The Daoist Seal - Chapter 56

Jiang Xiaofan was overwhelmed with excitement. So this is the power of spirit channeling and the manipulation of space! If he were to fight someone on equal terms, he would nearly have absolute advantage of his opponent with his spirit channeling alone. Even if he was disadvantaged, the battle would be less taxing for him.

He had never envisioned that, after reaching the Realm of Dust, the brass piece would voluntarily move, open a door for him, and give him the fearsome power of controlling space.

Having once glanced through an ancient book, he knew that there were two forms of energy that were publicly acknowledged as the most daunting. Both were attributes that belonged to the primordial high gods and considered supreme above all other attributes of spirit channeling. One was space, and the other was time.

According to primordial legends, space reigned as king while time reigned as sovereign. The power of space was mighty beyond comparison and could repress the released power of numerous primordial cultivation methods. As for the power of time, no one on Planet Ziwei had ever seen it so there existed no concrete records of it.

Jiang Xiaofan gradually calmed down after getting over his thrill. Even though he possessed spatial power, his influence over space was limited to his surrounding area only. Thus, calling it the space spirit channel was a bit of a stretch.

He then remembered another matter that animated him again. He channeled his spiritual energy, and his body began to hover above the ground. By relying on his energy, he was now able to float in midair.

“To all the gods, immortals, and buddhas, thank you! I no longer have to use a flying sword anymore!”

Jiang Xiaofan was exhilarated. Now that he was at the Realm of Dust, he could finally abandon the flying sword technique and that terrible nausea which accompanied it. This newfound ability felt fresh and electrifying, and he could now fly at will.

The feeling of being in the air without the use of an instrument was just too wonderful. Despite this being his first time, he was able to smoothly glide out of the forest before finally landing in front of Ye Yuanxue.

“Hey Perverted Wolf, not bad! You no longer have to feel nauseous anymore!”

Ye Yuanxue was happy for him as she tugged on his earlobe while Little One merrily hopped on his shoulder and flapped its multicolored feathered wings.

The onlookers who were still lingering around looked at Jiang Xiaofan with their eyes widened and jaws dropped to the floor. Not long ago, this person’s cultivation was still at the Micro Realm. Yet, he had just flown back to here by himself. How could he have entered the Realm of Dust within this short amount of time?

“Did he just break into a higher realm?

“That…. Was he hiding his true strength all along?”

“I think so!”

“What a savage move! He played us for a fool!”

They began to debate among themselves but were ultimately doubtful. The chance of him breaking into the Realm of Dust was so minimal that it was almost zero. Even if it really did happen, they could not psychologically accept that as reality. It was too incredible!

Carrying Wang Ao in his arms, the young man from Ziyang Sect had already left the scene. After all, he had lost all face after getting badly beaten by a Micro Realm cultivator twice. Not to mention, his heart meridian had been ravaged by the self-inflicted damage of using his spirit channel which was then destroyed by Jiang Xiaofan.

Jiang Xiaofan and Ye Yuanxue departed as well. With the Sea of Heart in their hands, the task which they had undertaken was now completed. This journey was totally worth it. I’m now a Realm of Dust cultivator!

Because he was now at the Realm of Dust and didn’t need to stress himself over the flying sword, the speed of their return to the Emperor’s Heaven Sect was faster than usual. It only took four days to reach the sect’s base.

“Boss, you seem somewhat different. Why is that?”

Shortly after he had stepped foot onto Standstill Peak, Lin Quan and Tang You circled him. They keenly sensed that Jiang Xiaofan had undergone some bodily change, but they were unable to pinpoint what it was.

Jiang Xiaofan snickered. “It’s because I have reached the Realm of Dust.”

Other than his Buddhist Sutra and the palm-sized, silver-colored brass piece, he really had nothing else to hide from them. It was only right to inform them, his close friends, of his breakthrough to the Realm of Dust.

Their eyes immediately bulged in response, and they were rendered speechless. They could still recall that when Jiang Xiaofan had first arrived on Standstill Peak, his cultivation was only at the fifth heaven of Micro Realm. How long has it been since then? He’s now at the Realm of Dust? What an insane cultivation speed!

What they didn’t know was that Jiang Xiaofan’s cultivation was actually at the seventh heaven of Micro Realm, not the fifth, when he had first come to Standstill Peak. Even if they did know, they would still be shocked. The reason was that despite many inner disciples having passed the selection tournament years ago, their cultivations remained at the Micro Realm. On the other hand, they, at the very least, belonged to one of the seven main peaks.

“Haha, if those elders knew that they had passed up a peerless genius like you, they’d probably be crying right now.”

This was the truth. Which sect didn’t care about a genius disciple? Based on Jiang Xiaofan’s cultivation speed alone, there wouldn’t be another one like him in thousands of years. He would naturally be the target of competition among the large sects. Geniuses like Jiang Xiaofan would inevitably brightly shine as the stars of the future, and the sect that nurtured the genius would gain great prestige as a result.

“I like this place a lot. As for the seven main peaks, hmm…. I only like the Heavenly Maiden Peak.”

Lin Quan and Tang You immediately spurned Jiang Xiaofan from within. You’re not the only one who likes the Heavenly Maiden Peak! That’s the dream paradise among all male cultivators within the sect! That place is holy land! They really thought that Jiang Xiaofan at this moment was just pretending to be self-effacing.

Nevertheless, a celebration was necessary for the honor of his entry to the Realm of Dust. Another campfire on Standstill Peak had been set up, and game was being roasted yet again. Liu Cheng’an had joined in the fun as well. The four of them were like one big family.

Liu Cheng’an smiled at Jiang Xiaofan, took out a booklet from his robe, and handed it to Jiang Xiaofan. This was his gift to him, a lifelong record of his perceptions of cultivation.

“Th…. Thank you, Old Man Liu!” Jiang Xiaofan earnestly bowed in gratitude.

Although Liu Cheng’an was now a mortal, he had once been a venerable elder of the Emperor’s Heaven Sect whose cultivation at Human Emperor had been feared by many. Therefore, his perceptions of cultivation were deemed invaluable. Many cultivators would willingly engage in a bloody conflict just for a piece of his insight.

Essentially, to Jiang Xiaofan, this booklet was the perfect gift since he could walk fewer detours on his path to Dao, or perhaps, he could even set Liu Cheng’an’s Dao as a template for himself. With such perceptions of cultivation, no sensible cultivator would ever voluntarily reveal them. Liu Cheng’an’s act of selflessness moved him greatly.

On that same night with stars dotted across the sky, Jiang Xiaofan sneaked into Liu Cheng’an’s room after the old man had already gone to sleep. He took out a gold core pill, delicately crushed it, channeled his spiritual energy, and delivered it into the old man’s mouth.

He knew that if he were to give the gold core pill to him in person, Liu Cheng’an might not accept it. Thus, like what the old man had done to Lin Quan and Tang You, Jiang Xiaofan also fed him the pill when he was in deep sleep.

He believed that with his current level of cultivation, the now-mortal old man wouldn’t be able to discover it. The situation was different than that of Lin Quan’s and Tang You’s. They had been able to detect the Old Man discreetly feeding them pills.

After he had finished his business here, he woke up Lin Quan and Tang You and walked with them to a nearby forest.

The two were still drowsy as they rubbed their eyes and asked, “Boss, what are you doing?”

“Stop sleeping like a pig! If someone were to kidnap you, you guys would probably not even know it!” Jiang Xiaofan snapped and rewarded each person with a kick to the behind.

A jade bottle materialized in his hand. He withdrew two gold core pills and gave each one to Lin Quan and Tang You, both being third heaven Micro Realm cultivators. He was certain that a gold core pill could help them advance another heaven.

Previously, he had consumed nine gold core pills and refined them in his body to break into the ninth heaven of Micro Realm from the eighth. Needless to say, his case was not applicable to Tang You and Lin Quan. Their difference in cultivation was far too vast. To them, one gold core pill was enough to break into the fourth heaven.

“This is….”

“G…. G…. Gold core!”

Upon looking at the pill in their hands and catching a whiff of its faint, fragrant aroma, the two were completely jolted out of their sleep. With mouths agape and astonishment written across their faces, they widened their eyes and stared heatedly at the pill.

“Boss, this is…. This is too much!”

“That’s right! Too precious!”

They were quite shocked as they continued to examine the pill. They were once the guardian disciples of the Pill Cultivation Pavilion, so, without saying, they knew what a gold core pill was and understood its incalculable value.

Back then, they had been sent to Standstill Peak as punishment solely because they had knocked over a bottle of low-grade primary core pills. They could only leave once their ten-year penalty was over. If low-grade primary pills were already of such importance, it was conceivable just how prized a gold core was.

They didn’t know how Jiang Xiaofan had come to possess gold core pills and why he had this many, but they didn’t inquire him. At this moment, they were so excited that their hands quivered.

“Precious? Not really.” Jiang Xiaofan patted them on the shoulders and assured, “Since you guys call me Boss, then you guys, by default, are my brothers. As long as I walk forward, I will never leave either of you behind!”

The two of them trembled, their eyes grew red, and their blood boiled with passion. They nodded heavily and replied, “Yes, Boss!”

“Consume the pill right now. I’ll cover you and help you refine it. Both of you should be able to break into the next heaven.”

Although they were thrilled by the prospect of a breakthrough, they were hesitant at the same time.

They didn’t doubt his words, but they thought of another matter and murmured, “Boss, it’s better that we give these to Old Man Liu instead. Compared to us, he needs them more.”

Jiang Xiaofan simply smiled. Lin Quan and Tang You hadn’t disappointed him. After receiving the precious gold core pills, they still had the heart to think about the old man. Jiang Xiaofan was very pleased to know that their natures were still compassionate and kind.

He chuckled, “No need to worry. I already fed him another gold core pill. I believe that his body will be able to recover sooner or later. As for you two, hurry up. Refine it and break into the fourth heaven already!”

Ecstatic, Lin Quan and Tan You nodded heavily again. They had never thought of using a gold core pill to progress their cultivation before. The first reason was that they didn’t have the resources. The second was that no one had seemingly ever consumed pills to advance to another heaven before.

Nevertheless, they trusted Jiang Xiaofan’s words, sat down in a lotus position, and swallowed the pill.

In an instant, they sensed unimaginably dense energy appear within them. This energy was terrifyingly powerful, and they felt as if their bodies were about to explode.

At this time, Jiang Xiaofan channeled his spiritual energy to help the two refine the dense spiritual qi. Very soon, the streams of qi soon calmed down which were then fully refined and absorbed into their flesh and blood.