Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 242 Controlling the Sword with Divine Power
Muyu Island is full of vitality.

Within the Spirit Cave, mysteries are hidden.

At a certain moment, a sudden inspiration struck him. Jiang Chen, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. In an instant, divine light appeared, the void turned white, and the entire spirit cave was illuminated.

It was at this moment that an invisible force emanated from Jiang Chen's body, causing his spiritual energy to recede and all the green lotuses in the pond to vanish.

"The second-order object manipulation is thus achieved."

As his divine sense spread out and he sensed the changes within himself, Jiang Chen was overjoyed.

A qualitative change in the soul can spread outwards, interfering with reality, possessing keen insight, clarity both internally and externally, and the ability to control things and minds, as if one were the master of one's own body, one's own spirit, which is called divine consciousness. When one reaches this stage, his soul ability is truly extraordinary, no longer as limited as before.

“The spirit is strong and the energy is clear. But now, I can see that the seemingly solid foundation still has flaws.”

Upon breaking through, Jiang Chen made a new discovery when he looked at himself again. At this moment, he was clear inside and out, just as the illusion that had obscured his vision and made him unable to see clearly had been easily cleared away by his divine sense.

“For cultivators who want to build their Dao foundation, spiritual treasures seem to be the most important, but that is only the surface. The key to building a Dao foundation is the nurturing of the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, while spiritual treasures play more of a catalytic and transcendent role.”

Reflecting on himself and observing the flow of true energy and the hidden spiritual essence, Jiang Chen gained a sudden enlightenment.

Having cultivated for so long, he has refined his physical body daily with true qi, making it extraordinary. It has been imbued with a great deal of spiritual energy, as if it has transformed into a spiritual body that can resonate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, expelling the old and taking in the new. However, because his cultivation method has its limits, his body still has some deficiencies in spiritual energy. These deficiencies are hidden beneath the skin and flesh, deep within the bones, and cannot be detected by ordinary means.

"The cultivation method is passed down as a lineage, but cultivators cultivate themselves. If I want to achieve perfection, I need to cultivate my own Lesser Formless Scripture and draw the true meaning into my bones."

With his divine sense observing his own mind, both his inner and outer self were clear, and Jiang Chen knew the path he would have to take next.

This step is very difficult for ordinary cultivators. They might not even be able to discover it, let alone cultivate it. However, it is nothing to him. Once his divine sense is formed, he has new insights when he observes the Lesser Formless True Scripture again. From now on, he just needs to cultivate step by step.

"The path of cultivation begins with Qi, and the soul is merely secondary. However, even so, upon reaching the Dao Foundation level, a cultivator's soul will undergo a qualitative change, and spiritual consciousness will arise from this."

"In some ways, spiritual consciousness and my divine consciousness are very similar. Both have the ability to see things in the smallest detail, but neither can interfere with reality or manipulate objects."

With a single thought, the newly formed divine consciousness spread out like a gentle stream, and Jiang Chen immediately saw a completely new world.

At this moment, flesh and bones, earth, stones, grass and trees all disappeared in his eyes, leaving only spiritual energy, only streams of energy, some heavy and some clear and pure, rising and falling, creating countless wonders.

"Taoist texts say that qi gives birth to all things, and now it seems that this may not be false."

Seeing the flow of energy, Jiang Chen felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility.

"Once my divine sense was formed and I broke through the fog, I immediately felt much closer to heaven and earth."

“In this world, spiritual energy is not close to cultivators. It is precisely because of this that even if a cultivator has a spiritual aperture, it is still extremely difficult to absorb spiritual energy and ascend step by step. It is also because of this that cultivators temper their bodies during the inspiration stage and open their apertures during the Qi refining stage, all in order to cultivate a spiritual body. And forging a Dao foundation is to allow this spiritual body to be completely sublimated, so that they can become closer to heaven and earth.”

With a hundred thoughts swirling in his mind, and understanding dawning without instruction, Jiang Chen gained a new understanding of Qi cultivation.

Qi cultivation itself is an opportunity to change oneself. To some extent, as long as you keep going, your cultivation aptitude will improve. It's not fixed; at a certain level, deficiencies in innate aptitude can be completely compensated for. This is the mystery of this path of cultivation: innate deficiencies can be made up for later, and all of this is to allow cultivators to get closer to heaven and earth.

Of course, this may also be a helpless move. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is not close to cultivators. If there is no such method, and one only relies on the aptitude of innate spiritual aperture to cultivate, then in this world, apart from a very few exceptionally talented individuals, it is probably impossible to refine spiritual energy and embark on the path of cultivation.

"The wonder of refining spiritual energy, replenishing one's own deficiencies, and then merging with heaven and earth—this may be the essence of Qi cultivation."

“Those without form are without shape, therefore they are unrestrained, therefore they are impermanent, and thus they can conform to the changes of heaven and earth.”

With the principle in mind, the formless true energy within Jiang Chen's body began to change naturally, and in a daze, it had already penetrated his bones. The path of cultivation lies in changing the microcosm of the human body to match the macrocosm. In this respect, the Lesser Formless Scripture has a natural advantage.

"The shortcomings are clear, the path has been taken shape, and what follows is just a matter of time and effort."

As the formless true qi changed naturally, Jiang Chen's heart became increasingly calm. He glimpsed a bit of the fundamentals of cultivation and understood the wonders of qi refining. Without deliberate pursuit, the method was already naturally achieved.

"During this seclusion, I achieved the second-tier object manipulation skill. Besides realizing my own shortcomings, the biggest gain should be in swordsmanship."

On a whim, Jiang Chen took out the Frost Moon Blade.

"I have mastered the secret art of gold and silver puppets and obtained the method of manifesting forms through objects. Now, combined with the ability to control objects, I should be able to achieve the ability to wield a sword with divine power."

With his hands forming a hand seal, Jiang Chen activated the Frost Moon Blade.

In the next instant, divine sense surged, and Jiang Chen began to refine the Frost Moon Blade with his own divine sense.

A moment later, the Frost Moon Sword rang out, its cold light radiating outwards, and within the Spirit Cave, it seemed as if a new moon was slowly rising.

"It's done."

Feeling the close connection between himself and the Frostmoon Blade, Jiang Chen smiled.

The method of using objects to manifest forms is special, and it is not easy to master normally. After all, it is not a truly perfect secret technique, but merely a mystery within the secret art of gold and silver puppets. It is difficult to bypass the secret art of gold and silver puppets and cultivate this method alone.

Most importantly, this method requires splitting one's own consciousness. If one is not careful, it is very likely to harm oneself. This is the fundamental reason why Liao Yonghuai's soul was severely damaged when the silver puppet was destroyed.

However, with the transformation of his soul and the development of his divine consciousness, it became much easier for Jiang Chen to cultivate this method. To be precise, he used the principle of entrusting objects to form forms to further enhance his ability to manipulate objects.

"When the Golden Thread Flowing Light Sword Technique is perfected, there will be one hundred and eight sword lights, with unparalleled power. However, this is not something that a Qi Refining cultivator can master. If the soul is not strong, it is impossible to control it. If the true Qi is not thick, it is impossible to support it. On the contrary, I now meet these conditions."

Thoughts surged, and Jiang Chen gently lifted his hand, cradling the frosty moon.

In the next instant, the sword light split, and one hundred and eight sword lights filled the entire spirit cave, instantly creating a chilling atmosphere.

Once his cultivation level was sufficient, his swordsmanship would naturally follow. Previously, he could only divide his swordsmanship into forty-nine forms, not because he lacked a deep understanding of the sword techniques, but because he didn't have enough cultivation to support them and couldn't execute them at all.

(End of this chapter)