Magic Runes, Runic Script, and Arrays
Over the past week, Bell has been selecting many books to buy and read at his leisure. He has also gained a better understanding of the overall situation of the China Cultivator World.
First, regarding the history of the China Cultivator World, Bell found... nothing particularly special.
For some reason, the history of China in this world isn't significantly different from Bell's previous life in its general direction. The only differences are the names of the dynasties or the timing of events.
The only difference is that some feudal legends from the previous life are basically the good deeds of Cultivator in this world.
However, this is just Bell's subjective feeling. After all, his historical record is not good, consistently hovering around the passing grade.
To use a more fashionable analogy, Bell's history grades were like "Schrödinger's Cat" after each exam; he never knew whether he had passed or failed until the test papers were handed out.
Aside from history, Bell's biggest takeaway was a clearer understanding of China's cultivation system.
In terms of the source of their power, Cultivator and wizards are no different; both originate from the innate magical power within their bodies. It's just that Cultivator call it 'spiritual power'.
However, in terms of spells, especially advanced and large-scale spells, there is a significant difference between them and Curses.
When wizards use some difficult Curses, if they rely solely on their instinctive magical reactions, it can easily lead to problems such as spell failure, excessive magical consumption, and difficulty in control.
Ancient wizards discovered the existence of "Magic Rune" through their research and observation of Magical Creatures.
So-called Magic Rune are not anything special. They are simply patterns that naturally form on the bodies or bones of some Magical Creatures.
The earliest wizards used magic to mimic these patterns in order to help them cast spells.
Through continuous exploration and research, these Magic Rune were constantly classified and simplified, eventually forming the ' Ancient Runes ' system used by modern wizards.
Like the ancient sorcerers, the ancient Cultivator, or perhaps they should have been called Daoists at that time?, also faced the same problem.
Therefore, the Daoists also found a way to solve the problem from the Magical Creatures — Magic Rune.
However, due to the difference in language systems, these Magic Rune eventually evolved into formations in China.
Compared to Western Ancient Runes, which are easier to cast but have a shorter duration of effect and are more suitable for single-player use, China formations, while having the disadvantages of being difficult to cast and time-consuming, can maintain themselves for a long time once set up.
For example, to prevent the spread of the common people's hatred of those with supernatural abilities to the Central Plains, Cultivator constructed a massive array—the "Nine Provinces Guardian Array"—to prevent Western wizards from entering. This array continues to function normally even a thousand years later.
It was only then that Bell realized why Europe and China were no longer connected by Portkey.
To create a spatial passage connecting the inside and outside of the Nine Provinces Guardian Array would require an enormous amount of manpower, material resources, and time.
Besides its long duration, formations also have another advantage: they excel at unifying forces.
Wizards mostly use magic alone. However, when necessary, they often work together in groups of three to five.
If you want to increase the number of people casting spells together to more than 10, it is almost impossible to succeed unless you have a wizard with extremely high magical skill leading the way.
This can be seen from the battles fought by Grindelwald and Voldemort, the two Dark Lord. Most of the time, the wizards were engaged in chaotic battles, each fighting their own battles.
When Cultivator utilize the power of formations, they can even unite the strength of hundreds or even thousands of people to fight a common enemy. Several powerful demons in China history were suppressed by such large formations.
No wonder Grindelwald never entered China, or even the surrounding areas, when he was wreaking havoc across the China. If he had accidentally stumbled into some kind of great formation, Dumbledore might not have had a chance to appear.
Of course, a coalition of hundreds or thousands of people not only requires powerful formations as support, but also a long period of training and coordination.
However, if it's just a group of a dozen or so people, it's much simpler. Even complete strangers, with the guidance and assistance of the formation, can gather their spiritual energy together to fight the enemy in a very short time.
So, generally speaking, in low-level one-on-one combat, wizards have the advantage in casting speed. But in group battles, wizards would likely be completely outmatched.
As for higher levels? Then these distinctions aren't really that important. Different paths lead to the same destination.
Besides magic, Bell also figured out what the "Cultivation Method" that he had always been curious about were all about.
First and foremost, it must be emphasized that only Cultivator can practice these Cultivation Method. According to the China Cultivator World, one must possess a 'spiritual root' within their body to do so.
Secondly, it must be emphasized that Cultivation Method are not actually methods for cultivating spiritual power. In fact, besides Flying Sword and Talisman, they are the third means by which Cultivator use magic.
Moreover, wizards do possess such methods, but no one has systematically summarized them.
So, after all that, what exactly is this Cultivation Method?
In fact, it was ' Magic Power Enhanced Body ' that Bell had always considered as his primary research target since he was very young.
There aren't many types of Cultivation Method in China, and the methods of cultivation are all quite similar.
The first step in cultivating Cultivation Method is to open up the Dantian Qi Sea).
The function of the Dantian Qi Sea is to provide a place for spiritual energy to undergo a change in nature after receiving the Cultivator's intention.
The Cultivator chose the Dantian Qi Sea) acupoint located in the chest. This is because it is not only protected by the sternum but also situated in the central gap between the lungs. This way, even if they fail to control their spiritual energy properly during Cultivation Method, their delicate internal organs are less likely to be damaged.
After successfully opening up the Dantian Qi Sea, the second step is to strengthen the Meridians.
After spiritual energy undergoes a transformation in its nature within the Dantian Qi Sea, it still needs to be released outside the body to truly form a spell.
In order to prevent the spiritual energy, which has already undergone a transformation, from harming the human body, Cultivator choose to strengthen certain Meridians individually, creating a fixed pathway for the spiritual energy to pass through.
After completing these two steps, it means that a Cultivation Method has been successfully mastered. The next step is to continuously strengthen the Dantian Qi Sea and the Meridians.