Chapter 245: Chapter 134: Attempting Divine Soul Separation
A lone island south of Shang’an Prefecture.
A succession of killing blows formed from Iron Bamboo Swords materialized, the roiling Wood Spirit Qi dyeing the sky a different color. Streaks of Sword Qi continuously shot past, parting the seawater around the island.
"It’s still not good enough." Wang Ping shook his head.
"It’s missing something..."
Tongyu Taoist advised, "You need to utilize all forty-nine Sword Talismans. Otherwise, it’s all just for show. I suggest you start with the basics. For instance, begin by practicing with just fourteen swords. When you’ve mastered those, move on to twenty-one, and so on, until you can command all forty-nine."
"As for the Soldier Talismans, I suggest you divide them into groups of twenty. Have them learn to coordinate with one another, then store that learned cooperation as a memory within the Array Runes. That way, you’ll only need a single thought to control them."
Wang Ping nodded, taking the advice. He then reduced the number of Sword Talismans to fourteen.
"Want to try it on me?" A large head popped out of the water. It was Yu Lian, who had been playing in the sea. The next moment, her massive, grayish-white body emerged completely from the water. As she swayed, rainbows formed and vanished above the ocean’s surface.
"You’re on!"
As Wang Ping agreed, his body shot into the air.
Yu Lian then shouted, "No using the Water Moon Bell!"
"No problem!"
A brilliant Spirit Gathering Array activated around Wang Ping, simultaneously materializing fourteen Iron Bamboo Swords. With a flick of her tail, Yu Lian formed innumerable ice spikes from the Water Spirit Qi, which instantly covered half the sky.
"Watch closely!"
With a flash of intent, Wang Ping made the Wood Spirit Qi around him flow and form an enormous Armor Talisman, spanning over a thousand feet. The ice spikes were unable to make the slightest dent in the area it covered.
The ice spikes deflected by the Armor Talisman landed on the sea and the island. Wherever they made contact, the water and ground froze dozens of feet deep. Inside the ice, a corrosive acid flowed.
"You’re not holding back!" Wang Ping laughed.
"Of course!"
As Yu Lian spoke, she communed with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, sweeping the surrounding sea into the sky and drawing out even more Water Spirit Qi. Seeing that she was about to cast Summon Ocean, Wang Ping dove directly into the Wood Spirit Qi and vanished without a trace.
The next moment, a tidal wave dozens of feet high materialized above the island, instantly engulfing the sky for miles around. The wave carried the purest Water Spirit Qi in all of creation.
Just then, a streak of Sword Qi infused with dense Wood Spirit Qi shot across the sky, cleaving the massive wave in two. The next moment, more than a dozen streaks of Sword Qi assailed her at once, carrying a toxin that devoured spiritual perception. They consumed the sundered wave and shot toward Yu Lian, who was enveloped in Water Spirit Qi.
Yu Lian was unafraid. As dense Water Spirit Qi covered her, her already massive body seemed to swell even larger. Then, she summoned a dense wall of ice spikes to intercept the incoming Iron Bamboo Swords head-on.
SHIIINK!
A longsword slashed through, shattering the ice spikes and leaving a gash on the side of Yu Lian’s massive body. But beneath the gash were layers of crystal-clear ice.
This was the Ice Armor Technique she had recently been practicing. Inspired by Wang Ping’s Armor Talisman, most enemies below the Third Realm would be unable to break her defense.
But Wang Ping controlled more than just one Sword Talisman. The moment one landed a hit, a torrential onslaught would follow.
"Stop! I surrender!"
Yu Lian surrendered without hesitation. She looked up at Wang Ping, who was shrouded in the multicolored light of his Spirit Gathering Array, and said, "You’re definitely a bit stronger than before. Once you’ve fully mastered all forty-nine Sword Talismans, you’ll probably have no rivals below the Third Realm, save for the disciples of the Five Profound Sects and the two Heavenly Gate sects."
"By then, I might be preparing to ascend to the Third Realm."
Wang Ping retracted his Spirit Gathering Array. The Purgatory Banner floating beside him flashed, and out came Tongyu Taoist and Nether Water, apparently in the middle of an argument.
"The Soldier Talismans’ combination Array would be more powerful if it coordinated with me," Nether Water declared.
"You’re a trump card! You’re meant to wait until an enemy gets close, then hit them with a surprise attack. Even a Third Realm Cultivator would be stunned!" Tongyu Taoist had a different opinion.
"What if the enemy doesn’t get close?"
"Not getting close when fighting a Wood Cultivator is just courting death!"
Once they started arguing, there was no end to it. Wang Ping couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. He rejoined Yu Lian, scattered a handful of seeds, and activated them with Wood Spirit to begin restoring the island’s ecosystem.
...
Now that he had a clear direction for his Magic practice, Wang Ping began cultivating the ability for his divine soul to leave his body.
This was the final step in the first volume of the Taiyan Talisman. First, he needed to construct an Array to suppress the Spirit Veins within his physical body. The Array itself was simple.
The materials had been prepared long ago.
Within two months, the Array in front of the locust tree had changed once more.
On an ordinary morning, Wang Ping followed his usual routine: he entered a meditative trance for his Qi Cultivation, then returned to the courtyard to brew tea and nurture his qi. At noon, when the sun was high in the sky, he went back and sat down in the center of the Array before the locust tree.
"Are you ready?" Yu Lian asked.
"Yes."
Wang Ping gave a firm nod, then centered himself. Closing his eyes, he performed a spell seal and manifested his divine soul. He ignored the strange sounds from the Inspiration Realm, and upon sensing Yu Lian’s focused attention, he decisively poured his entire consciousness into the divine soul and attempted to leave his physical body.
It was a success—he felt almost no resistance. But soon, Wang Ping sensed danger. A Spiritual Creature was approaching him, and it was a Wood Spirit. It appeared in his vision as a faceless, humanoid figure, its entire body covered in complex Rune Lines.
Wang Ping instinctively tried to drive it away. As the thought of a Sword Talisman formed in his mind, a longsword materialized before his divine soul.
But just at that moment, Yu Lian’s consciousness appeared, grabbed hold of him, and shoved him back into his body. Wang Ping immediately felt a sense of unease. The Wood Spirit Vein inside him was expanding rapidly.
He immediately activated his Qi Sea to suppress it. Soon after, small crystals seeped out from his skin. Upon contact with the air, the crystals shattered and vanished without a trace.
"You need to leave a part of your consciousness in your physical body to run your Qi Sea! And you need to maintain a basic connection with your divine soul. Otherwise, how am I and the Array supposed to help you suppress your Spirit Vein from going haywire?"
Yu Lian then added, "Just do it like you normally would when you manifest your divine soul. You don’t need to pour your entire consciousness into it!"
Wang Ping nodded and began his second attempt. His soul successfully left his body again, but without enough of his consciousness to guide it, it was quickly captivated by the Spiritual Creatures of the Inspiration Realm.
Having no other choice, Wang Ping had to pull it back into his body again.
"That wasn’t bad. Your divine soul is already fused with the Locust Tree Divine Soul, and you also have the Luck-Borrowing Talisman and the Spirit Communication Talisman. Leaving your body temporarily is just the first step. To stay out for long periods, or even to cast Magic directly with your divine soul, you’ll need a lot more practice."
Yu Lian was clearly enjoying her role as ’master.’
Wang Ping couldn’t help but call up his holographic panel and stare in confusion at the walkthrough displayed on it. He wasn’t sure if what he’d just done counted as having his soul leave his body.
The guide said it would take ten years, but it hadn’t marked any progress.
’Does that mean it’s possible to finish it in one go?’
He was tempted to try again, but gave up when he saw the walkthrough panel marked the attempt as ’once per day.’ He had already tried twice.
