Chapter 985: Divine Slaying Sword's Awakening
Chapter 985: Divine Slaying Sword's Awakening
Tai Xu Gate, in the northern part of the disciple's residence, nestled within a secluded forest.
The sun shone brightly, ancient trees towered, and the forest was lush with verdant foliage, bathed in a faint mist that shimmered with golden edges, creating a serene and enchanting scene.
Within the forest, Mo Hua was practicing the art of transforming Divine Thoughts into a sword.
On the outskirts of the forest, Da Bai Gou sat proudly, his chest puffed out, his gaze sharp as he kept watch over the surroundings, acting as Mo Hua's lookout.
In Mo Hua's heart, Da Bai Gou had become his "big brother."
The dog had developed a sense of self-awareness and willingly took on the role of the "little follower," staying outside the small forest to keep guard and ensure that no one disturbed Mo Hua's sword practice.
Of course, this was just one reason.
There was another reason:
When Mo Hua practiced the sword, the overflowing Divine Thoughts fluctuations were too terrifying, and Da Bai Gou couldn't bear it, so he would run to the edge of the small forest to hide.
In front of a towering tree in the forest, Mo Hua stood with focused determination. His eyes gleamed with powerful intentions, transforming into dazzling sword intent that pierced through the air and struck the ancient tree in front of him.
As the killing intent surged, one sword after another,
The forest was filled with heart-palpitating Divine Thoughts fluctuations, ebbing and flowing.
However, Divine Thoughts were inherently subtle and not within the visible spectrum of the physical eye.
Thus, even though Mo Hua was practicing Tai Xu Gate's forbidden sword technique, and his Divine Thoughts were filled with slaughter, from the surface, the forest remained peaceful and serene, with gentle breezes blowing through, and nothing else stirred.
Only Da Bai Gou, sitting at the edge of the forest, would occasionally feel a surge of heart-pounding fear.
After practicing for a long time, Mo Hua sat down to rest, reflecting for a while before shaking his head.
"Not quite there..."
His previous estimation was correct; only by condensing the Divine Sense into a Dan and further solidifying the foundation of Divine Thoughts could he release the Divine Slaying Sword's awakening externally.
His Divine Slaying Sword had indeed awakened, possessing an initial power of slaughter through Divine Thoughts.
However, the technique was rough, and correspondingly, there were numerous drawbacks.
Firstly, the execution was too slow, and the consumption of Divine Thoughts was excessive.
The Divine Slaying Sword was the ultimate technique of Tai Xu's Divine Thoughts Transformation Sword Secret, far surpassing the Shocking Divine Sword.
Not to mention that Mo Hua's Divine Slaying Sword incorporated various sword techniques, a "hodgepodge" style that included the Broken Gold, Mountain Splitting, Fire, and Water Sword Formations, as well as the Tai Xu Sword Intent and the Supreme Emotion Slaying Path...
With so many sword techniques integrated, not only did it slow down the execution, but the consumption of Divine Thoughts was also enormous.
Basically, after Mo Hua executed two sword strikes, he would need to rest.
Additionally, his eyes would hurt, and they hurt a lot.
The Divine Slaying Sword's awakening utilized the eye aperture as a vessel to channel the Divine Thoughts sword.
Mo Hua's physical body was inherently weak, and although he had condensed the Divine Sense into a Dan, his cultivation and physical body were only at the Foundation stage.
As the Divine Thoughts grew stronger, his physical body became weaker.
Therefore, when the Divine Thoughts sword was released, the pressure on his eyes became more intense.
Moreover, the sword light of the Divine Thoughts Transformation Sword was inherently sharp.
With the sword light in his eyes, over time, it felt like needles piercing his eyes.
The last problem was the low success rate of the Divine Slaying Sword's awakening.
From morning until now, Mo Hua had practiced it over ten times, but not every attempt succeeded in releasing the Divine Slaying Sword externally.
First, he had to condense, then awaken, and with the dual focus, sometimes the Divine Slaying Sword technique would falter.
The consciousness sea had a boundary between reality and illusion, and the eye aperture had an internal and external distinction. Occasionally, the Divine Thoughts sword would be hindered by these barriers, unable to break through and awaken.
Even if it did awaken, with insufficient subsequent Divine Sense and unstable Divine Thoughts, the sword intent would dissipate before it could be unleashed...
Mo Hua heaved a soft sigh.
The Divine Slaying Sword's awakening, with its illusory Divine Thoughts sword slaying real flesh-and-blood enemies, seemed powerful, but in practice, there were problems everywhere.
Not even having mastered it, let alone using it in actual combat against others.
However, Mo Hua didn't lose heart.
Cultivation was like this.
Any technique was just a "method," an external "skill."
Even if one learned and mastered it, applying it in practice was still challenging.
Therefore, after learning a cultivation technique, one must continue to practice, continue to apply it, and constantly correct and improve through actual combat...
Only then could one deepen their understanding of the technique and truly master and integrate it.
Only by truly integrating it could one remain calm and fearless in future cultivation battles, even in the face of life-and-death struggles, and effortlessly apply the sword techniques they had painstakingly comprehended and practiced.
Mo Hua calmed his mind and began to focus on his thoughts.
Drawing upon his cultivation knowledge, experience, and understanding of the Divine Thoughts path, he contemplated how to optimize and improve the practice of releasing the Divine Slaying Sword's awakening, step by step.
The forest was serene, and the leaves were a vibrant green.
The sunlight filtered through, casting dappled shadows on Mo Hua.
Mo Hua sat quietly, his Divine Sense concentrated, merging with the forest as one.
As he thought, his mind stirred, and gradually, an idea formed.
"Since the Divine Thoughts Transformation Sword is too powerful and incorporates too many formations, the burden of sword formations and sword techniques is too heavy... Then I can't be greedy and should simplify..."
"Only integrate the Five Elements Sword Formation to drive the Divine Slaying Sword's awakening."
"Add some Tai Xu Sword Intent later on."
"As for the Supreme Emotion Slaying Path, let's leave it for now..."
This technique came from the mouth of the Old Ancestor of the Dugu family.
However, Mo Hua wasn't sure if the one who transmitted the technique to him was truly the Old Ancestor.
The events in the back mountain were mysterious, and he couldn't see through them.
Therefore, although the Supreme Emotion Slaying Path had infinite profundities, its origin was questionable, and it exuded a sinister aura. It was best to refrain from releasing it externally for now.
By removing these elements, the difficulty of the Divine Thoughts awakening was almost halved.
Although the power would diminish, a force completely under one's control was one's true strength.
The essence of the Divine Thoughts Transformation Sword was so exquisite that even if only half of its power was released, it would be sufficient.
By removing the Supreme Emotion Slaying Path and half of the Tai Xu Sword Intent, the integrated techniques were reduced by half, and correspondingly, the burden would lessen, allowing for faster execution and better results in actual combat.
In the world of cultivation, speed is the key to breaking through all techniques.
This was something Grandpa Gui had taught him long ago.
It's better to be a fraction faster rather than an inch stronger.
The issue of condensing the Divine_slain Sword seemed to have been resolved.
The next challenge was its release.
To release the sword from the Eye Aperture, one must use the eyes as a medium to break through the barrier between the Consciousness Sea and the real world, thereby allowing the Divine Thoughts to transform into a sword and be fully unleashed.
In a sense, this problem was even more critical.
If, at a critical moment, the transmission of Divine Thoughts is hindered, and the barrier between the virtual and real realms remains unbroken, the Divine Thoughts Sword will fail to release, leading to disastrous consequences.
It's like two cultivators engaging in a sword fight.
If your opponent's sword has already reached your neck, but your sword remains sheathed, you can only foolishly accept your demise.
Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.
He certainly didn't want to die foolishly.
"I must find a way to ensure a 100% success rate for releasing the Divine Thoughts Sword..."
However, the method of releasing through the Eye Aperture was not something Mo Hua's current cultivation level could handle.
He had ventured too far beyond his curriculum, leaving no precedents to refer to. Thus, he had no choice but to explore and improve based on his own situation.
Mo Hua pondered for a moment and recalled some of the teachings of the Old Ancestor of the Du Gu family.
According to the Tai Xu Gate, the most orthodox method of transforming Divine Thoughts into a sword required a 'sword' as a medium to facilitate the breakthrough.
Mo Hua was not a traditional Sword Cultivation practitioner, and he didn't possess such a sword.
Therefore, he could only use his eyes as the medium.
Using the eyes as the aperture and transforming Divine Thoughts into a sword was evidently a more complex and profound method.
With Mo Hua's current cultivation level and sword skills, it was impossible to maintain stable control.
Instability leads to failure, and failure meant disaster.
"I need to add another medium to ensure stability..."
But what should he add?
He didn't have a Life-Linked Magical Weapon, not even a nurtured embryo.
Apart from his eyes, his physical body didn't have any other suitable mediums...
Mo Hua furrowed his brows, racking his brains for half a day. Finally, relying on his vast and profound knowledge of formation techniques, he found a hint of inspiration from the First-Ranked Thirteen Patterned Five Elements Source Formation Laws.
Spiritual Power!
The core of the Five Elements Source Formation was to borrow Divine Thoughts, transform them through formation techniques, amplify the power of the Five Elements, and thereby enhance the might of Five Elements cultivation methods.
This implied that Spiritual Power and Mental Force, though seemingly distinct cultivation powers, shared a connection at their source.
Spiritual Power could merge with Divine Thoughts.
To some extent, this meant that Spiritual Power could serve as a medium for 'Divine Thoughts'.
The process was intricate and undoubtedly involved certain Great Tao Laws; otherwise, the Five Elements Source Formation wouldn't be the ultimate formation of the Five Elements Sect.
However, Mo Hua didn't need to perform an overly complex transformation.
He only needed to use his Spiritual Power to guide his Divine Sense.
Both Spiritual Power and Divine Sense belonged to him, inherently possessing a certain degree of compatibility, ensuring they wouldn't repel each other when activated.
"Using Spiritual Power to guide Divine Sense..."
Mo Hua pondered for a moment and suddenly had a realization about his cultivation method—the Tianyan Secret.
When cultivating the Tianyan Secret and breaking through a realm, Spiritual Power would flow in reverse, gathering at the Heavenly Gate, entering the Consciousness Sea, and then connecting with the Divine Sense to form a mysterious array composed of puzzle formations, serving as the bottleneck for the breakthrough.
Did this imply...
The operation of the Tianyan Secret involved the resonance or even fusion of Spiritual Power and Mental Force?
Mo Hua's expression changed slightly, and his heart was deeply stirred.
This involved the fusion of the most fundamental powers of cultivation.
The ancient cultivation method passed down by his master indeed held profound mysteries.
Unfortunately, his current cultivation level was still shallow, allowing him only a vague understanding. He couldn't yet fathom the deeper essence of the Tianyan Secret.
"Keep cultivating, and perhaps when my cultivation level is higher and my knowledge more profound, I'll be able to gradually uncover the secrets of this ancient cultivation method..."
Mo Hua temporarily set aside his doubts about the Tianyan Secret and continued to focus on researching the release of the Divine Thoughts Sword through the Eye Aperture.
After further contemplation, he had found solutions to most of the problems and devised a method based on his knowledge and experience.
Now, all that was left was to put it into practice.
Mo Hua calmed his mind, banished all distractions, and his gaze became increasingly sharp, transforming his entire being into a treasure sword sheathed with killing intent.
Within his Consciousness Sea, Mo Hua raised his hands high.
With precise control, he summoned four sets of sword formations—the Gold-Breaking, Mountain-Splitting, Gui Water, and Li Fire formations—constantly gathering in his hands.
A strand of Tai Xu Sword Intent was also merged into the mix.
Since he had only infused a portion of his sword cultivation, this Divine_slain Sword took shape swiftly.
Once the Divine_slain Sword was formed, its sword intent became sharp and formidable, brimming with potential.
Mo Hua's eyes shone with dazzling brilliance, radiating sharpness.
He extended his fingers and pointed at his brow.
A strand of Spiritual Power connected to his Consciousness Sea, gradually 'guiding' the Mental Force within.
Mo Hua could clearly perceive the boundary between the virtual and real realms.
Using his eyes as the aperture and Spiritual Power as the guide, Mo Hua's Divine Thoughts Sword gradually shattered the barriers of the virtual and real realms.
Mo Hua, sensing everything, carefully observed the flow and transformation of Spiritual Power and Mental Force.
He also continuously anchored the path, direction, and target of his Divine Thoughts Sword's release, comprehending the transformation of virtual and real realms within the sword cultivation.
Finally, the moment arrived.
Mo Hua's eyes blazed with intensifying light, and in the midst of the illusion, a sword seemed to condense, its blade swirling with the Five Elements and the vastness of Tai Xu.
This sword was guided by the Spiritual Power on Mo Hua's fingertip.
Mo Hua pointed forward, and the flowing Spiritual Power carried the 'Divine Thoughts Sword', breaking through the barrier of virtual and real realms and transforming into a divine light that shot forward.
In the void, the sword intent blossomed like translucent glass.
Even more intense Divine Thoughts fluctuations rippled out in the form of sword intent.
Amidst the flickering divine light, the Divine_slain Sword pierced through the ancient, towering tree before him.
And then, it seemed like nothing had happened.
But suddenly, the ancient tree trembled violently.
The entire forest fell into an eerie silence.
The large white dog, standing guard on the outskirts and keeping watch for Mo Hua, had its fur standing on end.
This was the first time Mo Hua had truly summoned his Tai Xu Divine Slain Sword from his Consciousness Sea and unleashed it in the real world.
The surging and overwhelming sword intent was so powerful that even from a distance, one could feel the oppressive pressure as if a sharp blade was pressing against their back.
The white dog was stunned, its eyes wide with astonishment.
It never expected that Mo Hua, who was already incredibly strong, could become even stronger.
In a short time, Mo Hua had become so powerful that the dog felt it couldn't even hope to catch up.
The white dog secretly stared at Mo Hua, its eyes narrowing.
It had now begun to question Mo Hua's true nature.
It strongly suspected that Mo Hua was actually a divine beast, merely disguised in harmless human skin...
After the turbulence of divine thought subsided, Mo Hua smiled brightly in the forest.
"Success!"
The Divine Slain Sword had finally been summoned from his Consciousness Sea and materialized in the real world.
From this moment on, his powerful divine thought killing move, which had never failed him in the realm of divine thought, could now break through the boundaries of virtual and real, and be used in the real world.
However, Mo Hua looked at the towering ancient tree before him and the non-existent divine thought sword mark, and frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before still feeling somewhat dissatisfied.
Although he had successfully summoned the sword, its power fell far short of his expectations.
The merged sword technique had been compromised, reducing its effectiveness by half.
Moreover, the process of divine thought manifestation and sword release was complex and troublesome.
To break through the barriers of virtual and real, one needed to surpass the Heavenly Gate of the Consciousness Sea, harness the power of mystical energy, and precisely guide the path of the sword...
During this process, the power of divine thought would be greatly diminished.
Additionally, this sword technique had already been weakened by Mo Hua.
As a result, the power of the Divine Slain Sword upon manifestation...
Mo Hua estimated that it might only be about one-tenth as powerful as when he used it in his Consciousness Sea.
The Divine Slain Sword, so formidable in the Consciousness Sea, could only unleash about one-tenth of its power when brought into the real world...
Mo Hua's feelings were mixed.
However, there was nothing he could do about it.
Divine thought manifestation was beyond his current cultivation level.
His cultivation was too low; being able to barely summon this sword was already impressive, and he couldn't ask for more.
He could only continue practicing to improve his proficiency in divine thought manifestation and maximize the power of the Tai Xu Divine Slain Sword.
At this thought, Mo Hua paused.
Another doubt arose in his mind:
How powerful was his Divine Slain Sword's lethality?
Divine thought cutting down a tree was merely a sword practice.
But a tree was just a plant, possessing only the most basic life force and almost no divine thought, akin to an inanimate object.
Mo Hua couldn't gauge the lethality of his Divine Slain Sword by cutting down a tree.
It simply had no divine thought to be killed.
To truly test the sword, he needed a living creature.
"A living creature..."
Mo Hua looked around, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the only living creature in the forest—the large white dog.
The white dog froze for a moment, then instantly understood Mo Hua's intention. It widened its eyes, its face expressing 'rage.'
It barked twice at Mo Hua, as if saying, "Don't be ungrateful! Don't repay kindness with enmity! Know your limits! Don't bring harm to me, an innocent and harmless dog, just because you're unaware of your own strength!"
Could anyone have blocked that terrifying sword strike? Mo Hua realized his mistake and apologized with a smile, saying, "I'll treat you to something nice."
The white dog reluctantly grunted.
Mo Hua prepared to take the white dog to the dining hall, but before leaving, he turned back to look at the ancient tree, which had silently endured numerous sword strikes without complaint. He felt a bit apologetic.
Mo Hua tapped his finger, manipulating the Mystical Ink, and drew several layers of Thick Earth Formation and Water Earth Formation on the ground as compensation.
Then, Mo Hua patted the ancient tree, saying, "I'll draw more for you when I have time..."
The towering ancient tree remained silent, but its wounded 'spirit' received some solace.
After that, Mo Hua took the white dog to the dining hall.
It was mealtime, and he needed to eat too.
The dining hall was filled with fragrant aromas, and the disciples bustled about. Mo Hua and the white dog sat side by side, Mo Hua gnawing on a chicken leg while the white dog chewed on a pork knuckle.
The actions of the man and the dog were quite similar.
After finishing their meal, Mo Hua escorted the white dog back to the library. On the way, he secretly slipped the dog a bone sealed with a demon's power, delighting the dog. Its tail wagged non-stop, and it rubbed its big head against Mo Hua's face.
...
After sending the white dog away, Mo Hua returned to the disciples' residence, still pondering the matter of testing his sword.
However, finding a suitable test subject was not easy.
He couldn't use a human.
If he accidentally killed someone, the consequences would be severe.
Sin cultivators and demon cultivators could be considered.
But currently, he was at the sect, focusing on cultivation, and it was inconvenient to venture out. He didn't have the time to go through the trouble of finding a demon cultivator to test his sword.
After some thought, he decided to use a demon beast to test his sword.
Humans had divine consciousness, and demon beasts also possessed 'demon consciousness.'
Demon beasts had weaker spiritual intelligence, and their demon consciousness was less complex than a cultivator's divine consciousness. However, their primal instincts were stronger, and they were not without cunning and slyness.
The flesh and demonic power of demon beasts far surpassed the physical bodies and mystical power of human cultivators.
But in terms of pure divine thought intensity, the demon consciousness of demon beasts was not too far behind that of human cultivators.
And when the demon consciousness was extinguished, the demon beast would die.
Mo Hua nodded, his mind made up.
Two days later, when he had some free time, he went to the Demon Beast Mountain to find a demon beast to 'test' his sword.
(End of Chapter)
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