met free Chapter 64 A Change in Divine Sense, Approaching Steadily
Chapter 64 A Change in Divine Sense, Approaching Steadily
Chapter 64 A Change in Divine Sense, Approaching Steadily
After completing the transaction with Zhao Jingwu, Chen Yi was surprised to learn that the Thunder Pattern Iron had actually been dug out from the stomach of a late-stage second-tier demon beast in the Demon Beast Mountain Range.
Along with Lei Tiewen, three cultivator corpses also emerged.
Zhao Jingwu once analyzed that the group of cultivators might have encountered a secret realm or cave deep in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, and were eaten by monsters when they left the mountain range after obtaining the benefits.
Monster Mountain Range, secret realms, caves.
Zhao Jingwu probably didn't lie; at most, he withheld some information.
Chen Yi noted these points down, deciding to learn more about them in detail when he had the strength in the future.
After receiving the items from Zhao Jingwu, Chen Yi went to cultivate in the wilderness that very night.
The night was as dark as ink, and the wilderness outside the market was shrouded in a thin mist. Occasionally, insects chirped, which only made the surrounding area seem more silent.
Chen Yi stood on a green rock, closed his eyes and concentrated, the golden light in his body slowly flowing, seeping into his limbs and bones like a stream.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes, his figure suddenly blurred, and the next moment he appeared ten feet away, landing without disturbing a single blade of grass.
After more than a month, Jin Xingbu, a secret movement technique based on Jin Hui, has finally been mastered by him.
At the beginning of his cultivation, Chen Yi realized that this technique was extraordinary.
Ordinary body-cultivation methods rely on brute force, while the Golden Step emphasizes "golden radiance transforming into power"—concentrating the condensed golden radiance within the body into the meridians on the soles of the feet, and then unleashing it in a specific trajectory. This allows for short-distance movement as swift as lightning and long-distance sprints as swift as the wind.
When first formed, its speed is comparable to the speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's escape technique; if it is cultivated to the great perfection, the quality and quantity of the golden light will improve, and it may even break through the shackles of the realm, moving as fast as a startled swan.
Of course, the cultivation process is not always smooth sailing.
The circulation of the golden light requires precise control; the slightest carelessness can lead to burning pain in the meridians.
Normal physical cultivation and alchemy require several years of gradual progress and careful exploration.
Chen Yi went to the market to buy more than a dozen first-grade high-quality Wind Speed Talismans and Swift Movement Talismans, so that the system could absorb their spiritual energy and temporarily enhance his understanding of speed and movement techniques.
The moment the talisman turned to ashes, the trajectory of the wind flow appeared in his mind, which he used to adjust the rhythm of the golden light burst, achieving the desired effect in one step, which can be considered as taking a shortcut.
In addition, the broken bronze array plate purchased from Zhao Jingwu also came in handy.
Chen Yi completely absorbed it, and the remaining metal element spirituality in the array plate merged into his dantian. This not only replenished the golden light he needed for cultivation, but also gave him a deeper understanding of the principle of "metal resonance"—each step of the Metal Step actually contained the power of metal weapons clashing. The faster the steps, the more intense the golden light vibration, and the more the power increased.
At midnight, Chen Yi completely let loose.
In the wilderness, a dark shadow flickered in and out, sometimes turning like a fish, sometimes swooping down like a falcon. Golden light flashed and disappeared beneath its feet. With each step, the figure appeared dozens of feet away, and when it landed, it was as light as a falling leaf.
With the Breath Concealing Technique running at full power, even the sound of clothes rustling through the air was suppressed to the extreme. Only the faint sound of the toes lightly touching the ground when the explosion occurred could be used to slightly indicate that it was a mortal body.
"If I were to meet Dong Chang'an again..."
Chen Yi suddenly stopped, his fist clenched loosely, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
The Golden Steps grant not only speed, but also absolute control over the rhythm of battle.
Foundation Establishment cultivators' flying swords and spells all require divine sense to lock onto them, but this technique can make the body appear illusory, making it impossible for opponents to catch up.
Even without using a killing move like the Dark Gold Crystal, the Golden Radiance Fist and Ghostly Movement alone would be enough to wear down an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He looked down at his palm, the golden light slowly receding, and thought to himself, "This technique is still a basic version. If I were to absorb wind-type demon cores or spatial spiritual materials in the future, I might be able to further improve it..."
"Yes, Zhao Jingwu is a good person. He probably still has a fighting strategy manual, and maybe even a healing manual."
I'll find an opportunity later to upgrade the Breath Concealing Technique and then trade with him again.
"I hope he doesn't show off when he comes to this market and ends up falling into a lake."
Besides the [Golden Steps], Chen Yi's body-refining progress has also improved significantly with the fragments of magical artifacts he acquired from Zhao Jingwu.
In the quiet room, Chen Yi sat cross-legged, a broken crimson-patterned short blade resting in his palm.
The blade is covered with fine scales, and deep within each line, a crimson light flows, as if magma is surging.
He slightly clenched his fingers, and golden light surged from his body like a tide, enveloping the short blade.
Under the system's absorption, the short blade suddenly trembled, its scales cracked inch by inch, and a scorching fire essence, as intense as molten lava, erupted!
Chen Yi groaned, feeling as if his meridians were being branded on fire.
That fire spirit must have originated from the scales of a second-tier superior-grade exotic fire demon, and its spirituality was far beyond that of ordinary flames.
The golden radiance intertwined with the fire essence, and the two colors of crimson and gold collided fiercely within the body. Each vibration was like a blacksmith forging iron, burning away the impurities of the impure golden radiance and leaving only a more condensed crimson-gold energy.
"This is the true Fire Spirit Tempering Gold..." Chen Yi's forehead was beaded with sweat, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
Compared to the previous Fire Refining Golden Radiance that had been refined by absorbing the fire serpent scales, this time it was like ordinary fire meeting true fire, and was forcibly purified to the level of mid-grade second rank.
The newly formed golden radiance was not only more intense, but also subtly carried the burning properties of the essence of fire, and as it flowed, it even left fine red lines on the surface of the bones.
Half a month later, Chen Yi devoured all the broken magical artifacts he had purchased from Zhao Jingwu.
The total amount of gold energy surged twofold, surging through the body like a river.
He guided the golden light to impact his bones, each impact accompanied by a clanging, metallic sound—
The ulna of the right arm underwent the transformation first, with reddish-gold patterns climbing like vines, and bone density increased sharply.
The crimson gold patterns, combined with the original cold bones, achieve a dual tempering effect of ice and fire.
The efficiency of its copper refining process has increased by another 20% to 30%.
"The progress on the bronze bone is one-fifth complete..." He stroked the crimson-gold patterns that had appeared on his arm, lost in thought.
Ordinary body cultivators need to spend decades refining their bronze bones through painstaking effort, but he shortened the process by more than ten times by relying on the system's absorption and high-level golden light.
Simultaneously,
A tiny, rice-grain-sized bone cavity appeared on his wrist bone, its golden light concentrated like mercury, bursting forth with dazzling golden light at the slightest stimulation.
With a thought, Chen Yi caused a second bone opening to appear in his left wrist, similar to that in his right arm.
Five dark gold crystals floated between the two bone wrists.
These crystals, compressed to the size of sesame seeds, are covered with red veins on their surface, yet contain within them a violent energy powerful enough to tear apart a Foundation Establishment body.
—This is the product of the ultimate refinement of golden light.
The burst of each crystal is equivalent to a full-force attack from a peak mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.
When he killed Dong Chang'an in the past, he could only barely condense one crystal, and after it was released, there was no more left; but now, with five crystals hidden in his hand bones, he can control them as easily as his own limbs.
"After the five consecutive strikes," Chen Yi clenched his fist, and golden light surged within his bones.
He had deduced that if the five crystals were to erupt in succession in an instant, very few cultivators in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage would be able to withstand it standing up.
However, this is already the limit that his physical body can currently withstand. After all, he has not yet truly completed the condensation of his entire body's copper bones. Being able to unleash five over-limit bursts is already considered abnormal.
As dawn broke outside the window, Chen Yi exhaled a breath of stale air. The golden light receded with his breath, and the red markings gradually faded.
This training gave him a deeper understanding of the path of body cultivation:
The quality of the golden radiance determines the upper limit of bone tempering; higher-level flame spirituality can temper and elevate the golden radiance's level.
The repeated tempering process caused by the interaction of flames and ice can accelerate the refining process of the copper bones.
The essence of Dark Gold Crystal is actually the compression of the traditional method of "blood and qi burst" in physical cultivation into a storable physical killing move through golden light, and its power even surpasses that of magic cultivation talismans.
Chen Yi stared at his palm, where crimson gold light flowed across his skin.
He vaguely sensed an unprecedented path of body cultivation—if he could devour higher-level Five Elements spiritual objects in the future and undergo another transformation, the Golden Core barrier that other body cultivators faced might not be a problem for him.
A year later, after twelve full moon nights,
Chen Yi's divine sense had completely transformed into mist, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Faint green light patterns flowed within his Niwan Palace, and the mist of his divine sense churned within his Ancestral Aperture, revealing every detail within a sixty-zhang radius.
Three feet underground, a team of worker ants were carrying away fragments of spirit grain.
When Chen Yi's divine sense swept over them, the ant colony suddenly froze, and the trembling of their antennae in a terrified reaction was clearly visible.
This is the mystery of Foundation Establishment level divine sense: after being atomized, divine sense can slightly interfere with reality and even perceive the emotional fluctuations of lower-level creatures.
The flow of bodily fluids beneath the shells of ants and insects, and the condensation patterns of dewdrops on grass blades, are all as clear as the lines on the palm of your hand.
This is worlds apart from the basic perception during the Qi Refining stage.
His cultivation level is still some distance from the eighth level of Qi Refining. At this level of magical power, those who can raise their divine sense to the Foundation Establishment stage are extremely rare in the entire cultivation world.
Even someone as gifted as Qin Chengcheng, who also had the help of a soul restriction, only managed to advance his divine sense to the Foundation Establishment stage when he reached the ninth level of Qi Refining.
With the strengthening of one's divine sense comes considerable change.
First, Chen Yi had already condensed nine divine sense needles.
Furthermore, with his second-tier mid-grade array formation skills, he refined his divine sense needles into a nine-linked divine needle divine sense attack array based on a nine-linked flying sword array.
Under the normal attack of nine Divine Sense Needles, an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator would not be able to withstand it.
When the nine needles are arranged in an array, the soul of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator is as fragile as paper, unless there is a powerful soul defense treasure or secret technique.
At the same time, Chen Yi's second divine aperture, the Niwan Palace, reached minor completion, with several green leaves surrounded by green light.
Chen Yi's divine sense shield, woven from the different threads of divine sense from the two divine apertures,
The defensive effect was doubled, reaching the level of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. The divine sense impact of the third-order array at the bottom of the lake came crashing down, but it only stirred up a few ripples on the shield surface and failed to break through the divine sense shield's defense.
At this point, Chen Yi had firmly established himself at the mid-Foundation Establishment level in both offense and defense of the soul.
As for the soul restriction within Qin Chengcheng's body, if Chen Yi were to remove it now...
He's 50% confident he can handle it.
Of course, if the other 50% probability applies, Qin Chengcheng might die with her soul shattered.
That year, the Jade Dragon Sect gathered several second-tier array masters, who, under the guidance of the False Core Master, conducted numerous tests and attempts to break the array formation of the underwater cave.
But all of them ended in failure.
The only two attempts to break through the formation were both neutralized by powerful spiritual attacks from within.
Those two powerful spiritual attacks contributed to Chen Yi's spiritual growth.
However, the popularity of the market is increasing.
Because dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators had arrived at the market, and the market only had one second-tier spiritual vein cave dwelling.
As a result, those Foundation Establishment cultivators had nowhere to cultivate.
Therefore, Dong Changqing spent a high price to hire array masters to temporarily construct a batch of cave dwellings capable of enhancing second-tier spiritual power. Each cave dwelling had a second-tier spirit-gathering array, making them exceptionally valuable.
Of course, all of this capital was grafted onto those Foundation Establishment cultivators.
As a result, the annual rent for these cave dwellings reached a terrifying three hundred spirit stones.
This would be an astronomical price in any immortal city in the cultivation world.
But even in this small market, demand still exceeds supply.
As one of the array masters, Qin Chengcheng helped Dong Changqing set up several second-tier spirit-gathering arrays.
Chen Yi was temporarily drafted by Qin Chengcheng to serve as an assistant to the array formation apprentice, and he made a few appearances.
Thus, his amusing anecdote about a cook who didn't look at recipes but at formations spread within a small circle.
Chen Yi had sold several small magical artifacts with first-tier low-grade arrays carved into them at the market at opportune times.
This indirectly confirms his identity as a formation master.
Of course, these little things were all bought from Zhao Jingwu; they were items that weren't even up to the level of high-grade magic weapon materials.
It was originally intended to conceal Chen Yi's intentions, but unexpectedly, he also managed to earn some spirit stones along the way.
When good things happen in the market, bad people will naturally follow.
That year, several murders and robberies occurred around the market town, leading some to suspect that several gangs of robbers were targeting these market towns' victims and committing crimes in secret.
After each incident of plundering cultivators, Chen Yi was able to find fresh fragments of magical artifacts or other spiritual materials from Zhao Jingwu.
Chen Yi didn't ask any further questions about the origins of these items; as long as they could help him improve, that was enough.
These things weren't all personally seized by Zhao Jingwu, because Chen Yi had inquired and found that several of the robbery groups were magic cultivators, and there was only one lone body cultivator who had only taken action once this year, and that was to destroy a merchant guild of the Dong family.
Chen Yi remembered that Zhao Jingwu's arm was severed by a cultivator from the Dong family back then.
Chen Yi and Zhao Jingwu had a tacit understanding.
That year, he discovered that Zhao Jingwu's concealment technique had improved considerably. Even with Chen Yi's level of spiritual sense, it was difficult for him to discern Zhao Jingwu's true strength without knowing him personally.
Chen Yi guessed that Zhao Jingwu should be starting to tentatively enter the water around this time.
After all, at this time, almost all the Foundation Establishment cultivators who come to this market are aiming for that underwater cave.
Chen Yi also went into the water.
On another full moon night,
This was Chen Yi's first time diving, and he was fully prepared. His energy was abundant, his dual divine sense shields activated, and his abilities—Golden Steps, Water Movement Technique, Copper Bone Arms, and the five Dark Gold Crystals—were all secretly activated and ready to be used at any time.
In addition, Chen Yi also prepared a variety of talismans such as the Divine Speed Talisman, Water Movement Talisman, Underwater Breathing Talisman, and Light Body Talisman.
In addition, his firebird was also forced by Chen Yi to scout the area near the lake first, sending a signal to Chen Yi by bursting out a few flashes of fire at specific points in the air, to ensure that no one was spying within a ten-mile radius.
In the quietest, most secluded, and deserted body of water, Chen Yi quietly paddled into the lake.
He activated the Illusionary Concealment Technique, disguising himself as a high-grade first-tier tortoise-snake beast.
The water twenty feet below suddenly became dark, with only a few glowing krill floating like stars.
He curled up in a crevice in the reef, his bronze-boned arms crossed to protect his head. A double divine sense shield formed a transparent light membrane of alternating blue and green on the outside of his ancestral aperture—the outer layer was as sharp as ice crystals, while the inner layer resembled vines.
"Buzz—"
Midnight has arrived.
The lake water trembled as if boiling, and countless silver-blue light threads burst forth from the direction of the mineral vein in the center of the lake, like an underwater star shower.
The moment the divine sense attack collided with the divine sense shield, the ice crystal layer burst forth with dazzling ice shards, while the vine layer tightened as if it were alive, crushing the penetrating cold light into dust.
"It's indeed three times stronger than the spiritual attacks from the shore, but it still couldn't break through the first layer of my spiritual shield."
To be precise, this wave of spiritual attack only created a few ripples on the spiritual shield before disappearing, without even causing any damage to the spiritual shield.
Chen Yi was relieved.
The system activated, silently absorbing the divine sense power that had attacked this time.
First, he discovered that the spiritual power in the lake water was much greater than that on the shore, by at least twice as much.
Secondly, he discovered that the spiritual attacks within the lake water carried a chilling quality.
After absorbing it, he discovered that the divine consciousness in his ancestral aperture would occasionally appear in a pale blue, thread-like state.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that this divine sense actually possessed an icy attribute.
Chen Yi did not study it in much depth.
Taking advantage of the calm lake, he quietly climbed the cliff and returned to the secret chamber of Miaoyin Pavilion.
The intensity of this underwater test was sufficient.
I'll go back and digest this properly before I talk about it.
Several days later,
Inside the secret chamber of Miaoyin Pavilion, Chen Yi conjured a hair-thick divine sense needle at his fingertips.
The divine sense of an ordinary cultivator is as invisible as mist, but the tip of this needle glows with a pale blue light, and the tail of the needle is wrapped with emerald green patterns.
Chen Yi analyzed the properties of his Divine Sense Needle.
He finally confirmed a piece of information that deeply shocked him.
Divine consciousness also has attributes!
The divine sense emanating from his ancestral aperture between his eyebrows carried a hint of icy coldness.
The consciousness within the second divine aperture, the Niwan Palace, possesses a vibrant green hue, a sign of life.
Although both are spiritual powers, they are fundamentally different.
"Ice and cold govern destruction, while wood governs nourishment."
Chen Yi vaguely sensed that he seemed to have touched upon a very advanced topic.
He had never heard any Foundation Establishment cultivator say that divine sense also has attributes.
However, this situation actually exists for Chen Yi, and he has to guess that this may be a situation that only occurs to high-level cultivators above the Core Formation stage, or those with special divine sense cultivation methods.
After a month of research
He discovered that if the attributes of Ice Divine Sense and Wood Divine Sense were arranged according to the generating cycle of Water and Wood to form a composite Divine Sense Shield,
Its defensive effect can be increased by another 50%.
A month later, Chen Yi entered the water, this time diving about five miles to the ice spirit mine at the bottom of the lake.
A powerful surge of divine sense crashed down.
Even Zhao Tieshan, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, dared not linger in this vicinity.
Only the fake Core Formation cultivator might be able to withstand such an impact, but he wasn't nearby at the moment.
Nobody knows they'll get beaten up down there, yet they still stand there like idiots.
He was also worried that others might take advantage of his vulnerability, as the spiritual attacks on the night of the full moon were extremely powerful.
Even with protective artifacts that safeguard one's soul, they will be damaged after being struck a few times.
There's absolutely no clue how to open the formation of the cave below; anyone who gets stuck there now is just cannon fodder.
Under the spiritual attack within a five-mile radius,
Chen Yi's composite divine sense shield twisted violently, and the ice crystal layer and the wooden vine layer were torn with spider web-like cracks, but it ultimately did not break.
The system greedily absorbed the dissipating blue light, and the Ice Soul Divine Consciousness within its Ancestral Aperture grew at a visible speed.
A blue frost pattern quietly appeared in Chen Yi's pupils, then disappeared.
"I've absorbed another big wave. If this continues, in a few years, my divine sense might reach a hundred feet, touching the edge of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."
Chen Yi thought to himself, after several tests, he was full of confidence in the defensive capabilities of his dual-wielding divine sense shield.
Of course, to be on the safe side, he won't go any further in the near future.
Five miles is a safe distance.
When leaving,
He vaguely sensed an unusual fluctuation of qi and blood several hundred feet away.
However, that place was beyond the range of his divine sense, and the opponent had a sophisticated method of concealing their aura. Chen Yi only managed to detect a slight fluctuation in blood and qi for a fleeting moment during the divine sense attack.
(End of this chapter)