Chapter 338 - 336: Enlightenment Bodhi

Chapter 338: Chapter 336: Enlightenment Bodhi

The Celestial Spirit Gathering Spirit Array existed only as a safety net.

If it could be avoided, even Bai Zichen, who was fully confident in his ability to form a Nascent Soul, didn’t want to take such a risk.

Who could say whether, after surviving the Celestial Tribulation, something might go wrong during the final step—gathering the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to form the Nascent Soul.

Master Ge Cang’s suggestion was for him to venture deep into Black Mountain once more and ascertain the true state of the Cyan Simurgh.

The last attempt had been cut short by the Ghost Spirit Sect’s sudden invasion; he hadn’t even seen a single feather of the Cyan Simurgh.

His Inch and Mile Divine Technique was no longer usable, but his Thunder Escape had improved. Even if the Cyan Simurgh awakened, he could still escape.

Then, based on Master Ge Cang’s close-range observations, they would determine the Cyan Simurgh’s true level of strength and plan their next move.

"Wuu Sheng, of the Secret Hall’s guardian lineage, greets Ancestor Bai... Please present your token for verification, Ancestor."

Before the Secret Hall stood a middle-aged cultivator. He said this with an expressionless face, his aura as still as a stone.

"I’ve come to retrieve two Enlightenment Bodhi."

Bai Zichen revealed his Identity Token. The intricate patterns on the massive door flashed with Spirit Light and emitted a pleasant chime, confirming his identity.

Disciples of the Secret Hall lineage were traditionally chosen one per generation. The selection wasn’t based on talent or aptitude, but on a superior disposition, the ability to endure loneliness, and absolute loyalty to the Sect.

The successors were typically orphans, chosen and placed among the Outer Sect Disciples for observation until adulthood. Once they passed their trials, they would enter the Secret Hall and begin cultivating the Treasure Absorption Technique.

Aside from a few Core Formation Ancestors and the Sect Leader, Secret Hall disciples had no contact with anyone else in the Sect. Many Elders didn’t even know who the Hall Elder of the Secret Hall was.

Bai Zichen’s status allowed him to enter any part of the Qingfeng Sect unimpeded. The Secret Hall was the only place where he still had to have his token verified and his innate Essence Blood scanned.

This was to confirm that the visitor was indeed who they claimed to be, and not an imposter in disguise.

"Verification passed. Please enter, Ancestor."

The middle-aged cultivator’s tone was devoid of emotion, lacking the fawning excitement other disciples displayed in his presence.

"Not bad. Already at Late-Stage Foundation Establishment... Strive to become the first Core Formation True Man in the Secret Hall’s treasure-guarding lineage."

Bai Zichen nodded slightly, showing his approval of Wuu Sheng.

’I didn’t expect the Secret Hall to be hiding a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment disciple. Judging by his age, he must be under a hundred years old.’

’Out in the Sect, he’d be qualified to run for one of the Five Halls Master positions.’

The cultivation speed of the Secret Hall lineage had little to do with personal aptitude. It depended primarily on the quantity and grade of the treasures they guarded, and it also placed extremely high demands on the cultivator’s mental fortitude.

If their mental fortitude wavered, their cultivation would plummet.

But if it was rock-solid, they wouldn’t have to worry about an unstable foundation or the dissipation of treasure-qi.

As the Qingfeng Sect had grown stronger in recent years, the number of treasures in the Secret Hall had increased to nearly ten times what it was a century ago.

Riding this favorable tide, Wuu Sheng was put on a fast track for cultivation, progressing much faster than his own masters. ℴ

Wei Dao had once said that if Junior Brother Bai were willing to place the Moon Xuan Sword in the Secret Vault for thirty years, it could produce a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

This statement alone revealed the extent of the disciples’ reliance on treasures in the Treasure Absorption Technique lineage.

Upon entering the Secret Hall, Bai Zichen went straight to his objective, ignoring the glittering piles of Magical Treasures. He had personally placed many of them in here and was quite familiar with them.

Two brown Bodhi, which had been suspended high overhead, fell into his hands. They exuded a refreshing fragrance that invigorated the spirit.

These were Tier Three Enlightenment Bodhi, one of the Spiritual Objects that Suihan True Monarch had used to trade for the Earth God Sand. The Ice Soul Sect had even thrown in a piece of Ten Thousand Years Ice Jade to finalize that deal.

That piece of Ten Thousand Years Ice Jade was the size of a palm and had been delivered to Ancestor Bai long ago, to help him neutralize the Fire Poison generated from cultivating the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture.

A piece this large would be sufficient for his needs until he formed his Nascent Soul.

Once he reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he would gain the ability to transform into a Fire Dragon and wield Pure Yang True Flame. A mere Fire Poison would be of no concern.

The circulation of Pure Yang True Flame would be enough to silently dissolve the Fire Poison, making the Ten Thousand Years Ice Jade unnecessary.

The Enlightenment Bodhi was a unique type of Spiritual Object. For seven days after its use, it could drastically increase one’s Comprehension, providing immense benefits for practicing special Divine Secret Techniques or breaking through bottlenecks in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.

It had a similar effect to the Holy Lotus Sect’s Enlightenment Lotus Seeds and the Enlightenment Spirit Tea he had encountered before.

However, the Enlightenment Lotus Seeds were more commonly used as Core Formation Spiritual Objects, while the Enlightenment Spirit Tea could be brewed, not just consumed directly, to grant a small, permanent boost to one’s Comprehension.

The Enlightenment Bodhi was much more direct: crush it, and Spirit Light would wash over your body, causing your Comprehension to soar.

It was unclear where the Ice Soul Sect had obtained their Enlightenment Bodhi. In any case, they had only reluctantly added the Spiritual Object to their offer after the Qingfeng Sect had repeatedly rejected their proposals to trade Magical Treasures for the Earth God Sand.

There were three in total within the Secret Hall. Bai Zichen took two, leaving one Enlightenment Bodhi behind for future generations, just in case.

Fortunately, he had more than enough Contribution Points to his name. Otherwise, both the Ten Thousand Years Ice Jade and the Enlightenment Bodhi cost a six-figure sum of Sect Contribution, an amount not easily redeemed.

Bai Zichen took these two Enlightenment Bodhi, intending to use them when refining his Tier Three Flying Sword.

The effects of a Tier Three Enlightenment Bodhi were limited to those below the Nascent Soul Realm. Refining a Tier Three Flying Sword fell perfectly within that scope.

In the days that followed, Bai Zichen traveled back and forth between Celestial Thunder Cliff and Ten Thousand Immortals Creek. This was mainly because the Water Refining of the Magical Treasure depended on the Eye of the Spirit Spring located there.

This time, he chose to refine a Top-Grade Magical Treasure called the Ten Thousand Crows Pot, and the preliminary stages proceeded very smoothly.

Ten months later, when he reached the crucial fusion stage, he decisively crushed one of the Enlightenment Bodhi. A milky-white Spirit Light erupted and surged into his body.

’So this is what Celestial Grade Comprehension feels like... It’s as if the ley lines of all creation have become clear...’

Bai Zichen had a feeling that if he were to practice the Daoist Classic Cantongqi or any other Divine Technique right now, his progress would be ten times faster than normal.

The moment the retrieval Hand Technique for the Ten Thousand Crows Pot appeared in his mind, he executed it with natural ease, without needing to practice it even once in his Sea of Consciousness.

His Hand Techniques were so refined and masterful it was as if he had already refined the Ten Thousand Crows Pot a thousand times. He knew instinctively where to apply force and when to tighten his gestures, performing each move with perfect ease.

His ten fingers danced like they were plucking the strings of a zither, weaving a beautiful tapestry of motion.

’Bai Zichen, with his average Comprehension, had never experienced anything like this. From his current perspective, his past Artifact Refining Techniques seemed crude and clumsy, riddled with flaws.’

’Just a few minor adjustments could boost his refining efficiency immensely.’

’No wonder Enlightenment-type Spiritual Objects are so valuable and sought after... For those with a deep foundation in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, just on the cusp of a breakthrough, this would practically guarantee their advancement to the next realm.’

In fact, the Enlightenment Bodhi’s effect was even more pronounced for Bai Zichen than for other cultivators.

This was because his Artifact Refining Realm had been achieved through rote memorization, by focusing on a single item and brute-forcing his skill level up, regardless of cost.

He had practically no foundational knowledge of artifact refining. If asked to refine a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact he’d never encountered before, he would still have a high chance of failure.

But as long as he successfully refined a Magical Treasure just once, his Mysterious Holy Body would forcibly and unnaturally elevate his Artifact Refining Realm.

Therefore, when it came to the path of artifact refining, his development was genuinely lopsided.

Still, he had never intended to become an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. All his efforts were solely for the purpose of mastering the Sword Refining Skill himself.

Under the influence of the Enlightenment Bodhi, Bai Zichen rapidly absorbed knowledge of artifact refining. The refining legacies he had browsed in the past surfaced one by one, fully integrated into his own skill set.

In the next moment, a chaotic cawing of crows erupted. Though not a single Spirit Crow was visible, the sound of thousands of flapping wings filled the air, as if ten thousand Spirit Crows had truly flown into the pot.

A silver Ten Thousand Crows Pot, the size of a snuff bottle, leaped from the Eye of the Spirit Spring and landed in his palm, glistening with Water Beads.

Thus, the first Top-Grade Magical Treasure of his artifact refining career was born, all thanks to the help of the Enlightenment Bodhi.

Racing against the clock, Bai Zichen took advantage of the remaining time of his comprehension boost and immediately began refining the Tier Three Flying Sword, flying directly back to Celestial Thunder Cliff.

The refining process for the Thunder Sound Sword required drawing upon Thunder Fire to temper the blade, which meant the Water Refining Technique was out of the question.

He had made arrangements for the Sword Refinement on Celestial Thunder Cliff long ago, preparing multiple sets of Thunder Sound Bamboo and all the necessary supplementary Spiritual Materials.

Bai Zichen stood before the Celestial Thunder Wall, reviewing the refining method for the Thunder Sound Sword one last time and committing it to memory.

A five-foot-long section of Thunder Sound Bamboo appeared in his hand. It was as thick as his forearm and purplish-cyan in color, with sparks of electric Thunder Radiance dancing within the Spiritual Bamboo’s core.

A light tap of his finger produced a booming thunderclap, its echoes lingering in the air.

For his first attempt at refining a Tier Three Flying Sword, Bai Zichen forwent Earth Fire and used his Pill Fire directly to refine the Spiritual Materials, merging the supplementary materials into the Thunder Sound Bamboo one by one.

The once-straight stalk of Thunder Sound Bamboo gradually took on the shape of a flying sword. But just as he pointed toward the Thunder Crystal Fragments on the ground, the Thunder Sound Bamboo shuddered, lost its form, and melted into a pool of viscous liquid under the Pill Fire.

It splattered onto the ground, the extreme heat fusing it with the Thunder Crystal Fragments. Once it cooled, it formed a single, scorched black mass.

’The frequency of the Pill Fire was off, destroying the internal structure of the Thunder Sound Bamboo... Again!’

In his state of Celestial Grade Comprehension, Bai Zichen instantly identified his mistake the moment the refining failed.

Without pausing, he took out a second set of Sword Refining Materials and began the process anew.

This time, he made it further. The Thunder Crystal Fragments exploded, channeling violent Thunder Element Spiritual Power into the Thunder Sound Bamboo. The sword’s body formed, its exterior no longer resembling Spiritual Bamboo.

However, during the final step—drawing down Thunder Fire for the tempering process—the awaited Celestial Thunder directly blasted the half-formed Thunder Sound Sword to smithereens.

When the Celestial Thunder dissipated, only half of the Thunder Sound Sword remained, smoldering on the ground.

’This is the greatest flaw of tempering with Celestial Thunder—it’s impossible to control the power of the Thunder Fire... A mere unformed Tier Three Flying Sword can’t possibly withstand the full force of a Celestial Thunder strike.’

Bai Zichen had no idea how the Sword Refiners of the Fish Dragon Sect had solved this problem in the past.

For now, all he could do was keep trying and trust to luck, hoping the next bolt of Celestial Thunder would be weak enough for the Thunder Sound Sword to endure.

He swallowed an Elixir to restore his True Essence and, in the final moments before his state of Enlightenment ended, succeeded in forging another half-formed Thunder Sound Sword.

Thanks to the unique environment of the Celestial Thunder Wall, bolts of Celestial Thunder were a frequent occurrence.

After a moment’s wait, he finally saw a relatively weak bolt of Thunderbolt and thrust the Thunder Sound Sword into it.

CRACKLE! BOOM!

As the Thunder and Fire collided, a deafening clap of thunder echoed across Celestial Thunder Cliff, causing every disciple to look up toward the summit.