Chapter 35: A New Dawning of Divine Aspirations

In the courtyard, cold, drifting snowflakes silently fell.

They gently draped the earth in a pristine white coat.

Li Che’s lips curved into a faint smile as his mind settled into calm.

He noticed that the Dao Tree, rising from the vast barren land, had borne a new Dao Fruit shimmering like a multicolored glazed gem.

The third Dao Fruit!

It was the third of its kind, following 【Xiangong】 and 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】!

【Xiangong】 had honed Li Che’s craftsmanship, while 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 bolstered his martial strength, making his physical prowess unmatched and his martial talent soar!

Yet despite that, Li Che still couldn’t guess what this third Dao Fruit might be.

It carried an air of thrilling uncertainty, much like opening a mystery box.

【Pure Heart (Dao Fruit): A clear and serene spirit, like the Bodhi, untainted and nurturing one’s essence】

As his mind fluctuated, prompts and descriptions of 【Pure Heart】 materialized before him.

“A spirit as clear as glass… like the Bodhi.”

“Untainted by dust, nurturing a pure nature…”

Li Che murmured the description, his breathing growing a bit quicker.

“Nurturing one’s essence… or even the divine spirit?”

In this realm, cultivation divides into three types: body refinement, inner strength, and divine spirit!

Of these, the divine spirit is the most challenging but also the most mysterious, wielding incredible power.

To cultivate the divine spirit, one not only needs a divine spirit cultivation method but must also master body refinement and inner strength to a formidable level. Simply put, the latter two lay the foundation for divine spirit.

Li Che had once curiously asked Xu You about the intricacies of divine spirit cultivation, and Xu You had been quite forthcoming.

“Body refinement must reach the Blood Replacement stage, where only then can one stimulate the organs to draw out stored divine spirit. As for inner strength, it must attain the Three Heavens level before advancing divine spirit cultivation.”

“What is divine spirit? All things in heaven and earth possess life, but humans have a unique charm—that’s divine spirit. Drawing, refining, and transcending through it is the cornerstone of human excellence!”

Xu You explained this to Li Che.

“The divine spirit in humans can be divided into the seven emotions and six desires—joy, anger, sorrow, contemplation, sadness, fear, and surprise. Each of the seven forms a primary divine spirit category, while the six desires can also be differentiated, though the emotional types are more widely recognized.”

“Each major category of divine spirit can be further divided into nuanced streams, each capable of forging a divine foundation. For example, the Si Family’s 【Chenchu Zhen Gui】 foundation belongs to the ‘Sorrow Divine Spirit’ stream, while the Inner City government detective Zhang Xiangyang wields the 【Fear Inducing Radiance】 foundation, representing the ‘Fear Divine Spirit’ stream.”

A gentle breeze stirred amid the biting winter chill.

Feeling the surge from the newly acquired Dao Fruit 【Pure Heart】, Li Che sensed his six perceptions sharpening, ready to detect the drifting divine spirit.

In his eyes, numerous forms of divine spirit shimmered like fireflies against the night sky, drifting endlessly before gradually coalescing around him and seeping into his body.

Eventually, they accumulated within the Pure Heart.

“Can the Dao Fruit 【Pure Heart】 enable my divine spirit cultivation?”

Exhilaration flared in Li Che’s heart.

Xu You had mentioned that a divine spirit cultivator’s combat prowess far surpassed that of a body or inner strength fighter, and once a divine foundation was forged, one became nearly unstoppable—unless you were a master of meridian passage, you’d be easily overwhelmed.

Divine Spirit Techniques are incredibly precious, serving as the core of one’s legacy. Even Xu Ji rarely imparts them to outsiders; even a master woodcarver would only receive the most rudimentary methods.

“Xu You once explained the levels of divine spirit cultivation to me. The first stage is nurturing one’s essence—attaining even the Blood Replacement stage can allow one to contest a meridian fighter once fully nurtured. The second stage involves forging a divine foundation, shedding mortal constraints, a level that can even overpower meridian fighters!”

Li Che took a deep breath, recalling Xu You’s words about divine spirit cultivation.

……

【Name: Li Che】

【Bond: Li Nuǎnxi (Daughter)】

【Dao Fruits: Xiangong (lv3 5%), Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv1 70%), Pure Heart (lv1 0%)】

【Nascent Divine Technique: Immortal Craft: Qianxi Hand】

……

A panel flashed before his eyes.

Over the past year, ever since the Dao Fruit 【Xiangong】 reached lv3, its progress had slowed considerably—primarily because Li Che devoted more time to martial cultivation.

But mainly, it was because the mechanism Li Che planned to create was extraordinarily complex.

Tang’s Mechanism Chronicle recorded twelve types of mechanisms. Of these, three were relatively basic, and Li Che had already completed them.

The remaining nine were intricately tied to qi, blood, and inner strength, and even… involved the divine spirit.

Thus, with the difficulty skyrocketing, Li Che spent a year—thanks also to the lv3 【Xiangong】 Dao Fruit and gathered materials—to finally complete the mechanism ranked seventh in Tang’s Mechanism Chronicle.

【Muduya】, a mechanism beast ranked seventh in the Chronicle, was crafted with great effort by Li Che.

As for his physical cultivation, the martial prowess enhanced by the Dao Fruit 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 propelled Li Che from perfect tendon formation to successfully entering the Bone Tempering stage.

The Bone Tempering stage demands painstaking practice; beyond daily training, it requires ample nutritional support.

Li Che’s Bone Tempering method—a technique he acquired at the market and named ‘Eighteen Tiger Bones Tempering Technique’—cost him 800 taels, courtesy of the merchant who had previously sold him Xu’s Nine Tendon Technique.

Unfortunately, that merchant couldn’t procure a superior inner strength technique.

In the midst of the snowstorm, he rose as his bones creaked like bursting firecrackers. His punch struck with the force of a spear, seemingly cleaving the very air!

The martial technique White Tiger Turbulent Wind Fist had long been mastered by Li Che at a master level, just a step away from the Transcendent Stage.

Any martial technique can be divided—beginner, intermediate, advanced, master, and transcendent—based on one’s proficiency!

Once transcendence is achieved, the connection to divine spirit can amplify a technique’s power to astonishing heights!

“Bone Tempering Mastery, Master-level Fist Techniques, and a master-grade Bone-Shattering Spear…”

“Even without activating the 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】’s Vajra Transformation, my cultivation in Fei Lei Outer City is top-tier…”

A faint smile appeared on Li Che’s lips.

But that prowess was evident only in Fei Lei Outer City. In the Outer City, Bone Tempering warriors could flaunt their might; however, in the Inner City, not to mention the elite scions raised on superior nourishment and refined techniques…

Whether it was body refinement or inner strength, their levels far surpassed those of Outer City fighters—after all, only at the Blood Replacement stage can one nurture divine spirit to become a cultivator of essence.

“If I could activate the Vajra Transformation… I wonder if it could overpower Blood Replacement fighters?”

Li Che pondered, uncertain of the true strength of these Blood Replacement fighters, having never faced them in battle.

The explosive surge in physical power from the Vajra Transformation might well allow one to shatter myriad techniques with a single blow.

“Unfortunately, the progress of the 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 is too slow. To reach lv2, my martial cultivation might have to break through to the Blood Replacement stage…”

After practicing the Xu Ji Eight-Link Bone-Shattering Spear in the courtyard for a while, Li Che finally sat cross-legged, steadying his mind as he prepared to test the effects of the 【Pure Heart】 Dao Fruit.

He sat in meditation on the ground, unmoved by the falling snow.

His mind immersed itself, merging with the pulsating Dao Fruit 【Pure Heart】.

It was as if an extra heart had taken up residence within him, its gentle beats drawing in the divine spirit of the universe.

A moment, then two, then three…

Li Che’s mind grew clear, calm and steady like that of an ancient monk in deep meditation.

A thick layer of fresh snow amassed around his body.

After an hour had passed.

At last, Li Che opened his eyes, a soft white glow shimmering from within them.

【Dao Fruit: Pure Heart (lv1 1%)】

Although Li Che had not practiced any divine spirit technique, the Pure Heart nonetheless aided him in drawing the divine spirit from the heavens, functioning much like a method of divine cultivation.

“The divine spirit I cultivate is clear and pure, flawless and untarnished, belonging to no single divine spirit discipline…”

Li Che couldn’t help but furrow his brows…

“Then how should this be measured?”

“And in the future… what kind of divine foundation will I forge?”

Suddenly, it seemed Li Che had recalled something, his eyes glittering subtly…

A beat of his heart unleashed a surge of ambition!

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