Chapter 28

Never having experienced any pain before, Hua Xiajiu clearly underestimated the pain brought by soul tempering, and even took it too lightly.

In his mind, as the black stick struck his soul, the soul trembled, and a bit of soul energy dispersed and drifted away.

But after the trembling, the effect was quite noticeable. The soul's form shrank slightly, became more condensed, and even the facial features became clearer. Although the effect was weak, it was still evident.

What Hua Xiajiu did not notice was that the small amount of soul energy that had dispersed from his soul form drifted towards the thirteen folders of emotions and desires in his mind and was absorbed by them. This absorption was different from the folders' usual absorption of stored memory information; it was the folders themselves that absorbed the energy.

Although the change in the soul's form was small, for a vast soul, it was almost imperceptible. However, with Hua Xiajiu's precise understanding of numbers, he could naturally feel the change.

This tiny bit of progress invigorated Hua Xiajiu, who was in extreme pain. Ignoring the pain, he became eager to continue.

The pain from one strike did not last long. Without waiting for the pain to completely subside, Hua Xiajiu secretly recorded the duration of the pain, then gritted his teeth and struck his soul again with the black stick.

...

In this manner, after three full days, Hua Xiajiu finally fainted due to his body being unable to bear the pain. This was the first time he had ever fainted in his life.

At this moment, Hua Xiajiu's face was as pale as paper, and the dust on his body had been mostly washed away by sweat.

This was only possible because Hua Xiajiu's physical body was as strong as a powerful beast. Otherwise, if he were an ordinary human, he might have died from the pain due to a nervous system breakdown.

In his unconscious state, Hua Xiajiu's soul in his mind tightly closed its eyes and ceased all conscious activity. On the other side, the folders containing the information and memories of the seven emotions and six desires had subtly changed over the three days due to the absorption of some soul energy, appearing more vivid and bright.

After three days of soul tempering, the effects on Hua Xiajiu were extremely noticeable. His soul, originally nearly ten meters tall, had shrunk to over three meters tall and had become much more condensed. The features of his face, such as his nose, eyes, and lips, were finally clear.

According to the "Tianyi Dang Shen Jue," the smaller the soul's volume, the more condensed the soul becomes.

After an unknown amount of time, Hua Xiajiu finally came to, struggling to rise. He felt his mouth and throat were dry, and his chest and abdomen felt as if they were on fire.

Hua Xiajiu was dazed for a moment before realizing that these symptoms were due to dehydration.

Hua Xiajiu picked up Yu Mingfu's storage bag, took out a water flask, and began to drink water, his movements stiff.

This was Hua Xiajiu's first time drinking water, so his movements were stiff. However, as a biological instinct, like a child naturally knowing how to suckle, he quickly finished the clear water in the flask with a series of gulps.

The water in the flask was originally prepared by Yu Mingfu for himself to replenish the water lost during soul tempering. Otherwise, ordinary cultivators, as long as they could normally absorb the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth into their bodies, could go for long periods without eating or drinking.

With the experience from before, Hua Xiajiu temporarily dared not continue soul tempering and instead prepared to practice spells.

After entering the Lingling Realm, the first spell generally learned is the Wind Walking Spell.

The Wind Walking Spell is a spell used by low-level cultivators in the Huadanshen Realm to increase their movement speed. Unlike the flying spell, it cannot be used for long-term movement away from the ground; it can only be used for short-distance movement in the air, similar to gliding, jumping, and soaring.

The principle of the Wind Walking Spell is to release true essence from the body to form a lifting force under the feet, then guide the air to form a strong wind to assist in short-distance flight.

Combining the principles of flight from Earth's aircraft, Hua Xiajiu quickly realized that the two were essentially the same. Using modern mechanics from Earth, it can be explained as using true essence to form an upward lifting force under the feet to counteract the downward gravitational force, and using true essence to guide the air to form a forward thrust, thus enabling flight.

To practice the Wind Walking Spell, one naturally needs to go to an open area outside the cave.

It was daytime, but due to the poisonous fog in the deep ravine, the sky was still not visible, and everything was gray and hazy. Hua Xiajiu's physical body, forged from a dragon's body, was immune to ordinary poisonous fog.

In the deep ravine, Hua Xiajiu used the true essence in his body to guide the air, forming an upward force under his feet. With a whoosh, he flew out in a parabolic trajectory, moving as fast as a strong wind.

Hua Xiajiu let out a cry of surprise, realizing that the upward force was too strong, far exceeding his own weight. He quickly reduced the upward force, and the upward momentum quickly slowed down, eventually gliding forward like a leaf in the wind.

Hua Xiajiu meticulously recorded the precise data for the upward force required at different speeds during the gliding state, then controlled the true essence to guide the air to form a forward thrust and moved forward...

Next, Hua Xiajiu began practicing the Wind Walking Spell, moving up and down, forward and backward, and at varying speeds. Compared to ordinary cultivators who had to intuit and understand the spell, Hua Xiajiu, with his precise data, quickly mastered the key movements of the Wind Walking Spell, and his skill was not inferior to that of cultivators who had practiced it for years.

As for the true flying spell, it can only be cultivated in the Huadanshen Realm. Another method of flying, however, can only be cultivated after reaching the Out-of-Body Realm. This method is much faster than the flying spell. It involves using one's life-bound spirit tool for flight, which is different from the Wind Walking Spell and the flying spell, which use true essence to guide the air and rely on physical principles. Instead, it uses soul energy, controlled directly by the soul, making the tool move with the soul. This method is faster and more flexible than ordinary flying spells in terms of reaction speed, flight speed, and agility.

The Ice Arrow Spell, which Hua Xiajiu planned to learn as his second spell, not only has the ability to pierce and kill but also has the effect of freezing and slowing down bodily functions. It is said that when this spell is cultivated to its highest level, it can even freeze and slow down the soul.

Perhaps influenced by his use of ranged weapons as a robot, or perhaps because he had been using a bow and arrow recently, Hua Xiajiu currently preferred ranged attacks over close combat.

Additionally, Hua Xiajiu chose to learn the Ice Arrow Spell because he had a vague idea of combining it with a bow and arrow for attacks.

The Ice Arrow Spell is one of the most basic low-level spells in the cultivation world. It is easy to learn but difficult to cultivate to its highest level.

The principle of the Ice Arrow Spell is simple: it involves using the true essence in the body to guide and control the water spiritual energy in the heavens and earth, condensing it in a specific way to trigger a wondrous change, forming an ice arrow.

Although it sounds simple, it involves controlling one's true essence, the soul's perception of water spiritual energy, and understanding the nature of water spiritual energy.

Clearly, if one's comprehension is too poor, learning this spell can be quite time-consuming and energy-draining.

For Hua Xiajiu, with the understanding and knowledge of water spiritual energy from Yu Mingfu and Ma Zhike's memories, he saved a lot of time in comprehending the spell. Added to his exceptional comprehension, he quickly understood and mastered it.

Indeed, Hua Xiajiu only took the time of one incense stick to learn the Ice Arrow Spell, but his casting speed was somewhat unsatisfactory.

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