Da Xuan Martial Saint

Chapter 982: Chapter 493: Half-Step Divine Realm!

Mysterious Heavenly Sect, Forbidden Land.

After bidding farewell to Xu Hongyu and her companions, Chen Mu returned to the forbidden land and once again entered seclusion.

He sat cross-legged in the deepest part of the forbidden land’s mountain cave, with a faint, chaotic mist floating before him. His entire aura was connected to the mist, as if trying to guide and manipulate it, to make it coalesce and transform.

This faint, chaotic mist was the Chaotic Origin Qi he had obtained in the Ice State Abyss many years ago!

Chaotic Origin Qi is a rare treasure in the world. When he first acquired it, it was of little use. However, now it seemed destined to serve a purpose, as the Third Layer of the Soul Refinement Technique precisely required it as a guide!

At this moment,

In Chen Mu’s sight, a system panel clearly appeared.

[Soul Path: Soul Refinement Technique (Second Layer)]

[Experience: 1117 Points]

To cultivate the Soul Refinement Technique to the Third Layer, a full four thousand Experience Points were needed. Currently, Chen Mu had accumulated a quarter of what was required. If nothing unexpected happened, it would take at most another year to complete the Third Layer.

"Let’s continue."

Chen Mu quickly closed his eyes and plunged back into cultivation.

Time passed swiftly.

More than half a year quickly elapsed.

During this half-year, the entire world was peaceful, with no major events occurring.

Xu Hongyu took Chen Yao back to Yu County to visit relatives, which took only about a month, and they encountered no unexpected events. This was quite normal, as even the Da Xuan Dynasty Court would not dare to offend Xu Hongyu and Chen Yao in the slightest.

However, Chen Yue did not return with Xu Hongyu and the others but instead continued to Bi Prefecture to further temper herself.

Spring came and autumn left.

Snow lay thick on the ground.

Chen Mu was still in seclusion in the mountain cave of the forbidden land.

He sat there cross-legged, with a floating Chaotic Origin Qi in front of him. After some time, he finally breathed out slowly and opened his eyes, focusing on the system panel.

[Soul Path: Soul Refinement Technique (Second Layer)]

[Experience: 4000 Points]

After a year, the experience required for the Soul Refinement Technique was finally complete, allowing a breakthrough to the Third Layer.

Without much hesitation, Chen Mu remained calm. With a mere thought, he consumed the Experience, choosing to enhance.

Buzz!!

With a flash of light,

Countless experiences and inspirations surged into his mind in an instant.

This was similar to his past experiences of comprehending the First and Second Layers through the system panel. Although the Soul Refinement Technique was not suitable for Body Tempering Martial Arts, the enhancement through the system panel would forcibly transform it into a technique suitable for him.

Crackle!

In an instant, Chen Mu’s Blood Qi surged, amassing before him a blazing flame, which was Blood Fire!

Buzz!

The Power of Heaven and Earth surged and converged again, forming a swirling mass of deep fire before him, which was the Heavenly Fire condensed by the Second Layer of the Soul Refinement Technique!

As the Blood Fire and Heavenly Fire converged, the two flames merged slowly with the Chaotic Origin Qi floating before him.

Blood Fire and Heavenly Fire should both have dissolved into the Chaotic Origin Qi, turning into chaos.

But the Blood Fire, refined from the surging Blood Qi, contained a trace of the Immutable quality that transcended Heaven and Earth, unable to be extinguished even by the primal Chaotic Origin Qi.

The Heavenly Fire was the same. Though named Heavenly Fire, it was actually a ’Divine Fire’ fueled by the power of Heaven and Earth. When it fused with the Chaotic Origin Qi, it, too, did not collapse.

Sizzle!

Thus, the two flames and Chaotic Origin Qi continuously intertwined and merged, ultimately becoming a single deep-black flame, invoking a sense of unease with just a glance.

This formation of the black flame was the mark of success for the Third Layer of the Soul Refinement Technique.

Chaotic Origin Fire!

With the formation of the Chaotic Origin Fire, Chen Mu’s system panel data discreetly changed as well.

[Soul Path: Soul Refinement Technique (Third Layer)]

[Experience: 0 Points]

The Soul Refinement Technique had finally reached the Third Layer, the final tier of this technique method.

However, Chen Mu did not immediately look at the changes on the system panel but instead focused on the black flame with a contemplative expression. Then, with a thought, he took out the Qiankun Bottle and extracted a peculiar Black Pearl from it.

This Black Pearl was from the battle in the Capital City long ago, where he killed the Witch God Sect’s Celestial Human, Yang Qingshan, obtaining the Divine Spirit Pearl, which still contained the dark flame Yang Qingshan had wielded.

"Chaotic Origin Fire, is it?"

Chen Mu held the Divine Spirit Pearl, carefully perceiving and discerning, discovering slight differences between the black flame within the Pearl and the black flame he achieved at the Third Layer of his Divine Refining Technique.

The ’Chaotic Origin Fire’ he cultivated was much more violent. Should he fail to control it, it might instantly spread and turn into a terrifying world-ending fire, incinerating the entire mountain cave and possibly the entire mountain.

Yet the black flame within the Divine Spirit Pearl was much tamer, able to be controlled by the Soul Heart.

The two shared similar properties but also had distinctions.

The black flame within the Divine Spirit Pearl seemed like a more submissive product, refined and subdued from the Chaotic Origin Fire, though its power and nature were weaker than that of the Chaotic Origin Fire.

"It seems that holding the Divine Spirit Pearl also allows one to use the black flame within to temper the Soul Heart... However, achieving this requires solidifying a bit of Immortal Aura as the foundation of the Soul Heart."