The sun climbed higher, and the sound of saber strikes in Listening Tide Courtyard continued for the entire morning.
Chen Yuan seemed not to know the meaning of fatigue, completely immersed in the wondrous cultivation of the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon.
Every swing of the saber was the ultimate tempering of his will, blood, and spirit.
He swung out "Cold River Reflecting Moon" nearly a thousand times, until his arms were so sore, numb, and swollen that he could barely lift them.
The immense qi and blood within his body were rapidly depleted by repeatedly refining and compressing them at such high intensity. Sweat poured down his entire body, and heat steamed from him, forming a bizarre contrast with the icy chill radiating from the blade.
Yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter, while his spirit became increasingly exhilarated. He could clearly feel that his understanding and mastery of this technique were deepening and solidifying at a visible rate.
His control over force grew ever more precise, and his comprehension of the "Cold Silence" artistic conception became increasingly clear.
He had even begun to faintly touch upon how to ingeniously blend the spiral grinding force of the Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method and the tidal force he had comprehended earlier into this extremely cold, refined saber force, producing even more unfathomable changes.
Only when Zhao Canghai reminded him that excess was as bad as deficiency and that he needed to alternate tension with relaxation did Chen Yuan stop, still reluctant to put the saber down.
He respectfully saw his master off, then immediately returned to the Quiet Chamber. He swallowed one of the Qi-Benefiting Blood-Nourishing Pills distributed by the martial hall, carefully applied Skin Tempering Ointment to his aching, splitting arms, and began circulating his cultivation while seated cross-legged, recovering what he had expended.
As his inner force circulated, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that, although his qi and blood had been heavily depleted, they seemed to have become purer and more condensed after recovery, as though the dross had been removed and the essence retained. His control over his strength had also risen to an entirely new level.
Along with that, the resilience of his skin membrane had improved slightly, becoming denser and tighter.
This all-around tempering effect far surpassed simply meditating to refine qi or honing his fists and feet.
At lunchtime, he was somewhat absent-minded, his mind still continuously savoring and deducing the various changes of "Cold River Reflecting Moon."
After eating, he forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately practice the saber again. Following his master's instructions, he focused on consolidating his cultivation with the Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method.
He gave his body enough time to digest and absorb the enormous gains from the morning, while also nurturing his spirit and preparing for the important experiment that night.
That night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse, while all creation lay in profound silence.
There was only Chen Yuan in Listening Tide Courtyard.
He did not light a lamp, allowing the cool, pristine moonlight to pour across the courtyard like liquid mercury, draping everything in a hazy silver veil.
The excitement brought by his progress in saber practice during the day had already settled. It was time to test the [Mist Manipulation] divine ability bestowed by the "Ebbing Tide" gift from the Tidal Stele.
He calmed his mind and spirit, sinking his thoughts deep into his Sea of Consciousness. Carefully, he communicated with and touched the suspended divine ability rune that emitted a faint icy-blue halo.
Unlike the fierce and forceful saber practice of the day, his thoughts were now tranquil and delicate. His perception stretched outward without limit, like the calm, rippleless yet unfathomably deep surface of a sea beneath the moon.
Gradually, he sensed the ever-present, active water molecules in the surrounding environment—the humid night air, the faint earth vapor steaming from the soil, and even the moisture exhaled by the leaves of plants.
With a slight movement of his thoughts, his mental power spread out like an invisible, delicate net. Silently, it covered the surroundings and began trying to draw together and gather that formless moisture.
At first, nothing happened. His mental power was like a stone sinking into the sea. Chen Yuan was not discouraged. He continued releasing mental power, carefully adjusting its frequency and imitating the natural laws by which mist formed.
At last, within a radius of about a zhang around him, the air began to distort slightly. Wisps of extremely faint, thin white mist appeared from nowhere like bashful sprites, curling and drifting around him. His figure in the moonlight grew hazy and unreal, gaining an added touch of mystery.
"Gather."
He silently commanded himself, increasing his mental output while trying to restrain the mist's range.
The effect was immediate.
The surrounding mist seemed to receive an order. It no longer drifted aimlessly, but instead slowly rotated and gathered around him as though constrained by an invisible force. Its range gradually expanded to three zhang in every direction, completely enveloping him.
The mist was not especially thick and had not yet reached the point where one could not see one's own hand, but it effectively distorted the light and concealed the details of his form.
Within this man-made veil of mist, Chen Yuan felt the sounds of the outside world grow distant and blurred. His own aura, heartbeat, and even the faint sounds of his clothes rubbing together all seemed to be absorbed and concealed by this gentle Mist Barrier.
"So this is the effect of the 'Mist Barrier'..." Chen Yuan carefully savored the sensation.
Its range was still small and its density insufficient, and maintaining it required a constant expenditure of mental power. Yet it had already achieved the basic effects of concealing his form and masking his presence.
In the night, in a forest, or in a place rich with water vapor, the effect of this technique would surely increase greatly.
He began trying to move within a small area.
The power of "Mist Walking" activated naturally. When his feet landed on the bluestone slabs covered in thin mist, he found himself lighter and more agile, his steps making no sound.
The wind stirred by his movements was also greatly weakened. It was as though his entire person had merged into the night mist, becoming part of it—a silent shadow.
After becoming initially familiar with the basic applications of the "Mist Barrier" and "Mist Walking," an extremely bold and imaginative thought suddenly surged into Chen Yuan's mind like lightning tearing across the night sky:
Could this "Mist Manipulation" divine ability be combined with the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon he had painstakingly practiced during the day?
Could he merge the saber intent of "Cold Silence" into this invisible mist?
He would try it the moment he thought of it!
His heart pounded. Suppressing his excitement, he once again visualized the solitary, frigid artistic conception of "Cold River Reflecting Moon."
But this time, instead of guiding the "Cold Silence" he had visualized into the saber, he tried to guide it into the mist surrounding him, blending it in and letting it seep through.
Wherever his thoughts reached, a wondrous change occurred.
The mist, originally nothing more than ordinary white mist with a hint of damp coolness, suddenly plummeted in temperature!
It became bone-chillingly cold. Countless tiny, visible ice-crystal particles rapidly condensed along the edges of the mist, reflecting flickering points of crystalline light beneath the cool moon.
The entire Listening Tide Courtyard seemed to transform into a moonlit Cold River. Mist billowed ominously, chill spread everywhere, and even the moisture in the air seemed on the verge of freezing.
Chen Yuan's heart soared with delight, and he pressed on.
He drew in a deep breath of icy mist and gripped the Cold Ripple Blade beside him. He did not swing it violently. Instead, using the tip of the blade as a guide, he carefully tried to attach and coil a strand of icy mist infused with the "Cold Silence" artistic conception around the cold blade.
With a casual slash forward, the air along the blade's path actually retained a clear, cold white saber mark composed of countless tiny ice crystals. It was as though someone had painted in the air with ice. It lingered for a long time, radiating wave after wave of biting chill.
"Wonderful! Unbelievable!" Chen Yuan could not help but exclaim softly, excitement flashing in his eyes.
He could completely imagine that in actual combat, he could first use this mist to block his opponent's vision, interfere with their perception, and conceal his own movements and killing intent.
Then, he could move soundlessly within the mist and suddenly unleash the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Art, likewise infused with an extreme chill. Its power and strangeness would surely multiply, enough to disrupt the rhythm of any opponent in the same major realm.
He became completely immersed in exploring this novel and powerful combination.
He continuously tested various ways of combining them: how to use the mist more efficiently to conceal the opening move, and how to change positions more smoothly within the mist to launch surprise attacks.
How to let the chill seep through the mist in advance, silently influencing and slowing the circulation of an opponent's qi and blood...
The more he experimented, the broader his thoughts became. His understanding of the divine ability and saber art deepened, and all kinds of ingenious ideas emerged one after another.
Only when the moon reached the center of the sky, his mental power was excessively depleted, and wave after wave of fatigue washed over him did Chen Yuan finally stop, still reluctant to end.
His face was slightly pale, but his eyes were astonishingly bright, without the slightest trace of weariness. They held only the excitement of discovering a new continent and endless contemplation.
Tonight's experiment had yielded remarkable results!
Not only had he initially mastered the methods of using the [Mist Manipulation] divine ability, but he had also found a marvelous point of integration between it and the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon.
Without a doubt, this had given him another powerful trump card for facing the crises of the future.
He returned to the Quiet Chamber, sat down cross-legged, swallowed another pill, carefully applied more ointment, and began circulating his cultivation to recover.
After the extreme saber refinement during the day and the mentally exhausting divine ability experiment at night, the resilience of his skin membrane had once again improved substantially. His mental power also seemed to have grown slightly after being tempered through this cycle of expenditure and recovery.
Realm: Skin Grinding · Minor Accomplishment 31/100↑ Cultivation Method: Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method—Proficient↑ Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon—Entry-Level↑
Feeling this all-around progress, Chen Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was calm as water, yet deep within it lay the sharpness of a blade.
The hidden dragon in the abyss had already sharpened its claws and scales.
He only awaited the meeting of wind and clouds before soaring into the sky—Cold River Reflecting Moon, Mist Locking a Thousand Armies!
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