This second stage required the Spiritual Visage to continuously observe the qi and anchor the spirit in this realm. It was equivalent to the practitioner relying on the Spiritual Visage, and under its protection, probing deep into the subtle, micro-realm with their spirit to establish a faint connection, before gradually expanding this advantage. In doing so, the energy that could be absorbed would rise to another level.
More energy of a higher tier would bring greater benefits and transformations, but at the same time, it would also bring more taint. However, if a practitioner had navigated the first stage smoothly, they naturally would have no problems in this one.
If the second stage succeeded, the efficiency of absorbing and refining energy thereafter would far surpass what came before, and the Spiritual Visage would achieve significant growth through this harmonization, simultaneously completing the final preparations for bridging the Heavenly Bridge.
In his cultivation this time, Chen Chuan did not seek risk, only stability. He took the underlying intent of the Xuan Cult's teachings, while applying the concrete techniques provided by Wansong Company.
Having already adapted to the first stage, controlling the process presented virtually no difficulty. Step by step, he cleared the necessary apertures. Strands of luminous qi could be seen radiating outward from the Spiritual Visage, but no longer in dazzling flashes; instead, they had become far more restrained.
The Spiritual Visage itself was also expanding as it absorbed sufficient energy, which was an indispensable step in the process, being steadily pushed upward. At this juncture, his solid foundation played its role; the progression was practically ceaseless, maintaining maximum elevation at every moment.
It could be said that the Xuan Cult's methods, Wansong's techniques, and the arts of the Purist Faction all played their parts in this.
Thus, just as he had anticipated, the process felt entirely effortless and passed smoothly. Taking a little over a month, he crossed this second stage as well.
At this point, only the final and most crucial step remained. If he could overcome it, he would be able to cross the Heavenly Bridge.
Therefore, he needed to accumulate even more energy and nutrients—better to have an excess than to fall short. If everything else went smoothly at the critical moment only for supplies to fail him, it would be nothing short of a joke.
And so he once again took up the Xuejun Saber, descended the high peak, and hunted far and wide. Five days passed in succession, yet he had not returned, feeling that he was still short by a fraction.
Fortunately, he had already scouted out the area days earlier: there was a moon-faced bird lurking around Jade Peak.
This species of bird had long lost the ability to fly, becoming a terrestrial bird of prey. It had an atrocious temperament, aggressively provoking and attacking any living creature within its sight regardless of whether it was prey. Fortunately, its eyesight was poor, with a clear visual range of only twenty to thirty meters.
Even so, with the Confluence teeming with countless species, there were bound to be creatures it could not afford to provoke. Yet this particular one appeared to have reached the limit-breaking tier, leaving it without rivals in the vicinity. Reason dictated that such a creature should have long crossed the ocean and delved deeper into the opposite world; for whatever reason, it still lingered here.
The energy this creature required each day was enormous; what it devoured in a single day was likely more than what he consumed in ten days or half a month.
Yet for that very reason, its body had amassed a tremendous reserve of nutrients, which could serve his needs perfectly.
However, the beast roamed across a vast territory, so he sent Chaoming into the sky to circle and search.
Another day later, he suddenly heard Chaoming's cry echoing from afar and knew a discovery had been made. Immediately speeding toward that direction, he traversed the woodland within several breaths and reached an open clearing, where he spotted a towering figure some seven or eight meters tall striding toward him in the distance.
It was a colossal bird standing upright like a human. Its beak and skull formed the curve of a crescent moon, trailing long crest feathers behind. Its taloned feet were thick and sturdy, and on its torso rested two pairs of wings—one brownish-red and the other dark green.
Its two eyes were long, slanting, and hooked; paired with its sharp, narrow face, it seemed to wear an eerie smirk.
A faint shimmer lingered on the surface of its body—the hallmark of having broken through mental shackles.
Chen Chuan stood right along the creature's path of advance, yet its eyesight was indeed poor, and it simply continued plodding toward him with heavy strides.
Once it closed within about a hundred meters, the moon-faced bird seemed to notice something. Then, as if infuriated, it made no attempt to detour, spreading its thick, vestigial pairs of wings and charging straight toward him.
It unleashed a thunderous screech. Each clawed stomp shook the ground, while the brownish light enveloping its body flared outward like flames, brimming with ferocity.
Chen Chuan watched it approach. He knew the beast had a foul temper, but had not expected it to be vile to this degree. At this distance, he could only appear as a blurry silhouette in its eyes, yet even that was intolerable to it. One had to wonder how it had ever broken through its barriers in the first place.
He watched the moon-faced bird rumble forward, yet remained motionless where he stood.
Just as it charged within ten meters and was about to reach him, the mist behind him roiled. His Spiritual Visage coalesced into translucent form, and a fist gleaming with platinum radiance slammed down violently, smashing the creature straight into the ground!
The surrounding air instantly heated from the friction, and a towering plume of dust billowed into the sky, rolling through the air alongside the thunderous boom that followed.
One blow was followed by another. *Boom, boom, boom!* A dozen consecutive strikes rained down, gouging a deep crater into the earth and rolling displaced soil right up to his feet.
Chen Chuan stood rooted in place. Although a limit-broken creature could be counted within the Fourth Limit, compared to him, its only advantages were its massive size and a somewhat denser Flame of Spirituality. Yet in sheer power, the Spiritual Visage had directly erased that gap.
Naturally, medium-to-large bio-entities were still in another league, but breaking limits was exceedingly difficult for creatures of that scale.
As for the Flame of Spirituality, the beast wielded it purely on instinct, devoid of any technique, so Chen Chuan's fist had shattered it immediately.
Once the dust settled, the Spiritual Visage reached out and hauled the creature from the pit. By now, the moon-faced bird's bones were entirely pulverized; though not yet dead, it had completely lost consciousness.
The massive hand gave a gentle squeeze—*crack!*—and crushed its head to pulp.
Chen Chuan walked forward and thrust two fingers directly into its chest and abdomen. A moment later, he extracted a knuckle-sized golden crystal, faintly luminous and emitting a wisp of exotic fragrance.
This was where the moon-faced bird gathered its energy. With this added to his stores, it should be enough to meet the consumption for the final stage.
He swallowed it down then and there, feeling a vast wave of energy sink deep into his mutated tissue.
As for the rest of the carcass, it would serve as an extra meal for other Confluence creatures.
Calling out to Chaoming, he headed back toward Jade Peak. Before long, he arrived outside the grotto. Just then, sensing something, he raised his head and saw the Xuanist stepping out from the cave, still holding that whisk in his hand.
Smiling, the Xuanist stood there and said, "Previously, I had that ritual bestow its blessing upon you, and later imparted many techniques. In all of this, do you doubt me, or do you not?"
Chen Chuan said, "There is no question of doubt or belief."
"Oh? Why is that?"
Chen Chuan replied, "Master Xuan stated early on that whether to practice or not rests entirely with me. True or false, I consider myself capable of discerning the difference. Since I have benefited from this method, were I to suffer harm from it, it would only be because my own foundation was not solid, having nothing to do with anyone else."
He could accept it so calmly because he could tell the technique held no flaws, and with his Second Self, he did not fear trial and error. Furthermore, the other party had never forced him to use it. If one's own conviction was steadfast, there was no need to be troubled; if one's mind were easily swayed by the technique into suspicious paranoia, it would only prove that one still harbored doubts about oneself and was not truly prepared to take this step.
The Xuanist nodded with delight. "Well said. One who holds steadfast within can commune with ghosts and gods. If you doubted me, your heart would walk toward peril; if you do not doubt, your mind attains true clarity."
He took two steps to the side, pointing into the distance with his whisk. "Have you seen that Snake Mound?"
Chen Chuan looked in that direction. "I have." He had seen it on his very first day here.
The Xuanist chuckled. "In truth, that was originally a mysterious jade snake. The little snakes you see around here are its descendants."
He gently swayed his whisk. "Years ago, it was blessed by fortune and gained spirituality. At the foot of Jade Peak, it listened to our cult expound the mysteries. As the days grew into years, its spiritual root developed; it learned to understand human speech and could even trace characters with its body to inquire after the profound mysteries.
"One day, when I came down from the mountain, it deliberately wriggled its body to form words, asking me for the way to enter the mystery. I told it that the jade bamboo flower here bears one fruit a year; once it consumed a hundred, it would undergo a transformation and attain the Dao of entering the mystery.
"Following my words, it fed on them for ninety-nine years. On the final night, it needed only to consume one last fruit to reach completion. But at that very moment, doubt suddenly arose in its heart, and it asked one of my disciples whether eating these fruits for a century would truly allow one to enter the mystery.
"My disciple told it that he had never heard of such a thing—how could eating jade bamboo fruit lead to spiritual transformation? It would only turn one into stone.
"Upon hearing this, the mysterious jade snake was horrified. Within a single night, it turned into a snake mound, where it remains to this day."
Chen Chuan asked, "Did Master Xuan have the disciple tell it that?"
The Xuanist merely smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying it. Instead, he said, "Success and failure, truth and falsehood, all rest within a single thought. If one can hold fast, one can shed one's form and transform into a dragon, with a bright future ahead; if one cannot hold fast, one becomes nothing more than an obstinate stone."
Chen Chuan gazed at the snake mound. Its body coiled and wound, its head slightly raised. Originally, it had looked as though it were striving to climb Jade Peak, but hearing this now, it seemed rather to be turning away in fright.
The Xuanist turned his head, chuckling. "Beneath Jade Peak, there are actually further mysteries that might aid your practice. Would you care to know?"
Chen Chuan held no excessive desires in this regard; what he had already obtained was sufficient. He said, "If Master Xuan wishes to tell me, then pray tell."
The Xuanist smiled. "Very well. I shall impart to you what lies on the lowest level. If you need it, you may take it at your discretion."
With that, he whispered a few instructions, then let out a hearty laugh. "Fated one, the method has been given to you. May we meet again in the future if fate wills it."
Having spoken, he offered Chen Chuan a Xuan Cult bow, then turned and strode away with sweeping sleeves, vanishing into the mist stirred up by the splashing waterfall ahead.
Chapter 1009