Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Secrets of the Second-Grade True Art
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Three days later, Lu Yang finally stopped his movements.
On the other side, Ye Guyue lay slumped on the ground like a puddle of mud, her beautiful eyes devoid of any spirit, barely breathing in through her mouth and nose with no breath coming out.
The harvest, however, was substantial.
Lu Yang sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, silently examining his gains from the past three days. It was a thick book, with several large characters written on the cover:
"Divine Refining Armament Liberation Sword Art!"
This sword art was the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion's second-grade true technique held by Ye Guyue, and it was also the origin of her [Nine Sons Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal-Exterminating Sword].
The key to the sword art lay in the word "refining." It originated from a realm heaven under the Sword Pavilion's domain called the [Divine Armament Realm]. Sword Pavilion cultivators entered the realm heaven and harvested its qi; with each strand harvested, their power grew. At the peak, they could refine a flying sword perfectly attuned to the qi they had harvested.
This so-called harvesting of qi, however, was not as simple as absorbing spiritual qi.
"Harvesting qi" meant seizing the essences of heaven and earth. These essences could be humans, beasts, or rare treasures.
Seizing these heavenly essences and merging them into oneself.
For example, Ye Guyue's [Nine Sons Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal-Exterminating Sword] had been forged by her seizing nine demonic armaments in the [Divine Armament Realm] and pouring her full effort into crafting them.
"But what does this have to do with forming a Golden Core?"
Lu Yang frowned slightly. He understood the principle behind this second-grade technique, but some details were still missing—namely, Ye Guyue's personal insights into the sword art.
With this in mind, he immediately turned to Ye Guyue.
"It seems another round is necessary."
For the sake of his future path, Lu Yang showed no hesitation. He dove straight back into the intense and stimulating exchange of Dao insights. Soon, another day passed—
"I see!"
Pushing the listless Ye Guyue aside, Lu Yang's face lit up with realization.
"A second-grade true technique is, at its core, still about verifying the Dao fruit position of this world!
The difference lies in how second-grade techniques harvest qi to seize essences from other realm heavens, then use them to form the Golden Core. This is essentially incorporating the fruit positions of other realm heavens into one's own verified fruit position—a tremendous boon to this world's fruit position."
"Thus, it becomes far easier to gain the favor of the fruit position!"
Cultivating a second-grade true technique, if one reaches the point of seeking the Golden Core, means no rituals are even needed. The fruit position will respond and manifest on its own.
This was the advantage of second-grade techniques.
Of course, gaining the favor of one's own fruit position also drew intense hostility from the fruit positions of the realm heavens from which qi was harvested.
This hostility not only made harvesting qi exceedingly difficult but also invited life-threatening dangers, equivalent to heaven's killing intent constantly hanging overhead. A single misstep could mean death in foreign realms. This was why, compared to the stable and safe third-grade true techniques, second-grade ones went ignored.
There was another factor as well—
As he read on, Lu Yang suddenly frowned.
"Why did it cut off again?"
The memory had broken once more.
Evidently, as the target's cultivation rose, the effectiveness of extraction diminished. Lu Yang felt helpless and could only compensate with more sessions.
Another day passed.
Tossing the now completely unconscious Ye Guyue aside, Lu Yang nodded in satisfaction.
"The other factor is the scarcity of realm heavens!
After all, not every realm heaven can nurture a fruit position. Most are like the ancient Dao-seizing battlefields, casually manipulated by True Lords."
Lu Yang sighed in感慨.
"Incredible."
If second-grade true techniques were already like this, what of first-grade?
If second-grade corresponded to realm heavens with Golden Core fruit positions, did first-grade correspond to those with Nascent Soul Dao Lord fruit positions?
That would explain how first-grade true techniques led straight to Nascent Soul!
"Moreover, due to the scarcity of realm heavens, different second-grade true techniques sometimes point to the same foreign heaven's fruit position, merely interpreted differently."
At this thought, Lu Yang felt a twinge of disappointment.
"Pity—the [Divine Armament Realm] seems like a secret refining realm unique to the Sword Pavilion. Unless I reincarnate into it, I have no way to harvest qi or cultivate this second-grade sword art. I'll have to plan for it after the world reopens."
With that, Lu Yang shifted his thoughts.
Besides the Sword Pavilion's "Divine Refining Armament Liberation Sword Art," he also held a second-grade true technique from the Primal Saint Sect, bestowed by Perfected Chongguang.
"Qian Heaven One Origin Unifying All Heavens Divine Method!"
This second-grade true technique shared the same principle as the "Divine Refining Armament Liberation Sword Art," differing only in the targets and methods of qi harvesting.
"If the 'Divine Refining Armament Liberation Sword Art' refines a personal flying sword through qi harvesting, then the 'Qian Heaven One Origin Unifying All Heavens Divine Method' cultivates a supreme Dharma body through qi harvesting. Thus, it corresponds to a different realm heaven: the [Myriad Martial Realm]."
Reaching the end, Lu Yang frowned again.
"Besides the Primal Saint Sect, the Pure Land has also discovered the [Myriad Martial Realm] and even created a corresponding second-grade true technique to compete with the Saint Sect?"
This was another difficulty in cultivating second-grade true techniques.
Beyond hostility from the harvested realms, one might encounter cultivators from rival factions, further increasing the challenge.
"Entry, however, is much simpler."
"After all, second-grade true techniques have no ties to one's Dao base, so they can be cultivated alongside others. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators can practice them, without starting from Qi Refining."
At that moment, a massive rumble echoed from the vault of heaven.
Boom!
In an instant, the earth quaked and mountains shook. The originally dull, colorless sky suddenly blazed with a streak of starlight—a golden lamp radiance that illuminated heaven and earth in a flash.
Where the brilliant light passed, it outshone sun and moon, revealed the yet-unrevealed lands, pushed aside the thirty-six layers of astral clouds in one breath, exposing an abyss-like endless blue sky. Finally, it manifested a majestic realm spanning the cosmos, ablaze with lights, where jade towers and pearl palaces could faintly be seen.
"Perfected Chongguang... succeeded?!"
Lu Yang started in shock, gazing upward. But he soon noticed something off.
"No... it's still just a blessed land. It hasn't sublimated into a cave heaven!"
Lu Yang had witnessed a cave heaven before.
Back overseas, when that Sword Pavilion True Lord fell and their cave heaven collapsed, he had been right there. So he could tell the difference.
In his view, though this manifested majestic realm was grand in momentum, it still lacked the transcendent aura of a cave heaven standing above the mortal dust—like the gap between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment. Without ascension, the status remained unchanged; no amount of raw power mattered.
In other words—failure!
Crack!
The next second, a crisp shattering rang in the hearts of all Perfected Beings below. An indescribable sorrow surged into everyone's minds.
Especially those Foundation Establishment cultivators whose divine abilities included [Chen Earth].
This was not their own emotional fluctuation, but Perfected Chongguang's thoughts transmitted at this moment via the fruit position to all corresponding cultivators.
One thought, and the world responded!
In a sense, this was already the mark of a True Lord—Perfected Chongguang had virtually stood at that threshold.
Alas, it was still water without roots.
"Just one step short... still failed."
In a daze, Lu Yang seemed to hear a long sigh.
Like a lamp flame meeting a gale, in an instant, the golden lamp light that had illuminated the world dimmed. The brilliantly lit blessed land collapsed with a boom!