True Intention
Peach Blossom Spring Lake.
After wiping out the Han Household, Xu Fan had returned to the island at the very center of Peach Blossom Spring Lake.
At the former core stronghold of the Twelve Water Strongholds, he had taken in more than a dozen water bandits as his eyes and ears, having them catch fish for him and gather news from the outside world.
He devoted himself to cultivation and deriving Cultivation Methods.
[You fused the Wedding Robe Divine Art, the Profound Yang True Instruction, the Red Fire Long-Traveling Art, the Lustfire Everlasting Art... Through derivation, you comprehended the Heaven-Swallowing Sun-Obscuring Instruction, the Great Sun True Yang Art, and the Six Desires Body-Burning Instruction.]
Xu Fan sat cross-legged atop a boulder, pondering which Cultivation Method would be better to cultivate.
"All three martial arts have reached the level of peerless martial arts and can be used to cultivate a Primal Core."
Qi and Blood, Blood Exchange, Innate, Divine Intention, Primal Core.
Only through deeper derivation and fusion had he learned that the realm above Divine Intention Great Grandmaster was Primal Core.
A core signified completion.
"The Heaven-Swallowing Sun-Obscuring Instruction was derived by taking the Wedding Robe Divine Art and the Profound Yang True Instruction as its foundation and fusing them with other Higher Vehicle martial arts."
"It discards the Wedding Robe Divine Art's ability to devour other people's Qi and Blood and cultivation, but retains the power to devour. The result is a martial art that can devour the essence of yang fire to advance one's cultivation."
"But the essence of yang fire is a heavenly material and earthly treasure. Whether on the Divine Continent of the Vast Land or in the Land of Wu's cultivation world, it's extremely hard to come by. Having it is as good as not having it."
"I won't learn it, won't learn it."
Xu Fan shook his head slightly.
He came from humble origins and had no major power behind him, so he had to obtain resources himself. He wouldn't be able to make use of the Heaven-Swallowing Sun-Obscuring Instruction's effects.
He then looked at the remaining two.
"The Six Desires Body-Burning Instruction was ultimately derived by fusing the Three Heroes of the Yin Mountains' martial arts with the Profound Yang True Instruction as its foundation. Its practitioner must undergo six trials of six different desires, and it takes tremendous perseverance to get through them."
"Only after cultivating Divine Intention does this martial art reveal its wondrous nature: it can control the desires of others and create illusions."
"It's only moderately effective against people of comparable cultivation. It can only harass them, like adding flowers to brocade. It's somewhat like a chicken rib."
"I won't learn it, won't learn it."
Xu Fan shook his head again.
His gaze finally fell on the Great Sun True Yang Art.
"This peerless martial art was derived by taking the Profound Yang True Instruction and the Red Fire Long-Traveling Art as its foundation and fusing them with numerous Higher Vehicle martial arts."
"This martial art is as domineering as the blazing sun. At the Blood Exchange level, one can burn Qi and Blood to forcibly increase one's strength. A Grandmaster's Innate True Qi contains the scorching heat of the great sun, and it becomes even more domineering upon cultivating Divine Intention, capable of producing the sight of three suns in the sky."
"Taiji divides into yin and yang. Since I cultivate Taiyin, I should naturally cultivate the great sun as well!"
"In the Land of Wu's cultivation world, anyone who shows signs of following the path of Taiyin is killed instantly, but the sun's afterglow remains. I can use this to disguise myself as a cultivator of the Great Sun Dao Lineage."
"I've cultivated the Dark and Bright Moon-Hiding Technique, which can simulate and conceal. As long as I cultivate Innate True Qi, even a True Person will have difficulty telling real from fake."
"Besides, the True Qi and Divine Intention of the Great Sun True Yang Art match the imagery of the Great Sun Dao Lineage. Perhaps I really can borrow the tiger's might like a fox."
Having made up his mind, Xu Fan slowly closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation according to the Great Sun True Yang Art, sensing the "Qi and Blood" within his body.
Qi and Blood were not blood, but something metaphysical.
With only the slightest effort to sense it, he easily gained control of the "Qi and Blood" within him, guiding it through his body until it circulated on its own, strengthening his physique.
"A genius is a genius no matter what."
"Be it immortal cultivation or the path of martial arts, Master Xu is still a genius."
He wasn't surprised that he had grasped the basics so quickly. That was how a genius should be.
With each complete circuit through his body, his Qi and Blood grew stronger. After ninety-nine circuits, it had grown enough to cover both his arms.
And it was still growing!
Gaining control of Qi and Blood marked entry into the art.
Growing one's Qi and Blood until it covered both arms marked minor mastery.
Covering the hands and feet marked major mastery.
Finally, when the Qi and Blood within the body covered the entire body, that was completion.
"After refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and advancing to become a Qi Refinement cultivator, my essence, Qi, and spirit have long since surpassed those of an Innate Grandmaster."
"Below the Innate realm in martial arts, one cultivates the body's essence. Returning to the Innate state, one cultivates True Qi and tempers one's spirit with Martial Dao True Intention, laying the foundation for a future breakthrough to Divine Intention."
"All three of mine have long since exceeded the required standard, so it's no surprise I crossed the Qi and Blood stage directly."
Half an hour later, Xu Fan went from nothing to stepping into Blood Exchange, and he was still improving with every passing moment.
"Is this Martial Dao True Intention?"
Xu Fan opened his right hand, and an illusory great sun appeared in his palm, bearing a majestic, domineering intent of searing heat.
He had naturally comprehended Martial Dao True Intention after completing only his first Blood Exchange. He had never heard of such a thing.
The vast majority of martial cultivators only had a chance to comprehend Martial Dao True Intention after completing their seventh Blood Exchange.
"I possess Divine Sense, and the strength of my spirit far surpasses that of an ordinary Great Grandmaster. It's only natural that I could comprehend two kinds of Martial Dao True Intention."
With that thought, he opened his left hand again. The illusory image of a bright crescent moon appeared, steadily emitting an aura that was cold, ethereal, and pure.
Whoosh!
He flicked a finger, and Yin Sha Mysterious Light shot out, racing straight toward the distant Yin Mountains.
In its wake, the lake water parted of its own accord, exposing the ground beneath.
Boom!
Its terrifying power blasted a depression twenty zhang deep into the mountainside, sending countless fragments of rock and sprays of lake water flying.
"Not bad. Taiyin True Intention can enhance Taiyin techniques, multiplying their power."
Even though he had held back, he was very pleased with the power it displayed, which far surpassed what it had been before. He hadn't expected Martial Dao True Intention to have such an effect.
If he faced the Mu Household's Great Grandmaster now, he could easily kill him.
It seemed choosing to cultivate martial arts as well had been the right decision!
If he found some techniques of the Taiyin path and the Great Sun Dao Lineage to cultivate later, they would be like adding wings to a tiger when dealing with cultivators of the same realm.
"Once I become a Great Grandmaster and cultivate Divine Intention, I imagine it will greatly enhance my Divine Sense."
From deriving the Cultivation Methods, he had learned that the reason a Divine Intention Great Grandmaster's ability to seek enemies over a thousand li was so fearsome was that it could capture a person's "spirit."
Everyone had a "spirit"!
Wherever they went, they were bound to leave traces of it.
Even a Great Grandmaster could not completely erase the traces of his own "spirit," only make them fainter and conceal them.
A fellow Divine Intention Great Grandmaster could not capture another Great Grandmaster's "spirit."
But a martial expert who had cultivated a Primal Core could capture a Great Grandmaster's faint, hidden "spirit."
Great Qin, Southwest Circuit.
Within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
One of Saber-Nurturing Valley's branch establishments was situated in a valley surrounded by mountains.
A young man with a dignified bearing and a sharp, steady gaze, who bore some resemblance to Han Tianhao, slowly climbed the steps with a treasured saber in hand. He carried himself like a saber ready to leave its sheath at any moment.
Before long, he arrived at the main courtyard.
He slowly knelt.
An old man with white hair and a white beard, clad in a blue-and-gold robe, sat motionless on a meditation cushion in the courtyard.
As if sensing someone there, the old man opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and stood with his hands behind his back. His tone was calm:
"Have you decided?"
He asked neither why nor anything else, as though he had expected this all along.
"Yes, Teacher."
Han Tianling bowed his head lightly, his voice hoarse:
"Xu Fan killed my own younger brother and wiped out my entire family. If I don't kill him, my heart will know no peace."
Ever since receiving news of the Han Household's destruction, he had secured a chance to enter the secret realm, where he had used the three True Intentions of metal, fire, and the saber to step into the Great Grandmaster realm.
Nurtured by the secret realm's spiritual pool as he cultivated, he had now reached third-turn True Essence.
Xu Fan was suspected of being a weapon master, and a month ago he had already been able to kill a first-turn Great Grandmaster, even if that Great Grandmaster had only belonged to the weakest tier of Divine Intention Great Grandmasters.
That was enough to prove that Xu Fan was growing too quickly.
If he delayed any longer, the consequences would be unthinkable.
This might be his only and best chance to kill Xu Fan.
"Then... go."