After a long while, once everything had stabilized, the Rune for the Vine Technique hadn’t changed, but its name had. The word "Ruyi" was now at the beginning.

Upon examining the Technique, Zhang Deming discovered that the Vine Technique’s abilities had changed dramatically.

...

Skill: Ruyi Jade Demon Blood-Sucking Vine Lv3 (0/50)

Note: Due to the integration of Wishing Size, all Vine Techniques of this Skill now possess the Wishing Size ability. Once the Technique reaches the Law Level, if you merge the vine with your body, you can use the vine to alter your size, eventually giving you a chance to achieve Dharma Heaven and Earth.

...

Looking at the Technique’s description, Zhang Deming, filled with pleasant surprise, went to the Magic Cultivation Room.

He opened his palm, and a jade-like Vine appeared in his hand.

With a mere thought from Zhang Deming, the Vine instantly transformed into a thread so fine it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Before learning the Ruyi Vine technique, Zhang Deming could already control the Vine’s size to some degree, but it was still confined within the normal limits of a vine.

At its smallest, it resembled a very thin creeper, and at its largest, it couldn’t get as thick as a tree trunk.

But now, when small, Zhang Deming’s Vine was difficult to see with the naked eye; even a Spiritual Eye without a high degree of Mastery would struggle to discern it.

Zhang Deming hadn’t tested its maximum size. In any case, he extended it to the limits of the Cultivation Room, and it still hadn’t reached the Technique’s limit—and this was only at Tier Three.

His Vine Technique could now practically be considered a part of the Wood Dao. It could be a vine, a thread, or wood; it could be long or short, thick or thin... Don’t get any funny ideas, he’s talking about the Vine. At least at Tier Three, his body parts couldn’t be ’vinified’ yet!

His ’Basic Attack’ methods could now become much more diverse as a result.

For instance, with just a thought, countless nearly invisible Vine threads began to rapidly weave together in Zhang Deming’s hand, forming a jade Long Sword.

He could weave things before, but they were the kind you could tell at a glance were made of vines.

Now, however, it looked exactly like a solid jade Long Sword.

The Long Sword held its form for a moment before shifting into a saber, then a dagger. Moreover, he could freely control the size of these creations.

The Ruyi Vine technique had brought about a milestone change in his Vine Technique.

After testing it for a long time and getting a clear understanding of the Technique, Zhang Deming slowly calmed down.

He glanced at his hundred-plus points of Qi Fortune and felt the familiar urge to spend them.

However, among his active Techniques, only the Reconnaissance Spiritual Eye was still Tier Two. Therefore, with a thought...

"Consume ten points of Qi Fortune to upgrade Reconnaissance·Spiritual Eye?"

"Yes!"

With that, all of his active Techniques were now at Tier Three.

He checked his Energy stats. Merit: 22.4, Qi Fortune: 181.6, Karma: 2.4.

Zhang Deming didn’t spend any more. Ever since his Cultivation Technique advanced to Tier Six and his Spiritual Qi recovery rate reached two hundred, his Spiritual Power Recovery was just barely enough to support the use of a Tier Four Technique. Because of this, he had been tempted more than once to upgrade one of his Techniques to Tier Four just to see what would happen.

But each time, Zhang Deming held back. Law-Level Techniques represented a massive leap in power, and he was afraid his Dantian wouldn’t be able to handle it. He didn’t dare to make such a rash attempt.

After all, the records he had read indicated that Rune Balls were housed within the Dantian, and he had never heard of a Tai Chi stage Cultivator successfully using a Law-Level Technique.

Typically, Law-Level Techniques were something that only a Three Talents Great Cultivator could even begin to handle.

’No need to rush,’ he told himself. ’I’m close to the Duality stage. When I get there, cultivating a Law-Level Technique will be a natural and easy process.’

’There’s absolutely no need to risk it right now. If I shatter my Dantian or cause some other permanent damage, it’ll be too late for regrets.’

After reassuring himself for a while, Zhang Deming finally closed the panel and suppressed his impulse to spend.

Just as Zhang Deming finished sorting out his Technique, Qin Shizhong suddenly rushed in.

Zhang Deming walked to the door and looked at him. "What is it?"

Qin Shizhong nodded. "Yes, Master Zhang. I have news about the matter you asked me to investigate."

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Zhang Deming’s face. "Is it the Infant Spirit Hollow Jade or the Hundred Spirits Heart-Binding Grass?" he asked.

Qin Shizhong paused for a moment before replying, "The Infant Spirit Hollow Jade!"

"Where is it?" Zhang Deming was even more delighted.

Qin Shizhong reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. Zhang Deming took it, confused, and asked in surprise, "An invitation?"

Qin Shizhong nodded. "Yes. I came across it by chance. It’s an invitation from the Huayue Auction House in Huayue City, the great city of loose cultivators in Tongzhou.

"Well, it’s called the Huayue United Auction now. Decades ago, after contact with the Outer Realm was established, they were among the first in the Celestial Spirit Sect’s territory to proactively engage with it.

"During this process of engaging with the Outer Realm, many things began to change, and Huayue’s representative grand event, held once a decade, was at the forefront of these changes."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming gently infused the invitation with Spiritual Power, and a Light Screen materialized above it.

To his surprise, the Light Screen displayed something akin to a promotional music video. Shaking his head, he skipped past all the miscellaneous fluff and found the list of auction items.

Zhang Deming quickly scrolled down and, on the list for the first day of the auction, found the item he was looking for—the fifth-to-last lot: Infant Spirit Hollow Jade.

Seeing the item on the list, Zhang Deming felt a surge of excitement. He had been prepared for a long search; after all, it wasn’t uncommon for the Sect to spend decades looking for a single primary ingredient without success.

To say nothing of a top-tier primary ingredient like the Infant Spirit Hollow Jade.

A versatile ingredient of this caliber was usually snatched up by various factions the moment it appeared.

Zhang Deming looked at the auction date and frowned slightly. "In fifteen days?"

Qin Shizhong nodded. "Yes. The invitation wasn’t originally for me. A senior brother from the Inner Sect heard that I was asking about the Infant Spirit Hollow Jade and gifted it to me."

Zhang Deming nodded. "Tongzhou... that’s quite far from our Yuanzhou, isn’t it?"