Divine Restriction Technique

Chapter 37 Divine Restriction Technique

Song Wen walked out of the shop, his robes concealing the 180 Spirit Stones he had just secured.

He retraced his steps to the stall where he had previously inquired about the price of corpse miasma Qi.

Before he could even speak, the stall owner recognized him. The man's brow furrowed in displeasure.

"Why is it you again? Are you here to cause trouble?"

Song Wen smiled amiably.

"Do not be angry, Senior Brother. This time, I am truly here to purchase corpse miasma Qi. How about sixty Spirit Stones for a bottle?"

The stall owner's tone softened. "As long as you have the Spirit Stones, I will naturally sell."

He had put out three bottles of corpse miasma Qi for sale, and up to this point, he hadn't sold a single one.

The price Song Wen offered was reasonable, so the stall owner had no reason to refuse.

Song Wen counted out sixty Spirit Stones and handed them over, then swept a bottle of corpse miasma Qi into his Storage Bag.

Just as he turned to leave, his gaze caught a cultivation manual sitting in a dusty corner of the stall. It bore the title Divine Restriction Technique.

Song Wen asked, "How much for this manual?"

Having already completed one transaction, the stall owner's attitude was considerably warmer, a touch of enthusiasm returning to his face.

"One thousand Spirit Stones."

It was an astronomical price.

However, Song Wen was not startled by the figure. Having wandered the market for so long, he understood the vendors' tactics perfectly. For rare items or goods of questionable origin, they always demanded sky-high prices, yet the actual transaction price was usually a fraction of the initial quote.

"May I examine it?"

"Of course."

Song Wen picked up the Divine Restriction Technique and flipped it open.

As soon as he turned the cover, disappointment settled in his chest.

The manual consisted of only a single page. Furthermore, the material of this inner page was entirely different from the outer cover.

The technique was recorded on an ancient, weathered piece of Demon Beast hide, while the paper cover had clearly been added later.

To make matters worse, more than half of the page was covered by a slip of paper, leaving only the first hundred or so characters visible. At a glance, the entire text likely amounted to no more than three or four hundred words.

Song Wen skimmed the exposed text. From those first hundred characters, he could tell that this was an extremely rare soul-refining cultivation technique.

Specifically, it allowed a cultivator to forcibly enhance their own soul strength by devouring the soul fragments of others.

This immediately piqued Song Wen's interest. However, it was blindingly obvious that this text was incomplete.

It lacked the introductory general principles and the subsequent formulas. The single page in his hand was likely just the first layer of the technique.

"How much do you actually want for this?" Song Wen asked again.

While Song Wen was evaluating the Divine Restriction Technique, the stall owner had not paid him much attention.

In his experience, Song Wen would be just like the previous customers-lured in by the grand name of the Divine Restriction Technique, only to leave in disappointment upon realizing it was a single fragmented page.

He had obtained this famous technique over ten years ago. He had tried to cultivate it himself, but the severe gaps made it utterly impossible to practice.

Later, he had let his friends and family try, but they met the same wall.

Eventually, he placed it on his stall. A few inner sect disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect had even bought it at high prices, but not a single one had successfully cultivated it.

Those disciples had not only forced him to take the manual back, but they had also spread word far and wide that the technique was a fake and uncultivatable piece of garbage. This completely ruined his plans to use the Divine Restriction Technique to scam unsuspecting buyers out of Spirit Stones.

Those inner sect disciples possessed immense strength and powerful backgrounds; he could not afford to offend them. He could only swallow his anger and accept the loss.

For the past two years, the Divine Restriction Technique had gathered dust in the corner, entirely ignored. If Song Wen had not picked it up today, the stall owner would have forgotten he even possessed it.

Seeing that Song Wen was interested-and recognizing him as a weak, newly entered novice-the stall owner knew that if he could just get the boy to buy it, a refund would be out of the question.

He immediately began to hype it up.

"Junior Brother, you truly have an exceptional eye! This Divine Restriction Technique is the ultimate, closely guarded secret art of the Ten Thousand Souls Sect. It is absolutely a top-tier soul-cultivation method. It seems this manual is fated with you, Junior Brother. For just one thousand Spirit Stones, you may take it."

The Ten Thousand Souls Sect had been an immensely powerful ghost-path sect. They had dominated the Tuocang Mountain Range-where the Corpse Demon Sect now stood-for nearly ten thousand years, a true hegemon of the cultivation world.

However, several centuries ago, they were annihilated by a coalition of several large orthodox sects.

With their fall, the lineage of the Ten Thousand Souls Sect had been completely severed.

Song Wen was not so easily swayed by a few grand words. He was not foolish enough to believe he was some chosen child of destiny who could stumble upon a peerless secret art just by walking out the door.

He shook his head. "The gaps are too severe. It has neither a beginning nor an end. It is almost certainly impossible to cultivate. It is not worth one thousand Spirit Stones."

With that, Song Wen placed the Divine Restriction Technique back onto the stall.

"Junior Brother, don't leave just yet! Since ancient times, business has always been about demanding a sky-high price and settling for a counteroffer. Why don't you give me a price?"

Song Wen glanced at the vendor and said slowly, "I am afraid that if I give you my price, you will strike me."

"How could that be? Why would I ever attack a fellow Junior Brother within the sect market? Rest assured and speak freely."

"Is that so?"

Receiving an absolute nod of confirmation from the vendor, Song Wen extended his hand, spreading five fingers.

"Five Spirit Stones."

Fearful that Song Wen might walk away, the stall owner blurted out instantly, "Deal!"

Song Wen stared at him in disbelief, hesitating. "I mean five low-grade Spirit Stones, mind you."

"Of course, low-grade Spirit Stones!"

The stall owner shoved the Divine Restriction Technique into Song Wen's hands with one move, while thrusting his other palm forward to demand payment.

Song Wen stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded. It turned out his counteroffer had still been far too high.

This Divine Restriction Technique was likely so fragmented that it was completely worthless. Forget five Spirit Stones; it probably wasn't worth a single one.

Seeing Song Wen hesitate, the joy on the stall owner's face vanished, replaced by an ominous glare.

"What? Are you trying to go back on your word?"

Feeling the sharp aura beginning to rise from the vendor, Song Wen offered a hollow laugh.

"Of course not."

Song Wen reluctantly pulled out five Spirit Stones and handed them over.

As soon as the stones changed hands, the vendor's face instantly became warm and friendly once more.

The speed of his transformation was no slower than the face-changing acts of the Sichuan opera Song Wen had seen in his past life.

"Junior Brother, take another look. Is there anything else you require?"

Song Wen shook his head hastily. "No, I have gathered everything I need. Farewell."

He was terrified that if he stayed any longer, the vendor would find a way to bleed him dry of every single remaining stone.

"Take care, Junior Brother! Do visit my stall again in the future!" the vendor shouted loudly at his retreating back.

Hearing the call, Song Wen only quickened his steps.

He did not return straight to his cave dwelling. Instead, taking advantage of the fact that the Transmission Hall had not yet closed for the evening, he went back inside. There, he purchased the Blood Escape Technique and a corpse-refining manual called the Ghost Corpse Technique.

The Ghost Corpse Technique cost him twenty-five Spirit Stones and was a widely circulated method within the Corpse Demon Sect.

Song Wen's primary reason for choosing it was simple: this particular manual contained the refinement methods for both Walking Corpses and Living Corpses.

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