Chapter 281: Chapter 279: Tracing Back to the Source
’My Comprehension of various Magic, Divine Techniques, and Secret Techniques can only be considered average. How could I suddenly be so different with this particular Secret Technique...?’
Instead of joy, Bai Zichen felt alarmed. He stopped his Cultivation and began to deconstruct and analyze the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger in greater detail.
He was long past the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, beyond the point where he would cheer for any unexpected gains.
Such an inexplicable phenomenon happening to him was absolutely unacceptable for a Core Formation True Man of his standing.
A Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivator not yet a hundred years old was astonishing, not just in Liang Country but throughout the entire Northern Domain, and even looking back ten thousand years in history.
According to the ancient texts, only those Super Major Sects could possibly nurture such a Cultivator.
The Inheritance Jade Scrolls of the Red Bright Lineage recorded a predecessor True Monarch who, while traveling the inland regions, had encountered a Saint Heir from a Super Major Sect who had reached Core Formation Perfection at just over 150 years old.
He was said to possess a Celestial Spiritual Root and a special Sacred Body, a combination of aptitude and talent sufficient to make any other Cultivator feel ashamed.
He had not yet formed his Nascent Soul, but all the Nascent Soul True Monarchs already regarded him as a peer and treated him as an equal.
Bai Zichen didn’t dare claim his Mysterious Holy Body could definitely surpass those of the past. But as things stood now, when it came to the confidence of a Core Formation True Man in reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, he was truly second to none.
Mastering the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger so quickly wasn’t important to him; the reason behind it was.
’Everything feels normal, yet there’s an inexplicable sense of familiarity. But I can guarantee I’ve never practiced this Secret Technique before; its contents are completely new to me...’
He decided to simply deconstruct and analyze the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger, even tracing it back to its origins. He wanted to understand how this rule-based Secret Technique worked, how a seemingly light touch could sever the Heart and Spirit Linked connection between a Magical Treasure and its master.
Bai Zichen became engrossed in this Secret Technique, determined to get to the bottom of it. Finally, after practicing it millions of times without taking the final step, he had an epiphany.
’This finger strike not only hits the Magical Treasure in the present, but also, on some unseen level, lands on the exact moment the treasure was first refined and its Heart and Spirit Linked with its master... It involves the Power of Time! No wonder I grasped it so quickly, mastering it in a single stroke!’
A flash of insight illuminated his mind. He had finally unraveled the inner mysteries of the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger and truly understood the principles behind this Secret Technique.
It used the Power of Time as a channel to strike the Magical Treasure on two planes simultaneously: the present and the past.
Coincidentally, when it came to understanding the Power of Time, there was likely no Core Formation True Man in the entire world who could surpass Bai Zichen.
After all, even Nascent Soul True Monarchs could only touch upon the Time True Intent through countless barriers.
It was vastly different from other Great Dao True Intents. Not only were they limited by their own Comprehension of the True Intent, but they also feared that directly touching the Time True Intent would cause them to be scoured by the River of Time.
Both their physical bodies and Divine Souls would age in an instant.
A thousand-year lifespan could be nothing more than an insignificant moment in the River of Time.
On one hand, Bai Zichen relied on the Supreme Divine Power, the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, to indirectly touch upon the Time True Intent.
On the other hand, his own Pill Discussion expounded upon the way of action and inaction, which brushed against the Time Path.
It was no exaggeration to say that his understanding of the Power of Time surpassed all other Core Formation True Men and was not inferior to that of many Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
All these factors combined were what allowed him to bypass the initial arduous practice of the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger and directly approach a state of mastery.
’Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger, complete!’
This process of tracing its roots took Bai Zichen more than half a year, but he had no regrets and didn’t feel he had wasted his time.
Among Core Formation True Men, over ninety percent of Cultivators simply followed the map, cultivating step-by-step along the paths laid out by their predecessors.
They would never stop to research or consider why things were done a certain way, or why such miraculous effects occurred.
Let alone trying to innovate upon their predecessors’ work and make changes.
This kind of change wasn’t about making a Cultivation Technique or Secret Technique more powerful, but about making it more suitable for oneself.
Knowing that with his mysterious Spirit Body, he would have no trouble reaching the Nascent Soul Realm as long as he passed the Celestial Tribulation, Bai Zichen naturally developed grand ambitions.
He wanted to walk a path that was truly his own and strive for the realms of legend.
Having clarified the principles of the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger, he had already fully comprehended the Secret Technique during his period of analysis. With it clear in his heart, he mastered it in an instant.
Furthermore, he deduced the upper limits of this Secret Technique.
’It’s mostly ineffective against a Lifebound Magical Treasure that has been refined for over a hundred years, though it can still loosen and shake the wisp of Divine Sense the owner has placed upon it. For Spiritual Treasures, it depends. There’s no point in trying to strike down a weapon like the Moon Xuan Sword, which is equivalent to a Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure and is a sword of slaughter... For other Top-Grade Spiritual Treasures, the chance of success should be about fifty-fifty.’
Although the upper limit of the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger wasn’t as high as he had initially imagined, he had to admit this Secret Technique was still quite impressive.
The image of flicking one’s index finger, striking down a Magical Treasure without any fanfare, was exactly how he had imagined the bearing of an Immortal Family member in his youth.
Crucially, it could be used in conjunction with his Body-Sword Light during an all-out strike.
The thought of launching a finger strike from within his Moonlight Sword Light, knocking away the enemy’s Protective Dharma Treasure, and then cleaving them in two with his sword was quite thrilling.
’The only problem is, I can currently only strike down Mid-Grade Magical Treasures. And what kind of Mid-Grade Magical Treasure could possibly block a single strike from the Moon Xuan Sword? ...It seems a better use for it would be against special Secret Treasures that trap or confine people.’
After mastering the Cosmic Light Treasure Sun Finger, Bai Zichen consumed the two remaining Guangling Pills.
He had grown accustomed to the rate of Cultivation growth that came from consuming pills. Once he stopped, he simply couldn’t stand the snail’s pace of normal cultivation.
He could only find joy in his bitterness, visiting the Artifact Refining Chamber every year or so to ruin a few Spiritual Artifacts, just to relieve his mood and change his Cultivation routine.
He was still reluctant to use the Sacred Sound Bamboo, so he mainly focused on refining the simplest Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts.
That Tier Four Refining Inheritance contained methods for refining no fewer than a hundred Spiritual Artifacts, surpassing the Qingfeng Sect’s original Artifact Refining Secret Technique by countless times.
For Bai Zichen, the only drawback was that not a single method for refining a Flying Sword was included.
Even if the Naihe Sect wasn’t one of the Sword Cultivation Sects, no one would believe that a mysterious and powerful force with an inheritance spanning countless generations—a Major Sect that could produce an unconventional Swordsmanship manual like the True Enlightenment Sword Technique—didn’t possess a single Sword Refining Secret Technique.
The only explanation was that the Naihe Sect categorized all its Sword Refining Secret Techniques separately and had not included them in this particular Artifact Refining inheritance.
’Sigh, if only a disciple back then had inherited a Sword Refining Secret Technique from the Stele. At least I’d have more options when it comes to Sword Refinement...’
The Inheritance Stele had long since shattered into countless fragments; nostalgia and regret were useless now.
The only ones to blame were the batches of disciples after Bai Zichen’s own, none of whom had been particularly outstanding.
If they could have waited a little longer for the next wave of more brilliant disciples, it might have triggered a phenomenon and yielded a better inheritance.
The Spiritual Artifacts Bai Zichen chose to practice on were all the simplest to refine, with single-minded attack methods, like miniature mountains or flying bricks. They relied on the quality of the Spiritual Materials themselves for victory, not on outstanding Refining Techniques.
This type of Spiritual Artifact, which primarily relied on overwhelming opponents with sheer force by piling on Spiritual Materials, was gradually being phased out.
Just imagine: with the same amount of Spiritual Materials, you could only refine one Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, whereas new refining methods could produce two or even three.
The choice for an Artifact Refiner was obvious.
Bai Zichen specialized in refining these kinds of Spiritual Artifacts and managed to maintain an average success rate of over thirty percent.
During this time, Zhou Suqing somehow heard that he was practicing Artifact Refining and could use some White Iron Elite, so she had someone deliver a twenty-jin piece to him.
Bai Zichen personally wrote a letter and gave it to the new female disciple Zhou Suqing had recently accepted.
In addition to expressing his thanks, he also urged her not to waste time on such matters. Focusing on refining her Magical Treasure and familiarizing herself with her True Essence was the proper course of action.
Twenty jin of White Iron Elite wasn’t worth many Spirit Stones, but it required a Core Formation True Man to refine it with their Pill Fire for six years.
Although it didn’t require one hundred percent concentration, it would certainly interfere with other matters during that time.
This twenty-jin piece of White Iron Elite was enough to attempt refining the Celestial Xin Sword twice, but unfortunately, both attempts ended in failure.
’Back then, after obtaining the Tier Two Sword Refining Secret Technique, Dai Hui mastered it after a little practice and succeeded in one go, never once failing... It seems the gap between his artifact refining skill and mine is still far too wide.’
Bai Zichen stared at the two lumps of mangled metal before him. They were a mixture of several kinds of Five Metals Spirit and rare ores, their original forms no longer discernible.
However, these two failed Sword Refinement attempts had caused his experience in the craft to advance by leaps and bounds.
When he went back to refining Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, he found that his success rate had increased significantly.
’At this rate, if I use all the Sacred Sound Bamboo currently on Celestial Thunder Cliff for practice, I should be able to refine a Sound Bamboo Sword!’
Bai Zichen considered it for a moment but decided to wait a while longer. There was no need to be so impatient.
Compared to successfully refining a Tier Two Flying Sword, waiting for the first stalk of Thunder Sound Bamboo to appear was more important.
But it seemed the leap from Sacred Sound Bamboo to Thunder Sound Bamboo was a large one, as none of the Spiritual Bamboos that had successfully mutated over the years showed any signs of mutating again.
He could be said to have poured all his heart and effort into cultivating the Spiritual Bamboo.
He constantly applied Secret Techniques, ensuring the effects of the Wood God Skill remained at their peak.
At the same time, he spent a great sum to hire a Tier Three Spirit Plant Master from the Shennong Sect to specifically give the Sacred Sound Bamboo special care.
He had this Spirit Plant Master move all the Sacred Sound Bamboo to the base of the Celestial Thunder Wall.
This would make them more susceptible to Celestial Thunder strikes, maximizing the chances of Thunder Sound Bamboo appearing.
If not for the fact that the hiring request had been personally written by Bai Zichen and sent to the Shennong Sect, he truly would not have been able to hire this Tier Three Spirit Plant Master.
The man was a senior Elder in the Shennong Sect whose words carried great weight. Crucially, he had relevant experience in caring for bamboo-type Spirit Plants and was an honored guest of all the Major Sects.
The employment period would last for a full ten years. If Qingfeng Sect’s Master Bai were not currently so renowned in the Liang Country Cultivation Realm—regarded as the most promising young Core Formation True Man after the Holy Lotus Sect’s Qu Yang to become a Nascent Soul True Monarch—the Elder from the Shennong Sect most likely would not have bothered with such an offer.
’According to that Elder Shen from the Shennong Sect, it’s because the Sacred Sound Bamboo itself mutated and advanced too recently, so it hasn’t had enough time to accumulate what it needs... In this situation, even if I use the Taiyi Cyan Spirit Techniques to try and force its growth, it would be useless. I can only wait patiently.’
As Bai Zichen was pacing on the Jade Bridge in his courtyard, a messenger talisman suddenly flew toward him. He opened it, and his face turned deathly pale.
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