What is an immortal?

Yuan Ming saw that his finger was not suffering any major harm, so he stopped paying attention to it and reached out to grab the incense burner.

At that moment, the last spark on the stick of Black Incense extinguished completely, and a hazy light shone forth; his hand actually passed directly through the incense burner.

In the next instant, the green pottery incense burner vanished entirely, transforming into a streak of light that flew into the mark on his arm.

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted, as the consciousness that had been somewhat foggy a moment ago instantly cleared.

He rolled up his right sleeve and saw the green mark reappear there, only it no longer emitted any light.

Yuan Ming gently caressed the mark with his finger, and the memories of being transformed into a young Emperor started to emerge bit by bit in his mind.

"It seems that the incense burner only transported me into the body of that young Emperor for a while, the time limit being reached, I was immediately returned to my original body." After a moment of thought, he felt somewhat enlightened.

This experience was very novel, and Yuan Ming, youthful and passionate, couldn't help but want to experience it again.

It was a pity that he had no Mana in his body at all, so summoning the incense burner again was out of the question.

"While the experience with the incense burner is mystical, what's most important now is to cultivate enough Mana to cast the Fur Cloak Skill!" Yuan Ming composed himself, put aside thoughts of play, and sat cross-legged, ready to begin practicing the Blood Qi Skill.

"The progress in cultivating the Blood Qi Skill is terribly slow. That Elder Yuhu boasted how fast Mana could be accumulated with the Nine Elements Technique, maybe I should give it a try." A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

However, the Nine Elements Technique and the Blood Qi Skill were two completely different Cultivation Techniques; he didn't know whether the Mana cultivated from the former could be used to cast the Fur Cloak Skill.

"No matter, let's just try it and see."

Having made up his mind, Yuan Ming slowly closed his eyes, began to recall the content of the Nine Elements Technique carefully, and started reciting it silently in his mind.

Before long, he felt the Acupoints all over his body gradually opening, and the Spiritual Energy from the outside world slowly infiltrated through the opened Acupoints, turning into warm currents flowing through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

"The Nine Elements Technique can actually use all the Acupoints in the body to absorb nature's Spiritual Energy simultaneously!" Yuan Ming was both shocked and delighted.

With the Blood Qi Skill, only a few easily controlled acupoints such as the Yongquan on the soles of the feet and the Baihui on the crown of the head communicate with the outside, but in terms of the number of Acupoints alone, the Nine Elements Technique far exceeded the Blood Qi Skill by countless times.

Yuan Ming continued to sit and meditate, inhaling and exhaling nature's Spiritual Energy.

At first, the Spiritual Energy only gradually permeated his body, but as he continuously circulated the technique, the speed of the Spiritual Energy entering his body gradually accelerated, and the whole process went smoothly without any hindrance.

Gradually, more and more Spiritual Energy gathered in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, filling the meridians and becoming slightly swollen.

Yuan Ming did not know if this situation was normal, he could only continue to circulate the Nine Elements Technique, trying to smooth out this Spiritual Energy, quickly forming a clear stream of Spiritual Energy, vastly different from the vague flow of energy from the Blood Qi Skill.

He directed the flow of Spiritual Energy through a complete circuit in his body and finally sank it down into his Dantian.

Whether it was the Nine Elements Technique or the Blood Qi Skill, the essential principle was the same; to circulate the absorbed Spiritual Energy around the body's meridian system and then sink it down to the Dantian to be transformed into Mana.

Yuan Ming intently watched the flow of Spiritual Power, fearful that it would dissipate again.

However, his concern did not materialize, as the flow of Spiritual Power smoothly broke through the bottleneck of the Dantian and entered it.

"Could it really have been so easy?" Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

The hurdle that had been troubling him for half a month with the Blood Qi Skill had been resolved quietly.

All this was thanks to the Nine Elements Technique, which was a genuine Cultivation Method, definitely far superior to the Blood Qi Skill, and it could even be said that the two were not on the same level at all.

"No wonder Elder Yuhu held the Nine Elements Technique in such high regard." Yuan Ming thought to himself.

What he did not know was that the "Nine Elements Technique" was a top-level introductory Cultivation Method from the Chang Chun Temple of Central Plains Da Jin Country. Even the ordinary Inner Sect Disciples of the Chang Chun Temple might not have the opportunity to glimpse its secrets. Its guidance and profundity in the path of cultivation were far better than that of the Blood Qi Skill, a common Cultivation Technique from the Southern Border.

Yuan Ming took a deep breath and continued operating the Cultivation Method; the Spiritual Energy concentrated in the Dantian suddenly became somewhat restless, like a wild horse that had thrown off its reins, showing signs of reckless surging.

He immediately remembered the mnemonic, "Spirit enters Taixu Garden, concentration guards the Dan Tian Palace," and immediately gathered all of his consciousness, focusing his attention on the Dantian area.

After a short while, the Spiritual Energy inside the Dantian became very hot, as if it was about to ignite.

Yuan Ming did not panic; Master Yu Hu had explained to him that this sensation was the sign that Spiritual Energy was about to be converted into Mana.

He immediately sped up the recitation of the Nine Elements Technique to assist the hot Spiritual Energy in breaking free, swiftly completing the final transformation into a thread of cool Mana.

"The Nine Elements Technique is much more sophisticated in condensing Mana compared to the Blood Qi Skill." Yuan Ming marveled.

He did not continue to cultivate further but used the newly solidified Mana to touch the green mark on his right arm without hesitation.

All the events that had happened to him that day were initiated by this Mysterious Incense Burner, especially his accidental acquisition of the incredible Nine Elements Technique. He couldn't help but want to summon the incense burner again to see if he could have other remarkable encounters.

As he expected, the mark emitted a suction force once more, devouring this thread of Mana. The mark flashed with green light, and the Mysterious Incense Burner materialized out of thin air.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

He could now be reasonably sure that the green pottery incense burner was not a one-time consumable; the green mark was formed after the incense burner was attached to him, and it could be summoned with just a slight infusion of Mana.

He joyfully examined the incense burner in his hand and suddenly let out a light exclamation of surprise.

The green pottery incense burner remained the same in all other aspects, except that its Tai Chi pattern had dulled, no longer gleaming brightly as before.

Yuan Ming's eyebrows arched as he explored the Tai Chi pattern, even channeling mana into it, but the pattern showed no sign of reaction.

"It seems this Tai Chi pattern is tied to some mechanism of the incense burner," he thought to himself, shifting his gaze towards the two sticks of black incense inside the burner, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Based on what had happened before, lighting these two sticks of black incense would allow for spatial traversal and possession of someone's body. With only two sticks left, he had two more opportunities to traverse and possess someone else.

However, since the incense burner was mysteriously linked to him and he couldn't fully understand it, he did not feel at ease.

After a long deliberation, Yuan Ming clenched his teeth and kindled a flame once more, using it to ignite a bit of cloth which he brought close to the black incense within the burner.

This time, he attempted to light one of the two longer sticks of incense.

However, despite the flame's intense heat, the black stick of incense did not catch fire.

"What's going on? It was so easily lit before," Yuan Ming frowned, bringing the burning cloth to the other stick of black incense, but it too refused to ignite.

"Strange, could it be that the incense burner requires certain conditions to be met before it can light the incense and traverse?" He muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly fixing on the dimmed Yin Yang Tai Chi pattern.

"Perhaps the incense can only be lit when this Tai Chi pattern is illuminated?" Yuan Ming speculated internally.

Apart from this, he couldn't think of any other possibility, yet he had no clue as to how to enlighten the Tai Chi pattern.

"Gurgle..."

His stomach made noises like a drumming sound, a strong sensation of hunger rising to his mind, interrupting his thoughts.

"Forget it, this incense burner is indeed mysterious. It's unrealistic to expect to unravel its secrets in a short while. We'll deal with it later," Yuan Ming shook his head, deciding not to waste any more effort.

He held the incense burner in hand, contemplating how to take it into his body.

The incense burner had previously returned to his right arm on its own; he had not yet comprehended the method of collecting the cauldron.

As soon as this thought emerged, the green pottery incense burner suddenly became transparent, transforming into a green shadow and returning inside his right arm to form that mark.

"Indeed, it is a treasure," Yuan Ming's face lit up with joy, becoming more convinced that the incense burner was an extraordinary treasure.

However, even the most powerful treasure couldn't solve the problem of an empty stomach.

He stood up and went inside the cave, pulling out a piece of beast skin with five or six wild fruits wrapped inside, leftovers from before.

All the meat inside the cave had been eaten, and since he still couldn't cast the Fur Cloak Skill, going out to forage was too dangerous, so for now, he could only rely on these wild fruits to barely offer tribute to his hungry stomach.

"I must master the Fur Cloak Skill before these fruits are gone!" Yuan Ming resolved, hastily gulping down a fruit, offering temporary relief to his hunger.

Without a moment's delay, he sat down cross-legged and began circulating the Nine Elements Technique.

The surrounding nature's spiritual energy gathered, entering his body from various acupoints, as mana began to condense within his Dantian once again.

Five days went by in a blink.

Yuan Ming sat cross-legged in the cave, appearing somewhat haggard, with white and cracked lips.

At his age, when his body was growing, one wild fruit a day was far from enough; it could barely keep him alive. Fortunately, the cultivation of the Nine Elements Technique proceeded unexpectedly smoothly.

Spiritual energy from all directions continuously flowed towards him, entering his body through the acupoints, and followed the route of the Nine Elements Technique, transforming into strands of mana.

In the Dantian, the mana coalesced into threads before slowly swirling, and after half a day, it formed a small vortex.

"I've finally formed a mana vortex," Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

As Elder Hu Huo had previously mentioned, forming a mana vortex meant that he had a small foundation of mana and was now able to cast the Fur Cloak Skill.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, eager to cover his body with the White Ape Skin at his waist. He pinched the mnemonic and chanted, activating the Fur Cloak Skill mnemonic given to him by Elder Hu Huo.

As he cast the spell, a faint light shone from the White Ape Skin, then covered his body as if it had come to life, with blood-red tendril-like lines emerging from the inside of the Ape Skin and piercing into his flesh.

Yuan Ming clenched his fists, barely enduring the needle-like agony throughout his body.

But as Elder Hu Huo had previously stated, when he cast the spell himself, the pain associated with the Fur Cloak Skill was greatly reduced.

The White Ape Skin swiftly covered Yuan Ming's entire body, transforming him into a white humanoid ape, a surge of immense power filling his whole being.

Yuan Ming looked down at his furry figure and exhaled a long breath.

After twenty days, finally, relying on himself, he was able to cast the Fur Cloak Skill again, possessing the strength to defend himself, no longer a powerless being.

However, having been hungry for several days, his body was weak and the power surging within him was less than before.

But Yuan Ming didn't care too much about that; having gathered enough mana within five days to cast the Fur Cloak Skill, he was already quite satisfied.