Chapter 227: Foundation Establishment Divine-Sense
Mo Hua was momentarily stunned.
Mister Zhuang said, "These past few days, I reviewed the notes left by the elders of our sect who once cultivated the Celestial Evolution Art. After some study, and by comparing them with the puzzle formation you encountered, I discovered an issue."
Mo Hua's spirit was lifted, and he listened carefully.
"The bottleneck of the Celestial Evolution Art varies from person to person," Mister Zhuang said slowly.
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback. "Varies from person to person?"
"Do you remember the small annotation written in the margin of the Celestial Evolution Art manual?" Mister Zhuang asked.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and replied, "The bottleneck lies in the Divine-Sense, only a formation master may cultivate it."
"The problem lies precisely with the Divine-Sense," Mister Zhuang said as he looked at Mo Hua. "Your Divine-Sense is too strong. The stronger one's Divine-Sense, the stronger the bottleneck becomes."
Mo Hua's mouth fell open as he asked weakly, "Then if my Divine-Sense were weaker, wouldn't cultivating the Celestial Evolution Art be much smoother…?"
Mister Zhuang looked at him with a faint smile. "If your Divine-Sense is weak, then the bottleneck will also be weak, but the effect of the technique will likewise be weak."
Mo Hua thought about it. The Celestial Evolution Art enhanced Divine-Sense acuity and control, allowing faster and more precise formation drawing. Yet his own Divine-Sense was already exceptional, so even if the benefits were slightly reduced, it did not seem to matter much.
"Are you thinking that Divine-Sense control isn't all that important?" Mister Zhuang saw through Mo Hua's thoughts.
Mo Hua nodded honestly.
Mister Zhuang said, "The purpose of the Celestial Evolution Art is to resolve puzzle formations within the Sea of Consciousness, thereby refining one's control over Divine-Sense. The more complex the formation one unravels, the sharper one's Divine-Sense control becomes after each breakthrough."
Mister Zhuang's expression turned contemplative. "Control over Divine-Sense is of great importance, not only to formation masters but to cultivators in general. It determines how quickly you can draw formations and how swiftly you can cast spells."
To put it simply: the more proficient one becomes, the faster the formations are drawn, and the quicker spells can be unleashed.
Mo Hua nodded. "Then this cultivation method is quite powerful, isn't it?"
"As I said before, it depends on the individual," Mister Zhuang replied, his gaze sharpening slightly. "The stronger the Divine-Sense, the more this technique serves as wings to a tiger. The weaker the Divine-Sense, the more it becomes an empty ornament."
Mo Hua's eyes brightened.
His Divine-Sense was certainly not weak, in fact, it was very strong.
It seemed his earlier choice had been correct. The Celestial Evolution Art was indeed the most suitable technique for him.
Just as pride began to swell in his chest, Mister Zhuang doused it with a bucket of cold water.
"Although the stronger your Divine-Sense, the greater the technique's effect, the bottleneck will be equally stronger. The puzzle formation you must resolve will also be more complex."
Mo Hua frowned.
Mister Zhuang continued, "When you were at mid-stage Qi-Refining, the formation within your Sea of Consciousness was already a first-grade composite formation. If you wish to break through to Foundation Establishment, what level of formation must you now unravel?"
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat. "Don't tell me… a Grand Formation?"
"Not necessarily. Strictly speaking, Grand Formations still fall under the first-grade category, but they are not what a first-grade formation master should yet attempt."
"Sir, am I able to study Grand Formations now?" Mo Hua asked.
"Not yet."
"Oh." Mo Hua nodded.
Since Mister Zhuang had said so, he would not overreach.
The immediate concern was still the bottleneck in the cultivation method.
Mo Hua asked, "If the stronger my Divine-Sense, the stronger the bottleneck, then how can I ever break through to Foundation Establishment?"
Mister Zhuang gave him a faint glance. "It is simple. You must make your Divine-Sense even stronger."
Mo Hua's brow furrowed deeper. He realized a problem. "Sir, if the stronger my Divine-Sense, the stronger the bottleneck, then no matter how strong my Divine-Sense grows, the bottleneck will always increase in step. In that case, would simply strengthening my Divine-Sense truly allow me to break through?"
Mister Zhuang's gaze sharpened slightly. "That is why your Divine-Sense must exceed its limits."
Mo Hua's heart trembled. "The limits of Qi-Refining and Foundation Establishment?"
"Correct," Mister Zhuang nodded.
"How large is the difference between the Divine-Sense of the Qi-Refining and Foundation Establishment stages?" Mo Hua asked.
Mister Zhuang explained, "The spiritual power of a cultivator can be quantified through the circulation of meridians, but Divine-Sense is difficult to standardize. One of the common methods is to measure it by the range within which one's Divine-Sense can extend."
"For most Qi-Refining cultivators, Divine-Sense can extend between ten and twenty zhang. Those with stronger Divine-Sense reach farther; those weaker, less so."
Mo Hua nodded. He often took advantage of his stronger Divine-Sense to extend his spell range, gaining an edge in battle.
"However, this method is not exact. Some cultivators are naturally able to extend their Divine-Sense farther, though its strength is average, while others may have limited range yet possess a deep and solid Sea of Consciousness."
"The most accurate measure of Divine-Sense," Mister Zhuang continued, "is through formation drawing."
"Formation drawing?" Mo Hua was momentarily stunned. "You mean, by counting formation runes?"
"Exactly." Mister Zhuang nodded. "Just as formation masters gauge formation grades by the number of runes, one can also measure Divine-Sense strength by the number of runes one is capable of drawing."
"A Qi-Refining cultivator who can draw one rune possesses a one-rune Divine-Sense; two runes, a two-rune Divine-Sense, and so on. Reaching nine runes represents the limit of the Qi-Refining stage."
Mo Hua pondered quietly. "Then a Foundation Establishment cultivator possesses a ten-rune Divine-Sense?"
Mister Zhuang nodded.
"So it's only one rune apart?" Mo Hua was stunned.
Mister Zhuang smiled faintly. "It may appear to be a single rune, yet the Divine-Sense strength differs by an entire magnitude."
Mo Hua was shocked. "That much of a difference?"
Mister Zhuang explained, "When a Qi-Refining cultivator breaks through to Foundation Establishment, their spiritual power undergoes a qualitative refinement, and their Divine-Sense doubles. Thus, the Divine-Sense used by a Foundation Establishment cultivator to draw a second-grade formation is already twice that of a ninth-level Qi-Refining cultivator."
"Nine-rune Qi-Refining, ten-rune Foundation Establishment. Only by doubling one's nine-rune Divine-Sense can it reach the ten-rune level."
"This doubling gap," Mister Zhuang concluded, "is the limit of Divine-Sense, the chasm that cultivators cannot ordinarily cross."
Mo Hua's heart shook violently. No wonder he had always felt that after reaching the ninth level as a first-grade formation master, further progress in Divine-Sense seemed like staring into an endless fog, boundless and unreachable.
So the gulf was that vast, the divide that deep.
"Then… is it possible for a Qi-Refining cultivator to possess the Divine-Sense of the Foundation Establishment stage?" Mo Hua asked softly.
"It is possible," Mister Zhuang said, giving Mo Hua a meaningful look.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it was possible, that was enough.
Then his heart gave a sudden jolt, and he understood.
"Could it be that only by possessing the Divine-Sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator can I resolve the puzzle formation, break through the bottleneck, and step into Foundation Establishment?"
Mister Zhuang, seeing that he had grasped the point, nodded.
"Indeed. The stronger your Divine-Sense, the stronger the bottleneck, but no matter how strong the bottleneck, it remains within the realm of the Qi-Refining stage. Once your Divine-Sense surpasses the limit of Qi-Refining, you will naturally overcome it. This means…"
Mister Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and said slowly,
"Other cultivators must first break through to Foundation Establishment before they gain the Divine-Sense of that stage. You are different. You must first possess the Divine-Sense of Foundation Establishment before you can become a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
(End of Chapter)