Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

The next day, Liu Xing flew to the summit early. The Great Elder's training grounds were designated a restricted area, and no disciples were allowed to approach without summons. Not only were there powerful restrictions, but the entrance was also guarded. Today, the guards were two fellow cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Seeing Liu Xing approaching, they intercepted him from a distance.

"The front is a restricted area, please take a detour." The guards were all inner disciples and did not know Liu Xing.

"Brother, you are welcome. I come to see you on the orders of the Great Elder. Here is your token." Liu Xing politely greeted him and took out the token his master had given him last night. He didn't directly reveal his identity, maintaining a low profile. Seeing the token, the two brothers were quite surprised. They carefully examined it to confirm it was correct before letting him pass.

Liu Xing arrived at the restricted entrance. Holding the Elder's Order, he incanted a spell, and a light portal automatically opened. He took a deep breath and stepped through the portal, which automatically closed again. A winding stone staircase appeared before him, and Liu Xing ascended it, soon arriving at the entrance to Su Xingchen's cave.

"Disciple Liu Xing, greetings to Master." Liu Xing bowed outside the cave.

"Liu Xing is here, come in." Su Xingchen called out. The cave door opened automatically.

Liu Xing stepped into the cave, feeling a bit nervous and curious, his eyes darting around. The cave itself was simple and empty. Su Xingchen sat cross-legged on a cushion in the center, his eyes narrowed. Two portraits hung on the inner wall. One was of an elderly man with an ethereal demeanor, whom Liu Xing recognized as the founder of the sect, Qianjizi. The other was of a middle-aged man with a long beard, whom Liu Xing did not recognize. In front of the portraits stood a desk, with an incense burner in the center, three burning incense sticks. Several other items lay on the desk, seemingly inherited from ancestors; their purpose was unclear.

"Let's go kneel down and pay our respects to the ancestors first! On the left is the founder, Qianjizi, whose statue you've probably seen. On the right is my master, Zhaixingzi," Su Xingchen introduced. Liu Xing ran forward, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed three times with a sincere gesture, which pleased Elder Su greatly.

After paying respects to the Grandmaster, Liu Xing stood up and walked to his master's lower right, bowing slightly. He stood quietly, performing the disciple's salute. After a long pause, Su Xingchen spoke, "Liu Xing, you and I are destined to be master and disciple. We must cherish each other. I will not inquire about your past, only your future. As your master, I know you hold many secrets, so I will not inquire, and you need not reveal them to anyone. As you become my disciple today, you must diligently cultivate. I will guide you in your practice, and we will contribute to the sect to the best of our ability. Do you understand?"

"Disciple understands!" Seeing that his master had no intention of pursuing his past and secrets, the heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, so he agreed seriously.

"I have four disciples. Two of them failed to form a fetus and have passed away. The other one succeeded and is currently in the elders' department. However, she is not in the sect recently. I will introduce her to you when she comes back. You are the fourth one and also my last disciple for nearly five hundred years. You must work hard and don't bring shame to my reputation." Su Xingchen continued to introduce him to the situation of the sect.

"Disciple will follow Master's instructions." Liu Xing nodded in agreement.

"The path of cultivation is mainly divided into three aspects: essence, energy and spirit. Humans specialize in energy, so their realm is improved the fastest; demons specialize in body, so their bodies are comparable to magic weapons, their lives are long, and their combat power is unparalleled; ghosts specialize in soul, their souls are powerful, but without a body as a carrier, they are inferior in all aspects. Your main practice is unique, your magic power and spiritual awareness are superior to others, but you are very insufficient in magic body. If you are in some restrictions that limit magic power or spiritual awareness, you will instantly fall behind in battle. Do you understand?" Su Xingchen pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of Liu Xing in one go, which made Liu Xing admire him very much. The Yuanying Patriarch is indeed worthy of his reputation.

"Master, you are absolutely right. I have also been looking for a way to cultivate my body, but the opportunity has not come yet. I hope Master can give me some guidance." Liu Xing asked humbly.

"I see that you have a very strong evil spirit. If you don't deal with it promptly, it will surge through your body. At best, you'll be seriously injured and fall back to a lower realm, or at worst, your body will explode and die." Su Xingchen revealed another shocking revelation, which shocked Liu Xing. This was a problem he couldn't feel at all at the moment, as he was still at the lower realm. But he knew his master was right, as he had heard about the phenomenon of evil spirit surges in other books. Most cultivators wouldn't experience this problem, but those with heavy sins of killing could face it.

"Master, please save me!" Liu Xing broke out in a cold sweat and fell to his knees.

"Get up now. Since I have pointed out your problem, I naturally have a solution." Seeing that Liu Xing was frightened, Su Xingchen immediately lifted him up and reassured him.

"I once defeated an enemy known for his righteousness and snatched from him a secret technique called 'The Art of Inducing Evil'. This technique uses one's own evil energy to refine the body. It can not only refine one's own evil energy, thus controlling it and refining the body, but at a high level, it can also be transformed into armor for defensive purposes." Su Xingchen recounted this slowly, filling Liu Xing with joy. This was exactly the technique he needed. His master tapped his forehead, and the entire secret of the Art of Inducing Evil entered his mind. He immediately sat cross-legged, quietly contemplating it. Su Xingchen paused, giving Liu Xing time to comprehend.

Three days passed quickly, and Liu Xing still hadn't awoke from his trance. He seemed to be surrounded by a hurricane, a sign of his malevolent aura becoming apparent.

"This boy has a very high level of comprehension. He completed the first step of revealing the evil spirit so quickly. Not bad." Su Xingchen nodded in praise.

After the evil spirit manifested, the next step was to refine the body. Guiding the evil spirit into the body, the muscles, bones, and skin were first strengthened, followed by the internal organs. This process was excruciatingly painful, and most people would sweat profusely and scream uncontrollably during practice. But Liu Xing didn't even frown as he attempted to guide the evil spirit through the body. Was it painful? Of course not. He had already experienced the extreme pain of the Gangfeng Spirit Refining, and the pain of the evil spirit body refining was a mere drizzle for him, easily handled. But in Su Xingchen's eyes, the experience was quite different.

"This boy has great endurance. He didn't even make a sound despite such heart-wrenching pain. Not bad, not bad." Su Xingchen praised again.

Liu Xing practiced in seclusion for a month, only concluding his practice when he had fully grasped the techniques. To achieve even minor mastery of the technique, he needed to practice diligently in seclusion, gradually refining the evil spirit. There was no rush. When Liu Xing finished, Su Xingchen escorted him out of the cave. He hadn't received the magical tools or elixirs he'd envisioned. However, obtaining the "Evil Inducing Technique" was his greatest reward, and Liu Xing was content.