Master-level!!!

Forging?

Testing the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra's effects during forging?

Tang Zhixue planned to try that after entering the Dream Space. There, he would not expend any stamina or face any risks, so he could experiment to his heart's content.

Practicing the Blazing Tiger Fist?

Practicing the fist forms alone no longer did much good. He needed to combine them with forging, which also required going to the Dream Space.

Linked Pearl Archery? The Big Dipper Ghost-Slaying Incantation? Bow and Arrow Crafting? Prey Processing?

None of those were easy to practice at the moment.

Tang Zhixue turned his attention to the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra.

"I've got a few minutes to spare anyway. Besides, if I can raise the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra's proficiency level before going to sleep, all the better."

And so, Tang Zhixue sat beside the fireplace and began quietly reciting the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra.

"Heaven and earth in their natural order, let foul qi disperse. Within the cavern, mysterious emptiness; the Great Origin shines clear... swiftly, in accordance with the command!"

The charcoal glowing in the fireplace drove away the night's chill.

Outside the Shelter, beyond the purifying effect's reach, shadowy strange evil demons prowled along the edge of the white fog in the woods shrouded by silent white fog.

But they dared not cross into the area covered by the purifying effect. They could only drool over the scent of the living within.

"Heaven and earth in their natural order, let foul qi disperse..."

As time passed, Tang Zhixue's voice grew steadier, and he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the incantation.

Each word left his lips softly, carrying a peculiar rhythm.

The charcoal burned quietly in the fireplace, occasionally throwing off a few sparks.

The air in the house had remained clean thanks to his earlier continuous chanting. The odd odors caused by the house's infrequent ventilation had long since dispersed, replaced by a freshness like the air after rain.

Now, as he recited it over and over, that freshness was becoming purer.

Waves of white light spread outward from his body.

"Roar!"

Several low whimpers came from outside the Shelter, then quickly receded into the distance.

As he recited it again and again, Tang Zhixue gradually immersed himself in the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra.

Suddenly, he felt as though a string had been plucked in his mind. The sensation was difficult to describe.

It was like looking at the world through a thin veil of fog, only for the fog to suddenly clear, leaving everything incomparably distinct.

The clear qi and turbid qi flowing through the air appeared as two entirely different colors in his perception. Clear qi was a faint white, carrying a warm, gentle aura; turbid qi was grayish-black, thick and heavy, clinging to everything unclean.

Although his eyes were closed, while reciting the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra, he could "see" everything within a meter of himself.

After he recited the divine mantra, a surge of clear qi would emerge from his body and sweep outward.

No, it isn't being born from my body...

Tang Zhixue could distinctly sense that the scripture he was reciting carried power of its own. During the recitation, it drew large quantities of clear qi from heaven and earth spiritual energy, gathering it around his body before rapidly spreading it outward.

The traces of grayish-black aura around him rapidly dissipated beneath the cleansing rush of clear qi. Smoke rose from the burning charcoal in the fireplace, its turbid qi already completely purified before it left the flue.

Tang Zhixue opened his eyes. Still chanting, he swept his gaze around the room. Those changes were not his imagination. The soot marks in the fireplace had indeed faded somewhat, and there was much less fine dust floating in the air. Even breathing felt easier.

"The Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra at master-level proficiency!"

Tang Zhixue stopped reciting and could not help grinning. "I'm amazing! Hehe!"

[Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra · Master (1/1000)]

Of course, that was not what mattered most to Tang Zhixue. He cared more about what sort of purifying effect the master-level Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra would bring to the Shelter!

[Purification · Temporary: Dispels dark energy, slays evil and uncanny entities, and purifies heaven and earth spiritual energy. A temporary effect from the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra. Lasts twelve hours.]

!!!

"Wow!"

Tang Zhixue could not help cheering. "Twelve hours!"

To him, that duration was no different from being permanently effective.

Surely he would not sleep for twelve hours straight?

If he recited the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra once before bed, the silent white fog outside would no longer engulf the Shelter by the time he got up the next day. Then, if he recited the divine mantra a few more times during the day, he would have nothing to worry about.

"Heh, later I'll plant a ring of Clear Spirit Trees outside the Shelter, and then I can keep growing mutated plants out there."

Of course, his planting efforts would still focus on the Planting Cottage inside the Shelter. After all, it could automatically replenish the soil's fertility.

He quietly recited the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra for a while longer, only lying down on the single bed beside him once he grew sleepy.

The moment he fell asleep, he naturally entered the Dream Space.

"Hehe, tonight, let's see whether the divine mantra and forging can be combined..."

With a thought, the Forging Furnace emerged from the void and settled before Tang Zhixue.

Immediately afterward, the piece of purified golden-pattern iron ore also appeared from the void, landing steadily on the Anvil.

He had accidentally given this piece of golden-pattern iron ore an initial refinement with the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra back when he was at the proficient level. Although he had successfully infused some purifying power into the ore then, that power had still been very weak, and he had only recited the divine mantra a few times during the final stage.

As a result, it had only formed a faint layer of white patterns on the ore's surface, intertwining with the golden patterns of the golden-pattern iron itself.

Now that he had reached the master level, his command of the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra was incomparable to before. Naturally, the things he forged would also reach new heights.

Tang Zhixue took a deep breath and put the golden-pattern iron ore into the Forging Furnace. The flames flared up, engulfing the ore. He began reciting the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra, his voice echoing through the Dream Space.

"Heaven and earth in their natural order, let foul qi disperse. Within the cavern, mysterious emptiness; the Great Origin shines clear..."

As he recited the incantation, he could clearly sense vast amounts of clear qi gathering from every direction and pouring into the Forging Furnace.

More precisely, it was pouring into the Purification Golden-Pattern Iron inside the Forging Furnace.

Under the cleansing flow of clear qi, the white patterns on the gradually reddening Purification Golden-Pattern Iron multiplied and grew brighter.

Once it was completely red-hot, Tang Zhixue lifted it out with tongs and placed it in an iron ingot to hammer it.

Of course, Tang Zhixue did not forget to recite the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra as he hammered.

While it was inside the Forging Furnace, the clear qi gathered by the divine mantra had been pouring into the iron ingot; now, the clear qi outside was being used to exchange with the clear qi that had previously entered the ingot. This process would continually cleanse the iron ingot, and some of the clear qi would be absorbed by it.