Chapter 596 - 248: True Martial (Part 2)

Chen Qing left Prison Peak, but the doubts in his heart had not dispersed.

’If it’s not a problem with my Body Refining Technique, then the issue must lie with the True Astral itself.’

He changed direction and headed straight for Ten Thousand Laws Peak.

As the place in the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect with the most complete collection of Cultivation Techniques and scriptures, Ten Thousand Laws Peak housed not only the core Dharma Transmission Hall but also numerous records of seniors’ insights, Martial Arts treatises, and various esoteric chronicles.

This time, Chen Qing’s goal wasn’t some profound Martial Arts Secret Manual. Instead, he was looking for theoretical foundations and the experiences of his predecessors regarding the fundamental nature of True Astral—specifically, the transformation between Inner and Outer Astral, and the fusion of True Astral.

After the Guard Disciple verified his Identity Jade Token, Chen Qing walked in slowly.

His objective was clear, and he began to quickly yet carefully browse through the records.

Distinguishing Inner and Outer Astrals, Essentials of True Astral Emission, My Views on the Fusion of Alien True Astrals... He took down one scripture after another, some old, some new, and skimmed through them at high speed.

His Heart and Spirit were highly focused as countless treatises, conjectures, and even case studies on True Astral fusion flowed into his mind like a stream.

Time passed bit by bit. Chen Qing stood between the bookshelves, at times frowning in deep thought, at others shaking his head.

In the Inner Astral Realm, the True Astral is contained within the body. It moves as an extension of one’s will, circulating smoothly, with the emphasis on accumulation and internal cycling.

In the Outer Astral Realm, one must project the True Astral outside the body to harm enemies from a distance. This requires a new level of control over the True Astral, demanding that it be as fine as a thread, condensed without dispersing, and able to change according to one’s will.

His previous understanding wasn’t wrong, but now, combining it with his own situation and the numerous scriptures he had just read, a key point he had previously overlooked—or rather, had never deeply investigated due to his smooth progress—was gradually surfacing.

’Five Elements Fusion... The Five Elements True Astral in my body is indeed far more powerful than the True Astral from a single-attribute Superior Heart Method. I even feel it’s no weaker than that of the True Disciples who achieved Foundation Establishment with a Supreme Heart Method...’

Chen Qing put down a yellowed parchment scroll, his brow growing heavier.

’Master Li said that the Five Schools Heart Method originated from a fragment of the True Insights of Primordial Five Elements True Astral. What’s missing is the master outline—the part that governs the Five Elements, allowing them to generate and overcome one another in an endless cycle, ultimately smelting them into one!’

’Relying on five different Attribute Treasures, I forcibly guided the Five True Astrals to generate one another, form a cycle, and finally fuse. This fused True Astral seems powerful and encompasses the properties of all Five Elements, but I’m afraid... it’s not the true "Primordial Five Elements True Astral"!’

He recalled the difficulty of the initial fusion and the scene at the final moment when the Five True Astrals had nearly repelled each other and disintegrated.

At the time, he had only assumed it was because his Realm wasn’t high enough and his control was insufficient.

Now, it seemed the deeper reason was—the lack of a master outline!

Without the guidance of the master outline, his so-called fusion was more like a crude compression and balancing act, a forceful mashing together using the principle of the Five Elements’ mutual generation.

This balanced construct could still be maintained during the Inner Astral stage, as long as it was confined to circulating within his body.

The internal environment of the body is relatively stable, and the True Astral primarily follows the guidance of his Intention to run along established meridians.

But as soon as it came to external projection—when the True Astral needed to leave the body, come into contact with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi of the outside world, and endure all sorts of complex interference—this instability began to manifest!

’It’s like five wild horses I’ve forcibly tied together to pull a chariot. It’s fine on a flat, open road, but the moment they need to leap over a gorge or cross a stream, the slightest difference in their direction or strength will make them pull against each other, causing the chariot to become unstable or even snap the ropes!’

A flash of understanding lit up in Chen Qing’s eyes.

’What I fused is the Five Elements True Astral, an aggregate of five different attribute True Astrals. Its power comes from quantitative accumulation and attribute diversity. But what the True Insights of Primordial Five Elements True Astral is meant to cultivate should be the Primordial Five Elements True Astral—a True Astral that has undergone a qualitative transformation and become a single, unified whole!’

’The former is a combination; the latter is a transformation.’

’At its core, the Five Elements True Astral I cultivated still consists of five independent entities, not a true, single whole.’

This conclusion brought clarity to Chen Qing’s heart.

He had originally thought he had bypassed the restriction of the master outline.

It now seemed that while this path was indeed exceptionally powerful in the early stages, the drawback of lacking the master outline’s guidance would become more and more apparent the further he went, especially when it came to the fundamental application of True Astral and higher Realms.

In the future, when he tried to break through to the True Essence Realm, a process that required completely refining his entire body of True Astral into the higher-level True Essence, would this combined-but-not-transformed Five Elements True Astral become his greatest obstacle?

Could it even trigger some unforeseen danger?

"The master outline... In the end, there’s no getting around it."

Chen Qing muttered to himself, "I must find it—the method to make the Five Elements True Astral truly fuse into one."

He gently placed the scripture in his hands back on the shelf and let out a breath.

Chen Qing mused to himself that finding the master outline of the True Insights of Primordial Five Elements True Astral would indeed be extremely difficult. The related records in the Ten Thousand Laws Tower were few and far between, mostly vague or existing only in legends.

’That old coot, Li!’

A thought struck Chen Qing. ’He’s so knowledgeable about the True Insights of Primordial Five Elements True Astral. He knows it inside and out. Maybe he has some clues.’

He always felt that Li Baichuan knew something more but hadn’t told him everything back then, perhaps because his own cultivation was still shallow, or for some other reason.

If he sent a letter to ask, it would likely be difficult to explain clearly. Master Li might not reply in detail, and might even continue to avoid the topic altogether.

’Looks like I’ll have to personally make a trip back to the Wutai Sect and ask that old coot to his face.’

Chen Qing thought, also resolving to ask about the origin of the True Martial Seal. The appearance of such an Unparalleled Martial Arts in Master Li’s hands was unusual in itself.

Having made up his mind, Chen Qing didn’t linger. He turned and walked out of the Ten Thousand Laws Tower, preparing to first return to his small courtyard on Xu Wang Mountain to pack a few things before reporting his intention to leave the sect grounds.