Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 208 The First Unraveling of the Witchfire! Tong Zhen's Gift!

After Tong Zhen finished speaking, he got up and walked to a wooden cabinet in the corner of the tea room. He opened the cabinet door and took out a sandalwood box from inside.

The box was small, about the size of a palm, and was engraved with intricate array patterns, with a faint flow of spiritual energy.

"Palace Master Zhu, this is something I've accumulated over the years in Mengzi City. It's not worth much, but it might be useful to you." Tong Zhen pushed the box in front of Zhu Ge.

Zhu Ge opened the box, and there were three things inside.

The first item was a yellowed animal skin scroll with the words "The First Explanation of Witchfire" written on it in ancient script.

Tong Zhen explained, "This is the foundational technique of my lineage of witchcraft, which records the cultivation methods of the fire witchcraft."

97

Witchcraft!

Zhu Ge's eyes lit up.

He gained many memories about witchcraft from the bone monster's clone.

However, most of the knowledge is related to the breeding and cultivation of Gu worms.

There are no methods for combat or training.

Tong Zhen smiled and said, "Since Palace Master Zhu wants to learn the art of witchcraft, I will give you this handwritten scroll. With your current cultivation level, you should be able to get started after reading it. This will also be a way to repay the Palace Master for saving your life."

After saying that, he looked at the next direction, east and west.

The second item was a dark green bead, about the size of a thumb, perfectly round, emitting a faint glow.

Tong Zhen said, "This is the demon heart of a Three Realms Poisonous Python, a demon core condensed through the alchemist's techniques. I obtained it when I was young, but I've never been willing to use it. Today, I'm giving it to Palace Master Zhu."

"Demon cores can be used in medicine, forging weapons, or absorbed directly, and they have a remarkable effect on tempering the physical body."

The Demonic Heart of the Three Realms Poison!

Zhu Ge was just feeling sorry for the two three-realm beings outside, especially the demonic heart of that giant python.

After all, it is rumored that snake gall and snake heart are beneficial for body tempering.

Unexpectedly, Tong Zhen gave him one right away.

The third item was a map, which marked the locations of the various cities in Honghe Prefecture, as well as the distribution of the surrounding tribes.

Tong Zhen pointed to several marked areas on the map and said, "These are the large tribes that still exist within the territory of Honghe Prefecture. If Palace Master Zhu is interested, she may visit them. However—"

He paused for a moment: "These tribes have deep-seated grudges with the Great Sheng Dynasty and may not be willing to lend a helping hand."

Zhu Ge nodded, put the three items away, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you, Lord Tong. These things will be of great benefit to me."

"You're too kind, Palace Master." Tong Zhen shook his head. "You saved the entire population of Mengzi City, and you saved me too. What is this little something?"

"Furthermore, I see that Palace Master Zhu is a man of great talent and ambition, with limitless potential for future achievements. Consider this my investment in the future of humanity!"

"I hope that Young Master Zhu can soon become like the ancient philosophers, opening up a space for our human race to survive among all races."

Tong Zhen bowed deeply, almost at a 90-degree angle.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Ge was filled with respect and returned the greeting, saying, "Of course I will do my utmost to save the people from suffering."

The two chatted for a few more minutes before Zhu Ge got up to say goodbye.

Stepping out of the teahouse, the night breeze was refreshing.

In the courtyard, Zhao Tieshan and several martial arts practitioners were warming themselves around a fire.

Scholar Yu sat on the steps, holding a book in his hands, reading by the light of the fire, his white hair as white as snow.

Liu Jianjian squatted in the corner, still busy subduing those monster captives. Strands of her hair fell down, turning into fine thorns that pierced into the monsters' bodies.

However, her eyes were filled with excitement.

Meanwhile, the Black Horned Bull lay in the cowshed, surrounded by a group of bull demons, proudly boasting about how "wise and powerful" it had been to choose to submit to Zhuge.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll rest for three days," Zhu Ge said to everyone. "Liu Jianjian will subdue the demon beasts, Yu Xiucai and Li Qingquan will train the Confucian scholars, and Zhao Tieshan will reorganize the troops. Three days later, we'll set off for Yilong City."

"We must hurry; every day we delay means another day of death."

Everyone agreed.

Zhu Ge then returned to his room and began to read the book, "The First Explanation of the Witchfire".

The methods of cultivation in witchcraft are completely different from those in martial arts and Confucianism.

Martial arts refine the body, Confucianism and Taoism cultivate the mind, while witchcraft uses essence and blood as a conduit to communicate with the power of heaven and earth.

The Gu worm lineage involves communicating with insects and nourishing them with their essence and blood.

The Fire Witch lineage emphasizes using one's own essence and blood to ignite the witch fire; the stronger the essence and blood, the more intense the witch fire.

Zhu Ge's martial arts origin had already tempered his physical body to an extremely powerful level, and his essence and blood were far more abundant than ordinary people.

Following the method in "The First Explanation of the Witchfire", he guided a wisp of essence blood from his heart to his fingertips.

"laugh--

'

A tiny flame, no bigger than a fingernail, flickered slightly from the fingertip.

Zhu Ge paused for a moment, then smiled.

Is this all there is to it?

He tried to inject more essence and blood, and the flame gradually grew larger, from the size of a fingernail to the size of a fist, and its color changed from crimson to orange-yellow.

"boom--"

The flames suddenly burst open, almost setting the house on fire, but they immediately went out after Zhu Ge withdrew his essence blood.

Within his body, a wisp of witch power and literary energy were splitting into two paths, nourishing his physical body everywhere.

"Good heavens, he's mastering the art of witchcraft faster than Confucianism." Zhu Ge thought it was because his physical body was too strong and his blood essence too abundant, making it twice as effective to cultivate the fire witchcraft.

He tried a few more times and gradually got the hang of it.

An hour later, he was able to steadily use his magical power to generate a ball of magical fire the size of a bowl, with an extremely high temperature, enough to melt gold and iron.

"I'll practice properly when we get back to Six Paths Valley." Zhu Ge put away "Initial Understanding of Witchfire" and took out the demon core of the Three Realms Poisonous Python.

The demon core felt cool to the touch and emitted a faint, eerie glow.

He hesitated for a moment, then instead of absorbing it directly, he put it into the grass bowl.

It would be better to deal with this kind of thing after we find a suitable prescription.

For the next three days, Zhu Ge was extremely busy.

During the day, he consulted Tong Zhen about various methods of witchcraft, including the use of witch fire, the cultivation of Gu worms, and the medicinal properties of herbs.

Tong Zhen spoke frankly and without reservation, but he was also surprised that Zhu Ge knew so much about witchcraft.

Zhu Ge was only at the first level in the art of witchcraft, so Tong Zhen's teachings had a profound and enlightening effect on him.

During the day, he would sometimes chat with Tong Zhen, and sometimes seek out Xiucai to discuss Confucianism. His literary talent and magical abilities were both improving rapidly.

He devoted more of his time to "The Great Sun Glass Body".

The more he cultivated, the more he discovered the power of the Great Sun Glass Body.

It can be said that one of the reasons he is so strong in martial arts is because of this technique.

-

This book was found by Yu Xiucai and his husband in a cave in the wilderness.

It is said to be a technique left behind by someone after their death.

Originally, the master and scholar Yu planned to sell the technique, but before they could sell it, the Mushroom God incident broke out.

The person who created this technique probably never practiced it himself; it was all based on imagination, speculation, and deduction.

Therefore, it is estimated that only Zhu Ge has ever practiced this technique.

This means he has to figure out many paths ahead on his own, but it also means he is not afraid of others knowing his background and weaknesses.

"Starting today, we will begin the next stage of refinement after the Wind Refinement."

"Water refining!"