The Science of Cultivation
Chapter 303: Kan Wuji’s Inheritance Pt.2

Li Lang and the disciples of the Radiant Wing Sect engrossed themselves with all the texts around them in their search for the proper technique. It was their only clue to advance further in the pyramid building, where the inheritance supposedly lay.

“What do you think about this one? It’s an advanced variation of the Absolute Dome Art that utilizes layering several thin layers to defend against a combination of threats you may face,” Mu Hanyue suggested.

“No, that doesn’t really fit with the theme of illusions,” Li Lang rejected.

“But if you combine it with the one from earlier, you could shape them into the image of a person to act as decoys.”

“That—a good idea, but it seems overly complicated. I would like to think a senior in the Violet Core Realm would have found a more refined method for a similar effect. They should still value an efficient technique as much as we do, despite having much more Qi. It’s something to look out for, though. A refined version of what you describe should exist if the senior chose to go along that path of development.”

“You people are overcomplicating things,” Jing Song chimed in, only to look away when he made eye contact with Li Lang. “We should consider forcing that hatch open.”

“Jing Song!” Mu Hanyue reprimanded. “Do you seriously believe we have the ability to overpower a seal left behind by a Violet Core expert?”

“Maybe, considering the man in question has likely been dead for a hundred years.”

“If that were true, what if our actions cause this place to collapse on us?”

“Then we’ll deal with it.”

“Yeah, deal with explaining why we destroyed everything valuable in here.”

One of the other disciples audibly cleared their throat, preventing them from getting out of hand. The two stole a glance at their guest, who seemed to be completely ignoring them as they read and shook their heads. They turned back to each other at the same time, causing them to both snort and look away.

With the scene defused, everyone soon resumed their search for the right technique.

Hmm, all these texts here should be early versions of the Absolute Dome Art. It’s interesting to see someone else’s thought process in how they tried to make this defensive Qi art more comprehensive and efficient. The man sure explored a lot of possibilities, but I guess that’s what high-level cultivators are supposed to do with their increased lifespan.

It didn’t escape the orthodox disciples’ notice that Li Lang was going through the books at a frightening speed, but no one bothered to bring it up, seeing how focused he was. Only their interim leader, Mu Hanyue, dared to voice several suggestions to him.

All the other Radiant Wing Sect disciples whispered their ideas to their leader first. They did everything they could to minimize interactions with their guest lest they say the wrong thing. Jing Song was already enough of a headache when they had to make their reports, and they didn’t want any possibility of adding to the mess.

Li Lang was fine with that because that meant he would go uninterrupted as he browsed through all the texts within Ruby’s artifact space. With him basically having double the amount of time, it wasn’t surprising that he was the one to find what they were looking for.

“What do you think about this?” he blurted out as he fished out a book from his pile, catching the attention of all the orthodox cultivators.

“I thought you went over that one already?” Mu Hanyue asked.

“Um, takes me a while to process everything I read when I don’t take my time.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Okay—what do you have?”

“It’s just as you described, a variation that focuses on decoys, or more precisely, clones. The basic shield part of the Absolute Dome Art is still there, but instead of trying to enhance both the defensive capabilities and duration of the basic technique, it focuses on the former. The idea is to buy time and obscure senses. Using that opening, it teaches you to create a clone to take your previous position while you become free to relocate.”

It didn’t take long before everyone crowded around the book in question. Li Lang didn’t mind and placed it for all to see. After all, he had copied down its contents already and was already practicing it in the artifact space.

While this new version of the Absolute Dome Art was a lot more sophisticated, the steps involved weren’t difficult, just tedious. It would take a significant amount of practice to be able to use it smoothly enough to trick foes or deploy it fast enough against threats, but that didn’t matter right now.

The words engraved on the hatch didn’t ask for challengers to be proficient in the technique, only to find out. That’s why, after giving his fellow cultivators some time to go over it, he snatched the book back up and guided them toward the hatch.

“Let’s see if this works.”

All eyes were on him as he first tried to place the book on the hatch. Nothing happened, so he did what he thought was most appropriate next—executing the technique in question.

He slowly went through the advanced variation of the Absolute Dome Art, taking heed to follow every step as described. It took almost a full minute to do so, an unacceptable amount of time in combat situations.

Thankfully, his efforts weren’t wasted as the building began to shake once he finished executing the technique. Instead of simply flicking open, the hatch magically pulled itself out from the ground before standing tall like a door. It grew in size until it doubled Li Lang’s height before snapping open. A cloudy surface obscured what was inside, but it was a scene Li Lang had seen before. It was strikingly similar to the door that led to the Valley Master’s office in Nightmoon Valley.

Nodding at each other, the group all walked through the door without hesitation.

Instantly, they found themselves in an entirely new room. It was the same dojo-style room Li Lang had explored when he was trapped in the illusion, except this time, it was likely real.

“Be careful. There may be puppets—”

He cut his sentence short when he realized no one was with him. The door had separated them!

Not this again…

His eyes wandered around in search of the calligraphy signs with hints on what he was about to face. The room was bare, with only wooden floor panels decorating the halls. The only other thing there was the door he had come through, still wide open, and a cloudy surface filling the doorway.

Just as he was about to retreat, he realized the sign he had been looking for was right above the door. One simple word was written on it.

“Learn.”

It didn’t take a genius to know what it meant. The first test was to find the correct technique, so the natural progression meant the next step was to learn it.

The others are probably facing the same trial, but is the condition to pass just to learn it? That’d be too simple. If it’s up to me, this would be timed. I should hurry up.

While splitting up meant it would be more dangerous, Li Lang realized this was also his opportunity to obtain the inheritance. It likely wasn’t a competition, but being the first one to pass would give him dibs on all the loot. With Ruby at his side and the task being to learn, he stood a good chance of being the first one to pass.

My real prize is the heavenly water, but who would say no to more, right?

Diving into Ruby’s artifact space, Li Lang quickly focused on learning the new variation of the Absolute Dome Art. He had already gotten a head start on it before, so he now just needed to hone it.

Training in Ruby’s simulated space meant he could reset his condition at any time. With no risk of permanent injuries, he could be as reckless as he wanted. The only downside was that it didn’t allow for actual progress with cultivation, as it was still a simulation at the end of the day. However, for learning or testing out techniques, it was the perfect tool.

Time passed quickly as he got absorbed in his training. He managed to reduce the cast time from an entire minute to a few seconds relatively quickly, but after that, it was a struggle to cut off every millisecond.

Once he reached that point, he decided to try it out in reality first. Hopefully, his proficiency was enough.

He executed the Absolute Dome Art in the center of the dojo once more, and the dojo instantly reacted. The walls shifted, and out came the familiar sight of two wooden puppets.

Li Lang sighed at the scene as he carefully monitored the new threats.

As expected, they attacked.

The one on the left charged up what appeared to be a flame blast, while the one on the right prepared a large stone pillar that was pointed his way.

Very well, let’s put this technique to the test.