The Six Paths Samsara Sword Momentum contained the profound truth of life and death, the great dao of samsara. It could grant life or snuff it out; its divine power was unfathomable.
With this sword momentum, Jing Qian's entire cultivation of the Yanfu Dao finally felt as though a string had been threaded through a pile of scattered pearls.
Many formidable powers merged into one, giving his sword dao such an immense boost that it actually overshadowed his Heaven-Opening Sword Momentum.
Though the two sword momenta were of equal rank, the strength hidden within the Six Paths was vastly superior.
Without a doubt, Jing Qian's combat power had been elevated to a new peak.
Were it not for the inappropriate setting, he would have already plunged into the Fate Stele space to spar with the Qiongqi and Thunderbird again.
At this moment, his strongest conventional strike was the Burial Sword Light fused with the Six Paths Samsara Sword Momentum.
He felt immense confidence that he could slay the soundwave-form Qiongqi with a single blow!
The refinement of a single Blue-Blood Life Pattern had completely altered his combat system.
And this was precisely the brilliance of the Pure Yang Heaven inheritance.
If the Yanfu Dao, with its meticulousness, profundity, and heavy foundation, could be seen as the body of cultivation,
Then Pure Yang Heaven, sharp, absolute, and reckless in battle, was the use.
As the saying goes, Body and use share the same source, subtle and inseparable.
Both the theoretical roots and the practical application were indispensable.
The Yanfu Dao excelled at accumulation refining mana, expanding cultivation. Their signature? Absorbing blood and flesh, capturing spirits, refining organs.
In pure mana, a Yanfu disciple could crush their peers, far stronger than the Pure Yang disciples of the same generation, several dozen times over.
But Pure Yang Heaven excelled at conversion. They poured all their effort into amplifying combat efficiency.
With just a drop of mana, they could unleash tenfold might. Realm, cultivation, spiritual tools, it mattered not.
So long as a single sword strike could break an enemy's defense, they dared to stake it all, gambling their lives to overcome the strong with the weak.
The contrast between the two paths could not have been clearer.
And Jing Qian, who had inherited the strengths of both Yanfu Dao and Pure Yang Heaven, was a freak of nature.
From the lower three grades onward, he had already begun, in his own way, to bend the world to his presence.
This Sword Momentum Life Pattern marked another key breakthrough in uniting the two paths within him.
After refining it, he immediately immersed himself in understanding its mysteries.
Only when the third day came to an end did he slowly withdraw from meditation.
By then, more than half the cultivators around him had failed to refine a Life Pattern in time and were eliminated.
Still, those who had reached this point had already gained rare treasures, obtained a complete refining method, and materials for a Life Pattern, a harvest beyond measure.
Only thirty-three remained. Each one was a prodigy of talent, comprehension, and background.
They had endured two rounds of demanding trials and witnessed the terrifying depth of the Divine Dynasty's resources. Their entire bearing had changed.
The arrogance and frivolity of youth had been washed away, replaced by a new steadiness.
At Jing Qian's side, Fan Zhuoyan, now a top-tier genius with two Spiritual Constructs at his disposal, had naturally passed with ease.
But his method of passing had been utterly different from Jing Qian's.
For clans like the Fan Clan of Jinhetang, a Yanfu Dao family tied deeply to the Divine Dynasty, there was always a shortcut prepared for their descendants.
Back in the clan's golden age, their forebears had already submitted pre-prepared high-grade Life Pattern methods to the Dynasty's academy archives.
Thus, later generations, from the time they could first understand words, were able to study the clan's secret Life Pattern refinements.
When the banquet trial began, what for others was a three-day struggle under crushing pressure, an ultimate test of comprehension was, for those who had been handed the answers in advance, nothing more than a long-awaited and natural step forward.
They didn't need to waste time choosing. They didn't need to exhaust themselves studying. They only had to follow the steps and refine accordingly.
In this way, the great clans of the Divine Dynasty not only secured higher chances for their descendants to pass the academy banquet but also gained a "free ride" on the high-grade materials needed for refining a Life Pattern.
It was under such conditions that Fan Zhuoyan easily refined his clan's secret Golden Thread Qi Life Pattern, a Violet-Pupil–rank origin qi pattern.
Within the Divine Dynasty's system, the number of high-grade Life Pattern methods a clan had contributed to the Academy Library was itself a measure of that clan's foundation.
Only those who had contributed more than ten could be called true Gate-Clans, holding a unique political status.
A clan like the Fan family, though a Star-Seizer lineage, was still some distance away from that level.
In fact, among the thirty-three who remained, at least half were in the same position as Fan Zhuoyan.
Within the Dynasty's structure, these orthodox sons and daughters of the great clans and Gate-Clans were the true core seeds of future ascension.
Jing Qian, mixing among them and even performing better than most, was an anomaly.
When the second round concluded, the third trial immediately began.
The presiding master spoke once more:
"In this third round, I will have you experience the condensation of a Dharma Form ahead of time.
Each of you will step before the Mystic Mirror of Appraisal, project yourselves into its reflected world, and attempt to condense a Dharma Form.
Those of eighth-rank cultivation who can condense an upper-grade Dharma Form, those of ninth-rank who can condense at least a middle-grade Dharma Form, or those who can achieve a perfect Dharma Form shall pass this stage!
But know this: reaching this point already marks you as extraordinary. Even if you fail to condense one, and thus cannot join one of the Twelve Doctrinal Lineages, you may still pursue cultivation in other sects registered with the Academy. You will at least have glimpsed the threshold of the upper three grades of cultivation."
As he finished, the master waved his hand. A crystalline palm-sized jade mirror appeared, then grew with the wind until it stood two stories high when it struck the ground.
Counting Jing Qian, there were thirty-four left. All of them easily fit within the mirror's vast reflection.
Jing Qian gazed at the jade mirror, and with a turn of his mind, his Worldly Insight revealed its nature:
Spiritual Construct: Mystic Mirror of Appraisal
Category: Outer-Dao Moon
Rank: Third Grade
Suppression Requirement: Treasure of the Spiritual Bureau, controlled by the Academy's presiding master
Lifespan Burden: One month per use
A third-grade Spiritual Construct, used solely to help a group of eighth- and ninth-rank juniors simulate Dharma Forms, this was yet another glimpse into the Divine Dynasty's terrifying foundation.
This academy banquet was nothing less than a grand giveaway for grooming its core disciples.
Treasure materials, Life Patterns, direct guidance, everything was laid bare.
No matter which doctrinal lineage these students eventually joined, each would walk away owing the Dynasty a debt of gratitude.
Jing Qian, too, was thoroughly pleased with these increasingly rare opportunities.
A preview of Dharma Form condensation would greatly aid his future cultivation.
No matter how high his combat strength had soared, his actual realm was still only that of an eighth-rank Dragon Elephant, not fundamentally different from those around him.
As he joined the others in projecting his consciousness into the mirror, his mind shifted, and he found himself within a unique inner space.
Here, boundless origin qi wrapped around his body, providing all that was needed for advancement.
Jing Qian had long been on the verge of condensing a Dharma Form, suppressing it only with great effort.
This time, within the mirror's illusion, he released all restraint. His breakthrough began at once.
In an instant, immeasurable Azure-Wing Life Essence burst forth from his sea of consciousness. His many Heavenly Mandates quivered, drawn irresistibly toward that power.
The condensation of a Dharma Form began with the burning of Life Essence, which ignited flames that seared the Life Patterns, releasing the truths of the great Dao hidden within them.
The more Life Essence burned, the more Life Patterns refined, the higher their grade, the stronger the resonance, the greater the Dharma Form achieved.
Dharma Forms themselves were ranked:
A low-grade Dharma Form could never sustain higher lifespans; to condense one was to court an early grave.
A middle-grade Dharma Form carried the chance of attaining longevity and even glimpsing the Star-Seizer realm.
Only a high-grade Dharma Form was truly qualified to pursue the elusive upper three grades of cultivation.
For these candidates, if even within this banquet illusion, they could not manifest at least a middle-grade Dharma Form, then it proved their foundation was insufficient, and they were unworthy of the top lineages.
Beyond these three ranks, however, there was also the so-called Perfect Dharma Form.
This was not another rank, but rather a special state: when a cultivator's Life Essence was so abundant that it could burn out the entirety of a Life Pattern's dao-rhyme, and solidify all of it into the Dharma Form.
To reach such a state was to bring forth every shred of one's potential without a trace of waste.
And thus, the Dharma Form condensed was what was called a Perfect Dharma Form.
Once a cultivator achieved this, extraordinary phenomena would appear, and it could even be regarded as a Dharma Form of a higher rank.
A lower-grade Perfect Dharma Form could surpass even a middle-grade Dharma Form in might, its support to cultivation no less effective, more than sufficient to push forward one's path.
Indeed, some lineages even intentionally refined lower-grade Life Patterns for the very purpose of pursuing a Perfect Dharma Form of a grade lower.
But for someone like Jing Qian, who had refined a whole array of Life Patterns, all the way to the rank of Heavenly Mandates, the sheer amount of energy it would take to forge a Perfect Dharma Form was unimaginable.
It was almost an impossible feat.
At this moment, his Life Essence cultivation had already surpassed two hundred units. Counting the boost from his possession of ghosts, even many Earth Fiend cultivators could not match his depth of power.
Yet when he truly began to burn it, merely refining two Heavenly Mandates was enough to drain him utterly dry!
Fortunately, Jing Qian had only ever intended to treat this round of Dharma Form condensation as a rehearsal.
For him, it was a priceless cultivation experience. Even if he had only burned two Heavenly Mandates, he had, in truth, completed a genuine breakthrough, fully reaching the Great Achievement of the Dragon Elephant Realm.
Burning his entire reservoir, Jing Qian fused Sumeru and Entwining Karma into a single, terrifying, concentrated dao-rhyme.
From it, a mighty Dao Sovereign Fishing the Void Form condensed into being!
This was an immensely powerful upper-grade Dharma Form, carrying boundless might within it.
In an instant, vast, surging power erupted from it, flooding into Jing Qian's body as his own cultivation.
Once the Dharma Form was established, his mana doubled on the spot!
Then, from the Dharma Form itself, wondrous powers began to unfold. Jing Qian sensed unique divine abilities emerging from the Dao Sovereign Fishing the Void Form.
Though this breakthrough was illusory, no more than flowers in a mirror, the moon in water, it was still a true experience.
And from this mirrored ascension, he gained absolute confidence in his real future breakthrough!
He immersed himself wholly in the illusion, letting time slip by, his focus fixed on comprehending the Dharma Form.
Around him, the other candidates experienced much the same, each sitting cross-legged, sunk into their own mirror-world realizations.
From the high platform above, eleven figures leaned forward to observe.
On the surface of the Mystic Mirror of Appraisal, all kinds of Dharma Forms bloomed: beasts, fish, and dragons, insects, mountains, and seas, each unique in form, each with its own level of strength.
Yet only the central Dao Sovereign Fishing the Void Form, which repelled all other forms far away, drew the gaze of every great cultivator.
This stage was the true moment for the great cultivators to select disciples aligned with their own paths.
With Dharma Forms revealing a disciple's talent and the dao-bone, there could be no mistake.
Naturally, Jing Qian's extraordinary Dharma Form, standing head and shoulders above the rest, earned him far greater attention.
At last, when the enormous mirror dissolved completely, the gathered students slowly awakened.
The presiding master's voice rang out once more:
"Those who failed to condense a Dharma Form, step aside.
You shall still be counted as disciples of the Academy, permitted to witness the banquet's final stage.
The remaining fourteen are the victors of this trial.
The last stage is not about defeat or elimination, but about dividing the Banquet Spirit Qi.
In this round, if you truly have the ability, you may ascend beyond the boundary of the Yingfutu Realm itself and offer your tribute to the heavens above.
Only those who break through the realm's membrane will be recognized as the true winners of this academy banquet, with the right to choose freely from among the Twelve Doctrinal Lineages.
But if you fail to break through, do not despair! Even across ten banquets, not one may succeed."
"Begin!"
At his command, the earth of the Academy's inner world split open, and from below rose a terrifying, great ghost.
Jing Qian saw it clearly: this was a Star-Seizer Ghost Corpse, refined from a fifth-grade Earth Fiend beast during a Yin Year.
He had made more ghostly friends than anyone; he could never mistake them.
Only once the ghost corpse appeared did the presiding master continue:
"This banquet is presided over by the Mirror Cloud Shrine's Great Tree Cavern. Prepare yourselves!"
With that, he cast a strange power over the ghost corpse.
At once, silver chains appeared upon it, then extended outward, wrapping all fourteen remaining candidates, including Jing Qian and Fan Zhuoyan, binding them and lifting them skyward.
Jing Qian felt a mighty force hauling him upward, piercing straight through the boundary of the Academy's inner world and beyond.
The whole group soared above Yingdu, the grand city below shrinking rapidly to a speck. The silver chain seemed as though it extended from beyond the realm itself.
Though Jing Qian had already gained the ability to fly through the heavens and travel the earth, this world was strange. High above was a forbidden zone: the closer one came to the world's membrane, the greater the peril, and none dared approach lightly.
Now, thanks to the ghost corpse and this strange chain, Jing Qian finally glimpsed another hidden layer of this world.
The higher they rose, the thinner the spiritual energy became. Yet paradoxically, it felt as if they were sinking into the deep sea, pressed by infinite weight, crushed by infinite repulsion.
With each step upward, the pressure mounted another notch!
It was only thanks to the power of that Star-Seizer ghost corpse and the silver chain that the candidates' ascent was able to continue.
Even so, the crushing pressure pinned all the students in place, leaving them unable to move, dragged upward solely by the chain.
Compared to the others, Jing Qian was different. As the Child of Sumeru, master of a cave-heaven and bearer of the spatial Dao, and with his powerful observational Life Pattern, Worldly Insight, while the rest were on the verge of collapse, some even falling unconscious, he remained fully alert, his focus locked on unraveling the secrets around him.
The last time he glimpsed beyond the boundary of this realm, he had faintly discerned twenty-two cave-heavens forming its outer membrane.
Now, up close, those clearly divided yet tightly interlinked cave-heavens stood out in perfect detail.
Among the twenty-two, the Ying Clan alone occupied five, spanning immense territories and sheltering billions of Ying-blooded descendants.
Beyond them, the eleven academies each anchored a single cave-heaven.
The remaining six belonged to demonic, ghostly, or other nonhuman powers.
The ghost corpse before them, bound by silver chains, was being dragged straight toward the Great Tree Cave-heaven under the dominion of the Mirror Cloud Shrine.
At this stage, the Academy Banquet had reached its final act.
The "sacrifice" in the word banquet was fulfilled here, offering up a Star-Seizer ghost corpse as tribute to the Great Tree Cave-heaven.
Every banquet ended with one cave-heaven within the membrane being nourished by the dynasty's offering. The sacrifice was never lower than Star-Seizer grade.
The hidden reasons behind this were beyond Jing Qian's grasp for now. He only saw, with chilling clarity, that as the ghost corpse neared, the wall of the cave-heaven cracked open, and a rotting, wooden arm reached out and hauled the corpse inside for purposes unknown, unspeakable, indescribable.
By then, the candidates had been hauled to the very edge of the heavens, where the pressure was unbearable. Were it not for his protective Sumeru Ghostskin, Jing Qian too would have fallen unconscious like the others.
Through the fissure of the Great Tree Cave-heaven, he caught, in a fleeting instant, a glimpse within a thousand-armed wooden giant, its whole body ulcerated and rotting. It bore the head and eyes of a Buddha, yet the body and skin of a ghost. A strange and terrifying existence, at least of the upper third-rank.
After the ghost was swallowed, the silver chain did not release them but continued along its set course, dragging the fourteen candidates ever higher.
Only when they reached the membrane's upper edge, directly above the Great Tree Cave-heaven, did the chain unlock, casting the students down.
But only Jing Qian remained standing. The others were still unconscious.
He now stood at an infinite height in the Yingfutu Realm. Before him stretched a dense wall of cloud and mist, close enough to touch. Beyond it lay the realm's exterior, the endless void, boundless possibilities.
With one more step, he could pierce the membrane and truly break through the Academy Banquet.
This was the goal he had long yearned for!
Though the crushing pressure made even the slightest movement of his body agonizingly difficult, his heart remained steady. Fixing his gaze upon the sky beyond, he gathered all his strength and pushed the power of the Sumeru Heavenly Mandate to its limit.
A streak of light, a ripple of space, and in a flash, he broke through the clouded barrier, stepping into the heights beyond!
Suddenly, a vast expanse opened before his eyes.
Here, there was infinite light and infinite darkness, limitless distance and limitless breadth.
It was the boundless cosmos.
He swept his vision greedily across everything, only to be stunned: instead of the starry sea he had imagined, the heavens were sparse, the number of visible stars less than one ten-thousandth of his past life's skies.
Instead, the space surrounding the Yingfutu Realm was cluttered with countless shattered stars and drifting debris, unable to form even a single whole.
Jing Qian's understanding of the universe shifted. This world still held vast unknowns waiting to be explored, and the thought thrilled him.
More importantly, his journey into the void triggered a tremor within his Sumeru Life Pattern; his title as Child of Sumeru surged with newfound power.
He even felt that, with the Heavenly Mandate of Sumeru, he could wander freely through the starry void.
Yet the qi here was too thin for cultivation. He still had too much to accomplish within the realm.
Besides, the silver chain bound tightly around his ankle, refusing to let him stray too far.
He would walk these stars one day, but that day had not yet come.
Content with his glimpse of a wonder reserved for him alone, Jing Qian dove back through the membrane.
The silver chain tightened once more, pulling him down toward the earth.
But when calm returned to the void outside the world, a rift of space suddenly tore open.
From within, a stunning female ghost clutching a plump white grub was booted unceremoniously out.
Mo Piner's eyes snapped wide open. Dizzy, disoriented, she looked around in utter confusion.
"What's going on…?"
First, he claimed her, then he forced her to churn out talismans day after day, and now, once she'd been wrung dry, he simply kicked her aside, tossing her into this barren void where even heaven and earth would not answer her cries.
How could there be such a shameless man in this world?!
So the old crone was right, the disciples of Yanfu Dao were all scoundrels deserving a thousand cuts!
At that moment, Mo Piner's fury swelled in her chest so strongly it nearly burst.
She longed for nothing more than to plunge a blade into that villain Jing Qian, yet no matter where she looked, his figure was nowhere to be found.
She could not know that Jing Qian had no other choice.
The pressure of the void was too great, its qi too scarce. If he wanted to anchor a ghost here as a spatial beacon, Mo Piner was the only one who could endure it.
He had no choice but to wrong her for now.
When time permitted, he swore, he would capture a stronger, uglier ghost and swap her back out.
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