Chương 54: The Vajra Seal

Among cultivators, Sword Cultivators stood at the very peak. Eight out of every ten cultivators in the world wielded a sword. But to become a true Sword Cultivator, the first step was to awaken one's own Sword Heart. Zhang Huaijin had no idea what his Sword Heart was supposed to be. So he simply kept practicing, again and again, the sword path techniques recorded in the Crimson Flame Spirit Ruins Scripture. And as time flowed on, his Sword Heart awakened on its own, as naturally as breathing.

The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram had gifted him with an extraordinarily powerful Soul. And that powerful Soul made everything easier, cultivating techniques, mastering Arts, all of it. Twice the results with half the effort. Awakening the Sword Heart was only the first step on a Sword Cultivator's path. To reach the next realm, he needed to deepen his understanding. Zhang Huaijin sat cross legged, the Azure Serenity Sword laid across his knees.

Wisps of sword light slithered across the blade like tiny dragons, flowing endlessly. Deep within his eyes, faint threads of sword light flickered, subtle, yet sharp enough to pierce the soul. Inside his Sea of Consciousness, a black and white divine millstone spun without end. Waves of Primordial Tai Chi Force surged relentlessly, tempering his Soul like hammer striking steel. By now, Zhang Huaijin's Soul had reached the Sixth Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He was only one step away from entering the late stage. And this was a young man whose main cultivation realm was still only at the Perfection stage of Qi Refining Realm. The power of the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram was nothing short of terrifying. The nine Yin Yang divine needles within him held even more staggering power, drenched in Fiendish energy, thick with bloodlust, horrifying to behold.

Over the past three years, Zhang Huaijin had continuously absorbed the blood essence of various spirit beasts. The Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art had refined his bones to an almost absurd degree. He had become a human-shaped tyrannosaur.

"It's time to break through." Zhang Huaijin, clad in white robes, murmured to himself. The blood essence of that Foundation Establishment Realm green ape had long since been extracted. The ape's inner core had been refined into a tier 2, low grade spirit artifact. Most of its corpse had been turned into forging materials. Once Zhang Huaijin advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would throw the remaining flesh into the Realm-Breaking Pearl.

His face calm, Zhang Huaijin swallowed the blood essence of the Foundation Establishment spirit beast. Boom! His body, which had been perfectly still, suddenly erupted. Beneath his white robes, his skin flushed crimson. Veins bulged like writhing serpents. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Muscles swelled like coiling dragons. A wave of terrifying killing intent exploded outward. Crack! The realm barrier shattered like glass.

Zhang Huaijin's physical body had broken through to tier 2, low grade. And even at the very first step of tier 2, his raw physical strength could already match a spirit beast at the Third Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. That was the depth of Zhang Huaijin's foundation. The power of the Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art surged through him, every bone in his body vibrating. Strands of blood qi, flowed like rivers. Then, a sudden ape roar erupted from deep within his body.

Inside one of his bones, the image of a giant green ape appeared, roaring at the sky. Then, slowly, it began to turn gold, radiant, even carrying a faint glow of Buddhist light. The ape clan's bloodline ability he had learned long ago, The Vajra Palm, began to transform. Behind Zhang Huaijin, a phantom of a green ape materialized, its massive hands forming a golden palm seal. Rumble! The entire cultivation chamber shook violently, the pressure suffocating.

A long time passed before the fluctuations inside Zhang Huaijin's body finally settled. A smile slowly spread across his face. His body cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. And his old skill, Vajra Palm, had evolved. He had awakened a Bloodline Ability, Vajra Seal. —— A Bloodline Ability, as the name suggests, was an ability born directly from one's own blood and flesh. It was immensely powerful. It consumed no spiritual energy, and its drain on physical stamina was all but negligible.

Even better, the power of a Bloodline Ability would grow alongside Zhang Huaijin as he became stronger. Zhang Huaijin had a deep intuition: the day he awakened seventy two Bloodline Abilities would be the day he awakened his Saint Body (evolved spirit body). But to awaken seventy two Bloodline Abilities… how much spirit beast blood essence would that take? Even the weakest blood essence capable of awakening a Bloodline Ability had to come from the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Zhang Huaijin sat cross legged again, his blood qi roaring. He formed a hand seal. A sliver of golden light flashed. A 3 meter golden palm seal condensed in the air before him. A piercing ape roar echoed within it. A single ordinary strike from this Vajra Seal could match the full power of a third level Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Zhang Huaijin was deeply satisfied. With a single thought, the golden light dissolved into nothing.

The offensive techniques within the Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art had also grown significantly stronger. The Hundred Demon Roar, in particular, was the technique he valued most. Sound based techniques were exceptionally rare. In the middle of a heated battle, one unexpected sonic attack could completely overturn a deadlocked fight. For high level cultivators, victory or defeat often hinged on a single moment.

Now that his body cultivation had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, Zhang Huaijin could learn three new techniques within the blood demon bone tempering art. These were true Foundation Establishment level techniques, powerful, formidable, and devastating. Zhang Huaijin's heart surged with excitement, his eyes burning with ambition. His soul cultivation and body cultivation had both reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. But the mainstream of the current cultivation world was still Qi Cultivation.

Zhang Huaijin himself was still at the Perfection stage of Qi Refining Realm. Cultivating all three paths, Qi, Body, and Soul, gave him a foundation so deep that it was almost ridiculous. And that wasn't even counting the Realm-Breaking Pearl. Zhang Huaijin felt a flicker of anticipation. After he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm… would the Realm-Breaking Pearl change again? —— Three days later. Zhang Huaijin had polished every aspect of his cultivation to perfection.

Outside his cave abode, the Purple Spirit Tiger paced back and forth, its expression stern, guarding the area with absolute focus. Its own cultivation had reached the Sixth Level of the Qi Refining Realm. The Zhang family now possessed nearly twenty Purple Spirit Tigers. And Zhang Huaijin's own tiger was unquestionably the king of the pack. Every member of the family dreamed of bonding with a Purple Spirit Tiger as their personal contracted beast.

Beyond that, the clan's Spirit Beast Garden had also welcomed many new spirit beast species. The Zhang family's beast taming techniques were advancing by leaps and bounds. After all, more than a decade had quietly passed. Unknowingly, Zhang Chongwen was now a hundred years old. A Qi Refining Realm cultivator's maximum lifespan was 120 years. Back when Zhang Chongwen had been a Rogue Cultivator, fighting every day had left him with countless hidden injuries.

But now, with the family's rise to become a Foundation Establishment Realm clan, and with their own alchemy heritage, Zhang Huaijin had refined many recovery pills. Most of the hidden injuries in Zhang Chongwen's body had already healed. In Zhang Huaijin's estimation, as long as his grandfather avoided major battles, He would live out his full natural lifespan. If they could find a Life Extending Spiritual Herb, Zhang Chongwen's life could be stretched even further.

Either way, Zhang Chongwen still had twenty years left. Even if they had a Foundation Establishment Pill right now, there was no possibility of Zhang Chongwen breaking through. The vitality and blood qi in his body had already withered by more than half. Attempting to establish his foundation would only hasten his death.