Ice Needle Technique

Lin Xuan then began cultivating his second Spell: the Ice Needle Technique!

Though it was merely a mid-tier technique, it was rather special, for its power could even rival many high-tier techniques that only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could practice.

In the Cultivation World, Spells were divided into three tiers. Setting aside low-tier ones for now, how were mid-tier and high-tier Spells distinguished?

By power?

Yes, but that was not all. In truth, the main standard was that Spells cultivable during the Spirit Movement Stage were mid-tier Spells, while those requiring the Foundation Establishment Realm were high-tier Spells.

Generally speaking, high-tier Spells had higher requirements and were naturally more powerful. But there were exceptions to everything. Among mid-tier techniques, there was one unique exception: the Ice Needle Technique!

It could be cultivated during the Spirit Movement Stage, yet its power was no weaker than certain high-tier Spells. It was said that some senior cultivators had even argued over this, claiming it ought to be classified as a high-tier Spell.

But for some unknown reason, that proposal had not passed. In the Compendium of Spells, the Ice Needle Technique was still listed as mid-tier—though it was the strongest among mid-tier techniques.

Some people jokingly called the Ice Needle Technique a "pseudo-mid-tier Spell."

It could be cultivated during the Spirit Movement Stage, and its power could rival high-tier Spells. At first hearing, the Ice Needle Technique seemed irresistibly tempting; every low-level disciple ought to want to cultivate it. Yet reality was not so simple. There was no such free lunch under heaven. Just as great effort brought great rewards, while the Ice Needle Technique reigned supreme among mid-tier Spells in power, it was also famously difficult to cultivate.

Its demands on spiritual power were not particularly high, but to master it, one's divine sense had to be extraordinarily powerful. The so-called Ice Needle Technique was actually the use of spirit power to condense the moisture in the air into several hundred Ice Needles, each as hard as steel, and then control those Ice Needles to wound one's enemies.

Each Ice Needle was tiny, but controlling several hundred at once placed unimaginable demands on divine sense. Training it was extremely arduous.

Over the past thousand years, countless low-level Spirit Movement Stage cultivators had tried, but only a scant few had ultimately succeeded. Before reaching Foundation Establishment, learning the Ice Needle Technique required exceptionally tenacious perseverance.

Lin Xuan's notes were very detailed. They contained not only the cultivation method for the Ice Needle Technique, but also these words the instructor had once told them.

The difficulty lay right before him, but Lin Xuan was not afraid. He dared not boast about anything else, but when it came to perseverance, he was supremely confident. Wasn't the Heart Refining Path a place only cultivators above the Foundation Establishment Realm dared enter? Yet he had endured the torment of the Illusion Realm all the same.

The power of the Ice Needle Technique made Lin Xuan covet it. Once he learned it, his strength would make tremendous progress. No matter what, he could not retreat.

Lin Xuan began cultivating it diligently, only to find it even harder than he had imagined. During the first few days, he made almost no progress. Even though his divine sense was far stronger than that of disciples at the same cultivation level, cultivating the Ice Needle Technique still made him suffer bitterly.

For others, failing once or twice at a task—or while practicing a Spell—was normal. Failing three or four times could still be endured. But if they failed seven or eight times, or even more, they would surely grow disheartened and choose to give up.

It was not that they lacked patience; that was only human nature. But Lin Xuan was different. His will was tough, the kind that refused to yield despite repeated setbacks. Back then, before he had gained the ability to purify, he had known full well how incomparably difficult cultivation was for ordinary people, yet Lin Xuan had still persevered amid cold mockery and ridicule.

Leaving aside everything else, he had failed dozens of times merely trying to break through to the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage, yet he had continued cultivating without complaint or regret.

Thus, during the first few days of cultivating the Ice Needle Technique, despite making no progress whatsoever, Lin Xuan was not merely undiscouraged—he did not even feel impatient. He cultivated with unwavering consistency.

The instructor had explained it very clearly. Though over the past ten thousand years, Spirit Movement Stage disciples capable of mastering it had been as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, there had always been some. If others could do it, why couldn't he?

With the mindset of never stopping until he reached his goal, Lin Xuan cultivated assiduously. He failed time and again, yet grew braver with every setback. Finally, two months later, the Ice Needle Technique had achieved a small measure of success.

Compared with learning the Spirit Power Shield, which had taken only three days, his speed in mastering the Ice Needle Technique appeared slow on the surface. But that was not actually the case. According to the records, even Foundation Establishment Realm experts needed roughly two months to master the Ice Needle Technique, let alone low-level Spirit Movement Stage disciples. Lin Xuan's speed was therefore already astonishing.

There were two reasons for this achievement. One was his diligence and his character of never giving up. The other was related to his daily consumption of large quantities of Marrow Cleansing Pills.

He took nine pills every day, one of which was even a precious Mid-Grade Pill. The powerful medicinal effects not only helped raise his cultivation, but also greatly benefited his practice of Spells. Thus, it was not strange that Lin Xuan had mastered the Ice Needle Technique in such a short time.

As the strongest mid-tier Spell, the Ice Needle Technique truly lived up to its great reputation. On the very day he achieved success, Lin Xuan once again came to the mysterious canyon known only to himself and secretly tested its power.

He first selected a huge boulder weighing over a thousand jin as his target. Then Lin Xuan began drawing upon the spirit power within his body. He stretched out his right hand, and with a crackling sound, white mist coiled above his palm. More than a hundred crystal-clear Ice Needles appeared within the mist.

With a wave of Lin Xuan's hand, those Ice Needles shot toward the boulder as swift as lightning. Amid flashes of cold light, the hard boulder was riddled with holes and blasted into a sieve.

Lin Xuan nodded in satisfaction. He then cast a low-tier Great Strength Technique upon himself and pushed the massive stone off the cliff. Though the canyon was well hidden, and even if someone came, they would not know that he had been the one to leave the Ice Needle Technique's marks on the stone, Lin Xuan had always been meticulous. Whenever he could avoid leaving a flaw, he did his utmost to avoid one. Only by pushing the boulder off the precipice could he ensure there was no loophole.

After doing all this, Lin Xuan began assessing his Ice Needle Technique again. To speak truthfully, according to the instructor's description, controlling one hundred Ice Needles at once could only be considered a small measure of success. When the Ice Needle Technique was cultivated to consummate mastery, it was said one could control nearly a thousand Ice Needles at once. That would truly blot out the sky and cover the earth, impossible to resist.

Though he longed for such a level, Lin Xuan was not the sort of person to chase empty fantasies. With Spirit Movement Stage cultivation, it was impossible to cultivate the Ice Needle Technique to its peak. Besides, even the hundred Ice Needles he could command now possessed power comparable to certain high-tier techniques.

One needed ambition, but one could not aim so high as to lose sight of reality. His current state had already reached his intended goal.