Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 88 - 87: Trapped in the Spider’s Web

The night was deep.

Zhang Yao’s mood gradually returned to calm.

"This cultivation technique is excellent, but truly mastering it is no easy feat."

For two thousand years, the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature" had been neglected for a reason.

This cultivation technique is extremely difficult to start with; just the first step of constructing the "Five Elements Spirit Array" within oneself has stumped countless individuals.

To construct the array within the body, three prerequisites must be met:

First, one must begin learning from the path of Spirit Patterns and be thoroughly familiar with foundational arrays before attempting the construction;

Second, one must temper the body’s muscles, bones, and refine the internal organs, only when the strength of the five viscera far surpasses that of ordinary people can they bear the Spirit Pattern Array Vein.

Third, the demands on the Divine Soul are exceedingly harsh; one must have exquisite control over one’s body and manipulation of Spiritual Qi to "use Qi as a blade" to engrave the Spirit Pattern.

The three conditions are indispensable, each more difficult than the last.

However, for Zhang Yao, none of these were issues; two hundred years of life, with a past in the Martial Dao and now in the Immortal Dao, had laid a solid foundation for him.

"It’s a match made in heaven."

Thinking this, Zhang Yao couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, feeling that there was a divine intention allowing him to acquire this top-level technique tailor-made for him.

At the end of the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature", there was a recorded note, seemingly an account from a thousand years ago by an ancestor, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from a family that collected this cultivation technique.

According to that Foundation Establishment Cultivator:

Under normal circumstances, the vast majority of Five Attribute Spirit Root cultivators had no chance of even starting.

Even for a Five Spirit Roots Cultivator with extraordinary talent and a powerful Divine Soul, it typically took at least sixty to seventy years to successfully construct the "Five Elements Spirit Array" over the viscera and begin the cultivation technique.

Spending such a long time just to complete the basics is simply not worth the effort.

Cultivating Qi for Immortality is a struggle against heaven for life.

Before the age of sixty, the probability of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage is highest; after this point, the success rate rapidly declines.

By the time one reaches seventy or eighty, the hope of breaking through the Foundation Establishment Stage becomes slim, and cultivators who practice the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature" generally only start to get the basics down at this age, effectively cutting off their path to immortality.

If they practiced other cultivation techniques, with enough supply of Spirit Pills, they might even have a chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Who would be so foolish as to cultivate the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature"?

"The entry requirements are too harsh, the cultivation difficulty too high, and the time consumption too lengthy. No wonder it has gradually been buried in history..."

Zhang Yao’s face revealed a faint smile.

"I am fully confident to complete the entry in twenty years!"

"This top-level technique is almost perfectly suited to me, truly a work of heaven..."

At this thought, his body suddenly stiffened.

"Perfectly suited, perfectly suited..."

This phrase echoed repeatedly in his mind like a great bell, causing his head to buzz.

How could there be such a perfect thing in this world? And just so happens to appear before him? That coincidental?

"Something’s not right..."

Unknowingly, cold sweat had already seeped out of Zhang Yao’s back.

He carefully recalled his experiences over the past three months and suddenly realized, arousing an immense fear in his heart.

"How could I be so unwise?!"

By his nature, upon learning of the Celestial Treasure Tower’s recruitment order, he should have immediately abandoned the cultivation technique and fled without delay!

With his longevity and endless lifespan, he had all the time in the world, so why take risks?!

He should have realized, as long as he stayed in Qingyun Marketplace, he would be in danger, with the Celestial Treasure Tower’s steward, familiar Old Qi, and Jiang Rou who provided the cultivation technique... all potential lethal flaws!

How could he have not noticed?

How could he have ignored them?

"Is this really me?"

Zhang Yao asked himself from the depths of his heart.

In the past, to trace the path of the cultivators, he could spend twenty entire years, hiding behind the scenes, weaving a web.

In the past, to avoid unforeseen dangers, knowing well that cultivators in the Lu Kingdom lived in harmony, he still spent over forty years enduring hardship in the mountain wilderness of the mortal realm before treading upon Celestial Capital Mountain.

Where was his caution?

Where was his heart that walked on thin ice?

Had it all been fed to the dogs?!

"I have been influenced in my mind!!"

Zhang Yao came to this terrifying conclusion in his heart, which was followed by a profound plunge to the bottom of a valley.

Even his own creation, the "Soul Capturing and Thought Extraction Technique," could influence people’s minds and memories; he didn’t believe that cultivators lacked similar methods.

After eliminating all the impossible answers, what remains must be the truth!

"A divine intention? A work of heaven?"

"All bullshit!"

"How could there be so many coincidences in the world?"

"A web! What a spider web!!"

Zhang Yao finally understood that he had long since fallen into a meticulously woven trap, like a bird waiting to be devoured by the spider!

The steward of the Celestial Treasure Tower, Steward Pang, had noticed him as early as seven or eight years ago.

What does this indicate?

This indicates that the Celestial Treasure Tower’s recruitment order was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a premeditated, elaborate plan. That steward of the Celestial Treasure Tower must have learned some insider information beforehand to approach him, leaving a deep impression.

Yet after the Celestial Treasure Tower issued the recruitment order, that steward had never looked for him, as if completely forgetting about him.

Is this possible? Every cultivator has a remarkable memory, yet just happened to forget about him?

And Old Qi!

The fabricated stories about friends and nephews could truly fool an old hand in the marketplace, causing not a hint of suspicion?

Even after the recruitment order caused a large-scale upheaval, not a word of commentary arose, acting as if nothing happened, still inviting him to play chess?

And Jiang Rou! 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

It just so happens? Right after the recruitment order was issued, the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature," elusive for years, suddenly appears?

Cultivators carry their belongings in storage bags; why claim the cultivation technique wasn’t at hand and make him wait three months?

"I really must have lard covering my heart!"

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones! Anyone who had clues could report it, even if afraid of the Ruins Marketplace’s double-crossing, they could directly report it to the Celestial Treasure Tower!"

"Yet I blatantly ignored the tremendous danger, foolishly waiting a month to complete the transaction..."

At this moment, Zhang Yao was already thoroughly chilled, his entire body feeling as if plunged into an ice cavern.

In these few short months, he completely lost his former vigilance and caution, appearing as a different person, unaware of it all.

If not for acquiring the cultivation technique today, the intense emotional agitation leading to clarity, he might never have found the anomaly, remaining a puppet on strings in the hands of others.

"This cultivation technique definitely has issues!"

Thoughts spun rapidly within Zhang Yao’s mind:

"The one orchestrating the plot should likely be from the Celestial Treasure Tower, with high chances of involvement from the Ouyang Family and Chu Family too!"

"Old Qi, Jiang Rou, they’re merely pawns for surveillance and to lull me into complacency, presenting the cultivation technique to me on a platter!"

"From the available information, their intricate plans were probably meant to secretly lure me into the trap, making me willingly cultivate this technique!"

"The person capable of influencing my mind is probably a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, able to render me powerless and oblivious... this is a truly dead-end situation!"

Thoughts churned in his mind incessantly:

"How exactly is this situation to be resolved?!"