Chapter 154 : 《Weaving-Soul Returning-to-Origin Art》
Chapter 154: 《Weaving Soul Returning-to-Origin Art》
Long Tao certainly would not have foolishly fantasized about entering Moon-Washing Peak; rationally speaking, he had not particularly wanted to go either.
First of all, a top-tier Late Golden Core Stage cultivator like True Person Mingzhu had an extremely high threshold for accepting personally transmitted disciples.
Even with Shi Manyu’s endorsement, as well as the prior connections he had with the people of Moon-Washing Peak, given his own qualifications, at most he would have become a somewhat valued registered disciple.
Although Shi Manyu still fell short of True Person Mingzhu in both cultivation and reputation, she was nevertheless a Top-Grade Golden Core cultivator who presided over an entire peak.
Having the chance to become the personally transmitted disciple of someone like that—how could he possibly choose instead to become a marginal registered disciple elsewhere?
Even if he truly admired True Person Mingzhu to the point of infatuation, when it came to a decision concerning his Dao path, he would never lose his clarity.
The difference between a personally transmitted disciple and a registered disciple was the difference between a biological child and an adopted one. In fact, let alone registered disciples—even true blood-related descendants of a cultivator’s clan, when compared to personally transmitted disciples, were practically no different from children picked up off the street.
This was no joke.
For Golden Core cultivators with lifespans of around a thousand years, the ties of mortal bloodlines had long since faded.
Once the two or three generations they were familiar with had been laid to rest, later descendants were merely a responsibility of bloodline—how much genuine emotion could remain?
By contrast, a personally transmitted disciple who successfully formed a Golden Core and then accompanied them for several hundred years was the closest presence in their long immortal journey. Take True Person Mingzhu’s eldest disciple, Su Muzhi, for example.
In terms of age, at four hundred years old, she had even more seniority than True Person Zhiying. Though nominally master and disciple with True Person Mingzhu, in truth they were as close as mother and daughter.
In fact, the master–disciple relationships among high-level cultivators were generally like this.
Mortals ultimately found it difficult to comprehend the bonds forged across such vast stretches of time.
For that reason, those accepted as personally transmitted disciples were almost always regarded by their masters as their own children, because in the future they truly needed each other’s companionship—and someone to “see them through old age.”
Thus, under normal circumstances, disciples like Long Tao, who had little hope of ever forming a Golden Core, were rarely accepted as personally transmitted disciples by Golden Core cultivators.
After all, few Golden Cores were willing to pour their heart and effort into a short-lived disciple destined to turn to yellow earth in just over a century. Whether from rational consideration or emotional investment, such a choice was far too heavy.
Therefore, when Shi Manyu personally promised that she was willing to accept him as her personally transmitted disciple, he had genuinely felt his heart surge with emotion—he had even been moved.
Although achieving mid- or top-grade Foundation Establishment would also be difficult for him, it was still far easier than forming a Golden Core.
Afterward, he did not shamelessly continue pressing the matter of becoming a personally transmitted disciple. He simply offered a respectful salute and left the main hall.
Sigh… for someone like him, even a Top-Grade Golden Core drawing him a pie in the sky was already enough.
……
By the time he returned home on the Cloud Vessel, night had fully fallen. Yet when Long Tao looked around the house, he found that Xiao Ying, who had been home constantly these past few days, was nowhere to be seen.
“Mother? Where’s Xiao Ying?”
“Oh… after you left earlier because of something, True Person Zhiying took her away. She said Xiao Ying had already taken quite enough time off recently and should go back to cultivating seriously.”
This… well, there was nothing much to say about that reason. But since she had already been given leave, they could at least have waited until after the Grand Competition ended before calling her back.
Who revoked someone’s holiday halfway through an event? True Person Zhiying really lacked consideration.
After dinner, Uncle Liu took his younger sister and Jiang Wuyun to stroll around the newly built streets in town. His parents went next door to visit the Spider Siblings.
As for Long Tao, using the excuse that he still had commentary duties tomorrow and needed to recuperate, he returned to his room first.
Eagerly, he took out the 《Weaving Soul Returning-to-Origin Art》 bestowed upon him by Shi Manyu and began reading it carefully.
……
Half a shichen later, he gently closed the book and let out a long breath. The cultivation method was indeed exquisite, fully worthy of being selected by the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect as the sect’s foundational divine soul technique. In nearly every aspect, it was beyond reproach.
Based on his preliminary understanding, although this Returning-to-Origin Art was only a Foundation Establishment–stage technique, its conception was lofty and its potential immense. Once mastered, it would benefit one for a lifetime.
First was the core philosophy of the technique. Just as its name suggested, it regarded the cultivator’s divine soul as a piece of “fabric” that could be damaged, repaired, and even strengthened.
The art aimed to teach the cultivator to use their divine sense as a needle and their source soul power as thread, weaving, repairing, and reinforcing their own divine soul until it ultimately became whole and returned to unity—achieving Returning-to-Origin.
The technique possessed three primary abilities.
The first was called “Weaving the Soul,” mainly used for repairing and nourishing the divine soul.
After reaching minor accomplishment, when using divine sense for internal observation, one could clearly “see” the damage upon one’s own divine soul—such as the aftereffects of forbidden techniques, injuries left by an enemy’s soul attacks, cracks formed by the growth of inner demons, and so on.
One could then circulate the technique, mobilizing soul power like threads, patiently weaving and repairing the divine soul.
This was also the technique’s most core value. It could heal the vast majority of divine soul injuries, allowing cultivators to be almost unafraid of hidden dangers on the soul level.
As a result, their Dao foundation would be far more stable than that of cultivators of the same level.
The second ability was called “Soul Cocoon,” mainly used for meditation and explosive release.
After mastering it, one could temporarily “weave” their divine soul into a dense “cocoon.” In this state, both mental strength and spiritual energy recovered several times faster.
There was even a certain probability of entering a state of sudden enlightenment, greatly enhancing comprehension—though such enlightenment was somewhat metaphysical, and few could explain it clearly.
Moreover, the cultivator could actively “break the cocoon,” releasing all the accumulated soul power in a single explosive burst to form a powerful divine soul shockwave.
This kind of direct soul attack was normally impossible to defend against unless one possessed special magical artifacts and corresponding defensive techniques.
Of course, afterward, the user would also fall into a prolonged state of mental weakness.
The final effect was “Returning-to-Origin Perception,” which served for introspection and self-insight.
As the technique deepened, the divine soul would grow increasingly pure and solid, and the cultivator’s control over their own thoughts would continuously strengthen.
They could at any time perceive the subtlest stirrings of their own mind, effectively preventing the breeding of inner demons and malicious thoughts.
At the same time, their control over their own spiritual energy would become more refined, enhancing the power of spells and divine abilities while making them more resistant to curse-type techniques.
Of course, where there were benefits, there were naturally drawbacks and risks.
The greatest issue with the 《Weaving Soul Returning-to-Origin Art》 was its slow progress. Because its core lay in “weaving” and “nourishing,” its cultivation speed was far slower than that of other divine soul techniques and required tremendous patience.
Additionally, if one’s divine soul had suffered severe injury, forcibly attempting to “weave” repairs could instead lead to soul disorder, compounding the damage.
And if one relied excessively on the “Soul Cocoon” to pursue enlightenment, it was possible to become immersed in it. In the end, the divine soul might truly turn into a dead cocoon.
At that point, not only would the divine soul cease advancing, but even one’s cultivation could be affected.
In short, according to the sect’s evaluation on the first page of the book, the 《Weaving Soul Returning-to-Origin Art》 was a technique of great simplicity concealing great skill—an absolutely orthodox and kingly path divine soul method.
It did not pursue flashy attack techniques, but instead focused to the extreme on “repairing oneself” and “consolidating the foundation.”
It could grant cultivators mental resilience, recovery ability, and growth potential beyond others of the same level.
Although Long Tao currently wanted a more immediately combat-effective, somewhat “unorthodox” divine soul technique, laying a solid foundation could never be wrong.
Thus, he reopened the pages and, following the introductory method described within, sat on his bed and entered meditation.