Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-193

NETS – Chapter 193 – Divine Ability

Avatar Realm!

In the eyes of most cultivators, this was an unattainable realm, and a sect’s decisive power.

While Jiang Tian-Ling’s advancement shocked the monster cultivators and boosted the human cultivators’ morale, only the Xuan Ling Sect cultivators had mixed feelings.

It had long been rumored that Zhen Ling Sect had more Great Ancestors than Xuan Ling Sect, and the latter was still the number one sect only because it had a Great Ancestor in the Late Avatar Realm.

But now that Zhen Ling Sect had another Great Ancestor, one who was young and talented, Xuan Ling Sect’s position in the North Ocean Alliance was in jeopardy.

Jiang Tian-Lin’s intervention reversed the situation on Golden Jiao Island. He and Golden Jiao Lord flew high up into the clouds to fight, disappearing from view in a matter of moments.

The battle soon began.

A loud bang resounded as Golden Jiao Island’s great protective array formation was broken by the human array masters. The human cultivators charged ahead to besiege the island and the monster cultivators charged out to defend.

The battle lasted for two days.

The human cultivators came prepared after all, so they eventually gained the upper hand. The monster cultivators were forced to retreat back to the Golden Jiao Palace in the center of the island.

After several unsuccessful attacks, the human cultivators withdrew from Golden Jiao Island and prepared to leave the monster race sea, fearful that reinforcements from the monster race would arrive soon.

By the time Lu Ping heard the news, the human cultivators were already withdrawing from the monster race sea. But while making their way back, they clashed frequently with wave after wave of reinforcements, greatly delaying their evacuation speed.

Ultimately, the North Ocean Alliance seized the absolute victory in the battle.

More than thirty monster Enlightened Masters were killed, at the expense of nearly twenty human Enlightened Masters. In addition, both races had lost countless Blood Condensation Realm cultivators.

Lu Ping regretted that he wasn’t able to contribute his strength or witness the appearance of the two Great Ancestors. Just hearing the news alone made his blood boil in agitation.

But he forced himself to calm down. Other than the Avatar Realm Great Ancestors, individual strength was insignificant in a massive battle like this. One would have to be a Mid Core Forging Enlightened Master at the very least to ensure their own safety.

After calming himself down, Lu Ping prepared to fuse the Million Poisons Pulp into his [Water Sky Curtain], a type of divine ability recorded in [North Ocean Wave Listening Scripture].

Generally, there were two methods to attain divine abilities. The first was by attaining it through a skill. When a cultivator practiced a skill beyond the state of intent to a new stage, the skill would transcend into a divine ability. The strength of this divine ability is not fixed and varies from person to person, relevant to the depth and power of the cultivator’s attainment.

The other method of attainment was through fusing heaven-and-earth spirit items into one’s own arcane energy, with the goal to strengthen a specific spell or technique. This would then become the cultivator’s divine ability, its strength depending on the cultivator’s control and mastery over the spell or technique.

Lu Ping was now trying to cultivate the second type of divine ability.

According to the [North Ocean Wave Listening Scripture], the [Water Sky Curtain] could be fused with any heaven-and-earth spirit waters. When the [Water Sky Curtain] fuses with three types of heaven-and-earth spirit waters, it would become a divine ability known as the [Heavenly Curtain Aegis], which was said to be extremely powerful.

Coincidentally, the Million Poisons Pulp was one of the best types of spirit water, so it was perfect for fusing with the [Water Sky Curtain].

Lu Ping cast the [Water Sky Curtain] and merged it with a tiny portion of the vaporized Million Poisons Pulp according to the cultivation method.

To his surprise, the entire process went smoothly. It was far less tedious and much easier than stated in the cultivation method.

Lu Ping thought about it. Perhaps his experience in the Canyon of Sullied Gold was proving useful. Back then, he had used the [Water Sky Curtain], along with the snake trio, to resist the golden fog. This experience had most likely raised the [Water Sky Curtain]’s compatibility with the Million Poisons Pulp.

Pleased, Lu Ping then used the [Water Manipulation Art] to extract a drop of Million Poisons Pulp, slowly refining it into the [Water Sky Curtain] according to the cultivation method.

After the Million Poisons Pulp was fused with the [Water Sky Curtain], Lu Ping could feel a slight strengthening of his aegis energy. Then, he continued to fuse the Million Poisons Pulp into the [Water Sky Curtain] drop by drop.

Eventually, Lu Ping had fused 1,296 drops of Million Poisons Pulp, using up almost half of the large jar that he’d brought back.

Now, the azure-colored [Water Sky Curtain] was dyed with a faint gold, and there were clouds flowing on the surface of the protective barrier. Moreover, he could detect a unique fragrance emitting from the barrier.

The strength of the [Water Sky Curtain] was brought closer to a top-grade mystic instrument, comparable in strength to Lu Ping’s Umbra. If he were to use both in battle, his defensive strength would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

In addition, the Million Poisons Pulp in the [Water Sky Curtain] could also corrode and damage the enemy’s arcane energy and mystic instruments—this would greatly reduce Lu Ping’s pressure in battle.

Of course, as one of the strongest poisons in the world, the Million Poisons Pulp could resist almost every kind of toxin. As such, Lu Ping would be indirectly immune to such contaminations.

Ten days later, Lu Ping finally finished cultivating the [Water Sky Curtain].

At this time, the battle on Golden Jiao Island was nearing its end and most cultivators had retreated from the monster race sea and returned to their respective sects.

At the sea border, another massive battle had broken out between the monster cultivators in pursuit and the human cultivators who came to fetch their allies.

However this time, the monster race was not at a disadvantage, and both sides suffered heavy casualties in the battle.

When Lu Ping left his closed-door cultivation, the cultivators from Huang Li Island had already started to return—Lu Ping was anxious to know the state of Hu Lili and his friends.

But before he could look for them, a message sword once again summoned him to Tian Ling Mountain.

This time, Lu Ping was summoned by his Second Senior Martial Sister, Li Xuan-Ru.

This was Lu Ping’s first time in his senior sister’s cave-dwelling. In fact, it was not so much of a cave-dwelling but a small farm.

Li Xuan-Ru had built a few thatched huts and a fenced wall, around which many fields had been tilled to plant spirit herbs and even fruits and vegetables.

When he entered the small farm, he found that he was not the only one present. The third, fourth and seventh senior martial sisters were also in attendance. Those absent were Sixth Senior Sister Dong Zi-Yu (who was in closed-door cultivation), as well as Eighth Senior Sister Leng Zi-Qian and Tenth Junior Sister Jiang Zi-Xuan who were both part of the operation in the monster race sea.

Seeing Lu Ping arrive, Enlightened Master Li Xuan-Ru smiled and said, “Ninth has arrived, Sixth is still in seclusion, Eighth is battling on Golden Jiao Island—I wonder if she has returned? As for Tenth, I heard that she sneaked out with her father to Golden Jiao Island. I’m sure nothing will go wrong if she stays close to her father.”