Path of Alchemy Mastery-Chapter 347 - 348: The Duel Begins

Life and death are inherently contrasting concepts, yet at this moment, within the Wood Space, they harmoniously merge together.

The growth of life requires Life Energy, and the demise of life generates Death Energy. Both are inherently interconnected, and Mu Can discovered a shocking truth within the vortex that he could not calm down from.

Life Energy and Death Energy can actually be transformed into each other. After life passes away, the accumulated Death Spiritual Energy can gradually transform into a light green Life Energy, and when Life Energy is concentrated enough, it will gradually decay and slowly transform into a gray-white Death Energy.

Life and death are actually the same; it’s just that this type of Death Spiritual Energy is fundamentally imperceptible.

At this moment, Mu Can realized why those scholars who pursued Death Spiritual Energy all their lives couldn’t discover it.

Only in this special space does Death Spiritual Energy reveal its form, and all of this is thanks to this magical space.

...

When Mu Can left the Wood Space, two and a half days had passed. During these two and a half days, Wang Cai obtained three Ultimate Secret Manuals, and Mu Can obtained two, with only one other person obtaining two, and the rest obtaining one each.

Mu Can calculated that within these two and a half days, a total of five people obtained Ultimate Secret Manuals, which meant that besides Wang Cai and himself, there were three others who could potentially pose a threat to him. Mu Can guessed that one of these three people must be Donghuang.

They say the one who understands you best may not be your friend, but your enemy. Mu Can’s understanding of Donghuang was extremely thorough; Donghuang could be said to be the most formidable enemy Mu Can had encountered in his Cultivation journey—sinister and cunning, with formidable strength yet always meticulous and cautious. The only time Mu Can suffered a loss on his path of Cultivation was due to Donghuang, and now, heaven finally seemed to have given Mu Can an opportunity for revenge.

Looking at the remaining Secret Manuals on the shelf, Mu Can intended to touch them again but found that, although he could touch the manuals without reaction, he couldn’t take them off the shelf. It might be due to the limitation of time; when time isn’t enough to support a person in comprehending Cultivation Techniques from the Ultimate Secret Manual, the shelf would close.

Although he could not obtain a third manual, Mu Can was very satisfied because his recent gains were already sufficient to satisfy him.

Mu Can lightly extended a hand and circulated his Spiritual Power, and a small grass appeared in his palm—a light green little grass, which looked incredibly cute. The tender green color made one adore it from the bottom of their heart.

Mu Can gently clenched his fist, the small grass held within, and upon opening his hand again, only a withered yellow weed lay in his palm. Clenching his fist once more and then opening it, the previously withered grass that seemed almost dead slowly revived, truly a miraculous sight. If anyone with intentions saw this scene, they would probably be dumbfounded. Depriving a small grass of its Life Force and then endowing a dead grass with Life Force was not an ordinary feat; it was almost like creating life.

"Spring grass blooms again," Mu Can softly said, this was his greatest gain in the Wood Space, at the moment of realizing the connection between life and death. The intense emotional fluctuation let Mu Can enter a state of sudden insight.

Ultimately, Mu Can mastered this technique and named it "Spring Grass Blooms Again". Although not an offensive technique, its utility was unparalleled.

Mu Can even felt that if cultivated to the extreme, this technique could directly absorb others’ Life Force for his own use, which was quite terrifying. However, he was only capable of performing minor tricks now and couldn’t form an effective offensive. Even so, Mu Can was already very content; after all, Cultivation Techniques related to life were something that could not be found anywhere else in the Mortal World.

In the last half day, Mu Can briefly flipped through some more Secret Manuals outside and was delighted to discover a movement technique manual that perfectly matched his current Breeze Realm. Using the last bit of time, he successfully mastered this manual, greatly improving his movement technique.

During these three days, Xu Liang also gained a lot, which was evident from the brighter gleam in his eyes. Although three days was short, there seemed to be some kind of Array within the Scripture Pavilion that allowed one to master the Secret Manuals in half the effort.

"Got good results?" Xu Liang took the initiative to greet Mu Can, seeing him as a respectable person now, able to seize two Ultimate Secret Manuals under such conditions, which was almost mythical. If he knew that Mu Can had obtained a Cultivation Technique related to life, he would probably be astonished.

"Don’t worry, we’re sure to win this time," Mu Can confidently said, secretly looking forward to the inheritance within the final layer of Tongshen Mountain.

The rewards for the second stage were already so generous, Mu Can could feel that the Cultivation Techniques derived from those Ultimate Secret Manuals would definitely help break through to the Void Level. As such, he wondered just how generous the rewards in the Third Layer would be, which Mu Can keenly anticipated.

"Time’s up, stop mastering the Secret Manuals, now entering the second phase, the Duel Arena is opening."

Mu Can exhaled softly, looking forward to the duel finally beginning. Even Xu Liang, who had remained calm throughout, clenched his fists imperceptibly, feeling a greater pressure than Mu Can. Regardless of how Mu Can was, he did not want to lose. The Cultivation Techniques obtained here effectively compensated for his weakest areas in Cultivation. If he failed and those memories were erased, Xu Liang would never forgive himself.

"Don’t worry, we will definitely win," Mu Can lightly patted Xu Liang’s shoulder. He had already noticed some secrets Xu Liang was hiding but didn’t mind them at all, deciding that if Xu Liang真的 asked for his help, he would definitely not hesitate to lend a hand.

Although he didn’t have much of a liking for such a rigid person, Mu Can still had a good impression of Xu Liang.

"Battle rules, everyone’s strength will be limited to the same level, and during the fight, only the Secret Manuals obtained in the Scripture Pavilion can be used. Using any other Cultivation Techniques will be considered cheating and lead to direct elimination."