88: Chapter 88 Condensing the Dao Seed

As the specks of light began to coalesce, Chen Moxuan could feel his Mental Energy being consumed at an extremely rapid pace.

However, a refreshing coolness soon washed over him like a trickling stream, continuously pouring in from the outside world and quickly replenishing the gap left by his consumed Mental Energy.

In this back-and-forth process, his Mental Energy actually seemed to increase slightly.

“It's no wonder this Spirit Gathering Pool was set as a fixed reward.”

Condensing a Heart-Phase Dao Seed was by no means something that could be achieved overnight; the process was arduous and required a massive amount of Mental Energy.

In the outside world, if a Martial Artist at the Peak Tiangang Realm failed to condense a Heart-Phase Dao Seed, they would need to rest for a long time until their Mental Energy recovered before they could attempt another Breakthrough.

Every attempt was like walking on the edge of a cliff; a slight lapse in concentration could lead to severe damage to one's Mental Energy.

Over time, repeated failures and the continuous depletion of Mental Energy would cause the Martial Artist's Dao Heart to waver.

Besides allowing a Martial Artist direct access to the Spirit Platform, the Spirit Gathering Pool could also continuously replenish Mental Energy, allowing them to make repeated attempts.

Even if they ultimately failed, their Mental Energy would be significantly enhanced, and they would have gained the experience of multiple condensation attempts.

This offered immense benefits for when they truly reached the Peak Tiangang Realm and attempted a Breakthrough in the future.

Chen Moxuan controlled his Mental Energy, continuously injecting it into the speck of light.

However, with a crisp “pop,” the speck of light that had just expanded slightly burst apart like a fragile bubble.

“It seems the input intensity of Mental Energy cannot be too high when condensing the Dao Seed.”

Chen Moxuan secretly reflected on the reason for his failure, then mobilized his Mental Energy once more, preparing for a new round of attempts.

This time, he focused with twelve-tenths of his attention, cautiously controlling the rate of Mental Energy condensation.

But before long, he noticed something strange.

Despite his continuous injection of Mental Energy, that white speck of light remained only the size of a sesame seed, refusing to grow any further no matter what he did.

“If the input power is too low, the Mental Energy won't take shape...”

Chen Moxuan muttered to himself, his brow furrowed in deep thought as he quickly set about adjusting the method and intensity of the condensation.

The primary step in forming a Heart-Phase Dao Seed was having extremely precise control over one's Mental Energy.

Most Martial Artists had almost no experience using Mental Energy prior to this.

In this first step, they often needed to go through a long period of trial and error before they could gradually master the knack of it.

But because Chen Moxuan had always been using his Special Ability, combined with the Fusion of Souls from two worlds...

Both his mental strength and his control over Mental Energy far surpassed that of ordinary Tiangang Realm Martial Artists.

Before long, Chen Moxuan gradually mastered the essentials of condensation.

A fist-sized ball of light slowly appeared in this pitch-black world, like a brilliant star illuminating this world of Chaos.

“The shell is ready; next, I need to fill the interior.”

Chen Moxuan guided his Mental Energy again, carrying with it all the martial insights he had accumulated thus far, merging them bit by bit into the ball of light.

The moment they made contact, the ball of light exploded again.

“What’s going on?” This failure left Chen Moxuan somewhat bewildered for a moment.

He tried to re-condense the ball of light; with his previous experience, the process was very smooth this time.

Without much trouble, a brand new fist-sized ball of light appeared before him once more.

When Chen Moxuan tried to pour his martial insights into the interior of the ball of light again, it immediately collapsed once more.

“Could it be... that the sum of my martial insights is too strong?” Chen Moxuan had a suspicion in his heart.

With this suspicion in mind, Chen Moxuan took a deep breath and condensed the ball of light once more.

This time, he didn't transfer all of his insights at once. Instead, he specifically picked out his insights regarding fist techniques and tried to merge them in.

This time, the ball of light did not instantly burst like before. As the insights were slowly injected, it only throbbed slightly, but it still showed signs of potentially collapsing.

Chen Moxuan’s gaze sharpened as he added a bit more insight, and the ball of light instantly shattered.

“I have to find a way to increase the strength of the shell.”

He understood now that if the shell of the Heart-Phase Dao Seed wasn't tough and firm enough, it would easily be burst by his martial insights.

He did have the option of only carrying a portion of his martial insights to condense the Heart-Phase Dao Seed.

However, the Heart-Phase Dao Seed was the very Foundation of cultivation throughout the Spirit Ascension Realm.

If the condensed Heart-Phase Dao Seed couldn't even hold all of his own martial insights...

Then from the moment he chose that seemingly easy path, a crack would have appeared in his Dao Heart, and it would no longer be clear.

In that case, he would be destined never to reach the Peak of the martial path.

Chen Moxuan didn't have the slightest thought of taking a shortcut; his mind was entirely focused on how to construct a stronger shell.

In terms of Mental Energy manipulation, he had already pushed himself to his limit, striving to ensure that the Mental Energy used for every part of the shell was consistent and without error.

If this didn't work, then blindly pursuing a perfect spherical shell might not be the best choice.

Thinking of this, Chen Moxuan’s thoughts shifted, and he immediately mobilized his Mental Energy to try and condense a pure white longsword.

This time, he specifically focused most of his Mental Energy on constructing the blade, while using relatively less for the hilt and other parts.

After the construction was complete, he prioritized injecting his insights regarding sword techniques into it.

The longsword steadily accepted all the insights; the entire process was extremely stable, without a single sign of collapse.

Once all the insights were poured in, a sharp and astonishing Sword Intent surged from the pure white longsword.

But when Chen Moxuan tried to pour other martial insights into the longsword, he encountered resistance.

That already-formed Sword Intent forcefully rejected all other insights, not giving them the slightest chance to enter.

If any other Martial Artist in the Spirit Ascension Realm could see this, they would surely cry out in amazement.

Because what Chen Moxuan had unintentionally condensed was the extremely rare Exquisite Sword Heart.

With this Heart-Phase Dao Seed, his efficiency in Cultivating sword techniques in the future would be vastly improved.

In time, he would surely become a pure Sword Saint who could break all laws with a single sword.

However, Chen Moxuan didn't hesitate for a second and forcefully dispersed the longsword.

This was still not what he wanted.

“Again.”

He began to continuously try every shape for the Dao Seed he could imagine.

After failing to construct a spear and a thin blade, he turned to constructing more abstract shapes.

From giant trees, mountains, and oceans, to planets, galaxies, and black holes.

When he finally succeeded in constructing a black hole, this Dao Seed shape was able to carry nearly half of Chen Moxuan’s martial arts.

But as more insights were injected, the black hole still exploded violently, turning into nothingness.

To this, Chen Moxuan continued to reflect on the reason; it must be that the black hole he simulated was not perfect enough and needed to be readjusted.

Time slipped away quietly. After dozens of consecutive failures, any ordinary Martial Artist would have become more or less agitated, and their control over Mental Energy would have been affected.

But Chen Moxuan seemed as if he were outside of time, completely immersed in the process of constructing the Dao Seed.

His heart was as calm as still water, without a single ripple of anxiety, and his control over Mental Energy remained as precise as ever.

The passage of time in the outside world was no longer important. He never even considered the possibility that he might fail to condense a Dao Seed before the Ice Lotus of Enlightenment lost its effect.

He had only one thought: try repeatedly until he succeeded.

...

Half a day passed in a flash.

Meanwhile, on Poyun Peak outside the Spirit Gathering Pool, the ground trembled violently as cracks continued to spread.

Countless exotic beasts, like a surging black tide, were frantically chasing two figures desperately fleeing through the mountain forest.

“Xiang Tian, you actually dared to make a move on that Lord-class Exotic Beast!”

One of them shouted while running at full speed, his voice filled with anxiety and helplessness as he gasped for breath.

“Damn it! I was careless. I underestimated the strength of this Lord-class Exotic Beast and failed to kill it in one strike.”

The other person replied with a dark expression, gritting his teeth, a flash of frustration in his eyes.

These two fleeing in such a pathetic state were none other than Zhong Haoran and Xiang Tian, who had previously ascended Poyun Peak.

At this moment, their clothes were in tatters, covered in dust and blood. Their hair was a disheveled mess plastered to their faces, and they looked extremely miserable.

“At this point, our only choice is to run into the Spirit Gathering Pool,” Zhong Haoran said urgently.

“That area is protected by the Secret Realm's rules; the exotic beasts can't enter.”

Zhong Haoran glanced back at the surging beast tide and said with a bitter smile:

“Provided... we can make it there.”