In the wilderness.
Su Yi walked alone.
It was dawn, and the sky was bright. The mountains and rivers along the way were clear and beautiful, with plants and trees shimmering with radiance. The whole world seemed to be adorned with a magnificent and vibrant splendor, full of vitality.
In the uninhabited mountains, only the sounds of insects, birds, and the roars of wild beasts could be heard.
Su Yi's figure moved through them, enjoying the sunrise and watching the flowing clouds. His mind was tranquil and clear.
Everything he saw and heard along the way turned into subtle perceptions and insights, settling within him.
The so-called appreciation of the beauty of heaven and earth, the enjoyment of the wonders of nature, made it easier for the mind to merge with the myriad changes.
This is what martial practitioners refer to as "harmony between heaven and man."
For cultivators, seclusion and meditation are cultivation, battles and killings are cultivation, and experiencing the world of mortals is also a form of cultivation. Understanding the myriad phenomena of nature is a process of self-settling and getting closer to the Great Dao.
Along the way, Su Yi's mind was clear, his qi relaxed and leisurely, calmly experiencing everything he encountered. Unconsciously, his entire being underwent a kind of sublimation.
Until he arrived in a lush forest in the mountains, the view darkened, and the dense branches obscured the daylight, making the forest dim and damp.
At that moment, Su Yi suddenly stopped.
In his divine soul, a ripple-like tremor occurred.
Then, like a seed breaking through the ground and growing, a mysterious power appeared in Su Yi's divine soul.
Suddenly, the dim and damp forest in front of him seemed to completely change. It became colorful and clearly visible.
The textures that spread and grew on the trees, the slender veins on the branches and leaves, and even the tiny dust particles floating in the void... all appeared vividly in Su Yi's sea of consciousness.
In an anthill ten yards away, a group of ants were going in and out.
On a tree not far away, a green snake hid among the branches, eyeing a bird grooming its feathers nearby.
Further away, a dewdrop fell from a plump green leaf, shattering into six petals upon impact...
Various faint sounds also rushed in, the chirping of insects and birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind, the shaking of spider webs...
Even the sound of the flowing air currents was clearly audible.
In an instant, everything in Su Yi's perception of the world changed completely.
After silently experiencing it for a long time, a smile appeared on Su Yi's lips, and a trace of joy and emotion arose in his deep gaze.
Divine Sense!
Ever since he cultivated the secret technique "He Transforming into Freedom Scripture" of the Wen family in Guangling City, his divine soul had finally made a qualitative breakthrough and condensed the power of Divine Sense!
"In my previous life, I also cultivated Divine Sense only after stepping into the Precelestial Martial Master realm. And now, I can refine such power even in the Martial Grandmaster realm!"
Su Yi's eyes sparkled.
Generally speaking, Divine Sense is a soul perception power that only Yuan Dao cultivators can refine.
Having Divine Sense means being able to perceive the traces of the Great Dao in the world more keenly, sensing the profound rhythms belonging to all things.
In terms of cultivation, with the help of Divine Sense, one can also have a deeper understanding of every subtle change inside and outside oneself, rectifying deficiencies and comprehending the profound.
In battle, using Divine Sense for perception allows one to capture details that cannot be seen with the naked eye, such as changes in the enemy's strength, the aura of treasures, the flow of the heavens and earth...
All can be reflected in the mind in an instant!
Why are Yuan Dao cultivators so powerful?
Not only because they can endure hardships and have the power to manipulate wind and thunder, traverse through the air, and kill enemies from a distance.
It is also because with a single sweep of their divine consciousness, they can capture numerous opportunities at the first moment, enough to annihilate the enemy before they can react!
Of course, when two cultivators with divine consciousness face off, the competition is no longer just about divine consciousness. It also involves their cultivation, treasures, techniques, and fighting methods.
In short, divine consciousness is a power that every cultivator possesses on the path of elemental cultivation, and it is quite common, nothing rare.
But to have divine consciousness in the Martial Master realm is undoubtedly like possessing a terrifying and boundless killing weapon!
All of this caught Su Yi by surprise.
In his past life's experience, he had never heard of any Martial Master who could refine divine consciousness, let alone in the Elemental Nurturing realm.
After all, martial arts were ultimately the realm of mortals, not true cultivators.
It was like an ordinary person possessing the power of a cultivator within their body, which was truly astonishing!
"Just because I hadn't heard of it before doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If it weren't for this opportunity to turn around and re-cultivate, how could I have known that divine consciousness could be condensed in the Elemental Nurturing realm?"
"And the reason I can achieve this is not only because my foundation in the Great Dao far surpasses ordinary people but also because of the wonderful use of the 'Free Transformation Scripture.'"
Su Yi pondered to himself.
Cultivation, divine soul, and physical body—these three mutually complemented and compensated for each other.
Refining the body nourishes the divine soul. A strong physical body can nourish the divine soul.
In the Great Wilderness Nine Prefectures, any cultivator who aspired to reach the "Royal Realm" would cultivate and temper their divine soul from the beginning of their cultivation journey.
However, cultivating the divine soul was extremely demanding because once the divine soul was injured, it would result in severe Dao injuries.
In top forces in the Great Wilderness Nine Prefectures, only when a disciple's body was refined to the "Elemental Nurturing Realm" would they undergo a rigorous screening and testing process. Those who met the requirements would receive one-on-one instruction on how to temper their divine soul from the senior members of the sect.
The reason Su Yi in his past life was unable to reach higher levels on the path of cultivation and was stuck at the peak of the Xuan Union Realm was not only due to insufficient luck and opportunities but also because his foundation in the divine soul was not strong enough.
Therefore, in this life, to avoid the same fate as his past life, Su Yi carefully considered and ultimately chose to use the "Free Transformation Scripture" to temper his divine soul.
This divine soul cultivation method was a profound realization he gained from the ninth layer of the divine chain sealed by the "Nine Abyssal Swords!"
Afterward, with the help of his own wisdom, he thoroughly comprehended this realization and created this secret divine soul cultivation method.
Strictly speaking, this could be considered a divine soul secret technique that he created based on his 100,000 years of cultivation experience and wisdom from his past life, combined with the realization from the sealed ninth layer of the Nine Abyssal Swords.
And now, at just the Martial Master realm, he had condensed the power of "divine consciousness." This was already enough to prove the extraordinary nature of the "Free Transformation Scripture."
It was far more profound than the "Amitabha Illuminating All Realms Scripture" of the Little Western Heaven, the "Dongtian Xuan Guang Divine Court Scripture" of one of the Four Great Daoist Canons, and others!
Otherwise, why had there never been a character in the Buddhist or Daoist sects who could condense divine consciousness in the Martial Master realm throughout countless ages?
After a while, Su Yi collected his thoughts.
"Let's try out my divine consciousness!"
With a flicker of his mind, a strand of divine consciousness swept out from his sea of knowledge.
One zhang, five zhang, ten zhang, twenty zhang...
When it reached nearly thirty zhang, no matter how much Su Yi exerted himself, the divine consciousness could no longer advance.
Undoubtedly, with his current strength of the divine soul, he could only perceive within a range of thirty zhang with his divine consciousness.
Even so, Su Yi was quite satisfied.
Because this was just the beginning!
As the divine consciousness condensed and continued to refine, this profound power of the divine soul would become stronger, and the range it could perceive would become broader.
"Not bad, not bad. Although the divine consciousness I have refined now is somewhat weaker, the rare thing is its incomparable purity and refinement. It undoubtedly lays a solid foundation for my divine soul!"
Retracting his divine consciousness, Su Yi's mood became much more pleasant.
In the past, he might have been wary of these worldly immortals.
After all, these individuals already possessed divine consciousness, making them extremely formidable opponents for someone with only Martial Master-level cultivation like him.
But now, even if a worldly immortal were to come and challenge him, he had the confidence to confront them head-on!
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sound of breaking through the air resounded.
Before it even approached, Su Yi's perception had already caught the trace of a swift sparrow.
Although the opponent's speed was as fast as lightning, under the lock of his divine consciousness, it appeared somewhat slower.
Su Yi smiled knowingly.
It wasn't that the opponent's speed had slowed down, but rather, with the divine consciousness capturing it, his own reactions had become faster than before.
"Just with this, I will have a greater advantage in battle!"
While Su Yi was contemplating, the swift sparrow had already arrived and tossed a sealed letter towards him.
Su Yi took it in his hand and read the message written on the letter:
"As Young Master Su wishes."
Seeing this, Su Yi nodded. His dissatisfaction with the Ten-Fold Pavilion had also diminished. From this sentence, he could tell that the other party was still quite sensible.
Without further delay, Su Yi continued moving forward.
The reason Su Yi chose to walk to the city of Yu Jing was not only to appreciate the scenery along the way but more importantly--
To give his enemies an opportunity to come and deal with him, Su Yi.
Therefore, Su Yi was not in a hurry. He was actually looking forward to how many enemies would dare to come looking for trouble on his way.
Time passed swiftly.
From morning till dusk, Su Yi traversed mountains and rivers. Apart from encountering some ignorant monsters and the like, he didn't come across any enemies.
Although Su Yi found it somewhat strange, he couldn't be bothered to think too much about it.
As night approached, Su Yi arrived at a mountain stream in a valley, surrounded by towering mountains.
The sky grew dim, and mist filled the air.
"Passing through these mountains, I can reach the location of the Golden Willow City in less than two days. That's much faster than I anticipated..."
Su Yi looked up at the distant mountains, preparing to continue his journey.
Suddenly--
A deafening roar of a monstrous beast resounded, shaking the forest, startling countless birds.
"Run!"
"Damn it, why have we never heard of a terrifying eighth-grade monster like the 'Firemane Goldenhorn Leopard' residing in the Bullhorn Mountains?"
"Don't waste time, hurry!"
In the distance, a group of figures rushed over in panic. There were men and women, all with terrified expressions.
Leading them was an old man in a splendid robe, followed by four young people, three men and one woman.
Su Yi glanced at them but quickly averted his gaze.
These people couldn't possibly be the enemies who wanted to deal with him.
After all, the leader in the splendid robe was merely a Martial Grandmaster at the Fourth Order.
In the Great Zhou Empire, he might be considered a peak figure among warriors, but for Su Yi at his current level, he no longer posed any threat.
No matter how foolish those enemies trying to target him were, it was unlikely they would send these people to their deaths.
In other words, this scene before him should be a random event, rather than a premeditated action aimed at him.
Thinking of this, Su Yi felt inexplicably disappointed and couldn't be bothered to pay any further attention.