After Chen Shuangbai and He Qi successfully obtained the Artifact Control Technique from the cave abode in exchange, they each returned to their own cave abodes.
Inside his cave abode.
Chen Shuangbai did not rush to cultivate the Artifact Control Technique. Instead, he took out the Cold Spring Sword and placed it on the stone table.
"It made the [Dao Fruit] stir. Could it be a treasure left behind by some mighty expert?"
Chen Shuangbai tried injecting Law Power into the Cold Spring Sword, but there was no response.
"Strange..."
After trying all sorts of other methods, Chen Shuangbai found that the sword still showed little response, so he began communicating with the [Dao Fruit].
Hum, hum, hum...
The bright moon of mysterious light in his sea of consciousness suddenly trembled for an instant. At the same time, a beam of moonlight shone from Chen Shuangbai's forehead onto the blade of the Cold Spring Sword.
In a daze, Chen Shuangbai seemed to see the [Dao Fruit] draw something in, but before he could make it out, a searing pain erupted in his head.
The pain came far too quickly, too fiercely, too suddenly!
Chen Shuangbai did not even have time to circulate his cultivation or swallow a pill. His vision went black, and he immediately fainted.
No one knew how much time passed.
Outside, the daylight faded, and the fluorescent formation inside the cave abode lit up on its own.
Only then did Chen Shuangbai slowly wake. He stood up, clutching his still-aching head, his feet somewhat unsteady beneath him.
"What... happened?"
After resting for quite a while, circulating his cultivation for a short time, and swallowing a Grain Avoidance Pill, Chen Shuangbai finally felt much better.
"Could it be..."
As though realizing something, Chen Shuangbai sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness and was stunned.
Originally, the [Dao Fruit] in his sea of consciousness had been a bright moon of mysterious light, constantly cycling through its phases.
But now.
To the east of that bright moon of mysterious light, a jade pool had appeared out of nowhere.
The walls of the pool seemed to have been carved from some kind of jade, but there was not a drop of water in it. It was bone-dry, more like a pond that had dried up and been abandoned.
Chen Shuangbai knew what was going on.
But suddenly, a woman in a green gauze dress appeared above the jade pool.
The woman was exceptionally beautiful.
Her hair was styled like clouds and mist, her brows and eyes were like a painting, and her green gauze dress stirred without wind. She looked like a fairy descended to the mortal world.
Yet her figure was somewhat illusory, like a faint shadow, hovering quietly above the dry jade pool.
Chen Shuangbai's heart leaped into his throat. "Who are you?" he asked in a low voice.
"Why have you appeared in my sea of consciousness?"
The woman in green seemed to have been roused by his question. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Chen Shuangbai.
First came bewilderment, then a sigh, which finally became a long, lingering lament.
"My name... is Han Ji."
Han Ji?
Chen Shuangbai frowned slightly. He had never heard that name in the sect.
Han Ji's gaze gradually cleared, but her figure grew increasingly indistinct.
She looked at Chen Shuangbai, whose brows were tightly furrowed, and said slowly, "There is no need to worry, young friend. I am not a living person, nor am I a cultivator's complete soul. I am merely a wisp of soul too insubstantial to even be called a remnant soul."
"Not even a remnant soul..."
Only then did Chen Shuangbai's frown ease slightly.
"May I ask, Senior..."
Chen Shuangbai pondered for a moment and was just about to speak when Han Ji raised a hand to interrupt him.
"Young friend, this wisp of my soul is nearly an oil lamp burned dry. In a few moments, it will turn entirely to ash. It will have no harmful effect on your sea of consciousness."
"I am willing to teach you my own unique method of refining the spirit in exchange for a promise."
"Rest assured, this promise is not that you will help me kill my enemies or reforge my body, nor is it compulsory. I only hope that, when your cultivation has grown in the future, if fate allows, you can pass it on to my descendants as well. What do you say?"
After speaking, Han Ji fell silent and looked at Chen Shuangbai as her figure gradually faded.
Chen Shuangbai pondered for a while and ultimately agreed.
"Good!"
As though a wish had been fulfilled, a genuine smile appeared on Han Ji's face, cold and clear as frost. She touched the center of her brow, and a spark of spiritual light fell before Chen Shuangbai, transforming into a Jade Slip.
"Young friend, you are not a member of my Heavenly Frost Palace, so I cannot impart its directly inherited Dao methods to an outsider."
"This 'Heavenly Frost Heart-Cleansing Record' is something I comprehended on my own. Its approach to tempering Divine Sense is rather ingenious. I impart it to you today, and I hope you will remember the prom..."
Before she could even finish the word "promise," Han Ji's figure seemed unable to hold together any longer and began to dissipate bit by bit.
In the final moment before that wisp of soul vanished, a look of release appeared in Han Ji's eyes.
"Never mind. Let it be."
Chen Shuangbai's consciousness returned. The cave abode was silent.
Nothing had changed. Even the Cold Spring Sword on the table showed no alteration, still gleaming coldly and brimming with spirituality.
In his sea of consciousness, the Jade Slip formed from the last of Han Ji's soul power floated quietly.
"Heavenly Frost Palace..."
Chen Shuangbai took out Tales of Immortal Customs Across Five Nations and Ten Generations and carefully leafed through it for a quarter of an hour, but found no record whatsoever of the "Heavenly Frost Palace."
"Could it be... a cultivation sect from somewhere else?"
There was too little information to go on, so Chen Shuangbai set the matter aside for the time being.
"Never mind. If I really do meet that senior's descendants someday, I'll fulfill my promise along the way."
With a slight thought, the contents of the "Heavenly Frost Heart-Cleansing Record" flowed into his heart like a trickling stream.
"This method truly is subtle and wondrous. It can actually allow someone to temper Divine Sense in the Qi Refining Stage?!"
But Chen Shuangbai did not rush to cultivate it. Instead, he had the [Dao Fruit] use it as a template to [evolve] a version best suited to him.
With a slight thought, he slowly "pushed" the Jade Slip formed from the complete Method Formula of the "Heavenly Frost Heart-Cleansing Record" toward the Dao Fruit.
"Hum-"
The [Dao Fruit] trembled slightly, and a beam of moonlight descended.
A moment later.
A brand-new Jade Slip, radiating a faint silver glow, had appeared in Chen Shuangbai's sea of consciousness.
"Just as I thought, it worked."
At a thought from Chen Shuangbai, the Jade Slip slowly opened. On its first page were several large characters-
"Moonlight Spirit-Nourishing Instruction."
"The Dao Fruit's evolution truly is wondrous!"
Chen Shuangbai hesitated no longer. He immediately followed the method in the "Moonlight Spirit-Nourishing Instruction," holding his breath and concentrating as he began cultivating it for the first time.
His consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness.
He visualized that bright moon of mysterious light.
As the Method Formula circulated, the clear radiance grew ever denser, descending like a solid waterfall of moonlight and enveloping the slightly turbid mass of Qi he had visualized to represent his own Divine Sense.
Chen Shuangbai felt an indescribable coolness seep in, acting directly upon his soul!
He did not know how long he cultivated.
By the time Chen Shuangbai slowly opened his eyes, the sky was already bright.
A brilliant, crystal-clear spiritual light shone in his eyes, and his thoughts moved much more clearly.
"I'm afraid it'll still take the patient work of grinding with water to temper Divine Sense."