Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 418 Devouring True Meaning
A powerful aura erupted from Xuan Jiaozi's body in the Blackwater Pool.

"The Jade Tower has eleven levels, not bad. With my current foundation, I can already try to break through to the True Inheritance level."

Sensing the changes within himself, Xuan Jiaozi's face was filled with joy.

The Wuchang Sect has twelve true disciples, most of whom are newly promoted to true disciples with his current cultivation level, or even lower. Theoretically speaking, as long as one's cultivation reaches the late stage of the Dao Foundation stage, a Wuchang Sect disciple is qualified to challenge for the position of true disciple.

Of course, since all the disciples who can become true disciples are extraordinary, their actual combat strength is definitely higher than what is shown on the surface. After becoming true disciples, with the support of the sect, they can often quickly achieve the Dao Foundation Perfection and seek the Purple Mansion.

However, achieving the Purple Mansion realm is difficult, and even true disciples may not be able to take this step. In fact, in the past, many true disciples of the Impermanence Sect have been blocked from this step for various reasons. Moreover, according to the rules of the Impermanence Sect, if a true disciple cannot break through to the Purple Mansion realm within a certain time limit, his or her status as a true disciple will be revoked.

"It's time to go out and take a look. I wonder if Jiang Chen is dead or not."

With a sudden thought, he suppressed his joy and left his secluded cultivation place.

Upon realizing that Xuan Jiaozi had emerged from seclusion, the servant immediately presented him with the intelligence he had gathered during this period.

"Jiang Chen didn't die. The Dark Feather Sect failed. The Xia family colluded with the Dark Feather Sect and was wiped out by the sect?"

As his gaze swept over the reports, Xuan Jiaozi's brows furrowed deeper and deeper; at this moment, the joy he had felt earlier had vanished.

It's one thing that Jiang Chen didn't die, but the key thing is that when he looked at the Santu Mountain Secret Realm again, he noticed something was wrong.

"The sect's actions were too fast and too precise. This doesn't seem like an aftermath of accountability; it's more like a premeditated plan."

"If the Sanzu Mountain Secret Realm is indeed a trap set by the sect, and Jiang Chen is indeed bait used by the sect to catch fish, then have my actions been exposed?"

Having guessed a certain possibility, Xuan Jiaozi's face turned extremely ugly.

Although his actions were discreet, he might not be able to hide them from the Wuchang Sect. He had no confidence in his abilities. As one of the top inner disciples of the Wuchang Sect, he was well aware of the sect's power.

"I kept this matter discreet, so the sect may not investigate it thoroughly. Even if they do discover something, they may not care, since it's just a secret struggle between disciples and not something that's been made public."

"Of course, just to be on the safe side, I still need to consult Gu Zhenchuan about this matter."

As thoughts raced through his mind, Xuan Jiaozi suppressed his unease and gradually formed an idea.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jiang Chen was processing the feedback from Xia Wuyan's soul.

With a hum, soul power flowed like a gentle stream, constantly washing over and nourishing the Soul Suppressing Hall, which then emitted a hazy glow. At this moment, it seemed as if true flames were rising within the Soul Suppressing Hall, continuously burning and refining the soul power.

Looking inward, Jiang Chen silently watched this scene.

Although the Soul of Devouring can directly devour the souls of others to enhance its own spiritual foundation, this practice has hidden dangers. In order to mitigate these dangers, Mo Yuan built the Soul Suppression Hall to refine the foreign soul power and reduce its impurities as much as possible.

“Soul suppression and soul refinement are one and the same. After being tempered by the Soul Suppression Hall, external soul power can generate soul liquid, which can be absorbed by people to strengthen their soul.”

"Of course, besides absorption, soul liquid can also be used as a form of energy to unleash certain powers of the Soul Suppressing Hall."

As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Chen saw the changes inside the Soul Suppression Hall. At this moment, white soul liquid was condensing there. At a certain moment, the external soul power was completely exhausted, and a fist-sized ball of soul liquid appeared in the soul pool inside the Soul Suppression Hall.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Chen's gaze shifted.

"Only one in ten survives. The losses from this refining process are truly significant, but overall it's still worthwhile. Although the increase in power is smaller, the potential risks are relatively controllable."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen activated the swirling soul liquid.

The next instant, a cool sensation spread deep within his soul.

After a moment, the pleasant feeling disappeared, and Jiang Chen let out a long sigh.

"My spiritual foundation is too profound. The boost this soul liquid gives me is almost negligible. If I want to strengthen my soul, I would at least need to use the spiritual soul of a Purple Mansion cultivator to refine the soul liquid. However, this feeling of devouring spiritual souls is truly exhilarating. No wonder Mo Yuan couldn't control himself back then."

Having personally consumed a ball of soul liquid, Jiang Chen gained a deeper understanding of this substance.

The temptation to devour souls and easily and pleasantly enhance one's own foundation is something few can resist. However, the nature of souls is complex, and even refined soul liquid has hidden dangers. Once out of control, it will inevitably suffer a backlash.

“Soul liquid can be absorbed, but there must be a limit.”

Breaking free from comfort and secretly becoming vigilant, Jiang Chen set a warning line for himself.

Having figured this out, Jiang Chen shifted his gaze from the Soul Suppression Hall to the dark star deep within. At this moment, a crimson stream of light was constantly flowing around the dark star, changing continuously, trying to move away from it. However, it seemed as if there was an invisible vortex around the dark star, firmly binding it and making it unable to break free.

"Is this the true meaning?"

Jiang Chen's gaze fell on the crimson streak of light, and he sensed a mysterious aura emanating from it. In a daze, he heard the enchanting voice explaining the cultivation technique.

"The true meaning is unique. My Devouring Soul is not strong enough. Even with the help of the Soul Suppressing Hall, I cannot capture it completely. This true meaning corresponds to Xia Wuyan's understanding of the Earth Lung True Flame Scripture."

Having grasped the true meaning and essence, Jiang Chen gained a sudden enlightenment.

"According to the records left by Mo Yuan, the true meaning of cultivation techniques is the most mysterious and also the most useless, because cultivation in this world is based on the foundation of the Dao, and apart from some special techniques, it is actually very difficult to cultivate them together."

"Although absorbing the true meaning of other cultivation methods may have the effect of making connections, it may also disturb one's mind and affect one's cultivation. However, this does not seem to be a problem for me."

As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Chen realized the unique nature of the Primordial Dao Foundation.

As one of the core lineages of the Impermanence Sect, the Dao foundation cultivated by the One Qi Primordial True Understanding is naturally extraordinary, and its greatest characteristic is its ability to encompass all things.

Just as Jiang Chen was contemplating the profound mysteries of the Primordial Dao Foundation, the dormant Primordial Dao Foundation trembled and directly swallowed the true meaning contained in the insights gained from the Earth Lung True Flame Scripture.

In that instant, the primordial energy permeated the air, the spiritual body shone with light, and various insights related to the Earth Lung True Flame Scripture surfaced in Jiang Chen's mind, plunging him into a state similar to enlightenment.

At the same time, almost naturally, he began to practice the Illusionary Concentration Technique.

(End of this chapter)