Drawbacks?
Qin An caressed the black knife and asked, "What kind of drawbacks?"
Hearing about drawbacks only piqued Qin An’s interest.
Being able to exchange a Jade Bone Realm Heart Method with the merits of a Body-Encompassing Realm, these drawbacks seemed significant.
The Internal Affairs Department officer said respectfully, "Speaking of drawbacks, one must mention the Bodhi Sect, which was once a dominant force in Lingzhou, but gradually declined due to the Subodhi Heart Skill. Today, no member is left, and all remaining items have been collected by the Evil Extermination Bureau."
At this point, the officer from the Internal Affairs Department looked at Qin An with some curiosity.
He had never seen Qin An’s appearance. Logically, a copper state officer should have some understanding of the Bodhi Sect, but Qin An seemed unaware.
Could it be that there’s a newcomer in Lingzhou?
To be promoted to the position of copper state officer at such a young age, his strength must be exceptional.
Thinking of this, the officer from the Internal Affairs Department, seeing Qin An not responding, became even more respectful, bowing very low, two heads shorter than Qin An.
"The Subodhi Heart Skill requires extremely high Buddhist Dharma comprehension to cultivate, but nowadays, demon deities are rampant, and those with high Buddhist Dharma comprehension are rare."
"Over the years, the Bodhi Sect had no successors and gradually declined."
"Until today, all the people have left, and even the abbot is nowhere to be found."
Qin An slightly raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, slowly rubbing the black knife with his right hand: "I see."
In this way, he fully understood the situation of the Bodhi Sect.
If a sect wants to prosper, it needs not only profound heart methods but also essential entry-level heart methods.
The Subodhi Heart Skill requires high comprehension, which discourages many, causing a decline over time as more couldn’t keep up while the frontliners decreased, leading to downfall.
Thinking of this, Qin An picked up the Subodhi Heart Skill and said, "I’ll take it."
He has the Scholar profession, with an innate talent in heart method comprehension, which perfectly matches the Subodhi Heart Skill.
Exchanging a Body-Encompassing Realm merit for a Jade Bone Realm heart method is a surely good deal for Qin An.
The Internal Affairs Department officer looked puzzled, but knowing Qin An was a copper state officer, he knew he didn’t need to explain his actions to them.
They just had to obey Qin An’s orders and said nothing further.
Qin An, holding the Subodhi Heart Skill, returned to the bookshelf, continuing to search for cultivation techniques.
He initially only planned to exchange for heart and knife methods, but now that he had the Subodhi Heart Skill of the Jade Bone Realm, the consumption of energy and blood would be greatly reduced, so Qin An also exchanged for a defensive technique.
After registering with the officer from the Internal Affairs Department, Qin An didn’t leave immediately but continued practicing his Scholar profession in the Confidential Library.
...
Hidden Mountain.
Named for its form being indistinguishable due to perennial fogs and clouds.
Currently, deep within Hidden Mountain, birds and flowers fluttered past, and the waters remained calm.
In a mountain stream, an old woman in floral cloth carried a cane, picking flowers among the blossoms.
There was a snow-white hue on the old woman’s back, and a closer look revealed a fox tail several meters long.
The fox tail dragged on the ground, causing nearby flowers to shatter with the wind.
The old woman picked a red flower, took out a copper mirror, and wore the flower in her hair, her deeply wrinkled face pulling together in an extremely ugly smile.
"Reporting!"
At this moment, a flash of white darted by and transformed into a woman in a light gauze, bowing her head and kneeling on the ground.
The old woman slightly frowned, her fingers gently playing with a fresh flower.
The petals shot like arrows, sweeping across the gauze woman’s face and leaving a deep bloody scar on her cheek.
The old woman’s voice was icy: "Manners, manners, do you understand? We are no longer beasts; we are creatures with manners."
The gauze woman trembled slightly and hurriedly tidied her clothes before saying, "Mistress, the Hundred Beasts Sect failed; Xinghuai died under Yang Quanfeng’s hammer, Li Zheng is also dead, and as for Qin An...it seems Yang Quanfeng values him highly, showing signs of promotion."
When the voice fell, the petal-covered mountain stream fell silent.
The old woman straightened, her withered hand brushing over her cane: "Send someone to Cangyun Valley, find the Thousand-face Monkey."
The gauze woman hesitated slightly.
The fox mother opened her mouth, revealing sharp teeth, grabbing a handful of flowers and herbs to chew madly, appearing frenzied.
"The Tiger Race’s secret cache will open, and those reckless monkeys have talked about cooperation many times; in that case, let’s have a cooperation."
"The Thousand-face Monkey cultivates the Thousand-Faced Skill, let it infiltrate the city to gather information, temporarily filling in for Li Zheng’s position."
The gauze woman reacted, hurriedly nodded in approval, prepared to rise and leave.
The fox mother raised her right hand, pressing down on the gauze woman’s shoulder: "Gather more information on Qin An. The Cangshan Jade of mine is in his hands; he, a mere copper state officer, couldn’t have stepped into the Jade Bone so quickly. That Cangshan Jade is what I use to remedy my hidden illnesses; he must die, and the Cangshan Jade must be reclaimed."
The gauze woman nodded repeatedly.
But before she could leave, the fox mother reached out, piercing her hand into the gauze woman’s chest and extracting a blood-dripping heart.
The gauze woman looked at the fox mother in disbelief and agony: "Mistress...I..."
The fox mother took a bite of the heart, her sharp teeth bathed in blood: "A newcomer? Didn’t know not to dress prettier than I when seeing me? In that case, your skin is mine."
The gauze woman’s eyes rolled back, and her corpse turned into a white fox.
The fox mother squatted, letting out a softly thin voice.
...
Several days later.
Qin An placed a book on the shelf; a wisp of smoke drifted past his eyes.
[Scholar lv.5(0/800): Your reading speed slightly increased]
[Talent: Mastery of Comprehension of the Embodied Realm Heart Method]
[Promotion Conditions: Read ten Body-Encompassing Realm cultivation techniques (10/10)]
After days of diligent reading, today finally paid off.
The Scholar profession successfully reached level five, achieving mastery in heart method comprehension.
With Qin An’s current talent, he could cultivate the Body-Encompassing Realm Heart Methods to perfection without expending much energy and blood.
But for Qin An, this was far from enough.
Qin An walked out of the Confidential Library, headed towards his residence, thinking to himself: "With a level five Scholar talent, combined with ample energy and blood, and supplemented by the Jade Bone Realm Heart Method, pushing the heart method to the Jade Bone Realm."
Nothing eventful happened along the way.
After returning to his room, Qin An closed the door behind him, ensuring there was no one around, retrieved the Subodhi Heart Skill from his embrace, and began to study it closely.
The Subodhi Heart Skill required extremely high comprehension for cultivation, but for Qin An, it only needed triggering of his profession talent.
When Qin An finished reading it entirely, he sat cross-legged on his bed, operating his true qi according to the route described by the Subodhi Heart Skill.
The true qi circled once, obscure and incomprehensible like mud.
Yet, before Qin An opened his eyes, texts gathered before him, twisting like serpents.
[You practice the Subodhi Heart Skill, triggering the mastery of comprehension of the Body-Encompassing Realm cultivation technique]
[Subodhi, Subodhi, sitting withered under the Bodhi tree, eventually becoming a Buddha]
[You sit withered for years without a path, knowing that with a level five talent, you cannot comprehend the Jade Bone Realm cultivation technique]
[Years later, you expend twenty percent of energy and blood, beginning to forcibly break through]