Life-bound Talisman, Spirit Refining Technique

The Royal Mausoleum.

Amid the wooded mountains, a figure in white strode forward, each step profoundly intricate. As time passed, his movements grew ever smoother, graceful as a startled swan and lithe as a swimming dragon.

At some point, his figure had become difficult to follow with the naked eye. Vanishing like a ghost and shifting from place to place were effortless for him.

"Heaven-Reaching Heaven-Lamenting Hand!"

Suddenly, the figure in white came to a halt and gave a low shout. His abundant Spiritual Yuan surged, and a golden holy light appeared in midair, like a rift between heaven and earth.

Boom-

The rift bore a dazzling heavenly might and a terrifying power that threatened to suppress everything in the world, ready to unleash it all below.

"As expected of a sixth-tier divine ability!"

Ling Yun's eyes shone with spiritual light, and he was overjoyed.

The divine ability he had just obtained by signing in posed little difficulty for him. He had taken hardly any time to master it completely and could unleash it at will.

"Now that I have three advanced divine abilities-the Flying Sword Technique, the Heaven-Reaching Heaven-Lamenting Hand, and the Cloud Immortal Soaring Steps-I can finally say I have some real power to protect myself!"

Ling Yun clenched his fists. Their explosive power shook the surrounding air, making it rumble incessantly. He had never felt such power before!

The Cloud Immortal Soaring Steps was another divine ability he had obtained by signing in over the past few days. Like the Heaven-Reaching Heaven-Lamenting Hand, it was a lower-grade sixth-tier divine ability, and an exceptionally rare movement technique at that!

Practiced to its absolute peak, this divine ability could let one teleport through space and shrink the ground to inches. Like an elusive ghost, one's movements would be unpredictable and hard to track.

In a fierce battle, this movement technique could not only let one move nimbly and evade many attacks, but also seize the right moment to teleport through space, catch an enemy off guard, and deliver a fatal blow.

"Phew... Half a month has already passed. I keep having this premonition that the scent of danger is drawing closer and closer!"

Ling Yun reined in his cultivation and stood tall, gazing into the distance from the heights. The manor seemed to be shrouded in a haze, its oppressive weight leaving people anxious and afraid.

That was indeed the case. Madam Wang had entered the palace to seek an audience with His Majesty and given him a detailed account of the manor's crisis, which had only then put her somewhat at ease.

There were several Primordial Spirit Realm experts in the royal family, and the Spirit King's Manor belonged to its direct line. His Majesty naturally could not stand by and watch the manor fall into the abyss, so he had assigned an elder of the royal family at the Primordial Spirit Realm to guard it for the time being.

Even so, Madam Wang still felt uneasy. The strangeness surrounding King Chen's Commandery Princess had allowed her to catch a whiff of something more hidden, like a venomous snake watching everything in the manor from the shadows.

If even Madam Wang felt that way, Ling Yun, who knew more, dared not slack off in the slightest. During this time, he had spared no effort to make ten fifth-tier talismans and had also replaced the Heavenly Eye Spell that had lost its effect.

He had brought all the divine abilities he could master to a state of perfection, and his combat strength had grown severalfold.

"It's time to improve my cultivation!"

Ling Yun once again climbed to the summit of the Royal Tomb Mountain Range, intending to push his cultivation to greater heights there.

Before this, after switching to the supreme imperial scripture, the Myriad Dao Immortal Scripture, his cultivation could be said to have advanced a thousand li in a day. Some time had passed since he broke through to the Core Formation Realm, and his cultivation had settled. It was time to take another step forward.

Inside the stone pavilion, Ling Yun sat cross-legged and circulated the Myriad Dao Immortal Scripture, drawing an endless stream of Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth into his body and making it his own.

The sensation was familiar. Just as when he had broken through to the Core Formation Realm, he continuously refined his Spiritual Yuan, drove it through the meridians throughout his body, and nourished his limbs and bones, ultimately breaking through in one stroke.

As he cultivated, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi around Ling Yun grew incomparably dense. White mist filled the air, making the place look like an immortal realm.

After an unknown length of time, a sound of breakthrough suddenly came from within Ling Yun's body. The surrounding mist turned into a vortex in an instant and was absorbed by him completely.

"Middle Core Formation Realm..."

Ling Yun slowly opened his eyes. His presence was noticeably stronger.

"The breakthrough took two days. At this rate, if I didn't have so many things disturbing me, I should be able to aim for the Primordial Spirit Realm within two years."

Ling Yun thought to himself.

He had been in the Royal Mausoleum for a month. In that single month, he had advanced from the Body Tempering Realm, where he had been after his dantian was crippled, to the Middle Core Formation Realm.

"Before the Primordial Spirit Realm, the realms are all about accumulating Spiritual Yuan, which gives people with exceptional physiques and talent a tremendous advantage."

That was a fact. The things that could affect one's cultivation speed were no more than innate talent, heavenly treasures, miraculous pills and medicines, and advanced cultivation methods.

"But upon reaching the Primordial Spirit Realm, one must take a crucial step: forge a Primordial Spirit and resonate with heaven and earth. That makes reaching the Primordial Spirit Realm tremendously difficult. I can reach Core Formation Realm Perfection within a year, but breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Realm will take longer."

Ling Yun murmured to himself as he felt out his cultivation.

Two years was his conservative estimate for himself. He would be exactly eighteen then. An eighteen-year-old at the Primordial Spirit Realm would be unprecedented not just in the Ling Kingdom, but in the entire Eastern Desolation.

A cultivator at the Primordial Spirit Realm had a lifespan of five hundred years. How brief eighteen years were compared to a life of five hundred! Anyone who could break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm before the age of a hundred was already a heaven's chosen of the entire Eastern Desolation.

The thought filled Ling Yun's heart with boundless anticipation.

"Next, let me take a look at the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's core inheritance."

After calming himself, Ling Yun began what he had planned long ago.

The Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's inheritance was the Heavenly Repository Canon. It had two main parts: the first was "Talismans," the supreme fortune of talisman-making; the second was the Life Talisman Heavenly Canon, which governed the Dao of Life Talisman.

The Dao of Life Talisman used the body as a talisman, carving one rune after another within it and ultimately condensing a Life Talisman in a single stroke. With the Life Talisman as one's fundamental source, one would embark on a supreme Dao.

"The heaven-defying Dao that the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor spent most of his life creating won't be so difficult for me to achieve. The Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos refines all Daos in the world and encompasses all things in the universe."

"No matter how difficult the Dao of Life Talisman is to master, it will ultimately become one of the Daos within my Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos!"

Ling Yun leafed through the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's inheritance in his mind and soon found the section on Life Talismans.

He studied it as though starving for food and thirsting for water. At the same time, the Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos began operating on its own, its profound, all-embracing presence lingering for a long time.

"Life-bound Talisman! Spirit Refining Technique!"

After a long while, Ling Yun came to his senses, his face filled with shock.

"As expected of one of the most monstrous Great Emperors since time immemorial!"

Ling Yun voiced his admiration, utterly convinced and unable to pull himself away.

The entire Life Talisman inheritance could be said to blaze a new path, a cultivation system independent of the entire world.

In the Dao of Life Talisman, there was no such thing as a dantian. The Life Talisman was the source, and everything about a person came from it!

"The Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's dantian talent wasn't outstanding. Even in this world, it barely reached the upper ranks. Without a heaven-defying opportunity, he would never have had a chance to approach the realm of a Great Emperor."

"Thus, after spending half his life without accomplishment, the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor comprehended a path of destruction and rebirth through talisman-making. He abandoned everything he had before and formed his own Life Talisman."

"Truly, he possessed a boldness unmatched by any before him."

Ling Yun gathered his thoughts and began trying to condense a Life Talisman according to the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's inheritance.

Through his talisman-making over this period, Ling Yun's spiritual sense had grown considerably stronger, and his control over it had become exceptionally practiced.

As time passed,

Within the chaotic spiritual awareness in Ling Yun's mind, a power capable of turning the rotten into the miraculous began to emerge.

This power came into being from nothing and grew from weak to strong. After countless rounds of tempering, it finally condensed into a wondrous talisman seal.

At the center of the seal was the shape of a vertical eye, its pupil radiating a terrifying crimson divine light. Around the seal were nine magnificent purple imprints, representing the nine great realms derived from the Life Talisman!

This was the Life Talisman Seal of the Life-bound Talisman!

"The first Life Talisman Seal corresponds to the Core Formation Realm!"

Ling Yun kept his eyes tightly shut, immersing his mind in it as he continued to contemplate this crucial step.

At last!

At a certain moment,

The fully formed Life Talisman blazed with divine light. Of the nine imprints, which had originally been somewhat dim, one suddenly shone with ten thousand zhang of purple light, illuminating the chaotic soul world within Ling Yun's mind.

Outside, a smaller Life-bound Talisman appeared in the center of Ling Yun's forehead. The vertical eye at its center likewise shone with crimson light, while a purple imprint beneath the eye extended all the way to the point between his brows!

"The Life Talisman-it's formed!"

Ling Yun's heart stirred, but he did not awaken from his trance. The instant the Life Talisman formed, heaven and earth began to tremble faintly. Endless primordial Qi from heaven and earth suddenly poured into the Life Talisman pattern on Ling Yun's forehead, as though being channeled into him from above.

An unparalleled phenomenon began to manifest. High in the blue heavens, the image of an emperor appeared. Terrifying imperial might pressed down, spreading across the entire Eastern Desolation and even breaking through a boundless barrier to descend upon the endlessly distant lands beyond the world!

This was the Great Emperor Dao trace that the one from long ago had left in heaven and earth, resonating with Ling Yun and causing a phenomenon like the one that had occurred when he awakened the Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos!

Once again, the system activated passively and completely concealed the terrifying phenomenon. Outsiders could neither observe nor see it; they could only feel a trace of pressure that, even weakened countless times over, still made their hearts tremble.

After a long while, the phenomenon between heaven and earth vanished, and Ling Yun's presence fully stabilized.

"Damn, I just condensed a Life Talisman, and my cultivation got a share of the soup too? I broke through to the Late Core Formation Realm?"

Ling Yun's face lit up with delight. This was truly a double blessing.

"At a time like this, every bit of added strength is a pleasant surprise."

After sensing the power within him, Ling Yun finally understood why.

"The Life Talisman is divided into nine, representing the nine great realms of the Life Talisman Dao. The first seal imprint represents the Core Formation Realm. It continues in order until all nine seal imprints are condensed, at which point one attains the eternal Emperor Realm!"

"Now that the Life Talisman has formed one imprint, it represents the Core Formation Realm. This power takes the Life Talisman as its source and flows through my limbs and bones. Only after merging with the Middle Core Formation Realm Spiritual Yuan in my dantian did it reach the Late Core Formation Realm."

Ling Yun was somewhat dumbfounded. The Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor had abandoned his dantian and cultivated the Life Talisman anew before he could achieve his later glory. Ling Yun, however, did not have to do the same. The two different cultivation systems were perfectly accommodated by the Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos, without conflicting with each other, ultimately producing a result where one plus one was greater than two.

"How amazing."

Ling Yun marveled as he felt the two powers coexisting harmoniously within him.

Then Ling Yun turned his attention back to the Life Talisman.

Within the chaotic spiritual awareness in his mind, the Life Talisman floated quietly, the vertical eye at its center having withdrawn its crimson divine light.

"Just as the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor recorded, the Life Talisman Dao is a true Great Dao. No matter how difficult it is, once mastered, it allows one to walk a unique path."

Ling Yun's Life Talisman unexpectedly bore some resemblance to the Heavenly Eye Spell. He guessed it was because the Heavenly Eye Spell was the first talisman he had successfully made using his spiritual sense, and also the one he was most skilled at making.

"I wonder what kind of abilities I'll have as my Life Talisman cultivation grows deeper."

Ling Yun was intensely curious.

But he did not dwell on it. He looked to the final section appended to the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's inheritance-the Spirit Refining Technique!

"The Life Talisman can be said to take the soul as its source, and this Spirit Refining Technique is a supreme method for strengthening the soul!"

That was what delighted Ling Yun most.

"The Spirit Refining Technique cultivates the soul and strengthens spiritual sense. At the Primordial Spirit Realm and even in later realms, my soul will be ten thousand times stronger than other people's!"

Within the soul world, a primordial divine statue appeared. Its features were indistinct, but the rest of it was rendered in exquisite detail. Even a single strand of hair radiated divinity.

Behind the primordial divine statue's head, a halo spread like the blazing sun, and a terrifying divine might bore down.

This divine might was directed at the soul.

Ling Yun concentrated. Strands of spiritual sense intertwined, joining together to resist the terrifying divine might.

In the process of resisting its onslaught, his spiritual sense was greatly refined and strengthened, growing stronger almost every moment.

After a long time, Ling Yun felt that he had reached the limit of what he could endure and stopped.

After this cultivation session, his soul had utterly surpassed others at the same realm!

"This Spirit Refining Technique has a terrifying effect, yet it has no title, and even the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's inheritance doesn't record its origins."

Ling Yun wiped the sweat from his brow, his mind racing.

"It seems this Spirit Refining Technique played no small part in the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's achievements." Realizing this, Ling Yun treasured the Spirit Refining Technique all the more.

"It's time to come out of seclusion."

Ling Yun rose to his full height and could not help stretching. His joints crackled from having gone so long without moving.

"I wonder how long it's been."

Ling Yun instinctively tried to use the Heavenly Eye Spell to check on the manor, only to find that the spell had already lost its effect!

"Breaking through, condensing the Life Talisman, and cultivating the Spirit Refining Technique must have taken at least seven days." Ling Yun sucked in a breath.

Indeed, time passed unnoticed in cultivation. In the back of his mind, he had thought only three or four days had gone by.

Instinctively, the vertical eye of the talisman seal on Ling Yun's forehead radiated crimson light. In an instant, his spiritual sense enveloped the entire Royal Tomb Mountain Range!

"Thirty li!"

Even Ling Yun was struck with alarm.

After all, the Heavenly Eye Spell's detection range was only fifty li, just enough to encompass both the manor and the Royal Tomb Mountain Range.

The Heavenly Eye Spell was a lower-grade fifth-tier talisman. In terms of detection range, it was comparable to a Middle Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator!

"Thirty li is already comparable to a great cultivator at the Early Primordial Spirit Realm."

Amid his shock, Ling Yun's face lit up with joy.

At present, his Life Talisman cultivation was equivalent to the Early Core Formation Realm. Combined with the Middle Core Formation Realm cultivation in his dantian, it brought him to the Late Core Formation Realm.

"In other words, with my Life Talisman at the Early Core Formation Realm, I already have the spiritual sense of someone at the Primordial Spirit Realm!"

Ling Yun once again marveled at how formidable the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor was.

"I wonder how much this range will grow when my Life Talisman cultivation reaches the same level as my dantian cultivation, with both at the middle stage."