ATPnovel #529 - The timing of civil and military affairs
#529 - The timing of civil and military affairs
Chapter 526: The Balance of Civil and Martial Fire
Accompanied by Zhang Chen's spiritual enlightenment, his Qi Refinement realm, which had been stagnant for so long, finally made progress again.
[7 Skills (Second Tier): Nine Revolutions of Returning the Elixir (Perfect)]
[No experience points required to advance.]
Then, the next moment, the Golden Finger interface refreshed again:
[7 Skills (Third Tier): The Balance of Civil and Martial Fire (0/100,000,000)]
Zhang Chen looked at the seventh skill, his pupils constricting involuntarily, his eyes filled with disbelief: "No experience points needed? I can actually step into the realm of the Balance of Civil and Martial Fire? This isn't relying on experience points to add stats, but rather my own spiritual comprehension, a transformation of cultivation realm."
"My own comprehension can offset the deduction of points. But to complete the cultivation of the Balance of Civil and Martial Fire, it actually requires a hundred million experience points? Isn't that too exaggerated?" Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with disbelief.
That's a hundred million experience points! It would take him more than half a year to accumulate enough points.
But there was no time to worry about the points. As Zhang Chen leveled up again, he only felt a strange change occurring in his own mana. It trembled and transformed within his body, as if an invisible flame was refining and purifying his mana within his meridians.
The Green Lotus evolved from Zhang Chen's mana was currently blooming with three and a half petals. Half of it had yet to open, possibly because Zhang Chen's three realms had not been fully cultivated, so it remained unbloomed.
At this moment, it seemed as if an invisible flame was refining its mana foundation, or perhaps a stream of water vapor was irrigating the Green Lotus in the dark, nourishing its growth and causing it to undergo a strange transformation.
"The so-called Jade Liquid Returning the Elixir isn't really about refining a pellet. 'Elixir' refers to the continuous and endless circulation. And advancing with martial fire and retreating with yin talismans is to make mana undergo another transformation, thereby affecting the changes in the soul, preparing for the forging of the nascent soul," Zhang Chen muttered, a thoughtful look on his face as he felt the changes in his body's mana.
However, with the Balance of Civil and Martial Fire, Zhang Chen began to suffer. He seemed to be very sensitive to the natural wind of the outside world. The breeze blowing on his skin felt like a steel knife, scraping his bones painfully. The heat and cold mixed in the wind now seemed to be infinitely magnified, plunging Zhang Chen into an ice mountain and a sea of fire, making him extremely fragile.
"At this realm, my soul has already begun to gradually sense the heavens and the earth, and has begun to adapt to the Qi of heaven and earth. If the nascent soul wants to be born, it must come into contact with the natural wind and Qi of the outside world, contact the opportunities of the natural world. The Balance of Civil and Martial Fire is to refine the natural laws and Qi of the outside world into the body, tempering them into the soul, so that after the soul condenses into the nascent soul, it will have the ability to control supernatural powers and master the laws of heaven and earth," Zhang Chen thought to himself.
The moonlight fell on his skin, the coolness like an ice cellar. Streams of cold air, as if in the depths of winter, drilled into his flesh and blood through the pores of his skin.
Fortunately, he had a method to absorb the essence of the moon, which could avoid some of the pain, but it was only a part of it. His perception was still as if he had fallen into the depths of winter, and his body was about to freeze.
Zhang Chen quickly stood up, took out a tiger skin coat from the donkey cart, and wrapped himself tightly, which made him feel warmer. Although it was summer now, Zhang Chen not only didn't feel hot, but felt very cold.
Zhang Chen's strange behavior alarmed Cheng Yu, who was cultivating in the distance. Cheng Yu's consciousness probed over. The moment his consciousness touched Zhang Chen's skin, Zhang Chen's skin instantly broke out in goosebumps. The consciousness was actually like a substantial substance, wrapped in a cold and icy meaning, and cut across Zhang Chen's skin.
"This is?" Zhang Chen felt the Qi that his skin sensed, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you wrapped in tiger skin in the middle of summer?" Cheng Yu walked over from the tent: "I just sensed that something was wrong with you. Did something go wrong with your cultivation?"
Looking at Cheng Yu walking over, Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with shock. He finally knew what the cold and icy power he had sensed before was. It was Cheng Yu's consciousness.
When soul cultivators reach the realm of object manipulation, their consciousness can leave the body and control matter. Consciousness was originally an ethereal thing, but Zhang Chen actually physically sensed the power of that consciousness. Zhang Chen finally knew what kind of transformation had occurred in his cultivation path.
"I probably also know why the Golden Finger told me to break through on my own. Only in this way can I truly understand the key points, and only by going through it myself can I truly and practically comprehend the subtleties. This Balance of Civil and Martial Fire involves tempering the laws of heaven and earth, as well as tempering my will. It really requires me to go through it myself," Zhang Chen thought to himself.
The third realm of Qi Refinement is not just the third realm of Qi Refinement. There are two key points. First, the process of proving the Dao experienced in order to understand the true Yang of Returning the Elixir. In this process, one constantly tempers a single thought, purifying it to the extreme, which is the key to igniting true Yang and transforming it into a nascent soul. This is the foundation of the Great Dao. Even if I cultivate to the supreme realm in the future, I can manipulate the universe and master the laws of heaven and earth, the 'True Self' that will not decay with the heaven and earth, and will not be destroyed with the sun and moon, the key to not being assimilated by the laws of heaven and earth in the future. The thoughts that I personally temper are of course different from the things that others directly instill in a cramming style. Second, it is the process of condensing the nascent soul.
"This realm really requires me to go through it myself. The importance of the nascent soul is self-evident. Not to mention that I am now a small cultivator, even if I prove the Dao and become a Hunyuan Saint in the future, the nascent soul is still my foundation. No wonder the Golden Finger doesn't recommend that I level up directly in this process!" Zhang Chen thought to himself.
Facing Cheng Yu's concern, Zhang Chen tightened the tiger skin on his body and said with a smile: "I have reached a critical point in my cultivation. It's normal. You don't have to worry."
"Is cultivating immortality so strange?" Cheng Yu muttered, still a little unconvinced: "I said, are you really okay?"
"Of course I'm okay. Go to sleep," Zhang Chen comforted Cheng Yu.
Hearing this, Cheng Yu looked at Zhang Chen suspiciously, and simply sat down next to him: "No, I want to stay by your side and watch you. In case something happens to you, I can take care of you as soon as possible."
Zhang Chen didn't refuse, but stirred the bonfire in front of him. The power of the flames shone on his skin, as if it was directly burning his flesh, causing Zhang Chen's skin to ache, but he didn't activate the Fire Avoidance Pearl.
This whole process seems to be acting on the physical body, but in reality, it is the development of one's soul power, gradually becoming familiar with this world, contacting this world, adapting to everything in this world, and preparing for the nascent soul to leave the body and master the laws of heaven and earth in the future. This is a necessary process for oneself and must not be ignored or omitted.
Zhang Chen reached out and touched Cheng Yu's little head. He saw a hint of worry in the other person's eyes, so he smiled and comforted Cheng Yu: "Don't be afraid. When I complete my transformation, we will directly ascend to the heavens. Even an Yin Spirit True Person is nothing but an ant in front of me."
"Really?" Cheng Yu stared at Zhang Chen intently: "You're not allowed to fool me."
"Of course I won't fool you," Zhang Chen said with a smile.
At this time, the moonlight sprinkled down like a tide. Zhang Chen looked at the moonlight in the sky and silently mobilized the power of his bloodline, actively accepting the power of the moonlight into his body.
The next moment, a bone-chilling cold swept through his body. Zhang Chen felt that his bone marrow was about to freeze, as if it was about to be frozen by that unparalleled yin cold, but he still insisted without changing his expression. He could feel that his soul was now active, and even the speed of the transformation of mana in his body began to accelerate.
The sound of kitchen utensils clanging rang out in the darkness. Zhang Chen's eyes swept over the darkness in front of him, and he saw that Zhang Shi had already begun to prepare breakfast, and the two little ones were also practicing martial arts. Only Cheng Yu looked at Zhang Chen, who was wearing a single shirt, with a hint of worry in his eyes.
"It's too hot during the day!" Zhang Chen pointed to the sun in the sky.
"I'll go find some ice for you to help you reduce the heat," Cheng Yu said.
"No need! This is also a part of my cultivation. How can you transform and become stronger without paying a price? You go meditate and cultivate, don't worry about me," Zhang Chen said to Cheng Yu.
Hearing this, Cheng Yu looked at Zhang Chen and didn't say anything more, turning around to practice the visualization method.
Breakfast was meat porridge. Zhang Chen ate it sweetly. After eating the meat porridge, the family prepared to set off. At this time, Cheng Yu didn't know where he had found a cattail leaf fan and gently fanned Zhang Chen: "Zhang Chen, I found a cattail leaf fan for you. Fan yourself quickly, so you don't get so hot."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen rolled his eyes. The wind blowing on his skin was no different from a knife cutting across it, so he said unhappily: "Don't make trouble, just take care of yourself."
As he spoke, Zhang Chen took out a gauze shirt and bamboo hat from the carriage and slowly covered himself. In this way, he could reduce the harm of the natural wind and not delay him from absorbing the essence of the sun and moon for cultivation.
He knew that his lifespan was running out, and he had to get the Wood Element Authority up as soon as possible.