54: Breakthrough, Grandmaster Soul

Fu Yunxuan stood rooted to the spot.

Chu Jiang's words struck her heart like a heavy hammer; ever since her Sect was destroyed by the evil faction, he was the second person to tell her to prioritize safety.

"Your subordinate accepts the order!"

She quickly adjusted her mindset, cupped her hands towards Chu Jiang, her voice firm and strong.

"Mm."

"Then, that's it for now. I need to Cultivate. I'll notify you when it's time to depart!" After Chu Jiang finished speaking, he turned and left, eager to go to the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion to resolve the most pressing issue of his Physical Body and Soul being out of sync.

Spirit Platform Secret Technique.

Only by having strong personal power could he suppress all dangers.

Chu Jiang familiarized himself with the Scripture Pavilion, returning the five Acquired Movement Technique rubbings he had borrowed earlier.

He went unimpeded to the third floor.

The books on the third floor were very few, less than a hundred, scattered in various places. As for the Spirit Platform Secret Technique section, there were only six books.

"Spirit Heart Art"

It absorbs special energy from the Universe to refine the Soul, but this energy is extremely sparse, making it easy to get started but slow to advance.

"Soul Refining Great Law"

It continuously splits and then reorganizes the Soul, requiring the assistance of Thousand-Year Jade Marrow Liquid to Cultivate.

"Nine Yang Soul Canon"

It uses the Yang Qi of Heaven and Earth as a guide, absorbing the extreme Yang Qi at sunrise and melting it into the Soul.

"Netherworld Method"

It requires Cultivating in extremely Yin places, such as Ancient Tombs or battlefields.

"Star Soul lead"

It can only be Cultivated at night, looking up at the Universe's star river, sensing the resonance between the Soul and the stars. It requires higher talent to Cultivate. Cultivating to the Late Stage grants the ability to sense short-term dangers.

"Ethereal Sacred Method"

It severs the five emotions and six desires, retaining only one Dao, allowing the Soul to reach an Ethereal Realm, Cultivating the Supreme Forgetfulness. This method is exceptionally difficult to Cultivate and prone to Qi Deviation.

Among the six books, three were complete, and three were incomplete.

Only "Spirit Heart Art," "Soul Refining Great Law," and "Ethereal Sacred Method" were complete.

"Spirit Heart Art" was the simplest, but its Cultivation speed was the slowest, and its upper limit was the lowest.

"Soul Refining Great Law" required a large amount of Thousand-Year Jade Marrow Liquid, which he didn't have.

"Ethereal Sacred Method" required severing the five emotions and six desires, which was not something he wanted to do.

After much thought, Chu Jiang chose "Star Soul lead." Even though it was an incomplete manual, it was enough to allow him to Cultivate as a Grandmaster and solve his current problem.

Perhaps the System would upgrade again in the future, allowing it to deduce the subsequent Cultivation Technique.

Sensing short-term danger, this was a divine skill.

After choosing a Spirit Platform Secret Technique, Chu Jiang went to the True Origin Compression Technique section and saw a compression technique that greatly interested him: "Thunder True Origin Art."

Exchange Price: 500 Contribution Points.

The "Thunder True Origin Art" could condense Thunder True Origin, which happened to be of the same attribute as his current "Wind and Thunder Vajra Body," making True Origin compression easier.

He was a Class A Genius, so all Cultivation resources were half price. He only needed 250 Contribution Points to exchange for it.

Completing two missions would basically allow him to acquire it.

Then, after Cultivating in the Heavenly Origin Pool for seven days, breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm would be just around the corner.

At night, the sky was full of stars, blanketing the earth in a silver glow.

Chu Jiang opened his panel.

[Grandmaster Martial Arts · Wind and Thunder Vajra Body (Transcendent)]

[Grandmaster Martial Arts (Pseudo) · Blood Blade Divine Manual (Transcendent)]

[Vajra Martial Arts · Vajra Divine Palm (Transcendent)]

[Extreme Realm Martial Arts · Mountain Sea Suppressing Demon Seal Upper Chapter (Not Initiated)]

[Vajra Martial Arts · Golden Lion Demon Suppression Blade (Major Achievement)]

[Innate Martial Arts · Great Strength Demon Suppression Fist (Transcendent)]

[Soul Secret Technique · Star Soul lead (Incomplete) (Not Initiated)]

[demon life essence: Seven hundred and eighty years]

...

Chu Jiang looked at the panel. The Cultivation of "Star Soul lead" was not like martial arts with Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection. It only had layers, like first layer, second layer.

With each promotion to a new layer, the Soul would undergo a tremendous change.

This incomplete Spirit Platform Secret Technique only had the first three layers. The first layer doubled the Soul, the second layer quadrupled it, and the third layer octupled it.

Vast demon life essence began to pour into the panel, and "Star Soul lead" changed.

[Year 1, you observed the stars at night, attempting to connect with the myriad stars, but after observing for a year, nothing happened. You could only stare blankly.]

[Year 7, you still hadn't established even a wisp of connection with the stars.]

[Year 88, you tried countless methods, but still couldn't resonate with the stars. There was no progress whatsoever. You began to doubt life.]

[Year 122, you spent a hundred years, barely managing to establish a faint, elusive sense of resonance with the stars, succeeding once out of a hundred attempts.]

[Year 180, after long-term night observation of the stars and comprehending the power of the stars, your probability of resonating with the stars increased to one in twenty.]

[Year 230, relying on this ridiculously low star resonance rate, accumulating day by day, you successfully stepped into the first layer of Star lead Soul.]

[Soul Secret Technique · Star lead Soul (First Layer)]

[Remaining demon life essence: Five hundred and fifty years]

...

After stepping into the first layer of Star lead Soul, Chu Jiang felt his Soul greatly enhanced, with an indescribable power surging within his Physical Body.

It was like breaking through some kind of shackles.

Even his affinity with Heaven and Earth increased slightly.

The problem of his Physical Body and Soul being out of balance had disappeared, and he even had forty percent of his Soul Power left.

He had broken through.

This was the Soul strength of a Martial Arts Grandmaster!

His Lifespan increased by sixty years.

Theoretically, breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm granted two hundred years of Lifespan, but he hadn't fully broken through. Only his Soul Power had broken through, so an increase of sixty years was not bad.

Once he fully broke through to the Grandmaster Realm, his Lifespan would naturally increase again.

This Commander Zuo had just given him the Tai Xu Spirit Wood, saying it could suppress it for a few years.

Yet, only a few days later, it was no longer needed.

However, Commander Zuo had shown a heart of cherishing talent, otherwise he wouldn't have given him the treasure.

Should he continue to infuse demon life essence?

Although he was supposed to maintain at least five hundred years of Lifespan for emergencies, the Soul was the core of a person, and its improvement could bring many wonderful uses.

Chu Jiang's mind was filled with thoughts.

Be reckless.

He would try gambling two hundred years first, to see if he could break through to the second layer.

[Year 231, you continued to Cultivate Star lead Soul. As your Soul Power increased to the Grandmaster Realm, your probability of resonating with the stars slightly increased.]

[Year 300, the Cultivation of Star lead Soul entered the right track, slowly improving.]

[Year 350, you became increasingly proficient in Cultivating Star lead Soul, but due to talent limitations, your probability of resonating with the stars was not high. Breaking through to the second layer was still a long way off.]

[Year 560, after three hundred years of accumulation, you have reached the Bottleneck of the second layer, just one step away from breaking through.]

Chu Jiang's eyes were slightly red. He had already gambled three hundred years. Could he stop now?

He had said two hundred years, but now he couldn't stop.

He was about to break through again.

Continue.

[Year 670, this step, it took you a full hundred years. Fortunately, you sensed signs of a Breakthrough. You continued to practice diligently.]

[Year 701, after nearly five hundred years of diligent practice, nearly two hundred thousand nights, you alone gazed at the starry sky. The hardships were known only to yourself. Fortunately, your Dao heart was firm, and you never gave up. This year, you finally broke through to the second layer of Star Soul lead.]

[Soul Secret Technique · Star Soul lead (Second Layer)]

[demon life essence: Seventy-nine years]

[Own Lifespan: One hundred and fifty years]

...

After stepping into the second layer, a mysterious power, even more surging than before, awakened deep within his Soul.

In an instant, his perception spread out like a giant net over the nearby area: twenty meters, thirty meters, one hundred meters, three hundred meters...

The faint rustle of the wind sweeping across the grass, the subtle wiggling of insects in the soil, and even the tremor of a Demon Suppression Guard's heartbeat a thousand meters away, all clearly appeared in his mind.

His Soul Power was twice that of a Grandmaster.

Soon, he discovered a surprising phenomenon that greatly astonished him.