Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 351 Taoism Zhengzang
Chen Linyuan's voice sounded very gentle, with a hint of languor amidst his weariness, but to Xin Shan Sanren, it sounded only as boundless eeriness and absurdity.

How could he possibly see me?!
Xin Shan felt his soul tremble, and a chill instantly ran from head to toe.

The Secret Technique of Peeping at the Heavens probes the memories of cultivators, using that spark of inspiration to simulate fragmented scenes from that time.

In other words, this is just a virtual world that doesn't exist at all.

Even one's own divine sense is merely an observer here.

Chen Linyuan doesn't know him at all, and it's impossible for them to have any connection in his past memories.

What on earth is going on?! This completely contradicts the nature of the Heavenly Observation Technique.

However, at this very moment, Chen Linyuan's hand was actually resting on his shoulder.

There is a real tactile sensation that transcends illusion.

In a daze, a guess flashed through Xin Shan Sanren's mind like lightning, making him regret his past actions and sending chills down his spine.

Supernatural!
Yes, that's the only explanation.

It is true that Xin Shan Sanren is a pseudo-core cultivator, but a pseudo-core cultivator is completely incomparable to a true golden core cultivator.

If we compare the path of a cultivator to a journey, then a cultivator in the Pseudo-Core Formation realm is, frankly speaking, nothing more than a dead end in the Foundation Establishment realm.

They progressed further than normal Foundation Establishment cultivators, but were unable to advance any further, ultimately settling for second best.

The cultivator's foundation—spiritual power, soul, and physical body—has not undergone a fundamental transformation.

The biggest difference between a true Golden Core cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator lies not only in their vast and boundless spiritual power, but more importantly, in the fact that once a cultivator attains the Golden Core stage, they have the minimum requirement to comprehend supernatural powers.

Supernatural powers are a manifestation of the great power of heaven and earth and the various laws of the Great Dao.

Even if this supernatural power only touches the edge of those great Daos, it already possesses a power that surpasses ordinary Dao techniques.

Even in the Central Region, a place teeming with geniuses, those who can comprehend even a little bit of supernatural power and technique at the Golden Core stage are extremely rare.

Each one represents the foundation and future pillar of their respective sect and family.

However, let's not forget who he was spying on.

Chen Linyuan.

A cultivator who once dominated the Central Region, shining brightly and hailed as the number one genius.

Not to mention that he was once a True Monarch at the Nascent Soul Realm.

It's not surprising that someone like that possesses one or more supernatural abilities.

But what kind of supernatural power could transcend the illusory world of memory and interact with people?

Even among the many supernatural powers he had ever heard of, this was an extremely outrageous effect.

Xin Shan Sanren remained stunned for a long time, and his thoughts briefly broke down.

For several breaths, he could only stare blankly at Chen Linyuan's gentle face, which was calm yet held a weary scrutiny.

This is a glimpse cast by a former Nascent Soul True Monarch through a gap in a secret technique, towards the spy.

"Om-"

Xin Shan Sanren's mind was suddenly pulled out of its daze, and a strong will to survive burst forth.

escape!
His divine consciousness retreated violently, immediately interrupting the Heavenly Observation Technique.

This was probably his only way out. Even if he suffered a backlash from the secret technique and his soul was severely damaged, he couldn't care less about anything else at this moment.

If one is killed by Chen Linyuan's past self during this secret technique, their divine sense will disappear, and the caster will naturally become a living dead without any consciousness.

The moment the thought arose, divine power surged wildly, ready to sever the connection with that wisp of inspiration.

However, just as Xinshan Sanren's divine sense wavered and he attempted to escape,

A sharp pain came from the depths of his soul.

The divine sense and physical form paused for a moment.

When Xin Shan Sanren came to his senses, Chen Linyuan's past self was still stuck in his memory, doing nothing but quietly watching him, which made him feel uneasy.

He lowered his head slightly and noticed a faint, sharp aura flowing slowly across his shoulder.

Xin Shan Sanren instinctively dodged, but the gray-white sword energy clung to him like a persistent carbuncle, impossible to shake off.

It was like a stamp, placed on the shoulder of the divine incarnation, without causing him any real harm.

However, this seemingly casual seal instilled a deep sense of fear in Xinshan Sanren.

Tracking markers? Or a corrosive curse...?

He didn't know what the specific function of this sword energy was, but he didn't have time to investigate its details right now.

His intuition told him that if he really stopped the secret technique, Chen Linyuan would probably appear by his side no matter where he went.

"laugh--!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xinshan Sanren urged his divine sense to sever the shoulder and his entire right arm, which were manifestations of his divine sense, at the shoulder.

The secret technique was then interrupted.

The divine manifestation vanished from this world.

"Heh, the cultivators of the Demon Ruins are indeed cowards."

Chen Linyuan's past self lowered his gaze, looking at the arm that was gradually disappearing, and actually laughed.

"After being frightened with a little trick, he cut off his own arm and escaped."

"I don't know where he got the courage from before."

At the same time, Xin Shan Sanren's consciousness was pulled by a tremendous force and suddenly expelled from the Heavenly Observation Technique.

"puff--"

"Uh……"

Inside the quiet room of Huanling Cave, Xin Shansan lay sprawled on the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. His breath was weak, and his eyes were filled with fear. Despite surviving such a calamity, he could not feel any joy.

That deep-seated sense of lingering fear was like a thorn in my side.

He was breathing heavily, and his body trembled uncontrollably from the severe damage to his soul.

Using the secret technique of peering into the heavens comes at a great cost, one of which is that the soul will be weakened for a period of time.

Normally, this timeframe is three to five months.

Not only that, this secret technique completely failed, and in order to avoid being targeted by Chen Linyuan, Xin Shan Sanren injured a portion of his own soul.

Coupled with extreme fear, Xinshan Sanren was vomiting blood and dry heaving at the same time.

The Golden Core Sword Talisman lay quietly on the ground before him, but he dared not make any further moves.

It took quite a while before I gradually recovered from that state.

Staring at the sword talisman in front of him, Xin Shan Sanren felt another wave of fear.

Chen Linyuan...

He truly deserves to be called a peerless genius who was once famous throughout the Central Region. Even though he has fallen to such a state, it still seems strange.

This secret technique of peering into the heavens was only attempted by Xin Shan Sanren after he obtained it, and he was still in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

I've used it three times so far.

This was the only time an unexpected turn of events occurred. This secret technique was extremely bizarre; he never imagined that there would be a method in this world like Chen Linyuan's that could counter it.

The secret technique states that even true Nascent Soul cultivators, or even Deity Transformation cultivators, would be unable to use it due to insufficient cultivation level; it never mentions this specific situation.

He struggled to get up from the quiet room, not even having time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Can't wait any longer.

He must recover his strength as soon as possible, then immediately possess the body of Sheng Nian, leave the State of Chu, and stay far away from Chen Linyuan.

He took out a talisman from his Qiankun bag, flicked it with his finger, and it flew out of the cave.

One path remained at the entrance of the cave, while the other flew towards another direction of Huanling Mountain.

……

Early one morning, at the inner library of Dongyuan Sect.

As dawn broke, the fluorite in the lamps inside the building emitted a soft glow.

A casual glance revealed that the library was still bustling with people. Most of the disciples of the Dongyuan Sect around were in the Qi Refining stage, their faces showing either distress or deep thought, seemingly struggling with matters of cultivation techniques and Daoist arts.

Song Yan concealed her face and stepped onto the third floor.

Several years have passed, and he originally thought that the person in charge of the inner sect would be replaced, but he didn't expect it to be the same old acquaintance, Xu Wenxuan.

At this moment, he held an ancient paper book in his hand, casually flipping through it.

He looked much older than he had back in Huogongzhai.

If I remember correctly, Xu Wenxuan completed his Dao foundation at the age of fifty-two, and his appearance remained that of someone in their forties or fifties.

There was a little boy of seven or eight years old sitting at the table in front of him.

Instead of sitting in a perfectly good seat, he sat on the floor in front of the table, flipping through a book. However, a quick scan with his divine sense revealed that it was a classic text recording strange tales and anecdotes.

Perhaps because there were many things he didn't understand, the little boy would occasionally take his book and run to the table to ask Xu Wenxuan.

With its tiger-like head and cute appearance, it's quite adorable.

Little did they know that the child was either Old Xu's son or grandson.

Xu Wenxuan glanced at someone going up to the third floor but didn't pay much attention until Song Yanhua stopped trying to hide it.

"Senior Brother Xu, how have you been?" Song Yan walked over slowly and said with a smile.

Xu Wenxuan looked up and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes: "Junior Brother Song... no, no, you should call me Senior Brother Song now."

"What's the point of worrying about those red tape?"

Song Yan raised his hands repeatedly: "If it weren't for Senior Brother Xu's help in Huogong Village, I'm afraid I would have had a hard time making a name for myself in the outer sect."

To Xu Wenxuan, these words were just ordinary polite remarks, but Song Yan was very sincere.

Xu Wenxuan casually coaxed the child away and started chatting with Song Yan.

When the conversation turned to the purpose of their visit, he asked, "Junior Brother Song, what kind of books are you looking for in the library this time?"

"Cultivation techniques, or Daoist formulas?"

We are all cultivators; no one would be so bored as to chat with someone for no reason.

“Hmm…” Song Yan pondered for a moment and said, “Neither.”

"Senior Brother Xu, are there any books in the library about Foundation Establishment cultivators forming their core?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenxuan immediately showed a look of surprise.

However, before he could ask, Song Yan continued, explaining, "Senior Brother Xu, please don't misunderstand. Junior Brother is still a long way from the late Foundation Establishment stage."

"It's just that my cultivation has been progressing slowly lately, and I'm feeling a bit frustrated. I want to read some books about Core Formation, partly to broaden my horizons and partly to clear my mind."

Xu Wenxuan looked enlightened: "So that's how it is. Junior Brother Song, your heavy breathing has made this old man sweat profusely."

"I thought you were twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old when you broke through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment and were planning to start looking for precious medicines. You were about to attain the Golden Core stage soon."

Xu Wenxuan wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and made a joke.

“Junior Brother Song, our sect doesn’t have many books on Foundation Establishment cultivators forming their Core…”

Not many, that means there are some.

Seeing Xu Wenxuan's thoughtful expression, Song Yan added, "Senior Brother Xu, if it's the fourth or fifth floor, such books would also be acceptable. I previously fished in troubled waters on the front lines of the Demon Ruins and still have quite a few contribution points."

Xu Wenxuan nodded, and while finding a few jade slips, he chatted casually with Song Yan.

Regarding the formation of the Golden Core, the most important thing is actually the cultivation method practiced by the cultivator.

If one can cultivate their technique to the Golden Core stage, then forming the Golden Core simply requires following their own technique step by step.

The only difference lies in the spiritual objects required during the Core Formation process.

This is a rather complex matter. Most of the precious medicines that help cultivators condense their core are universal, but it cannot be ruled out that some cultivation methods are special and some medicines may have the opposite effect.

In this situation, cultivators can only devise the most suitable method for condensing their core essence based on their own circumstances.

However, the insights gained from other people's Core Formation are certainly of great reference value.

"These insights into Core Formation were mostly left to their disciples by Golden Core cultivators countless years ago. Later, due to various reasons and coincidences, they were collected by the sect."

"Many of them are of unknown origin. When referring to them, Junior Brother Song, you must make your own judgment and not let the words of others affect your own path of cultivation."

Xu Wenxuan's words seemed somewhat didactic, but Song Yan knew that the other party was genuinely worried about this.

In this respect, Xu Wenxuan's concerns are quite similar to those of Granny Qin.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Xu. I understand now."

In addition to the two jade slips recording the insights of predecessors in condensing the elixir, Xu Wenxuan also added a summary book about the path of cultivation, just for Song Yan to read to relieve his boredom.

The two jade slips of enlightenment came from the fourth level and cost Song Yan a lot of contribution points.

The jade slip summarizing the Daoist tradition was named "The True Canon of the Daoist Tradition" and came from the fifth level. However, strangely, this jade slip did not require contribution points.

This situation is quite common in the library. According to the elders, there are many jade slips in the library that were placed there by the sect leader, and the price of contribution points required is also set by the sect leader.

Since Song Yan needed it, and Xu Wenxuan happened to remember this special jade slip, he took it out for Song Yan as well.

After thanking Xu Wenxuan, he left the library.

Song Yan used his flying sword to return to his cave.

His coming to the library today to borrow books on Core Formation is not an overambitious act.

He is now at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and is just one step away from the late stage.

Previously, I had never thought about the formation of the core and knew nothing about it. Now I need to at least find out what I should prepare and what precious medicines I should cultivate.

Otherwise, if you encounter a spiritual object in the future and think it's useless to you, you'll miss out on a great opportunity, which wouldn't be good.

Throughout the entire history of the Chu Kingdom, the youngest cultivator to reach the Golden Core stage, Master Qingyan, was over 120 years old when he finally achieved it.

He was only thirty-five or thirty-six years old when he reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

There were a full eighty or ninety years in between, during which he honed his spiritual power and collected precious medicines.

Preparing early is never a bad thing.

It's always better to look at the experiences of those who came before and see if there are any pitfalls to avoid than to be completely clueless.

(End of this chapter)