Chapter 550 551: Discourse on the Sea of Learning and Dao Essence

Zisang Jin's expression turned exceedingly strange, as if she couldn't decide whether to believe Chen Dong.

"Really? Still, I don't believe Lord You is that kind of person!"

"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, but his intention was surely for you to comprehend the Dao Essence. Speaking of which, this Dao Essence is truly marvelous. Even I can grasp the Power of Law contained within it on a superficial level. Why is your application of it so crude?"

Zisang Jin shook her head. "It's not that our application is crude, but that the Power of Law is difficult to leverage. The simplest method is to use emotions as a catalyst and one's lifespan as a medium to draw out the power of the Dao Essence!"

Chen Dong pondered this. "I don't think that's right. Since it's the Power of Law, it should transcend ordinary Divine Techniques. But the Dao Essence used by Yang Zhang, and even my Dao Companion Murong Zhi, was only as powerful as a common Divine Technique—in fact, it was even less practical. Overusing it requires sacrificing one's own life force. I'm certain this method of use is completely wrong. Sacrificing your life force to gain the Power of Law is utterly illogical."

Hearing this, Zisang Jin said, "I've thought about this deeply myself. But all the records about Dao Essence in the Floating Shadow Realm are more or less the same. This is the only known way to use it."

Chen Dong shook his head slightly and directly pulled the Anger-Burning Heaven Dao Essence from his Divine Sense.

The moment the Dao Essence left his Divine Sense, it passed straight through Chen Dong's hand. The Power of Law within it made it impossible for him to grasp. If he didn't envelop it with Divine Sense powered by his Creation Dao, it would burn him.

The law within it was so distinct, yet without a Dao Essence of his own, Chen Dong couldn't personally experience just how difficult it was to leverage that Power of Law.

Zisang Jin looked down. "All right, all right, put it away. You go comprehend your Jade Scroll Technique, and I'll go work on my Dao Essence."

With that, Zisang Jin found a corner and began her comprehension.

「A month passed in a flash.」

In Immortal Fox City, located in the Northern Domain of the Demon Race, Yun Misha and Yun Miqiu stood outside the cave residence where Yun Mengshang often entered secluded cultivation.

The stone door of the cave was sealed shut. In truth, no one was inside. Yun Misha had simply cast a spell to seal it, creating the illusion that Yun Mengshang was in seclusion.

Yun Miqiu had just returned from the Northern Border Pass. She dismissed the Maids waiting outside the courtyard and set up several restrictive barriers.

Only then did Yun Miqiu cautiously ask via voice transmission, "Is there any news of Mengshang?"

Yun Misha replied in kind, "No. My true self has been searching for a month and has found no trace of her. Mengshang's Life Token isn't broken, so there's only one possibility: she was taken by that terrifyingly powerful member of the Human Race."

It turned out that this was merely one of Yun Misha's divine splits.

A hint of panic crossed Yun Miqiu's face. "Then what do we do? He didn't kill Mengshang, but he won't release her either. What if he... has a thing for Fox Race Maids? With Mengshang's temperament, she'd never submit! She might be suffering inhuman abuse right now... And we can't even defeat him. What in the world are we supposed to do?"

Yun Misha offered some comfort. "Don't panic. As long as Mengshang is alive, we'll find her eventually. By the way, has there been any movement from the Demon Race?"

Yun Miqiu replied coolly, "None. The power of Mengshang's Frost Dream Realm is several degrees stronger than mine. As long as nothing happens to her, the Demon Race won't dare invade unless they are absolutely certain of victory."

Yun Misha nodded. "Good. The Tiger Race Demon King, Lu Shan, contacted me. He wants my help to eliminate Lu Kun. Once he's in power, he'll support our Fox Demon Race. As long as the Demon Race doesn't cause any trouble, I'm going to accept his offer. Besides, I loathe that Lu Kun."

"Be careful, then. It could be a trap. And when you make your move, stay in constant contact with me. If something goes wrong, I can come and back you up."

"Don't worry. I'll send a divine split to handle it. Even if something happens and the split is destroyed, it's no real loss."

Normally, the destruction of a divine split would inflict some backlash on the caster's own divine soul. However, Yun Misha's mastery of the soul was so profound that she could turn spirit to nothingness. For her, losing a divine split was truly no big deal; she could just condense a new one after a couple of days.

Meanwhile, Chen Dong was looking for Secret Techniques related to creating external avatars.

'Ever since he'd learned of Yun Misha's Divine Splitting Technique, Chen Dong had been green with envy. If he had a divine split, he could send it to handle all the dangerous stuff while his real body just lounged in his Dao Companion's arms, enjoying a life of peace and quiet. Wouldn't that be the life?'

However, as Chen Dong sifted through countless Divine Techniques and Secret Techniques, he found the primary requirement for all of them was reaching the Divinity Transformation Stage.

Only the divine soul strength and sensitivity to the Great Dao that came with the Divinity Transformation Stage could support the creation of a divine split or an external avatar.

Chen Dong was only at the Sixth-Layer Golden Core, a long way from the Divinity Transformation Stage. Furthermore, the jade scrolls stated explicitly that attempting to cultivate these techniques before reaching the Divinity Transformation Stage would only tear one's divine soul apart and ruin their cultivation path. No matter how powerful one's divine soul, anyone who hadn't passed the Divine Soul Tribulation of the Divinity Transformation Stage and tried to force it would only suffer the disastrous consequences.

Chen Dong sighed in resignation, memorized the contents of the technique, and put the scroll back.

Just then, Zisang Jin cheerfully approached him.

"Guess what happened?"

Chen Dong looked her over but didn't notice anything different. He used his Divine Sense to inspect her body and saw her Nascent Soul was still frozen solid, the seal unbroken. He couldn't help but marvel at the power of Yun Mengshang's sealing technique.

The mere thought of Yun Mengshang brought back images of their dual cultivation. Instantly, his eyes turned bloodshot, his breathing grew ragged, and he began to stare fixedly at Zisang Jin.

Zisang Jin frowned in irritation. "Why are you staring at me like that? I know I'm not as pretty as I used to be, but whose fault is that? It's yours! I was trying to tell you I've had a new insight into Dao Essence!"

Chen Dong's expression grew more and more twisted, as if he hadn't heard a word she said. A long string of drool even trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Zisang Jin's brow furrowed deeply. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'is his affliction acting up again?'

The thought had barely formed when Chen Dong lunged straight for her!