Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi

Chapter 362: The Hundred Arts of Cultivation, Swallowing Clouds and Breathing Out Mist

Yang Chan looked at the mala beads in his hand. There were enough to form a bracelet. He placed them all on the Incomplete Seal, where streams of ethereal light flowed over them.

He had obtained one bead for every floor he ascended, and now he held this very string.

The flowing ethereal light indicated it was charging with energy. Once enough energy was stored, it would likely open the Void Passage again, allowing him to leave this sealed space.

Being in a place where no sunlight ever reached was incredibly oppressive.

His gaze shifted to the very top floor, the one hundred and forty-fourth—or to be precise, the one hundred and forty-fifth. This was the change after the tower had added a new level.

At the same time, the greatest danger should also lie within.

Although he had seen various powerful Exotic Beasts suppressed along the way, there had been no real danger. Yet, the closer he got to the top of the tower, the more uneasy he felt, which meant the danger was definitely on the top floor.

The Incomplete Seal in his hand still pointed upward. He would have preferred to wait for the seal to accumulate enough power to take him away directly.

However, Yang Chan discovered that while ethereal light swirled around it, a single line of its pattern was missing.

It was like the tower itself, which defined this space; the top floor was the space’s upper limit. The Incomplete Seal in his hand, now encircled by the mala beads, was similarly missing a "capstone"—it must need a different kind of mala bead.

Only when they were all gathered would the string of mala be complete, perhaps even containing various wondrous powers.

With a single step, Yang Chan continued up the stairs. Once he made a decision, he never hesitated.

The space on the top floor of the tower exceeded his expectations. The ceiling alone was over ten meters high, far taller than the three-meter-plus ceilings of the floors below.

The most striking feature was the stone sculpture in the center. No, that wasn’t quite right. The sculpture was pitch-black all over, and it somewhat resembled the Black Dragon he had seen in the mural within the Green Brick Courtyard.

Compared to the mural, however, this Black Dragon looked far more majestic and powerful, and the pressure it exuded was immense.

It was so lifelike it seemed to be alive.

At the same time, the Incomplete Seal in his pocket was no longer pointing upward, but toward the Black Dragon’s location.

The Black Dragon was currently motionless, as if it had perished long ago.

But Yang Chan didn’t approach it directly, because he could feel that the source of the danger was the Black Dragon itself.

Though he badly wanted to get the Black Mala bead hanging on the Black Dragon—its aura was far stronger than the beads in his hand—he held back. It was clearly the main bead of the set, the key to leaving this space.

He did not draw closer. Instead, he looked to the side.

Unlike the empty floors below, this top floor was filled with things.

Yang Chan saw rows of bookshelves standing on the floor. Each shelf had three tiers and held several books, which caught his attention.

Unlike the Black Dragon in the center, the books didn’t give him any sense of danger. He decided to start with them, hoping to find records about the tower or this space.

Finding a method of escape was his top priority.

He had already spent a great deal of effort searching but had found no useful clues. The Green Brick Courtyard might have held some valuable information, but everything besides the mural and the stone tablet had decayed, leaving him with nothing more to go on.

If he could find any useful information, especially about the Black Dragon in the center, he might be able to leave this space much faster.

Looking at the Black Dragon, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t truly dead. Approaching it directly would likely be immensely dangerous, which was why Yang Chan hadn’t gone for the large Black Mala bead the moment he saw it.

’Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated. Approaching something you know nothing about is just asking for death.’

It would be foolish not to use the means of investigation available to him.

Yang Chan walked to the first bookshelf. Seeing titles like *Comprehensive Guide to Spiritual Medicine Cultivation* and *Six Alchemy Techniques*, he knew these were all books related to Pharmacists.

Wearing gloves, he briefly flipped through them. He didn’t spend too much time, but he noted that the script was ancient and very different from the writing of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. Still, Yang Chan could read most of it. There were even books on Pill Formulas.

As Yang Chan skimmed the contents, he found that many of the Spirit Medicines mentioned had long since gone extinct.

Over the long course of time, the world had changed, and the Spirit Medicines that couldn’t adapt had vanished.

Many of the Pill Formulas he currently used for Alchemy were actually later, optimized Refining methods.

When certain Spirit Medicines were missing, they could be replaced with others, and the medicinal effects might even surpass the original.

The Pill Formulas developed by the ancients used the most suitable ingredients available at that time. In the present day, while many Spirit Medicines had gone extinct, new ones had also appeared, some with medicinal effects potentially even better than those that were lost.

Many Pharmacists enjoyed researching Pill Formulas and then attempting to refine them. For instance, Yang Chan knew that Elder Hua of the Cyan Yuan Sect was very fond of studying Pill Formulas.

Other Pharmacists were the same. Some had only average Alchemy Ability, but their grasp of Medicinal Properties was exceptional. When studying Pill Formulas, they could always find better Spirit Medicine substitutes, which they would then have someone with superior Alchemy Ability test out.

Every Major Sect had people like this. The Pill Formulas they developed became part of the Sect’s foundational resources and could even be exchanged at the Pharmacist Assembly. Whether for other Pill Formulas or for Cultivation Resources, it was always a worthwhile endeavor.

Although Yang Chan was very interested in these Pill Formulas, he didn’t study them in depth right now. His primary goal was still to find any records related to the Black Dragon.

Moving on, he saw that the next bookshelf was filled with records about Puppet Masters. The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty also had people who studied Mechanical Puppets, but their Combat Power wasn’t particularly high. However, the Hidden Weapons designed during the course of puppet research were extremely practical.

When used with various refined Hidden Weapons, the power they could unleash was formidable.

Even a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster couldn’t afford to ignore them, but the material requirements were very high.

For example, the Hidden Weapons Yang Chan possessed could threaten an Inner Master, but they were a far cry from being able to deal with a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

Yang Chan’s eyes swept over them before he moved on again. He found that most of the bookshelves held books on miscellaneous arts. While not without value, they weren’t what he needed right now.

He had a long life ahead of him. If he were living peacefully back in the Cyan Yuan Sect, he wouldn’t mind studying these miscellaneous arts.

The hundred arts of Cultivation were a good way to pass the long years, but that wasn’t his current priority.

Right now, Yang Chan just wanted to leave this space. Unfortunately, none of the books on the shelves matched what he was looking for, which left him feeling disheartened.

With no other choice, Yang Chan could only turn his attention to the mural on the wall. It depicted the Black Dragon, swallowing clouds and breathing mist, somewhat like a divine dragon, exuding a measure of power.