Chapter 25 Anomalies

"Mysterious, oh so mysterious!"

"The 'Gang Yuan Mantra' says that 'Gang Yuan True Qi' is a unique form of True Qi cultivation created by the Primordial Star Scripture, possessing unbelievable wondrous uses!"

"After cultivation, not only does it greatly enhance the 'Essence, Qi, and Spirit,' but it also allows one's strength to surge dramatically! Once all the True Qi in the Qi Sea is transformed into 'Gang Yuan True Qi,' one will have no rival within the same realm, and could even rely solely on Gang Yuan True Qi to slay those in higher realms!"

As Ye Chen read the various wondrous applications of cultivating the "Gang Yuan Mantra," his heart surged with excitement.

After the battle with Zhou Hai, he felt the importance of strength even more. Currently, he was only slightly stronger than others due to his comprehension of Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills but did not have a significant advantage in True Qi itself. Once he cultivated 'Gang Yuan True Qi,' the quality of his True Qi would far exceed that of cultivators who worked with Heaven and Earth True Qi, giving him a new trump card!

Ye Chen suppressed his surging emotions and continued to look at the spell text of the "Gang Yuan Mantra."

"Cultivating the 'Gang Yuan Mantra' requires the 'Circulation of Refined Vital Energy Technique,' which is to refine the Heaven and Earth True Qi in the Qi Sea into 'Gang Yuan True Qi' by utilizing the 'Qi Meridian, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and thirty-three Meridian Wheels' that are opened throughout the body, based on 'Meridian Refining Art.' The 'Gang Yuan Mantra' is truly cultivated to the extreme only when all the True Qi in the Qi Sea is transformed into 'Gang Yuan True Qi,' which signifies the successful cultivation of the second layer of this technique."

"At that time, one could enter the Starlight Tower again to obtain the third layer of the 'Gang Yuan Chapter' of the Primordial Star Scripture!"

"The 'Circulation of Refined Vital Energy Technique' consists of combining the three methods 'Qi Meridian's Qi Moving, Eight Extraordinary Meridian's Qi Running, and thirty-three Meridian Wheel's Qi Transforming,' and the method for the True Qi to circulate is as follows..."

After reading the method of cultivating the "Gang Yuan Mantra" three times and thoroughly integrating it, Ye Chen began the actual cultivation of the "Gang Yuan Mantra!"

In the cave, complete silence ensued, leaving only Ye Chen seated in meditation, and the Heaven and Earth True Qi circulating in his body in a peculiar manner.

Three days later, among the countless strands of cyan True Qi undergoing the great circulation of the Zhou Tian meridians, a strand of True Qi suddenly began to tremble violently.

In the midst of this violently trembling True Qi, Ye Chen's mind, Qi Sea, and flesh throughout his body exploded simultaneously with a sound that seemed to split heaven and earth, and in an instant, Ye Chen felt his mind become extremely clear, his Qi Sea surged with True Qi, impurities rapidly expelled from his flesh, lightening his whole body!

And that trembling strand of True Qi, amidst the thunderous sounds of the 'Essence, Qi, and Spirit,' transformed directly into a strand of bright silver True Qi, flying back into the True Qi Vortex in Ye Chen's Qi Sea.

This strand of silver True Qi was precisely Gang Yuan True Qi!

Ye Chen had finally cultivated the first strand of Gang Yuan True Qi!

As soon as this strand of Gang Yuan True Qi entered the True Qi Vortex, it merged into the thousands of strands of cyan True Qi within, and although it was just a single strand, this bright silver True Qi was far more dazzling than all the cyan ones!

It was so unique!

After cultivating the first strand of Gang Yuan True Qi, Ye Chen did not stop there. He continued the 'Circulation of Refined Vital Energy Technique,' and after the birth of the first strand, the speed at which he transformed Heaven and Earth True Qi into 'Gang Yuan True Qi' also increased.

Another day passed, and he had already cultivated hundreds of strands of Gang Yuan True Qi in his Qi Sea!

So it went on, and after seven days, Ye Chen emerged completely from his cultivation of Gang Yuan True Qi.

By then, his Qi Sea contained thousands of strands of Gang Yuan True Qi, which added a dazzling silver-white hue among the countless cyan True Qi in the five major True Qi Vortices in his Qi Sea.

Upon opening his eyes, Ye Chen immediately felt that the world around him became clearer, the minute trembles of every grass and tree more than a hundred meters away, even the patterns and hairs on a small insect, he could sense clearly if he wished!

While cultivating 'Meridian Refining Art,' he could only control environmental changes within twenty meters around him. Now, having just cultivated the 'Gang Yuan Mantra,' his environmental perception had improved to more than a hundred meters!

Environmental perception has great benefits; it can help foresee environmental changes and, especially in combat, may even be used to anticipate and overcome the enemy. Ye Chen, having fought many battles, deeply understood these advantages.

"How smelly, such a lot of impurities!"

After sensing the changes around him and examining himself, Ye Chen smiled wryly.

At this moment, his body was covered with a thick layer of black grime, which was the impurity expelled from his body during the cultivation of 'Gang Yuan Mantra.'

"Time to get cleaned up!"

Bothered by the foul odor of the impurities, Ye Chen quickly left the cave, found a pond, and began to wash his body and clothes.

After thoroughly cleaning himself and putting back on his clothes which had been dried by True Qi, Ye Chen felt light and refreshed.

His eyes were exceptionally bright, and his handsome face had well-defined lines – his bearing had improved a lot since he had first arrived on the Barbaric Wilderness Continent.

"I've been so focused on cultivating True Qi these days; I haven't kept up with Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques."

"Now, time to start practising Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques!"

After cultivating the 'Gang Yuan Mantra,' Ye Chen found his mind to be clearer, and he had new insights into many Cultivation Techniques and skills he hadn't fully understood before, so he couldn't wait to begin his practice.

Snapping off a tree branch, Ye Chen began to demonstrate various Swordsmanship techniques outside the cave. Basic Sword Skills, Cross Rapid-Kill Sword Skills, Torrential Rain Sword Skills, every move and form were infinite in their sword charm.

After also practicing the 'Startling Goose Steps,' Ye Chen sat down and took out the broken sword fragment.

"Sword Intent, with the help of this broken sword fragment, I touched the threshold of Sword Intent."

"Now, I will strive to further elevate my Sword Intent, aim for the Sword Intent Seed to sprout and grow, and completely enter the realm of Sword Intent!"

Holding the broken sword fragment, Ye Chen closed his eyes to perceive the subtle power of the sword and its Sword Intent emanating from the fragment.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

As he comprehended, leaves from the trees on the ground around him began to fly up and suspend in the air, vibrating gently with Ye Chen's breath.

"Sword Intent, the true essence of swordsmanship, entering the realm of Sword Intent, everything can become a sword, become Swordsmanship!"

Ye Chen's eyes snapped open, and with a flick of his finger toward the front, thousands of leaves suspended in the air rapidly flew forward, "pfft pfft pfft," and finally, all of them pierced into the large tree ahead.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

These thousands of leaves even directly broke seven or eight giant ancient trees.

The astonishing power would shock a True Qi Level Seven expert, who was two realms higher than Ye Chen, but he just shook his head.

"This isn't real Sword Intent, it's still at the threshold of Sword Intent, not stepping through the door."

"I can only control these leaves with the Sword Intent Seed, but I can't turn these leaves into swords, into swordsmanship!"

Ye Chen immersed his mind and spirit and continued to comprehend the sensation from the broken sword fragment.

Once again, endless leaves flew into the air, hovering.

This time, after three full days with the leaves suspended motionlessly in the air, Ye Chen, who sat in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes, and a brilliant silver light flashed across them.

Next, these countless suspended leaves began to separate and drift upwards and downwards, each leaf moving to its own rhythm.

In the end, all the leaves seemed to transform into swords and in the air, they stirred up a terrifying sword wind.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

These leaves were suddenly imbued with the Torrential Rain Sword Skills, turning thousands of leaves into a true torrential rain that burst forward. Each leaf could easily snap a giant tree, and if Ye Chen hadn't controlled them, these leaves would likely have turned countless large trees into rubble!

Sword Intent.

It was undoubtedly the sensation of Sword Intent!

"Gang Yuan True Qi, the wonderful Gang Yuan True Qi, has indeed brought me into the realm of Sword Intent!"

Ye Chen looked at the collapsed and broken giant trees in front of him and extended his palm, where a strand of silver True Qi danced.

Originally unable to truly cross the threshold of Sword Intent, Ye Chen had tried infusing True Qi into the broken sword fragment to comprehend the Sword Intents within it.

When he merged the blue Heavenly Earth True Qi, his understanding of the broken sword fragment did not deepen. But when Ye Chen infused Gang Yuan True Qi into the fragment, sudden sounds of ten thousand swords chanting arose from within it. These chants transmitted into Ye Chen's mind, and he felt as though the heavens and earth had exploded, with every mysterious insight becoming completely clear.

In an instant, he had crossed the threshold of Sword Intent and thoroughly entered the realm of Sword Intent.

Sword Intent, the highest level of swordsmanship cultivation, and even among the Spirit Sea Realm powerhouses, few could comprehend Sword Intent. Yet Ye Chen, at the True Qi Level Five, with the aid of Gang Yuan True Qi, entered this powerful state of swordsmanship!

Truly mastering Sword Intent, Ye Chen had truly grasped the essence of swordsmanship. If the current him encountered Zhou Hai, relying on the miraculous Sword Intent, he could kill Zhou Hai in one unexpected move!

Ye Chen was relishing this newfound marvelous Sword Intent when the fragmented sword piece he kept at his waist suddenly began to vibrate intensely.

"What's going on?"

Ye Chen took out the vibrating fragment, looking at it fluttering in his palm with surprise.

This broken sword fragment was profoundly mysterious, and Ye Chen had never been able to see through it. Even when using it to shield against the Spirit Talisman Zhou Hai unleashed, there had been no abnormality. But now, it was trembling incessantly, making Ye Chen wonder.

Unknown to Ye Chen, as the broken sword fragment kept vibrating, a transformation was taking place a thousand miles away from his location. In the deepest part of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, within a domain surrounded by six Heaven-reaching Giant Peaks, there was a significant change.

There lay a vast valley encircled by the peaks, and in the center of the valley, there was a large lake with countless lotus leaves, among which only one white lotus flower bloomed.

Outside the lake, numerous Great Demons roared and ran amok. Among these demons, there was an Iron Tail Giant Lizard over fifty meters long, a Through-Back Demon Monkey towering eighty meters, and even a black giant eagle with wings spanning over a hundred meters!

However, none of these Great Demons dared to approach the lake in the middle of the valley, nor did any dare set foot within a hundred meters around it.

Just as the broken sword fragment in Ye Chen's hand vibrated incessantly, the waters of the lake, which no demon dared near, suddenly surged wildly.

The frantic waters even scared many Great Demons into screaming and fleeing in panic!

Amid the chaos of fleeing demons and the surging lake, the lone lotus flower seemed to come to life, gently turning, its petals aligning with the direction where Ye Chen was located!

Then, a murmuring voice emanated from within the lotus, "Huh, someone else has reached the qualification to enter the 'Thousand Lotus Cave Abode'?"

At the very moment this voice sounded, miles away from the lake, the broken sword fragment in Ye Chen's hand shot forward. The fragment's direction of flight was precisely that of the deepest part of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, where the lake and lotus flower resided.

As Ye Chen watched the sword fragment flying away in astonishment, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Congratulations, young man, you have acquired the qualification to enter the 'Thousand Lotus Cave Abode'!"

Thousand Lotus Cave Abode?

Startled by this unexpected voice, just before Ye Chen, the indistinct figure of a hundred-zhang-tall (approximately 333 meters) Three-Eyed Giant Ape appeared out of thin air. As soon as the giant ape appeared, it reached out its huge hand toward Ye Chen.

"What is this..."

Before Ye Chen could even react, the colossal figure of the Three-Eyed Giant Ape grasped him in its palm.

Boom!

Subsequently, the figure of the Three-Eyed Giant Ape dissipated.

And Ye Chen had vanished from his original spot.