Chapter 13

The sun finally sank in the west, and the entire earth sighed as it entered the night.

Inside the Heavenly Passage Palace, the small earthworm finally completed its long journey, spitting out a round and plump Dao essence.

The best times for cultivation are when the morning sun rises and the evening sun sets. The sun is warm but not scorching, nurturing without harm, especially for beginners, as it can protect the Dao meridians. There have been cases where people cultivated at noon, only to be burned by the true fire of the sun, which stirred their heart fire, leading to bodily destruction and damaged meridians.

This is what is known as receiving the purple qi in the morning and drawing the red clouds at dusk.

Even Jiang Wang, with his robust physique from years of martial arts training, felt his qi and blood being pushed to a critical point, and any further would damage his primordial qi. The earthworm inside the Heavenly Passage Palace also appeared somewhat listless.

Of course, at this critical point, the body does not feel weak. The Dao essences nurtured in the Heavenly Passage Palace are like tiny hearts, constantly pumping power.

All of this made Jiang Wang deeply appreciate the teachings he received in class. From qi and blood to the birth of Dao essences, this is a sublimation of power, the premise for transcending the ordinary.

It is said that true martial cultivators do not nurture Dao essences but purely temper their bodies and refine their qi and blood, which is another path.

In the present world, feudal lords rise, sects stand tall, and a hundred schools of thought contend, with boundless great paths. It can be said to be a golden age for cultivation. Of course, for Jiang Wang, who is in the state of Zhuang, he has no other choice.

Jiang Wang carefully manipulated the Dao essences within the Heavenly Passage Palace, filling in the already well-memorized Heavenly Star Array. This process was not easy. Just like qi and blood, a person's mental power also has its limits at a certain stage.

For a cultivator like Jiang Wang, who has just embarked on the path of transcendence, moving the Dao essences twice a day is the limit. Any more would lead to mental fatigue, and in severe cases, even damage to the mind.

Jiang Wang knew that the foundational array he chose would take a long time, so he dared not delay, proceeding with utmost caution. Any mistake would mean starting over.

And he did not have the time to start over.

He only had two opportunities a day to arrange the array points, and he could not afford to miss any! Even though the Heavenly Star Array was much more complex and difficult than the Return to Origin Array.

If someone were to cultivate alongside Jiang Wang and chose the Return to Origin Array as their foundation, they would naturally progress much faster, assuming perfect arrangement of the array points.

Jiang Wang did not know if his choice was right, but since he had made it, there was no turning back. He could only move forward and do his best.

Fortunately, he was doing well. After the last qi channel cultivation of the day, dozens of plump Dao essences were suspended in the Heavenly Passage Palace, each one full and ripe like grains of rice in an autumn field, exuding the scent of a bountiful harvest. These would all be his resources for "reaching the heavens."

However, Jiang Wang still had an important matter to attend to.

The dormitory was empty. Ling He and Du Yehu were on missions, and having joined the inner sect, they naturally desired the Pulse Opening Pill even more.

Jiang Wang's mind sank, and he entered the Void Illusion Realm.

Today was the 15th of July, the challenge day of the month. If everything went as expected, he would face the challenge from the owner of the Green Jade Altar and be demoted smoothly.

The scene was familiar, the great starry sky.

Jiang Wang sat cross-legged, silently watching the sundial shadow, waiting for the moment of the challenge.

He wanted to witness the true strength of the world's strongest. Although he had "heard" intense battles at the Zhenren Temple, he had never seen them with his own eyes. Dong A's attack was met with no resistance from the opponent.

Sitting in the starry sky, he felt his heart broaden.

When humans first gazed upon the stars, history began to charge forward. Compared to the vast star rivers, everything in the human world seemed so small and illusory.

After an unknown amount of time, five ink characters appeared on the sundial shadow: "The challenger has forfeited."

Jiang Wang felt a sense of relief, but also a vague sense of regret.

He had retained the merit points produced by the True Cavern Blessed Land this month, but perhaps it was only because of the powerful deterrent of the previous owner. That fiery figure named Zuo Guanglie!

People who enter the Void Illusion Realm generally conceal their real-world identities. Apart from themselves, no one knows what kind of reputation they have in the Void Illusion Realm. So few people knew that the owner of the True Cavern Blessed Land in the Void Illusion Realm was the great talent Zuo Guanglie of the Great Chu. Now, even fewer people would know. Even if someone had accurately guessed from the fighting style in the past, they would now have to overturn their assumptions.

Generally, when a person in the real world dies, their identity in the Void Illusion Realm also disappears. But Zuo Guanglie, by forcefully summoning the power of the Zhu Rong True Body, almost burned through time and space. Due to a powerful obsession, various factors intertwined, leading to an unexpected outcome. The Void Illusion Realm failed to timely reclaim the virtual key, which was then imprinted by Jiang Wang. As a result, he inherited everything Zuo Guanglie had in the Void Illusion Realm.

Blessed Land 23, True Cavern! This month's merit points: 1850.

...

"Dao Demonstration Platform." Jiang Wang murmured in his mind.

A green bamboo desk appeared in front of him, seamlessly fitting into the scene, as natural as crops growing from the ground, though the process was ignored.

On the bamboo desk, there was nothing but an open jade book, currently blank.

Jiang Wang had experience with this. He just needed to visualize the cultivation technique he wanted to deduce, invest the corresponding merit points, and the deduced technique would appear in the jade book. The foundational array, the Heavenly Star Array, was deduced from the Return to Origin Array.

Now, with the foundational array incomplete and no Dao vortex formed, each Dao essence used was precious. Deducting Dao techniques was unrealistic. Even Jiang Wang himself had only simulated them in his mind and had never truly practiced Dao techniques. After all, in the early stages of cultivation, Dao essences were too precious.

But it was not wise to idle the merit points, leaving them for later. Remember, in the path of cultivation, not advancing means regressing. Tomorrow and accidents, who knows which will come first. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen oneself at every stage.

Jiang Wang thought for a moment and chose a fierce sword technique from among the few he was most skilled in to deduce.

The merit points he chose to consume were 1850!

The entire atmosphere in the state of Zhuang favored Dao techniques over martial arts. But Jiang Wang had no choice at this stage. With the foundation incomplete, he dared not use even the strongest Dao techniques.

Since he chose to strengthen his sword technique, he would do so with all his might, sparing no effort.

The jade book on the green bamboo desk instantly filled with many characters, the ordinary sword technique Jiang Wang had learned from the outer sect of the Maple Forest City Dao Academy, which was fierce but had no other advantages. However, as the number of merit points on the sundial shadow continuously decreased, the characters on the jade book began to change wildly.

Jiang Wang focused, and the characters seemed to transform into figures, drawing their swords and dancing. The dance became faster and faster, eventually blending into a blur.

Jiang Wang couldn't help but squint, feeling a sharp pain from the edge of the blade!

When he blinked again, the characters on the jade book had settled, revealing a profound sword technique he had never seen or even imagined before!

In the outer sect, Jiang Wang was recognized as the best in sword technique. But now, as he read this sword technique, he suddenly felt that what he had practiced before was merely a farmer's skill, suitable only for farming!

The number of merit points on the sundial shadow had been reduced to zero, but Jiang Wang let out a satisfied sigh.

It was all worth it!