Chapter 491: Contraceptive Divine Technique

As the scroll opened, it revealed something entirely unexpected: a portal. Li Xiaofei’s vision blurred for a moment, and he found himself in an entirely different space.

It was a boundless grand hall that contained pavilions, towers, and terraces. There were also gardens and herb plots filled with all kinds of rare and exotic plants. The fragrant aroma of flora filled his senses as he walked forward. The smooth dome of the hall was intricately carved with the constellations of the heavens.

Upon closer inspection, the ceiling seemed to be a three-dimensional projection of the vast universe itself. Staring at it for too long gave Li Xiaofei the disorienting illusion of being pulled into an infinite expanse of deep space. This grand hall felt like an entirely separate world.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But Li Xiaofei could sense a terrifying pressure, a suffocating aura pressing heavily on him, emanating from somewhere outside the hall. The howling of the wind was the sound of the demonic dragon snoring in its slumber.

The War God Hall!

Li Xiaofei instantly realized he was inside the legendary War God Hall. A crushing sense of pressure weighed down on him. It wasn’t just an invisible force but a tangible gravitational burden.

Indeed, the War God Hall was no place for ordinary individuals. Li Xiaofei felt like a snail trapped in a swamp. Each step forward was met with immense resistance, draining his stamina with every movement. Summoning all his energy, he looked around the hall.

Li Xiaofei could faintly make out a vast array of overlapping silhouettes to the east. His heart skipped a beat, but upon closer inspection, clarity dawned on him. Those were the legendary floating relief sculptures within the War God Hall that were said to aid in cultivation. Li Xiaofei began walking toward the reliefs.

He channeled his inner qi and mustered all his strength, transforming into his demonic form. His pace quickened. Yet, after walking for over half an hour, he realized that the distance between him and the reliefs had not diminished in the slightest. They remained just as far away as before.

He stopped and began to think. According to legend, only those with the right fate could approach the reliefs and gain the martial arts secrets hidden within. Although he had entered the War God Hall, he could not get closer to the reliefs.

Is it because my fate has not yet aligned?

Li Xiaofei did not believe that all the opportunities in the world should belong to him. He understood that everyone had their own destined fortunes. So, he did not feel disappointed.

Instead, he gave up chasing the reliefs and began to explore the War God Hall at his own pace. Though the ever-present oppressive pressure of the hall greatly slowed his movements, Li Xiaofei discovered that this very pressure was aiding in the cultivation of his inner qi.

"The time limit for the Secret Time Pavilion is almost up."

After calculating the remaining time, Li Xiaofei knew he couldn’t stay in this place for much longer. So he used the teleportation scroll and temporarily left the War God Hall. Back in the Secret Time Pavilion. Li Xiaofei reappeared in front of the small mountain of secret manuals. The War God Records scroll in his hands had already closed.

His sworn elder brother, Little Nine, was sitting cross-legged nearby. When he saw Li Xiaofei return, Little Nine grinned and asked, "Woof! So, how was it? A good find, wasn’t it?"

Li Xiaofei nodded repeatedly. "Big Brother, you're the real deal."

This praise came straight from his heart. Everything in the War God Hall had far exceeded Li Xiaofei’s imagination. It completely outclassed the stone chamber on Gallant Island. As expected of the strongest artifact in the high-martial world of Huang Yi, it was leagues beyond the Tai Xuan Sutra.

Li Xiaofei turned his gaze back to the pile of manuals. He casually picked up the Longevity Technique. This, too, was an extraordinary manual.

In Huang Yi’s high-martial world, the protagonists Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling from Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty had risen to prominence relying on this very manual. The technique was a legacy from the ancient qi cultivator Guang Chengzi, who had comprehended and developed it during his cultivation in the War God Hall. He had then passed it down to the Yellow Emperor, who disseminated it to the mortal realm. It could be considered a simplified version of the War God Records.

However, in the ages of Huang Yi's universe, only a handful of individuals had managed to cultivate this technique successfully.

The reason lay in its unique nature. Unlike traditional martial arts, which cultivated acquired qi, this technique allowed the direct cultivation of innate qi. This approach clashed fundamentally with the methods of ordinary martial artists, who cultivated acquired qi. Moreover, those attempting this technique could not possess even a shred of internal energy beforehand.

Additionally, practitioners had to cultivate with intentless intention, resting their minds completely while absorbing the essence of heaven and earth through their meridians and acupoints to nourish themselves.

The cultivation process was entirely unlike conventional martial arts and resembled the symptoms of qi deviation. For this reason, many people feared to practice it. However, it was worth noting that the Longevity Technique was strictly speaking not a martial art but rather a form of qi cultivation.

Its philosophy revolved around the idea that the human body was a microcosm of heaven and earth, while the world outside was a macrocosm. By harnessing the natural forces of both these heavens, one can unify them into a single entity and achieve true harmony between man and the cosmos. In essence, it could be classified as a cultivation technique for immortality.

For most people who lacked the innate spiritual root for immortality, it was exceedingly difficult to achieve success in cultivating this technique.

Thus, only a few individuals in the Huang Yi universe, such as the protagonists Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling from Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, had managed to cultivate it. Their success was largely due to sheer luck and their humble beginnings as outlaws with profound destiny.

As for the strength of this technique? First and foremost, as its name suggests, the greatest effect of the Longevity Technique was longevity; it extended one’s lifespan.

Secondly, it granted its practitioners a youthful appearance, effectively halting aging. In addition, it enhanced the practitioner’s health bar, providing faster recovery, increased durability, and resistance to physical damage. It included a boost to one’s lightness skill and the ability to hold one’s breath for extended periods.

Of course, it also had one rather peculiar effect: contraception. Its core principle of refining essence into qi impacted reproductive capabilities. As a result, its practitioners often suffered from infertility.

"To cultivate innate qi," Li Xiaofei mused thoughtfully.

In the context of traditional martial arts worlds, this technique, with its harsh cultivation requirements, might not hold much significance. After all, only one or two among millions might succeed, making it impossible to widely adopt.

However, in the current world, martial artists cultivated starforce qi. Starforce! This energy already resembled innate qi. The methods for cultivating starforce primarily involved breathing techniques, which aligned closely with the principles of qi refinement and breath regulation.

Furthermore, based on his own experiences, when starforce was used to enhance techniques from martial arts worlds, the resulting power far surpassed the descriptions in the original works.

Li Xiaofei had long suspected that the power of starforce qi far surpassed the internal energy described in martial arts novels because it fundamentally operated on a higher level of power altogether. So, who could guarantee that starforce wasn’t actually innate qi?

The thought of cultivating the Longevity Technique rose in his mind. After all, even celestial beings tirelessly pursued immortality. However, when he considered its side effect, infertility, Li Xiaofei found himself conflicted.

He genuinely wanted to have children someday. Moreover, the young lady would likely feel the same way. Cultivating this technique would definitely require her consent. As such, Li Xiaofei refrained from opening the Longevity Technique manual.

If starforce qi truly is the innate qi described in Huang Yi’s universe, then promoting this technique in the modern era shouldn’t be difficult. However, humanity on Earth is striving to reproduce and increase its population to prevent extinction. If everyone who cultivates The Longevity Technique becomes infertile, wouldn’t promoting it make me the culprit of humanity’s downfall?

The thought gave him a headache. Clearly, spreading the Longevity Technique required careful consideration and long-term planning. Setting the manual aside, Li Xiaofei began browsing through other manuals in the pile. This included Three Qi Convergence, Ten Thousand Swords Return, Wind God Leg, Cloud-Piercing Palm, and Heavenly Frost Fist—all techniques from the Wind and Cloud martial arts universe.

The latter three weren’t considered top-tier techniques in their original setting, but based on their described power, they belonged firmly to the high-martial category. Their effectiveness was nothing to scoff at. In the modern era, they would likely receive a classic-grade rating. These three techniques, in particular, seemed well-suited for promotion within the Jingwu Sect.

Both Three Qi Convergence and Ten Thousand Swords Return were of an even higher grade. These two techniques were considered top-tier martial arts even in the Wind and Cloud universe. In the current era, they would undoubtedly be classified as mythic-level martial arts.

Li Xiaofei found himself particularly drawn to Ten Thousand Swords Return. Having previously cultivated Sword Harnessing Technique from the immortal cultivation realm, he imagined that combining it with Ten Thousand Swords Return would not only look incredibly flashy but also deliver unmatched power and, of course, unparalleled opportunities to show off.

After flipping through the rest of the manuals, Li Xiaofei found several techniques that, while valuable, no longer held much utility for him. These included Spirit Rushing Sword Technique, Hundred Flowers Misdirection Fist, Two Elements Sword Technique, Golden Snake Sword Technique, and Blood Saber Technique.

While they weren’t particularly useful for his own growth, they would be excellent additions to the martial arts library of the Jingwu Sect.

“Huh, this one’s still here?”

As he sorted through the pile of manuals, Li Xiaofei’s eyes lit up when he spotted three words on the cover of a book buried at the bottom of the stack.

Divine Illumination Sutra!

“Holy crap!” Li Xiaofei exclaimed, picking up the manual with both hands. "I can’t believe this godly technique is here."

The Divine Illumination Sutra was another legendary technique from the Jin Yong martial arts universe. It first appeared in the storyline of A Deadly Secret. That particular story didn’t belong to the golden age of martial arts in Jin Yong’s universe.

During that period, the martial world wasn’t in its prime, and the techniques cultivated by its heroes were far inferior to those from the eras of The Legend of the Condor Heroes or Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. It could only be classified as a low-martial period. Yet, the Divine Illumination Sutra had emerged out of nowhere.

This technique, Divine Illumination Sutra, was hailed by many fans as one of the strongest internal energy methods in the Jin Yong martial arts universe. Some even believed it rivaled the Tai Xuan Sutra.

The reason lay in its incredible ability: resurrection. It wasn’t a metaphor either. The sutra allowed one to revive those who had recently died. Additionally, it was rumored to allow lumbs to regenerate. In terms of sheer utility, it could easily be considered the pinnacle of Jin Yong’s creations.

Li Xiaofei’s first thought was that this sutra might be able to heal his aunt’s blindness. He was about to step into the Five Spirits Realm, and soon, he would reunite with her. To acquire the Divine Illumination Sutra at this moment— was this fate?

Li Xiaofei glanced at Little Nine, who was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, counting on his paws. Suddenly, this dog elder brother seemed far more likable in his eyes. He silently vowed that, under normal circumstances, he would never betray him.

"Little brother, why are you staring at me like that?" asked Little Nine, who found Li Xiaofei’s gaze to be rather unsettling.

Li Xiaofei replied, "Big Brother, you were so stingy about handing out manuals in the past. Why have you suddenly given me so many top-tier treasures this time? You’re treating me so well that it’s making me nervous."

Little Nine chuckled calmly and said, "Don’t worry. The reason is simple. Most of these martial arts manuals are of no use to you anymore. Keeping them serves no purpose for me, so I thought I might as well give them all to you. If you study them, they’ll deepen your understanding of martial arts. As they say, ‘draw on a wealth of sources and use them to illuminate each other.’ It will benefit your cultivation of other techniques in the future.”

"Besides, haven’t you always dreamed of spreading martial arts across the world? These techniques will enrich the Jingwu Sect's repository. Better they be used with you than wasted with me."

Li Xiaofei was touched. He hadn’t expected this dog elder brother to truly be thinking of his well-being. Once again, he silently vowed not to betray Little Nine unless absolutely necessary.

Little Nine’s expression turned unusually serious as he added, "There’s another reason. Your growth rate has exceeded my initial expectations, so certain plans need to be accelerated. Focus on your cultivation. Not long from now, I might send you to a trial beyond the heavens. Use your time wisely to complete whatever you need or want to do."

A trial beyond the heavens? The universe?

Li Xiaofei felt a jolt of surprise.

Isn’t this map transition happening a bit too quickly and abruptly?