Chapter 142 - 74: Heaven’s Myriad Phenomena, the Cosmos in Jiang Xuan’s Eyes

Chapter 142: Chapter 74: Heaven’s Myriad Phenomena, the Cosmos in Jiang Xuan’s Eyes

HUFF...

Time slowly passed as Jiang Xuan focused on his Cultivation. Soon, a day had gone by. Now, only one day remained until the Tri-Academy Joint Examination.

However, despite the pressing deadline, Jiang Xuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief. His Cultivation progress was going far more smoothly than he had anticipated.

The Qi Observation and Celestial Observation Skill was an ordinary Technique to begin with, so the barrier to entry wasn’t high.

Furthermore, Jiang Xuan had the boon of the Scripture Pavilion’s Spirit Charm and the Mountain of Books and Sea of Literature from the Opening Scripture Profound Essence Spell, allowing him to personally experience the essence and insights of his predecessors’ Cultivation.

On top of that, he also had the Spirit Soup to restore his Power of Heart Soul.

With so many advantages and by cultivating day and night, it took him only a single day and night to grind this Technique to the Third Realm, Minor Success.

With this, Jiang Xuan had also fulfilled the seventh requirement for advancing to Qi Cultivator - Celestial Observer.

At this point, the only thing he lacked for his advancement was the Spiritual Pupil.

That afternoon, Liu Hui personally escorted the Sky Dome Spirit Liquid to the Four Seasons Valley, arriving outside Jiang Xuan’s small courtyard.

However, upon seeing Jiang Xuan, she didn’t immediately hand over the Spirit Liquid. Instead, with a solemn expression, she relayed a message from Su Wanyi: "The Matriarch instructed me to tell you that the use of overly powerful external items is forbidden in the second round of the assessment. If you attempt to temporarily activate your Spiritual Pupil during the assessment and are discovered, your results will be nullified."

Jiang Xuan replied, "I know. I was never relying on it."

Seeing that Jiang Xuan understood, Liu Hui said no more. She placed the porcelain vial in his hand and turned to leave.

However, after leaving Jiang Xuan’s courtyard, she didn’t return directly to the Su Family. Instead, she took a stroll around the Four Seasons Valley before returning to Su Wanyi’s side to report everything she had seen and heard in detail.

After hearing Liu Hui’s report, Su Wanyi fell into a long, deep thought.

After quite some time, she finally spoke, her tone seeking confirmation. "Are you sure you saw correctly? Jiang Xuan isn’t living in an ordinary dormitory in the Four Seasons Valley, but has his own separate courtyard?"

"Yes, this servant saw it very clearly. And Jiang Xuan’s courtyard is quite large. Next to it, there’s a pavilion that exceeds the standard specifications for an ordinary courtyard. It is definitely not something a common disciple could possess."

These words made Su Wanyi’s gaze grow even more profound.

As a former Inner Sect Disciple, she naturally knew what it meant for someone to be able to do such exceptional things even before officially entering the Sect.

This solidified her decision. "Go and bring Linyin here. I have something for her to do."

"Yes, Matriarch."

...

While things were happening at the Su Family’s estate, Jiang Xuan opened the porcelain vial Liu Hui had brought and looked at the Spirit Liquid containing the Power of the Sky.

It was a single drop of azure liquid. Although contained within the vial, it didn’t touch the bottom, instead floating weightlessly in mid-air.

At the same time, using the special sense of smell he gained from his Gourmet class, Jiang Xuan detected a crisp fragrance—it was like the clarity of the sky after a rain, and the distant tranquility of ancient, verdant mountains.

But when Jiang Xuan focused and sniffed more deeply, the fragrance suddenly transformed, becoming the vastness and gravity of the boundless heavens and earth.

’The ever-changing Myriad Phenomena... It’s certainly mystical. But since I can smell you, I should probably handle you in a different way.’

With this in mind, Jiang Xuan didn’t follow the conventional method of applying it to the space between his eyebrows.

After recapping the vial of Spirit Liquid, Jiang Xuan first went to the adjacent courtyard and performed a simple yet solemn ritual—Purifying Heart, hands, and body, shedding all worldly impurities and distracting thoughts.

[Three Purification Mantra: True Communication]

Once his body was pure and clean, he lit three sticks of Spirit Incense, silently recited the Incense Prayer Spell, and solemnly performed a ritual offering to the Sky Dome Spirit Liquid.

When all was done, he began to dance with ancient steps, performing the shamanistic dance of the Feast Ceremony. As the sleeves of his robe fluttered, a solemn and dignified atmosphere arose.

By now, Jiang Xuan’s intention was clear—he was actually preparing to ingest the Sky Dome Spirit Liquid.

"Let us become one."

With a murmur, Jiang Xuan, holding a knife and fork, looked at the tray on the dining table like a Taotie, his eyes filled with an endless, greedy appetite.

This time, there was no other food on Jiang Xuan’s plate, only this single drop of Spirit Liquid.

But this one drop was enough.

GULP—

Guiding it with his Magical Power, Jiang Xuan swallowed the drop of Spirit Liquid.

BOOM!

The moment the Spirit Liquid entered his mouth, a myriad of sky-related flavors exploded on his tongue. The taste then traveled down his throat and straight to his sea of consciousness—the searing heat of Thunder, the warmth of sunlight, the fresh moisture of clearing Cloud Rain, the biting chill of blizzards... All sorts of flavors intertwined and clashed, as if Jiang Xuan had experienced the turning of the four seasons and the transformations of heaven and earth in a single instant. It allowed him to truly feel the majesty and wonder of the sky’s Myriad Phenomena.

This extreme sensory experience even drew out all the insights from his predecessors that Jiang Xuan had comprehended yesterday in the Mountain of Books and Sea of Literature.

But this time, these insights were no longer fleeting illusions. The power of the Feast Ceremony allowed Jiang Xuan to chew on them carefully and digest them slowly, thoroughly integrating the rhythms of heaven and earth and the experience of his predecessors into his body and Soul Spirit.

Within his physical body, the digested Power of the Sky surged like a tide, converging entirely on the space between his eyebrows. At the same time, this power continuously stimulated his qi, blood, genes, and Magical Power, quietly brewing a transformation at that very spot.

While his body underwent this drastic change, within his Soul Spirit, in the Memory Palace - Scripture Pavilion, over a dozen new books appeared, each glowing with an azure halo: *Power of the Sky, Volume One: Ice and Snow*; *Power of the Sky, Volume Two: Sunlight*; *Power of the Sky, Volume Three: Cloud and Rain*... None of the books were thick, but each recorded the secrets of the myriad phenomena of the vast sky.

As the Power of the Sky was digested bit by bit, the dual transformation of his body and Soul Spirit progressed in tandem within him.

After the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, these countless minute changes converged, finally leading Jiang Xuan to a qualitative leap.

But this leap wasn’t the formation of his Dharma Eye. It was the Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique!

Fueled by the power of the Sky Dome Spirit Liquid, it had advanced directly!

Jiang Xuan wasn’t too surprised by this.

Upon reaching the Fourth Realm, the Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique was no longer a Cultivation Technique that operated purely within the body. It had to break through the shackles of the flesh and connect with the greater world outside.

Yesterday, by experiencing the insights of his predecessors in the Mountain of Books and Sea of Literature, Jiang Xuan had brought his Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique to the very brink of a breakthrough.

Today, ingesting the Power of the Sky had deepened his understanding of that very power. Under these circumstances, the advancement of his Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique was a matter of course.

WHOOSH...

Without any obstruction, the Magical Power inside Jiang Xuan’s body flowed out through his acupoints. As it moved outside his body, his Magical Power didn’t scatter and dissipate. Instead, like an ouroboros, it formed a pale cyan circuit of Spiritual Qi around him, cycling endlessly, self-sustaining.

Because this was happening in the outside world, as Jiang Xuan’s Magical Power performed its Circulation of Heaven and Earth, the surrounding Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth was also drawn in continuously, mixing with his Magical Power.

Relying on this automatically absorbed Spiritual Qi, with a turn of his thoughts, a Spiritual Energy Shield shimmering with a clear, crystalline light suddenly formed around him.

Besides condensing a Shield to protect himself, that Spiritual Qi was also drawn into Jiang Xuan’s body due to the Circulation of Heaven and Earth.

Of course, the Spiritual Qi that entered his body couldn’t be considered his Magical Power just yet.

But the Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique was a Cultivation Technique for ’Qi Cultivation.’ As the Unowned Spiritual Qi circulated within him, a series of processes—infusion with qi and blood, imprinting by his Divine Soul, and fusion with Dao Rhyme—were instinctively employed by Jiang Xuan. After one full circulation through his body, the Spiritual Qi was converted into his Magical Power.

Just like that, having reached the Fourth Realm with his Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique, Jiang Xuan no longer needed to breathe through his nose and mouth. The acupoints all over his body now constantly interacted with the external Spiritual Qi, absorbing it into his body for continuous Refinement.

And at the very instant Jiang Xuan’s body fully connected with heaven and earth, with a BUZZ, the power between his eyebrows had also accumulated sufficiently. The special Power of the Sky, mixed with his unique understanding of the cosmos, quietly formed a pale cyan, eye-shaped mark on his brow.

When this mark took form, Jiang Xuan inexplicably felt as if he had grown a new organ.

Moreover, this organ came with its own ability, one that felt as natural as an instinct, which he could command and control at will.

Seeing this, Jiang Xuan clenched his fist. ’I did it. Setting aside the strength of the ability awakened by the Sky Dome Spirit Liquid, this is definitely the power most suited to me.’

With a slight shift of his Heart Thought, he began to test this nascent power, carefully trying to understand the ability he had grasped.

Because it felt like one of his own limbs, like a new organ, Jiang Xuan quickly came to understand this power.

However, after learning what Power of the Sky he had awakened, a trace of astonishment appeared on Jiang Xuan’s face.

’It’s actually this power? Not the wind, rain, thunder, sunlight, or ice and snow I was expecting—the most common ones in the Cultivation Realm... But that makes sense. Because of my knowledge from a past life, my understanding of the Power of the Sky was fundamentally different from that of the people of this world.’

’The people of this world, even Cultivators, have mostly never left their planet. Because of that, they see the distant sky as everything. But I just see it as an atmosphere. In my eyes, the true ’sky’ is the vast cosmos, encompassing billions of suns and galaxies, a boundless and empty universe.’

’The most fundamental forces of the universe are what I consider the true Power of the Sky.’

’Because of this understanding, it’s natural that I wouldn’t awaken powers limited to a planet’s surface, like wind, rain, thunder, sunlight, or ice and snow. What I awakened is...’

VMMMM—!

Without a sound, Jiang Xuan’s figure suddenly began to levitate in mid-air.

If another Cultivator were to arrive at his Scripture Pavilion, they would be stunned to find that Jiang Xuan, standing in mid-air, wasn’t commanding Wind Power, nor was he simply using Magical Power to hold himself up.

At this moment, it was as if he were being repelled by the earth, or as if a special force from the heavens was pulling him upward, allowing his body to remain steadily poised in mid-air.

The next moment, Jiang Xuan’s hand suddenly formed a claw and made a grasping motion toward a bookshelf beside him. SWOOSH! A heavy, ancient tome flew through the air and, guided by an invisible force, landed steadily in his hand.

Although there were fluctuations of Magical Power around him as he did this, the force pulling the book was neither wind nor a thread of Spiritual Power. Instead, it was as if an invisible suction emanated from his palm, forcibly pulling the book over.

By now, the power awakened by Jiang Xuan’s Sky Dome Dharma Eye had become obvious. It was:

"Gravity, Repulsive Force, and perhaps I should add Gravity... After all, Gravity stems from universal gravitation; it is the attractive force that a celestial body like a planet exerts on objects on its surface."

In his past life, Gravity was one of the four fundamental forces of the universe. Awakening this ability naturally delighted Jiang Xuan.

However, Gravity is ubiquitous. The extent to which he could wield this power would ultimately depend on his Cultivation and his insights.

’A black hole can attract anything, not even light can escape, but the Gravity of some objects is negligible. Awakening this power only means I have limitless potential, not that I’m invincible.’

’And... this power is fading...’

It wasn’t Jiang Xuan’s own power that was fading, but the Power of the Sky.

After all, he had only temporarily opened his Dharma Eye using an external item. The Celestial Spiritual Water dripped from the Sky Dome Stone couldn’t let someone possess this power forever. If it could be held permanently, it wouldn’t be something one could buy for a mere five thousand Spirit Stones—even fifty thousand wouldn’t be enough.

Fortunately, Jiang Xuan was already mentally prepared for the dissipation of the Power of the Sky.

And now, his plan had succeeded.

[Ding! It has been detected that you have activated a Spiritual Pupil. All advancement conditions for Qi Cultivator - Celestial Observer have been met. Do you wish to advance?]

"Advance!"