Chapter 413 - 419: Communication
Time flew by, and more than half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.
Dinglingling—
One day, as Li Zhirui was pondering the Nascent Soul-related records in the "Wanling Sutra," a crisp ringing sound suddenly filled his ears.
Li Zhirui now had four parts of knowledge regarding how to break through to the Nascent Soul. The first part was the content from the "Wanling Sutra" that resembled an outline or main point.
The second was the deductions on Nascent Soul transformation from the Golden Core cultivator who once tried to perform soul possession on Li Zhirui. The third included some incomplete fourth-grade cultivation techniques collected by his family, which also elaborated on Nascent Soul transformation.
The last part was the insights and experiences shared by Yun Qingrou, a Nascent Soul cultivator whom Li Zhirui had once saved.
It seemed he had many methods, but Li Zhirui still needed to spend time slowly deducing them.
"Has it already been half a year?" Li Zhirui slowly concluded his cultivation session and muttered to himself.
Although he knew that this seclusion wouldn't yield significant results, when it truly turned out that way, Li Zhirui couldn't help but feel restless.
But as soon as he opened his room door, he had already arranged his mood. Looking at Jiang Fengwu standing outside, he smiled and asked, "Is the Spirit Qi Differentiation Array complete?"
"Mhm, I've already tested it, and the results are pretty good," Jiang Fengwu said somewhat excitedly.
Of course, this formation wasn't without drawbacks. Once activated, it would draw a significant amount of nearby spiritual energy, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to become thin.
Because the unwanted spiritual energy wasn't discharged immediately but sealed within the formation, it would only return to the world after the formation was deactivated.
Jiang Fengwu was so excited mainly because this formation was entirely her creation, as opposed to the Starlight River Array, which Li Shiren had drafted the basics for. Even though she had made several improvements, she couldn't change the underlying aspects.
Beyond that, she had another significant gain.
"No way!"
At this moment, Li Zhirui also noticed this and asked in surprise, "Have you had a breakthrough in your state of mind?"
"Yes!" Jiang Fengwu nodded with a smile, "After the Spirit Qi Differentiation Array was successfully set up, my state of mind suddenly took a step forward."
State of mind can be understood as one's level of understanding of the Dao. Only when it matches or surpasses one's realm can one exert greater strength. Furthermore, the stronger one's state of mind, the lower the chance of facing a heart demon, and it also brings some benefits to cultivation breakthroughs.
However, under normal circumstances, most cultivators' state of mind merely matches their cultivation level, and it's rare for anyone's state of mind to exceed their realm.
"Congratulations! Just keep accumulating mana for a few more years, and then you can attempt to break through," Li Zhirui said, happy for Jiang Fengwu.
"How have Sheng and Shuo been during this half-year?"
"Sheng hasn't come back yet, and as for Shuo…" Jiang Fengwu frowned slightly and said, "It seems she has perceived the way to foundation establishment on her own, but then again, maybe not. She herself can't quite explain the situation clearly."
"Let her take it slowly, don't rush! Self-achieved foundation establishment is not so easy," Li Zhirui said, somewhat worried about Li Chengshuo. But since the girl was in seclusion as well, it wasn't good for him to stay outside for too long.
As for Li Chengsheng, they didn't even know where he was. At most, they could use the life token to judge whether he was alive or dead.
Before long, Jiang Fengwu had finished setting up the formation.
"You'll have to work hard for the next few years."
"It's not hard," Jiang Fengwu shook her head and said, "You should go in."
The two parted ways, one heading outside, while the other entered the room.
Li Zhirui didn't rush to continue comprehending the cultivation techniques and instead began to calmly clear the distracting thoughts in his mind. After completing this, he resumed what he had been doing before.
Cultivation is an extremely tedious and dull affair. It's possible to go one or two years, even over a decade, without any progress, and a good mindset is crucial for long-term perseverance!
——
"I should also return now!"
In the distant Central Region, Li Zhixuan, having solidified her realm, gazed toward the east where Wanxian Island lay and murmured to herself.
Her visit to the Central Region was for the purpose of breaking through to the Golden Core, and now that she had achieved her goal, there was naturally no need to stay any longer.
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Although the Central Region had many orthodox sword cultivators, which facilitated exchange and provided her opportunities to hone her skills, Li Zhixuan still wanted to return home to visit her family.
At the same time, she needed a stable environment for refining her life-bound magic treasure.
It's known that sword cultivators, who often engage in battle, have their life-bound magic swords damaged much more frequently than other cultivators, which is why when sword cultivators refine their life-bound magic swords, they often choose extremely durable spiritual objects.
However, this introduced a problem: the excessive hardness of the spiritual objects. Sword cultivators who had just advanced typically did not have strong pill fire, so melting and refining these hard materials would take a long time.
After returning, however, Li Zhixuan planned to exchange insights with other sword cultivators she had prearranged to meet, to see if she might gain new understandings or even learn some techniques from them.
"Has that fellow Daoist emerged from retreat?!"
As numerous communication talismans were activated, many sword cultivators made their way to the cave dwelling rented by Li Zhixuan.
Speaking of which, they were very curious about Li Zhixuan because the path of the sword cultivator was much more challenging than that of an ordinary cultivator. Many sword cultivators would succumb to the excessive killing energy and murderous intent, eventually being devoured by it and turning into nothing but dry bones.
Female cultivators, usually having relatively gentle and soft dispositions, rarely became sword cultivators, making female sword cultivators exceedingly rare within this group.
"Li Zhixuan greets all fellow Daoists!" As the host, Li Zhixuan was the first to rise and bow in greeting the six sword cultivators in the arena.
The sword cultivators returned the greeting and introduced themselves one by one, but the conversation quickly turned to the topic of exchange.
Most sword cultivators were known for their straightforward and hearty nature, so one of them spoke up directly, "Fellow Daoist Li, I would like to engage in a discussion of our understanding through a duel with you."
Li Zhixuan also wanted to assess the capabilities of these sword cultivators and naturally didn't refuse, simply inquiring, "Being new to the Immortal City, I am not quite familiar with it. May I ask if there are places like duel arenas within the city?"
"Of course, there are. Fellow Daoist Li, just follow us," was the reply.
And so, before their seats could even grow warm, the group rose and headed for the duel arena.
"This battle is merely for sparring and comparing swordsmanship, not a fight to the death. Therefore, both fellow Daoists should be careful not to use lethal moves!" The elder sword cultivator, who was hosting the match, spoke with a stern expression, "If anyone violates the rules, we are all authorized to intervene and stop it!"
Li Zhixuan and the other person nodded their heads and voiced their agreement.
"Fellow Daoist Li, since you've just broken through, you likely haven't refined your life-bound magic sword yet. To prevent any claims that my victory was dishonorable, let's use the spirit swords prepared by the duel arena for this battle."
"Then I shall thank my fellow Daoist for showing restraint!" Since the other party wished for a fair duel, Li Zhixuan certainly wouldn't decline.
"Begin!"
At the elder's command, Li Zhixuan instantly drew a spirit sword, her wrist artfully twirling, and a sword net impervious to wind or rain hurtled forth with a whoosh.