Chapter 27: Returning the Disciple, Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking
“Today, I shall impart to you the secret technique for tracking,” Lu Changsheng said.
Lu Changsheng took out a Profound Rank low-grade cultivation technique.
Although this was just a Profound Rank technique, it had no small use.
To track an enemy’s breath and utterly exterminate them, eliminate all future troubles.
Lu Changsheng detached a wisp of spiritual energy and attached it to a Spirit Ape that he “invited” over, and Lian did the same, detaching his own wisp of spiritual energy.
“Recite the mnemonic verse of the tracking technique in your mind, maintain a sense of this wisp of spiritual energy, and no matter where the Spirit Ape has gone, you will be aware of it.”
“Go,” he ordered.
Guided by Lu Changsheng’s directions, the Spirit Ape left the cave dwelling.
Being able to serve as a “teaching tool” for Dao Palace realm’s Lu Changsheng was a great fortune for it.
Many spirit beasts in Mount Shu attained enlightenment, not just because the spiritual energy of Mount Shu was rich, but also because occasionally they could receive advice from the Mount Shu elders.
“Master, I can feel it; the Spirit Ape has reached the mountainside!”
Lian recited the mnemonic verse silently and then clearly sensed the location of the Spirit Ape.
“This is the simplest form of the tracking technique.”
“Next, I will teach you the second layer of the tracking technique, which can search for enemies within a hundred miles by their scent.”
“But you need to understand one thing, the tracking technique is not entirely reliable; the opponent can use different scents to mask their own, and by holding their breath and concentrating their mind, they can evade tracking. Even more formidable are those who use magic formations to conceal their existence and merge with nature.”
“At this time, strategy is essential. You might launch a surprise counterattack or draw the snake out of the hole.”
“When tracking an enemy, you also need to consider the most likely direction they would flee or the most likely place they would hide to find them the fastest.”
“Ingenuity is also a part of strength.”
“Using ingenuity is the highest realm of the tracking technique.”
Lu Changsheng began to impart the second and third layers of understanding for the tracking technique.
Lu Changsheng took out a small twig from a bird’s nest on Qingyun Peak, and then had Lian use the scent on the twig, covering Qingyun Peak with his divine sense to find the exact location of the bird’s nest.
At first, Lian was not proficient and it took him half an hour to find the bird’s nest on a crooked tree at the mountain’s peak.
Once proficient, Lu Changsheng took out a pinecone, and this time, it took Lian less than a quarter of an hour to find the location of the Spirit Squirrel.
[Ding, you have bestowed your disciple “Lian” with the Profound Rank low- grade cultivation technique “Tracking Technique,” and have received a five hundred times return reward for teaching: Heaven Rank low-grade cultivation technique “Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking.”]
[Ding, the number of bestowal opportunities today -1.]
Out of nowhere, a Heaven Rank low-grade cultivation technique appeared in Lu Changsheng’s arms.
“Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking,” with just a faint wisp of scent, could track an enemy thousands of miles away, and at the highest level of cultivation, one could even see the scenes surrounding the person being tracked from thousands of miles away.
Isn’t this just like having clairvoyance?
Lu Changsheng was elated.
If he could cultivate “Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking” to the highest level, then even without leaving Mount Shu, he would be able to use the tracking secret technique to see what his disciple was doing.
This was one of its uses.
The most significant use of “Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking” was for chasing down enemies.
“If you don’t remove the roots, the spring breeze will bring them back to life.”
By mastering this secret technique, it would be extremely difficult for the enemy to escape.
As a Heaven Rank technique, Lian was not yet able to comprehend it, so Lu Changsheng began to cultivate “Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking” first.
Three months later, Lu Changsheng split a strand of his divine sense and, following the aura of his eldest disciple Lin Qingzhi, left Mount Shu to track Lin Qjngzhi’s whereabouts.
“The Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking uses the Space Law, which is extremely difficult to comprehend.”
Lu Changsheng guided this inconsequential strand of divine sense, tracking for thousands of li.
Three days and nights passed, and Lu Changsheng’s strand of divine sense entered a feudal kingdom known as Ji Country.
The group of Mount Shu disciples that Lin Qingzhi was part of, under the guise of loose cultivators, traveled while slaying demons and promoting righteousness and was currently in Ji Country.
Lu Changsheng’s divine sense, through the use of a secret technique, searched for Lin Qingzhi’s exact location in Ji Country.
“Found you!”
Another day passed, and Lu Changsheng, using the Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking, finally located his eldest disciple’s position.
“Condense!”
Inside the cave dwelling on Qingyun Peak, Lu Changsheng’s real body continuously changed hand signs, forcibly condensing the scenery thousands of li away.
“I see it.”
Lu Changsheng peered across ten thousand li and vaguely saw the Mount Shu group where Lin Qingzhi was located.
In Ji Country, at Vast Wilderness Marsh, several hundred loose cultivators had responded to the local government’s recruitment and gathered at the local military camp.
The military camp stretched for tens of li, with flags fluttering in the wind, and two hundred thousand mortal soldiers assembled.
A general with cultivation at the fifth layer of the Golden Core Realm, his demeanor imposing, said to the several hundred loose cultivators with a fist salute, “I am Chu Yu, the Great General of Ji Country! This time we are campaigning against the bandits in Vast Wilderness Marsh. I must trouble all the Daoist masters present to lend their aid. The bandit leader Sima Kuang is a heretic cultivator at the sixth layer of the Golden Core Realm, who has rallied eight hundred highly skilled bandits, entrenched in the miasma-filled Vast Wilderness Marsh, and frequently raids various cities, engaging in arson, murder, and looting.”
“The court has long sought to eradicate this bandit. However, each time we send troops against them, these eight hundred bandits would hide within the Vast Wilderness Marsh, elusive as spirits and ghosts, causing the grand army to return without success.”
“Therefore, the court is sparing no expense this time, recruiting all the Daoist masters and dispatching an army of two hundred thousand, determined to exterminate these bandits.”
“Tomorrow, the two hundred thousand-strong army will attack Vast Wilderness Marsh. All the Daoist masters need only to slay the bandit leader Sima Kuang. Leave the rest of the bandits to us.”
“As long as the Daoist masters contribute to the victory, our Ji Country will surely reward you handsomely.”
“Whoever slays the bandit leader Sima Kuang will be rewarded with a fifth-grade elixir pill!”
Chu Yu announced the contents of the bounty mission to the assembled loose cultivators.
Upon hearing about the fifth-grade elixir pill, all the loose cultivators present went wild with desire.
Such a pill was worth a fortune!
Especially for the loose cultivators presented, whose cultivation levels were mostly within the Qi Transformation Realm and Golden Core Realm, some might never even see a fourth-grade elixir pill in their entire lifetime, let alone a fifth-grade one.
Just a fifth-grade elixir pill…
Lu Changsheng, observing the crowd through the Technique of Ten Thousand Li Tracking and seeing them go crazy over a single fifth-grade elixir pill, couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
Because he consistently exploited the system for its benefits, Lu Changsheng had a mountainous pile of fourth-grade, fifth-grade, and sixth-grade elixir pills in his possession, and even a precious eighth-grade elixir pill that could shake the six Righteous Dao sects and the four Great Demon Sects.
It seemed that aiding Ji Country in the elimination of the eight hundred bandits in Vast Wilderness Marsh was the most important task for Lin Qingzhi and the Mount Shu group during this excursion.
The leader of the eight hundred bandits, Sima Kuang, a heretic cultivator at the sixth layer of the Golden Core Realm, was of a lower realm than the leading Mount Shu disciple at the ninth layer of the Golden Core Realm. The task appeared not to be a difficult one for this training mission.
However, Lu Changsheng knew there was something unusual about heretic cultivators.
Heretic cultivators practiced crooked and perverse Daoist techniques, often catching their adversaries off guard.
The Black Tiger Daoist Lu Changsheng encountered in Huang State had such a technique called “Black Tiger Heart Devouring” that could attack the soul of an enemy, causing their soul to scatter and disperse.
“I have a feeling that Master seems to be watching over us.”
Lin Qingzhi, amidst the loose cultivators, suddenly had a realization; in the depths of his soul, it felt as if his master was paying attention to this training mission.