Chasing Wind Sword Art, a First-tier Sword Art

Southwest Sea Area of the Myriad Star Sea.

Rolling waves crashed against a pitch-black cargo ship, filling the air with the sound of rushing water.

Chen Daoxuan stood on the deck, gazing out over the boundless sea before turning to Chen Xianhe, the Clan Leader. "Thirteenth Uncle, is this the clan's Azure Dragon cargo ship?"

"Ha ha, that's right. This is it."

Chen Xianhe stroked the Azure Dragon's mast. "This is your first time on a ship, isn't it?"

Chen Daoxuan nodded.

Though Chen Daoxuan had lived two lives, sailing across the sea was still a first for him. For a time, he found it rather novel.

"Sailing at sea seems novel at first, but watch it for too long and it becomes tiresome. Spirit Shell Island is a long way from here. Even at the Azure Dragon's speed, the journey will take at least a month."

Chen Xianhe was right. After watching for less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, Chen Daoxuan was already bored.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but azure seawater—nothing unusual at all.

As though recalling something, Chen Daoxuan asked, "Thirteenth Uncle, didn't you always say that the Myriad Star Sea was dangerous, and that Demonic Beasts often appeared in the sea?"

"That's only if you wander about recklessly. The fixed sea routes are actually quite safe. Demonic Beasts possess intelligence too; they know where is safe and where is dangerous."

Chen Daoxuan could not help but stare in astonishment.

He had originally wondered whether one or two Demonic Beasts might leap out during this voyage and give him a chance to slay demons and vanquish evil.

It seemed he had been overthinking things.

The days passed one by one.

Life at sea was unbearably dull. After the initial novelty wore off, Chen Daoxuan simply hid in his cabin every day to cultivate.

But there was no Spirit Eye aboard the ship. He could only absorb and refine the spiritual qi drifting through the air, making his cultivation painfully slow.

In the end, unable to endure such turtle-like progress, Chen Daoxuan gave up cultivating and turned instead to studying spells.

For Qi Refining cultivators, the primary means of facing enemies were spells, Magic Artifacts, and Talismans.

There was no need to say much about Magic Artifacts and Talismans. They had to be purchased with Spirit Stones and were external objects.

Aside from those, cultivators had another way to wield their own strength: spells.

Spells were classified in the same way as Magic Artifacts, into first tier, second tier, and third tier.

However, unlike Magic Artifacts, spells of each tier were not further divided into grades.

For example, the First-tier Spell Fire Control Technique mastered by Chen Daoxuan was fundamentally no different whether cultivated by a Qi Refining Stage One cultivator or a ninth layer of Qi Refining cultivator.

There was no distinction between a First Grade Lower Rank Fire Control Technique and a high-grade Fire Control Technique.

Yet for spells of the same tier, different people could achieve different results through cultivation.

In the cultivation world, cultivators generally divided a spell's level of mastery into four stages: beginner, minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, and perfection.

For Qi Refining cultivators, getting started with a spell was quite simple. Even someone with dull Comprehension could cultivate a First-tier Spell to the beginner stage in a few months.

But further progress in spell cultivation was not so easy.

Chen Daoxuan had cultivated for five years, yet he had only mastered two spells so far: the Wind Riding Technique for travel and the Fire Control Technique for Artifact Refining.

As for combat spells, defensive spells, and the like, he had not learned a single one.

It was not that Chen Daoxuan lacked talent for spells. Rather, a person's energy was limited. Over these five years, he had needed to focus on the Returning Origin Technique, study the Artifact Forging Art, and, most importantly, develop the Spirit-Melding Furnace from nothing.

No matter how exceptional his talent was, he truly had no energy left to cultivate other combat spells.

Of course, that did not mean Chen Daoxuan had no means whatsoever to deal with enemies.

Because besides using spells against enemies, cultivators relied even more heavily on Magic Artifacts.

And as an Artifact Forger who had once crafted a High-grade First-tier Magical Artifact, how could Chen Daoxuan possibly lack Magic Artifacts?

Right now, his Storage Bag contained a High-grade First-tier Magical Artifact.

It was the only High-grade First-tier Magical Artifact he had ever forged: a Water-Attribute Flying Sword named the Flying Snow Sword.

Ever since he had forged the Flying Snow Sword, it had served as his trump card, hidden tightly away within his Storage Bag.

Even his clan uncle, Chen Xianhe, did not know that Chen Daoxuan possessed such a trump card.

However, while the Flying Snow Sword was immensely powerful, it also consumed a great deal of true qi.

Chen Daoxuan had tested it before. With his second layer of Qi Refining cultivation, if he controlled the Flying Snow Sword with all his strength, he could use at most three strikes before exhausting seven or eight parts out of ten of his true qi.

Though his cultivation had now risen to the third layer of Qi Refining, he would likely only be able to make one additional strike before his true qi ran dry, leaving him at the mercy of others.

On the tenth day of their voyage across the sea.

Chen Daoxuan sat cross-legged in his cabin, his eyes tightly shut.

As he looked at the ten motes of Star Dust revolving around the Golden Scripture within his Sea of Consciousness, his heart surged with excitement.

Just as expected.

As long as he silently recited the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture once each day, one mote of Star Dust would be stored in his Sea of Consciousness. After ten consecutive days, ten motes would accumulate, granting him one chance at Enlightenment.

After experimenting over the past few days, Chen Daoxuan had already figured out the rules governing the storage of Star Dust.

First, no matter how many times he silently recited the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture each day, he could store only one mote of Star Dust at most. The additional recitations could only restore his depleted Divine Sense, just as they had before.

Second, Star Dust could be stored only up to ten motes. If Chen Daoxuan chose not to use them, they would continue revolving around the Golden Scripture.

Third, when ten motes of Star Dust collided and fused into one, they could greatly enhance Chen Daoxuan's Comprehension, producing an effect similar to Enlightenment.

Somewhere deep inside, he had a realization: these ten motes of Star Dust were the unknown scripture called the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture forcibly storing his usual Comprehension, then concentrating it for use on the tenth day.

When this thought surfaced in his mind, even Chen Daoxuan was startled.

He had heard of saving money and storing grain, but this was the first time he had heard that Comprehension could be stored as well!

But regardless, that was the truth. Chen Daoxuan could only guard the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture as his greatest secret.

During these days aboard the ship, although Chen Daoxuan could not cultivate the Returning Origin Technique, he had not wasted his time. Instead, he had decided to cultivate a new spell.

If other Qi Refining cultivators heard this, they would probably laugh their teeth out.

Though it was not difficult to get started with a First-tier Spell, one month was nowhere near enough to cultivate it to a certain level.

In fact, for a Qi Refining cultivator to bring a spell to the beginner stage within a month was already quite impressive.

To cultivate a spell to minor accomplishment within a month was impossible even for a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator taking pills.

Under normal circumstances, a cultivator needed at least a year to cultivate a First-tier Spell to minor accomplishment.

To cultivate a spell to major accomplishment required at least five years.

As for the stage of perfection, it was no longer something that could be reached simply by spending time. It required a cultivator to possess extraordinary Comprehension.

When people said that a cultivator had completely mastered a spell, they generally meant that the cultivator had cultivated that spell to the stage of major accomplishment.