Zhu Jiuyin said angrily, "And you say your demands aren't high? Do you have any idea what seventh-grade and above means?"
"What does it mean?" Yang Kai asked weakly.
Zhu Jiuyin snorted. "It means you'd have to kill an existence on roughly my level and seize its Inner Core. Hmm, if you really wanted to do that, I could point you toward a nice spot. A million li west of here, there's an annoying fellow called Jin Wu. Go kill him and take his Inner Core — that would be at least an eighth-grade treasure."
Cold sweat beaded on Yang Kai's forehead. "Senior must be joking."
Jin Wu was a Sacred Spirit. If Yang Kai actually had that kind of ability, he wouldn't need to be meek and deferential before her — he'd have already torn the heavens apart.
"I don't necessarily need a Sacred Spirit's Inner Core for a Metal Element treasure. Are there really no other qualifying items in the Grand Ancient Ruins Realm?"
"There used to be some," Zhu Jiuyin said, a flicker of reminiscence crossing her face. "But they're all gone now."
"Why?" Yang Kai asked, puzzled.
"The Grand Ancient Ruins Realm hasn't only seen your batch of visitors over the ages. If something good existed, those detestable fellows would have swept it all up long ago — why would they leave anything for you? If you want something seventh-grade or above, your only option is to kill those Sacred Spirits and take their Inner Cores."
Yang Kai was dumbfounded. When he thought about it, it made sense. Though the Grand Ancient Ruins Realm was an enormous natural treasure vault, countless generations of visitors had come before them. Those powerful predecessors wouldn't have shown any restraint — whatever treasures existed, they'd surely collected them all.
The reason he'd been able to obtain the Earth Element Dragon Pearl was bloodline resonance. The Moon Essence had been possible because it was a holy relic of the Sea Clan, guarded by the Kun Shark. But getting a Metal Element treasure — that was going to be far more difficult.
"Why do you need seventh-grade or above?" Zhu Jiuyin asked, studying him curiously. "I know the Cultivation method you people use — condensing Dao Seals within the body, then gathering Yin-Yang and Five Elements power to achieve Open Heaven. If it's seventh-grade, doesn't that mean a Superior-grade Open Heaven?"
"Precisely." Yang Kai nodded solemnly. "This junior's ambition is great — I aim to achieve a Superior-grade Open Heaven."
Zhu Jiuyin blinked, then let out a laugh. "You're the most ambitious person I've ever met."
Yang Kai caught something in her words. "Senior has had a Bearer before?"
Zhu Jiuyin looked surprised. "You know about Bearers?"
"That's not exactly a secret, is it?" Yang Kai smiled faintly, affecting an air of mystery.
Zhu Jiuyin scrutinized him. "Your foundations are solid — you must come from an impressive background. It's not strange that you'd know about these things. Since you know about Bearers, then surely you also know what I want you to do."
Yang Kai nodded. "Seize that opportunity to break free from the cage! That's why this junior came to Senior for assistance. Only when this junior becomes stronger will I have a greater chance of competing against the many rivals and standing above them all!"
"Fair point," Zhu Jiuyin agreed with a nod. "However, I'm powerless when it comes to Metal Element treasures of seventh-grade or above. I do have plenty of sixth-grade ones, though."
Yang Kai was speechless. He had sixth-grade treasures too — dozens of Primordial Magnetite Divine Stones, and his Primordial Magnetite Divine Gourd was filled with sixth-grade Primordial Magnetite Divine Light. If he were willing to settle for sixth-grade, he wouldn't need to come begging Zhu Jiuyin.
"Tell you what." Zhu Jiuyin pondered for a moment, then spoke. "Focus on condensing the Water Element first. I'll have someone look around for Metal Element items — there may still be some overlooked remnants. If there are, I'll bring them to you."
Yang Kai was puzzled. "If I don't condense the Metal Element first, how can I condense the Water Element?"
Zhu Jiuyin let out a derisive snort. "Ordinary people naturally have to follow the generative cycle of the Five Elements, condensing them in order. But I possess a remarkable technique that lets you bypass that sequence entirely and condense at will."
Yang Kai's body jolted. "Such a technique exists in this world?"
Yue He and Lu Xue both looked over in astonishment. One was a fourth-grade Open Heaven cultivator, the other fifth-grade — they'd seen their share of the world, yet neither had ever heard of a technique like this.
If such a method truly existed, wouldn't it overturn the entire Cultivation system that had endured for countless millennia beyond the worlds? Should this kind of thing come to light, it would trigger a bloodbath.
Zhu Jiuyin said in a low, distant voice, "It didn't originally exist. But I once had a Bearer of extraordinary talent who invented this technique. His situation was similar to yours — he possessed the cultivation material for his next stage but was missing the link in between, and after searching everywhere without finding it, he had no choice but to practice across stages. However, I must tell you — though this technique is remarkable, it's also rather daring and carries certain risks. If your foundations aren't sufficient, the Five Elements could collapse, your Dao Seal could shatter, and you would face total annihilation. Do you still wish to learn it?"
"I'll learn it!" Yang Kai nodded eagerly. Regardless of how dangerous this technique might be, learning it first was the right move. If it turned out to be unworkable, he simply wouldn't practice it. He was still young with plenty of time — no need to rush.
Zhu Jiuyin nodded and lightly raised one finger, tapping it toward Yang Kai's forehead.
Yang Kai's body shuddered as countless streams of information flooded into his mind, leaving him rooted in place in a daze.
It was a long while before he suddenly trembled, returning to his senses with a look of genuine admiration. "The person who created this technique must have been a true prodigy."
The technique was called the Inverse Yin-Yang Five Elements Mysterious Cosmos Heart Scripture. If one used this method to condense Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, there was no need whatsoever to worry about the generative sequence — one could cultivate freely, in whatever order one pleased.