Ten Directions Sword Master

Chapter 93 The Road to Refining the Spirit

Bailu Academy.

During this period, the most popular topic in the academy has been the newly posted list of people.

The students of the academy paid the most attention to these kinds of lists. Almost as soon as the government office posted them, a copy would be sent over.

They can explain in great detail who made the list, who dropped off the list, and even if the first and second places changed.

Therefore, when this year's list of talented individuals was released, Lu Li's name appeared on it, dropping directly to 24th place, which was tantamount to throwing a bomb into the academy.

Every disciple, and even the instructors and academic leaders, were discussing this matter.

Previously, Lu Li's consecutive defeats of Luo Yunqi and Shen Qian were already astonishing enough, but after all, his cultivation level was still low, and everyone thought that he would need to cultivate for another year or two before he could break into the Human Ranking.

As a result, after a trip to a secret realm, he directly advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, becoming the first disciple of White Deer Academy to be listed on the Human Ranking in nearly twenty years.

Moreover, judging from this ranking, there is a chance for him to challenge the highest ranking of his senior brother Lin Chuge back then.

The killing of the Silver Fish Envoy and the subsequent arrest and burglary did not cause much of a stir at White Deer Academy; they were merely topics of conversation and laughed off.

The disciples who had not yet left the academy were the most arrogant group, and they did not think that offending the thief control office would have any consequences.

On the contrary, many people felt that Lu Li's ruthless and decisive nature must be due to unfair treatment.

In the past two days, new information has emerged: Yuan Guanyu's attempt to intercept Zhai Baishi failed, and Dean Yu Ziqi was also involved. Details are gradually being revealed.

Zhai Baishi unleashed his full power, displaying the brilliance of the twenty-ninth ranked official, and the Great Zhou Demon-Slaying Sword Scripture had reached its pinnacle in his hands.

Sword light flashed, the world changed color, and the sun and moon lost their light.

With each strike, the terrifying sword intent intensified, as if bringing the netherworld to the world, with endless death energy threatening to engulf everyone.

Every sword strike draws blood. After only a few moves, the Langya Wang Clan's Refining Spirit Elder was injured first, followed by Gu Jingyi. Only Yuan Guanyu himself could withstand the blows.

Otherwise, someone would die under that unknown bronze sword before even an incense stick could burn.

The Five Thunder Eagle Claw Hand strikes with lightning speed, striking pressure points and holding one's breath, dislocating tendons and bones, specifically designed to break through external martial arts techniques.

In addition, the royal family bestowed upon him a Dharma Body-level cultivation technique that tempered his Divine Thunder True Qi, making him feel numb all over upon contact, and even breaking through his protective aura.

However, when facing Zhai Baishi, he still paled in comparison and faced numerous dangers.

Yu Ziqi stepped forward at this moment, using his mid-stage Refining Spirit cultivation to connect three moves without dissipating his true energy or disrupting his techniques. The cultivation method he used was the fundamental principle of Louguan, the Chaotic Jade Pivot True Scripture.

Do nothing, yet nothing is left undone; maintain the center to manage all affairs.

Before the chaos was divided, one could refine a breath of pure and ethereal energy, which is the foundation of all alchemy and thunder techniques of the Louguan sect, and is known as the number one defensive martial art in the world.

This practice was comprehended by the seventh abbot in front of the stone wall where the Taoist patriarch was expounding scriptures, and it requires an extremely high level of mental state from the practitioner.

With Yu Ziqi joining, Zhai Baishi was unable to escape and held out until the Jiujiang Inspector arrived. Soon after, two more elders from the Lushan Sword Alliance arrived.

With all eight gathered, Zhai Baishi found himself in a real crisis, and began to suffer injuries.

Thus, the incredible scene that had already spread throughout the martial arts world unfolded: the bronze sword shattered, leaving only a wisp of black thread that was swallowed into its belly and then spat out again.

It was pure black, capable of devouring everything, enveloping all eight Refinement God experts.

The martial artist who witnessed it from a distance later described how he was unable to move at the time, stunned by a terrifying aura, and felt ice-cold from head to toe.

As time went on, it felt like the vitality was being drained away.

Until a streak of silver-white lightning tore through the darkness, Yuan Guanyu, enveloped in lightning, appeared in an instant, unleashing a thunderbolt with his claw, blasting Zhai Baishi's figure out.

Another enormous luminous figure made of lava descended from the sky, carrying countless flames, and stepped onto the earth.

Zhai Baishi spat out a mouthful of blood, jumped into the river and fled, leaving behind a large number of dead and injured Great Chu Refining God experts.

The Jiujiang Inspector and Old Man Tie were stabbed in the chest and died a few breaths later.

An elder of the Lushan Sword Alliance was pierced in the chest by a black thread and remains unconscious; his fate is unknown.

The other five were all injured and had no strength left to mention anything about intercepting Zhai Baishi.

Ranking twenty-ninth on the Earthly List is well-deserved, once again proving the prestige of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Humanity lists.

In addition, Yu Ziqi has returned to the public eye, and his past experiences have been brought up again.

The move that ultimately injured Zhai Baishi came from the "Zhu Rong Ta Yan" move of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword Manual.

Everyone felt that Yu Ziqi already possessed the strength of someone at the lower end of the Earth Ranking.

However, such siege battles were never considered valid victories by the Privy Council.

To truly make it onto the list, Yu Ziqi needs other achievements to back him up.

Meanwhile, some elders have predicted that as long as Zhai Baishi can return to the Great Zhou alive, within ten years, a new half-step Dharma Body will be added to the north.

At that time, the pressure on Great Chu will be even greater.

For Bailu Academy, the important thing is that Dean Yu Ziqi and several disciples who went to the Crimson Fire Secret Realm will be returning soon.

The martial spirit within the academy surged as a result of this event, and the Guanyu Sword Pavilion was packed every day.

"Hey, that person looks like Senior Brother Lu?"

Two young women went out together to buy some odds and ends in the city. They happened to see a carriage parked in front of the academy, and a tall, handsome figure stepped out.

"It really is! Senior Brother Lu is back—how come I never noticed how handsome he is before? In my opinion, none of the famous beauties on the Human Ranking can compare to Senior Brother Lu!"

A vibrant young girl with light freckles on her face shouted.

"You didn't even know Senior Brother Lu's name a few months ago. Besides, how many top experts on the Human Ranking have you ever met?"

Her companion rolled her eyes and pulled the freckled girl away.

Lu Li's sudden appearance at the academy gate caused a small commotion, with many disciples greeting him from afar and even approaching him to chat.

As the number of people grew, he swayed and used the Vast Void Step to rush towards the Purple Sun Courtyard.

"Good lad, you've given us a really big surprise!"

Gu Jingyu was in the courtyard, holding a small knife and working on a piece of bamboo, seemingly carving something.

Upon seeing Lu Li enter, he dropped his things and went straight to greet him.

"The official document from the Bureau of Arrest was delivered directly to the academy, and the messenger, the Silver Fish Messenger, was immediately scolded and kicked out by Dean Lin—what kind of trash is this, daring to swagger into the academy? Dean Yu is still over there fighting for his master, and here they dare to come and arrest people, do they really think our academy is without anyone?"

Gu Jingyu's attitude represents the views of the vast majority of people in the academy, even the academic leaders who are dissatisfied with Lu Li share the same attitude on this matter.

Even if the disciples of the academy are guilty, they should punish themselves; it is not the place of the thief's office to arrest them.

This government office was not established to target first- or second-tier sects.

The fact that the sect was able to arrest its most outstanding junior disciple means that the sect has fallen out of the second tier.

"I didn't want to either, but that person confiscated my weapons and seriously injured Jiang Linhai of Yuelu Academy. I dare not gamble on what would happen if I fell into their hands."

Lu Li always felt most at ease with Gu Jingyu, regardless of his cultivation level; he felt the same way even when he was in the Qi Refining stage.

"I don't know how you cultivated it, but the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword Technique has inexplicably improved by leaps and bounds. It feels like this sword technique was created by you, as if it were made by heaven? It seems I need to hurry up. Before I take the final step, you'll be halfway to the Spirit Refinement stage, and I won't even have a chance to hold my head up in the future."

Gu Jingyu said with a smile, though it was a joke, there was also a hint of self-deprecation in it.

"This disciple would like to offer my early congratulations to the Master on reaching the Refinement of Spirit realm; may your martial arts flourish!"

Lu Li's eyes lit up. Gu Jingyu had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage several years ago, and last time he revealed that he had barely caught up with Lin Chuge from ten years ago, which meant that he had already opened his spiritual platform and cultivated spiritual power.

The fact that he said this now clearly indicates that he has made progress in his attempt to break through to the Spirit Refinement Realm.

It's been about time, and he was one of the most outstanding disciples of Bailu Academy back then.

"I can't compare to Senior Brother Lin or you. Forcing the unity of heaven and man is just a waste of time. Once you realize you can't do it, you might as well start cultivating your spirit and then come out to do some things for the academy."

Seeing Lu Li's puzzled expression, Gu Jingyu knew that no one had told him this before, so he poured himself a full glass of clear wine before explaining.

Once the Foundation Establishment is complete and one cultivates spiritual power through the ancestral aperture between the eyebrows, one is able to mobilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to some extent and cause extraordinary phenomena. This is why one is called a half-step Refining God by the world.

However, there are subtle differences here, which only the direct descendants of aristocratic families and the true disciples of major sects know. Rogue martial artists are overjoyed to reach this level and often overlook it.

By the time one advances to the Refining Spirit stage and discovers that something is wrong and one's cultivation has stagnated, it is too late for regrets.

The so-called "refining the spirit" is a process of sublimation of internal energy and convergence of internal and external forces.

If one opens the spiritual platform and generates spiritual power, one can refine one's inner strength to the extreme and directly attempt to refine the spirit. After advancing, one will still need to adjust one's inner world in order to get closer to the laws of heaven and earth.

Every step forward takes a long time.

Advancing one level in cultivation every ten or twenty years is nothing unusual.

If one can comprehend the universe and achieve harmony between body and mind during the half-step Refining Spirit stage, thus attaining unity of heaven and man, although the advancement time will be later, the path after Refining Spirit will be very smooth.

The top few on the Human Ranking often remain at the half-step Refining Spirit stage for several years after they are removed from the list, not because this step is difficult for them, but because they are trying to comprehend the universe in order to achieve harmony between humanity and nature.

After a perfect advancement, his cultivation progress was the envy of everyone.

At first glance, they seemed to be lagging behind, but after a few years, they were already in the middle or even late stages of the Spirit Refinement realm, while those who rushed to advance remained at the early stage of the Spirit Refinement realm, without making any progress.

After Lin Chuge reached the half-step Refinement of Spirit, he spent three whole years adjusting his body and mind to achieve harmony between man and nature.

He stubbornly insisted on simultaneously elevating the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword Technique to lay a solid foundation for condensing his Dharma Body, which is why he chose to travel to the desert, only to die there.

"After all this explanation, you should understand the difference by now—achieving harmony between humanity and nature is certainly a good thing, but striving for perfection like Senior Brother Lin might lead you into a trap. Only you can grasp the right balance."

Gu Jingyu downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, a touch of melancholy creeping over him.

"The moon wanes after it is full, and genius is easily broken—what others say doesn't matter; only what suits you is the best path."

Lu Li nodded emphatically. Gu Jingyu was not only introducing him to the concept of the unity of man and nature.

He will come into contact with these things when his cultivation level is higher.

Instead, she wanted to use her own and Lin Chuge's experiences to tell Lu Li that on the path to refining the spirit, every choice would bring about earth-shattering changes in his future life.

Lin Chuge aspires to become a Dharma Body, and he is aiming to condense an unprecedented Four Seasons Yin-Yang Dharma Body, so he cannot tolerate any flaws on the path of refining the spirit.

Lu Li's ambitions will only grow higher.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. No matter how talented you are, it will still be a few years before you choose the path of spiritual refinement. Go find the dean. I reckon you've gained a lot in the secret realm and are eager to exchange it for credits."

Gu Jingyu wiped his mouth and threw the wine cup into a large vat in the courtyard, where hundreds of cups and saucers of all shapes and sizes floated.