117: Chapter 117 Heart Furnace Casting

The night at the fishery returned to tranquility.

The sea breeze brushed past the simple stone house, carrying a salty tang and the faint splashing of Spirit Fish leaping in the distance.

No lamps were lit inside; only the cold moonlight filtered through the window frames, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Jiang Hanzhou sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, his figure appearing exceptionally calm in the dim light.

After dealing with the matters of the Prodigal Society, he had come straight back here.

Liu Quan had eagerly offered to Move him to a more spacious and comfortable residence, even hinting at using the fishery's resources for some renovations, but he had calmly refused.

Though the stone house was humble, it was enough to provide shelter from the wind and rain, and more importantly, it was free from distractions.

Having reached this stage in his cultivation, enjoyment of external things had long since faded; his heart was like a rock, focused only on the Great Dao.

Jiang Tao's Divine Soul Origin was already linked to him; his life or death was within his grasp with a single thought, so there was no need to worry about any betrayal.

As for the subsequent reorganization of the Prodigal Society, the superficial dealings with the Heavenly Heart Sect, and how to use this newly acquired power to more efficiently seize resources... he left these trivial matters to Wang Mingyuan, Liu Quan, and the others.

Power was a tool, an extension of his hands and feet, capable of handling many unnecessary troubles for him and gathering scattered resources and intelligence.

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, having one's own network of power undoubtedly allowed one to walk more steadily and further.

But Jiang Hanzhou remained clear-headed: all external things were tied to his own martial strength. If he wasn't strong enough, no matter how large the power, it would just be a castle in the air, liable to collapse in an instant.

Withdrawing his focus, Jiang Hanzhou's thoughts shifted slightly, and the pale blue light screen in the depths of his consciousness silently unfolded.

Compared to before his secluded meditation, the panel had undergone earth-shattering changes.

[host: Jiang Hanzhou]

[fate: Late Bloomer (Fifth Rank)]

[Cultivation: Dragon Elephant Realm · Primal Elephant Realm (Initial Entry)]

[Divine Ability: Great Sun Tide (Incomplete), Heavenly Dipper Treasure Refining Art (Level 1), Divine Intent Heavenly Saber (Entry, Incomplete)]

[True Intent: Tidal True Intent (20%), Pure Yang True Intent (20%)]

[Current Martial Arts Comprehension Accumulation: 20 years / 6000 years]

The previously dazzling list of Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills had vanished.

Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill, Li Huo Golden Body Art, Evil Flood Dragon Wave Surfing Art, Tidal Shadow Thousand Hands, Thirteen Transformations of Heavenly Fire... even those dozen or so Profound Rank Martial Skills he had painstakingly cultivated to Major Achievement were all gone.

Jiang Hanzhou did not feel panicked or lost.

With a slight movement of his mind, he lightly pointed his right index finger forward. No brilliance shone from his fingertip, but a strand of scarlet-gold Qi, refined like a needle, naturally emerged in the air, carrying a scorching Pure Yang intent to break evil; with another shift of thought, the Qi suddenly turned azure, like an undercurrent of the tide, continuous and unending.

He had not forgotten those martial arts.

On the contrary, all their essence, force-exertion methods, and various techniques for utilizing blood Qi and True Qi had long been thoroughly understood, digested, and fused by him.

Now, with every gesture, his blood Qi and True Intent followed his heart, whether hard or soft, hot or cold, all becoming Moves; he no longer needed to be confined by the framework of specific Martial Skills.

Those martial arts below the Heaven Rank had already become a part of his martial Dao Foundation, turning into nourishment for the growth of his "True Intent."

This was "comprehensive mastery," a natural transformation brought about by the leap in life level and extraordinary Comprehension Ability.

Martial Skills are the "Technique," while True Intent is the preliminary manifestation of the "Dao."

Having mastered the basics of the "Dao," many "Techniques" lost the necessity of independent existence.

And the "Divine Ability" column that appeared on the panel represented a higher level of power form.

[Great Sun Tide (Incomplete)], was the fist technique he had created by preliminarily combining Tide and Pure Yang True Intent.

The name was temporary, and it only had the form of a single punch, far from perfect, let alone a system, so it was labeled as "Incomplete."

But even so, its power far exceeded the killing Moves of ordinary Primal Form Realm Martial Artists.

[Divine Intent Heavenly Saber (Entry, Incomplete)], originated from the sublimation of the "Heavenly Saber" remnant.

When he comprehended the strike "The Mortal World," the core of his saber technique was no longer limited to the fixed Moves recorded in the Jade Slip but integrated his own insights into The Mortal World, Karma, and the myriad aspects of human life; Saber Intent and Divine Intent merged, thus it was renamed "Divine Intent Heavenly Saber."

Likewise, this was only the beginning, and the road ahead was long.

What made Jiang Hanzhou's heart stir the most was the [Heavenly Dipper Treasure Refining Art].

This technique, obtained from the true Legacy of the Heavenly Evil Cult, was actually classified directly as a "Divine Ability" by the panel!

Although he had previously felt this art was extraordinarily profound, he had not expected its level to be so high.

Thinking about it now, it was reasonable.

To be able to refine Heaven And Earth Treasures with a special method and condense "Precious Qi" with various miraculous uses within the body, which could even be transformed into protective Dipper baleful Qi, Artifact Refining precious fire, or restriction-breaking divine light... this was no longer within the scope of ordinary martial Dao techniques, but closer to the legendary "Divine Abilities and Spells."

"It's just that the threshold for the second level, 'Refining Treasure into Dipper,' is indeed extremely high."

Jiang Hanzhou recalled the situation when he tried to refine that piece of "gold marrow cloud-patterned iron" during his seclusion.

With his cultivation at the initial entry of the Primal Elephant Realm, plus the comprehension of a fifth-rank fate, he had failed to succeed in one go, only barely fusing a trace of Metal element Origin into the Heavenly Dipper Precious Qi, making its sharpness even more intense, still far from transforming it into the "Heavenly Dipper Precious Shroud."

That gold marrow cloud-patterned iron still lay quietly in his sumeru pouch, waiting for him to try again after his strength improved further.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the panel's "True Intent: Tidal True Intent (20%), Pure Yang True Intent (20%)".

A 20% comprehension level meant his understanding and application of these two True Intents were still in the Elementary stage, with huge room for growth in the future.

The comprehension and deepening of True Intent were related to the progress of cultivation in the Primal Form Realm and were the key to condensing a "Divine Fetus" in the future.

Closing the panel, Jiang Hanzhou's thoughts did not stop.

The improvement of strength is endless, especially in the East Sea, which is full of dangers and powerful experts.

He reached into his sumeru pouch and his fingertips touched a parchment scroll.

He took it out and slowly unfolded it on his knees.

Under the moonlight, the characters and patterns written on the scroll with a strange dark silver pigment seemed to come alive, flowing with a deep luster.

"Heart Furnace Artifact Forging Art"!

Jiang Hanzhou had not studied this parchment scroll, obtained from Sandro, a Guest Elder of the Silver Wing Family of the Storm Kingdom, in depth since he got it.

Because its opening statement was clear: to practice this art, the primary condition is to condense one's own "Martial Arts True Intent"!

True Intent is the primer, the Foundation for constructing the "Heart Furnace," and the fire and anvil for forging the "Heart Artifact."

Now, the conditions were finally met.

Jiang Hanzhou cleared all distracting thoughts, and his Divine Sense slowly sank into the parchment scroll.

In an instant, a large amount of profound and obscure information flooded into his mind like a torrent.

Unlike the gentle infusion of a Jade Slip, the inheritance method in this parchment scroll was more ancient and direct, carrying a cold and grand significance.

The "Heart Furnace Artifact Forging Art" was not a method for forging tangible weapons or tools.

It described a mysterious realm at the deepest part of a practitioner's Soul, where spirit and energy intersect, to visualize, construct, and finally forge a "Heart Artifact" closely linked to one's own Soul, will, and power Origin.

This "Heart Artifact" is formless and substanceless, neither gold nor iron, existing between reality and illusion, in the interlayer of spiritual energy.

It manifests and changes according to the practitioner's will, possessing various incredible and mysterious functions.

The first step of cultivation is to "Visualize the Heart Furnace."

One needs to use their own True Intent as fuel and Divine Sense as the craftsman's hammer to visualize a unique "Artifact Forging Furnace" in the spiritual void.

The form and characteristics of this furnace are closely related to the True Intent comprehended by the practitioner.

Jiang Hanzhou closed his eyes and concentrated, his breathing gradually becoming faint as if non-existent.

His consciousness sank into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, that spiritual world which had expanded to be more vast and clear due to his Epiphany and fate upgrade.

He "saw" the swirling azure tide and the high-hanging scarlet-gold great sun.

The Tidal True Intent was continuous and cyclic, containing the ultimate softness and hardness of water; the Pure Yang True Intent was bright and fierce, emitting the scorching heat and majesty that incinerated all evil.

"What shall I use as the furnace?"