Chapter 415: Divine Sense Cultivation

Nie Qianyu and Little Orange felt the carriage come to a stop, and both poked their heads out from inside. Nie Qianyu looked around and said: “Brother Ren, let’s just stick to the main road. If we head east from here, there’s a large city just over ten li away, called Fenglu City. Although it’s to the east, it’s not on the route from Danhe City to Mochou City, so we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone pursuing us. This small path may go straight south, but after all, it leaves the main road, and the dangers ahead are unknown. If there are treacherous mountains or dangerous waters, it could be troublesome.”

She then glanced at the silent Zhang Xiaohua and hurriedly added: “Of course, with Brother Ren here, the world may be vast, but we can go anywhere. Still, Brother Ren, aren’t the two of us burdens in this carriage? Could you bear with us a little and take the main road with us?”

Although Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes were fixed on the small path stretching into the distance, his ears hadn’t heard a word Nie Qianyu said. His vast divine sense was fully extended, trying to probe the riverside where they had been ambushed on that rainy night.

But after all, it was still too far; his divine sense could not reach it.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua staring silently ahead, Nie Qianyu felt a bit aggrieved. Her small fingers pinched the corner of her clothes, and she didn’t speak further.

Little Orange was displeased and was about to say something, but Nie Qianyu tugged at her clothes, so Little Orange just snorted through her nose and kept quiet.

After watching for a while, Nie Qianyu timidly said: “If Brother Ren insists on taking the small path south, please be extra careful. Just don’t leave the two of us burdens behind when the time comes.”

At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua seemed to remember something, or perhaps he had forgotten something. He looked up to the sky and laughed: “So many laughable things in the mortal world, perhaps it’s pointless to dwell on them. Whether I hold all things in contempt or remain undisturbed at heart, I only wish to roam free and unrestrained.”

After speaking, he didn’t sit down. He simply stretched out a foot and kicked the side of the black horse. The black horse neighed in pain and, with a shrill cry, pulled the carriage straight onto the official road heading east.

Zhang Xiaohua stood with his hands behind his back. The biting winter wind blew by, making his robe flutter, exuding an indescribable air of elegance and freedom.

In just a split second, Zhang Xiaohua seemed like a different person, as if he were about to soar into the sky. Nie Qianyu and Little Orange, sitting behind him, were both dazed, muttering, “Brother Ren, that pose is so handsome.”

Little Orange’s eyes were also full of stars as she said: “It would have been even better if you hadn’t kicked like that—someone might accuse Brother Ren of mistreating animals.”

Standing atop the carriage, Zhang Xiaohua felt an unusual sense of ease. It was as if, in the instant he turned the carriage around just now, he had cast aside everything from his past—troubles, confusion, worries, joy, and so on. His heart was filled with great delight and immense relaxation. Without even checking his own cultivation, his Carefree Heart Sutra had already advanced another level.

Everything from before was already behind him; was the road ahead now a smooth path?

But even if it were covered in thorns, would Zhang Xiaohua be afraid? How could he possibly retreat even half a step?

Heading south for dozens of days, counting on his fingers, it had already been over a month. Since Zhang Xiaohua was in no hurry, Nie Qianyu and Little Orange were even less so. The three of them traveled with an air of freedom and ease.

Along the way there was laughter and joy, as well as bickering and quarrels—it was all very pleasant.

Nie Qianyu was right; the official road was indeed much safer. Of course, even if it was safe, the journey was not entirely smooth. Though Zhang Xiaohua had few opportunities to take action along the way, his experience in the martial world still increased considerably. He paid close attention to the petty tricks commonly used by people of the Jianghu, resolving them with ordinary means. Unless absolutely necessary, he rarely used his longsword—this too was a kind of training.

During this month-long journey south, the weather had already turned warm. It felt much like the second month of spring, with grass growing and orioles flying, and the willow breeze brushing his face was actually warm. Zhang Xiaohua had never been to the south before, so he was naturally a bit surprised. If it were this time of year in the north, it would still be rather cold, but the difference between regions was truly great.

Throughout the journey, Zhang Xiaohua never wasted a moment. Needless to say, he cultivated the Carefree Heart Sutra at night, but even while driving the carriage during the day, he usually closed his eyes to ponder—sometimes the Dao of Heaven, sometimes formations, sometimes talismans, or sometimes the art of Guiding the Spirit. His schedule was extremely full.

Of course, because of this, Nie Qianyu and Little Orange were a bit unhappy. On the way to Pingyang City, Zhang Xiaohua had cultivated with his eyes closed and ignored them, but that was because they were not yet familiar with each other. The two girls didn’t yet understand Zhang Xiaohua’s personality and character, so there was always a bit of distance. But after Pingyang City, the three of them had spent several months together and gone through many hardships, becoming friends through adversity. The two girls had long since regarded Zhang Xiaohua as someone very close. If he continued to act cold and distant now, it would be hard for them to bear.

Little Orange had long wanted to talk to Zhang Xiaohua about this, but Nie Qianyu was attentive. She noticed that Zhang Xiaohua always cultivated quietly while traveling and only spoke when resting, so she guessed he was practicing martial arts. Although she herself had not succeeded in cultivating internal skills, she had some foundation. Seeing Zhang Xiaohua so diligent made her extremely happy, so she quietly told Little Orange about it.

As for Little Orange, she was quite puzzled. Other people cultivated in secluded places, closing themselves off in fear of going astray. Yet this young hero was actually cultivating while driving the carriage—could it be just an excuse to avoid things?

Thus, whenever the carriage was on the road, Nie Qianyu and Little Orange would hide inside, chattering away without stopping, never disturbing Zhang Xiaohua. Only when the carriage stopped would they laugh and chat with him. Zhang Xiaohua secretly admired these two clever and intelligent girls.

Speaking of cultivation, insights into the Dao of Heaven and the Heart Sutra required slow and steady work, so there was no visible progress in the short term. However, everything else was advancing by leaps and bounds. He had already begun to comprehend the incantations on the Rabbit Talisman in the Niwan Palace and was gradually getting the hang of it. The formations and restrictions from Old Fire’s jade slip were progressing even faster. Although he still couldn’t break the restrictions on all the jade slips he carried, at the current rate, it wouldn’t be long. What excited Zhang Xiaohua the most, however, was the newly acquired “Guiding the Spirit”. Divine sense was unlike true qi, which could be refined within specific meridians. The incantation for “Guiding the Spirit” was extremely convoluted and difficult to understand. Although there were detailed notes, without a master’s personal instruction, Zhang Xiaohua was initially at a complete loss, unable to find a breakthrough.

By chance, one day while Zhang Xiaohua was comprehending the Rabbit Talisman in the Niwan Palace, he inadvertently saw the “Pill Geart” refined from the Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart technique and had a sudden insight. This “Pill Heart” was formed from true qi and used to temper divine sense. Why not combine the “Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart” technique with “Guiding the Spirit”? Use “Guiding the Spirit” to refine the Pill Heart? As long as the Pill Heart could be refined to purity, wouldn’t his divine sense naturally strengthen?

So Zhang Xiaohua tried using the incantation to refine the Pill Heart, and by sheer luck, he easily mastered the first level of “Guiding the Spirit”. The many notes on the jade slip turned out to be unnecessary; only a bit of the experience from mastering it was of some reference value.

It was precisely because it was so easy that Zhang Xiaohua felt a bit uncertain. The notes on the jade slip made it clear that although the incantation seemed simple, it was extremely difficult to practice and not something one could master casually. Yet with just a little effort, he had succeeded. Was this really correct?

But after carefully reading the techniques and explanatory notes on the jade slip, Zhang Xiaohua found that they were no different from what he had comprehended himself. Could it be that he was the so-called “genius” of legend? Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but pinch his own chin hard.

Lost in his wild fantasies, Zhang Xiaohua was unaware that both the “Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart” and the “Guiding the Spirit” were methods for tempering divine sense, but they followed different paths. “Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart” followed the path from the inside out: first cultivating the pill heart, then strengthening the divine sense, using the pill heart as the core to control the divine sense. This method was extremely dangerous and exceedingly domineering, bearing much of the essence of the demonic path. When Zhang Xiaohua cultivated the pill heart that day, he almost felt his head splitting apart, and only succeeded by sheer luck. The success rate of this technique was one in ten million—one could even say it was a failed creation of Fire Dragon True Person.

As for “Guiding the Spirit,” it followed the path from the outside in: first strengthening the divine sense, then, once the divine sense was cultivated to a certain level, planting a seed in the Niwan Palace, and then using divine sense to nurture the seed, eventually forming the pill heart. This method was the most stable and safe, but progress was slow, and one might not see results even after a long time of cultivation. It was precisely the orthodox cultivation method of the immortal path.

But when “Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart” encountered “Guiding the Spirit”, it created a legend in immortal cultivation that simply had to be told.

“Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart” is a technique similar to those of the demonic path, so it is extremely effective in the early stages of cultivation. However, once it is successfully cultivated, the drawbacks of earlier recklessness become apparent. Now, even though Zhang Xiaohua can use the pill heart to control his divine sense and can continue to convert all his true qi into heart fire to further temper the pill heart and strengthen his divine sense, this kind of strengthening has become negligible. All of Zhang Xiaohua’s true qi was obtained by absorbing yuan stones, and with every bit used, there is one bit less. Calculated this way, it is extremely uneconomical. Therefore, Zhang Xiaohua has recently seldom cultivated “Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart”.

As for “Guiding the Spirit,” it is purely “getting something for nothing”—it can be cultivated with just the incantation, without consuming any spirit stones. From a cost perspective, it is much more economical. Moreover, cultivating “Guiding the Spirit” with a pill heart is fundamentally different from cultivating it without one. The former is like refining the roots, the latter like refining the branches and leaves—the difference is self-evident. Without the pill heart, cultivating “Guiding the Spirit” will increase one point of the pill heart for every ten parts of divine sense; but with the pill heart, cultivating “Guiding the Spirit” increases ten points of divine sense for every one point of pill heart. This reversal in the order of cultivation directly led to the birth of a legend.

Such a situation, even the founder of the “Guiding the Spirit” technique probably never anticipated—someone actually used the incantation to temper the pill heart directly, rather than tempering divine sense to produce the pill heart. As for Fire Dragon True Person? Even less so. The “Jade Blood Refines the Pill Heart” technique was something he created out of boredom to complement his formation cultivation, and he himself never succeeded in cultivating it. How could he have imagined such a bizarre outcome?