Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 301 The Ice Heart Curse

In the newly formed water palace of the Qingyuan River, a dragon roars, as if waking from a dream.

"The enlightenment I gained was quite significant. To this day, I have finally mastered the three spiritual techniques in the Cloud Ascension Scripture of the Misty Sea. Among them, the Cloud Manipulation and Rain Making technique has even reached the minor mastery level, which is truly remarkable."

As his consciousness returned and he sensed the changes within himself, a smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of the water vein's advancement and resonating with the spirituality of the Qingyuan River, Jiang Chen observed the evolution of the Qingyuan River and gained many insights into water magic.

Under such circumstances, the two spiritual techniques, Thousand Tribulations Cold Light and Cloud Riding, which were not yet truly mastered, were naturally mastered. As for Cloud and Rain Manipulation, which he had already comprehended, he went a step further and reached the level of minor accomplishment.

Spiritual arts are difficult to master, and such proficiency is generally only attainable by those in the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation Realm.

"I already had one innate spiritual technique, and now I have cultivated three more. The cultivation of the early stage of the Dao Foundation is actually not difficult for me. All I need to do is spend time accumulating spiritual power."

With his divine sense reflecting the light, Jiang Chen saw his dantian.

At this moment, the originally thin spiritual energy in his dantian has now grown into a thick layer. This is all feedback from the water veins. Although it is not particularly abundant, it is certainly enough to forge one or two layers of jade towers.

Next, all that's needed is time to refine it with spiritual techniques. Once the jade tower is fully carved and the divine essence of the Dao foundation is further developed, his realm will naturally rise.

"Based on the current trend, the Mist Dragon may soon be able to attempt to break through to the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, and I also have an unexpected gain this time."

With a thought, he casually sketched a snowflake that appeared before Jiang Chen. It not only contained the changes of water, but also hid the secrets of the soul, which was quite strange.

"The Ice Heart Mantra is a secret technique I created unexpectedly by observing the changes in the Qingyuan River, comprehending the laws of water, and gathering my own accumulated knowledge. It is meant to remain calm even when the sky collapses or the earth sinks, to keep one's mind clear and steadfast amidst all changes."

"I created this secret technique to complement the Clear Heart Spring and further improve my cultivation state, so that I could better practice and comprehend the Dharma. However, the Ice Heart Mantra that ultimately evolved from it deviated from my original intention."

As Jiang Chen played with the snowflakes in his hand, various thoughts flashed through his mind.

The more one cultivates, the more one feels the difficulty of cultivation, especially the comprehension of the Dharma. In this world, heaven and earth are not close to humankind. Forcing comprehension will inevitably lead to backlash. The proliferation of inner demons is not an illusion.

Under such circumstances, cultivators often need to rely on external objects to comprehend the Dao and understand its principles. However, these treasures are mostly precious and ordinary cultivators cannot obtain them. It was precisely because of this that Jiang Chen had the idea of ​​creating a secret technique to assist his cultivation when he was in a state of enlightenment.

To some extent, the Ice Heart Mantra was born from his thoughts and desires. He remained calm even when the sky collapsed or the earth caved in, as the Ice Heart Mantra could help him resist the backlash from heaven and earth to a certain extent, allowing him to better comprehend the laws of heaven and earth.

"Now, besides keeping my mind free of distractions and allowing me to cultivate better, the Ice Heart Mantra also has a certain ability to control the mind. Once someone is implanted with this secret technique by me, I can make them suffer the pain of cold entering their soul with just a thought."

"Moreover, within a certain distance, I can sense any malice from the other party through the Ice Heart Mantra."

"However, this secret technique is not without its limitations. The Ice Heart Curse is not a method of enslavement. To implant the Ice Heart Curse in someone, the other person must voluntarily open their mind. If the other person resists, this secret technique is very likely to fail."

Jiang Chen casually extinguished the snowflakes in his hand and turned his gaze to the direction Qu Shize had left. Compared to the Ice Heart Curse, Qu Shize was truly an unexpected accident. At that time, he was still immersed in enlightenment, his ego had not fully awakened, and he acted according to his instincts, which unintentionally caused Qu Shize to have some misunderstandings.

Later, as his self-awareness gradually returned and he reverted to his human nature, he chose to go with the flow and planted an Ice Heart Curse on Qu Shize.

At that time, his mind was in harmony with the Qingyuan River, and he could mobilize the power of the Qingyuan River. Even if his physical body did not move, he actually had a chance to kill Qu Shize. After all, Qu Shize was too close to the source of the Qingyuan River, and that area happened to be where his power was strongest.

However, for him now, killing Qu Shize, who is at the early stage of Dao Foundation, doesn't really make much sense. Rather than leaving him here, it's better to turn him into one of his pawns.

"Hopefully it will come in handy in the future."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze.

He wasn't in a hurry to contact Qu Shize. He didn't need Qu Shize's help right now. The most important thing was that although the Ice Heart Curse had some mind control ability, it wasn't a completely domineering method. It would be quite troublesome to use it to directly control a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

At that very moment, the spiritual roar of the Qingyuan River subsided, and the waters of the Qingyuan River returned to complete calm.

"The water veins of the Qingyuan River have disappeared, and its mystique is concealed, so it is no longer possible to use it to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, which is a bit of a pity."

Sensing the changes in the Qingyuan River's watercourse, Jiang Chen shook his head, revealing a hint of regret. However, he quickly calmed down. He was already lucky to have obtained this opportunity by chance, and it would be too much to ask for more.

If he wants to use the Qingyuan River's water veins to comprehend water magic again, he will need to actively shake the water veins and make their mystical power manifest. At that time, who knows what kind of disaster will be brewing.

"Enlightenment through water veins is not feasible, but I have indeed gained the favor of Qingyuan River this time. It will be much more convenient for me to act in Qingyuan River in the future, and I can also gain some benefits from comprehending water techniques."

"Most importantly, as Qingyuanjiang grows stronger, my benefits will also increase."

A faint blue light emanated from the water ripples between his brows, and Jiang Chen seemed lost in thought.

Although the Qingyuan River system has taken shape, it has not yet reached its full potential.

"The growth of water veins requires favorable timing, location, and human factors. Favorable timing and location are hard to come by, but we can figure out how to achieve favorable human factors."

"With Crocodile Abyss killed by me, Qu Shize cursed with the Ice Heart Curse, and Old Ghost Qingmu in an unusual state, the four southern prefectures are now under my control. What I need to do next is to mobilize all forces, build water conservancy projects, and make the Qingyuan River flow through the four southern prefectures, making it the true artery of the south."

As thoughts collided in his mind, inspiration blossomed, and a water map slowly took shape before Jiang Chen. In this water map, the Qingyuan River runs through the four prefectures, branching out into numerous tributaries, unifying all the waterways in the four prefectures, like a large net covering the entire south. This was what he had deduced from observing the changes in the Qingyuan River.

"If this method succeeds, the water system of Qingyuan River will surely reach a new level."

As his gaze fell upon the water map, Jiang Chen's mind raced with various calculations.

(End of this chapter)