Daoist Arts Unveiled

Wu Ming had only read a few lines when his gaze suddenly froze. He carefully read on, line by line. He had long wanted to investigate information regarding cultivation of the soul lineage, yet had never been able to find any. Now, he had stumbled across it while searching through the Cautious Punishment Division's case files.

"So that's how it is. Cultivating martial strength requires condensing Blood Qi, while cultivating Daoist arts requires condensing the soul. It's just that soul cultivation is far more difficult. Those with the aptitude are one in ten thousand, and the resources needed to condense the soul are far rarer than those required to condense Blood Qi."

"Then, with the current strength of my Primordial Spirit, I should be at the Second Refinement of the Primordial Spirit, corresponding to the Martial Path's Second Blood Forging?"

As he read the contents of Daoist Arts Unveiled, Wu Ming fell into thought.

No wonder he had scarcely heard of soul-lineage cultivation in Jingye City. Even older experts such as Hong Jiu, who had reached Third Blood Forging, regarded it as a crooked side path and disdained it greatly. On one hand, soul cultivation placed far greater demands on aptitude and was much harder to begin than Martial Path cultivation. Moreover, in its early stages, soul cultivation possessed almost no practical might.

The first two refinements of the Primordial Spirit merely enhanced one's soul perception. Even if one wished to use it in battle, one could only practice certain arts of "bewilderment," and these were often difficult to make effective against martial artists with steadfast wills.

"The first two refinements of the Primordial Spirit truly lack any substantive killing methods. Even the 'Lin' Word Incantation manifested by the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram merely briefly shocks another's mind. One still has to combine it with Martial Path methods to kill."

However,

Previously, because he knew little about soul-lineage cultivation and lacked anything for comparison, Wu Ming had only known that the "Lin" Word Incantation manifested by the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram was surely an extremely profound technique. Now, however, he understood the strength of this secret art.

Daoist Arts Unveiled even recorded a soul secret art called Ghoul Bewitchment. Its effect was to use soul intent to visualize an illusory ghoul, bewitching and terrifying others at the level of heart and soul. Yet this move was difficult to use effectively against martial men with powerful wills and abundant Blood Qi; they could often rely on sheer strength of will to ignore it outright.

But the "Lin" Word Incantation was different!

Compared with such empty moves that leaned more toward bewilderment and intimidation, the Lin Word Incantation was a method that could truly unleash a soul shock. Regardless of how resolute an opponent's will was or how abundant their Blood Qi, they had to bear a genuine impact at the soul level.

The effect of this impact was also remarkably obvious. A First Blood Forging martial artist with a somewhat weak will might even be knocked unconscious on the spot. Even someone at Second Blood Forging, like Liu Chuan that night, could be plunged into mental chaos in an instant—his head splitting with pain, his thoughts shattered, leaving countless openings exposed for a short time.

After briefly considering it, Wu Ming quickly passed over the art of Ghoul Bewitchment and continued reading.

Third Refinement of the Primordial Spirit.

This step corresponded to the Martial Path's Third Blood Forging. It was also from this point onward that the soul Daoist lineage began to possess true power. At this stage, the soul became condensed into a state between illusion and substance, vigorous and powerful enough to drive objects with soul intent—the ability known as "object control"!

Paired with certain carefully refined Daoist artifacts, one could easily kill from a hundred paces away at this level!

As for facing a martial path expert at Third Blood Forging, that depended on the distance between them. If the distance was too close and one's true body was exposed before the martial path expert, the opponent could completely withstand the artifact's assault for a short time and launch a surprise attack on the physical body.

Once the physical body died, the soul would lose its support and gradually wither away as well.

But if the distance was sufficiently great, and the martial path expert could not rush close to the true body, forced instead to battle an artifact controlled from afar by a daoist magic expert, then the martial path expert would basically end up either dead or wounded. After all, when the soul controlled an artifact from a distance and the true body was nowhere nearby, it meant there were no openings to exploit, and the attacks could continue in an unceasing torrent.

Though Third Blood Forging Martial Path experts possessed enduring stamina and refined moves, allowing them to withstand an artifact's attacks for a short while, they were still flesh and blood. As time dragged on and their strength waned, openings would emerge, and they would then be slain on the spot.

Generally speaking,

Within a hundred paces, the Martial Path reigned supreme; beyond a hundred paces, Daoist arts were honored above all!

"The Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram deep within my mind... no, more accurately, this divine diagram fused into my soul is essentially a 'Daoist artifact' of an extremely high level."

Wu Ming thought of the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram he possessed.

Daoist Arts Unveiled recorded that matter belonged to yang while the soul belonged to yin. Thus, it was difficult for the soul to control matter. One needed to use Soul Power to inscribe special secret technique Dao patterns into material, turning it into a "Daoist artifact," before it could be controlled with relative ease.

Daoist artifacts were also clearly divided into upper, middle, and lower grades according to their materials and the level of their secret technique Dao patterns.

A thread of Wu Ming's consciousness sank deep into his soul, observing the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram located there. He attempted to investigate the secret technique Dao patterns that formed its essence, in order to determine its grade. Yet no matter how he observed it, he could never discern any kind of secret technique Dao pattern upon its surface. The entire Demon Subduing Diagram seemed to have been formed by nature itself, completely unlike the Daoist artifacts described in Daoist Arts Unveiled.

Wu Ming inferred that the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram might be a Daoist artifact of a higher level. However, Daoist Arts Unveiled only divided Daoist artifacts into upper, middle, and lower grades, without going into detail on whether artifacts of even higher levels existed beyond them.

After a brief moment of thought.

Wu Ming did not dwell on it and continued reading the later sections of Daoist Arts Unveiled.

"Soaring Spirit Sigil."

Daoist Arts Unveiled also recorded a Daoist secret sigil in detail, named the Soaring Spirit Sigil. By inscribing it within certain specific materials, one could refine those materials into Daoist artifacts and then control them in battle.

This Soaring Spirit Sigil also appeared quite profound, but without comparison, there could be no gap. Wu Ming compared it slightly in his mind with the "Lin" Word Incantation, and the difference felt like clouds and mud—these two secret sigils could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Clearly,

This Daoist Arts Unveiled was quite basic. The methods and secret sigils it recorded were all far from profound enough.

Wu Ming continued flipping through it, wanting to see whether it contained anything about the Fourth Refinement of the Primordial Spirit. There was none. The following sections instead covered much common knowledge regarding the Daoist lineage. For instance, Daoist arts and the Martial Path could be said to be one yin and one yang, opposites in nearly every respect.

One phrase within it read: the Martial Path was manifest, while Daoist arts were hidden.

It meant that the Martial Path's cultivated techniques and moves—sabers, spears, swords, and sword arts—were generally recognizable the moment they were displayed. One could tell what move or method was being used; everything was openly revealed. Daoist arts, on the other hand, were restrained and concealed. Whether it was Ghoul Bewitchment or controlling Daoist artifacts with the soul after reaching the object-control realm, one could not see the essential secret sigils within from the surface.

This was actually good news for Wu Ming. He knew that the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram was of extremely high quality, and that the "Lin" Word Incantation it manifested was likewise a supreme wondrous art. He had always worried that these things might be exposed, but according to Daoist Arts Unveiled, the use of Daoist arts was exceptionally covert. It was simply impossible to directly see through what type it was.

Therefore, even if he used the "Lin" Word Incantation before other Daoist magic experts, it would be difficult for them to know precisely what method he had employed. Martial Path experts naturally had even less chance of seeing through it.

Turning Daoist Arts Unveiled to its final page, Wu Ming stopped and revealed a thoughtful expression.

"It seems that whether it is the Martial Path or the soul, the third refinement is the most important threshold. Crossing it brings a qualitative transformation. Though my soul level is currently ahead of my Martial Path cultivation, I should still be very far from the third refinement."

"Next, I still need to condense my Blood Qi for the second time as soon as possible."

He possessed the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram and could suppress evil demons, borrowing their power to refine Blood Qi and nourish his soul. Thus, for him, cultivation of the Daoist lineage could not be separated from the foundation of Martial Path cultivation.