chsdbacks Chapter 6 Initial Formation of Divine Sense
Chapter 6 Initial Formation of Divine Sense
While the "Spirit Control Technique" is stable, its upper limit is too low. Reaching the Foundation Establishment stage with this technique is already the limit. However, even though the "Great Evolution Prison Suppression Scripture" is incomplete and dangerous, its upper limit is at least the Nascent Soul stage! Even if he only has the first three levels, it is enough to support him to reach the early Foundation Establishment stage! As for the subsequent techniques... that is a matter for later.
We'll deal with the future later!
He immediately followed the instructions of the first level of the mental cultivation method, forcibly gathering all the scattered spiritual power around his body back into his sea of consciousness! The moment his spiritual power returned, a muffled "buzz" sounded in his head, as if a huge object had been forcibly shoved back into his skull! A sharp, throbbing pain exploded from between his eyebrows, instantly engulfing his entire head!
He endured the excruciating pain without stopping for even a moment.
His divine sense, within his sea of consciousness, began its laborious journey, following the profound path prescribed by the cultivation method. Initially, it was incredibly sluggish; every slight advancement required immense effort! The scattered divine sense power was like quicksand, crumbling and disintegrating at the slightest provocation, utterly unable to coalesce. He could only try again and again, failing, starting anew; failing again, starting anew…
I don't know how much time passed.
The moonlight outside the window shifted subtly, moving from the ground to the mottled stone wall. The spirit stone beside the insect eggs had lost nearly half its luster, and the traces of its spiritual energy being drained were clearly visible. Chen Fan remained seated cross-legged on the futon, his eyes closed, fine beads of sweat trickling down his face from his forehead.
Finally, after countless failures, the scattered divine consciousness in his sea of consciousness suddenly paused! Then, as if it had found a preordained path, it spontaneously began to slowly rotate along a mysterious and unpredictable route!
The speed is still slow.
Indeed, it is already in operation!
Chen Fan didn't open his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
This first step has finally been taken...
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye as he changed his cultivation method.
For the past two weeks, Chen Fan had barely stepped out of the stone chamber. Every day before dawn, he would begin circulating the first level of the *Great Evolution Prison Suppression Scripture*, repeatedly condensing, compressing, and purifying his divine sense within his sea of consciousness. This process was extremely tedious and consumed immense mental energy. Every hour of cultivation, his divine sense would be completely depleted, forcing him to stop and meditate to recover. Once his divine sense had recovered somewhat, he would immediately return to the endless process of condensation.
This cycle repeats itself endlessly, day and night.
He devoted his days to rigorous training and his nights to refining elixirs by manipulating the vortex in his palm. This alternating routine nearly exhausted all his time. However, his efforts paid off, and he finally managed to barely grasp the basics of the first level of the cultivation technique.
The so-called "entry point" refers to the initial condensation of the previously loose, sand-like spiritual power within the sea of consciousness, after half a month of repeated tempering. Although the edges are still somewhat loose, the core is beginning to show signs of solidification. The strength and coverage of the spiritual power have both seen a clear and perceptible improvement.
To verify the extent of the improvement, he used the most direct method: refining Qi-refining pills.
Before the modification, he could refine a maximum of three pills a day before his spiritual energy would be exhausted, his brow would throb with pain, and his temples would throb. If he forced himself to refine a fourth pill, he would risk damaging his sea of consciousness.
Now, he can refine five!
Only after five [items] does the sign of spiritual exhaustion appear.
Three to five spirit stones—seemingly an increase of only two, amounting to just ten more spirit stones—represent a staggering 70% increase! This means his spiritual strength has improved by at least 50% in half a month! And this is only the effect of initially grasping the basics. If he can fully master the first level, or even break through to the second, this number will certainly increase further!
Chen Fan put the fifth milky-white pill into the jade bottle, rubbed his slightly swollen brows, and silently calculated in his mind:
Refining five a day yields 150 a month. After deducting the 20 needed for personal cultivation, 130 remain to be sold. At 5 spirit stones per stone, this amounts to 650 low-grade spirit stones per month. After further deducting expenses for cultivation-aiding herbs, at least 500 spirit stones can be saved each month!
Five hundred dollars!
That's 1,500 yuan in March!
This amount is enough to purchase a top-tier magic artifact of superior quality in the market, or to stockpile a batch of talismans and pills, making ample preparations for the journey to the Crimson Forbidden Land three years from now. If there is any surplus, one can also purchase some pills to aid in cultivation, in order to improve one's magical power.
However, Chen Fan suppressed the thought as soon as it arose.
He could refine Qi Refining Pills during the Qi Refining stage using the vortex in his palm. However, if he were to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in the future, the required pills would be far more complex than those for Qi Refining Pills. Could that mysterious vortex transform as his cultivation level increased? Could it then be used to refine Foundation Establishment stage pills? These were all unknowns.
If the power of the vortex mark stops at Qi Refining stage pills, its value will inevitably decline as the user's cultivation level increases. If it becomes useless by the Foundation Establishment stage, then other ways to acquire resources will need to be sought.
Chen Fan set aside this thought for the time being. It was too early to worry about it. His immediate priority was to fully master the first level of the *Great Evolution Prison Suppression Scripture* and elevate his spiritual sense to another level. Only with a sufficiently strong spiritual sense could the alchemy effect of the vortex in his palm reach its peak, allowing him to accumulate enough resources to secure his survival within three years!
His gaze lowered slightly, landing on the dark gold insect egg beside the futon.
Half a month later, the insect eggs had changed significantly. The dark gold patterns on the eggshells became more distinct, and under the moonlight, they faintly gleamed with a cold metallic sheen. The eggs had also swelled up, growing from the size of a soybean to the size of a peanut. The spirit stone next to them had long since lost its luster, most of its spiritual energy had been absorbed, and only a faint wisp of spiritual light remained.
At this rate, the egg should hatch in three to five days.
Chen Fan took out a new spirit stone from his storage bag, replacing the old one that was about to run out. The moment the insect egg touched the new spirit stone, the patterns on its shell suddenly lit up, and its speed of absorbing spiritual energy noticeably increased. He glanced at it, then looked away, closed his eyes, and focused his mind to recover his depleted spiritual sense.
The night was dark.
Outside the stone chamber, the mountain wind howled, occasionally punctuated by the cries of unknown mythical beasts. The Spirit Beast Mountain boasted the most magnificent collection of mythical beasts among the seven sects of Yue. Every night, the roars of the beasts raised on each peak rose and fell in waves, some low and muffled like thunder, others sharp and piercing, creating a cacophony of sounds.
Chen Fan was already used to this. He could even tell the state of some beasts from their roars. The particularly loud one was definitely the Azure-Eyed Fox in heat again; the intermittent low growls were mostly due to a new disciple making a mistake while taming the beast.
However, none of this was related to him.
He calmed his mind and continued to practice the first level of the "Great Evolution Prison Suppression Scripture".
Five more days passed.
That evening, Chen Fan was sitting cross-legged on a futon, concentrating on his cultivation, when he suddenly heard a very faint "click" sound.
The sound was faint, almost drowned out by the mountain breeze outside the window. However, his consciousness was no longer what it used to be, and this unusual movement did not escape his notice. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the insect eggs beside the futon.
At the top of the dark gold eggshell, a hair-thin crack appeared!
The crevice extended downwards by about a third of an inch. Through the crevice, something could be vaguely seen slowly wriggling inside. Chen Fan remained still, observing the situation. The hatching of spirit insects was a natural process; external intervention could easily cause changes.
The crack is slowly widening.
About an incense stick's time later, the eggshell was finally forced open by the contents inside. A larva, dark gold in color and no bigger than a fingernail, struggled to emerge from the crack. Its body was still soft, and its carapace on its back was not fully hardened, appearing translucent, with the internal organs faintly pulsating. Its pair of forelimbs were curled up in front of its chest, as thin as hair, yet already possessing the rudiments of a sickle.
The larva lay beside the broken eggshell, seemingly adapting to its surroundings. After a moment, it slowly turned around and began to focus intently on gnawing at the eggshell beneath it. Though its movements were slow, it swallowed the fragments one bite at a time.
Chen Fan knew that this was the final step in the hatching of the spirit insect. The spiritual energy contained in the eggshell served as food for the larva, helping it to harden its exoskeleton quickly and complete its metamorphosis. He patiently waited for the larva to devour the eggshell completely before extending a finger and gently placing it in front of the larva.
The larva's antennae trembled slightly, as if sensing something. A moment later, it slowly crawled up Chen Fan's palm along his fingers, its six thin legs lightly touching his skin, almost without any resistance.