"So this is the Sacred Heart Pill..."
Han Xuanji's gaze was calm, neither joyful nor sorrowful.
He knew full well how precious the pill was. After all, the fact that it had been lost did not mean it was weak. Perhaps it was because it was too powerful that no one had mastered it anymore.
But the power contained within this pill far surpassed that of ordinary pills used to increase cultivation. One careless move could damage his soul and shake the foundations of his Dao.
Even so, Han Xuanji did not hesitate. He placed the Sacred Heart Pill in his mouth.
The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth.
An indescribable, limpid current erupted in an instant. Rather than surging through his limbs and bones, it ignored the barrier of his physical body and swept straight into the depths of his sea of consciousness!
Hum-!
In an instant, Han Xuanji felt as though his mind had entered a pure, flawless spiritual furnace filled with sacred power!
Here, his entire mind was enveloped, as though billions of fine, invisible streams were washing away every last speck of "dust" from his Primordial Spirit.
This "dust" consisted of distracting thoughts inevitably accumulated over years of cultivation... They normally lay buried too deep to detect, but now they had nowhere to hide from the Sacred Heart Pill's power. They were mercilessly stripped away, crushed, and reduced to nothingness!
Han Xuanji did not relax, however. His mind remained clear, like a bright mirror hanging high, allowing the power to wash over him without losing himself.
He knew that if he could not keep a firm hold on his mind, he might well be tainted by this sacred power. His mind might become purer, but he would no longer be himself.
Boom!
It was as though the universe had just been born, as though primordial chaos had been split open!
Deep within Han Xuanji's sea of consciousness, the little figure of his Primordial Spirit, seated cross-legged, suddenly opened its eyes. Divine light blazed in them, like a galaxy swirling.
His Primordial Spirit's body grew more solid and more radiant at a speed visible to the naked eye. The spiritual fluctuations it emitted climbed steadily, their strength, resilience, and perceptiveness all undergoing a qualitative leap!
He felt an unprecedented sense of "lightness" and "clarity," as though his Primordial Spirit had shed a layer of invisible, heavy shackles and become purer and more condensed.
At the heart of the Spirit Transformation Realm lay the cultivation and strengthening of the Primordial Spirit.
The power the Sacred Heart Pill provided was the most direct and fundamental kind, and it was transforming his Primordial Spirit, already far stronger than that of an ordinary person, toward a higher, more perfect level.
And just as the power of his Primordial Spirit soared, on the verge of reaching the threshold of perfection, a "tribulation" that arose from the depths of the very source of life and inevitably emerged with an advance in the Spirit Transformation Realm quietly arrived-the Heart Demon Tribulation!
Generally speaking, this was the Great Heart Demon Tribulation that Spirit Transformation cultivators encountered when breaking through to Void Return, though it occasionally descended early.
In an instant, countless jumbled thoughts, past regrets, hidden fears, and desires for power... all manner of negative emotions and illusions surged like the filthiest of tides, attempting to exploit an opening, contaminate his newly exalted, pure Primordial Spirit, and disrupt the breakthrough.
Han Xuanji also felt somewhat lost. Although he had not experienced many things or done anything against his conscience, and would not develop any terrifying Heart Devils, his temperament was still something of a weakness.
Just as the Heart Devils gradually grew stronger, a layer of hazy, multicolored light stood like a sturdy barrier in the depths of his heart. The light flowed, giving off a peaceful presence.
The distracting thoughts and negative emotions that had arisen earlier melted and were purified the moment they touched the barrier of light, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun. They vanished without a sound, unable to stir even a single ripple!
The entire process seemed complicated, but in truth it happened in the flash of lightning.
An unknown amount of time passed.
A faint, soundless "crack" seemed to come from within Han Xuanji.
It did not come from his physical body, but from deep within the core of his Primordial Spirit. Some invisible shackle had been utterly shattered!
Inside the cave abode, the dust lay undisturbed, and the meditation cushion remained as before.
Han Xuanji's presence had quietly changed, becoming more peaceful and restrained.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Deep in his eyes, two pure, flawless lights seemed to flow, flickering in and out of existence, containing boundless vitality.
Wherever his gaze fell, everything around him seemed to become "clearer." Even the paths of the tiniest specks of dust and the most fundamental flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were all laid bare before his "eyes"-not through physical sight, but through the extraordinary perception brought by his powerful Primordial Spirit!
Spirit Transformation Perfection came as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
He was only one step away from returning to the void and merging with the Dao, refining the void into substance.
Han Xuanji gently exhaled a long breath of turbid Qi.
Spirit Transformation Perfection was only his first gain. His greatest gain was the awakening of an innate Divine Ability.
Heavenly Divination Technique!
Those four ancient, abstruse runes, seemingly written by the Great Dao itself, were clearly imprinted upon his true spirit.
He needed neither to understand nor study it. He mastered this innate Divine Ability as naturally as breathing.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, a tiny fissure appeared without warning between the brows of his cross-legged Primordial Spirit figure, whose entire body radiated a warm, jade-like glow.
In an instant, the world in Han Xuanji's eyes changed completely.
It was no longer the clear, tangible world perceived solely through Divine Sense, nor the microscopic insight afforded by a powerful Primordial Spirit.
What he saw was... "threads."
Countless, innumerable "threads," so fine as to be nearly insubstantial, intertwined, tangled, extended, broke, and were reborn in the void.
They connected every speck of dust within the cave abode, the clouds surging outside it, the distant other shore, and even his own past, present, and future and those of this world!
These threads were threads of cause and effect!
They were the invisible threads through which all things were connected and influenced one another.
The Heavenly Divination Technique... deduces cause and effect, seeking fortune and avoiding calamity.
Han Xuanji recited the words silently in his heart.
This Divine Ability was neither omniscient nor omnipotent. What it saw were only "threads" and "trends," the clearer paths among countless possibilities. It could not provide answers directly, but it could offer insight and forewarning, allowing him to prepare in advance.
Most importantly, Han Xuanji now gained a great deal of understanding about the greater currents of the world.
No wonder I obtained the Azure Dragon Abode Token on a single trip outside. It was inevitable in this great age. One could even say fortuitous opportunities lie everywhere in the outside world. No wonder so many people are willing to go out and gamble on their futures.
A sense of realization arose in Han Xuanji's heart.
Han Xuanji had not thought too deeply about these things before. After all, they were no help to his cultivation, so he was better off not thinking about them.
But this time, he had gained some new insights.
In this great age, heavenly geniuses gathered like clouds, their fortunes surging. Lu Fan, Lin Potian, Nangong Wenjian, and even Shangguan Feihong all possessed the fortune of heavenly geniuses. Some, however, were hidden dragons lying dormant in the depths, while others were Flying Dragons soaring upward.
As a gathering place for heavenly geniuses, the sect naturally possessed the fortune of heaven and earth as well.
By signing in at the place of Dao resonance, he had actually, through the workings of the Unseen, already taken on some of the sect's fortune.