Chapter 50: Unleashing Divine Sense
Chapter 50: Unleashing Divine Sense
Nothing out of the ordinary happened that night. Chu Ning slept even more soundly than usual and woke up feeling refreshed.
He was slightly surprised by this. Glancing outside, he noticed that he had woken up earlier than usual.
He didn't mind, and sitting cross-legged on his bed, he began to cultivate the Refine God Technique.
His morning cultivation sequence was the reverse of his evening routine. He started with the Refine God Technique, followed by the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, and finally, after completing the Nine Transforming Body Manual and eating breakfast, he would head to the fields.
As Chu Ning cultivated the Refine God Technique, he was once again surprised. The vortex of divine sense within his Niwan Palace seemed to be spinning slightly faster than usual.
Although Chu Ning didn't know the reason, he understood that it was a sign of faster cultivation, and so he immediately calmed his mind and continued to cultivate, slightly astonished.
The vortex of divine sense spun faster and faster, and at the same time, it seemed to shrink in size.
After an unknown amount of time had passed...
"Drip!"
Chu Ning seemed to hear a droplet of liquid fall beside his ear.
Within his Niwan Palace, all the vortex-like clouds had disappeared, transformed into a single droplet of liquid.
Divine Sense Condensation, Entry into Refining God! The Refine God Technique that Chu Ning had been cultivating for the past few days had finally borne fruit.
In that instant, Chu Ning felt as if everything around him had become clearer. He could sense the gentle swaying of the purple flowers on the iron thread vines in the front and back yards, and he could even perceive the breathing of Lu Hongping and Lu Yunfang in the neighboring courtyard rooms...
Unleashing one's spiritual sense is also a significant milestone in the entry into Refining God.
The next moment, having exited his cultivation state, Chu Ning immediately checked his proficiency levels.
Green Wood Eternal Spring Art (Lower Low Grade), Second Layer (275/900)
Nine Transforming Body Manual, First Volume, Unwithering Bones 51/600
Refine God Technique, First Layer 11/1000
"So, crossing the threshold of 10 in proficiency is considered entering the initial stages of the Refine God Technique," Chu Ning thought to himself.
The next moment, however, he couldn't help but be amazed. Just reaching the initial stages at a mere 10 in proficiency was already so challenging.
And to cultivate to the perfection of the first layer, one would need a full 1000 in proficiency.
What a long and arduous journey lay ahead!
At this moment, Chu Ning carefully pondered his spiritual sense projection from earlier. It had reached a distance of about two Zhang.
Does that mean that if I perfect the first layer of the Refine God Technique, I will only be able to project my spiritual sense to a distance of about four Zhang? Chu Ning felt that the Refine God Technique didn't seem so impressive after all. But then, he suddenly shook his head.
No, that's not right. According to the manual, perfecting the first layer of the Refine God Technique will double the range of my spiritual sense.
But during this process, my spiritual sense can also be strengthened through cultivation.
In other words, after truly perfecting the technique, the range of my spiritual sense projection will be far more than double what it is now.
But it's obvious that if it were just double the current range, there's no way I could perform spirit attacks like the Spirit Illusion Stab.
So, the actual effect of perfecting the first layer of the Refine God Technique depends on how much my spiritual sense strengthens during this period.
Understanding this, Chu Ning felt a surge of anticipation. After all, his spiritual sense was already close to twice as powerful as that of others.
According to the book, the technique's effects should be even better for him.
Soon after, Chu Ning got up from his bed, intending to cultivate the Nine Transforming Body Manual in the courtyard.
However, as he took his first step, he suddenly paused, realizing that he might have overlooked something.
Why were the couple next door, Lu Hongping and Lu Yunfang, sleeping in separate rooms? Could it be that they, as a middle-aged couple, had grown tired of each other?
Or were they worried that their cultivation would interfere with each other? No, that didn't make sense either, as they had been sleeping, not cultivating, earlier.
Or perhaps... they weren't truly a couple?
As this thought flashed through his mind, Chu Ning's expression became uncertain. Although he felt that he might be overthinking things, he remained vigilant.
Chu Ning, who had originally planned to cultivate the Nine Transforming Body Manual in the courtyard, decided against it.
Instead, he ate breakfast first and prepared to cultivate in the spirit fields.
Although the moderate-quality spirit field was adjacent to the couple's field, the high-quality spirit field where the Ink Spirit Bamboo was planted was relatively independent and more suitable for cultivation.
To his slight surprise, when Chu Ning finished breakfast and stepped out of the courtyard, the couple from across the way also emerged from their own courtyard at the same time.
As soon as they saw Chu Ning, Lu Yunfang greeted him.
Lu Yunfang continued, "We were planning to pay you a visit later in the afternoon. We brought some spirit tea from our family's collection in the mortal realm. Please have a taste." As she spoke, she retrieved a porcelain canister from her storage bag and offered it to Chu Ning.
Chu Ning hesitated for a moment, surprised by their courteous behavior, which was uncommon among cultivators. However, their overly friendly attitude only heightened his wariness.
"Thank you, Senior Lu," he replied cautiously. "But I'm just a simple cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining. This precious tea might be too refined for my palate."
"Don't mention it," Lu Yunfang quickly assured him. "It's just average-quality spirit tea, probably worth about the same as spirit rice. Please, take it." Without waiting for Chu Ning to decline further, she pressed the canister into his hands and added, "Actually, I wanted to ask you about something."
Hearing this, Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat as he guessed that they were probably inquiring about Qi Chongmao.
"Thank you, Senior Lu," he said, his tone guarded. "But I'm a new disciple and haven't been in the sect for long. I'm not sure what you want to ask, but I may not know the answer."
"It's just a minor matter," Lu Yunfang said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "I heard that someone used to live in this courtyard not long ago, and then they suddenly disappeared?"
As expected, they were inquiring about Qi Chongmao. "Yes," Chu Ning confirmed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied their reactions. "A senior disciple named Qi Chongmao used to live here. He disappeared about a month ago, or something like that..."
He paused, his gaze flicking between the two of them. "An enforcer at the Foundation Establishment stage from the Enforcement Hall even came to investigate the matter."
As he spoke casually, his expression turned solemn. He had clearly noticed a subtle change in their expressions when he mentioned the enforcer from the Enforcement Hall. Despite their attempt to hide it, his heightened spiritual sense, coupled with his keen observation, allowed him to detect their fleeting reaction.
Moreover, Lu Yunfang's curiosity seemed to intensify, her face now alight with intrigue.
"So, did the Enforcement Hall discover anything?" she asked.
Chu Ning shook his head, feigning embarrassment. "I have no idea. When I saw that Foundation Establishment cultivator, I was too intimidated to even breathe, let alone ask questions."
Lu Hongping and Lu Yunfang exchanged a glance, and then she continued in a casual tone, "Well, if the Enforcement Hall has been here, then there's probably nothing to worry about. Otherwise, we would've been concerned about that cultivator suddenly returning midway through our tending of the fields."
Chu Ning didn't respond, simply turning to walk towards the spirit fields.
"Junior Chu," Lu Yunfang called out, pointing to the canister in his hand, "it's inconvenient to carry that tea around. Do you want to put it away in your storage bag or leave it in the house?"
Chu Ning didn't want to reveal his storage bag in front of them, so he replied, "I don't have a storage bag yet, so I'll just leave it in the house."
"Alright then, we'll head to the fields first," Lu Yunfang said, and together with Lu Hongping, they bid farewell and departed.
Chu Ning reopened the courtyard gate, stepped out, and closed it again. Then, without delay, he released his spiritual sense, his expression growing even more solemn.
He had sensed that the couple, who hadn't walked far, was now communicating through sound transmission. Although his spiritual sense wasn't strong enough to eavesdrop on their conversation, the fact that they were using a method of communication that prevented others from hearing suggested they had something to hide.
Even going as far as to use sound transmission to avoid being overheard by a low-level disciple like himself—it seemed highly likely that they were indeed connected to Qi Chongmao's disappearance.
And their apparent fear of the Enforcement Hall discovering something further fueled his suspicions. Although Chu Ning couldn't quite piece everything together, he had a nagging feeling that killing Qi Chongmao had inadvertently entangled him in some sort of trouble.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
