Chun Xiaobai returned to the cultivation room and looked at the wall he had smashed down with a single punch. He felt a little regretful.
"Was this what they called reaping what you sow?"
He curled his lip, stripped off his shirt, and began playing bricklayer, bare-chested and huffing away.
After an hour, he finally managed to patch up half the gaping hole, but he was short on materials.
So he went next door and took down a few door panels to plug the hole. They were crooked and looked ready to collapse, but at least they more or less kept the wind out.
Then he sat cross-legged and began carefully studying the cultivation manual he had just brought out of that mysterious space—the "Martial God Art."
After going through it carefully in his mind, he discovered that its underlying principles were rather daring, even downright heretical.
Immortal cultivation manuals emphasized comprehending heaven and earth, drawing qi into the body, and seizing the wonders of creation for one's own use.
This was a process of "borrowing." Its ultimate goal was to transcend the mundane and live as long as heaven and earth-in other words, attain the Dao and become an immortal.
The "Martial God Art," however, emphasized absorbing the source essence of all things, forging an unparalleled divine body, unlocking the body's divine treasuries, and ultimately rising beyond heaven and earth.
This was a process of "refining," turning oneself into a miniature world that had no need to rely on anything external.
One sought immortality; the other sought to surpass the gods.
Two paths, two Daos. One relied on "borrowing," the other on "refining." They were entirely different.
The latter relied on tempering oneself step by step to unlock the countless "divine treasuries" hidden within the human body.
And the body's first divine treasury was "blood"!
The first major realm in this manual was "Blood Refining," which had twelve levels-three more than the nine levels of Qi Refining.
According to the manual, tempering his body with spirit stone water meant he had already entered the "first level of Blood Refining"!
"No wonder I could push that current around with my thoughts. Turns out this Great King stumbled into doing it right!"
He suddenly realized that this manual seemed tailor-made for someone like him, who had no spiritual root and could not sense spiritual qi.
"But how could it be such a coincidence?"
"This Great King just happened to have no spiritual root, and then somehow got this space?"
"Could one of my ancestors have visited me in a dream and stuffed this Magical Treasure into my head?"
Unfortunately, he had yet to develop divine sense, so he could not look inside his sea of consciousness or figure out where this mysterious space had come from.
"Whatever! Let's try this manual first!"
Chun Xiaobai sat cross-legged and immediately followed the mental cultivation formula of the "Martial God Art," attempting to "absorb the power of heaven and earth."
This time, he no longer felt that groggy drowsiness.
He remained seated until noon the next day.
But his progress was slower than a snail!
After an entire morning of hard work, the tiny trickle of warmth he had gained from "absorbing the power of heaven and earth" was less useful than a single mouthful of spirit stone water.
"Damn it! This trash manual got me excited for nothing!"
Chun Xiaobai cursed bitterly, his face dark.
There was nothing wrong with the manual's principles, but cultivating by "absorbing the power of heaven and earth" was far too slow.
The so-called power of heaven and earth was like a thin source essence dispersed through the air, something ordinary people could not perceive at all. Even with the "Martial God Art," he could only draw in the faintest wisps. At this rate...
He counted on his fingers.
"Damn it! Reaching the second level of Blood Refining would take at least two years, and breaking through to the next realm would take at least a hundred and twenty."
A hundred and twenty years?
By then, a fresh-faced maiden would have turned into an old hag!
He flopped onto the floor, limbs spread wide. He really had gotten excited for absolutely nothing.
Whoever had come up with this manual must have had a hole in their head. A cultivator would probably die of old age before reaching any realm of transcendence, let alone ascending.
Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind, and he thought of something.
He hurriedly rummaged through his Storage Bag and soon found two jade boxes.
He opened them and found two medicinal herbs whose names he did not know.
He activated [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye] and saw a rich green glow appear over the herbs. Clearly, they were valuable.
Without a second thought, he stuffed both herbs into his mouth, chewed them up, and swallowed.
Then, through [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye], he saw a fist-sized mass of rich green light rise in his dantian.
He immediately circulated the "Martial God Art."
Then he locked onto that mass of green light with [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye] and used the "Martial God Art" to push it along. He discovered that it flowed over a thousand times more smoothly than when he used the "Azure Cloud Manual."
Soon, he had pushed the green light into his chest and all the way into both arms, yet its energy still had not been used up!
Next, he guided it through both legs, cycling it twice more before finally refining all that enormous energy.
At that moment, his physique took another huge leap, bringing him straight to the "second level of Blood Refining"!
"Damn it! So this is the proper way to use the 'Martial God Art'?"
"Absorb the power of heaven and earth? Absorb my ass! Why not just use [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye] to lock onto the source essence of these treasures, then push it along with the manual?"
Chun Xiaobai's grin practically stretched to the back of his head.
So cultivating this way was the proper way to use the manual!
Otherwise, he would have to slowly "absorb" the power of heaven and earth. Even if he kept "absorbing" until his next lifetime, he probably still would not ascend.
He immediately realized that this must be the result of combining his two cheats.
The senior who had created the "Martial God Art" probably never dreamed that Chun Xiaobai could directly "see" the Origin Qi of all things.
He could even use [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye] to lock directly onto that Origin Qi, then use the creator's "Martial God Art" to move and refine it, tempering his body and unlocking its divine treasuries.
Chun Xiaobai also realized the crucial point.
The greatest difference between the "Martial God Art" and immortal cultivation manuals lay in "sensing."
Immortal cultivation manuals required "comprehension" and "sensing qi."
The greatest problem with the "Martial God Art," however, was that it lacked this ability to "sense" and could only "absorb."
Even if he swallowed those two herbs, without sensing their Origin Qi, he could not lock onto it and therefore could not refine it through the manual. He could only proceed gradually, relying on "absorption" to draw out their Origin Qi.
But his [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye] perfectly replaced that "sensing" function. It was effectively a cheat forcibly added to the "Martial God Art," opening up a shortcut.
"Ha ha! This Great King really is a one-in-ten-thousand Immortal Cultivation prodigy!"
With the most badass manual and the heaven-defying assistance of [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye], it would be hard not to become powerful!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just then, the Grand Defensive Array surrounding his entire courtyard began flickering in time with a series of rhythmic knocks.
"Is someone knocking at the door?"
Chun Xiaobai hurried to the gate and took out the Formation Talisman used for entering and leaving, only to discover that he still did not know how to use it.
Fortunately, the defensive array guarded against outsiders, not those inside. He simply pulled open the courtyard gate and stepped out.
A dense crowd stood outside.
At their head was a young disciple dressed in Outer Sect disciple robes, idly waving a folding fan. He had sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, but a faint smile played at his lips, and his gaze held a trace of arrogance.
A group of men and women followed behind him, including none other than Zhao Wuyuan, the fellow who had fought dirty yesterday.
What made Chun Xiaobai's heart tighten even more was the sight of two disciples standing behind Zhao Wuyuan, dressed in purple robes with the character for "enforcement" printed on their chests.
His heart gave a sudden jolt.
Holy shit! Did that woman Bai Jin'er report this Great King?
Before you continue