Chapter 154 - 106: Moon Dew Soul Tempering

Chapter 154: Chapter 106: Moon Dew Soul Tempering

Two streaks of Escape Light, one black and one white, brought Li Yinsheng down in front of a great hall at the back of Jade Altar Temple.

The Escape Lights dissipated, and Yanming and Yanqing simultaneously dragged Li Yinsheng into the hall.

As Li Yinsheng followed them, he wondered if he should properly learn an Escape Skill after returning.

Although he could transform into a rainbow and fly by directly relying on Magical Treasures like the Celestial Cyan Sword or the White Rainbow Sword, his speed was much slower since he didn’t know an Escape Skill himself.

Unless their affinities perfectly clashed, the combination of an Escape Skill and the Escape Light formed by a Magical Treasure generally yielded an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

The Daoists he had met from Zulu Temple and Cangfeng Temple, as well as the sisters Yanming and Yanqing right now, had all cultivated profound Escape Skills that allowed them to directly transform into Escape Lights.

If they supplemented this with a Magical Treasure, their speed would increase sharply.

Xuanzhen Temple did not lack good Escape Skills. It was just that he had previously focused all his energy on switching his Cultivation Technique to the Six Interpretations of Life and Death and researching the Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath, leaving him no time for anything else.

Now that his foundation in the Six Interpretations of Life and Death was completely stable, he finally had free time. He told himself he had to pick a good Escape Skill upon his return.

For a dignified Grand Daoist to be unable to even execute an Escape Light without relying on a Magical Treasure was truly a bit embarrassing.

Still lost in thought, Li Yinsheng followed the sisters to the center of the hall.

Soon after, the Five-Colored Escape Light formed by Shangguan Ling’Er arrived in a flash, revealing her figure beside him.

He greeted Shangguan Ling’Er, then looked up.

To the naked eye, the entire hall appeared extremely empty, but under the perception of his Divine Sense, a complex Array filling the entire space was continuously operating.

The sisters let go of Li Yinsheng and spoke almost simultaneously, "This is the most important Moonlight Spirit Refining Array of our Jade Altar Temple!"

"The most important Spirit Refining Array?" Li Yinsheng was puzzled. "This Array indeed has the effect of Refining Spirit Charm, but isn’t your Spirit Refining Array in the center of Jade Altar Temple?"

As an Array Master, he had previously sensed the Spirit Refining Arrays in both Zulu Temple and Cangfeng Temple.

As two top-ranking Great Daoist Temples, the level of their Spirit Refining Arrays was naturally extremely high.

However, compared to the Spirit Refining Array he sensed when he arrived at Jade Altar Temple, they were more than just a step behind.

Jade Altar Temple’s Spirit Refining Array laid out countless child arrays, covering almost all the Spiritual Eyes on the mountain peak. Furthermore, whether it was the efficiency of mobilizing Spirit Charm or the quality of the Refined Spirit Charm, it was the highest Li Yinsheng had ever seen.

But Jade Altar Temple’s Spirit Refining Array wasn’t here. Although the Array in this hall also had the effect of Refining Spirits, its scale and efficiency were far inferior to the Spirit Refining Array in the center of Jade Altar Temple.

It was obvious that the other Spirit Refining Array was the one meant for the entire Jade Altar Temple to use, yet these two claimed that the Spirit Refining Array in this hall was the most important.

Li Yinsheng could only guess that the product Refined by this Moonlight Spirit Refining Array was far more critical.

Facing his doubts, Yanming didn’t keep him guessing and directly said, "Although the Moonlight Spirit Refining Array is called a Spirit Refining Array, it is only because the ancestral founder who created it used the Spirit Refining Array as a reference. The thing it Refines is not Spirit Charm."

"It doesn’t Refine Spirit Charm..." Li Yinsheng nodded. "No wonder I felt this Array was somewhat different from an ordinary Spirit Refining Array."

Yanming smiled proudly. "The Moonlight Spirit Refining Array can absorb Moonlight during a full moon. Imitating the method of Refining Spirit Charm, it Refines Moonlight into Moon Dew.

"Although Moon Dew is of no use to Cultivation, it has immense benefits for Divine Sense and the Soul.

"Li, you are also an Array Master. You should know how important Divine Sense and the Soul are to an Array Master.

"Even if one isn’t an Array Master, for True Cultivators, strengthening the Soul is far more difficult than increasing Cultivation.

"However, Refining Moon Dew relies on the Moonlight of a full moon, so the output is extremely limited. In Jade Altar Temple, only Cultivators at the rank of Steward and above can receive a small share."

Yanqing chimed in, "Most of the Moon Dew is supplied to the Daoists in the temple. But for ordinary Cultivators, even Refining just a few drops brings great benefits to the Soul."

"Strengthening the Soul!" Li Yinsheng was first surprised, then realization dawned on him. "No wonder you said this Array is the most important. That makes perfect sense; it all makes sense now..."

Methods capable of enhancing Divine Sense were already rare and valuable enough. Taking it a step further to directly touch upon the essence—a method that could strengthen the Soul—was naturally even more precious.

Before this, the only method he knew and utilized was to cultivate Soul Tempering Techniques like the Heart Seal Scripture after becoming a Daoist.

However, the Heart Seal Scripture itself was not a particularly brilliant Soul Tempering Technique; it was merely barely passable.

According to his Martial Uncle, apart from Shouyi Temple’s Soul Tempering Technique which had some merit, the Soul Tempering Techniques of most other Daoist Temples were roughly on the same level as the Heart Seal Scripture.

The Soul had always been the most difficult part of a Cultivator to improve. Li Yinsheng himself had deeply experienced this.

He figured that whether it was Magical Power, Sword Technique, Physique, or Magical Treasures, compared to ordinary Grand Daoists of the same Realm, he possessed a degree of superiority. Only his Soul was a shortcoming.

In terms of his Soul, he was no different from a normal Grand Daoist with similar Cultivation.

If his opponent hailed from Shouyi Temple or a Dharma Vein and possessed a better Soul Tempering Technique, he would even be at a disadvantage.

Hearing now that Jade Altar Temple actually possessed a method to strengthen the Soul outside of Cultivation Techniques, he couldn’t help but be astonished.

"No wonder you two are merely Daoists, yet your Divine Sense is already approaching that of a Grand Daoist."

Shangguan Ling’Er looked at Yanming and Yanqing from the side, smiling cheerfully as she said, "It seems the core inheritance of some Daoist Temples does have its merits."

Her words sounded somewhat condescending, but the two sisters showed no signs of anger.

Compared to a Dharma Vein, a Daoist Temple’s inheritance was far inferior—that was a fact. Moreover, the person before them was the disciple of an Imperial Decree Daoist.

"But you also just said that there’s a problem with this Array."

Li Yinsheng spread out his Divine Sense. After a moment, he spoke thoughtfully, "If I’m not mistaken, this Array has several child arrays surrounding it, and right now, the connection between the child arrays and the mother array has been severed, hasn’t it?"

Spirit Refining Arrays were basically composed of child arrays and mother arrays. The child arrays served as Spirit Gathering Arrays and Spirit-Tuning Arrays, used to collect and mobilize the transportation of Spirit Charm respectively.

The mother array was both the Spirit Refining Array and the central hub for all Spirit-Tuning Arrays, used to Refine special Spirit Charms as well as allocate and mobilize them.

Regarding the Grand Array before him, because he initially didn’t know that it Refined Moonlight instead of Spirit Charm, he hadn’t realized what the problem was.

In truth, he had noticed upon arrival that there were several Arrays surrounding this Moonlight Spirit Refining Array operating abnormally, like child arrays that had lost their mother array.

It was just that since these Arrays were neither Spirit Gathering Arrays nor Spirit-Tuning Arrays, he subconsciously didn’t consider them to be child arrays of the Moonlight Spirit Refining Array.

But after the sisters explained, he immediately realized the truth.

Since this Moonlight Spirit Refining Array didn’t Refine Spirit Charm, its corresponding child arrays naturally weren’t Spirit Gathering Arrays, but Arrays for collecting Moonlight.

It was perfectly normal for an Array that collected Moonlight to differ vastly from one that collected Spirit Charm.

Therefore, these several Arrays were undoubtedly the child arrays of the Moonlight Spirit Refining Array.

"Li, you are correct," Yanming said, staring at Li Yinsheng. "Coincidentally, what we were just arguing about was exactly how to reconnect the Mother-Child Array."

"My sister and I can actually fix the Mother-Child Array. But using our method, we would have to dismantle the mother array almost completely and rebuild it from scratch, which is quite troublesome," Yanqing said.

Yanming added, "Furthermore, the cost of constructing a Moonlight Spirit Refining Array is extremely high."

"Dismantling the thing that needs to be fixed until there’s nothing left, and then building a new one—what exactly are you fixing then?!" Li Yinsheng retorted.

However, this made him understand why Qi had mentioned that the people of Jade Altar Temple seemed to be short on money back when he was introduced to their shop at Baoguang Temple.

Having such a valuable Array sitting at home waiting to be rebuilt would indeed make one a bit strapped for cash.

"Regardless, using our method, we can definitely restore the Moonlight Spirit Refining Array without any problems!" Yanqing declared.

"As for you and your unorthodox methods, can you guarantee you’ll fix it?" Yanming scoffed lightly.

"Words are useless. Once I’ve repaired the Moonlight Spirit Refining Array, just admit defeat on your own!" Li Yinsheng said.

"Fine. We’ll give you five days. Do you think that’s enough?" Yanming said. "Five days from now is the night of the full moon. It’ll be the perfect time to operate the Array and verify your work."

"No problem!" Li Yinsheng replied without hesitation.

Yanqing and Yanming simultaneously held out their palms toward Li Yinsheng. "We shall clap hands to seal the oath!"

Li Yinsheng raised his hand and clapped palms with each of them.

As for what would happen if he broke it further during the repairs, none of the three mentioned it, because there was no point.

The child arrays themselves weren’t complex. Even if they were damaged during the repair process, it wouldn’t be much of a loss, so there was no need to dwell on it.

The mother array, on the other hand, was indeed extremely complex and highly valuable; even the entire great hall served as its Array Base.

But according to the sisters’ method, if Li Yinsheng failed, when it was their turn to repair it, the mother array would have to be almost completely dismantled anyway, regardless of whether Li Yinsheng had ruined it or not.

Five days later, at the hour of Hai.

Li Yinsheng, Shangguan Ling’Er, and the sisters, Yanming and Yanqing, stood in the great hall.

Yanming formed several Techniques with her fingers, and the ceiling of the great hall promptly opened upwards, revealing the night sky and the full moon hanging high above.

Illuminated by the moonlight, countless silver beams of light rose from the originally empty hall, almost weaving together to form a forest.

Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er took a few steps back, while Yanming and Yanqing stepped forward side by side.

The two stood in the dead center of the great hall—or rather, the Moonlight Spirit Refining Array—and simultaneously executed identical, complicated Techniques. Under their control, the entire Array began to emit a brilliant glow.

At the same time, beams of light began to grow and spread from several smaller surrounding halls, each weaving together to form an epiphyllum flower.

After the epiphyllums bloomed, the Moonlight transformed into a visible, silk-like state, slowly drifting into the pistils of the flowers before converging toward the central mother array.

A stone platform rose in front of the sisters. It was quite plain, with only a small, exquisite stone bowl set in its center.

As the Spirit Refining Array operated, a drop of crystal-clear, moon-white liquid fell from the void directly above the stone bowl, dripping into its base.

The liquid looked as if it were truly the melted full moon itself; whether in luster or color, it was exactly identical.

Standing beside Li Yinsheng, Shangguan Ling’Er looked around. Before her were light trees swaying under the moon, and epiphyllums floated in the surrounding night sky.

She looked up at the moon and softly asked, "Yin Sheng, don’t you think the moonlight is beautiful tonight?"

Li Yinsheng shook his head. "I don’t really like the moon, especially a full moon."

Shangguan Ling’Er fell silent, then immediately rolled her eyes at him.

Li Yinsheng looked entirely innocent.

He truly disliked the full moon. If anyone had cultivated under the moonlight by a lotus pond for god knows how many years, only to be chased and hacked at for a century, they wouldn’t be able to like the full moon either, right?

He was most thankful that the Arrays collecting Moonlight hadn’t taken the form of lotus flowers. Otherwise, he would have felt even more uncomfortable.

However, as he stared at the full moon in the sky and then at the stone bowl that caught another dripping drop of Moon Dew, a thought struck him.

He thought, "Is the moon in my Grotto Heaven real? If it is a true full moon, I should be able to use it to Refine Moon Dew too, right?"