Time flies, and another year has passed.
During this year, whenever Long Xuan had spare time, he would stay at the inn opposite the Qian family treasure pavilion. He used the illusionary technique from his previous world to replicate the entire treasure pavilion into an illusion. By entering this illusion, he learned all the skills within the treasure pavilion, even inadvertently acquiring the Qian family's clan techniques. The simplicity of this feat left him incredulous.
Due to his unique Ten Absolute Body constitution, which prevents him from practicing other skills, Long Xuan had to amalgamate strengths from various schools to create his own techniques. It took him an entire year just to lay the groundwork for this endeavor.
Creating one's own technique is no simple matter and requires a significant amount of time. It's not something that can be accomplished hastily; a single mistake could erase all progress. Others attempting the same feat would likely never grasp the basics, especially when tackling the most challenging skills suitable for the Ten Absolute Body.
This could be seen as narrowing the scope of Long Xuan's creation. He named his creation the "Ten Absolute Scriptures" to precisely define its boundaries, thereby exponentially increasing its difficulty. Fortunately, his "golden finger" allowed him to detect errors and conduct human experiments within the illusion. Even if these experiments caused severe physical strain, such as bleeding from all seven orifices, his real-world body remained unaffected.
If something couldn't be achieved within the illusion, it couldn't be accomplished in reality. If a task was feasible within the illusion, it could be replicated in reality. It was the synergy between the illusion and his "golden finger" that enabled Long Xuan to create techniques suitable for the Ten Absolute Body. Without these aids, his ambitious plans would have surely faltered.
Having read numerous immortal cultivation novels in his past life, Long Xuan believed in the theory of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint. This theory encompasses three cycles: the cycle of mutual restraint, repetitive cycle, and cycle of mutual generation.
Based on this theory, Long Xuan developed a technique revolving around the five elements. His own body naturally encompassed all five elements, making the five-element cycle ideal for him. This concept was considered rebellious in this world, which favored pure cultivation paths where singular attributes were celebrated as signs of genius. Techniques in this world predominantly focused on single attributes, yet Long Xuan defied convention by creating a mixed-attribute technique that went against the norm.
The power of the five-element cycle was astonishing. When these elements formed a cycle, their combined power exceeded the sum of their individual strengths. However, the solid spiritual sea of the Ten Absolute Body posed a challenge, making breakthroughs exceptionally difficult. Long Xuan aimed to use the potent impact force generated by the five-element cycle to break through this barrier and mitigate this drawback.
Thus, the concept of the Five Elements was perfectly suited for the Ten Absolute Body's practice. It was this concept that enabled him to successfully devise a method tailored for the Ten Absolute Body. Although he had only laid the foundational groundwork, with progress at a mere 3%, he understood that every endeavor starts with difficulty. Overcoming these initial challenges would pave the way for smoother progress ahead.
Having laid out his plan, Long Xuan needed to complete the three core components of his method. A formidable technique must not lack any of these elements. While he could borrow the initial route of spiritual power cultivation from Dai Meng, infusing specific spiritual attributes added complexity.
These spiritual attributes weren't the basic gold, wood, water, fire, or earth elements. Long Xuan sought to create something exceptional. He had contemplated the concept of mutating spiritual power, conducting daily experiments within the illusion to explore various spiritual power fusions. These experiments often resulted in severe injuries, with him bleeding from all seven orifices and teetering on the brink of death multiple times.
Despite these extreme experiments, which left him disabled within the illusion, the illusory nature meant his real-world body remained unscathed. It was through such relentless experimentation that Long Xuan inevitably delved into researching mutant spiritual powers.
Wood engenders fire, and greater wood yields stronger fire. Long Xuan named this intensified fire "Yan," born from the fusion of fire and wood through his daring research. Similarly, fire engenders earth, and fire combined with earth forms robust earth, resulting in the spiritual power he named "Gui." Earth engenders metal, and the fusion of earth and metal produces robust metal, known as "Zhang." Metal engenders water, and the amalgamation of metal and water generates potent water, named "Yi." Water engenders wood, and water combined with wood creates robust wood, named "Lin."
Thus, Long Xuan's five-element cycle wasn't based on the conventional gold, wood, water, fire, and earth elements but on spiritual power, Lin, Zhang, Yan, and Gui. While he wasn't certain of the strength of the mutant spiritual powers he had researched, he believed they could surpass other mutant spiritual powers.
This was merely the fusion of two attributes. Long Xuan had already outlined the practice structure, beginning with a two-attribute fusion of spiritual power, Lin, Zhang, Yan, and Gui spiritual powers at the first level. The second level would involve a three-attribute fusion of Xiu Xin, Sen, Miao, Yan, and Yao spiritual powers. The third level would incorporate a four-attribute fusion of Xiu, Lin, Zhang, Yan, and Gui spiritual powers.
It wasn't that Long Xuan didn't aspire to master these immediately. His current strength didn't permit it, and he couldn't undertake such advanced research at this time. Moreover, novices just beginning their cultivation journey couldn't immediately practice top-tier techniques.
There were several reasons for this, with the primary obstacle being the inability to open the spiritual sea in the initial stages. Early-stage Gu cultivators focused on accumulating spiritual power, while those in the Xisui period strengthened their bones and laid a solid foundation. Advancing to the Linghai period involved opening the spiritual sea.
The ultimate goal in the Out-of-Body Stage was to fortify the soul enough for complete Out-of-Body mastery. As a virtual entity, the soul could withstand most attacks. Even if a Gu cultivator's physical body in the Out-of-Body Stage was destroyed, their soul could easily escape. Those at this realm were notoriously challenging to kill, with the potential for rebirth through possession, albeit restricted to one opportunity due to various constraints.
Therefore, only upon reaching the third realm could a Gu cultivator open their spiritual sea. Before this, spiritual power resided within the meridians, which were fragile and incapable of withstanding intense spiritual energies. Even upon reaching the Linghai period, each individual's spiritual sea differed, with not all capable of accommodating top-tier mutant spiritual powers.
Such elite techniques were destined to be pursued by few. The most potent skills invariably remained in the hands of a select few, distinguishing genius from mediocrity. This disparity underscored the superiority of Long Xuan's Ten Absolute Body. Its strength lay in its rock-solid spiritual sea, capable of enduring even the most formidable energies.
Should others attempt to cultivate his five mutant spiritual powers, their spiritual seas would likely rupture, let alone accommodate all five spiritual powers simultaneously. Only a robust Ten Absolute Body could withstand such an intense regimen, a feat achievable only by the extraordinary.