Form Transformation

This day, Jiang Yun's Primordial Spirit seemed to break through a barrier, as streams of clear energy surged into it. His Primordial Spirit grew increasingly solidified, and the Space Law and Earth Element Law he had comprehended earlier coiled around it, tingeing it with a hint of silver-white and earthy yellow.

His true body, the Congenital Cloud Bamboo, shot up to a thousand zhang in height, its branches and leaves lush and dense, casting shade over nearly half the valley. Compared to the surrounding offshoots, it stood out like a crane among chickens. Earthy yellow Earth Element Spiritual Energy was drawn from the Earth Spirit Pearl, continuously converging toward Jiang Yun's true body, forming a massive spiritual energy vortex.

Within the vortex, a giant Cloud Bamboo gently swayed its branches and leaves. It accepted the converging spiritual energy without refusal, absorbing it all into its body with no sign of strain.

After a long while, the turbulent Earth Element Spiritual Energy gradually calmed, shifting from a surging torrent to a slow flow. At the center of the former vortex, the thousand-zhang Congenital Cloud Bamboo had vanished, replaced by an ordinary-looking man in a green Daoist robe embroidered with a few cloud-patterned spirit bamboos.

The man wore a faint smile, his demeanor carrying a hint of laziness, with an air of ethereal elegance about him, like a hermit emerging from green mountains and clear waters.

"I, Jiang Yun, have finally achieved Form Transformation today!"

The man let out a light sigh, his expression cheerful. Having come to this world over a hundred years ago—a full mortal lifespan in his past life—he had been rooted in this valley all along due to his spirit root nature, unable to step out and explore. It had truly been stifling.

Though he had often sent his Primordial Spirit out of his body to move around the valley, he never left the range of the formation, nor dared to stray far from his true body. After all, a Primordial Spirit separated from its body was fragile, and in the Primordial Desolation World, danger could strike at any moment.

"Now that my cultivation has broken through to Golden Immortal, I should count as a notable powerhouse in the Western Land. Since I've just broken through, I'll first consolidate my cultivation, then properly organize my Dao techniques..."

With that thought, Jiang Yun flicked his sleeve, leveling a patch of ground where his true body had once been rooted. He reached out and grabbed toward the bamboo grove on his left, and a pile of Cloud Bamboo snapped cleanly at the roots, flying to his side.

At his mental command, the bamboo automatically cut into suitable shapes and pieced together. In the blink of an eye, a bamboo hut was built on the leveled ground, its roof woven from layers of bamboo leaves. Inside, a bamboo-leaf cushion sat, radiating a verdant vitality.

Jiang Yun sat cross-legged on the cushion, closed his eyes slightly, and retrieved the Tongtian True Scripture from his mind, carefully studying it.

He then spent half a year polishing his mana and familiarizing himself with his new physical body. Only then did he calm the restless emotions stirred by his breakthrough. The once-unstable mana, through active refinement, became solid, and his foundation gradually stabilized.

With his cultivation fully consolidated, Jiang Yun turned his attention elsewhere.

"Cultivation consists of the Dao of Cultivation and the Dao Protecting Art. For the Dao of Cultivation, I have the Jianmu Tongtian True Scripture inherited from my spirit root. What I lack now is the Dao Protecting Art."

The Dao Protecting Art is divided into Combat Methods and Divine Ability Techniques. In the Primordial Desolation World, a typical example of Combat Methods is the Wu Clan. They focus on cultivating the physical body, using bloodlines to carry Laws. Their formidable bodies are weapons, and with a wave of their hand, their bloodline draws Laws to follow. The typical example of Divine Ability Techniques is the Three Pure Ones and other Mystic Sect cultivators. They focus on cultivating the Primordial Spirit, using it to carry Laws, practicing Divine Ability Techniques, and using the Laws they comprehend as a guide to connect with the power of heaven and earth for attacks.

Between the two, Combat Methods manifest as a sturdy body and overwhelming combat power, but they require abundant resources and great perseverance to endure the pain of physical cultivation. Divine Ability Techniques, on the other hand, are easy to learn but hard to master, consuming fewer resources but requiring great wisdom to reach profound realms and unleash great power.

"Since I have the Dao Derivation Disk in hand, I'll try cultivating both Combat Methods and Divine Ability Techniques. I'll start with deriving divine abilities!"

The first divine ability Jiang Yun derived was an offensive one. In his past life's legends, Guang Chengzi's Fan Tian Yin had left a deep impression on him.

"Currently, the Law I understand most deeply is the Earth Element Law. Earth Element Power can suppress, while Space Law can seal space."

He fused the Earth Element Law and Space Law for derivation, formed Hand Seals, mobilized the Law power on his Primordial Spirit and the abundant Sea of Mana within his body, connected with the Laws and spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and successfully constructed a great seal.

Once the great seal was formed, the space within its range was sealed into walls. From above, waves of pressure descended, causing the air to ripple. The ground began to crack and finally sank three chi.

This was only Jiang Yun forming the seal with Hand Seals, without activating it to attack. If he did, it would surely cause mountains to crack and earth to split.

Seeing the impressive power of the derived seal technique, he decisively withdrew the Hand Seals and cut off his mana. The great seal in the air dissolved and vanished. His own Dao field was too small for testing divine abilities, and besides, the valley was filled with his offshoots—he didn't want to destroy the vitality he had worked so hard to restore.

"This seal technique references the Fan Tian Yin, and I've integrated the Earth Element and Space Laws into it. When unleashed, it's like Mount Tai pressing down from above. I'll call it the Mount Tai Seal!"

With an offensive divine ability ready, the next were defensive and escape divine abilities.

For the defensive divine ability, Jiang Yun envisioned generating several magical shields around his body, forming a shield array. The earth element's heaviness could serve as a defensive foundation, while Space Power could disperse incoming attacks. This would both enhance defense and leave no gaps.

After deriving according to his initial plan, he successfully executed the defensive divine ability and named it the Mysterious Spirit Shield.

He then pressed on to derive escape divine abilities, creating Shrink Ground to Inch for daily travel and Great Earth Evasion for fleeing.

Of course, since he had only grasped a sliver of Space Law, Shrink Ground to Inch could only cover tens of li in one step. But he believed that as he continued to comprehend Space Law, shrinking ten thousand li to an inch in a single step would become trivial. At that point, Shrink Ground to Inch would surpass Great Earth Evasion in speed.

For now, his deeper understanding of Earth Element Law made earth-based techniques more effective. Wherever earth existed, as long as his Primordial Spirit and mana could sustain it, he could travel there in an instant.

This continuous derivation of divine abilities left Jiang Yun somewhat exhausted. He decided to take a break from seclusion and find a place outside the valley to practice these abilities.

He left the bamboo hut where he had been in seclusion, stepped out of the valley, and used the newly derived Shrink Ground to Inch. After a few flashes, he found a desolate mountain base and began practicing his divine abilities. Practice would help him become familiar with them; over time, his casting speed would increase, and the power of the abilities would strengthen, eventually reaching the point where a single thought would trigger the divine ability.

He formed Hand Seals and executed Great Earth Evasion, shuttling back and forth underground, playing around—popping up in the east one moment, then diving to the mountain peak the next.

Then he used Shrink Ground to Inch. This method was more flexible than the evasion technique, allowing him to turn left and right, advance and retreat without any hindrance. He was having a great time.

After playing for a while, Jiang Yun stopped at the mountain base. He cast the Mount Tai Seal at the small mountain. With one strike, the mountain peak burst apart, rubble scattering in all directions. Finally, the entire mountain was pressed into the ground, turning the original peak into a valley.

Seeing this result, Jiang Yun nodded in satisfaction. The power of the Mount Tai Seal pleased him. Only the Mysterious Spirit Shield remained untested! But looking around, he found nothing to test its defensive effect. So he decided to first put the Mysterious Spirit Shield on himself, then cast the Mount Tai Seal at himself.

By controlling his mana output, he first used the Mount Tai Seal at ten percent power. The Mysterious Spirit Shield stood firm. He gradually increased the power, and when he reached ninety percent, the Mysterious Spirit Shield began to falter, nearly collapsing. Jiang Yun quickly cut off his mana and dispersed the Mount Tai Seal. It seemed the Mysterious Spirit Shield could withstand about ninety percent of the Mount Tai Seal's power.

"Even with the Mount Tai Seal at full power, the remaining ten percent after breaking through the Mysterious Spirit Shield shouldn't be enough to hurt me."

After silently calculating, Jiang Yun turned back cheerfully and returned to his Dao field.