Daoists

Zhang Jian was preparing to find a suitable place to make his breakthrough. After asking around about several locations, he quickly made his decision.

However, as he was leaving the Qi residence, Zhang Jian noticed a group of people hurrying into the estate.

"Daoists?"

Zhang Jian spotted several Daoists being welcomed at the gate by several of the Qi family's "uncles" and heading toward the inner residence.

"Did something happen?" Zhang Jian signaled with his eyes, and a sturdy guard beside him seized the chance to question a steward nearby.

"Oh, so it's Young Master Cousin!"

"These are masters from Iron Immortal Abbey. They have come to pray for blessings for the old master!"

The steward clearly seemed wary of the subject and kept his lips sealed. He soon found an excuse and hurried away.

Watching this scene, Zhang Jian's eyes held a trace of peculiarity. His innate spiritual sense had detected that the leading old Daoist bore traces of spiritual aura—in other words, he possessed spiritual power.

Zhang Jian made a guess in his heart.

Yet he left the Qi residence moments later.

Before Dragon-Locking Dam, Fengyang City

Here stood green willows and a long, narrow flood embankment. It was a sacred place in the hearts of many Confucian scholars and students of Fengyang Commandery. Whether beneath clear skies or amid endless rain, countless scholars always came here to watch the boundless surging waves.

Magnificent giant waves poured down from the upstream Whitewater River through this rock-solid dam, unleashing thunderous roars.

The dam was like a sharp blade thrust deep into the Whitewater River, forcibly curbing its ferocious nature.

Watching the sight before him, Zhang Jian could not help but sigh.

"Prince Mian's Sword-Locked Flood Dragon Diagram was an act of immeasurable merit. I wonder why such a brilliant man became muddleheaded in his later years!"

No place ever lacked people of true great wisdom and courage. This dam alone was an act of immeasurable merit.

Zhang Jian noticed that deep within the river bend below, the current had already been split in two, forming two channels. Within one of them stood another dam to divert the flow, steadily restraining the flooding white waters.

After a glance, Zhang Jian withdrew his gaze.

Several veteran soldiers followed beside him. Zhang Jian found a cool pavilion and prepared to cleanse and temper his mind nearby. Such a place truly was ideal for tempering one's state of mind. With the aid of this blessed land, he would surely be able to sever all delusive thoughts completely.

At this point, he lacked only the final step.

He was also waiting here for someone to arrive.

Meanwhile, someone else had deliberately inquired into his whereabouts and was making their way over.

On the eastern avenue, a small sedan chair stopped at a street corner. Two petite young girls dressed in gauzy garments and veiled bamboo hats stepped down from it.

"Second Sister, honestly. We could have seen that Zhang family brother at tonight's family banquet. Why did you insist on dragging us out to show our faces in public?"

The younger girl pouted, her face full of reluctance.

The older girl merely smiled faintly without showing her teeth, her jade-like face exquisitely graceful and clear.

Looking at her blood sister, she said with a smile, "Even if we saw him at the family banquet, all we would see would be what this Zhang family brother deliberately chose to show us. Many people appear easy to get along with on the surface, but that is merely an image they have carefully cultivated. Their outward appearance differs from what lies within. Some things can only be seen clearly when one catches them unguarded!"

Qi Yuzhu nodded as though she understood, though she did not entirely.

Qi Yuhua sighed quietly within. If she had not truly been left with no choice, she would not have wanted to do so many things either. But she knew she had to seriously consider her future. As daughters of a great family, they had already reached marriageable age. If they delayed another year or two, they might no longer have any room to make their own choices.

She did not want to end up like her eldest sister.

So she had simply followed along, treating it as a chance to clear her mind.

At that moment, the two sisters caught sight of Zhang Jian in the pavilion from afar.

Zhang Jian had his back to them, his eyes seemingly immersed in the snow-white spray of the waves.

Yet with only that distant glimpse from the side, both girls' eyes brightened.

Judging from his bearing and his silhouette, this Zhang family cousin should not be ugly. On the contrary, he was tall and slender, with an aura beyond the ordinary.

Although they had long heard from Qi Wanshi that this Zhang family cousin was rather handsome, hearing it was nothing compared to seeing it with their own eyes.

Even Qi Yuzhu, who had been deeply unwilling to come, had a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Being good-looking always won one a certain advantage upon a first meeting.

"Granny Ma, let's go straight over the dam!"

After some thought, Qi Yuhua brought Qi Yuzhu back into the sedan chair and had the old female steward beside them lead the sedan bearers directly past the pavilion.

When they saw Zhang Jian's face, both girls in the sedan chair turned their eyes toward him. Qi Yuzhu could not help saying, "I never expected this Zhang family brother to be so handsome!"

Qi Yuhua's expression remained unchanged. Shaking her head, she said, "Proper features do not mean one has an open and upright heart or steadfast character."

"Granny Ma, please make a trip for me!"

She whispered a few words to an elderly matron beside her. Soon, the matron walked toward one of the corners, where several figures were currently lying on their sides.

Deep within the pavilion, Zhang Jian slowly closed his eyes.

He had already entered a sublime state.

Amid the thunderous roar, borrowing the thunder-sound of the vast floodwaters, Zhang Jian gathered in every stray thought. The Extreme Yang spiritual power within his body flowed like a river into the depths of his soul.

His Extreme Yang spiritual power was exceptionally pure, without even a trace of impurity.

Yet even spiritual power as pure as Extreme Yang spiritual power could not promote the growth of his soul.

That was because, after consuming the Fire Apricot and the Jade Lake Golden Lotus Seed, his soul had already become immensely powerful.

In that regard, he had actually met the standard for a breakthrough long ago.

The reason he had not broken through was entirely because Zhang Jian wished to repeatedly verify that he had completely mastered the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, avoiding any possible mishap.

The most important thing in breaking through the Spirit Nourishment stage was ensuring the purity of one's essence and qi. Even the slightest impurity would become poison and seep into the depths of the soul.

That would breed stray thoughts deep within the soul. Even if one broke through by sheer luck, it would still be difficult to forge a supreme Dao foundation in the future.

Nine Chapters of Paulownia Mountain Purity emphasized this point repeatedly.

Zhang Jian understood full well how important this step was.

Amid the thunderous crash of the cascading floodwaters, every stray thought within Zhang Jian vanished completely, as though the torrent had washed them all away. When the Extreme Yang spiritual power merged into the depths of his soul, countless hazy scenes appeared before his eyes.

He seemed to see everything he had pursued, even memories from his previous life, emerge before him. Yet beneath the soul's radiant brilliance, bright as the moon, all of it was smashed apart with irresistible force. Like reflections of water, moon, mirror, and flowers, they shattered in an instant, transforming into wisps of clear qi that merged into the depths of his soul. Naturally, he felt himself cross a boundary.

Every barrier between his soul and essence-qi was completely pierced through by his strengthened soul power.

The soul within his body seemed to transform into a spring. At the same time, an entirely new spiritual power surged forth from the radiance of his soul, continuously transforming the omnipresent spiritual power between heaven and earth.

This was a spiritual power born from the fusion of essence-qi and soul.

It was still Extreme Yang spiritual power, but Zhang Jian felt as though it had truly become an extension of his limbs. At a thought, power radiated outward, as obedient as an arm following a finger.

Zhang Jian immediately understood why spiritual sense and divine sense were entirely different.

Spiritual sense could only passively perceive, with only a small degree of initiative.

Divine sense contained a portion of spiritual power. Once unleashed, it could inflict genuine harm.

At the same time, Zhang Jian felt that as his divine sense extended outward, its connection with the power of heaven and earth became even closer.

If this were an internal cultivation martial artist, it should have been the Grandmaster realm—every gesture capable of drawing upon the power of heaven and earth, overwhelmingly mighty.

As for him, he could begin using divine sense to free himself from the restrictions of talismans and gradually gain the ability to directly cast spells.

However, whether he could truly accomplish this step would still depend on long-term practice.

Wisps of clear, bright light gleamed in Zhang Jian's eyes.

Making fireballs by hand was nothing. Making heavenly lightning by hand—that was what made a real man.