Chapter 1212: Jingang Technique and Imperial Flowing Essence

**Volume Seven****Volume Seven: Traversing the Human Realm**

Han Li was startled when he heard the boy's words, his eyes flashing with a hint of confusion. He didn't understand the boy's intention. Although this cultivation method originated from Buddhism, it was widely practiced by everyone in the Spirit Realm, even more so than the basic Five-Element Qi Refining methods. "Everyone practices it, fellow Daoist? Are you referring to..." Han Li suddenly grasped a part of the boy's meaning, an astonished expression appearing on his face. This Buddhist cultivation method could be practiced even by mortals in the Spirit Realm who lacked spirit roots. If one cultivated it to the third level or higher and paired it with special weapons, they could even contend with low-level cultivators and demon beasts. "If you can cultivate it to the fifth level or above, hehe, even mid-level cultivators and demon beasts wouldn't dare provoke you easily," the boy said with a cold laugh.

"Fellow Daoist Tianman, are you perhaps joking? Mortals can contend with us cultivators?" Han Li asked, dumbfounded for a long moment, his voice full of disbelief.

"Hehe, there are many things in the Spirit Realm. Since you haven't ascended yet, there's no point in me saying too much. However, I might as well reveal a bit about this particular matter. In the Spirit Realm, human mortals are an extremely important force. Moreover, long ago, some exceptionally intelligent mortals discovered methods to directly utilize external spiritual energy for body tempering without the aid of spirit roots, drawing from some basic cultivation methods of both cultivators and our demon race. This eventually formed a unique cultivation system. It's not even rare for outstanding mortals to slay high-level cultivators and powerful demon beasts in the Spirit Realm. This method I'm talking about, called the Vajra Arts, is one of the most widely cultivated body tempering methods among mortals."

"Even so, cultivators are still incomparable to mortals, aren't they? After all, most spells, magic tools, and treasured artifacts cannot be cultivated or controlled by mortals," Han Li asked, his brow slightly furrowed.

"That's certainly true. Mortals are mortals, and no matter how powerfully they cultivate, without spirit roots, they can never truly enter the Grand Dao of cultivation. Their lifespan is still a mere century. Even if they happen to acquire some treasures or spiritual herbs that can extend their life, they'd at most live for another century. That's their absolute limit. However, in the Spirit Realm, spirit roots are not impossible to be naturally generated later in life. If these mortals truly have immense fortune and gain such an opportunity, their future potential would be limitless. Saint Emperor Tianyuan, one of your human race's Three Emperors, was originally a renowned figure among mortals. He only later coincidentally gained a spirit root and transformed into a cultivator, yet his divine abilities were in no way inferior to the other two Emperors," the boy said, his expression turning solemn.

Han Li stroked his chin, unsure what to say for a moment.

"You don't need to overthink it. The reason mortals in the Spirit Realm can have such good fortune is because the spiritual energy density there far surpasses that of the lower realms. Your Human Realm here, after the ancient demonic tribulation, has spiritual energy far inferior to other lower realms. Even if someone obtained these Spirit Realm cultivation methods, they wouldn't be able to draw in the world's spiritual energy for cultivation, let alone truly cultivate," the boy explained with a hint of clarification.

"Other lower realms? From your tone, it sounds like the Human Realm isn't the only one?" Han Li was suddenly startled.

"One? How could that be? There are at least seven or eight hundred, if not a thousand, lower realms like yours that are subservient to our Spirit Realm. Any human or demon cultivators who achieve success in these lower realms will automatically ascend to our Spirit Realm. Few from this Human Realm have ascended to our Spirit Realm in recent years, but there are many who have ascended from other realms that didn't experience the ancient demonic invasion. The reason I chose this realm to descend my split soul is twofold: firstly, the spiritual energy here is sparse, making the descent of a split soul extremely difficult but easier to evade my great tribulation; secondly, this is a human-dominated realm, hiding my split soul here makes it harder for others to guess my choice of realm, preventing those with ill intentions from finding this hidden move of mine," the boy said, now with a strange expression.

Han Li was speechless again. He had always thought the Human Realm was unique, which was why the Spirit Realm went to such great lengths to send cultivators to resist the ancient demonic invasion in ancient times. Now, hearing this Tianxie Beast's words, it was clear there were other reasons.

"Alright, knowing too much about the Spirit Realm now won't benefit you. Let's talk about the Vajra Arts first. Although this cultivation method can be practiced by mortals without spirit roots, its difficulty in cultivation is well-known in the Spirit Realm. Not to mention reaching the fifth level, not many can even reach the third. Most mortals only cultivate it to the first level for physical conditioning. Cultivating the second level requires enduring the pain of 'washing the marrow and cleansing the essence,' which is truly not something ordinary people can bear. It's only because of the sheer number of mortals, and the fact that once they achieve success, their power is no less than that of demon beasts, that this method is so widely circulated. Although I haven't heard of your Bright King Arts, I imagine it has some connection to this method. After all, there are only a few Buddhist body-tempering methods, and this one must be the only one that can be cultivated in the Human Realm," the boy confidently surmised.

"Perhaps so. My Bright King Arts were indeed quite difficult to cultivate," Han Li mused, feeling that it was quite possible.

"Give me a jade slip. I'll copy these Vajra Arts onto it. You can take it and study it. If it's the same method, then so be it. If not, you can cultivate the other one," the boy said, appearing unusually generous and waving his hand.

"Haha, then I'll trouble you, fellow Daoist Tianxie." Han Li naturally wouldn't be modest and refuse such a good offer. With a faint smile, he flipped his palm, and a yellow jade slip appeared in his hand. He tossed it to the boy.

The boy took the jade slip into his hand, slowly closed his eyes, and began copying the incantations into it. Han Li's smile faded, and he frowned, his mind suddenly recalling a copper fragment and another cultivation method: the True Sanskrit Fragment he had obtained, and the Heaven-Propping Demonic Art he had learned from Barbarian Hu. There was no need to explain the True Sanskrit Fragment; he had long confirmed that this demonic method and the Bright King Arts both originated from the Ancient Demon Realm, being the final spell-casting technique and the most basic body-tempering part, respectively. Only the middle section, containing transformation abilities, was missing. The moment he learned the Heaven-Propping Demonic Art from Barbarian Hu, he knew with just a little thought that this method was precisely the missing middle part, though he didn't know how it had become a famous top-tier demonic art in the demonic path. Thus, Han Li had, as if by a strange twist of fate, coincidentally assembled a complete set of methods. Now, to cultivate the Nine Transformations of Gale, he also had to cultivate the Bright King Arts. This made Han Li wonder if there was some destiny at play, compelling him to cultivate this set of True Sanskrit Fragment methods. Han Li's thoughts shifted restlessly.

After about a quarter of an hour, the boy on the cauldron suddenly opened his eyes. With a flick of his hand, a yellow light shot out. Without thinking, Han Li swept his sleeve, enveloping the yellow light and revealing the original jade slip. "The incantations are inside. You can take a look," the boy said slowly.

Han Li nodded and, without ceremony, immersed his divine sense into the slip to examine the method recorded within. After only a brief look, Han Li sighed softly and withdrew his divine sense.

"Is it the same method as your Bright King Arts?" the boy asked calmly, showing no surprise.

"Exactly. Besides a few more techniques for spiritual energy infusion, the rest is almost identical," Han Li replied thoughtfully after a moment of consideration.

"That settles it then. If you want to cultivate the Nine Transformations of Gale, first cultivate the Bright King Arts to the third level. I'll take this opportunity to refine this method to better suit your current use. After all, the Wind-Lightning Wings are merely a magic tool, not true flesh wings, so there are still some differences in how they are cultivated and manifested. Don't forget to let this old man study the Jade Scroll of the Golden Palace for a while when the time comes, as you promised," the boy said, as if he had expected this, shaking the beast-skin book in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Tianxie, rest assured, I, Han, will never break my word," Han Li replied with a light chuckle. "However, regarding this Imperial Dew, don't you want to take some more?" He pointed to the gourd and the other two artifacts before him.

"Imperial Dew is indeed a good thing. Not only can it open the intelligence of demon beasts, but it's also crucial for our demon race's shapeshifting and body refinement. For human cultivators, consuming it can expand the body's meridians, greatly benefiting the body. However, it's not good to absorb too much at once, and it cannot be stored for more than a month. For my current needs, it's useless. Since you plan to cultivate the Bright King Arts, this item happens to be perfect for you," the boy said, eyeing the gourd and other artifacts for a few moments before shaking his head.

"In that case, I won't be polite," Han Li said with a smile. With a sweep of his sleeve, the round bowl and the jade bottle vanished simultaneously, leaving only the gourd in place.

Next, Han Li formed hand seals, his eyes flashing with brilliant light. Suddenly, a silver light flickered on one side of the secret chamber wall, and another Han Li strangely materialized. As soon as this clone appeared, it immediately reached out into the air towards the gourd on the ground, effortlessly taking the artifact into its hand. Then, with another flash of silver light, its form flickered backward and it submerged into the wall, vanishing once more. The boy showed a trace of surprise at this scene but did not speak. He simply cupped his hands slightly towards Han Li, then his body sank and disappeared into the cauldron. Han Li, for his part, glanced at the jade slip in his hand, then clapped his hands together, and the object vanished without a trace. He then slowly closed his eyes and began to meditate, his expression extraordinarily calm.

Almost simultaneously, a silver light shot out from the main peak where Han Li's cave resided. After a few flashes, the light flew straight towards Luoyun Sect, eventually disappearing into a certain forbidden area within the sect. But not long after, the silver light shot out from the forbidden area again, returning to the main peak. This time, Han Li remained in the secret chamber and did not easily emerge. Occasionally, a silver light would fly out from his cave, vanishing instantly without a trace, but it would invariably return to the main peak within a few days to a month, though it was unknown what its owner was busy with. Thus, two years of time passed silently.