This martial saint is too cautious.

Chapter 357 The Grotto Heaven (Seeking monthly votes for further reading)

"Not bad, there are quite a few good things."

Zhongli nodded slightly when he saw the refining materials in the opened brocade box, then looked at Lin Yan and said, "Take out your spiritual weapon and let me see it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan drew his Abyss Sword. Zhong Li glanced at it a few times, then said to his disciple behind him, "Po Tian, ​​come and take a look."

"Yes."

Ji Potian stepped forward and took the Chenyuan sword from Lin Yan's hand. He ran his fingers along the blade, a look of surprise in his eyes: "This spiritual weapon is quite spiritual, Lin—"

"Senior Brother Ji, you can still call me Junior Brother."

"Alright, Junior Brother Lin, after this spiritual weapon recognized its master, you forged it again?"

"Um."

"No wonder."

Ji Potian pondered for a moment: "Spiritual weapons with such high spirituality are rare. They are very forgeable, but because of their high spirituality, the requirements for forging are even higher. The slightest carelessness could destroy the spirituality of the weapon—ordinary forging—"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Zhong Li interrupted his disciple, and Ji Potian smiled sheepishly, his professional habit kicking in.

As a blacksmith, he was able to amass a fortune not only because of his superior blacksmithing skills, but also because of his high fees. No matter what he was forging, he would first praise the spiritual weapon, and then change the subject to emphasize the difficulty of forging it. Only in this way could he charge a high price.

Now that his master had pointed it out, Ji Potian realized that he hadn't made any money from this forging.

"Junior Brother Lin, there are two types of spirit weapon forging. One type is to further enhance the spirit's spirituality. The higher the spirituality, the better it is for the weapon to resonate with its owner, and its power will also increase. However, the power a spirit weapon can unleash depends more on the owner's own strength. The other type focuses on enhancing the spirit weapon's power, but the drawback is that if the spirit's spirituality is low, the possibility of further enhancement in the future is not great."

After listening to Ji Potian's explanation, Lin Yan understood.

The former type involves the spirit weapon and its master growing together. In the short term, the spirit weapon's power will not be particularly strong, but as the master's strength increases, the spirit weapon will also improve. Most importantly, it retains the possibility of further forging in the future.

The latter method involves exhausting the potential of the spirit weapon to maximize its power, at the cost of making it difficult to forge the spirit weapon again.

Choose the first option.

Lin Yan quickly made a decision. Shen Yuan had been with him for several years, and he had gotten used to it. If possible, he would like to take Shen Yuan with him to see the pinnacle of martial arts in the future.

"The former?"

Ji Potian frowned: "Junior Brother Lin, with these materials, I am confident that I can upgrade this spiritual weapon to a level that is sufficient even if it reaches the fifth stage of the Dharma Aspect realm. Moreover, when I said earlier that its spirituality was high, in fact—most spiritual weapons do not have low spirituality."

Although he phrased it tactfully, Ji Potian made his meaning clear.

Choosing the latter, this spiritual weapon will be sufficient even up to the fifth stage of the Dharma Aspect realm. As for beyond the fifth stage of the Dharma Aspect realm—

That's many years from now. Once you reach that level, whether you have a spiritual weapon or not won't matter.

"Hmm, I'll choose the first option."

Lin Yan understood the meaning behind Ji Potian's words, but still did not change his attitude.

"Since Junior Brother Lin has made up his mind, I won't say any more. I'll select a few materials."

"Thunder Scales, good stuff."

"The Eye of the Phoenix Sea, it's so big, tsk tsk tsk————"

"Crimson Gold, this is a unique item of the Crimson Sun Sect. I tried my best to find even a small piece back then but couldn't. Junior Brother Lin, how did you manage to get the Crimson Sun Sect to..."

"Choose carefully, and stop wasting your breath."

Zhongli glared at his disciple. How did Lin Yan find him?

It was obtained through murder, of course.

This time, due to the major changes in the Thunder Swamp Secret Realm, all sects conducted detailed investigations. As the hall master of the Inheritance Hall, he had also seen the investigation records of the Sword Sect.

Half of those who entered the Thunder Swamp Secret Realm died, and various sects also have death lists.

The Crimson Sun Sect lost a martial artist at the fifth level of the Void Phase Realm.

Now Lin Yan has brought out the Crimson Gold again. Zhong Li knows perfectly well where the Crimson Gold came from.

But it's best to keep this to yourself. Why doesn't the Sword Sect ask Lin Yan for details? They're just pretending not to know.

Finally, Ji Potian selected seven items and left two boxes for Lin Yan.

"Junior Brother Lin, this time—I have truly forged this weapon with all my heart. Give me a month, and I will surely return to you an unprecedented spiritual weapon."

Ji Potian's face showed extreme pain. In the past, he would have taken the remaining two boxes of refining materials as well. After all, it was up to the blacksmiths to decide what materials were needed.

The materials required for forging spiritual weapons below the Dharma Aspect realm are still governed by rules, as there are enough blacksmiths to forge them, and it's easy to be caught if one tries to take more. However, once one reaches the Dharma Aspect realm, the number of blacksmiths capable of forging is already small, and each spiritual weapon...

Almost all of them have their own characteristics and cannot be mass-produced, so the required refining materials are naturally not fixed.

However, this time he couldn't make a profit from forging for Lin Yan. In fact, he would have to spend a lot of ordinary forging materials.

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Ji."

Lin Yan nodded, and then saw off Zhong Li and Ji Potian, the master and disciple, with his master.

"You can examine the other treasures yourself later. Now, I will tell you about the Realm of Reality."

Shen Cangwu looked at Lin Yan. He originally thought that this scene would not appear for at least five years, but he did not expect that it would happen in just half a year.

"If you were still unaware of the Qinghua Domain, I would have spoken to you privately about the Realm of Reality. But now that you know about the Qinghua Domain, I will explain the Realm of Reality and the Divine Power Realm to you together. In the Qinghua Domain, these two realms are actually one and the same."

"A realm?"

"Yes, in the Qinghua Domain, the Realm of Reality and the Realm of Divine Power are collectively called the Cave Heaven Realm, which is divided into nine levels. Legend has it that if one cultivates the true method, one can cultivate to the twelfth level, but I am not sure if this is true or not. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Realm of Reality is equivalent to the first three levels of the Cave Heaven Realm, and the last six levels are the Divine Power Realm."

Upon hearing his master's words, Lin Yan's mouth opened slightly. His master's words had overturned his understanding of the Dharma Aspect Realm.

The Qinghua Domain has no Reality Realm or Divine Power Realm, only the Ninth Level of the Cave Heaven. In other words, the Divine Power Realm of the Great Zhou Dynasty is actually the Qinghua Domain.

The fourth level of the Cave Heaven Realm in Huayu.

Why did the Great Zhou Dynasty have such a division?

Lin Yan inexplicably recalled a passage he had read in his previous life: The lower the strength, the more detailed the classification.

In my past life, online novel authors were also divided into many levels. The lowest level was the self-indulgent writer, whose writing was only to move himself and who couldn't even get a contract.

Then came the signing process, but he barely passed the signing stage and couldn't even get past the first round of recommendations.

Next is the "full attendance" level, barely managing to get 300,000 words published, only earning 1,500 yuan a month for full attendance.

Then comes the "flop" stage, where you get full attendance bonuses and a few hundred subscribers.

Next are the Fine Realm, Great Fine Realm, Ten Thousand Orders Realm, Heavenly King Realm, Great God Realm, Platinum Realm —

But in the eyes of real online novel authors, there are no such things as multiple levels. There are only five levels: flop, masterpiece, 10,000 subscribers, great author, and platinum author.

The reason for such a detailed division is simply because there are too many failures, and it's necessary to rank them among themselves.

The Great Zhou Dynasty divided reality and supernatural powers, which, in Lin Yan's view, was similar to this.

"The reason why the Great Zhou divided the nine levels of the Cave Heaven into the Realm of Reality and the Realm of Divine Power is that if one does not cultivate divine power by the time one reaches the third level, one cannot step into the fourth level. However, in the Qinghua Domain, as long as one cultivates a precious technique, there is no such restriction."

Shen Cangwu was unaware of Lin Yan's thoughts, but he still explained the reason.

"Can one be trapped in constraints without cultivating supernatural powers?"

Lin Yan was somewhat surprised and asked curiously, "Master, are all martial artists in the Qinghua Domain able to cultivate supernatural abilities?"

"Of course it is possible. Some people can even master it as soon as they enter the Void Realm. Even if they don't master it, they won't be restricted in the third level. This is the power of the treasure technique."

"Disciple understands."

"With the cultivation technique you are currently practicing, I estimate that you are very likely to be able to cultivate to the third level without being restricted."

Hearing his master's words, Lin Yan thought for a moment and said, "Master, actually, I also developed a supernatural ability during this trip."

"Has he developed supernatural powers?"

Shen Cangwu smiled slightly: "What you said may just be a secret that is not passed down. True supernatural powers are not so easy to cultivate. I just mentioned that someone in the Qinghua Domain has cultivated supernatural powers after entering the Void Realm. Don't think that this is common in the Qinghua Domain. Those who can do this are all top geniuses even in the Qinghua Domain."

Master doesn't believe me?

Lin Yan thought for a moment and then, without wasting any words, activated the light of the Divine Palace with a thought.

Seeing Lin Yan remain silent, Shen Cangwu was about to speak when his old eyes narrowed and his gaze became fixed on Lin Yan.

He had just sensed the supernatural power emanating from his disciple, and at the same time—he also sensed some changes within himself.

"You've really mastered supernatural powers? What kind of supernatural powers?"

"The Light of the Divine Palace".

Lin Yan did not hide anything and explained the function of his divine light.

As for the reason, Lin Yan naturally wouldn't say it was bestowed by the Divine Power Fruit, but only that he actively comprehended it after his Divine Palace broke through the limit of thirty feet.

"The Light of the Divine Palace, its effect does indeed resonate with the special circumstances of your Divine Palace."

Shen Cangwu's eyes gleamed. His disciple was able to comprehend the divine power entirely because his divine palace had broken through the thirty-zhang limit, not because of any magical technique.

"Master, did the Divine Mansion Light Divine Power I just used have any effect on you?" Lin Yan didn't want to talk about how he obtained this divine power, so he asked with a smile and curiosity.

"have."

"How much of your Dharma power has been removed?"

"A drop in the ocean is an exaggeration; it's more like a tiny fraction of an ocean."

Lin Yan:

Is there any difference between a drop in the ocean and a hair in nine oxen?

Seeing his disciple's disappointed and speechless expression, Shen Cangwu suddenly burst into laughter: "I am a fifth-level Dharma Aspect Realm expert, the Heavenly Extreme Realm. Even according to the martial arts realm classification of Qinghua Domain, you are still two realms away from me."

"However, I believe that your Divine Palace Light is currently only at the lowest level. If it can be upgraded, its power will increase. It will not simply be able to overwhelm the opponent's Dharma power with the number of your own Dharma power."

Shen Cangwu's face showed a thoughtful expression: "If that's all there is to it, then your Divine Palace Light can only deal with those weaker than you. In the martial arts world, no supernatural power can be this weak."

"Upgrade?" Lin Yan's face showed interest. "Master, how do I upgrade a supernatural power?"

"Supernatural Crystal".

"A magical crystal?"

"Yes, supernatural crystals don't exist in the Great Zhou Dynasty; they only exist in the Qinghua Domain."

Hearing his master's words, Lin Yan made up his mind. It seemed he definitely had to make a trip to the Qinghua Domain.

Having cultivated to the Dharma Aspect Realm, my martial arts training is no longer just about improving my status and position, but also about experiencing the scenery at the very pinnacle of martial arts.

"Let's leave the matter of supernatural powers aside for now. Let me tell you what it takes to step from the realm of illusion into the realm of reality."

Getting back to the point, Shen Cangwu said seriously, "When all the Dharma power in your body liquefies, you will have reached the sixth level of the Void Aspect. You used to have a Dharma Aspect vortex in your Divine Palace, but it's gone now, right?"

"Hmm, that's all."

Lin Yan nodded. The vortex of Dharma Image within the Divine Palace is used to liquefy the power of Dharma Image. Once the power of Dharma Image is completely liquefied, the vortex disappears.

It's somewhat similar to a cyclone. The cyclone condenses the energy of the Dharma form. Under the influence of the cyclone, the originally vaporized power of the Dharma form begins to gradually liquefy. Once liquefaction is successful, the cyclone disappears.

"From illusion to reality, it is to cultivate the vortex anew. However, the martial arts world does not call it a vortex, but rather a cave heaven. You can understand it as an advanced version of the True Qi Realm. True Qi has twelve acupoints, while the Reality Realm requires opening nine cave heavens, and only within the Divine Palace."

"To break through to the Cave Heaven Realm, one must first compress the Dharma Aspect Power within the Divine Palace. When compressed to the extreme, the first Cave Heaven will be opened. However, many sixth-level Void Aspect martial artists are stuck at the step of not being able to compress to the extreme because they do not have enough Dharma Aspect Power in their bodies. The less Dharma Aspect Power there is, the more difficult it is to compress it to the point of creating a Cave Heaven."

"Master, does this mean that I have no chance of failing?"

"wrong."

Shen Cangwu shook his head: "It's difficult to compress and create a cave heaven with too little Dharma power, and it's the same with too much Dharma power. With the Dharma power in your body, it is extremely difficult to compress and create a cave heaven. I don't even dare to guarantee that the reward you received this time will be enough for you to compress successfully."

Having broken the thirty-zhang limit, Shen Cangwu was unsure how many resources his disciple would need to compress the space to the birth cave heaven.

"The cave can only be broken through in one go; there is no possibility of advancing even a little bit. If you cannot break through, all your previous preparations will be in vain. My advice to you is not to rush to break through, but to stay at the sixth level for a while and try to figure out how much you are missing on your own. Then consider taking rare treasures and great medicines to break through. These treasures—I have calculated that they can be exchanged for seven great medicines for you."

"But this is not necessarily safe. The Taiyi Sword Sect has a great medicine. Your Dharma Aspect power is condensed on the basis of Taiyi True Qi. This great medicine is most compatible with your Dharma Aspect. With the Taiyi Sword Sect's great medicine, plus these seven pills, we can have a 90% chance of success."

"Furthermore, the larger the cave, the more helpful it will be for your subsequent cultivation."

Shen Cangwu said seriously, "After a cave is opened, it will not grow any further. It can only strive to break through to the next cave. The size of each cave is determined at the moment it is opened. The larger the cave is opened, the more energy of heaven and earth you can plunder, and the more Dharma power you can unleash in an instant."

"Disciple understands."

Lin Yan's face showed a thoughtful expression. Nine Heavens - cultivating a true-level technique can reach twelve heavens, which seems to correspond one-to-one with the twelve acupoints.

But since I have opened thirteen acupoints, is it possible for me to cultivate the Thirteen Heavenly Caves?

After thinking for a while, Lin Yan laughed at himself. This matter was too far removed from his own life. What he needed to consider more now was how to break through the first cave.

"I have already discussed the matter of refining the Taiyi Great Elixir with Lao Zuo. Lao Zuo will go to the Zhengxin Hall to negotiate. Now, besides you, the Taiyi Sword Sect also has Pei Wujiu, a Dharma Aspect prodigy. No one will object to starting the alchemy process. However, once the Great Elixir is refined, your competitors may not be just Pei Wujiu."

"Are there other people?"

"The Great Elixir of Taiyi is not only for you to use, but also for those martial artists in the Realm of Reality. If a batch produces several pills, it will naturally be enough to share. The problem is that only one or two pills are produced."

Shen Cangwu's face also showed a sense of emotion. The number of pills that can be refined often depends on luck. Even alchemists cannot guarantee how many pills can be refined based on the amount of materials they put in.

As long as there are three or more, Shen Cangwu is confident that his disciple can obtain one. But if it's less than three, and there are only one or two...

There are quite a few people waiting for this batch of medicine.

The great medicine cannot change fate, but it can give those in the Cave Heaven Realm a chance to open up another Cave Heaven. Everyone needs it, so why should we give it to you?

"I'm too young, can't I wait until the next batch?"

If one steps from the illusory realm into the real realm and opens up a new world, wouldn't it be a waste to take elixirs?

Such a statement will inevitably emerge in due course, and the Taiyi Sword Sect will have to consider the opinions of those who hold these views. After all, these people will be the backbone of the Taiyi Sword Sect in the future, and behind them are not just individuals, but often the entire lineage.

"Master, how were the powerful elixirs distributed among the sects in previous years?"

"If you refine more than three, you can get one if you are a Dharma Aspect genius; if you refine less than three, then anyone under the age of sixty can compete for them. At present, there are three Reality Realm warriors under the age of sixty in the Taiyi Sword Sect. They have only opened up one cave heaven. You can call them the early stage of Reality Realm or the first level of Cave Heaven."

"Let's still call it the First Level of the Grotto-Heaven."

Upon hearing his disciple's words, a glint flashed in Shen Cangwu's eyes. It seemed that Lin Yan was comparing him to the Qinghua Domain.

Besides those in the Realm of Reality, the Taiyi Sword Sect also has many Void Realm warriors under the age of sixty, but these Void Realm warriors no longer pose a threat to his disciples, so Shen Cangwu simply skipped over them.

"Master, since I am not in a hurry to break through, I would like to return to Shandong Province."

"Back to Shandong Road?"

"Yes, according to the notes left by that senior from Tianyin Valley, there is a place in Shandong that may have Tianyin Fruit."

Shen Cangwu pondered for a while, then nodded: "You can go back to Shandong if you want. I have already used up my sword token, and it will be difficult to forge a second one in a short time."

"Master, is this sword token so difficult to forge?"

"If it were easy to refine, how could you have so easily killed those illusory warriors?"

Lin Yan:

That makes a lot of sense. If it were easy to refine, each of the major sects would simply give one to every disciple with potential.

"The materials that can bear my killing sword energy are already scarce, and it's not just a simple matter of bearing it; it also needs to be able to establish a connection with my sword imprint—in short, it's not as easy as you imagine. Otherwise, all the major sects would have given each of their promising disciples a piece for self-defense long ago. This thing is extremely rare; the materials are only available in the Qinghua Domain. I obtained the materials from a martial artist who returned from the Qinghua Domain many years ago."

"If I'm careful, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Being careful is certainly the right thing to do, but besides being my disciple, you are also a prodigy of the Taiyi Sword Sect and the future hope of the Qijian Hall. My sword token is gone, but that doesn't mean the other old guys don't have sword tokens either. Stay here for a few days, and I'll get you a sword token before you leave."

Shen Cangwu wasn't worried about other Void Realm martial artists; those at the Void Realm were enough to roam freely in the Great Zhou.

However, the situation of their own disciples is different. They have just come out of the Thunder Swamp Secret Realm and have made many enemies. No one dares to make a move against them while they are in the North Sea Path, but once they leave the North Sea Path, there is no guarantee that there will be cave heaven martial artists or even more powerful martial artists who will make a move against them.

After returning from his master's residence, Lin Yan did not rush to cultivate, but instead began to summarize.

What you need to do right now is to sense what's required to break through to a higher realm, and try to open up the first realm to its maximum extent.

Secondly, the cultivation of the Infinite Kill technique mainly relies on the Martial Dao Fruit.

Thirdly, we await the successful forging of the Abyss.

Fourth, search for the Heavenly Sound Fruit.

"etc!"

Lin Yan's eyes suddenly lit up. He originally thought that only when he stepped into the Realm of Reality could he obtain the Sword Dao Mark. But if the Sword Dao Mark represents supernatural power, and even Void Realm warriors in the Qinghua Domain can cultivate supernatural power, does that mean that Void Realm warriors can actually obtain the Sword Dao Mark?

Should I go and search for the sword mark that Senior Yue Qianshan hid, which he stole from the Heavenly Sword Sect?

"And the Devouring Sword Dao Mark, perhaps we can move that forward too, instead of waiting until the third level of the Cave Heaven to begin."

Lin Yan's eyes lit up as he thought about it. If the people of Qinghua Domain could do it, then he himself possessed several precious techniques and had the help of the Martial Dao Tree. There was no reason why he couldn't do it.

"It's time to go and search."