74: Chapter 74: Two Months of Seclusion

Wang Bin, with utmost piety and focus, meticulously re-confirmed the contents of the Jade Slip again and again.

He dared not neglect a single word or sentence, as if he had returned to his high school days, studying diligently.

After repeatedly confirming its accuracy, he slowly sat cross-legged and began to Cultivate the Star Observation Art.

“Calm the mind and still the spirit, empty all distracting thoughts, choose a quiet place, begin at midnight. Gaze at the starry sky, connect with the Grandmist, guide the stars into the body, and gather the light in the Sea of Consciousness.”

Wang Bin softly chanted the incantation, trying to make his mind as calm as still water, casting aside all worldly disturbances and distracting thoughts.

When his entire being became as calm as still water, he slowly raised his head and fixed his gaze upon the mysterious star within the Jade Slip.

His thoughts seemed to break free from the shackles of his Physical Body, extending towards the endless heavens and earth, attempting to connect with the mysterious power of the primordial Grandmist.

He focused intently on guiding the power of the stars, like a devout believer receiving the grace of a deity, carefully drawing it into his body, allowing the brilliant starlight to slowly gather within his Sea of Consciousness.

Wang Bin, relying on his powerful imagination and tenacious will, began to outline the star’s form deep within his Sea of Consciousness.

At first, it was merely an illusory light and shadow, like a phantom in the morning mist, ethereal and elusive. But he did not give up, breath after breath, meticulously carving it out, thread by thread, trying to make it solidify from its ethereal state, like a craftsman forging a peerless treasure.

In this manner, Wang Bin persisted in Cultivating for half a month, following the descriptions in the Cultivation Technique word for word.

However, reality was like a basin of cold water, mercilessly extinguishing the hope in his heart.

There was not the slightest ripple in his Sea of Consciousness, and his Cultivation seemed to fall into an endless dark abyss, showing no sign of progress.

His heart was filled with frustration and a sense of defeat, and he even momentarily considered giving up.

This Star Observation Art was truly too difficult and abstruse; he felt like a blind person groping in the dark, unable to find any direction.

But he also knew in his heart that this Star Observation Art was clearly no ordinary Cultivation Technique, and methods for Cultivating Divine Sense were inherently rare and precious, like Phoenix feathers and Qilin horns.

Moreover, this Jade Slip might be an important item to the Chu family, and they certainly wouldn't let him take it out easily.

With such a rare Opportunity before him, how could he easily give up?

Even if he couldn't get started for now, he had to do his best to deeply engrave the appearance of that star and the Mind-Cultivation Technique from the Jade Slip into his mind.

Theoretically, as long as he could roughly outline the star's form within his Sea of Consciousness, he would have stepped onto the threshold of Cultivation.

Unfortunately, this profoundly mysterious Cultivation Technique was like a towering, perilous Peak, and he found it difficult to climb for a while.

He gritted his teeth and set himself a six-month deadline.

He thought to himself that even if he ultimately failed, he couldn't easily back down like this.

In the following days, Wang Bin meticulously planned his Cultivation.

He used the Thunder Manipulation Array to temper his Physical Body; each bolt of lightning that struck down was like a blacksmith's hammer, forging his resilient physique.

And while taking medicinal baths, he did not forget to practice the Star Observation Art, trying to find a Breakthrough Opportunity amidst the warm medicinal power and tranquil state of mind.

The rest of the time, he fully immersed himself in the Cultivation of Spiritual Qi, letting the Spiritual Qi surge endlessly through his Meridians, like a rushing river.

At the same time, he also took the Opportunity to refine the Zhan Lang Set that the Chu family had lent him.

When the Chu family brought out this High Grade Spiritual Artifact Zhan Lang Set, Wang Bin was truly surprised.

But he wasn't a fool; with such a precious treasure before him, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

However, during the refining process, he discovered an unexpected situation.

Each part of this Zhan Lang Set had already been refined by someone else, with powerful spiritual imprints remaining on them. The aura subtly made him feel that these should have been left by a Golden Core or Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Chu family.

It seemed the Chu family was very confident in this set of equipment and wasn't afraid of it being lost.

Wang Bin, with no other choice, could only leave his own spiritual imprint on it in order to use this set of equipment.

However, for some reason, ever since he discovered that it wasn't entirely his own, his fondness for this Spiritual Artifact set had greatly diminished.

Nevertheless, it had to be said that this Zhan Lang Set was indeed a High Grade Spiritual Artifact of the Wood Attribute, providing a significant boost to his Cultivation.

When he put on this equipment, he could clearly feel that the speed at which he cast Spells had increased significantly, as if an invisible force was pushing him from behind.

This rekindled a glimmer of expectation and gratitude for this set of equipment in his heart.

Time flew by like a white steed, and two months passed without him realizing it.

In terms of Body Refining, Wang Bin had made surprising progress; he had successfully Cultivated to the second layer of the Thunder Light Body Tempering Technique, and his Physical Body strength had reached the Early Stage of a Second-Tier Treasure Body.

Actually, this wasn't because he possessed extraordinary talent in Body Refining, but rather because his original Physical Body strength was already at the level of an Early Stage Second-Tier Treasure Body.

Now that he had learned a Body Refining Cultivation Technique and undergone targeted Cultivation, he could more freely exert his own strength.

He tightly clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body, as if he now possessed the power to destroy everything. With one punch, he could even obliterate his relatively weaker past self.

Not only that, his combat ability had also greatly improved, with noticeable increases in both speed and reaction time.

Even the speed at which he completed one major circulation of the Green Wood Art was one-tenth faster than before.

This made him deeply realize that although Body Refining and Qi Cultivation were two distinct methods of Cultivation, they had a wonderful complementary relationship.

The Thunder Light Body Tempering Technique also included a subtle martial art—Thunderous Punch.

This martial art could skillfully concentrate the power of lightning onto the fists and feet. Once unleashed, one's speed and destructive power would instantly increase greatly, allowing for extremely powerful combat effectiveness in close-quarters battles.

Although Wang Bin diligently learned this martial art, he did not particularly like close-quarters combat deep down.

In his opinion, while close-quarters combat was full of passion and excitement, the level of danger involved was simply too high.

However, he also understood the principle that one can never have too many skills, so he still decided to practice more in the future for unexpected needs.

At this point, the Body Refining Cultivation Technique had gotten on track; as long as he had enough time and resources, he was confident he could Cultivate it to the Peak of the Second-Tier Treasure Body within twenty years.

Qi Cultivation Technique was also not difficult for him; with his efforts and Spirit Liquid support, steady improvement was not an issue.

The only thing that gave him a constant headache was the Cultivation of Divine Sense.

In two months, he had expended a great deal of effort on the Star Observation Art, but the results were not satisfactory; he hadn't even managed to get started.

Fortunately, he had previously forced himself to firmly memorize the appearance of that star and the incantation. He thought to himself that even without this black Jade Slip, Cultivating from memory in the future shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Despite feeling somewhat helpless, he decided to stay in this side hall for another three months.

After all, it was safe and quiet here, with abundant Spiritual Qi, and having the Jade Slip of the Star Observation Art in hand was much better than Cultivating solely from memory.

However, being confined to one place for a long time was undoubtedly a torment for Wang Bin, who loved freedom.

His patience gradually wore thin, but he also knew that if he couldn't calm himself down, the effect of his Cultivation would only be worse.

And so, two more days passed, and the Star Observation Art still showed no progress.