Chapter 31: Spiritual Sense Appears
With the assistance of the Fasting Pill, Xiao Chen no longer needed spend time nor thought on covering his daily sustenance for the entire next month. He could immerse himself fully in his cultivation. As opposed to the other regular cultivators, he could save a significant amount of time. As the only caveat, it was difficult to describe in words just what sort of agonizing loneliness one would experience by throwing away all connections to mortality.
Undergoing such bitter cultivation in complete seclusion was even drier and duller than incessantly refining medicine in his room. However, ever since the first day he arrived into this world, Xiao Chen understood that this was a world where the weak were ‘eaten’ by the strong. Only the strong deserved respect and glory.
On the road of cultivation, there were no shortcuts. There was no such thing as profit without effort. Such things only happen in fiction. In this world, only by withstanding long periods of extreme loneliness, and putting in tons of hard work, could one become a true expert.
Thus, Xiao Chen tirelessly cultivated day after day. Occasionally, there were birds that flew by or the crawling sound of bugs, but he simply paid them no mind. He was entirely focused on the mysterious act of cultivation.
Xiao Chen kept his eyes shut for seven days before suddenly opening them wide, and a purple gleam flashed in both of his eyes. Xiao Chen got up to stretched his stiff body and took a deep breath. His entire body felt very comfortable.
Seven days, seven whole days. With the assistance of the Essence Nurturing Pill, the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation had finally overcome the threshold to the second layer. It almost seemed as though success was a guaranteed outcome for him, as there was nothing blocking his way to progress, a way incomparably smooth and unhindered.
With the pill’s miraculous effect and the dense Spiritual Energy of the surrounding area, it was not strange for him to be able to break into the second layer of the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation this swiftly.
Now that the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation had reached the second layer, he would unlock Spiritual Sense. Xiao Chen was extremely excited. He hurriedly followed the method in the Compendium of Cultivation, trying to feel the Spiritual Sense in his sea of consciousness.
After a short moment, a world he had never seen before unraveled itself in front of him. In that boundless space, a green sphere hung in the sky, emitting a faint luminescence. This was Xiao Chen’s Mental World.
With just a thought, the mental space instantly turned into a luxurious palace. It was indeed the same as what was recorded in the Compendium of Cultivation. He was the master of this Mental World, so whatever he desired, he would be able to make.
This Spiritual Sense was actually the will of the cultivator that exists in one’s sea of consciousness. It was actually the same thing as the will a regular person had in their heart. The difference for a cultivator was that, after upgrading it to a certain threshold, it would be capable of mobility, or even take a form. This palace in his mental space was the manifestation of Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense.
The next step was to release the Spiritual Sense out of the body. With just a thought, the Spiritual Sense in his body began to surge out. In an instant, a projection of the world within a radius of roughly 500 meters around Xiao Chen began to take shape in his sea of consciousness. He could see every plant or beast as though he was seeing them with his own eyes.
No, it was even better than seeing it with his own eyes. Xiao Chen could even feel the breath of these beasts, their pulse, the beating of their heart…
Suddenly, that green sphere in his mental space seemed as though it was not willing to be left alone and came out to join Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense. After it came out, it actually merged with his Spiritual Sense.
After the Spiritual Sense and Spiritual Awareness merged together, the combined sense started to rapidly scan the surrounding plants. Soon, there were more things appearing in Xiao Chen’s sea of consciousness.
Once the herbs that were hidden amongst the weed were discovered, information like the medicinal properties and age actually appeared in Xiao Chen’s sea of consciousness.
He was surprised. After his Spiritual Sense merged with his Spiritual Awareness, they actually had the function of searching for herbs. Not far from Xiao Chen, there were a few extremely well-hidden herbs.
Withdrawing his Spiritual Sense, Xiao Chen headed to the area that was just scanned. Indeed, there were a few stalks of white Wind Spirit Grass behind a bunch of weeds. Behind the Wind Spirit Grass, there was also a scarlet fruit.
This Wind Spirit Grass seemed to have aged for roughly ten years, so its medicinal properties were excellent. As for the scarlet fruit behind, it was the far more precious and was evidently a recently matured Red Nascent Fruit.
The Red Nascent Fruit was fire attributed. To cultivators who cultivated fire-attributed techniques, it would be extremely helpful. In many high-grade pills, this Red Nascent Fruit was also an important chief ingredient.
Xiao Chen did not expect such a gain when he utilized his Spiritual Sense for the first time. After thinking about it, he realized that it was not strange for there to be some low-grade natural treasures in this vicinity. Amongst the areas around the outskirts of Seven Horn Mountain, this was the place with the densest Spiritual Energy.
It was a pity that he came in a hurry and did not bring anything for storing herbs. If he picked them impetuously and was not able to store them properly, the value of the herb would significantly decrease. He could only wait till he was about to go down the mountain before picking it.
Recovering from the surprise, Xiao Chen started to recall some of the entry-level spells in the Compendium of Cultivation. As he was not able to build a foundation and condense a core, he could only cultivate mainly as a Martial Cultivator. Immortal techniques could only play a supporting role. Hence, he had to find some spells helpful for battles.
There were many entry-level spells in the Compendium of Cultivation, many of which were useless in this world. Xiao Chen pondered for quite a long time before finally deciding which spells to practice.
Gravity Spell, an entry level spell, grants usage of gravity, allowing one to float in the air for a short moment. While it could not achieve the effects of flight, it was a pretty good choice when one’s cultivation realm was low.
Xiao Chen placed this Gravity Spell on the top of his list. Aside from the above reason, the Gravity Spell could also be upgraded. When it was cultivated to the great perfection, one would be able to fly like the wind, traveling thousands of meters in an instant and still only consume an extremely small amount of Essence.
After he made his decision, Xiao Chen began practicing. Circulating his Essence in the pattern as described by the Compendium of Cultivation, a repelling force suddenly pulsed up and down his legs. His whole body seemed weightless as it slowly floated into the air.
“Bang!”
Xiao Chen, who had entered this state for the first time, was not mentally prepared. When he stopped circulating his Essence, he plummeted to the ground all of a sudden.
“That was painful…” Xiao Chen smiled as he dusted himself off. Although he made a mistake on his first attempt, he now had a general idea of how it worked. He should be able to get a grasp on it after a few more tries. After all, it was just an entry-level spell.
For the next few times, Xiao Chen carefully executed the spell before finally discovering the trick behind it. The principles behind the Gravity Spell was simple: it caused him to enter a weightless state, allowing him to float into the air. Once he got used to being in a weightless state, it was no longer that difficult.
After he familiarized himself with it, Xiao Chen began flying from tree to tree, as though he was just having fun. Although this was not true flight, the feeling of being in the air and controlling his movement freely was fresh to him.
This temporary flight gave rise to a thought in Xiao Chen’s heart. If one day, his realm was high enough, how would it feel like to fly like the wind and wander around the world?
Following that, Xiao Chen started to practice three other spells—Heavenly Lightning Shield, Lightning Descend, and Lightning Evasion. In the short term, Xiao Chen did not intend to practice other spells. He understood the principle of not biting off more than one could chew.
These three spells were extremely practical lighting-attributed spells. Heavenly Lightning Shield, as its name suggests, created a shield made of lightning to defend against attacks. Lightning Descend, essentially summoning a bolt of lightning from the heavens to strike the target. Lightning Evasion, as the name suggested, was about using the force of lightning to rapidly leave the battleground.
Originally, he wanted the Earthen Escape instead of the Lightning Evasion because its effects were better. However, it was a pity that Xiao Chen cultivated the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. It would be much more difficult to execute an earth attribute spell. Thus, he just made do with what he had.
Spending the entire day on this, Xiao Chen practiced these spells quite diligently. The surrounding thick trees were excellent targets. Countless of Lightning Descend were summoned, immediately splitting the trees into two. The non-stop rumbling continued all the way till the middle of the night before they stopped.
This was because Xiao Chen had exhausted all the Essence in his body. Swallowing another Essence Nurturing Pill, Xiao Chen sat once again in a cross-legged position and cultivated. After the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation reached the second layer, Xiao Chen’s rate of absorption of Spiritual Energy increased once again. The three white clouds by the Azure Dragon rapidly filled up once again.
Xiao Chen used to think that Essence came from the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. It was only till later, after he got more familiar with Essence that he realized such was not the case. The nucleus of his Essence should be the three white clouds beside the Azure Dragon.
These white clouds were not actually white clouds; they were actually a cloud shaped substance formed of Essence. Floating by the Azure Dragon, the two of them had a faint connection. With Xiao Chen’s current realm, he was still unable to figure what that connection was.
The only thing that Xiao Chen was clear on was that when the fourth cloud appeared, he would have stepped into the Medial Grade Martial Disciple realm. When that time came, his Essence capacity would increase once again.
…
On the morning of the second day, Xiao Chen opened his eyes and stretched his body. Sending out his Spiritual Sense, he did not discover anyone within 500 meters.
His Spiritual Sense was indeed useful. Not only could it differentiate herbs, it could even be used to scan his surroundings to check for hidden enemies. This was much stronger than the perception of regular cultivators.
Gravity Spell!
He chanted the spell name in his heart and began to float up shortly after. He was now much more familiar with this spell than he was yesterday. Xiao Chen, who was in midair, looked at the ground beneath his feet and shouted lightly.
Heavenly Lightning Shield!
A triangular Lightning Shield appeared, protecting Xiao Chen. The Lightning Shield was purple and gave off a faint red glow. This was the result of forming it with a pure lightning-attributed energy. Xiao Chen estimated that it could withstand the full force blow of a Martial Grand Master.
Lightning Descend!
Xiao Chen, still in the air, pointed with his finger as a lightning bolt as thick as a bowl descended from the heavens. A thick tree on the ground was immediately blasted apart with a boom. Its might was able to rival a Profound Grade Martial Technique. Furthermore, it descended from the skies. With its speed, it would be difficult for the target to evade.
Lightning Evasion!
He executed the final spell. Xiao Chen’s body immediately disappeared and there was a loud thunder roar about a hundred meters in front as a bright bolt of lightning fell from the sky. Xiao Chen’s figure appeared from the electrical light in midair, unharmed.
After he practiced the four spells once, Xiao Chen slowly descended and stopped practicing. This was because he had more important things to do today.
Forging! To forge something that Xiao Chen had desired for a really long time—a Spatial Ring…