Innate Minor Divine Ability

"Soul-Induced Baihui Movement" was a sign mentioned in the Treasure Record, the Returning to Truth Scripture, and even the Great Method of Ghost Control, foretelling a breakthrough into the Soul Departure Realm. Shi Xuan was delighted and hurriedly withdrew from his visualization. The appearance of this sign meant the time was ripe; before breaking through, the soul could no longer grow any further.

But breaking through a realm was not so simple. Shi Xuan still needed to make preparations, especially to settle his mind and harmonize his emotions, bringing both body and mind to their peak state.

Over the next few days, Shi Xuan did not cultivate. He either went hunting in the mountains with Yan Jujian, or entered the city with Ding Mingde to shop and sample good food. At night, he instructed the two in matters related to soul cultivation. Based on his overt and covert observations of them over these days, Shi Xuan was quite satisfied. He could now teach them about such matters, though not in any systematic fashion.

Yan Jujian himself was already at the half-step Subtle Realm. It was only that martial arts manuals rarely contained anything about tempering the soul, much less specialized methods to strengthen it. One could only accumulate progress over time, with merely a sliver of hope of reaching the Subtle Realm. Now that he had Shi Xuan's guidance, it was as though a new gate had opened before him. All day long, he seemed lost in thought, frowning one moment and leaping with joy the next.

On the last day of November, the sun shone brightly, making waves of warmth perceptible even in winter. Shi Xuan had adjusted every aspect of himself to its best condition. After dinner, he told Yan Jujian and Ding Mingde that he would be cultivating a technique tonight, so he would not be able to guide their evening practice.

Late at night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse. Shi Xuan shut his door and took out three specially made incense sticks. After bowing three times toward the empty air, he placed them at the head of his bed and lit them with the Ignition Technique.

These incense sticks secretly prepared by Old Daoist Xu could not only settle the mind and calm one's emotions, but also protect the soul. They had specifically been prepared for the first few occasions of Soul Departure.

The faint scent of sandalwood entered his nostrils, making Shi Xuan's already tranquil emotions even more ethereal. Sitting cross-legged by the bed, he carefully recalled the contents of the Treasure Record he had studied over the past days. After reaching the Soul Departure Realm, one could cultivate the "Shangqing Yuyu Secretly Transmitted Inner Scenery Five Thunder Method" recorded in the Treasure Record. It was the derived formula of the Treasure Record for this stage, but its core, the "True Form Diagram of the Five Directional Thunder Gods," was a supreme visualization method comparable to the "Clear Wind and Bright Moon Illuminating the True Spirit Method."

According to the Treasure Record, after the Soul Departure Realm and before the Golden Core Stage, the True Form Diagram of the Five Directional Thunder Gods and the Clear Wind and Bright Moon Illuminating the True Spirit Method were the only two visualization methods, and both had to be cultivated. Neither could be neglected.

The Shangqing Yuyu Secretly Transmitted Inner Scenery Five Thunder Method could only be cultivated after reaching the Soul Departure Realm. However, one could visualize the True Form Diagram of the Five Directional Thunder Gods while breaking through into the Soul Departure Realm, because it could greatly increase the chances of a successful breakthrough. It was a supreme wondrous method, even better than that two-headed tiger's blood sacrifice of forty-nine living people. That was why Shi Xuan had previously looked down on the contents of the Great Method of Ghost Control.

After circulating his Internal Energy through one full cycle to invigorate his body, Shi Xuan adjusted his breathing and entered a state of visualization. This time, he would visualize the True Form Diagram of the Five Directional Thunder Gods.

The Eastern Thunder God was called Kui: an ash-gray, one-legged, hornless ox. It belonged to wood and resided in the liver. After Shi Xuan visualized this Thunder God, he felt that the liver within his physical body had faintly connected with his soul visualization.

The Southern Thunder God was called Gong: monkey-faced and sharp-beaked, with the appearance of a strongman, bare-bellied, with two wings growing from his back. It belonged to fire and resided in the heart. Once this Thunder God had been visualized, Shi Xuan's soul visualization sensed his physical heart.

The Western Thunder God was called Ji: pig-headed and scale-bodied, with two fingers on each hand and foot, holding a crimson snake and biting it. It belonged to metal and resided in the lungs. This Thunder God connected Shi Xuan's soul visualization to his lungs.

The Northern Thunder God was called Ze: dragon-bodied and human-headed, beating his belly. It belonged to water and resided in the kidneys. Once Shi Xuan finished visualizing this Thunder God, his soul in its visualized state sensed his kidneys. Yet the points of connection in all four directions were only faintly visible, still indistinct.

The Central Thunder God was the Heavenly Venerable of Nine Heavens Responding Origin, Thunder Sound Universalization. He had a human head and human body, a majestic countenance, and a third eye in the middle of his forehead. He belonged to earth and resided in the spleen. Once the Central Thunder God had been visualized, Shi Xuan's soul seemed to open up at once. His five viscera connected to the Five Elements of his soul, and thoughts traveled back and forth through those connections. Shi Xuan suddenly understood: this was the Spiritual Sense described in the Treasure Record. This was the first time he had felt it so clearly.

What ordinary people called "Soul Departure" was basically the emergence of Spiritual Sense while the soul itself did not depart. Otherwise, the soul would have long been scattered by the yin winds—how could one remain conscious? When the soul transformed into a ghost after death, that was another matter entirely.

Within the visualization, the five viscera connected to the soul on one side while driving the physical body on the other. Shi Xuan felt that body and soul seemed to breathe as one; with a single thought, the power of his body could be transmitted into his soul. The physical body returned to the five viscera, the five viscera returned to the soul. With the strength of above and below gathered together, how could the Baihui point fail to break through?

Bolstered by the power of his physical body, Shi Xuan's soul reached an unprecedented level of strength within the visualization. The sensation of looseness at his Baihui point grew ever stronger.

Seeing that the fire was ready, Shi Xuan began silently recalling the steps of Soul Departure. His soul climbed step by step within the Purple Prefecture, as though scaling a sheer cliff. Upon reaching the summit, it gathered the strength of his entire body and leaped down fiercely.

With a boom, Shi Xuan found that what he saw was different from before. The room was misty all around; to the left was chilling cold, to the right scorching heat. A vicious wind swept from left to right, while wild lightning cleaved from right to left. His soul even felt as though it might scatter. Then a wave of sandalwood fragrance reached him, and Shi Xuan abruptly regained clarity. The vicious wind and wild lightning suddenly burrowed into his body and vanished without a trace.

The room was no different from usual, except there was another Shi Xuan sitting cross-legged behind him. Only then did Shi Xuan understand that he had successfully broken through the barrier and reached the Soul Departure Realm.

Shi Xuan floated lightly before his physical body. The sandalwood fragrance in the air made his soul feel increasingly solid, no longer carrying that faint sense of scattering from before.

Shi Xuan's soul only vaguely possessed a human shape. With a thought, it changed into his former appearance, then, with a sigh, changed back into his current appearance. Examining his present soul state closely, Shi Xuan discovered several ancient and mysterious inscriptions within his soul, neither quite talismans nor not talismans.

These inscriptions were linked together through the very essence of his soul. More accurately, they were parts of his soul. After carefully distinguishing them, Shi Xuan discovered that each inscription was a mixture of Primordial Thunder Patterns and Ancient Cloud Seal Script, seemingly representing some kind of divine ability.

Shi Xuan concentrated his mind on these inscriptions, and information suddenly appeared in his thoughts. Since these inscriptions were the essence of his soul, the information they carried was naturally part of him. There was no need to consider what they were at all. He had only reacted that way because he was not yet accustomed to this state.

Shi Xuan had known before that after Soul Departure, when one first directly connected with heaven and earth, one would accord with certain laws of heaven and earth based on the essence of one's soul and the cultivation method one practiced, producing wondrous minor divine abilities. Aside from the two identical basic minor divine abilities, the others varied from person to person. Of course, those cultivating the same method would have mostly similar other minor divine abilities, but there would ultimately be one or two differences.

The basic minor divine abilities referred to those produced by the soul's special state, and they were identical for everyone: the Yin Yang Eye, also known as the initial-stage Heavenly Eye, and Qi Gazing.

As for the other minor divine abilities, some people had one or two, while some had four or five. Generally speaking, most had between two and four. Shi Xuan belonged to the very best category, having produced five other minor divine abilities. Thus, including the Yin Yang Eye and Qi Gazing Technique, Shi Xuan had a total of seven inscriptions.

Shi Xuan's five minor divine abilities were: Minor Clear Wind Escape, Golden Blade Divine Wind Slash, Shangqing Hand Pivot Thunder, Golden Dragon Armor Charm, and Invisibility and Qi Concealment Technique.

Minor Clear Wind Escape was an escape technique that transformed one into a clear wind, coming and going like the wind with extraordinary speed. Once Minor Clear Wind Escape reached the sixth tier of techniques, one could even ride the wind into the sky and travel more than three thousand li in a day.

Daoist magic was divided into four kinds: techniques, Daoist arts, immortal techniques, and Great Dao. Each level represented a fundamental leap beyond the previous one. Some spells were Daoist arts or immortal techniques from the moment one learned them, because they directly taught cultivators that fundamental essence.

These four kinds of spells were each divided into nine tiers. Once one cultivated a spell to the completion of the ninth tier and comprehended its essence, one could advance. For example, after cultivating a technique to the ninth tier and comprehending that technique's essence, one could advance it into a Daoist art.

Immortal techniques and Great Dao were things encountered only in the Primordial Spirit Realm. Without reaching the rank of Primordial Spirit True Person and passing through the barrier of life and death, immortal techniques and Great Dao could neither be learned nor advanced into.

During the Qi Refining stage, most people used techniques. Yet only upon reaching the Golden Core Realm could one truly speak of cultivating techniques, because only then could one use visualization to engrave the technique inscriptions upon the soul, joining them with the essence of the soul and magical power. At that point, techniques could also be called divine abilities.

The "minor" in Innate Minor Divine Ability meant that it was only joined with the essence of the soul and had not yet joined with magical power. After all, magical power was the product of the Qi Induction Realm, when one drew in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and merged it with one's own Internal Energy.

However, Innate Minor Divine Abilities could also be cultivated now. After all, through that first connection with heaven and earth, certain techniques had already been engraved upon the soul. Though they had not yet joined with magical power, cultivation would merely be slower, activation slower, and use somewhat less fluid.

Therefore, aside from his Innate Minor Divine Abilities, all the techniques Shi Xuan currently knew could only be cultivated after reaching the Golden Core Stage. Before then, they were all merely first-tier techniques.

After reaching the Golden Core Stage and beginning to cultivate techniques, cultivation time varied according to the technique itself. Generally speaking, reaching the second tier required only a few days; the third tier, nearly a month; the fourth tier, over half a year; the fifth tier, over a year; the sixth tier, around four years; the seventh tier, nearly ten years; the eighth tier, twenty years; and the ninth tier, roughly forty years.

As for those that became Daoist arts as soon as they were learned, they were either sect-defending methods or things one could encounter only by chance. Shi Xuan's Treasure Record did contain several such methods, even immortal techniques and Great Dao among them. But those Daoist arts were clearly marked as forbidden to anyone below the Golden Core Realm; forcing one's cultivation would only lead to death and the dissipation of the Dao. Yet those divine abilities cultivated through external objects were labeled Daoist arts! Moreover, one of them could be cultivated at the Soul Departure Stage!

Cultivating techniques here was similar to refining restrictions. Based on one's cultivation method, one added talismanic characters in sequence each day, then nurtured them. Thus, one did not spend all day cultivating a technique or refining a restriction. Only upon encountering a bottleneck did one need to enter seclusion and complete the refinement in one continuous effort.

PS: Last night before going to bed, I sent the revised draft to my work QQ, but I actually didn't receive it today. I don't know whether I sent it to the wrong place or Tencent swallowed it == Luckily, there was an initial draft at the office. I only finished revising it now.