Chapter 1069: Chapter 453: Swordsmanship Breakthrough—First Cycle Perfection

"Regarding Ao Guang, that foolish dragon?"

The Star King paused, his tone carrying a hint of disdain and certainty: "If he had such abilities to deceive and steal fate, the Outer Sea would have already changed its current structure; it’s simply not possible!"

The Moon God was silent for a moment, suppressing his anger, and asked, "What should we do now?"

"Fate has been repeatedly taken, which, though it does not fundamentally damage our cultivation, feels like a thorn in our side and has disrupted many of our subsequent plans."

The Star King quickly calmed down, turning his gaze back to the surging blood-colored star pool:

"The matter of fate, for my scheme, is merely icing on the cake; even without it, progress is not impossible."

"However, the cost will be greater, and the risk will be higher."

He waved his sleeve, pointing to the star pool: "The immediate priority is to use the essence of the Celestial Torture Child, combined with my Star Palace Secret Technique, to complete the bloodline transformation."

"As for the Outer Sea... After these successive changes, the other’s power has significantly expanded, and Ao Guang relies on the rules of the Outer Sea, so now the balance of power has already shifted."

"In the short term, we don’t have the strength to initiate large-scale battles again.

"For now, we must endure, consolidate the Inner Sea, and complete the bloodline transformation, which is the best strategy."

Upon hearing these words, the Moon God fell silent for a long time, eventually reluctantly conceding.

The situation was stronger than they were; the successive defeats and the loss of fate indeed wounded them and diminished their enthusiasm to pacify the Outer Sea swiftly.

Now, the only option is to take care of themselves first and plan for the future.

Inside the Star Palace’s forbidden area, the blood-colored star pool continued to surge, and the figures of the Dual Saints appeared particularly solitary and harsh by the pool.

...

Time passed over the next six months.

In the underground cave mansion on Blood Bone Island, Xu Ping was still wholeheartedly absorbing the rich gains from the recent Dao Rhyme baptism.

Besides the notable improvement in his Divine Sense, mana, and Nascent Soul, Xu Ping’s affinity for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi had once again improved.

This meant his cultivation speed would once again experience a considerable increase.

"At this speed, the time required for me to cultivate to Nascent Soul Perfection will be significantly reduced." Xu Ping’s lip curled slightly in satisfaction.

Cultivation is fundamental; the faster he can achieve Nascent Soul Perfection, the sooner he can start planning for Divinity Transformation.

However, what delighted him even more was still to come.

Along with the rapid increase in affinity for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, he found that he seemed not only to absorb Spiritual Qi passively but could actively influence and even initially control Primordial Qi within a certain range.

With a slight move of his mind, he did not mobilize his mana; instead, he guided with that mysterious sense and Divine Sense.

Instantly, within the quiet chamber, the invisible Primordial Qi started to slowly flow and gather according to his will.

At his fingertip, a small whirlwind formed out of thin air, containing not his own mana but purely wood attribute Primordial Qi that had been drawn.

Although this whirlwind was weak, its significance was extraordinary.

"Controlling Primordial Qi."

Xu Ping smiled, his eyes showing excitement.

One must know, only Divinity Transformation Cultivators can stably grasp such control over Primordial Qi.

Divinity Transformation Cultivators are powerful not just because of the qualitative change in Divine Sense Magical Power, but also due to their ability to invoke the Power of Heaven and Earth to enhance themselves, greatly increasing the power of Divine Techniques.

Previously, Xu Ping’s Sword Dao reached the Divinity Transformation Level purely by relying on his high level of Sword Dao.

And the perfect mastery of his life treasure, the Canghua Divine Wood Sword, forcefully pushed its power to a higher level.

Belonging to "approaching Dao through skill."

He himself did not truly possess the ability to freely mobilize Primordial Qi like a Divinity Transformation Cultivator.

But now, things were different.

"Although it’s currently just initial influence, with a small range and rather rough control, far from comparable to a real Divinity Transformation Cultivator... this is undoubtedly a perfect start." Xu Ping’s heart surged.

He attempted to combine this initial control over Primordial Qi with his own Sword Dao.

Without drawing his sword, he guided with thought.

Suddenly, within the quiet chamber, the weak Primordial Qi moved to gather around the sword shape he conceived in his mind.

So the invisible Sword Intent seemed to gain a trace of real ’weight’ and ’sharpness’.

"It surely works!"

Xu Ping’s heart was determined, "If I can incorporate this Primordial Qi into my sword moves in actual combat... even a slight increase could further enhance the power of my sword moves by one percent."

One percent may not seem much, but in Divinity Transformation level confrontations, sometimes a one percent gap makes the difference between life and death!

This sudden affinity and initial control over Primordial Qi were undoubtedly another unexpected joy from the recent Dao Rhyme baptism.

Providing further assurance for his combat ability, especially in sustained battles and explosive potential.

...

With this in mind, Xu Ping stood up, no longer content with a mental simulation.

As his mind moved, the Canghua Divine Wood Sword appeared in his hand.

This time, he still did not use the abundant mana within his Dantian; he merely held the Divine Sword and used his Divinity Transformation Divine Sense to draw in the surrounding faint Primordial Qi, slowly adding it to the sword.

Immediately, Xu Ping began practicing the most basic sword moves.

"Swish!"

A straight and direct thrust.

But as the sword tip passed, the air issued a subtle yet distinct tearing sound.

A short residual invisible trace marked the natural void cutting by the sword edge enhanced with Primordial Qi.

Xu Ping’s eyes lit up, his wrist turning, and his sword moves flowed: thrusting, brushing, slashing, and chopping...