Mist Locks Listening Tide

The sun climbed higher, and the sound of blade practice in Listening Tide Courtyard continued unabated through the entire morning.

Chen Yuan seemed to know no fatigue, utterly immersed in the wondrous cultivation of the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon.

Each swing of the blade was an extreme refinement of will, qi, and spirit.

He had unleashed nearly a thousand repetitions of "Cold River Reflecting Moon," until his arms were sore, numb, and swollen, barely able to lift.

The surging qi and blood within him were heavily drained by this repeated high-intensity condensation and compression. Sweat poured from him in streams, steam rising from his body, forming a strange contrast with the biting cold radiating from the blade's edge.

Yet his eyes grew brighter, his spirit more exhilarated. He could clearly feel his understanding and mastery of this technique deepening and solidifying at a visible pace.

His control over force became increasingly precise, and his insight into the "Cold Silence" artistic conception grew ever clearer.

He even began to vaguely grasp how to subtly weave the spiral grinding force of the Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method and the tidal force he had comprehended earlier into this bitterly cold, condensed blade force, creating even more unpredictable variations.

It wasn't until Zhao Canghai reminded him that too much was as bad as too little, and that he needed balance between tension and rest, that Chen Yuan reluctantly stopped.

He respectfully saw his master off, then immediately returned to his meditation room, swallowed a Qi-Benefiting Blood-Nourishing Pill issued by the martial hall, and carefully applied Skin Tempering Ointment to his aching, cracking arms before sitting cross-legged to circulate his energy and recover his expenditure.

As his inner force cycled, he discovered with delight that after this morning's extreme condensation through blade practice, though his qi and blood had been heavily consumed, they now seemed purer and more refined upon recovery—like impurities cast away, leaving only essence. His control over power had also risen to a new level.

Along with this, the toughness of his skin had faintly improved, becoming denser.

This all-around tempering effect far surpassed simple seated qi cultivation or bare-handed training.

At lunch, he was somewhat distracted, his mind still replaying and deducing the various changes of "Cold River Reflecting Moon."

After the meal, he forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately return to blade practice and, following his master's advice, focused on consolidating his cultivation with the Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method.

He let his body have enough time to digest and absorb the morning's great gains, while also nurturing his spirit in preparation for the important experiment that night.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse. All was silent.

In Listening Tide Courtyard, only Chen Yuan remained.

He lit no lamp, letting the cold, clear moonlight pour like liquid silver across the yard, draping everything in a hazy, silvery veil.

The excitement from the day's blade mastery had subsided. It was time to test the [Mist Manipulation] divine ability, granted by the "Ebbing Tide" gift from the Tidal Stele.

He focused his mind, sinking his intent deep into his Sea of Consciousness, carefully communicating with and touching the floating divine ability rune that emitted a faint, icy blue glow.

Unlike the fierce, sharp intensity of daytime blade practice, his mind was now calm and delicate. His perception extended outward boundlessly, like a moonlit sea—placid on the surface yet unfathomably deep.

Gradually, he sensed the ubiquitous, active water molecules in his surroundings—the moist night air, the faint ground vapor rising from the soil, even the moisture exhaled by plant leaves.

With a flicker of intent, his spiritual power spread like an invisible, delicate net, silently covering the area. He began to try to draw in and gather this formless water vapor.

At first, nothing stirred. His spiritual power seemed to sink into a vast ocean, meeting no response. Chen Yuan was not discouraged. He continued outputting his spiritual power, carefully adjusting its frequency, imitating the natural laws of mist formation.

Finally, within a few feet around him, the air began to warp faintly. Wispy, extremely thin strands of white mist, like shy spirits, materialized out of nothing, curling and coiling around him. Under the moonlight, his figure became hazy and unreal, gaining an air of mystery.

"Gather."

He murmured inwardly, increasing his spiritual output and attempting to constrain the mist's range.

The effect was immediate.

The surrounding mist seemed to receive a command. It no longer drifted aimlessly but, as if bound by an invisible force, slowly revolved and converged around him. Its range gradually expanded to about ten yards, completely enveloping him.

The mist was not thick—not yet to the point of being unable to see one's hand before one's face—but it effectively distorted light and obscured the details of his form.

Within this man-made thin fog, Chen Yuan felt that sounds from the outside world became distant and muffled. His own aura, heartbeat, and even the faint rustle of his clothes seemed absorbed and largely masked by this gentle mist barrier.

"So this is the effect of the 'Mist Barrier'..." Chen Yuan savored the sensation.

The range was still small, the density insufficient, and maintaining it required continuous spiritual output. But it already had the rudimentary ability to conceal form and muffle sound.

If used at night, in a forest, or in a place rich with moisture, its effect would surely increase greatly.

He began to move within the small area.

The power of "Mist Walking" activated naturally. He felt his steps land on the mist-covered bluestone slabs with greater lightness and agility, soundless to the ground.

The wind stirred by his movement was also greatly reduced, as if he had truly merged into the night fog, becoming part of the mist itself—a silent shadow.

Having preliminarily familiarized himself with the basic applications of "Mist Barrier" and "Mist Walking," an extremely bold and imaginative thought suddenly flashed into Chen Yuan's mind like lightning splitting the night sky:

Could this [Mist Manipulation] divine ability be combined with the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon he had trained so hard in during the day?

Could the "Cold Silence" blade intent be infused into this formless mist?

Think it, try it!

His heart pounded. Suppressing his excitement, he once again visualized the lonely, cold artistic conception of "Cold River Reflecting Moon" in his mind.

But this time, he attempted to channel that visualized "Cold Silence" intent—not into the blade, but to guide it, to infuse and permeate the mist around him.

As his intent moved, a wondrous change occurred.

The mist, which had been ordinary white vapor with a slight damp coolness, suddenly plummeted in temperature!

It became bitingly cold. At the edges of the mist, countless tiny, visible ice crystals rapidly condensed, reflecting glimmers of crystalline light under the cold moonlight.

The entire Listening Tide Courtyard seemed to instantly transform into a moonlit, frigid river. The mist was dense, the chill pervasive, and the moisture in the air itself seemed on the verge of freezing.

Chen Yuan's heart surged with wild joy. He pressed on.

He took a deep breath of the icy mist, grasped the Cold Ripple Blade at his side, and instead of swinging it wildly, used the tip of the blade as a guide. Carefully, he attempted to attach and coil a strand of the freezing mist, imbued with the artistic conception of "Cold Silence," onto the frigid edge.

With a casual forward slash, the blade passed through the air, leaving behind a clear, white, cold scar composed of countless tiny ice crystals—like painting with ice in the air. It lingered for a long time, radiating a biting chill.

"Marvelous, incredible!" Chen Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his eyes flashing with excitement.

He could fully imagine that in actual combat, he would first use this mist to obscure the opponent's vision, disrupt their perception, and conceal his own movements and killing intent.

Then, moving silently within the fog, he would suddenly unleash the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon, also imbued with extreme cold. Its power and uncanny nature would multiply, enough to throw any opponent of the same rank off balance.

He was completely immersed in exploring this novel and powerful combination.

He continuously tested various ways to integrate them: how to more efficiently use the mist to mask his starting stance, how to shift positions more fluidly within the fog to launch surprise attacks.

How to permeate the chill through the mist in advance, silently affecting and slowing the opponent's qi and blood circulation...

The more he experimented, the broader his thinking became, and the deeper his understanding of the divine ability and the saber technique. All sorts of ingenious ideas emerged endlessly.

It wasn't until the moon hung high in the sky, his mental energy depleted and waves of fatigue washing over him, that Chen Yuan reluctantly stopped.

His face was slightly pale, but his eyes were astonishingly bright, showing no sign of tiredness—only the excitement of discovering a new world and endless contemplation.

Tonight's experiments had yielded remarkable results!

He had not only gained a preliminary grasp of the application methods for the [Mist Manipulation] divine ability but also found a brilliant point of integration with the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon.

This undoubtedly added another powerful trump card to his arsenal for dealing with future crises.

He returned to the quiet room, sat cross-legged, swallowed another pill, carefully applied the ointment, and began to circulate his energy to recover.

Through the day's extreme refinement of saber practice and the night's mentally taxing divine ability experiments, the toughness of his dermal membrane had once again seen tangible improvement. His mental energy also seemed to have grown slightly through this cycle of depletion and recovery.

Realm: Skin Grinding - Minor Accomplishment 31/100↑

Cultivation Method: Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method Proficiency↑ Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon Beginner↑

Feeling this all-around progress, Chen Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was as calm as still water, yet sharp as a blade in its depths.

A hidden dragon in the abyss, its scales and claws already honed.

It only awaits the convergence of wind and clouds to soar into the sky—Cold River Reflecting Moon, Mist Shrouding a Thousand Troops!

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