Chapter 8: Fifth Seal — Divine Soul Master

To think that reading a Daoist scripture would lead to comprehending the [Divine Soul Transcendence Method] — this was an unexpected delight.

In truth, the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] already contained methods for cultivating the Divine Soul. Following that path, one could also condense the Divine Soul and allow it to leave the body.

But the process was slow.

The advantage was a solid foundation.

Now, with the [Divine Soul Transcendence Method] to complement the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture], the results would surely be twice as good with half the effort.

Lin Jiufeng wasted no time and began cultivating.

He first lit incense, bathed, and changed his clothes, then told Wen Xinyun and the other two not to disturb him.

He returned to his room, sat cross-legged, cleared his mind, and began his cultivation.

Using the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] as the foundation and the [Divine Soul Transcendence Method] as a supplement, he worked to condense his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

For an ordinary person, the Essence, Qi, and Spirit are scattered and disordered. Even a cultivator at the Fourth Seal cannot fully control their own Essence, Qi, and Spirit — they are merely stronger than a common person in that regard.

This is why a Fourth Seal cultivator facing a Fifth Seal opponent cannot withstand the power of the Divine Soul alone.

A Fifth Seal cultivator can shatter the Essence, Qi, and Spirit of a Fourth Seal opponent, leaving them dazed and disoriented, as though they had fallen into hell — struck by a terrible illness, unable to concentrate, unable to control their own body, incapable of drawing out even a tenth of their true strength.

Upon reaching the Fifth Seal, one is also known as a Divine Soul Master.

They have transcended the level of ordinary martial arts experts.

This time, Lin Jiufeng intended to devote himself entirely to the Breakthrough. He would not leave seclusion until the Divine Soul was condensed.

It was nighttime. Lin Jiufeng began drawing together his Essence, Qi, and Spirit from every part of his body — countless threads converging toward the space between his brows, slowly condensing.

At first it was nothing more than a shapeless, hazy mass of consciousness. But as Lin Jiufeng circulated the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] and the [Divine Soul Transcendence Method], the formless mass began to take on a rounder shape, brought under the control of the two techniques.

It was like sculpting a clay figure — taking a lump of clay and shaping it into the form of a person.

Condensing the Divine Soul was no different.

Gathering the scattered Essence, Qi, and Spirit, kneading it, shaping it — until at last it became a small figure in Lin Jiufeng's own likeness.

That was the Divine Soul.

Lin Jiufeng shaped it little by little. As he worked, the brilliant starlight from the heavens above shone directly down, passing through the latticed window and falling upon his body.

In an instant, a sense of serenity, depth, and vastness radiated from within the Divine Soul.

The starlight was soothing his Divine Soul.

This was the starlight drawn in by the [Divine Soul Transcendence Method].

The previously scattered and formless Essence, Qi, and Spirit slowly took shape.

It was a vast sea of stars — deep and resplendent — and within that stellar sea, a "giant" was born.

This "giant" stood with its feet upon the river of stars, eyes closed, sleeping in silence, as the constellations of the heavens revolved around it.

The scene was breathtakingly beautiful.

That was Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul.

With the aid of the starlight, it had finally been successfully condensed.

The next moment, the newly condensed Divine Soul, carrying with it the vast stellar sea, surged into the space between Lin Jiufeng's brows.

Boom!!!

The space between Lin Jiufeng's brows cracked open, and the Soul Sea emerged — the Divine Soul taking up residence within it.

His cultivation smoothly broke through to the Fifth Seal — Divine Soul Master.

In that moment, Lin Jiufeng's power surged explosively. With each breath, it grew by one dragon and one elephant, and showed no signs of stopping.

Starlight flooded his mind, filling Lin Jiufeng with a cool, refreshing sensation, as though he were bathing in immortal Spiritual Energy. Every pore on his body was absorbing the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, and his entire being felt as though it might float away into transcendence.

This state did not last too long. When Lin Jiufeng's power surged to thirty dragons and thirty elephants, all the extraordinary phenomena faded away.

Lin Jiufeng returned to himself — still the same Daoist sitting cross-legged on his meditation cushion.

Between his brows, amid a field of starlight, the Lin Jiufeng of the Divine Soul state was gazing around with curious eyes.

There was still one step remaining to complete the Fifth Seal.

Opening the Divine Soul.

That is — allowing the Divine Soul to leave the body and roam freely across the mountains and rivers of the world.

But how was one to make the Divine Soul leave the body?

Lin Jiufeng couldn't help but recall the Daoist scripture he had read earlier.

Left foot steps on right foot, leap out from the Niwan Palace.

Lin Jiufeng tried it without hesitation.

Within his Soul Sea, a vast stellar expanse surrounded the Divine Soul.

The next moment, the Divine Soul placed its left foot atop its right, and with a sudden push, stepped upward.

It did not fall.

Lin Jiufeng was greatly astonished — and then overjoyed.

Indeed, the Divine Soul was something that could not be measured by ordinary logic.

And so, within the Soul Sea, Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul stepped left foot upon right foot, rising higher and higher as though climbing a stairway to heaven, until it reached the deepest recesses of the Niwan Palace.

Then, gathering every last bit of strength, it leaped with all its might.

Boom!!!

It was as though a world had been shattered. In that instant, the stars above blazed brilliantly, and from that impossibly distant void, infinite beams of light refracted downward, pouring into Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul.

Starlight entered his being — dreamlike and surreal — strengthening Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul.

A short while later, Lin Jiufeng grew accustomed to the sensation. He looked around and realized that his Divine Soul had already left his body. Gazing at his physical self sitting calmly in meditation, he felt a wave of astonishment.

This was the first time Lin Jiufeng had ever seen himself so directly. He circled around his physical body, experiencing what it felt like to exist in the Divine Soul state.

It was completely unlike the sensation of his physical flesh. In the Divine Soul state, everything felt weightless and ethereal — as though even a gust of wind could blow him away.

"My Divine Soul was only just condensed — it's still far too fragile. I must keep strengthening it. I recall reading in a Daoist scripture that some people's Divine Souls become even stronger than their physical bodies. At the pinnacle of cultivation, the Divine Soul must even endure a lightning tribulation. What an incredible level of power that must be..." Lin Jiufeng murmured to himself.

After circling around, Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul settled beside his physical body, assuming the same cross-legged posture, breathing and cultivating.

[Divine Soul Transcendence Method].

Lin Jiufeng activated the technique he had comprehended and began absorbing the brilliant river of stars in the night sky.

With each breath he drew, the resplendent Milky Way shimmered in rhythm — and with every inhale and exhale, boundless starlight entered his being, falling upon his Divine Soul and strengthening the one he had just condensed.

In that moment, his Divine Soul was like an empty bottle, and the starlight was like liquid silver, pouring in and gradually filling it to the brim.

In that moment, both Lin Jiufeng's physical body and his Divine Soul were enveloped and cleansed by starlight.

His flesh and his Divine Soul alike became pure as glass — untouched by even a speck of dust, like a bright mirror that could reflect all the heavens.

As he cultivated, Lin Jiufeng's spiritual awareness expanded continuously.

It spread outward from his study, encompassing the entire Canon Pavilion.

He saw Wen Xinyun, Zhou Tianzi, and Yue Dashan diligently cultivating.

He saw blades of grass pushing through the soil, growing with stubborn vitality. He saw rivers rushing onward, and a spider catching a silkworm.

No matter how minute the detail, as long as Lin Jiufeng wished to see it, he could.

The three — Wen Xinyun and the others — had no idea. This was the power of the Divine Soul, transcending the limits of the physical body.

"Just how vast is my range of perception?" Lin Jiufeng wondered on a whim. He kept expanding his awareness, reaching further and further outward, wanting to know its true extent.

Leaving the Canon Pavilion behind, his perception enveloped the entirety of Yuhua Sect.

Still it had not reached its limit.

Lin Jiufeng continued to extend his range.

He saw mountain ranges, he saw wild beasts, he saw three people...

Lin Jiufeng suddenly froze. The three people he saw were dressed in the robes of Taishang Sect, lounging idly together in conversation.

All three were disciples of Taishang Sect, with cultivations at the Fourth or Fifth Seal. Yet they were completely unaware of Lin Jiufeng's consciousness — they simply chatted among themselves, oblivious.

Lin Jiufeng had been about to withdraw, but their next words made him stop.

"We've been surrounding Yuhua Sect for over a year now — why don't we just wipe them out? There are barely any people left anyway."

"Exactly. The way I see it, we should just destroy Yuhua Sect and be done with it. Why waste our time sitting here?"