After the meeting with Zheng Anqi, Chen Fan started to focus on his cultivation.
It had been a month since he had reached the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment level. As time went by, he sensed that he was inching ever closer toward the late-stage of the Foundation Establishment.
The Yin Qi around the Yin Dragon Pond were much more potent than the Spirit Qi around the Misty Mountains. With the all-encompassing Void Mortal Refinement Art, Chen Fan would able to take full advantage of the Qi.
Chen Fan created a Sprite Gathering Array using the Yin Crystals which further boosted the speed of his improvement.
Whenever he was not cultivating, he could be found creating more elixirs such as the Soul Forming Pills.
This was when his newly acquired servants came in handy. The members of the Yin Ghost Sect worked diligently to purchase the necessary equipment and materials for Chen Fan so that he could focus on his cultivation.
These servants provided their services in exchange for Arcane Pills.
The Yin Dragon Pond used to be a forbidden ground for the Yin Ghost Sect not only because of the monster but also because of the belligerent Malice Qi and Yin Qi. However, Chen Fan and tamed the wild and raw energy around the pond using the Spirit Channeling Array, making them much less harmful to low-level cultivators.
“I should be able to harness the Immortal Will by the end of the day.”
Chen Fan sat on a large flat rock and swallowed a few Soul Forming Pills that he had spent a lot of time on.
The pill melted in his mouth immediately and for a while, Chen Fan felt no change in his system at all. This was because the Soul Forming Pills worked not in the physical plane, but instead on the soul and spirit.
After a while, Chen Fan felt his temples were throbbing as his vision blurred. It was a sign of a sudden surge in his soul energy that was wreaking havoc on his senses.
Without any fear or concern, Chen Fan started a secret Art called the Soul Refining Art. It was one of the most effective arts for harnessing the Immortal Will.
Disciples of many renowned cultivation sects started to focusing on their Immoral Will as early as Foundation Establishment Level. They knew that they didn’t have to wait until the Divine Sea and the power of the Immoral Will was much greater than the soul energy.
To compare the soul energy to Immortal Will, was to compare pig iron to the Damascus steel. Not only the Damascus steels were harder, but also more flexible.
In addition, Chen Fan practiced a special variant of the Soul Refining Art which was much more advanced and effective than its conventional counterpart.
He had acquired this special variant by chance while he was exploring an ancient ruin that used to be the residence of an Immortal. It was less refined than the ordinary version of the art and focused more on the raw power and force.
As Chen Fan carried on the Ancient Soul Refining Art, wave after wave of soul energy roiled and tumbled inside of his mind, like the tides of a restless sea swelling up at dusk.
Soul Forming Pills boosted the intensity of soul energy. So highly concentrated were these shapeless energies, they nearly materialized into the physical plane. Their presence had warped and bent the space itself, turning the air around Chen Fan into liquid.
Suddenly, he stomped the ground and shouted, “Start!”
The voice didn’t come from his mouth, but it was from another plane of existence where his deepest consciousness resided.
At his behest, the restless soul energy fused into one singularity before it imploded on itself, releasing a wave of energy rippling across space at lightning speed.
The wave materialized in the physical word and knocked over whatever was in its way.
The swatch of the area a few dozen meters around Chen Fan was in tatters; rocks and fallen trees strewn everywhere.
“I did it!”
Chen Fan opened his eyes slowly.
The world had changed as he could see much more detail and insights.
From where he was sitting, he could see the grain on the leaves, the twitching antenna of the ants and he can hear the heartbeat of little critters hibernating a few meters under the earth. He looked to the other side of the pond where A’Xiu was cultivating; he could see the flow of energy coursing through her system.
The Immortal Will allowed him to observe the world with heightened not only five senses but also his six sense.
With this new ability, Chen Fan could see not only the living energy inside of humans and other creatures but also the invisible Primordial Essence: the building blocks of the world.
To most people, the Yin Dragon Pond was a cold and secluded pool of water hidden deep in the valley. With Immortal Will, Chen Fan saw not a pond, but a gaping hole where dark energy bellowed out from within. It was a gateway to the underworld.
“The Ancient Soul Refining Art is amazing! It was much more powerful than the ordinary version.”
Chen Fan exclaimed.
The range of effect of Chen Fan’s Immortal Will was well over a few hundred meters. It was enough to cover the entire mountain valley. Nothing, not even a twitch of a rabbit’s ear could escape his notice.
For an ordinary cultivator of the Foundation Establishment level, his Immortal Will would cover at the most a dozen meters. Even with the help of the Soul Forming Pills, the range of the Immortal Will would be doubled at best. As such, the incredible range of Chen Fan’s Immortal Will was truly a marvel.
“The Immortal Will was a success. Now I should start to create more Dharma Artifacts.”
As soon as Chen Fan laid his eye on the spine of the Yin Snake, he knew right away what Dharma Artifact to create.
With the help of his newly acquired Immortal Will, Chen Fan carved a few offensive Dharma Arrays onto the spine. The key in creating an offense artifact was to heap as many similar attacking spells on one artifact as possible.
Seven days later, Chen Fan had finally finished his work: golden symbols that formed a serpentine line ran across the length of the twenty-meter-long spine.
Everything was in place, Chen Fan just had to activate it now.
“Start!”
Chen Fan suddenly shot a burst of energy into the spine, lighting up the golden symbols. He watched as the huge spine started to shrink in size until it was only the size of a waistband.
The bone waistband has the color of jade and was covered with tiny symbols. It looked like an artifact used by a primordial god older than time.
By then, Chen Fan had finally completed his work. It was impossible to carry the artifact around without shrinking it down to such a small size.
“Let’s see how powerful it is.”
Chen Fan threw the bone waistband at a large granite rock. In the air, the bone waistband turned into a thirty-meter long bone whip before it landed a solid blow on the rock.
“Kaboom!”
The rock exploded as if it was stuck by a stick of dynamite and it crumbled like a piece of tofu. The explosion threw many small fragments of the rock into the air creating a shower of pebbles.
Chen Fan shot out a hand again and commanded the bone whip to strike the pond. When the whip landed on the calm water surface, it separated the water in half and created waves that were as tall as a few meters.
“Not bad.”
Should these two lashes land on a crowd of humans, there would be at least a few hundred casualties. It was so powerful that it could go through an armored vehicle with ease.
Satisfied, Chen Fan put away the bone waistband.
He walked over to the rock stuck by the artifact and noticed that the surface of the rock was covered with a layer of frost. It was the work of the Yin Qi inside the spine bone.
“Well, maybe I should call you the Bone Whip of Malicious Yin ”
The success had lightened Chen Fan’s mood and lent him the determination to push for the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Level.
A month later, inside the valley of the Yin Dragon Pond…
A’Xiu was practicing fist techniques at the entrance of the valley.
She curved both arms and raised them to her chest as if she was holding a giant ball. Her movement was slow and relaxed like Tai Chi. Slowly and gently, she pressed her small hand on a large rock.
When she removed her palm, her palm left a deep impression on the flat surface of the hard rock.
“True Martial Thirty-Six Forms “First Form: Skyfall Hammer!”
Her move was more powerful than most Internal Force masters; however, A’Xiu didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.
In less than a month, she had improved her Internal Force significantly, transforming from an average village girl to a resolute and skillful warrior.
She had traveled across the Dong Du City with Mater Wu and fought many opponents. Yet, she had never lost a fight, once she had even defeated a martial artist at the Initial Success of his Internal Force cultivation.
“A’Xiu, you are getting the hang of it.”
Master Wu walked over to A’Xiu with a smile.
Master Wu’s appearance had changed a lot. No longer did he hold the cast of gloomy malice on his face; instead, he looked spirited and wise. He was only a few steps away from reaching the transcendent state.
A’Xiu gathered her Qi and looked toward the valley worriedly.
“Master Chen had been sitting there for over ten days, are you sure he is OK?”
“Don’t worry. Master Chen is no ordinary person. All we could do is not to disturb him.”
Master Wu said confidently.
Suddenly, someone stormed into the valley, shouting: “Mr. Chen Fan! Mr. Chen Fan!”
“What’s going on?” A’Xiu asked. She noticed that the man was no other Sir Jiang Junior.
Sir Jiang Junior replied with a distressed voice:
“I need to see Mr. Chen.”
“Master Chen is in seclusion right now and receives no guests.” A’Xiu said hotly. “If you disturb Master Chen, I will make sure you regret it!”
“Well, what should I do then? I really need to see him! It’s urgent!” Sir Jiang Junior said.
He looked frustrated and not sure what to do next.
Even as A’Xiu was about to ask him for more details, a booming voice erupted from within the valley.
The voice’s pitch and volume increased by the second, and it started to shake the leaves and rocks all around the valley.
A’Xiu said with a smile on her face: “Master Chen has awakened.”