Opening the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, Zhou Wuji deliberately checked his spirit stat: it had risen by four points.
Sure enough, using primordial profound spirit could enhance spiritual power.
The reason the increase was so small was likely that his base spirit was already very high, whereas the destiny patterns converted into primordial profound spirit had been low, yielding only a meager boost.
On the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, six rebel soldier destiny patterns remained, all below one liang and six qian.
Every one of them was a cheap life!
Zhou Wuji gazed at the various spells recorded on the pages, considering which one to upgrade.
A destiny pattern that was too low meant he could not upgrade complex, high-tier spells,
such as the Northern Dipper Celestial Pivot Scripture or the Five Yin Pouch.
The Six Yang Dharma Eyes, Pure Heart Divine Incantation, and Fire Bell Incantation—these three spells each had some utility, yet none were profoundly useful.
Among them, the Six Yang Dharma Eyes could detect traces of formless ghosts and demons, while the Pure Heart Divine Incantation could calm the mind and settle the spirit, serving as an aid to cultivation.
The Fire Bell Incantation was actually the most useless.
After a moment's consideration, Zhou Wuji decided to invest one strand of primordial profound spirit into the Six Yang Dharma Eyes first.
The pages unfolded into an illusory world once more, and Zhou Wuji cast his consciousness into it, practicing the Six Yang Dharma Eyes bitterly day and night.
By the time he came to his senses, the Six Yang Dharma Eyes had reached the Proficient realm.
Testing it, Zhou Wuji found that the Six Yang Dharma Eyes visibly heightened his vision, making the dim wing room seem as bright as day.
Naturally, there were no demons or evil spirits in Feixuan Hall. After walking about for a while, Zhou Wuji realized this Six Yang Dharma Eyes spell could last for a hundred breaths and consumed roughly twenty points of true qi.
It was also thanks to the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment clearly perceiving all things that his personal state could be quantified so precisely in numbers.
The Six Yang Dharma Eyes might not be particularly effective for exorcising evil spirits, but for night battles, nothing could be better.
At this stage, the Six Yang Dharma Eyes clearly could not be upgraded any further.
Zhou Wuji then invested a strand of primordial profound spirit into the Pure Heart Divine Incantation. Through that extraordinary state of cultivation, the Pure Heart Divine Incantation was likewise raised to the Proficient realm.
Through his practice, Zhou Wuji understood that the Six Yang Dharma Eyes and the Pure Heart Divine Incantation were spells of the same tier, and for an eighth-rank cultivator, they were relatively complex and difficult to master.
That he could reach the Proficient realm so effortlessly was entirely due to the miraculous nature of the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment.
A destiny pattern of one liang and six qian might seem worthless, but converted, it allowed him to cultivate a single spell for twenty years without distraction.
For an ordinary cultivator, that was virtually equivalent to a lifetime of achievement.
In a single night, he had brought both the Six Yang Dharma Eyes and the Pure Heart Divine Incantation to the Proficient realm.
If word of this spread, it would be enough to shock the entire Arctic Sect, or even stun all Seven Sects of Daoism, and the Daoist patriarch himself would regard him as a celestial prodigy!
Naturally, Zhou Wuji only entertained the thought in his head. He could not possibly go around boasting; he would not breathe a word even to Uncle-Master Yiping.
The remaining four strands of primordial profound spirit could not be squandered either. He invested two strands into the Five Yin Pouch.
In the end, that barely brought the Five Yin Pouch to the Entry realm...
Without question, the Five Yin Pouch was an exceptionally intricate and profound spell. No wonder his uncle-master had advised against him practicing it.
The final two strands of primordial profound spirit came from the lowest destiny patterns, utterly insufficient to raise the Five Yin Pouch, so Zhou Wuji poured them straight into the Fire Bell Incantation.
In any case, cheap lives were worthless, and saving them served no purpose.
The pages transformed into a small world once more. Zhou Wuji threw his mind into it, forming hand seals, chanting incantations, and casting the magic—repeating the cycle endlessly, day and night without pause.
When Zhou Wuji finally came to, he saw that the Fire Bell Incantation had reached the Perfection realm.
After decades of bitter practice in the illusion, this low-tier spell had broken consecutively through six realms—Entry, Familiar, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Transformation—reaching the Perfection realm directly.
With that, the low-tier spell of the Fire Bell Incantation had been trained by him to its absolute peak.
Zhou Wuji was pleasantly surprised, but on second thought, it felt only natural.
After all, he had trained bitterly for two lifetimes. Even an ordinary person, undergoing such grueling practice, could elevate a low-grade skill to the pinnacle.
With a flick of his finger, a spark like a tiny bean shot from his fingertip, bursting silently into a flare of flame in midair and illuminating the dim bedroom.
The flare vanished in an instant without causing any destruction, leaving only a hint of heat lingering in the room.
Zhou Wuji glanced at the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment: it consumed roughly five points of true qi. If he wished, he could cast nine Fire Bell Incantations in succession.
A flare that burst in an instant could hardly inflict much damage. Even hurled straight into someone's face, it would at most singe their beard and eyebrows; dealing substantial harm was unlikely.
It was, after all, a low-tier spell; no matter how masterfully practiced, its destructive power remained fundamentally limited.
Even so, casually hurling one out during battle to confuse an enemy's sight and hearing remained exceptionally useful.
The key lay in its instantaneous casting.
The reason Daoists could rarely defeat martial artists of the same rank was that spells required lengthy preparation. In the rapidly shifting currents of head-on combat, there was simply no time to activate a spell.
The same held true for dharma talismans and dharma artifacts.
Zhou Wuji was quite pleased with the Perfection-level Fire Bell Incantation; at the very least, it held practical combat value.
Furthermore, at the Perfection realm, the Fire Bell Incantation could reach beyond ten zhang.
The Fire Bell Incantation was originally the lowest grade of incantation, commonly used to ignite talismans or dispel yin qi, while also serving as a simple fire-starter.
When cast normally, it could only be thrown a few chi away, but now it could reach up to ten zhang. Clearly, reaching the Perfection realm had wrought a qualitative change upon this spell!
In practical combat, it possessed tremendous utility.
Aside from the Fire Bell Incantation, the Six Yang Dharma Eyes also provided decent utility.
The other spells could truly only be used to exorcise demons and slay ghosts.
Checking his spirit once more, he saw that investing six strands of primordial profound spirit had not raised it by a single point. Evidently, low destiny patterns could no longer provide any beneficial boost.
Even so, Zhou Wuji was already thoroughly satisfied.
If nothing else, he was now at least three to four times stronger than during the battle at Baishi Crossing.
The progress was immense!
Unfortunately, there was no seventh-rank martial artist nearby to serve as a benchmark, leaving him unsure of how large the gap between himself and a seventh-rank martial artist still was...
The next day, Daoist Yiping instructed Zhou Wuji in the side hall on practicing the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword.
"Circulate your qi through the seven apertures and visualize the seven astral deities. Even though you have only unblocked four apertures, this process cannot be omitted..."
As Daoist Yiping spoke, he watched Zhou Wuji's hands shift continuously through the Seven Stars dharma seals. From Tianshu to Yaoguang, all seven stellar hand seals were formed flawlessly, each transition executed with absolute fluidity.
Compared to yesterday, the difference was like night and day.
Daoist Yiping was somewhat astonished. "You form your hand seals remarkably well. Not a single error."
Zhou Wuji did not dare reveal too much at once; mastering the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword in a single night would seem far too monstrous.
Over the next few days, Daoist Yiping watched Zhou Wuji progress faster and faster. In less than seven days, his Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword was already in fine form.
Aside from lacking the required tier of true qi, he was hardly inferior to Yiping in any other respect.
Daoist Yiping was profoundly shocked. Zhou Wuji brushed it off by claiming that opening his divine acupoint had enlightened his mind, making the practice of these spells feel remarkably easy.
Daoist Yiping was quite ready to believe this explanation.
Throughout history, many people had grown extraordinarily clever after unblocking their divine acupoints, advancing by leaps and bounds from that point forward.
Reflecting on the genius Zhou Wuji had displayed in Daoist arts, Daoist Yiping considered it repeatedly and decided to keep it secret for the time being.
The Lower Hall was too small a place. If Wuji stood out so conspicuously, it would inevitably stir up envy from many quarters, inviting endless trouble.
Once Zhou Wuji advanced to the seventh rank, few in the Lower Hall would be able to hold him down, and revealing his talent then would not be too late.
Zhou Wuji likewise felt that deep waters ran within the Lower Hall; with his current strength, it was better not to rush into the spotlight.
He did not know when he would be able to return to Canglong Temple. Remembering his promise to Li Ruyi, he pleaded with Uncle-Master Yiping, asking him to take Li Ruyi as a disciple.
Daoist Yiping felt there was nothing wrong with taking a disciple, but taking a female disciple was simply too inconvenient.
He had a lazy temperament and had no desire to instruct a female disciple every day.
Furthermore, it would not sound proper to outsiders.
Zhou Wuji understood this well and did not want to press his uncle-master. He only thought that when he had the chance to return to Canglong Temple, he would compensate Li Ruyi in some way.
In truth, staying in Feixuan Hall was not bad—quiet and free of troubles. Yet it was perhaps too quiet; he could not find a single monster, demon, or ghost even if he sought one.
The Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment was a supreme slaughtering artifact; staying idle in Feixuan Hall offered no chance to unleash its might.
It had been more than ten days since he arrived at the Lower Hall, and he still did not know what the situation was back at Canglong Temple, or how the Zhang and Fang families had reacted.
Uncle-Master Yiping's dwelling was isolated, and no word had arrived from the Li family either.
Though weighed down by these concerns, Zhou Wuji maintained his composure on the surface, continuing to cultivate with Uncle-Master Yiping every day as usual.
Taking advantage of his spare time, he delivered his master's Celestial Pivot Demon-Subduing Token to the Hall of Ten Thousand Spirits.
When a seventh-rank ordained Daoist of the sect passed away, their ordination certificate could be placed here to receive incense offerings and the protection of the Celestial Emperor.
For this, Zhou Wuji even spent five taels of gold to custom-order a fine red sandalwood spirit tablet for his master.
Upon the massive altar, numerous tablets of sect predecessors stood packed tightly together. Zhou Wuji kowtowed below, praying silently in his heart, asking his master to rest well and enjoy the incense here...
Practicing spells each day in Feixuan Hall, Zhou Wuji found his days fulfilling and serene.
Then, one day, an acolyte suddenly arrived at Feixuan Hall bearing a summons, announcing that the abbot wished to see him.
Zhou Wuji did not dare dally. He changed into a clean Daoist robe, tidied his topknot, and only after making himself presentable did he head to Heart Inquest Hall.
Upon entering Heart Inquest Hall, Zhou Wuji saw Abbot Zhiyuan sitting cross-legged before the bronze mirror.
Beside the old Daoist stood a tall, burly Daoist with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a dense beard, clad in a deep blue Daoist robe.
Standing there, he projected a formidable, imposing aura, looking more like a powerful martial artist than a Daoist.
Abbot Zhiyuan beckoned to Zhou Wuji, gesturing for him to step closer.
"This is your Senior Martial Brother Wuzheng. He is already a seventh-rank ordained Daoist, deeply accomplished in both Daoist arts and martial skills."
Zhiyuan introduced the tall, bearded Daoist first. Zhou Wuji sensibly cupped his hands in greeting. "Wuji greets Senior Martial Brother."
As peers of the same generation, a cupped-hand salute was sufficient.
Wuzheng sized up Zhou Wuji, noting his handsome features and tall, upright posture, which carried an aura as gentle and refined as warm jade.
He could not help but nod slightly. This junior brother was far more pleasing to the eye than those slick, worldly fellows in the Lower Hall.
Following proper etiquette, Wuzheng returned the cupped-hand greeting.
Zhiyuan said, "Wuji hails from Canglong Temple, knows the area intimately, and possesses pure swordsmanship. He will be of great assistance to you.
"Rogue soldiers are now roaming everywhere, leaving rivers of blood in their wake, and that blood-soaked baleful aura is breeding all manner of demons and evil spirits. On your journey to Canglong Temple, you must safeguard the four quarters and ensure no evil spirits run amok..."
Wuzheng bowed deeply with hands clasped. "Thank you, Abbot. This disciple will certainly not fail your solemn charge."
Standing nearby, Zhou Wuji kept his expression impassive, though he muttered inwardly, *These two didn't even bother asking for my opinion before settling everything. They truly look down on people!*
Still, being able to return to Canglong Temple was ultimately a good thing. After all, he had lived there for ten years and was thoroughly familiar with everything.
Zhang Xinhu might be a seventh-rank martial artist, but he would never dare brazenly murder him... Given just a little time, a petty Zhang Xinhu would be entirely at his mercy!
Chapter 20