28: Chapter 28 Soul-Shaking Bow

"This bow is named the 'zhenhun bow,' and it was crafted by me over thirty years ago."

Master Han stroked the bow body and said slowly, "Its main material is taken from the Peak Tier 1 Yao Beast, the Black Water Black Snake. The snake's tendon serves as the string, and its spine serves as the limbs. It was then supplemented with several rare minerals and refined by subterranean fire for seven days without interruption before it took shape. The bow body has already interwoven natural spiritual patterns; it does not require physical arrows, as it can form arrows when stimulated with Spiritual Qi. If physical arrows are used, the power is even greater!"

Master Han paused to emphasize its unique feature: "The most precious aspect of this bow lies in its attached function, 'Zhenhun.' When an arrow is released, it emits a piercing shriek containing a trace of the Black Water Black Snake's cry. This can shake the opponent's mind. If their will is not firm, the sound of the snake's hissing and roaring will echo in their ears, disturbing their mind and causing their movements to become sluggish."

"What is even more rare is that this bow has the potential to grow into a Spiritual Artifact, making it a long-term investment. This bow is priced at eighty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

The second bow had a relatively lightweight design. Its body seemed to be forged from spirit jade and a certain pale cyan mysterious iron, with a warm luster like flowing clouds covering the moon.

"This bow is named 'Zhuiyue,' focusing on speed and precision." Master Han continued to introduce it: "Its bow limbs are forged from Heavenly Mysterious Iron mixed with Three-Colored Ore, making it tough yet lightweight. The bowstring incorporates the essence of the 'Golden Feather Eagle's' feathers, providing uniform tension and extremely fast recoil."

"Although it has no special attached functions, it excels in stability and controllability. Spiritual Qi arrows are almost silent when leaving the string, and their trajectory is straight, making it especially suitable for long-distance sniping or situations requiring continuous, rapid shooting. This bow can greatly improve hit efficiency and attack speed. It is priced at sixty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

The third bow had the most archaic design; the bow body looked like twisted old vines and was dark brown.

"The 'Kurong Vine Bow.' This bow was crafted by me using a type of 'Life-Death Vine' from the Black Cloud Swamp in Beifeng Prefecture. This vine withers and flourishes once every hundred years, containing a faint Dao rhythm of the alternation between life and death."

"This bow does not focus on direct lethality, but the Spiritual Power arrows it fires possess an 'Energy-Eroding' characteristic, which can slowly erode the Spiritual Power circulation of those struck. It is suitable for prolonged battles and attrition tactics. The control threshold for this bow is relatively low; it can be used smoothly by anyone whose Cultivation has reached the Qi Refining 7th Layer. It is priced at fifty-eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

After the introduction, Master Han sat quietly to the side, waiting for Li Changqing to carefully observe and compare them.

Li Changqing pondered for a moment. His first thought was to purchase the zhenhun bow, so without further hesitation, he took out eighty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones and bought the zhenhun bow.

He also spent thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones to purchase three Medium Grade Magical Artifact-level arrows.

Seeing that Li Changqing had purchased several Magical Artifacts at once, Master Han also gifted Li Changqing one hundred arrows made of ordinary iron. In Wangshan Town, for Master Han, there were not many customers who spent over a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones at the Hundred Refinements Pavilion in one go.

After leaving the Hundred Refinements Pavilion, Li Changqing went to the Wanbao Pavilion to ask when the Family would next organize a Yao Beast hunting team to enter the mountains. Upon learning that the Family would organize a group of clansmen to enter the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range to hunt Yao Beasts in about a month, he applied to the Family in advance to join the hunting team and participate in this hunt.

Joining the Yao Beast hunting team to enter the mountains was, firstly, to train his state of mind, which was beneficial for stabilizing his Cultivation, and secondly, to use the Yao Beasts to practice his archery.

After exchanging for a batch of Talisman Making Materials with the Family, Li Changqing returned to Xuanling Island.

Half a month later, at the center of Xuanling Lake, shrouded in clouds and mist, Li Changqing sat cross-legged on a small boat. The zhenhun bow was placed horizontally before his knees; the bow body was four feet five inches long and weighed one stone and three jun. He had been practicing archery for half a month continuously.

Although he had not nocked an arrow, there was a faint, hidden sound of wind and thunder. He was not practicing ordinary archery today; rather, he intended to comprehend the Dao through the bow, integrating archery into his Cultivation Origin, in order to glimpse the entry-level Realm of the "Heavenly Star Soul-Splitting Arrow."

Li Changqing took a deep breath and slowly stroked the bow body with his left hand. Where his fingertips touched, the textures of the bow body trembled slightly like living Meridians, and the bowstring gave off a cold, tough sensation. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, drew Spiritual Power from his Dantian, and channeled it along his Meridians to his arms.

The archery practiced by a Cultivator does not primarily rely on arm strength, but on "controlling the bow with Spiritual Power." Ordinary Martial Artists rely on the strength of their tendons and bones to draw a bow, but a Cultivator must infuse Spiritual Power into the bow body to make the bow resonate with their own Spiritual Qi.

He gripped the bow handle with his right hand and placed two fingers of his left hand on the string—without nocking an arrow, he pulled the empty string first. This was the method of "Sensing the String."

The bowstring was taut like a galloping snake or dragon. Spiritual Power seeped from his fingertips into the bowstring, and the string immediately glowed with a faint cyan light. Li Changqing sensed the flow of every bit of force on the bowstring.

The recoil force of the bowstring was like a surging river, while his own Spiritual Power was like a dam guiding the flow; he had to find the opportunity to go with the flow.

The ultimate Realm of the Dao of the Bow is to ascend to a high level of unity between Heart, Intent, Spirit, and Law.

Heart refers to the "unity of heart and arrow" emphasized by archery experts, which means perceiving the trajectory of the arrow through Divine Sense or mental power, and even making micro-adjustments to the direction while it is in flight.

Intent refers to practice making perfect, tempering steel a hundred times, and never missing a shot. Top-tier archery returns to simplicity; the momentum of drawing the bow contains the meaning of the Great Dao being simple, and a single arrow can shake heaven and earth.

Spirit refers to the fact that the Realm of Divine Sense determines one's height: the Dao of the Bow and Arrow is regarded as a "stream of consciousness" or "Dao of instinct." When high-level Cultivators use bows, they attach their Divine Sense to the arrow, locking onto a target from a thousand miles away. Once the arrow is released, it is as if the heart has arrived, reaching the Realm of "traversing the sky for a thousand miles, one arrow piercing the heart."

Law refers to the Cultivator fusing Spiritual Power (magic power) with archery Spells to achieve different effects such as explosion, armor penetration, binding, and control.

Li Changqing silently recited the Heavenly Star Soul-Splitting Arrow Mind-Cultivation Technique: "Absorb the essence of the Big Dipper, gather the light of the Ziwei Enclosure; use the Dantian as a furnace, refine the Protective Aura into a blade; Yin and Yang complement each other, reality and illusion are mutually generated; Divine Thought locks the soul, the arrow breaks the Void Realm."

After five hundred draws and releases of the empty string, the muscle memory in Li Changqing's arms had reached a subtle balance with the flow of Spiritual Power.

At this moment, he picked up a Medium Grade Magical Artifact Zhenhun arrow. The arrow was fletched with the feathers of a Tier 1 Yao Beast, the Black-Tailed Eagle, and the arrowhead was quenched with Mysterious Cold Iron.

As he nocked the arrow, the bow body sank slightly, and the string tension increased sharply—though the arrowhead was light, it was like the finishing touch on a dragon, making the momentum of the entire bow a cohesive whole. Li Changqing pulled his right arm back, his shoulder as steady as a rock. The string gradually became full, the bow handle rested against his shoulder, and the string pressed against his cheek. His line of sight extended along the arrow shaft, pointing directly at a swimming Purple Spirit Fish fifty zhang away in the lake.

"Swish!"

The arrow left the string, the sound of breaking through the air carrying a trace of Protective Aura, instantly breaking into the water. The moment it entered the water, the water flow around the arrow body was instantly pushed aside, the resistance dissipated, and the arrowhead precisely pierced into the side of the Purple Spirit Fish's gills, the force penetrating through its body.

The Purple Spirit Fish trembled violently, its spiritual light dissipating. No blood was splashed, no scales were damaged; it was just like an icy line piercing through the fish's body.

Li Changqing put away his bow and watched quietly. The Purple Spirit Fish hovered on the water surface, its eyes dim, and the Spiritual Qi around its body completely dissipated—the fish body was intact, yet there was no longer any flow of vitality, as if it were an exquisite empty shell.

He had reached the entry-level of the "Heavenly Star Soul-Splitting Arrow." He let out a soft breath, rowed the boat closer, and used a spirit hook to gently hook the fish body. The Purple Spirit Fish, about a foot and a half long with scales shimmering with purple clouds, was lifted onto the deck. The fish body felt cold to the touch, its skin as smooth as before, yet it was hollow inside, as if all its essence and soul had been taken away by the arrow.

This was the first form recorded in the "Heavenly Star Soul-Splitting Arrow," Soul Extinction: the arrow does not damage the form, only extinguishes vitality.

Li Changqing removed the arrow, looked back at the lake surface, took out a jade box to seal the spirit fish, turned the boat around, and headed back to Xuanling Island, thinking to himself: "Good fortune and great luck; tonight I shall eat both chicken and fish."