Volcanic Age

Zhou Xuchuan gave up and answered honestly, "Yes."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to ask for it back. If you want it, I'll keep it a secret for you," said the Divine Physician while stroking his white beard with a sinister smile tugging at his lips.

"How much?"

"Hehe, it's good that you're quick-witted." The Divine Physician's eyes sparkled, and he revealed a satisfied smile before saying, "I want to know the effects once you've refined it."

"Are you referring to its efficacy?"

Considering the item at hand, Zhou Xuchuan was nervous about what the Divine Physician would ask of him. However, it seemed that the price he had to pay wasn't as expensive as he had expected.

"That's right. While this old man made it himself, it is still an elixir from ancient times. It's something I made for the first time, so I don't know its effects.

"I want to know whether the rumors passed down through the generations of the Au Co Tribe are true or not." The Divine Physician's eyes sparkled with curiosity and inquisitiveness. The skin around his eyes was full of wrinkles, but his eyes resembled a child's.

This old man… he's more dangerous than I thought, Zhou Xuchuan thought. He was relieved to know that the Divine Physician was not going to say anything about the Divine Pill, but it also put him on edge. I heard that he could never help himself when it came to anything valuable—like rare medical texts or new elixirs—but I had no idea that it was this bad.

An unknown force had taken advantage of the Divine Physician, but it seemed like he could not care less.

When he said that he wanted to see the efficacy of the new elixir that he had made himself, his eyes seemed like they were sparkling. It wasn't a normal reaction.

After all, the Divine Physician had yet to ask about who had brought him here or what had transpired.

Of course, the search party had explained everything while they were cleaning up after the war, but even that had seemed to be uninteresting to him.

If the Dark Heavens Association approaches him with bait, he might welcome it and join them without suspecting anything.

Thanks to the Sword Demon, the Dark Heavens Association had given up on the Divine Physician during Zhou Xuchuan's previous lifetime.

However, things were different now. They had never met the Sword Demon, so the Divine Physician remained a desirable talent even among those worthy of being persuaded.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

His medical skills, bordering on godhood, were incredible, but the most tempting part was the fact that he could be convinced to join them as long as they put some effort into it.

I have to keep him.

Zhou Xuchuan had already thought about this even before accepting the Benevolence Clinic's request. The Divine Physician would be a great help in the fight against the Dark Heavens Association.

Not only were his medical skills necessary, but if the Benevolence Clinic centered around the Divine Physician were to follow suit, there would be no need for them to worry about injuries.

Most importantly, he was worried that the Divine Physician would get persuaded to join the Dark Heavens Association due to the elixirs and neidans registered within the Archive.

"Understood. I will accept your request, then."

"This is why I like young people," said the Divine Physician, patting Zhou Xuchuan on the shoulder with a satisfied smile." The conversation progresses so smoothly and in such a refreshing way. Hehehe."

"Can I ask you a few things?" Zhou Xuchuan asked.

"Please feel free to ask."

With that, Zhou Xuchuan asked the Divine Physician about the Head Archivist and the Dark Heavens Association as a whole.

He hadn't asked until now because they had been so busy preparing to leave, and there was also the possibility of the Divine Physician having a weakened mind and body.

He had been kidnapped, after all.

However, this conversation told Zhou Xuchuan that he no longer had to worry about that. In fact, the Divine Physician's expression remained indifferent as he explained what had happened to him.

Hmm, as expected. He had expected it to some degree, so it wasn't that surprising, but he didn't completely believe the Divine Physician. He couldn't ignore the possibility that the Dark Heavens Association had already recruited him.

He's really exhausting to deal with.

Someone with a personality like the Divine Physician was incredibly hard to handle, as it was difficult to deduce their intentions and thoughts.

While he couldn't fully believe in the Divine Physician, Zhou Xuchuan had to make an ally out of the former. He just had to be careful, just in case. Zhou Xuchuan planned to attach a Phantom to the Divine Physician upon their return.

Zhou Xuchuan wanted to pick up the pace, but the search party was exhausted.

They wouldn't be able to keep up if he were to pick up the pace.

They had been marching for quite some time now, as they were worried about the Divine Physician's life, so it was natural for them to be exhausted.

Since everything was over now, they took their sweet time resting.

Zhou Xuchuan wasn't as exhausted as the other search party members, so he used their rest time to become even stronger.

"Little Ghost. Come here and show me your back."

"Understood."

Little Ghost appeared and sat down in front of him.

"Don't move; try to hold your breath for as long as possible."

Stillness and holding one's breath were an assassin's specialties. They weren't particularly difficult to do for a powerful Phantom.

Piercing Mark Sorcery Art.

This was the true nature of the sorcery passed down from generation to generation in the Cannibal Tribe. The chieftain had passed it on to the High Priest, a monster that once terrorized the Southern Jungles.

Piercing Mark was the practice of purposely inflicting wounds using a needle and then pouring ink or other paint into the wound to carve patterns or letters on one's skin. It was typically used to threaten or mark enemies or display the rank of a tribesman.

However, the Cannibal Tribe was using it in a different way. Depending on the engraved patterns or letters, the mark could manifest incomprehensible powers that were beyond common sense.

I've practiced it enough. It wasn't that easy to erase a carved pattern or a letter onto one's flesh. It was painful and time-consuming; thus, Zhou Xuchuan had been practicing it from time to time since he obtained the art.

Fortunately, his swordsmanship had allowed him to learn the art quicker than expected, even though he had never practiced the art until he had obtained the manual.

There's no one around… He had already told the others that he'd be cultivating Mount Hua's cultivation methods, so there was no need for them to worry about coming over.

Just in case, he had asked Duan Hecheng to act as his Dharma Protector, something that the Seventh Young Master had readily accepted, saying that it was safe to leave that much to him.

"Wheeew." Zhou Xuchuan exhaled and inhaled. He took a moment to prepare himself. Then, he dipped the needle into the ink and pierced Little Ghost's back with it.

He carved the geometric patterns in his mind onto her skin. It was a task that tolerated not even a single mistake, so he focused on carving the patterns without even breathing.

He held his breathing using the breathing method of the Divine Phantom Art, allowing him to cease all movements.

However, the fact that he could not make any mistakes was like a boulder weighing on his shoulder. Fortunately, just as his composure was about to fall apart from all that weight on his shoulder, his Daoist mental techniques would come true, allowing him to stabilize himself.

Zhou Xuchuan completed his meditative arts by harmonizing the mental sutras of the Ten Thousand Convergence Art and the Hundred Divine Transformations, balancing all of the martial arts he had practiced so far.

He had been practicing the process whenever he had free time, but he still found it incredibly difficult. After all, this was a sorcery art that had been passed down for tens or even hundreds of years.

His knowledge and wisdom in various fields, and the fact that this was his second lifetime was helping him immensely, allowing him to achieve an exquisite balance.

"Ha!" Zhou Xuchuan exhaled. The work he had put his heart and soul into was over. It took about an hour and a half, but he could finally let out the breath that he had been holding thus far. His forehead was covered with beaded sweat.

Little Ghost's back and skin were densely covered with light green patterns and letters from a forgotten language.

The sight could easily instill fear in someone, but it was an eerily beautiful image.

"Now, time for the next one."

This wasn't the end. He had merely carved the outline.

Zhou Xuchuan took out the skull he had prepared beforehand.

"Little Ghost, just endure it for a little longer. You're doing great."

Zhou Xuchuan was lacerating Little Ghost's skin, so it was bound to be painful.

However, Little Ghost endured it without a single groan.

Little Ghost was "mindless," but Zhou Xuchuan still apologized out of regret as he proceeded with the next step. Soon, ancient runes flowed out of his mouth. Following his incantation, a dark light flowed out of the skull's eye sockets.

Zhou Xuchuan was not exactly familiar with the runes. Although he had read many books regarding it when he was still an elder of Mount Hua, he ultimately gave up on them, as they weren't related to martial arts and were difficult to understand.

The High Priest's sorcery manual was based on those runes. Fortunately, each successive priest had translated the manual to fit their era, adding even annotations for their successors.

There were three prerequisites for the Piercing Mark Sorcery Art—accurate pronunciation, the perfected spell that had been passed down through generations, and vitality.

The wrong pronunciation meant that it wouldn't activate, so the successive High Priests had kindly written down the proper pronunciation for Zhou Xuchuan's sake.

Shing!

The light flowing out of the skull grew stronger as Zhou Xuchuan chanted the spell. It was the same ominous, dark green light from back then.

How cruel is it to use the heads of your deceased ancestors as a tool for sorcery? How vicious. The High Priests had mystical powers, but they weren't immortal. Not even they could escape the passage of time and death.

Despite dying, they still couldn't rest in peace, as their end was not going to be ordinary.

The successor would eat the heart of the predecessor and sever the head, including the brain. Then, they would use it as the crown of their staff, transforming it into a tool for their sorcery.

It was so cruel that perhaps even the Demonic Path's Two Lineages would be taken aback by it. They were essentially cutting off the head of their father and master to use it as a tool, after all.

This may be punishment from the heavens, but people like you don't even deserve to rest soundly. Swallowing his disgust for the High Priest, Zhou Xuchuan chanted the final part of the spell.

Crack!

Cracks formed in the final outline; the High Priest's skull could not hold on and shattered into pieces. The fragments were carried away by the warm breeze, disappearing into the forest.

"Whew! It's finally over… W-what?!" Zhou Xuchuan's eyes widened. S-She's gotten bigger!

Little Ghost got bigger. No, she grew bigger.

When he looked up to check on her after finishing it safely, he found a mysterious woman with patterns all over her sitting in front of him. Her skin was still reminiscent of pure white snow, but her short black hair had grown to her waist.

The baby fat that was supposed to be on her face was nowhere to be found, and her smooth jawline was finally visible. A cloth still covered her eyes, but Zhou Xuchuan's attention was not on that.

What really stood out wasn't her face but her lean body that was almost visible through the thin clothing. Her chest hadn't grown much, but her smooth, straight abs and her frame without an ounce of fat resembled a sculpture.

Before Zhou Xuchuan could recover from his astonishment, the ominous black light flowing from the patterns dimmed before disappearing in an instant. He had used an invisible ink to hide the patterns, and fortunately, it was working.

However, the situation that had unfolded before his eyes was so shocking that he couldn't pay any attention to the tattoo.

How did this happen? Why had her appearance changed like this? It was like she had grown to her original age.

Ah! Zhou Xuchuan was reminded of something just then.

"Little Ghost. Can you control that power?" he asked.

Little Ghost nodded in response.

Upon activation, the Piercing Mark Sorcery Art would continuously consume qi or vitality to amplify one's physical abilities. To prevent unnecessary consumption, he modified it so that users could deactivate it themselves.

"Deactivate it."

Ssseuuu…

The ominous aura invisible to the naked eye vanished into thin air, and Little Ghost shrank as soon as it disappeared.

"I knew it!" Zhou Xuchuan exclaimed, slapping his knee.

The Piercing Mark Sorcery Art would amplify one's physical abilities. In other words, it would temporarily transform one's muscles and bones as needed, depending on the required level of amplification.

Little Ghost had yet to mature physically, so people like her would experience an abrupt growth spurt upon activation of the spell.

Cyncoco's Thoughts

It's me, Cyncoco!

Now, I could have translated the title and the technique as Tattoo Sorcery Art (actually, I did before I went back and changed it) But.

The reason I didn't is that, technically, the word here (刺文) is not only a subset of tattoo but specifically the more ritualistic scarification tattoo technique used in shamanism and ritual muism.

So, you'll see it referred to as a tattoo in some parts when it's written as tattoo 文 and piercing mark in other places when it's specified.