Chapter 538 - 504: Ten Years of Secluded Cultivation, Shocking Changes in the Outside World

Chapter 538: Chapter 504: Ten Years of Secluded Cultivation, Shocking Changes in the Outside World

The Spiritual Liquid was effective, but Bai Zichen didn’t rush to consume the second drop of Red Gold Spiritual Liquid.

He first circulated the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture for a full cycle to calm his True Essence, then took out the Taibai Sword Pill to play with it. He needed to avoid his cultivation advancing too quickly, which could destabilize his foundation.

Bai Zichen gently tossed the Taibai Sword Pill into the air and flicked a Sword Silk to strike it, sending the Sword Pill into a furious spin.

The next moment, countless Sword Silks shot out, forming myriad Thunderlight Sword Threads. Arcs of electricity danced in the gaps of the Thunder Net.

’So this is the pillar that has sustained the Taibai Sword Sect for generations. To think such a Spiritual Object exists... Holding this Sword Pill is like increasing my speed of comprehending the Sword Dao tenfold.’

Bai Zichen’s eyes flew open in shock. He was beginning to understand why Po Jun Star Monarch had dared to claim that with the Taibai Sword Pill, he could reach the Sword Light Division Realm within a single 60-Year Cycle.

He also understood why the most outstanding disciple of each generation of the Taibai Sword Sect could reach the Fourth Realm of Sword Dao at such a relatively young age.

The Sword Pill essentially gave a Sword Cultivator ten times the time to comprehend and practice the Sword Dao compared to others.

Of course, this still required the holder of the Taibai Sword Pill to possess outstanding Sword Dao Talent and sufficient Sword Dao potential.

Otherwise, even with ten or a hundred times more time, it would be impossible to take even a single step towards Sword Light Division.

Whether it was the disciples of the Taibai Sword Sect qualified to be bestowed with the Sword Pill, or Bai Zichen in the eyes of Po Jun Star Monarch, they all undoubtedly possessed this potential.

Countless images of Sword Light danced in his Sea of Consciousness. With every passing moment, it felt as if he had practiced his swordsmanship thousands of times over, thoroughly analyzing its underlying Sword Principles again and again.

He had never experienced this level of improvement since he first set foot on the path of the Sword Dao.

’I wonder how my Sword Dao Talent really stacks up against people like Han Chaoran and Gu Chongxuan...’

Bai Zichen often found himself doubting his own Sword Dao Talent.

Reaching the realm of One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws had involved many coincidences and fortuitous encounters, plus the role his Mysterious Sacred Body played, so he had never been stuck at any bottleneck for even a moment.

He would always achieve perfect comprehension, followed by an immediate epiphany and breakthrough, never pausing.

So he couldn’t quite tell how much of his progress was due to his own innate Sword Dao Talent.

On the surface, mastering One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws at his age meant that even the "Shuang Xuan" were a notch below him.

He didn’t know about Han Chaoran, but according to Po Jun Star Monarch, Gu Chongxuan had only achieved One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws several decades ago.

However, with his Sacred Body in the picture, his perceived Sword Dao Talent had to be taken with a grain of salt. All he could say for sure was that the Sword Dao was undoubtedly his strongest natural talent.

As for whether he had the potential to break through to the Sword Light Division Realm, it was not important to him.

As long as he could reach the Perfection Realm of Refining Sword into Silk as quickly as possible, the breakthrough would naturally follow.

Time passed as he consumed the Red Gold Spiritual Liquid and used the Taibai Sword Pill to practice the Refining Sword into Silk Realm.

For every half-year of comprehension, he refined one drop of Red Gold Spiritual Liquid.

This cycle repeated until seven years had passed, by which time he had used up all eight drops of the Earth Spirit Milk.

During this time, Bai Zichen sensed several other Star Lords entering and leaving the Star Palace Secret Realm.

Po Jun Star Monarch had even left a message through the Star Lord Mask, apparently wanting to exchange intelligence about the Cultivation Realm.

However, Bai Zichen was at a critical juncture in refining the Spiritual Liquid and paid it no mind. After busying himself for a short while, Po Jun Star Monarch also left the Star Palace Secret Realm.

After that, the Secret Realm fell silent once more.

The boundless emptiness and solitude of being the only living creature in a territory spanning a million li was enough to drive many Cultivators mad.

But Bai Zichen was completely immersed in the meteoric rise of his cultivation, oblivious to the outside world.

After the Red Gold Spiritual Liquid was depleted, he added the Daoist Classic Cantongqi to his cultivation regimen.

As the Qingfeng Sect’s Fundamental Great Method, this Cultivation Technique had never quite lived up to its title, both in the past and the present.

In the past, the Daoist Classic Cantongqi was a purely symbolic and honorary Cultivation Technique. Its status came from being personally passed down by Ancestor Shao Yang, serving as a reminder to future generations not to forget the origins of the Qingfeng Sect’s heritage.

Placing the Daoist Classic Cantongqi in a place of highest honor was also a subtle way of showing off.

Other than this Cultivation Technique, the Qingfeng Sect of today had no other connection to True Monarch Shao Yang.

The Sect’s historical records, found deep beneath the Transmission Hall, showed that the Qingfeng Sect’s lineage could be clearly traced all the way back to Nanhua Immortal Monarch.

If this wasn’t just an attempt to claim a prestigious connection, then True Monarch Shao Yang’s lineage in the Cultivation Realm across the Outer Sea must have been no ordinary Sect.

Only later, after Bai Zichen recovered the Tripod Song and completed the Cultivation Technique, did the practicality of the Daoist Classic Cantongqi increase.

At a minimum, every Core Formation True Man would spend time cultivating it, as it could significantly reduce the time needed to refine their Lifebound Magical Treasure.

But compared to the Fundamental Great Methods of other Sects, it still lacked the same level of importance.

’I wonder what level Brother Ge has reached in this Cultivation Technique. If only I could run into him and ask... When it comes to talent for cultivating the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, not even Ancestor Qingfeng could compare to him.’

Bai Zichen had cultivated the Daoist Classic Cantongqi to the fourth volume, long past the stage of refining a Lifebound Magical Treasure.

What he aimed for was nothing less than awakening an Artifact Spirit, elevating the Magical Treasure’s faint spirituality to a higher level.

Ge Cang had managed to cultivate even the incomplete version of the Daoist Classic Cantongqi to the fifth volume.

After acquiring the Tripod Song, the difficulty of cultivation dropped dramatically; his progress with the Cultivation Technique must have been advancing by leaps and bounds.

He divided his time each day equally in two.

He spent half his time honing his Sword Dao Realm with the Taibai Sword Pill, and the other half diligently cultivating the Daoist Classic Cantongqi.

After three years, he finally mastered the fourth volume of the Daoist Classic Cantongqi.

’I’m much more sensitive to the spirituality of Magical Treasures now, and can even manage brief communication...’

Bai Zichen experimented with his Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror. He found that after it had integrated the Innate Nine Yang True Flame and been restored to a Top-Grade Magical Treasure, he could now perceive its manifested image.

It was the image of a stooped, wise old man with silver-white hair and a beard.

When he tried to communicate with the Artifact Spirit, he could only make out mumbled phrases.

Even with the boost from the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, it couldn’t express itself clearly.

A Magical Treasure had to reach the level of a Spiritual Treasure to be able to clearly express emotions.

A step beyond that, a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure could be fully anthropomorphized, possessing its own range of emotions.

He could sense that the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror’s foundation was still some distance away from the Spiritual Treasure level.

After accumulating the power of generations of Preaching Elders and serving as a Teaching Magical Treasure within the Celestial Principle Sect for millennia, it was, one could say, on the very cusp of becoming a Spiritual Treasure.

However, this was a final step that the vast majority of Top-Grade Magical Treasures could never cross in their entire existence, never even getting the chance.

Bai Zichen estimated that he would need to cultivate to the sixth volume, or perhaps even further, before he could awaken its spirit.

’I think the scheduled time for the Star Lord gathering has already passed. It’s been over a month... We agreed to meet again in ten years. Could it be a coincidence that everyone’s too busy to return to the Star Palace Secret Realm right now?’

Sure enough, there wasn’t a single Star Lord in the grand hall.

He walked over to the Memory Stone, upon which a series of messages had been left:

"The Outer Sea is in turmoil. There’s infighting among the Demon Race, and a Transformed Great Demon has fallen... The atmosphere in the Eastern Domain is tense with the threat of war, and it could erupt into a full-scale conflict between the two races at any moment."

"The Merfolk Race has been annihilated. Fewer than ten thousand Merfolk escaped and fled toward the Eastern Domain. The Moral Sect’s millennia of work in the Outer Sea was reportedly overturned in a single night... Their Immortal Cities have been breached, their islands lost. A True Monarch from the Moral Sect was even besieged and killed by Tier Four Great Demons."

"War has broken out. The situation in the Eastern Domain has changed drastically; several coastal prefectures fell within a single ten-day period... A million demons have invaded the land, along with a number of Transformed Demon Beasts far beyond what was imagined. It will likely take an alliance of several major powers to fend them off. If the others just watch from the sidelines, the Eastern Domain’s Jinyue Sect won’t be able to hold them back alone."

"I am under orders from my Sect Leader to head to the Eastern Domain and investigate what caused them to lose several prefectures in such a short time. The next Star Palace gathering is canceled for now. All of you fellow Daoists are likely in the Eastern Domain with no time to come to the Secret Realm for trade. Let’s tentatively plan to meet again in another ten years."

"Fellow Daoist Ziwei, when you emerge from seclusion, avoid the Eastern Domain if you can, so you don’t get caught up in the war between the two races."

There were several messages in a row, all left for him by Po Jun Star Monarch.

Judging by the content, they hadn’t been recorded at the same time.

He must have entered the Star Palace Secret Realm multiple times, leaving updated messages on the Memory Stone with each visit.

’A war between the Human and Demon Races... I was only in seclusion for ten years, and the whole Cultivation Realm is being turned upside down?!’

Bai Zichen was dumbfounded. He had been cultivating peacefully in the Star Palace Secret Realm, ignoring the world outside, focused only on achieving the highest possible cultivation efficiency.

And now that he had emerged, he found it had come to this.

If a major war had really broken out, it was only natural that the other Star Lords would be too busy to come to the Secret Realm, forcing the gathering to be canceled.