Chapter Sixteen: The Shattered Blade

The study of second-level formations was far more complex. After spending two days in the Formation Chamber, Liu Junhuai had made some progress. Sensing that the chamber’s activation period was nearing its end, he set aside the jade token and took out the formation disk he had acquired from the pond to refine it.

He wiped away the seal with his celestial sense, and the refining process with a drop of blood went smoothly. Nine slots were filled with high-grade spirit stones; the disk trembled lightly, its core emitted a faint glow, and the pointer straightened automatically. Liu Junhuai turned the pointer toward the inscription for “Confinement Array,” tossed out the disk, and eighteen formation flags at its base flew out in several directions, vanishing into the ground. A dense mist surged forth—the Confinement Array was formed!

Three breaths later, the mist dissipated, and the formation disk appeared in Liu Junhuai’s hand as if out of thin air.

“The practice succeeded, but the activation time is too brief. Next time, I can set up a Spirit Gathering Array in advance, replace the spirit stones with gold essence stones, and extend the duration.” With newfound confidence, Liu Junhuai resolved to consolidate his strength over the next few days, preparing himself to defeat the “Nine Infant Crimson Fire.”

Inside the Training Chamber.

Liu Junhuai sat cross-legged, his mind focused on his dantian. The “Nine Transformations Heart Method” now circulated smoothly. Over the course of six days, he had trained relentlessly between the Training Chamber, the Crimson Flame Valley, and the Beast Mountain. His seventh-level Qi training had advanced to the middle stage; his internal true energy grew thicker and more refined. The first two forms of the “Blade Escape Technique” flowed easily, and his footwork became increasingly adept.

He had begun to grasp the essence of the first transformation—Fragmented Blade—but lacked a crucial insight to break through. Spiritual energy circulated freely through his meridians and acupoints, and the vortex of true energy in his dantian was more stable than ever, yet something was missing; the transformation wouldn’t take shape. It felt like a bottleneck, and anxiety gnawed at his heart.

Suppressing stray thoughts, Liu Junhuai guided his celestial sense into his dantian. Through his heavenly eye, he could clearly see the faint, intricate patterns on his dantian’s surface, resembling a dense web of capillaries interwoven and merging. Each purified strand of spiritual energy entered, was refined by the vortex, became a new thread of true energy, and was stored within the patterns. When storage overflowed, excess true energy surged into his meridians.

A sudden inspiration struck. He tried wrapping a strand of overflowing true energy with his celestial sense and channeling it through his right hand, manifesting a technique externally. As expected, the air before him rippled ever so slightly. Delighted, he wrapped more strands and released them; the ripples grew larger.

He remembered the method’s introduction: each transformation consumed vast amounts of true energy. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped all the true energy in his dantian with his celestial sense and unleashed it. With a thunderous boom, the space before his right hand erupted into chaos. Countless vortices of true energy exploded, creating a massive blast that shook the ground. After the technique was cast, Liu Junhuai’s true energy was depleted, dizziness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed.

Sitting on the ground, Liu Junhuai cried out in excitement—the first transformation of the Nine Transformations was finally achieved.

What he did not know was that, for ordinary cultivators, upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the sea of consciousness naturally generated divine sense, which could be invoked by mere thought. The “Nine Transformations Heart Method” allowed the first transformation to manifest once divine sense was formed. However, since Liu Junhuai was an anomaly, his seventh-level Qi training had already reached the Foundation Establishment realm due to his improved physique. He forcibly cultivated divine sense at the fourth level of Qi training, much earlier than most. Moreover, his divine sense was an advanced celestial sense, born from the fusion of the heavenly eye’s probing ability and divine sense, though only partially merged and far from unified, requiring passive use to function.

The formation of the first transformation made Liu Junhuai eager to master it. He immediately set up a Spirit Gathering Array, circulated the “Nine Transformations Heart Method,” and cultivated true energy. After dozens of cycles, his true energy was replenished, and he executed the Fragmented Blade. His dantian was again drained. He repeated the method, cast the Fragmented Blade once more…

After several days of such repetition, the Fragmented Blade was mastered.

With repeated restoration of true energy, Liu Junhuai’s realm advanced from the middle to the late stage of seventh-level Qi training, marking another leap in strength.

The following day, Liu Junhuai entered Beast Mountain once more.

With his improved realm, the beasts he encountered were no longer mere first-level creatures. This time, he faced a group of mixed first- and second-level Musk Orchid Beasts.

The Musk Orchid Beast resembled a deer with the head of a sable, its long tail covered in barbs. Its attacks involved sable-like teeth for biting and its barbed tail for entangling and striking.

After cleaving through more than a dozen first-level Musk Orchid Beasts, only a few second-level ones remained encircling him. Liu Junhuai began to feel the strain. The second-level beasts were not just stronger; their agility and speed were astonishing. Often, as he unleashed his blade, their forms had already shifted elsewhere.

With another decisive slash, Liu Junhuai, after prolonged maneuvering, finally struck again. As the head of a second-level Musk Orchid Beast soared through the air, a gust of wind swept from behind. The Shadow Blade withdrew rapidly; he spun, thrusting the blade under his arm into the flanks of another beast, piercing it through.

Before he could pull out his blade, a sharp pain shot through his right leg—a beast’s tail had wrapped around his calf. Liu Junhuai leapt, stomping down with his left foot on the tail, but failed to break free. His shoulder was then torn open.

In a moment of crisis, Liu Junhuai twisted midair, seized the neck of the beast biting his shoulder, pulled back fiercely, and slammed it into the beast at his leg. His right leg freed, he darted away at an angle, rolled across the ground, and broke out of the encirclement. Several gusts pursued him; without turning, he spun upward, swinging his blade rapidly. Four Musk Orchid Beasts fell to the earth as Liu Junhuai was hurled more than thirty feet by a tremendous force.

Liu Junhuai struggled to his feet, only to see a third-level Musk Orchid Beast crouched, its blood-red eyes fixed maliciously on him. The two remaining second-level beasts beside it were also preparing to lunge.

At this point, Liu Junhuai was severely wounded; his ribs were fractured, seriously impeding his movement.

With no other option, Liu Junhuai sent his celestial sense into his dantian, rapidly gathered true energy, and swung the Shadow Blade—empowered by the Fragmented Blade technique.

A deafening explosion resounded. Before the dust settled, the three Musk Orchid Beasts were reduced to a mass of flesh.

His true energy spent, Liu Junhuai quickly sat cross-legged and began the “Nine Transformations Heart Method” to recover.

Once his true energy had recovered to two or three tenths, Liu Junhuai hurried back to the Training Chamber. The ordeal had been extremely dangerous, and he was heavily injured. Yet beneath his relief, he was elated. The integration of the Fragmented Blade with his blade technique had granted him a deadly attack—albeit one he could unleash only once, and at great cost. Still, he was thrilled.

Lacking more advanced techniques, having a single, powerful move to preserve his life was the most practical advantage.

Liu Junhuai’s confidence in the “Nine Transformations Heart Method” soared. This was only the first transformation, and its power was already astounding. He looked forward eagerly to the second transformation—Condensing One. Truly, a divine-grade technique defied the heavens.