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Chapter 315 - Cultivation Technique [2k]

 

Translator: CinderTL

 

Heart-Burning Flames!

This was a characteristic that emerged after reaching the fourth layer of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method.

At this stage, a perpetual flame of Mental Power burned within one's heart. Any intrusion or influence from the mental realm would trigger a violent backlash from this fire.

Moreover, due to its undying nature, the radiance and heat it emitted could easily be sensed by cultivators of higher realms.

Others might not notice much, simply assuming Li Chunjun's Mind Power was somewhat unique.

But Liu Yu, the Artifact Spirit of the Profound Yellow Ranking, immediately recognized this as a sign that Li Chunjun had cultivated the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method to the fourth layer: Heart-Burning Flames.

"How is this possible?!"

The Artifact Spirit's form flickered, and she materialized directly before Li Chunjun.

"Li Chunjun, your Heavenly Heart Eternal Method..."

"You noticed?" Li Chunjun asked, feigning surprise.

Considering that even the top-ranked cultivator on the Cosmic Light List might not secure a high-grade, let alone a top-tier Cave Heaven Supreme Treasure, Li Chunjun decided not to suppress his Mental Power or deny its nature.

He activated the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method.

The radiant glow of Heart-Burning Flames diffused outward, warm yet pulsating with intense energy.

"The fourth layer!" Liu Yu stared at Li Chunjun as if she were witnessing a unique life form transcending all norms.

How long has it been since I entrusted the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method to him?!

Three years!

Just three years!

In three years, Li Chunjun had cultivated the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method to the Fourth Layer, Heart-Burning Flames?!

When the Supreme Sovereign established the Profound Yellow List, he set clear standards:

Anyone who cultivated their Mind Power to the Third Layer before reaching the Void Refinement Realm would receive a Cultivation Technique as a reward, becoming a Nominal Disciple.

Reaching the Fourth Layer allowed one to publicly declare themselves a Supreme Disciple of the Profound Yellow Supreme, enjoying all the privileges of an Official Disciple.

However, there were alternative benchmarks: mastering the First Layer of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method within ten years, or the Second Layer within the same timeframe. Achieving either of these also granted Official Disciple status.

Yet Li Chunjun had now reached the Fourth Layer...

How should this be classified?!

A True Inheritor Disciple?

A Closed-Door Disciple?

This far exceeded the Supreme Sovereign's established criteria.

"A Nominal Disciple who tops the Cosmic Light List can have their reward upgraded. Given that Li Chunjun has reached the Fourth Layer of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method, securing Official Disciple status is a given. Could his reward be upgraded again? Perhaps upgrading his Dao Artifact to a Top-Tier Dao Artifact?" Li Chunjun pondered aloud, his concern evident.

Liu Yu glanced at Li Chunjun before swiftly reviewing all the Supreme Sovereign's established standards.

Ultimately, Liu Yu admitted she had no idea how to handle Li Chunjun's situation.

After a long pause, she said, "All Official Disciples of the Supreme Sovereign receive personal instruction. When the Supreme Sovereign returns from their travels to the Profound Yellow Great World, they also answer questions from Official Disciples. However, above Official Disciples are True Inheritor Disciples. Anyone who meets the criteria for becoming a True Inheritor Disciple not only receives further preferential treatment, but I must also notify the Supreme Sovereign and request their personal decision."

"The Supreme Sovereign's personal decision?" Li Chunjun repeated. "Then send the message."

"The Supreme Sovereign hasn't responded to any of my messages for tens of millions of years," Liu Yu stated bluntly. "In all that time, only three individuals have met the criteria for True Inheritor Disciple status. Two have already passed away, and the remaining one was born sixty thousand years ago."

"No response at all?" Li Chunjun was taken aback.

What did that even mean?

He recalled how in recent years, the Taixu Sword Sect had gradually surpassed the Profound Yellow Sect to become the new overlord of the Profound Yellow Great World.

Could it be...?

Had the Supreme Sovereign perished?

Or had some other catastrophe occurred?

Fortunately, Li Chunjun wasn't particularly eager to receive personal guidance from the Supreme Sovereign. In fact, he preferred not to directly expose himself to the gaze of such a supreme being.

With no response from the Profound Yellow Supreme in a long time, Li Chunjun wasn't particularly disappointed. He simply said, "Then let's proceed according to the standards for a True Inheritor Disciple."

As he pondered this, he immediately asked, "Does this mean I can now study the highest-level Void Refining methods?"

"Yes," Liu Yu replied. With a nod and a wave of her hand, a swirling mass of golden light materialized in her palm. "This is the Profound Yellow Dao Canon—the Void Refining method the Supreme Sovereign left behind, based on his own comprehension of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth."

She glanced at Li Chunjun. "However, this technique may not perfectly align with your path. The Supreme Sovereign walked the path of life and creation!"

"Life and creation?" Li Chunjun frowned.

His primary cultivation path revolved around the Void and Destruction. Compared to the Profound Yellow Supreme's focus on life and creation, the difference was vast.

"True Inheritor Disciples are often regarded by the Supreme Sovereign as his chosen heirs, each trained for Dao Unification. Therefore, the highest-level methods he left behind primarily concern creation and life."

"Did the Supreme Sovereign leave behind any other cultivation techniques? May I examine them myself?"

Li Chunjun spoke.

Liu Yu glanced at him.

Free access to the cultivation techniques wasn't standard protocol. However, Li Chunjun had already reached the Fourth Layer of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method in just three years, making him an anomaly that seemed to transcend the established rules. The existing regulations might not apply to him.

Considering that the Profound Yellow Supreme hadn't responded to her messages in over ten million years, she also hoped someone would one day achieve Dao Unification and venture into the Cosmic Void to investigate the Supreme Sovereign's fate. With this in mind, the Artifact Spirit nodded in agreement.

With a wave of her hand, a golden orb, dozens of crimson lights, and thousands of azure glows materialized before Li Chunjun.

"I've categorized these cultivation techniques by rarity and profundity," Liu Yu explained. "The brighter the light, the more precious and profound the technique."

Li Chunjun's Divine Sense rapidly scanned the array.

The golden radiance of the Profound Yellow Dao Canon was a given, but among the crimson lights, the Sovereign Dao Canon shone brightest—a Void Refining technique Li Chunjun knew he could never master.

As for the Great Void Kunpeng Art, it occupied a middling position among the azure cultivation techniques, neither particularly dim nor exceptionally bright—merely adequate.

"Take your time selecting," Liu Yu said.

Liu Yu said, "As a True Inheritor Disciple, your privileges will be significantly enhanced. The area of your Immortal Abode within the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven will expand to ten thousand square miles. You'll also gain the authority to expel individuals detrimental to the Grotto-Heaven and have a voice in shaping its future development."

The Artifact Spirit added briefly, "Number Eleven will provide you with a detailed explanation of the specifics."

Li Chunjun nodded.

His Divine Sense swept through the myriad cultivation techniques.

He largely ignored the blue-tier techniques like the Great Void Kunpeng Art. Having already gained a solid understanding of the Third Stage of Void Refinement, he knew that even if mastered, the Great Void Kunpeng Art would only make him an above-average practitioner at this stage.

If rankings like the Void Refinement Ranking, Dharma Manifestation Ranking, or Sage Ranking existed for this stage, cultivating the Great Void Kunpeng Art would at best elevate him to the Quasi-Sage level.

Forget about climbing the rankings; achieving true Prodigy-level combat prowess would require reliance on external tools and forces.

Therefore, with his breakthrough to the Void Refinement Realm imminent, switching to a more powerful and suitable cultivation technique was clearly imperative.

After a full day of careful consideration, Li Chunjun had tentatively selected three cultivation techniques from dozens of Red Dharmas:

Void Shattering!Ultimate Annihilation!Void Ring!

Void Shattering was a classic technique embodying both the Dao of Destruction and the Dao of the Void, with the Void as its primary focus and Destruction as its secondary aspect.

It manifested the Void Storm Dharma Aspect, a manifestation of terrifying power. However, its ranking among Red Dharmas was relatively low due to its requirement that cultivators possess both a Void Dao Body and a Destruction Dao Body simultaneously.

Without this limitation, its offensive prowess might rival only the Sovereign Dao Canon and Ultimate Annihilation.

Ultimate Annihilation, conversely, prioritized Destruction over the Void. While it didn't require a specific Dao Body, the Supernova Dharma Aspect it manifested, once unleashed, inflicted grievous harm upon both the target and the user.

Especially its final step, "Jade and Stone Burn Together," propelled the technique to its ultimate sublimation, unleashing Final Annihilation—a power even more terrifying than the Sovereign Dao Canon's Command the Great Dao.

The key difference lay in its nature as a desperate, self-destructive maneuver, making it inferior to the Sovereign Dao Canon's Command the Great Dao in sustained combat.

Finally, there was Void Ring...

Li Chunjun's interest lay primarily in the underlying philosophy of this technique.

It posited that the Void was the fundamental basis for the existence of all things.

The Void is the foundation of all existence.

All laws and Daos—destruction, life, creation, chaos, time, and more—are rooted in the Void and depend on it for their existence.

And the Void itself is a cycle, an endless reincarnation.

Everything within it endlessly repeats, eternally bound to this cycle, this reincarnation.

This philosophy shapes the Dharma Manifestation produced by this Cultivation Technique. Centered on the Void, it harmonizes with the three thousand laws and forty-eight Great Daos, capable of both enduring and unleashing their combined power.

It can withstand attacks from all laws and Daos.

And it can manifest all laws and Daos.

However, breadth often comes at the expense of depth.

By attempting to encompass all laws and Daos, this technique risks becoming mediocre, a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

In scenarios where the user wields overwhelming power, this technique would shine, lacking any glaring weaknesses.

But against stronger foes, or even peers of equal strength...

It would be utterly outmatched, crushed without mercy.

Li Chunjun's enduring fascination with this technique stemmed from its core concept: the cyclical nature of all things within the Void, the endless cycle of reincarnation.

If reincarnation truly exists...

Wouldn't that mean he could one day reverse the Void Ring to manipulate space-time, restoring destruction to its original state and resurrecting the lost?

"To withstand all laws and Daos..."

Li Chunjun's gaze remained fixed on the Cultivation Technique, his mind adrift in contemplation.

Ultimately, Li Chunjun turned his gaze back to the remaining two cultivation techniques.

The concept of the Void Ring was simply too vast, far beyond his current comprehension. Moreover, he sensed that this technique felt incomplete, more like a surviving fragment of a Dao Unification manual's Void chapter than a true Void Refining method. After all, who but someone who had truly unified with the Dao could dare to claim the ability to encompass three thousand laws and forty-nine Great Daos within a single technique? Attempting to learn it now would be premature.

His gaze, which had been flitting between the Shattered Void and Ultimate Annihilation techniques, lingered briefly on the latter. "Simulate a supernova explosion? This technique hinges entirely on one's foundational strength! For those with weak foundations, the resulting supernova state would merely release the total energy of a single star. But for those with strong foundations... the energy unleashed would far surpass that of an ordinary star!"

His greatest advantage lay in the profound foundational strength granted by his high lifeform rank.

Yet...

After careful consideration, Li Chunjun ultimately abandoned this technique.

Too difficult!

Not that it was impossible to learn; the cultivation difficulty was above average for a standard Void Refining method, about two tiers below the Sovereign Dao Canon. However, given this level of challenge, he still preferred the Shattered Void technique, which better suited his Destruction Dao Body talent.

With a decisive motion, Li Chunjun reached out and grasped the Shattered Void cultivation technique.

(End of the Chapter)

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