Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 391 Astral Projection
Inside the cave at Songtao Cliff on Diancui Mountain, Jiang Chen thoroughly studied the Daoist Canon to cultivate his mind and spirit. After a period of reflection, he brought himself to his optimal state.

"It's time to try breaking through to the third level of the Divine Soul."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen took out the magical artifact, the Primordial Chaos Banner, and used its power to seal off the entire cave.

After doing all this, Jiang Chen lit the calming incense and took out the third-tier spiritual artifact, the Soul-Slaying Pearl.

"According to the information provided by the Impermanence Sect, this Soul-Slaying Pearl is derived from a special kind of ghost. It is violent in nature and must be refined with great care. It is best to proceed slowly."

Playing with the Soul-Slaying Pearl in his hand, without hesitation, powerful divine soul energy surged directly from Jiang Chen's body, instantly enveloping the Soul-Slaying Pearl.

At this moment, the strange phenomena of water and fire evolved, transforming into a furnace that hung high above Jiang Chen's head, melting and refining the Soul-Slaying Pearl.

Under the erosion of the power of water and fire, more and more of the power of the Fiend Soul Pearl was refined by Jiang Chen. Whenever the Fiend Soul Pearl was about to go berserk, Jiang Chen would use his Divine Soul Golden Body to forcibly suppress it.

After several attempts, the Soul-Destroying Pearl's resistance weakened considerably. However, silence was not a sign of giving up, but rather a prelude to a better outburst.

Time passed, and after an unknown period of time, the power within the Soul-Slaying Pearl seemed to have been suppressed to its limit, and began to backfire completely.

Upon noticing this change, Jiang Chen not only did not stop it, but instead reversed the water and fire, adding fuel to the fire.

In that instant, it was as if evil spirits were rampaging through Jiang Chen's soul. A dark, violent, and powerful soul force erupted, attempting to take control and completely tear Jiang Chen's soul apart.

Under such circumstances, Jiang Chen's soul was instantly injured, but similarly, his originally unbreakable third-tier bottleneck also began to falter.

"It's now."

Taking advantage of the situation, Jiang Chen guided the power of the Soul-Slaying Pearl to generate the Mysterious Sound-Startling Thunder, tempering his own soul in an almost brutal way.

"My deduction was indeed correct. The Xuan Yin Jing Po Lei can help me temper my soul, the power of water and fire can help me repair my soul, and the power of the Sha Hun Zhu is the best catalyst. Without its destruction, the Xuan Yin Jing Po Lei and the power of water and fire would not be able to exert such a good effect."

"No destruction, no construction" is exactly the case.

Reflecting on himself, watching his soul being continuously damaged under the ravages of the Soul-Slaying Pearl's power, and then gradually recovering under the tempering of the water and fire energies and the refinement of the Mysterious Sound and Soul-Shaking Thunder, and finally undergoing a qualitative change, a sense of joy arose in Jiang Chen's heart.

Although his head was throbbing with pain, his mind was becoming increasingly clear.

And so, after an unknown amount of time, the wailing of the evil spirits disappeared, and Jiang Chen's originally scattered and formless divine soul gradually condensed into a phantom form. Its shape resembled a human, sitting upright on the divine soul lotus. Although its form was blurry, it exuded a sense of ethereal truth.

"This is a spirit of the underworld."

Looking inward at himself and at this figure, Jiang Chen had a sudden realization.

Compared to the first and second tiers, the third-tier divine soul undoubtedly undergoes a greater change. This change is more reflected in the quality. The original divine soul is only illusory and formless, but at the third tier, it has a real form. Once this form is formed, divine wonders naturally arise.

"The first stage of the Divine Soul Path is to strengthen the soul, which mainly involves nurturing one's own soul and increasing its foundation. It is not particularly miraculous. The second stage is to control objects, where the soul undergoes its first qualitative change and develops divine consciousness. This allows one to control external objects with divine consciousness and truly gain the power to interfere with the outside world."

"The third stage is the Astral Projection. At this stage, the cultivator's soul takes shape, transforming from formless to tangible, giving rise to the Yin Spirit. They can leave their body to travel, control the power of heaven and earth, and unleash various mysterious and secret techniques, greatly increasing their power."

Having completed the breakthrough, Jiang Chen felt the power of the Yin God.

Although his soul was damaged due to the way he broke through, even so, the power of the Yin God was enough to crush the Dao Foundation.

At that moment, affected by Jiang Chen's breakthrough in his divine soul, the demonic ape that had been suppressed in the Heart Mirror suddenly went berserk, trying to break free from the Heart Mirror's restraints.

Sensing this change, Jiang Chen's mind merged with his Yin spirit body, and he casually reached out and grabbed.

In the next instant, the Heart Mirror, derived from the Demonic Ape's Shadow Reflection Technique, seemed to possess a physical form, easily grasped by Jiang Chen's Yin Spirit Body. "Behave yourself..."

Holding the Heart Mirror in his palm, reflecting his own image, and sensing the turmoil of his inner ape, Jiang Chen gently tapped the ape directly.

Under this finger strike, the previously raging ape-like mind was struck as if by a heavy blow, letting out a mournful howl before quickly falling silent.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Chen seemed to be deep in thought.

"The mind and the soul are closely related. My soul has entered the third level, and my mind has naturally become much stronger. At the same time, my desires have also increased wildly, which is the root cause of the ape-like rage."

"But that's normal. After all, the stronger you are, the fewer constraints you have, and the more you want."

As his thoughts raced, Jiang Chen wiped his mental mirror, trying to calm his mind, which had been shaken by the breakthrough.

"Compared to my spiritual power, my mind still needs further tempering. Although the Mind Monkey is a bit troublesome, everything is still under control for now."

The mirror of the mind shines, reflecting one's own form; the ape-like nature is revealed, and an idea arises in Jiang Chen's mind.

"One day, I should perhaps completely subdue my restless mind and replace my ape-like appearance with my true self."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen stopped pondering and swallowed the pills he had prepared beforehand, then used the Kanli Soul Forging Technique to further repair the injury to his soul.

While Jiang Chen was busy cultivating his own soul, a storm quietly began to brew around him.

On the summit of Lingfeng, Wu Jun'an stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an extraordinary air.

"What did Jiang Chen say? Did he still refuse?"

Without turning around, Wu Junan casually asked a question.

Upon hearing this, an outer disciple standing beside him immediately nodded.

"Senior Brother Wu, Diancui Mountain did indeed refuse, and the reason given was the same as the previous two times: Jiang Chen is in seclusion."

With a hint of excitement in his voice, the outer disciple recounted everything he knew.

During this period, Wu Jun'an was not idle at all. After consolidating his own realm, he frequently sparred with others and defeated three Dao Foundation cultivators, including one in the middle stage of Dao Foundation. He was in the limelight for a time.

After reaching the peak of his power, Wu Jun'an issued three challenge letters to Jiang Chen, inviting him to a duel. However, Diancui Mountain refused each time, citing Jiang Chen's seclusion, which undoubtedly raised some doubts among many people.

With the help of certain individuals, Jiang Chen's initial refusal quickly turned into a fear of being defeated by Wu Jun'an.

Upon hearing these words from the outer disciple, Wu Jun'an revealed a cold smile.

"Continue to issue challenges and have people stir up more public opinion. We must force Jiang Chen to come out. He has achieved perfection, and the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

With icy words, Wu Jun'an issued the order.

Upon hearing this, the outer disciple bowed and agreed.

"Don't blame me, it's your fault for blocking other people's path and achieving a flawless Dao foundation."

After the outer disciple left, the cold smile on Wu Jun'an's face disappeared, replaced by a deep look.

(End of this chapter)