Chapter 1 Linzhou City

Linzhou City, the City Lord's mansion.

On a delicate sand table was a miniature version of Linzhou City.

Looking closely, one could even see numerous points of light moving nimbly within the scaled-down city.

Each of these points of light represented a cultivator.

Of course, not every cultivator in Linzhou City was recorded on this sand table.

Some cultivators were skilled at concealing their aura, so even this magical sand table couldn't detect their presence, and naturally, they wouldn't appear as points of light on the sand table.

A young man with eyes rolled back stood beside the sand table, his hands placed above it, constantly shaking his body. Alternating bright and dark light moved around him, radiating outwards and enveloping every point of light on the sand table.

After a moment, the young man stopped casting his spell and exhaled a long breath of stagnant air.

"I've searched the entire Linzhou City, but haven't found the slightest trace of that Wei Ming."

"Perhaps the Nine Deaths Magic Skill is truly so miraculous, with unique methods to shield against the prying of divination techniques," the young man said.

The Linzhou City Lord, who was waiting nearby, said, "Senior Apprentice Brother Chao, should we conduct a more detailed city-wide investigation? Also, the paper used to spread the incantations is a clue. If we trace it back, even if the other party concealed their identity during the purchase, I believe we can quickly find them."

"No need! Activate the great formation, then lock the city gates. Allow entry but not exit."

"At the same time, release the news that the identity registration and verification methods will be adjusted every two days. Since he's taken out the Nine Deaths Magic Skill, we should naturally accept it all."

"Just collect all the exposed incantations," the young man said slowly after pondering for a moment.

The Linzhou City Lord was taken aback, then seemed to realize something, so he stopped asking and acted according to the order.

At this time, Ye Chuxiao, who continued to wander in Linzhou City, was also puzzled.

He had already shown his sincerity and value, so why hadn't the cultivators from the Jade Tree Sword Sect found him to make a deal?

He didn't actively expose himself because there were too many people near the City Lord's mansion. Once the news was widely exposed, the Jade Tree Sword Sect would be unable to withstand the pressure and would easily choose to 'sell him out.'

But if he were quietly contacted and 'protected' by the Jade Tree Sword Sect, the situation would be different.

Active versus passive, a difference of one word could lead to vastly different treatment and results.

Because of this, Ye Chuxiao had resorted to spreading the Nine Deaths Magic Skill incantations, an action that seemed full of loopholes.

When Ye Chuxiao heard the news and learned of the City Lord's mansion's new order, the doubts in his heart found an answer.

"I put pressure on the Jade Tree Sword Sect, and now they're kicking the pressure back, planning to directly pluck the fruit without bearing any consequences?"

"What makes them so sure that I will expose all the Nine Deaths Magic Skill incantations?" Ye Chuxiao didn't have an answer yet.

It wasn't until he entered another tavern, intending to eavesdrop on some information, that his doubts were resolved.

In the tavern, many cultivators were gathering to discuss the Nine Deaths Magic Skill incantations.

This was the current hot topic and their purpose for coming to Linzhou City, which was understandable.

Some people were fighting to the death for the incantations, but others chose to cooperate, exchanging the incantations they obtained. In the process of exchanging, some discussion was inevitable.

"The living can die, the dead can live. The Dao of life and death is all tied to the spirit, to emotions, to hatred, to thoughts. The meaning of this sentence is very clear. The transformation between life and death is only external. The tempering of the spirit and emotions is fundamental. Therefore, the fundamental intention of the Nine Deaths Magic Skill is to use the great terror between life and death to temper the supreme spirit, to transcend into the nascent soul," one cultivator said loudly.

"No! That's not right! Listen to this sentence: The human body's flesh and blood store essence and soul, therefore flesh and blood are superior, and essence and soul are secondary. Use treasures to temper flesh and blood, apply great techniques, preserve vitality and nourish the soul. The meaning of this sentence clearly places the flesh and blood above the soul, speaking of the principle of nourishing the flesh. It's just a pity that we can't see the specific great techniques for tempering the flesh and blood and storing vitality, otherwise we could directly begin cultivating this technique," another cultivator said.

Soon, the cultivators in the tavern were divided into two factions.

One faction believed that one should temper the flesh and blood and use the flesh and blood to nourish the soul. The Nine Deaths Magic Skill was truly a supreme method for preserving life and cultivating oneself.

The other faction believed that flesh and blood were merely 'tributes.' The purpose of nourishing the flesh and blood was to better touch life and death. The spirit and soul would be sublimated in the repeated tempering between life and death.

Looking at the disputes between these two factions on a larger scale, it was clearly the conflict between body cultivators and law cultivators.

Of course, it would be more reasonable to cultivate both body and law.

However, most people's aptitudes, resources, time, energy, and so on were limited.

Beneath body and law, there were still hundreds of schools of cultivators, let alone these two large categories?

But at the same time, they also gave different interpretations of the incantations that Ye Chuxiao had spread, from different perspectives.

Many things that Ye Chuxiao originally couldn't understand found some answers in the arguments of these cultivators.

"This is the Jade Tree Sword Sect's plan. They predicted that I wouldn't be able to interpret the Nine Deaths Magic Skill alone, and are deliberately creating a closed environment for interpreting the magic skill. These cultivators from various factions who have entered the city have become their tools."

"And if I want to cultivate the Nine Deaths Magic Skill, I will inevitably have to spread the incantations again and again, and then absorb nutrients."

"They are not at all worried about what will happen after I master the Nine Deaths Magic Skill. After all, judging from Wei Ming's identity, there is no hatred between him and the Jade Tree Sword Sect. And the Jade Tree Sword Sect may not need to acquire 100% of the Nine Deaths Magic Skill. As long as they collect 70% or 80% of it, they can use it to enrich their foundation and improve their own cultivation path."

"The fact that I actively spread the Nine Deaths Magic Skill incantations is, in their view, a kind of 'self-exposure.' If I had mastered the secrets of the Nine Deaths Magic Skill, then I would definitely hide the secrets, avoiding the exposure of my own weaknesses."

Having reached a conclusion, Ye Chuxiao was not discouraged, but rather happy and excited.

The only thing the Jade Tree Sword Sect didn't expect was that he wasn't Wei Ming and didn't have a deep hatred for Qiu Changling.

At the same time, he didn't have the slightest psychological burden about spreading the Nine Deaths Magic Skill.

A divine skill or ultimate art that cannot be cultivated is just waste paper.

Only what can truly be mastered is the key.

Moreover, once Ye Chuxiao uses the power of the entire city's cultivators to interpret more than half of the Nine Deaths Magic Skill, it will be enough to form his own understanding and views.

It may not be necessary to announce the full magic skill secrets.

In the following days, Ye Chuxiao continued to operate, spreading more magic skill incantations.

At the same time, the small Linzhou City was completely filled with foreign cultivators.

The disputes and conflicts in the city became more and more intense.

Gradually, it reached the limit of the Jade Tree Sword Sect's management and tolerance of this city.

Not only that, but as Ye Chuxiao spread the incantations more and more times, many cultivators began to replicate Ye Chuxiao's behavior, even adding their own views to it.

Some of it was to deliberately mislead.

Some of it was to spread their own ideas or to get answers to their cultivation doubts.

As a result, the water became even muddier.

The few traces left by Ye Chuxiao were also stirred up and shattered in this turbidity.

After another four or five days, many cultivator merchants had appeared in the market, selling so-called complete versions of the Nine Deaths Magic Skill.

These complete versions did collect a large number of incantations that could be gathered on the market.

It's just that even if it's the same sentence, the meaning will be very different if the order is wrong, let alone the fact that it is mixed with many prejudices and concepts, creating many versions of the Nine Deaths Magic Skill.

Most of these versions, if followed for cultivation, would predictably lead to cultivation deviation.