Chapter 9: The Omnipotent Virtue

“So, this is the Sea of Spirit?”

Contemplating the Primordial Sphere, Lu Sheng didn’t know how much time had passed before he once again sensed the feeling of unlocking the chains within his body. His consciousness seemed to have arrived at a new realm.

With a thought, a sphere within the Sea of Spirit transformed into the image of his own body. In the grayish world, he gazed at a curving Ruyi wand, its end shaped like a six-petaled plum blossom, displaying—

“Essence 0, Qi 0, Spirit 9; Fortune 126, Merit 1116, Karma 32,” showed the mysterious yellow shadow of the Ruyi. A faint understanding dawned in Lu Sheng’s heart:

“So this is what you look like!”

This shadow must be the projection of the Ruyi. It was identical to the jade Ruyi he had fiddled with in his previous life!

Though he had not seen the true form of the Ruyi again, the dim projection told Lu Sheng that it must have suffered a grievous wound.

Otherwise, its ability to carry his consciousness across worlds would never be so limited.

“It seems I must pay more attention to gathering the Dao and primordial essence to hasten the Ruyi’s recovery!”

With this in mind, Lu Sheng calculated his own attributes:

“Merit has been consumed, likely replenishing my physical losses. Fortune increased, brought on by the growth of essence, qi, and spirit.”

“All essence and qi have been elevated to spirit, reaching 9. It appears that nine points of spiritual power are the minimum requirement to open the Sea of Spirit!”

He withdrew the augmentation. Though his Sea of Spirit was somewhat unstable, under the radiance emitted by the Ruyi’s shadow, it eventually stabilized.

At this moment, Lu Sheng’s attributes became:

“Essence 2.36, Qi 2.36, Spirit 4.28; Fortune 126, Merit 1116, Karma 32.”

“Essence and qi remain unchanged, spirit has greatly increased—this must be the effect of visualizing the Primordial Sphere and practicing the Spirit Refining method.”

“Just one visualization increased my spirit by 1.92; this method of refining the spirit is unexpectedly powerful!”

Lu Sheng mused.

He was unaware that this was because he had comprehended the true meaning of the Primordial, and had developed his own Primordial realm, leading to such a surge on his first cultivation. In the future, the rate of growth would slow.

He activated the Three Treasures Ruyi technique, harmonizing essence, qi, and spirit, raising essence and qi to 4.28 as well. When he augmented his spirit again, it reached 12.84—

Nearly thirteen times that of an ordinary person!

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With such powerful spiritual strength, Lu Sheng’s awareness turned, and he quickly noticed his previous oversights:

“My essence, qi, and spirit are restrained, yet my body and clothing carry a scent!”

“Though disguised, the traces left may still be spotted!”

“Too many snakes were killed; murderous intent leaked—easily sensed by creatures with acute perception!”

…

He found many details he had previously overlooked.

These might escape the notice of ordinary people, but if Wan Gu Xiao was truly tracking him, he would already have manipulated snakes and insects to pursue him—

The greatest likelihood was that he simply hadn’t tracked him at all!

“If he’s not tracking me, perhaps Wan Gu Xiao thinks I’m worthless—but that’s unlikely—”

“Otherwise he wouldn’t have chased me before!”

Wan Gu Xiao killed Lu Hai with clear intent. Now that Lu Hai was dead, even if he had no designs on Lu Sheng, he would not miss the chance to root out all threats.

“There’s another possibility: he has set traps at the exit, or has more pressing matters and no time to hunt me down!”

Sensing this possibility, Lu Sheng realized an opportunity:

“If I can take advantage of Wan Gu Xiao’s negligence, escape this snake den and meet others, then, by sensing and simulating their essence, qi, and spirit—”

“My Three Treasures Ruyi technique may reach perfection, truly unlocking the Ruyi’s legacy!”

“Judging by the ‘entry-level’ effects of the technique, the inheritance within the Ruyi must be extraordinary.”

“With it, and merit to quickly cultivate, a mere Wan Gu Xiao would be nothing to fear!”

Sighing, Lu Sheng regretted:

“Pity I couldn’t sense the traits of so many snakes’ essence, qi, and spirit—otherwise my Three Treasures Ruyi technique would already be perfected!”

Sensing and simulating essence, qi, and spirit is the Three Treasures Ruyi technique’s function toward other beings—not limited to humans, but also snakes, insects, birds, beasts—

As long as there is a fluctuation of essence, qi, and spirit, the technique can sense it and then simulate it.

However, Lu Sheng had only recently begun practicing the technique, and had advanced rapidly. Though his attributes had surged, it was still difficult to sense the traits of other creatures.

Thus, he could only focus his efforts on other people!

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“Enough, I should focus on how to break through to Warrior!”

After pondering a while, Lu Sheng moved to another hidden location, correcting his previous oversights, and began considering how to strengthen himself—

Even if Wan Gu Xiao’s traps at the snake den’s exit were imperfect, he might still be waiting there. To escape, he needed strength to face him!

“Force transforms into internal qi. After advancing from Martial Apprentice to Martial Artist, the main task is to open the meridians so internal qi forms a stable cycle—thus becoming a Warrior.”

“This cycle, depending on the technique, may involve two or three meridians, or over a hundred.”

“But most often, it’s just the twelve primary meridians, affecting the whole body.”

“Primordial Technique is the same!”

While contemplating the Primordial Technique for Martial Artist and Warrior stages, Lu Sheng mused:

“My twelve primary meridians are already open; becoming a Warrior poses no difficulty.”

“Afterward, the goal is to accumulate internal qi and open the Governor and Conception vessels.”

“If not practicing special techniques or martial skills, there’s no need to open other meridians.”

“For most, to accumulate enough internal qi to open the two vessels, they may need to use techniques affecting many meridians.”

“But for the gifted, whose Governor and Conception vessels have been refined by innate energy, opening other meridians is unnecessary.”

“They need only form the internal qi cycle, letting it traverse the two vessels and attempt to sense primordial energy—thus becoming a Martial Master.”

“There are methods in the Primordial Technique tailored for the gifted.”

“I can use these to swiftly leap past the Martial Artist and Warrior stages, becoming a Martial Master!”

Compared to ordinary people, those whose meridians have been refined may not progress quickly as Martial Apprentices, but at the Martial Artist and Warrior stages, they advance rapidly, widening the gap.

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“But there’s still one issue!”

Lu Sheng thought. From what he knew, becoming a Martial Master usually required two conditions:

First, refining internal qi and opening the bridge to the world, to sense and absorb primordial energy;

Second, tempering the muscles and bones so they can withstand the pressure of primordial energy entering the body.

Primordial energy permeates the world; some carry special attributes. Most times, it’s gentle, causing little pressure when absorbed.

But in certain times or places, it can be violent, and then one must endure tremendous pressure.

Though rare, when encountered, those attempting breakthroughs may fail, or worse, lose control of internal qi and damage their meridians.

If too much energy is absorbed and cannot be controlled, it may ravage the organs, even causing death.

Before the cause was understood, many Warriors failed their breakthroughs each year, some dying outright.

Later, great masters analyzed the cause and advised Warriors to strengthen their muscles and bones, enhancing their capacity for energy—reducing incidents greatly.

Now, nearly every Martial Artist rigorously tempers muscles and bones before advancing, to avoid mishaps.

“Moreover, thanks to the refining effect of mysterious qi, Warriors’ muscles and bones are greatly strengthened, almost like steel.”

“Such bones, though extremely tough, are basically fixed—changing them becomes more difficult.”

“After becoming a Martial Master, few see much change in muscles and bones.”

“Some who break through at eight or nine keep the appearance of a child.”

“For example, Lei Xuan’er of the Southern Sea Thunder Sect, whose talent was so great she cultivated mysterious qi and became a Martial Master at nine without instruction. Since then, her bones have been fixed; I hear she’s thirteen now, still looks nine!”

“For this reason, many talented individuals train their force and internal qi step by step, waiting for full growth and sufficient tempering before becoming Martial Masters.”

“Most prodigies on the Heroic List achieve Martial Master status around twenty for this reason!”

“My body is only fifteen, less than five feet tall, not fully developed yet.”

“If I become a Martial Master now, I’ll appear rather short.”

“But that can’t be helped—survival comes first.”

“In the snake den, being shorter is actually advantageous; for growing taller, I’ll rely on the omnipotent merit later!”

Lu Sheng thought.

Yet, thinking of “omnipotent merit,” he suddenly realized a possibility and asked in his heart:

“Ruyi, how much merit does it take to accelerate my bone development?”

“To increase growth tenfold requires 52 days and consumes 520 merit; twentyfold requires 26 days and 1040 merit.”

Based on his merit, Ruyi replied.

“It really works!”

Overjoyed, Lu Sheng no longer cared about the advantages of being short in the snake den.

He was confident he would soon become a Martial Master; afterward, thanks to the greatly refined muscles and bones, skills like bone-shrinking would be as easy as flexing a finger—making movement even easier.

“520 merit for tenfold acceleration, one merit per day. But 52 days is too long; I’ll pay double for twentyfold acceleration—”

“So the time isn’t drawn out, risking unforeseen changes!”

“These 26 days can also be spent in the snake den replenishing merit, accumulating internal qi, and tempering muscles and bones!”

Without hesitation, Lu Sheng consumed 1040 merit to hasten his growth.

Meanwhile, he carefully hunted snakes and insects to replenish the merit he spent!