen took a minute to skim the bookcase in this hall. Tier 4 cultivation methods highly tempted Zen. Earlier, access to a tier 3 cultivation method would have pleased Zen. He had never dreamed of being in a position to access a tier 4 cultivation method!
After hesitating and thinking for a while, Zen found that he couldn't abjure his curiosity.
Others didn't have a chance to enter the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods, but he did. Now that he had come this far, why shouldn't he try to find out whether there were higher-tier cultivation methods?
At this thought, Zen decided to explore the passageway.
The passageway was not wide or spacious. It wasn't well decorated either. The floors and walls of the corridor had rotten over time. As soon as Zen entered the corridor, which was about 10 feet long, he felt a reprieve from the attack of the purple shadows.
'The overwhelming intent of the Vengeful Beast doesn't exist here?' Zen wondered.
Curious and bewildered, Zen marched ahead. At the end of the corridor was a stone chamber.
The chamber was circular, and not very big. In the center stood a black monument.
Zen's eyes widened when he realized that this chamber was a graveyard.
As soon as this thought dawned on Zen, a supernatural beast formed by condensed purple light rushed out of the monument.
The monster resembled one of the purple shadows Zen had encountered inside the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods. Comparatively, it looked more real in this chamber. It was purple all over and looked lifelike. A deep hatred could be seen in its eyes.
“Oh, this is the Vengeful Beast's graveyard! Then, this monster is perhaps the soul of the dead Vengeful Beast. This beast is so indomitable that its intent is still perceivable in this space even though it has been dead for many years. The intent of the Vengeful Beast is still remarkable as well! But who on earth killed the Vengeful Beast here?”
Zen whispered as he carefully observed the monster. The soul of the Vengeful Beast was much stronger than the intangible shadows. Besides, Zen felt more pressure from this monster. The spiritual attack of the monster was so strong that Zen felt as though someone was pounding on his head with a hammer when the beast glared at him.
Zen had put himself in extreme danger!
His soul would be torn away in a flash if the Vengeful Beast's soul attacked him. If that happened, Zen would turn into a soulless idiot.
As soon as he realized the danger that lay ahead, Zen winced and stepped back in fear. He didn't want to disturb the soul of the Vengeful Beast and accidentally invite its brutal wrath.
But when Zen turned around to leave, he saw that the intangible shadows he had left behind in the hall had blocked the passageway. A bitter smile grew on his face when Zen realized the trap he had stepped into.
'Cloud Sect is so insidious! I just want to choose a book on a cultivation method. Is it necessary to set such dangerous traps?' Zen couldn't help sighing.
What Zen didn't know was that very few people at Cloud Sect could enter the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods.
The power of one's soul was not associated with his or her strength. Even powerful people who had reached the nature level would be unable to step into the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods if their soul wasn't powerful enough. Such people would be never able to enter the tomb behind the hall.
When Zen took a few steps back to get away from the soul of the Vengeful Beast, the intangible shadows in the passageway flew straight towards him like frightened bats. At the same time, the soul of the Vengeful Beast roared and abruptly jumped to attack Zen.
Now the situation was indeed terrible.
At that moment, Zen was so panicked that he couldn't think clearly. After quickly weighing his options, Zen rushed toward the intangible shadows in the passageway. He knew that he would be in extreme agony if the shadows attacked his soul. Zen also understood that it would be better to suffer pain from the attacks of the shadows than to be turned into an idiot by the soul behind him.
Despite his swift action, the soul of the Vengeful Beast was faster. It almost came behind Zen in the blink of an eye.
“Ow!”
The Vengeful Beast's soul uttered a weird shriek. It was only about several inches away from Zen. If he turned to look, Zen was certain that he would be able to see his terrified expression in its dark eyes.
At this critical moment, the huge furnace in his brain rotated slowly. From deep within him, a low growl was heard from a dragon.
“It's the growling sound uttered by the sculpture of the cyan dragon!”
As soon as the fearsome dragon growl was heard, the purple shadows that were attacking Zen dispersed for fear of being attacked by the dragon.
Likewise, the Vengeful Beast's soul jumped away from Zen. It was almost as if the Vengeful Beast's soul had been scorched from being too close to Zen. From a distance, it studied Zen as if on guard. Its dark eyes were full of fear. To Zen, it seemed as though the Vengeful Beast's soul was in a dilemma. On one hand, it wanted to rush fiercely toward Zen, but it didn't. Instead, it clawed the floor every time the dragon growled fiercely. Then the soul let out a low howl.
This brought a smile to Zen's face. He hadn't thought that the shadows and the Vengeful Beast were naturally fearful of the cyan dragon's growl.
The Vengeful Beast's soul winced every time Zen took a step toward it.
As Zen walked over to it, one step after another without stopping, the Vengeful Beast's soul jumped back onto the tombstone before letting out a ferocious howl. At last, the soul retreated into the black tombstone.
Its grudges were evidently manifested in its howl. These were also perceived by Zen.
Just now, Zen was in grave danger. His soul would have been killed had the cyan dragon not awoken and come to his rescue.
But now, Zen had gotten past the dangers. Because of that, a flat smile grew on Zen's face. Then, he began to explore the stone chamber.
When he had first entered this chamber, Zen had noticed a bookcase near the black monument.
He walked toward the bookcase. When close enough, he saw that the bookcase contained two books on cultivation methods.
'Why are there only two books on cultivation methods? What on earth are they about?' wondered Zen.
Zen reached out and took one of the two books off the bookcase. This book looked very old and shabby. Since a thick layer of dust covered the book and he was unable to read its title, Zen patted the book to remove the dust. It was then that he could see several big words on the cover.
'Heavenly Ogre Fist!'