Eighteen, Cultivate Power

  Xun Daozi made up his mind and started a planned cultivation.

  Every night, he practices "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" in stillness, and during the day, he practices "Shang Qing Jian Jue". The seeker believes that this combination of stillness and movement can complement each other, adjust his practice, and achieve good results. However, this idea needs to be tested through practice to see if it holds true.

  At night, Xun Daozi returned to the cloud bed in the cave mansion and sat down. After this long meditation, he felt that the effect of sitting and cultivating on the cloud bed in the cave mansion was still the best.

  Sitting cross-legged on a cloud bed, Xun Daozi's consciousness sank into the sea of knowledge and found the "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" which he opened. One by one, the texts shining with golden light merged into Xun Daozi's sea of knowledge. The timely explanations of Yuan Shi also sounded, and the occasional images evolved and unfolded.

  The "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" has only one effect, which is to strengthen the divine soul, condense the original spirit, and is a water-milling kung fu that does not have levels. It only requires long-term persistence and is effective for life. It is a purely auxiliary method that cannot be used for enlightenment or combat. However, Yuan Shi attaches great importance to it, emphasizing at the beginning that one must persist in practicing it in order to seek the Tao. This is because a strong divine soul is extremely important in understanding the Tao, enlightenment, and verification of the Tao. It can be said that the stronger the divine soul's power, the smaller the difficulty in cultivation. A strong divine soul can also help understand the mysteries of the gods and predict enemy movements in battle. Therefore, cultivating the divine soul is also an important part of a cultivator's practice.

  The divine soul power of a cultivator can be greatly enhanced when breaking through the boundary, but it is not easy to improve the divine soul power in peacetime. Only a small number of heavenly materials and earthly treasures have certain enhancement effects, and some special exercises can achieve the effect of enhancing the divine soul power. However, such exercises are rare, and except for a few powerful cultivators who possess such exercises, most cultivators in the vast wilderness can only rely on breaking through boundaries to enhance their divine soul power. The 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue' is also one of the top-notch exercises that can enhance divine soul power among all the exercises in the vast wilderness.

  What Xun Daozi didn't know was that his mutated Zhou Tian Gong also had a certain effect of enhancing the power of the divine soul, but the effect was not as obvious as 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue'. However, Xun Daozi's Zhou Tian Gong at this time had become a kind of instinct for his body, and he would practice it automatically whether he was walking, standing, sitting or lying down, without needing to deliberately cultivate it. Even when Xun Daozi wasn't paying attention, he seemed to have forgotten about this technique that he had first practiced. It was precisely this long-term unintentional cultivation that made Xun Daozi's physical body and divine soul much stronger than those of ordinary cultivators at the same level, but he just didn't know it.

  At this time, he began to practice the 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue' that specializes in improving his spiritual soul power, and his spiritual soul power will be improved faster.

  "The Jade Clear Refining Spirit Technique" is not difficult to grasp, and after one night of practice, Xun Daozi had already learned the "Jade Clear Refining Spirit Technique" to a certain extent, only needing to persist for a long time. Of course, this also has to do with Xun Daozi's own spiritual power being stronger than that of ordinary cultivators at the same level.

  In the early morning, Xun Daozi felt refreshed and clear-minded. He walked out of his cave dwelling and came to the platform in front of the entrance, preparing to practice the "Shangqing Sword Technique" as planned.

  "The Upper Clear Sword Manual" is divided into two parts, one is the "Sword Holding Manual", and the other is the "Sword Defending Manual". At this time, the seeker of the Way can only practice the "Sword Holding Manual", as for the "Sword Defending Manual" which can kill enemies a thousand miles away, it can only be attempted after the "Sword Holding Manual" has been successfully practiced.

  Xun Daozi put aside his distracting thoughts and began to focus on practicing the "Shang Qing Jian Jue" (Upper Clear Sword Technique), specifically the "Chi Jian Jue" (Sword Holding Technique). Unfortunately, the "Hu Xin Jian" (Protect Heart Sword) was still stuck in his heart chamber. Although he felt some response now, it couldn't be summoned out yet. Without a sword in hand, he picked up a wooden stick to use as a substitute and practiced the movements according to the "Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue".

  Seeking the Way, a son recognizes the sea, Tongtian holds a sword and stands upright, his whole person is like a sword, his momentum soars to the sky, as stable as a mountain. Suddenly Tongtian moved, the sword flashed out like lightning, the sword light flickered, and the sword energy was everywhere. Tongtian rolled and leaped, swift as a dragon, swift as a thunderbolt. For a moment, the entire sea of consciousness was filled with Tongtian's shadow. Suddenly the image was completely retracted, only Tongtian held his sword upright, seemingly motionless, still as stable as a mountain.

  This is the first segment of 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue', which left Xun Daozi staring blankly, his eyes wide with shock and amazement, and it took him a while to come back to himself.

  Next, Tongtian in the sea of consciousness began to explain the 'Sword Holding Technique' one by one, starting from the beginning of holding the sword. Each move, each style, how to draw the sword, how to release power, body method, footwork coordination, and how to sheathe the sword to match the next style's changes in drawing the sword. He explained while demonstrating, extremely detailed.

  Xun Dao Zi held a wooden stick and followed the gestures, doing his best to be accurate.

  At the end of the day, Xun Daozi barely managed to execute two moves correctly.

  At night, Xun Daozi returned to the cave mansion's cloud bed to cultivate the 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue'.

  After that, Xun Daozi lived a very regular life of cultivation. During the day, he practiced 'Shangqing Chi Jian Jue' and at night, he cultivated 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue'.

  Time passed day by day, Xun Daozi could feel the effect of his cultivation of 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue', his spirit and soul had grown significantly stronger. However, his practice of 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue' was not going well, many sword moves and exertions were not up to par, making him wonder if he didn't have a natural talent for learning swordsmanship.

  Xun Daozi began his day's practice of 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue', but no matter how many times he repeated it, he just couldn't grasp the feeling of drawing his sword. He couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. He tossed the wooden staff in his hand aside and stood with his hands behind his back.

  After a long time, Xun Daozi suddenly opened up his stance and started practicing Tai Chi, which he hadn't done in a long while. Fortunately, he had practiced it many times before, so the movements had already become second nature to him; otherwise, he might have forgotten them by now.

  At this time, Xun Daozi started practicing Tai Chi, which he hadn't done in a long time. Soon, he became fully immersed in it. As he lifted his legs and swung his arms, mysterious trajectories appeared, and a halo of mystical light surrounded him. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth also gathered around him. As Xun Daozi breathed deeply into the meaning of the fist, the air entered his body, flowed through his meridians, and finally merged with the vortex in his dantian and chest. This process quietly enlarged the two vortices, all without Xun Daozi's knowledge or awareness.

  Xun Daozi was immersed in the boxing intent, forgetting himself and his surroundings, naturally raising his hands and stretching his legs, repeatedly practicing the Tai Chi boxing that he had long since modified.

  Like this, he punched again and again, and didn't know how many times he had punched. Xun Daozi finally stopped his fist and stood up, quietly savoring the lingering aftertaste of the punch.

  After a while, Xun Daozi finally opened his eyes. At this time, Xun Daozi felt extremely comfortable, his mind was clear and the whole world was transparent, with no secrets hidden.

  Subconsciously recalling the 'Shangqing Sword Holding Technique' that has been practiced and pondered every day recently, it has become somewhat habitual.

  But as soon as he thought about it, the sword moves he had practiced in "Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue" suddenly appeared clearly in his mind, and the places where he had repeatedly pondered but couldn't understand before were suddenly enlightened, as if he had suddenly awakened.

  Xun Daozi couldn't help but follow the enlightenment in his mind, one move and one style, all accurate, exerting force and retracting power, all as he wished.

  The sword style practiced in 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue' was effortlessly executed, without any awkwardness, flowing like clouds and water, perfectly capturing the essence. Although there was no sword in hand, the sword intent was fully present.

  Repeatedly practicing the sword moves and techniques learned from "Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue", with a burst of energy, a series of whistling sounds are emitted.

  After a long time, Xun Daozi stopped and stood up, looking up at the sky and letting out a long whistle. The whistling sound split the clouds and pierced the air, fresh and clear. For just one moment, Xun Daozi stopped his long whistle, and the frustration of not mastering the 'Upper Clear Sword Technique' was swept away, feeling satisfied and content, as if he had a new understanding of heaven and earth.

  After that, Xun Daozi's cultivation life continued to proceed in a regular and orderly manner, with only slight changes in his daily practice. Every evening, he still cultivated the "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" as before, but at this point, the "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" had already become second nature to him, and he no longer needed to deliberately put it into practice. The technique could now run on its own, and Xun Daozi no longer needed to divide his attention to lead it. During his meditation, both the "Zhou Tian Gong" and the "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" ran automatically, without interfering with each other, which was truly wondrous. Xun Daozi could also cultivate the method of "Ti Dao" from the "Yu Qing Wu Dao Jue". Using the methods of "Shou Jing" or "Zuo Wang", he would experience and investigate the traces of the Tao, in order to attain a deeper understanding of the realm of Tai Yi as soon as possible.

  In the daytime, I continued to practice 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue', but I had to practice Taiji Quan for a few rounds before starting. Since then, Xun Dao Zi Jue's 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue' has become much simpler, and my progress in practicing it has been extremely fast. Soon, I completed the practice of the sword moves and forms of 'Shang Qing Chi Jian Jue', and now I just practice every day with the intention of practicing out the sword energy as soon as possible.

  However, the sword practice was only in the morning. Xun Daozi started practicing escape techniques every afternoon. Because he had experience practicing 'Shangqing Hold Sword', Xun Daozi also had to practice Tai Chi before practicing escape techniques. Unexpectedly, the effect was quite good, and the escape technique practice went relatively smoothly.

  Xun Daozi's cultivation is proceeding in an orderly manner, and his abilities in all aspects are steadily improving. The progress of his escape method practice is also gratifying. Among the various escape methods listed in the "Yu Qing Escape Method", Xun Daozi has initially mastered the "Earth Escape" and "Wood Escape" of the Five Elements Escape Method. He is currently practicing the "Water Escape". The "Shang Qing Hold Sword Manual" move practice has been perfected, and occasionally he can also release one or two sword energies. His divine soul has further expanded, and his physical strength has also increased unintentionally in Xun Daozi's cultivation, and during the quiet sitting and body refining, he can also capture a new thread of Taoist aura.

  Everything is going well. However, Xun Daozi has some trouble practicing the Water Escape Technique. It's not that it's too difficult to master, but rather that in his past life, he was a poor swimmer and had a fear of water. Now, when he practices the Water Shield Technique, this psychological barrier hinders his progress. In a way, this is also an obstacle on his path to enlightenment. If he can't overcome it, achieving enlightenment will be difficult, and he might remain stuck at this level until the end of his life.

  At this time, Xun'er had not yet reached such enlightenment and was still worried about the Water Escape Technique. In his mind, he first thought of practicing the Fire Escape Technique and the Metal Escape Technique.

  Xun Daozi was still unaware that he had reached a critical juncture, and if he retreated at this point, his determination would be shaken, making it impossible for him to attain enlightenment. The path of the Tao is fraught with difficulties and dangers, and while obvious perils are easy to overcome, the unanticipated tests are the most treacherous, often causing practitioners to easily become disheartened and give up their pursuit. Xun Daozi was now in just such an unguarded moment, facing extreme danger.