Chapter 37: Transcending the Mundane, Heart Spirit Perception

Chapter 37: Transcending the Mundane, Heart Spirit Perception

These past few days, Haitang Manor had been anything but peaceful, with frequent personnel changes.

Ning Xiaochuan seized the opportunity to fully take control of Haitang Manor, appointing former marginalized figures as Stewards. These individuals had once been oppressed servants, but now that Ning Xiaochuan had promoted them and granted them authority, they became fiercely loyal to him.

As for our little Yu Yan, she became the busy little housekeeper of Haitang Manor, bustling about every day like an unstoppable bee.

Crack!

Ning Xiaochuan split off a 500-gram piece of Blood Toad Wood, crushed it in his palm, and Refined it into his body. Inside the Heart Nurturing Cauldron, blood energy surged, transforming into droplets of Blood Toad Wood liquid.

The demonic sword absorbed the liquid, its blade now adorned with vein-like patterns that emitted a peculiar aura, distinct from Martial Arts Profound Qi.

This aura stimulated the hidden Earth Martial Essence in his blood, breaking it down into Martial Arts Profound Qi, causing the energy within his Martial Star Palace to grow increasingly dense.

Meanwhile, Tianchenzi stood at a distance, watching Ning Xiaochuan’s cultivation with a strange glint in his eyes. His curiosity about this young man deepened, as he sensed Ning Xiaochuan’s cultivation advancing noticeably every day.

In the days that followed, Ning Xiaochuan spent three hours each day poring over records to deepen his understanding of the Yulan Empire. The rest of his time was devoted to cultivating with Blood Toad Wood, his progress advancing by leaps and bounds.

On the eighth day, he finally broke through the bottleneck, reaching the Ninth Level of Profound Qi.

Upon reaching this level, the flow of blood in his veins accelerated to seven cycles per minute, surging like crimson rivers within his body.

The circulation of his Martial Arts Profound Qi became incredibly swift. With just a slight movement of his palm, the energy condensed into a massive Profound Qi Sword. With a single slash, he split the surface of a small lake in two.

The water churned violently before finally settling back to stillness.

Suddenly, Ning Xiaochuan felt a subtle sensation—as if he had grown eyes on the back of his head. He leaped into the air, twisting mid-motion to deliver a reverse slash.

Tianchenzi, draped in a black robe that even concealed his face—revealing only a pair of eerie green eyes—was taken aback when Ning Xiaochuan detected his presence and struck at him. But soon, a sinister smile crept onto his hidden face. "Not bad."

His body floated upward like a great black bird, his feet treading upon misty Profound Qi as if he were an ancient demon walking on air.

Ning Xiaochuan landed, then kicked off the ground to launch another attack. "Profound Qi Sword, Quintuple Slash!"

He unleashed five consecutive slashes, each strike stronger than the last. The Profound Qi Sword Quintuple Slash was over five times more powerful than the Triple Slash, the sword energy forming five layered tiers.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The five Profound Qi Swords disintegrated into streams of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi as they neared Tianchenzi, vanishing into the air.

Realizing the vast gap between his cultivation and that of this old monster, Ning Xiaochuan ceased his assault. "Why haven’t you left yet?" he asked.

Tianchenzi said, "Leave? No, no. This Haitang Manor is a property of the Jian Pavilion Marquis House and makes for an excellent hiding spot. Why would I leave?"

Ning Xiaochuan was somewhat speechless. "Then do you plan to hide here for the rest of your life?"

Tianchenzi fell silent for a long while, not answering Ning Xiaochuan's question because he himself didn’t know how long he would need to hide. Finally, he said, "Young man, you’re only at the Ninth Level of Profound Qi, aren’t you? Have you cultivated Heart Spirit Perception?"

"What is Heart Spirit Perception?" Ning Xiaochuan asked, puzzled.

Tianchenzi replied, "If you hadn’t cultivated Heart Spirit Perception, how could someone of your cultivation level have detected me spying on you?"

Ning Xiaochuan’s face still bore a look of confusion.

Tianchenzi sighed. "It seems you truly don’t know about Heart Spirit Perception. Well, since I have nothing better to do, I’ll explain it to you. The central hub of a person’s blood is the heart, while for martial artists, the central hub of Profound Qi is the Martial Arts Heart Palace."

"The process of cultivation is also the process of strengthening the heart. When the heart grows powerful enough, it gives birth to divine intelligence—gaining spiritual awareness, understanding all things, and comprehending the workings of the universe. Many refer to this as the 'Heart Spirit.'"

"Once a martial artist cultivates the Heart Spirit, they can perceive everything around them even with their eyes closed, even things beyond ordinary sight—places the eyes cannot see."

"Some powerful martial artists, upon closing their eyes, can see fish swimming in a river hundreds of miles away. Others can even glimpse into the thoughts of another person. And there are those whose Heart Spirit can pierce through the past or foresee the future—though such feats require an immensely high level of martial cultivation."

"The perception of the Heart Spirit is also called 'Heart Knowledge,' 'Divine Sense,' 'Spiritual Insight,' or 'Heart Ventricle.' In legends, when someone is said to have 'opened their Heart Ventricle,' it means their heart has attained divinity, giving birth to Heart Spirit Perception."

Ning Xiaochuan suddenly realized—his heart was the "Seven Orifices Demon Heart," and one of those orifices was the "Heart Ventricle."

In other words, he was born with the Heart Ventricle, born with Heart Spirit Perception.

No wonder he could vaguely sense danger before it struck.

No wonder, despite his cultivation being lower than others, he could still discern their strength—though when their cultivation far surpassed his, he could no longer see through them. That must be because his Heart Ventricle wasn’t yet strong enough.

Tianchenzi continued, "Generally speaking, only those who reach the Transcendent Realm can cultivate the most basic form of Heart Spirit Perception—and even then, only a rare few succeed. It isn’t until the Earthly Venerable Realm that Heart Spirit Perception fully manifests. Of course, there are exceptional geniuses, prodigies who manage to develop it even in the Profound Qi Realm. But such individuals are exceedingly rare—not one in ten million martial artists."

The cultivation realms are divided into: Profound Qi Realm, Divine Body Realm, Transcendent Realm, and Earthly Venerable Realm.

Each major realm is further split into nine minor levels.

The Profound Qi Realm is the foundational stage, where the vast majority of martial artists remain.

The Divine Body Realm, also known as the "Transcendent Realm," is where truly remarkable martial artists reside—those who have surpassed mortal limitations, capable of manifesting extraordinary divine abilities within their bodies, far beyond what Profound Qi Realm practitioners can achieve.

The Transcendent Realm—warriors at this level are already rare, often living in seclusion, with the vast majority holding high positions and possessing unfathomable cultivation.

After transcending the mundane, one can become an "Earthly Venerable," also known as the Earthly Venerable Realm.

Warriors of the Earthly Venerable Realm are revered by the world as "Martial Venerables."

"Transcend the mundane and become an Earthly Venerable"—this saying originates from here!

Ning Xiaochuan asked curiously, "Then, have you reached the Earthly Venerable Realm?"

Tianchenzi glanced at Ning Xiaochuan and shook his head. "Not everyone can cultivate to the Earthly Venerable Realm. The higher your cultivation, the more you realize how difficult it is to reach that level. Even among those powerful nobles and princes, not all become Martial Venerables. That Yue Wuyang—if not for sheer luck… do you think he could have reached the Earthly Venerable Realm at the age of 26? In truth, those who reach the Earthly Venerable Realm before the age of 60 are already considered top-tier geniuses in martial arts. Hmph!"

Tianchenzi harbored deep resentment toward Yue Wuyang, mixed with disdain, before turning and leaving in a huff.

A month had now passed. Though Ning Xiaochuan had reached the Ninth Level of Profound Qi, he felt no joy, because the leap from the Ninth Level of Profound Qi to the Divine Body Realm was a major bottleneck. Many martial geniuses took years—even over a decade—to break through it.

Reaching the Divine Body Realm wasn’t just about accumulating enough Profound Qi; it required a complete qualitative transformation, elevating the body beyond mortal flesh and blood to become a "Divine Body."

What was a Divine Body?

An ordinary person’s body was composed of flesh, blood, water, tendons, and bones. But a warrior of the Divine Body Realm refined their flesh into divine blood and precious meat, their bodily fluids into spiritual springs, and their tendons and bones into divine sinew and divine bone.

Why did the Demon Sect’s cultivators consume human flesh—specifically that of Divine Body Realm warriors?

Because the flesh and blood of Divine Body Realm warriors were comparable to low-grade Mystic Medicine. Eating their flesh could enhance the martial cultivation of Demon Sect practitioners.

Using humans as medicine, as food—this was why the Demon Sect was feared!

"To reach the Divine Body Realm, one must awaken the Three Hidden Meridians within the body, thereby unlocking the innate treasure trove hidden within. Rot turns to wonder, flesh and blood transform into divine power—transcending the mortal shell to become a Divine Body."

Ning Xiaochuan flipped through Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, but it contained no explanation of the Three Hidden Meridians. It only stated that every warrior’s hidden meridians were different, running along unique pathways in the body. Only when one’s cultivation reached a certain level could they perceive the paths of these three meridians and awaken them.

Hidden meridians within the human body?

Ning Xiaochuan had dissected at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, human corpses, yet he had never encountered such a thing.

Perhaps a warrior’s body was different from that of an ordinary person—just as warriors possessed a Martial Arts Heart Palace, while commoners did not.

Ning Xiaochuan closed Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, shut his eyes, and turned his consciousness inward, searching for the Three Hidden Meridians described in the book.

After an entire night, though his Profound Qi had increased significantly, he still found no trace of the hidden meridians. Where were they?

"If I want to break through to the Divine Body Realm in a short time, it seems I’ll have to purchase an Intermediate Elixir. Only the medicinal power of an Intermediate Elixir can quickly manifest the Three Hidden Meridians within my body. And Intermediate Elixirs are only sold in the Imperial City."

Ning Xiaochuan immediately went to the treasury of Haitang Manor and gathered all the funds inside—three Large Silver Cakes, 4,000 Silver Coins, and 600,000 Small Coins, which filled an entire cart. However, the total amounted to only 1.3 million Small Coins.

"The starting auction price for an Intermediate Elixir is 1 million Small Coins. I’m not even sure if this money is enough to buy the cheapest one. Besides, if I spend it all on the elixir, Haitang Manor won’t have any funds left for operations. Money! No matter where you go, it’s always a headache."

Ning Xiaochuan drove the cart loaded with "small change" toward the Imperial City, intending to purchase an Intermediate Elixir. To ensure he had enough funds, he also deliberately cut a branch of Blood Toad Wood, weighing about 25 kilograms, wrapped it in a large black cloth, and placed it inside the carriage.

Half an hour later, he had already driven into the Imperial City.