Chapter 325 - 314: Spirit Condensation Mastery and Actual Combat

Chapter 325: Chapter 314: Spirit Condensation Mastery and Actual Combat

During the latter half of his nightly cultivation, the panel popped up.

[Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill: Expert (0/800)]

From Proficient to Expert.

The change wasn’t gradual. It happened in an instant.

The moment his Divine Soul broke through to the Expert level, its internal structure underwent a distinct reorganization. The once-loose outer layer of his Divine Soul was compressed and solidified, like a cotton quilt suddenly pressed into felt. Its density and resilience soared simultaneously.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, taking in his new state.

The strength of his Divine Sense was on a whole different level compared to when it was at the Proficient stage. When all four Divine Sense Lines were active, the maximum amount of information each line could carry had clearly increased.

The passive perception range of his Spiritual Sense had expanded, and its precision was finer. Previously, he could only gauge the approximate strength of a Cultivator’s aura from a distance. Now, he could discern their Spiritual Power Attribute and the activity level of their meridians.

The change in his Divine Soul’s resilience was the most direct. Li Yuan tried applying pressure to his Divine Soul, simulating the impact of a Soul Stabbing Skill attack. He discovered that his Divine Soul at the Expert level could withstand at least thirty percent more force than at the Proficient level.

’The effect of Divine Split is better than I imagined. Even a normal Divine Split can speed up the cultivation of Divine Soul Skills.’

Li Yuan maintained the four parallel lines and tried to split off a fifth Divine Sense Line.

The moment it split, a distinct, throbbing pain appeared in his head.

The permanent entry for multi-tasking Divine Split immediately stabilized the primary-secondary relationship between the five lines. The throbbing pain began to ease after a few breaths but didn’t vanish completely.

Five parallel lines.

’It’s usable, but strenuous.’

Maintaining four parallel lines daily was effortless, but the fifth was currently only suitable for brief use in critical moments. Once his Divine Soul became more condensed, or his Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill reached a higher proficiency, maintaining five lines daily would also become easy.

Li Yuan withdrew the extra Divine Sense Line and resumed his cultivation.

Over the next few days, the improvements from his enhanced Divine Soul continued to manifest in various ways.

The most obvious was during Alchemy.

The qualitative leap in his Divine Soul Condensation was directly reflected in his microscopic control over medicinal liquids.

The quality of the finished pills improved by a whole level.

Using the same materials and the same formula, the pills he refined now had a richer luster, more evenly distributed medicinal power, and a slightly higher success rate.

More importantly, his Divine Soul Manipulation Skill also broke through to the Proficient level in those few days.

[Divine Soul Manipulation Skill: Proficient (0/400)]

After reaching the Proficient level, his condensed Divine Soul power could finally control physical objects with stability.

Li Yuan tried extending a strand of condensed Divine Soul power toward a Pill Furnace, touching its surface.

’It’s not shaking anymore.’

This was completely different from the Entry level, where his control was so shaky he couldn’t even hold a bottle steady. At the Proficient level, his Divine Soul power was like a steady finger, capable of precise pressing, pushing, pulling, and rotating.

Li Yuan tried using his Divine Soul power instead of his Spiritual Power to control the fire.

Under the control of his Divine Soul power, the Pill Fire at the bottom of the furnace slowly adjusted its intensity, lowering from a roaring flame to a gentle one, then raising from a gentle flame to a medium one.

’The precision is good enough.’

It wasn’t as fine as controlling the fire with Spiritual Power, but it was already sufficient for basic fire control operations. As his proficiency continued to increase, the precision would get even better.

Li Yuan immediately began a real test.

He set up two Pill Furnaces at the same time.

His main line of focus used Spiritual Power to control the first Pill Furnace, meticulously controlling the fire to refine a Vessel Continuation Pill. His second Divine Sense Line used the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill to control the second Pill Furnace, refining a less difficult Healing Pill. The third line was connected to the Spirit Vein, and the fourth was dedicated to external perception.

With four lines operating in parallel, both furnaces began refining at once.

The two Pill Furnaces operated at their own pace, without interfering with each other.

An hour later, both furnaces produced pills simultaneously.

The quality of the Vessel Continuation Pill was as stable as before. The quality of the Healing Pill was slightly lower; after all, the precision of the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill was inferior to fire control with Spiritual Power, and the success rate might also be affected.

’But it’s barely usable.’

Li Yuan put away the two Pill Furnaces, sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, and shifted his cultivation focus to the Tier Two Iron Wall Body Refining Skill.

Since reaching the Entry level, the Tier Two Iron Wall Body Refining Skill had been progressing steadily. Spiritual Power permeated layer by layer through the channels in his skin, membranes, and bones. With each cycle of the technique, he could feel his physical body growing a bit more solid.

When his cultivation ended that night, the panel popped up again.

[Iron Wall Body Refining Skill (Tier Two): Proficient (0/400)]

From Entry to Proficient.

At the same time, another notification appeared right after.

[Condition to make Bone Firmness (Green) permanent has been met]

[Requirement: Reach Proficient level in two Tier Two Body Refining Techniques (Fulfilled: Nameless Body Refining Technique at Great Success + Tier Two Iron Wall Body Refining Skill at Proficient)]

[Make permanent?]

Li Yuan took out the Tier Two Beast Spine Bone from his storage bag. After confirming it was equipped, he immediately chose to make the entry permanent.

[Bone Firmness (Green) has become a permanent entry]

The change was extremely direct.

A heavy, compacting sensation spread through his entire skeleton at once, as if a force was squeezing out from the depths of his marrow, pressing every inch of his bone structure tighter. The surface of his skin and membranes also tightened a layer, feeling thicker and tougher to the touch.

His physical strength increased by thirty percent.

Combined with his existing series of permanent entries like Three Elements Body Protection, Bone and Membrane Co-cultivation, Bone Toughness Like Iron, and Golden Armor Body Protection, the current hardness of Li Yuan’s physical body had reached a ridiculous level.

’Time to test it out.’

「The next morning」 Li Yuan left the market district alone and headed deep into the Ghost Mist Forest.

His target was a Tier Two High Grade Demon Beast.

In a deeper area of the northern section of the Spirit Vein branch, there was the aura of a Tier Two High Grade creature, on a whole different level than the Black-backed Leopard he had previously hunted.

Li Yuan followed the direction locked on by his Spirit Vein senses and ventured deeper.

After flying for about two hours, Li Yuan stopped at the edge of a valley surrounded by giant trees.

The target was in the center of the valley.

A massive Rock-Armored Barbarian Bull.

It was grayish-black all over, with a hide as coarse as a rock face and legs like pillars. It stood nearly ten feet tall at the shoulder. The two curved horns on its head glowed with a dim Spiritual Light, and its every breath caused the dead leaves on the ground to tremble slightly.

Tier Two High Grade.

Its aura was steady and heavy—the type of Demon Beast known for its physical prowess.

Li Yuan observed for a moment. After confirming there were no other Demon Beasts around, he stopped concealing his aura and jumped straight down from the valley’s edge.

The Rock-Armored Barbarian Bull immediately sensed the disturbance.

Its massive head snapped toward Li Yuan. The vertical pupils in its eyes contracted rapidly, and then it kicked off with all four hooves, its entire body charging in his direction.

The ground shook violently from the bull’s charge, its hooves kicking up gravel and dirt.

Li Yuan didn’t dodge.

He stood his ground, his feet sinking slightly into the earth. Bolstered by multiple entries like Three Elements Body Protection and Bone Firmness, his Qi Blood surged to the surface of his body, forming a thick protective layer.

The bull’s curved horns slammed into Li Yuan’s arms.

BOOM.

The immense impact force traveled up his arms and through his entire body, pressing two shallow grooves into the ground beneath his feet. Li Yuan slid back five feet, his feet plowing two tracks in the mud before he came to a firm stop.

His arms were completely unharmed.

He felt no sense of his bones breaking or warping, and there wasn’t even a noticeable scratch on his skin. The Spiritual Membrane from Three Elements Body Protection had automatically reinforced itself at the moment of impact, deflecting most of the force. The remaining power was easily absorbed by his bones, which had been strengthened by Bone Firmness.

The bull’s charge had caused no substantial damage.

The consumption of his Qi Blood was extremely low.

Li Yuan lowered his arms. The bull took two steps back, seemingly confused that its full-power charge had no effect.

It lowered its head again, aimed its horns at Li Yuan, and charged a second time.

This time, Li Yuan met it head-on.

He clenched his right fist, and just as the bull closed in, he smashed his fist into the center of its forehead.

A dull thud echoed as his fist collided with the bull’s armored forehead. The bull’s charge was brought to a dead stop. Its massive body swayed on the spot, its hooves slipping in the mud.

The Rock-Armored Barbarian Bull shook its head, the ferocity in its eyes intensifying. But instead of charging again immediately, it began to slowly circle Li Yuan.

Li Yuan didn’t pursue, instead standing his ground and flexing his fist.

His knuckles were fine. He felt no pain at all.

’The results of the physical limit test are clear.’

’I can take a direct physical attack from a Tier Two High Grade Demon Beast without injury. With the protection of multiple entries, my Qi Blood consumption is extremely low. A battle of attrition is no problem at all.’

’The test is over. Time to get down to business.’

The short-bearded Cultivator wanted a live Tier Two Demon Beast, one without the Evil Attribute.

This Rock-Armored Barbarian Bull right in front of him fit the bill perfectly.

Li Yuan stopped holding back.

He alternately blasted it with the Fire Python Skill and the Golden Blade Skill, specifically targeting the bull’s limb joints. He avoided vital spots, aiming only to restrict its mobility.

After its limbs were hit repeatedly, the bull’s running speed dropped sharply. Seizing an opening as it turned, Li Yuan closed in, slammed a hand on its back, and poured Spiritual Power into its body. He forced the energy backward through its meridians, suppressing and forcibly sealing its Spiritual Power circulation.

The bull’s struggles grew weaker and weaker.

After another ten minutes, Li Yuan had completely subdued the bull. Its limbs were sealed by Spiritual Power, its internal energy circulation had stagnated, and its massive body collapsed limply on the ground, leaving only heavy panting.

’It’s alive.’

Li Yuan placed the Rock-Armored Barbarian Bull into a special storage bag and returned to the market district.

The short-bearded Cultivator received the message and rushed over that same day.

"A Tier Two High Grade..."

The short-bearded Cultivator was first surprised, then winced as if he had a toothache.

"How about I make up the difference for the extra value later? I just need some time."

Li Yuan nodded, having no objection.

After inspecting the goods, the short-bearded Cultivator took some things out of his storage bag and placed them on the table.

A Spirit Field deed, a jade slip, and one thousand Spirit Stones.

Li Yuan accepted the deed and the jade slip, then handed over the storage bag containing the Rock-Armored Barbarian Bull.

The transaction was complete.

After the short-bearded Cultivator left with the storage bag, Li Yuan sat at the table and looked over the deed.

One thousand nine hundred mu.

Adding these one thousand nine hundred mu to his existing Spirit Field would cause his capacity for self-producing Spirit Medicine to skyrocket. Combined with the cultivation effects of the Soil Cultivation Skill, his self-sufficiency rate for future pill ingredients could be raised to a very high level.

Li Yuan put the deed away, sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion, and resumed his cultivation.