Chapter 156: The Four Techniques

Chapter Fifteen

Night Endless roared in despair within his heart…

The three women clenched their fists with a menacing crackle and, in perfect unison, demanded, “Are you truly swearing with all your heart? Hmm?”

Seeing the three women no longer even call him husband, Night Endless felt a chill of hopelessness run through him.

The three women advanced slowly, knuckles tightening as they approached, forcing Night Endless to retreat step by step, the grand array shifting with him…

Suddenly, a cold sensation ran down his back—he was already pressed against the wall!

Watching them close in, Night Endless cried out anxiously, “I really mean it! I’m swearing sincerely! Truly!” His face was the very picture of aggrieved innocence.

“You think such childish lies could fool us? Hm?” The women pressed on, unmoved.

Seeing the look in their eyes as if they were about to devour him, Night Endless squeezed his eyes shut in utter despair and pleaded, “Please, don’t hit my face! I rely on this face to make a living!”

Smack! Smack! The three women’s blows rained down on his face.

Just then, Ruxue and Ruyue received a message from Xueqing: “Let’s give him a good lesson so he knows who’s really in charge at home! This will keep him from getting any wild ideas outside. Don’t worry, his skin is tough now—his physical defense is at least at the Spirit Gathering level. The two of you can’t do him any real harm, so go ahead! If he dares to fight back, beat him until he’s half-dead. With me here, he won’t die!”

Thus, the three women quickly agreed, determined to put him in his place and ensure he didn’t get too full of himself.

Night Endless had no idea he was being set up by his own women.

Ten minutes later…

Night Endless, sporting a pair of spectacular black eyes, stared miserably at the contract light floating before him.

Had the contract not appeared mid-beating, there was no telling how long the punishment would have gone on!

Xueqing, struggling to suppress her laughter, put on a stern face and said to Ruyue and Ruxue, “See? For a disobedient, philandering rascal like him, a good thrashing is the only thing that works. Next time, just do the same and you’ll have him in line!”

“Yes, Sister Qing! We’ll do exactly that from now on,” the two women replied with bright smiles.

Night Endless could only bemoan his fate in silence.

Xueqing turned around, accepted the contract light from Night Endless, and the three women each dripped a drop of blood upon it. The contract then returned to Night Endless’s brow.

“Will you dare deceive us again?” Xueqing asked.

“I didn’t—” Night Endless began to explain himself.

But seeing the cold glint in the eyes of the three women, who looked every bit like a great demon and her two little apprentices, he hastily replied, “I wouldn’t dare, never again!”

“Husband, does it hurt? Oh dear, sister, how could you hit so hard? Look, you’ve swollen his eyes,” Xueqing said, her tone suddenly turning coquettish as she tenderly touched his face.

“Please, you were clearly the one who hit the hardest!” Night Endless muttered to himself, having now seen the true, mischievous nature of his three wives. He could only sigh inwardly—so much for the good days ahead.

“Husband, I’m sorry. I should have been gentler,” Ruyue said, clinging to his arm and giving it a little shake.

“Oh, husband, don’t be angry anymore, alright?” Ruxue chimed in, hugging his other arm and swaying it.

These two little imps, Night Endless thought with a smile.

The contract array dissipated, and the three women helped their battered husband up from the floor.

Xueqing’s complexion had improved considerably. With a wave of her hand, three identical rings floated before them.

“What are these?” Night Endless asked.

Xueqing smiled sweetly. “These are spatial rings.”

“Spatial rings?” The other two women were astonished.

As the name implied, these rings contained their own space for storing items, eliminating the need to carry belongings everywhere. One simply placed them inside the ring.

Spatial rings were crafted from spatial stone, extremely expensive and priceless. The two women had never seen one before, but they had certainly heard of them.

“Well? Are you going to stand there all day, or do you want us to put them on ourselves?” Xueqing teased.

“Oh, right!” Only then did Night Endless come to his senses and slip a ring onto Xueqing’s ring finger, then Ruyue’s, then Ruxue’s.

The three women gazed happily at the rings on their hands.

“Huh?”

“What is it, Xue’er?” Night Endless asked.

“Why did you put our rings on our ring fingers?” Ruxue wondered.

Xueqing and Ruyue both fixed Night Endless with bright, expectant eyes—they clearly wanted to know as well.

Night Endless pulled all three women into his arms and spoke softly, “Because wearing a ring on your ring finger means you’re all married now. You’re my beloved wives.”

“Oh!” The three women nodded in sudden understanding.

“There’s something very important and serious I need to tell you,” Xueqing declared, her expression grave.

“What is it?” the three others inquired.

Looking at Night Endless, Ruyue, and Ruxue, Xueqing pronounced each word carefully: “It’s about having children.”

At this, the two younger women’s faces flushed crimson.

Only Night Endless nodded, “Having children is important, but is it really something to be so grave about?”

“That may be true for ordinary people,” Xueqing replied, “but for us cultivators, if we’re not careful, it could mean the end of our lineage!”

“Qing’er, explain in detail,” Night Endless grew serious; the continuation of one’s lineage was no trivial matter.

Xueqing nodded and looked at the three of them. “For example, Yue’er and Xue’er, you’re both currently at the ninth level of Body Refinement. Once you reach the Spirit Gathering stage, you’ll begin to transcend the realm of ordinary people—your bodies will be transformed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. You absolutely must conceive before you reach the Core Formation stage. With your current talent, fully awakened by the ‘Frost Celestial Art,’ you’ll reach Core Formation within three years even if you don’t train. After that, unless you encounter a miracle, it will be nearly impossible to have children. This is a rule of this world.”

She paused, then looked at the two women intensely. “Therefore, from this moment on, until you conceive, you must not cultivate further. As soon as you form your core, bearing children will be impossible. Otherwise, you’ll regret it for a lifetime!”

Turning to Night Endless, Xueqing said, “Husband, I’m sorry, I can’t give you an heir.” Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke.

Night Endless could only hold her tightly, at a loss for words. Looking at Ruyue and Ruxue, he finally understood why Xueqing had brought the two young women along—this world had its own hidden rules.

To be a woman unable to bear a child for the one she loves—what greater pain could there be?

Ruyue and Ruxue also embraced Xueqing tightly, each feeling the inexpressible grief in her heart.

Xueqing wiped away her tears and said solemnly to Ruyue and Ruxue, “So, when I arrived, I already set up a barrier around this courtyard. As long as our yin essence remains, we cannot leave. Do you understand?”

The two women nodded, faces burning with embarrassment.

With a sweep of her hand, Xueqing transported the four of them into the bedroom.

…

Chapter Sixteen

Dawn.

A shaft of sunlight fell into the bedroom as Night Endless slowly opened his eyes.

He walked into the courtyard and sat cross-legged. Since absorbing Ruyue and Ruxue’s yin essence the night before, his mind was filled with new knowledge, as if a whole new world had been revealed to him. Calming his thoughts, he seemed to find himself in a shadowy space, his transparent body surrounded by a single shimmering light before him, resonating with the aura of Xueqing, Ruyue, and Ruxue. This must be the contract.

In addition, four clusters of glowing text orbited around him, made up of countless characters, some hundreds of ancient glyphs he could not decipher.

One of the light clusters suddenly shot into his brow, flooding his mind with a torrent of information!

Heaven’s Forbidden Art: The Mad Corpse Sutra

In this world, all things possess spirit—this is the foundation of all. Traditional cultivation arts absorb the spiritual energy of the world to strengthen the body, becoming ever more powerful but ultimately remaining bound to this world, unable to transcend. I created the Forbidden Art to seek transcendence and true freedom—to defy the laws of the world and reverse the very foundation, devouring the spiritual energy of all things to strengthen oneself…

A unique circulation pattern began to operate within Night Endless’s body.

He felt his blood boil, involuntarily following the Mad Corpse Forbidden Art’s path. Spiritual energy gathered from all around, forming a vortex that he devoured ravenously, his body an insatiable abyss.

With the influx of spiritual energy, a powerful bloodlust welled up. His eyes turned crimson, fangs lengthened—his entire being savage and wild, as if he might lunge out and bite someone at any moment.

A terrifying bloodthirst rose within him, clouding his mind with murderous intent and the urge to consume blood. Just as this impulse was about to erupt, a chill washed over his soul, making him shudder.

Regaining clarity, Night Endless quickly stopped actively channeling the technique. It slowed, continuing sluggishly on its own. As the bloodlust faded, he was left shaken. If not for the yin essence of Ruyue and Ruxue’s Frost Celestial Physique restoring his sanity, he might have truly lost himself to slaughter.

…

Night Endless turned his attention to the “Mad Corpse Disintegration Art.” On a diagram of human meridians, points of light traced their paths. Night Endless memorized them all, but after his earlier scare, he dared not practice recklessly.

Next came the “Heavenly Demon Dual Cultivation Method” and the “Corpse Spirit Grand Law.” All four techniques were now imprinted in his mind, impossible to forget.

He glanced at the “Heavenly Demon Dual Cultivation Method” and immediately set it aside. What was the point? Xueqing had already said that until Ruyue and Ruxue conceived, there was to be no cultivation. Dual cultivation required two, didn’t it? Practicing alone was pointless. As for Xueqing, she had already injured her core to awaken his body, and would need at least ten years of rest before she could use her spiritual power again.

The first level of the dual cultivation method required both parties to channel spiritual energy into each other. Only the closest of partners could endure this; otherwise, a single moment of rejection would cause the energy to explode within the other’s body.

Cultivation speed doubled with each additional partner—there was no upper limit. Ten women meant ten times the speed; a hundred meant a hundredfold. It was an overpowered technique.

But as the vessel for dual cultivation, Night Endless’s body would also have to endure all sorts of different spiritual energies, each with its own properties—some complementary, others conflicting. The more partners, the greater the risk of going mad. This was the technique’s fatal flaw.

Two people might be manageable, but three or more? Night Endless shook his head and didn’t bother reading the second level. Only a fool would practice such a thing!

Was there not a single safe and reliable technique among them? Of the four techniques in his mind, three were essentially useless. With a glimmer of hope, he turned to the last one: “Corpse Spirit Grand Law.”

Corpse Spirit Grand Law

No one but a member of the Corpse Clan may practice this art! Members of the Corpse Clan are born with an innate corpse spirit, which manifests at the fingertips. The corpse spirit is attribute-less; the first thing it consumes determines its attribute, which becomes its power. The primary corpse spirit can then spawn secondary and tertiary spirits, each inheriting its attribute. All corpse spirits possess the power to control people. A powerful Corpse Clan member could control an entire nation with enough corpse spirits.

Corpse Spirit Grand Law: Puppet Chapter

By using corpse spirits as a source, one can forge puppets that retain the deceased’s memories and abilities. The sole flaw is that their strength cannot improve further.

Night Endless could hardly contain his delight—finally, a technique of some use! Raising insects—what fun!

If he fed his primary corpse spirit something with a fire attribute, would the corpse bug gain fire abilities?

“Wait!” He suddenly realized something. Examining his ten fingers, he discovered a tiny white worm in each—ten in total! Did this mean he could have ten different attributes and powers?

What a stroke of fortune! The original owner of this body must have been high-ranking within the Corpse Clan; ordinary members only awakened one corpse spirit, but he had ten. He was truly blessed!

No wonder the Corpse Demon could once fight twenty Celestial experts alone—truly extraordinary!

How marvelous! The mere thought thrilled him.

Wait, could there be corpse spirits in his toes as well? He looked down to inspect his toes…

Night Endless soon lifted his head in disappointment, muttering, “The author is such a hack—four techniques and three are useless, and he didn’t even give me toe spirits. I should send him a razor blade in the mail.”

…

Staring at the tiny white worms wriggling in his fingertips, Night Endless felt a strange sense of connection—ten fingers, one heart, indeed.

When would these little things grow up? Should he feed them something?

But how? The Corpse Spirit Grand Law didn’t say a word about it!

The more he thought, the more his head ached. Forget it, best not to think too much.

He stood up and looked around at the festive decorations, his heart filled with a sense of unreality. Who would have thought that he, once an ordinary tomb raider, destined for a mundane life, would by a quirk of fate find himself in this world, married to three beautiful, brilliant women? Once carefree and unattached, he now found himself with ties he never expected…