The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

In the cultivation manuals of the immortal cultivation world, methods of cultivating divine consciousness have always been rare and precious.

The "External King and Inner Saint Technique" is one of them. Like the "Great Evolution Technique", its core function is to temper the cultivator's divine sense.

According to the opening of this booklet, if a cultivator can cultivate the "Inner Saint Technique" to the seventh level of perfection, the strength of their divine sense will be more than three times that of other cultivators of the same level.

Such a boost is extremely rare among cultivation techniques of the same level, exceeding that of the "Great Evolution Technique" by more than double, enough to give cultivators an absolute advantage in spiritual battles, exploring secret realms, and controlling magical treasures.

However, every gain has its loss. The cultivation threshold of the "Great Evolution Technique" is generally low, and all disciples of the Thousand Bamboo Sect can cultivate it. But the "Outer King Inner Saint Technique" can only be cultivated by those cultivators who possess a strong sense of righteousness. Even Lei Wanhe, who is in the Core Formation stage, can only watch longingly.

Fortunately, righteous spirit was not a problem for Yang Qingyuan.

Unfortunately, the "Inner Saint Manual" in front of me is not the complete version. Only the first four levels are available. Even if one cultivates all of them to perfection, one's spiritual power will only be slightly more than twice that of other cultivators of the same level.

Even so, this increase is already astonishing enough. You must know that the difference in the strength of a cultivator's divine sense can determine the winner in a life-or-death battle.

With more than double the divine sense advantage, Yang Qingyuan stood out among cultivators of the same level. Whether it was detecting traps, breaking illusions, or manipulating magical artifacts, he was more adept than others.

It is worth mentioning that, just as the "Great Evolution Manual" comes with the Puppet Manual, the "Inner Sage Manual" also comes with a series of unique Confucian and Taoist spells.

These magical arts are closely linked to the Confucian "Six Arts of the Gentleman"—rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics—which form the foundation of these arts. In addition, refined pursuits such as chess, painting, and poetry are also incorporated into these arts, showcasing the unique aspects of Confucianism and Taoism.

However, due to the limitations of the version obtained by Yang Qingyuan, the first four layers of the "Inner Saint Manual" only recorded three types of magic: calligraphy, painting, and music. The records of the other types of magic were hidden in the missing last three layers, which became a great regret for Yang Qingyuan.

These three types of magic—books, paintings, and music—are also formidable in their power and mystery, and are the signature skills of Confucian and Taoist practitioners.

The magic of calligraphy requires the use of the Four Treasures of the Study or magical artifacts exclusive to Confucianism and Taoism, and cannot be mastered by ordinary brushes and ink.

Cultivators must use their divine sense as a guide and their magical power as ink to write characters containing profound principles of the Dao on talisman paper or specially made silk. These characters may seem simple, but they are actually similar to Daoist talismans, yet they possess a greater sense of righteousness and grandeur, reminiscent of Confucianism and Taoism.

For example, a simple character for "fire," once written and unleashed, can transform into attacks such as fireballs and fire snakes, with power no less than that of similar Taoist talismans. Moreover, it carries righteous energy and has an additional restraining effect on evil spirits.

The arts of painting and calligraphy share a similar essence, both requiring the assistance of the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper).

Cultivators must concentrate their minds and observe the spiritual essence of all things in heaven and earth, drawing mountains, rivers, plants, birds, beasts, the sun, moon, stars, and even strange phenomena of heaven and earth onto paper. The objects drawn must be both in form and spirit in order to contain spiritual energy and divine thoughts.

When facing an enemy, a cultivator only needs to summon the scroll and chant an incantation, and the objects in the painting will materialize, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion, and making it suitable for both offense and defense.

At best, it can conjure up fierce birds and beasts, or powerful warriors to restrain the enemy; at worst, it can create a treasure trove, forming a small world that can directly capture the enemy within the painting, trapping them inside and making it difficult for them to escape. It is truly mysterious and infinitely wondrous.

The Musical Arts are the most mysterious of the first four levels of the Inner Sage Technique. They do not require the use of pen, ink, paper, or inkstone; they can exert their power simply by relying on musical instruments such as the zither, flute, and pipe.

When a cultivator plucks the strings of a zither or plays a flute, the resulting sound contains divine power, directly attacking the enemy's consciousness.

It should be noted that cultivators in the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages dare not engage in a contest of divine sense with others.

After all, the souls of low-level cultivators are fragile. Once they suffer a backlash, they will only suffer mutual damage. Han Li only had the ability to directly attack the divine sense, such as the Divine Thrust, when he reached the Nascent Soul stage.

However, with the blessing of the Joyful Way, there would be no such concern, allowing Yang Qingyuan to launch a divine sense attack during the Foundation Establishment stage.

At the end of the booklet, there were some Confucian and Taoist magical implements, such as the Spring and Autumn Annals Brush, the Literary Mind Inkstone, the Four-Sided Paper, and the Chaotic Ancient Qin, but no magical treasures, which were obviously torn up by the Yan family patriarch.

Yang Qingyuan quickly flipped through the booklet, marveling at it. He thought to himself, "These Confucian, Taoist, and magical arts are quite interesting. After I reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I might be able to explore them."

But the most urgent task at present is to lay the foundation as soon as possible.

Yang Qingyuan took out two mid-grade lightning-attribute spirit stones and five white porcelain bottles from his storage bag.

Each porcelain bottle contains a Foundation Building Pill.

Yang Qingyuan then tilted his head back and swallowed the first Foundation Establishment Pill, then closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and refined the medicinal power within his body.

Just a few hours later, he felt as if a ball of fire was burning in his dantian, and he broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.

Fortunately, the raging fire quickly transformed into countless warm currents, flowing through Yang Qingyuan's meridians and throughout his entire body.

The medicinal effects only began to diminish after an incense stick had burned.

A strange gray substance appeared all over Yang Qingyuan's body, which looked sticky, and 30% of the magic power in his dantian had liquefied.

"Is this what they call 'cleansing the marrow and rejuvenating the body'?"

Upon seeing this, Yang Qingyuan was overjoyed and then continued his seclusion to refine the medicinal power.

Time passed little by little, and three months quickly went by.

During this period, many things happened in Huangfeng Valley, such as Chen Qiaoqian, the eldest daughter of the Chen family, successfully establishing her foundation, while her elder brother Chen Qiaotian failed to do so.

Han Li gradually rose to fame and became somewhat well-known after becoming Li Huayuan's disciple.

But none of this has anything to do with Yang Qingyuan.

Three months later, at noon, in the secluded meditation room at Leiyun Peak and Leiyin Cave.

Yang Qingyuan sat cross-legged on the futon, and his aura suddenly surged, reaching the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

"It's done!"

"This immense magical power, this surging divine sense..."

Yang Qingyuan opened his eyes, felt the changes within his body, and couldn't help but smile with joy.

Over the past three months, he has taken two Foundation Establishment Pills and finally succeeded in establishing his foundation.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Qingyuan took the jade slip containing the "Divine Sword Thunder Control True Scripture" and began to cultivate the technique.

However, this practice proved to be quite remarkable. Yang Qingyuan discovered that, just as Lei Wanhe had described, the technique was indeed obscure and difficult to understand. Without some talent in swordsmanship, it would be impossible to even begin to learn it.

Helpless, Yang Qingyuan could only expend his righteous energy and use the three true words "thunder," "sword," and "learning" to successfully comprehend the "Divine Sword Thunder Control True Scripture."

But trouble followed one after another.

This technique requires an extremely high concentration of spiritual energy. Even though Yang Qingyuan's internal magical power had liquefied and the spiritual energy in Leiyin Cave was abundant, his cultivation of this technique was still slow.

Yang Qingyuan had no Foundation Establishment Pills left, so he had no choice but to take the remaining three Foundation Establishment Pills, as well as the remaining Qi Refining Pills, including the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, the Purple Marrow Pill, and the Qi-Boosting Powder.

With the help of the powerful medicine, the cultivation speed was able to be improved.

Another three months have quietly passed.

Yang Qingyuan finally cultivated the "Divine Sword Thunder Control Scripture" to the fourth level, and the magic power in his dantian turned into a silver liquid, which was more than twice as strong as that of other cultivators of the same level.

Immediately afterwards, he took out the high-grade magic artifact, the Lightning Shield, from his storage bag, tossed it into the air, raised his right hand, made a delicate hand seal, and then flicked his finger.

With a thunderous roar, a silver lightning sword beam shot out from his fingertip.

The sword light surged to over ten feet in length, appearing incredibly sharp. It struck the lightning shield, instantly sending sparks flying and a deafening roar echoing through the air, sending the shield flying.

Yang Qingyuan picked up the shield and saw that there was a deep pit on the front of it.

"The spell 'Thunder Flick' attached to the first three layers is quite good. Not only can it be cast instantly, but its power can also break through high-grade magic artifacts. If it is further enhanced by the word 'thunder,' it is enough to kill cultivators of the same level by surprise."

Immediately afterwards, he used the spell "Thunder Sword Shield" attached to the fourth level of his technique. Silver-white arcs of electricity immediately appeared around his body, eventually condensing into a light silver shield that covered Yang Qingyuan's entire body.

The shield's defensive capabilities are comparable to a high-grade magic weapon. It will automatically release lightning sword light to counterattack any attack it receives.

Yang Qingyuan was quite satisfied with the two supernatural abilities, one offensive and one defensive, and then stood up and walked towards the door.

Now that he has completed the Foundation Establishment stage, his next step is to pay respects to Lei Wanhe, and then plan to open up a cave dwelling, repair the Life Gate Formation of the Crimson Forbidden Land, and also study whether the True Word Scroll can be used to accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs.

After all, after he switched to cultivating this technique, he discovered that this sword technique required an extremely high concentration of spiritual energy, and without the help of pills, cultivation was extremely slow.

As soon as Yang Qingyuan opened the stone door and entered the main hall, he saw Lei Wanhe and Nie Ying both inside, looking worried and distressed...