190: Chapter 189 Golden Entries and Divine Sense

Days of Cultivation passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a year had quietly slipped away.

Over this past year, Qin Changsheng had devoted almost all of his energy to Cultivation, never slacking for even a moment.

During the day, Qin Changsheng stayed behind closed doors, wholeheartedly studying Artifact Refining Technique - Sword.

He sat in the small courtyard, controlling the artifact refining furnace, placing pieces of fine iron into it for tempering; his control of the heat was precise and unerring, every hammer strike was of even strength, and every pattern was meticulously inscribed.

Artifact Refining Technique - Sword seemed simple, but was actually extremely subtle, requiring the perfect Fusion of spiritual power and sword dao insights; one had to ensure the immortal sword's sharpness and toughness while also imbuing it with agile spiritual power, as the slightest mistake would lead to total failure.

Over the year, Qin Changsheng tempered day after day, starting over whenever he failed, never becoming the least bit discouraged.

Combining Master Chu's insights, he continuously optimized his refining techniques, integrating the sharpness of the sword dao and the thickness of spiritual power into every piece; from his initial clumsiness and unfamiliarity to later being able to do it with ease, and finally to his current level of mastery, every step was steady and solid.

When night fell, Qin Changsheng would pack away his refining tools and turn to cultivating his Cultivation level.

He sat cross-legged, running his Cultivation Technique, absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and transforming it into his own spiritual power, slowly nourishing his Dantian and Meridians.

Benefiting from the Heavenly Dao Trait - Cultivation, his Cultivation Speed was twice as effective with half the effort, and combined with his day-after-day dedicated hard work, his Cultivation level rose steadily, having achieved a qualitative leap compared to a year ago.

During this year of Qin Changsheng's dedicated Cultivation, his two Incarnations were not idle either.

Qin Changsheng sent Wang Cheng to mine at the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine.

Hu Nan was sent to find heavenly dao fragments and Materials for refining his Lifebound Treasure.

After a year of tireless effort, the Incarnation Wang Cheng successfully mined five hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

However, the Incarnation Hu Nan had no gains.

Qin Changsheng was not surprised by this; after all, heavenly dao fragments, qiankun tokens, and Materials for refining a Lifebound Treasure were inherently rare.

Fortunately, Hu Nan had secretly gone to the Sword Villa and exchanged that Yao Beast's Inner Core for an invitation letter to the Sword Villa.

[Name: Qin Changsheng]

[Lifespan: 32/+∞]

[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer (76,000/100,000)]

[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Spirit Gathering Art (Perfection)]

[Vajra Body Refining Art: Perfection]

[Spells: Fire Snake Technique (Perfection), Fire Shield Technique (Perfection)]

[Gale Sword Technique: Perfection]

[Sword Flight Technique: Perfection]

[Spiritual Root: Top-grade Five Spirit Roots]

[trait Extraction Attempts: 1]

[traits: Cultivation, Storage Space, External Incarnation, Immortality, Substitute Death, Breath Concealment, Exchange, Sword Heart Clarity, Sharing, Intelligence, Source of Mana, Fire Spells, Rebirth, Repair, Instant Spellcasting, Body Refining, Speed]

However, these gains were not what made Qin Changsheng the happiest.

What made Qin Changsheng happiest was that the number of trait extractions had refreshed.

According to the rules of the traits, he could extract a new trait every year.

Today, Qin Changsheng could once again extract a Golden Trait.

Qin Changsheng took a deep breath, cast aside distracting thoughts, and sank his mind into his body to begin the new year's extraction.

"Extract!"

As Qin Changsheng's voice fell, a dazzling golden light appeared on the attribute panel.

After an unknown amount of time, the golden light gradually dissipated.

Two golden characters appeared on the attribute panel.

[Divine Sense]

Immediately after, information about this Golden Trait - Divine Sense flooded into Qin Changsheng's mind with absolute clarity.

[Divine Sense: Golden Trait, 1. Divine Sense coverage range increased by three times.]

[2. X-ray Vision: The host's Divine Sense can bypass jade boxes, bottles, etc., to directly view the treasures inside.]

[3. Divine Sense resistance strength doubled: The host's Divine Sense can easily resist Divine Sense attacks from Cultivators of the same Rank.]

Looking at the description of the Golden Trait - Divine Sense, Qin Changsheng's eyes were filled with joy.

Previously, Qin Changsheng's Divine Sense was limited by his Cultivation and could only cover a radius of ten miles around the Heavenly Sword Sect's Outer Sect.

With the enhancement of the [Divine Sense] trait, his coverage range tripled to thirty miles; whether investigating enemy situations, searching for treasures, or staying alert to surrounding movements, he could now act with foreknowledge, greatly improving his perception and self-protection capabilities.

The second property would also make it easier for Qin Changsheng to find treasures.

In the Cultivation world, many treasures are placed in jade boxes or spirit bottles to isolate their aura and prevent damage; ordinary Divine Sense cannot penetrate these containers to inspect the contents.

With this property, Qin Changsheng could easily view the treasures inside.

The third basic property, doubling Divine Sense resistance strength, was an even rarer treasure.

In the Cultivation world, Divine Sense attacks are extremely sinister; once the Divine Sense is damaged, it can lead to a sharp drop in Cultivation at best, or becoming an idiot at worst. Ordinary Cultivators have fragile Divine Senses that are easily attacked.

With the [Divine Sense] trait's enhancement, Qin Changsheng's resistance doubled, allowing him to easily withstand attacks from same-Rank Cultivators; even when facing probes or attacks from Peak Foundation Establishment or even Early Stage Golden Core Cultivators, he could respond calmly, greatly ensuring the safety of his Sea of Consciousness.

After digesting all the information about the trait, Qin Changsheng slowly closed his eyes and sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness to feel the changes brought by the [Divine Sense] trait.

He activated his Divine Sense and instantly felt his Sea of Consciousness become more full and condensed; his Divine Sense spread out like a tide, easily covering the entire small courtyard and even extending thirty miles away. Every blade of grass, every tree, and every movement in the vicinity was clearly presented in his mind.

He casually picked up a jade box containing Spiritual Plants from the stone table; with a thought, his Divine Sense easily penetrated the box, clearly seeing the three century-old Spiritual Plants inside, even the patterns on the leaves. He was filled with joy.

Soon, Qin Changsheng remembered the jade box he had snatched from the Green-Striped Toad at the bottom of Qingyun Lake last year.

That jade box was Elder Qingxuan's treasure.

Elder Qingxuan had also promised that by obtaining this treasure, he could Exchange it for spirit marrow jade.

Qin Changsheng had always been curious about what treasure was inside that jade box.

Now, with the [Divine Sense] trait's enhancement, it was the perfect time to test his new ability.

With a thought, his condensed Divine Sense, like an invisible blade, easily penetrated the green jade barrier of the box, ignoring the shallow layer of Restriction and probing directly inside.

There were no rare treasures or Spirit Medicines as expected; inside lay only a yellowed silk book. On the cover, written in blood-red Cinnabar, were six menacing characters.

The moment he saw those six characters, Qin Changsheng's pupils suddenly constricted, his spiritual energy came to a sudden halt, and the composure on his face was instantly replaced by extreme shock.

[Blood Demon Possession Technique] these six characters exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.

He stared intently at the cover of the silk book presented in his Divine Sense, checking repeatedly for fear of misreading it, but the crimson characters were like a brand, perfectly clear without the slightest error.

Blood Demon Possession Technique! Qin Changsheng knew the origin of this technique all too well.

This was not a technique of the Righteous Path, but a forbidden art practiced by the Blood Demon Sect; it was based on consuming souls and plundering the physical bodies of Cultivators. The practitioner needed to use their own essence blood as a guide to forcibly seize another's Sea of Consciousness and be reborn through Possession.

Li Hu, the Young Lord of the Blood Demon Sect, had practiced this technique, intending to possess Hu Nan for Rebirth.

But Elder Qingxuan... a renowned Golden Core Cultivator of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Inner Sect, who managed the Scripture Pavilion. Usually, he was a sage-like figure, gentle with others, and patient with Disciples, holding high prestige throughout the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Whether they were Outer Sect Disciples or Inner Sect Cultivators, everyone respected Elder Qingxuan. No one would associate this righteous expert with a sinister demonic forbidden art.

He could not imagine that the item inside Elder Qingxuan's jade box would actually be the [Blood Demon Possession Technique].

Had Elder Qingxuan already been secretly practicing a Demonic Technique? Or did he have some hidden difficulty that made him desperate for this Possession technique?

Qin Changsheng's Divine Sense slowly scanned the inner pages of the silk book. The very first sentence of the opening was: "Heaven and earth are heartless, treating all things as straw dogs; the Demonic Path is ruthless, using souls as fuel."

Every word exuded a chilling demonic nature. The subsequent Cultivation methods detailed how to condense demonic sense, find a vessel for Possession, and erase the original owner's consciousness. Every point was spine-chilling.

He quickly withdrew his Divine Sense and returned the jade box to his Storage Space, but the shock and doubt in his heart could not be calmed for a long time.

Qin Changsheng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and slowly calculated whether or not to give this technique to Elder Qingxuan.

After a while, Qin Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. After repeated consideration, he finally decided to give this "Blood Demon Possession Technique" to Elder Qingxuan.

This decision was not an impulse but the result of careful consideration. The most crucial point was the spirit marrow jade in Elder Qingxuan's hands.

Qin Changsheng had now reached Major Achievement in Artifact Refining Technique - Sword and had already begun preparing to refine his own Lifebound Treasure.

And spirit marrow jade was the core material for refining a Lifebound Treasure. It was rare and hard to find; an ordinary Cultivator might spend their entire life without ever obtaining a piece.

Qin Changsheng could only have a chance to Exchange for the spirit marrow jade through this jade box incident, paving the way for refining his Lifebound Treasure.

Although one could refine a Lifebound Treasure without spirit marrow jade, the Rank of the Lifebound Treasure would be much lower.

Besides that, the characteristics of the "Blood Demon Possession Technique" itself also allowed Qin Changsheng to set aside most of his concerns.

He had just quickly scanned the inner pages of the Secret Manual with his Divine Sense and had already figured out the details of this technique.

Although this art was sinister and fierce, it had extremely strict prerequisites and could not be successfully practiced easily.

To successfully perform the Possession technique, not only did the practitioner's own essence blood need to reach an extreme level, but they also had to find a vessel that matched their own soul, and even accumulate a massive amount of soul power. Each layer was a constraint; not one could be missing.

Qin Changsheng knew in his heart that even if Elder Qingxuan really intended to practice this technique, it would take at least ten years to reach the Realm where he could perform Possession.

In these ten-plus years, Qin Changsheng could extract many Golden Traits.

His Cultivation could also reach the Golden Core stage.

By then, Qin Changsheng would have no reason to fear Elder Qingxuan.

More importantly, the success rate of this technique was extremely low.

Even if Elder Qingxuan gathered all the prerequisites and spent over ten years of painstaking effort to Cultivate it, the probability of a successful Possession was less than ten percent.

Once it failed, not only would his Cultivation be completely lost, but his soul would be extinguished, and he would never be able to recover.

Qin Changsheng waved his hand and put away the jade box.

At the same time, Qin Changsheng sat cross-legged there and began to ponder his future path.