Elven cultivators

Supernatural powers are the methods of applying the laws of heaven and earth.

If the method of approaching divinity is merely a crude application of the laws of heaven and earth, it is like an infant wielding a sledgehammer—possessing immense strength but lacking any method or technique.

That supernatural power is a combat technique formed by meticulously refining and repeatedly tempering the power of laws.

It has a complete cultivation system and a clear path to advancement.

Those who cultivate supernatural powers have a level of control over the laws of heaven and earth that far surpasses that of those who "use instinctively" at the Foundation Establishment Perfection or Golden Peak stages.

The latter is at best an introductory exercise in supernatural powers, a transitional means to lay the foundation for future cultivation of supernatural powers at a lower level.

For example, the Yin-Yang Heavy Water is related to the Northern Dark True Water.

The Northern Darkness True Water is said to be a hidden abyss, dark and gloomy, capable of holding all the waters of the world.

This is not an exaggeration.

The Northern Darkness True Water is one of the top supernatural abilities in the Golden Core stage.

When attacking, it can transform into a towering wave to crush the enemy formation.

If you are punctual, you can transform into a dark abyss of water that devours all attacks.

Even more mysteriously, the Northern Darkness True Water possesses the ability to "absorb water".

It can absorb water-based attacks released by enemies, converting them into nutrients to strengthen itself.

If you drag the enemy into the water, you can use the power of the water to wear down their life force and magic power, causing them to sink and perish silently without any chance to struggle.

If the weight of the dark, heavy water lies in the word "heavy," then a single drop can possess immense power, using force to overcome skill.

The Northern Darkness True Water emphasizes the concept of "momentum," not relying on brute force to win, but rather using its vast waters to trap, eliminate, and annihilate the enemy.

The former is like a mountain, the latter like the sea.

Their strengths are on completely different levels.

With this in mind, Anton sat down cross-legged again and focused his mind on his dantian.

The Golden Elixir has been formed, and the Qi Sea is no longer what it used to be.

The crystal-like elixir sank into the center, slowly rotating. With each rotation, fine, five-colored rays of light seeped from the surface of the elixir, like starlight flowing in the void.

It is then quickly reabsorbed by the elixir body, repeating the cycle endlessly.

This is magic.

Upon closer inspection, one can also discover that the Golden Core is surrounded by a layer of faint, five-colored mist, resembling smoke and haze.

This is Dan Sha.

After a cultivator successfully condenses their golden core, if they wish to advance further, they must gradually transform the evil energy surrounding the golden core into magical power.

During this process, the magical power of a Golden Core cultivator will gradually increase.

Since Dan Sha is also known as the shell of the Golden Elixir, this process is also called breaking through the shell barrier.

The higher the grade of the Golden Core, the more Dan Sha (energy evil) it contains, and the more difficult it is to break through the shell barrier.

However, once successful, the amount of magical power one can wield will increase, and the power of one's own supernatural abilities will also increase.

A cultivator who breaks through the shell barrier is a Golden Core Stage 2 cultivator.

After that, as long as you successfully condense the true seal of magical power, you can advance to the third level of the Golden Core stage.

Above that is the Nascent Soul stage.

However, breaking through the shell barrier and condensing the true seal of magical power are still far away for Anton, who has just broken through.

He gathered his thoughts and focused his attention on the few drops of dark, heavy water that were quietly suspended above his dantian.

With a slight thought, a few drops of dark, heavy water leaped from his dantian and hovered above his palm.

He took a deep breath and began to circulate the refining method of the Northern Darkness True Water.

The magical power surged from the golden core, flowing along the meridians to the palm, enveloping each drop of dark, heavy water within it, merging them into one.

Anton had long ago comprehended the cultivation method of the Northern Darkness True Water, and with the Netherworld Heavy Water of the same origin as his water seed, the refining process, though bumpy, ultimately proceeded smoothly.

As magical power surged in, the dark water droplet grew rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the same time, its color is also gradually changing.

It is no longer a pure black like ink jade, but presents a deeper, mysterious color that seems to devour light.

Before long, a secluded lake surrounded Anton.

The waters are vast and boundless, with large, surging currents, but unlike the deep sea, they are quiet and still, without any power or force.

Upon closer inspection, however, it gives one the illusion of being vast and boundless, as if it could swallow up the heavens and the earth.

Anton gazed at the dark waters around him, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Although it is still in its infancy and far from being the true Northern Darkness True Water, its power already far surpasses that of the Netherworld Heavy Water.

Now he has another powerful trump card.

Moreover, this trump card still has a lot of room for growth.

When it is fully mastered, its power will probably be no less than that of flying sword techniques.

Coming back to his senses from his joy, An Dong withdrew the Northern Darkness True Water and returned it to his dantian, nurturing it with his magical power.

His gaze then fell on the sword pellet in front of him, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

If each supernatural power represents a law of heaven and earth, then when it evolves to its ultimate form, it becomes a Dao.

Then the way of the sword is also a way.

Among all cultivation methods, the sword has always occupied a unique and lofty position.

It is not a simple weapon, nor a lowly technique, but a "Great Dao" that points directly to the origin of heaven and earth.

Cultivators sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through sword pellets, comprehend the profound principles of the Great Dao through sword intent, and evolve the changes of Yin and Yang through sword light.

The ultimate goal of swordsmanship is not to make the sword faster or sharper, but to make the sword light contain a profound understanding and application of the laws of heaven and earth.

One sword controls life and death; a solitary path carries yin and yang.

This statement reveals the true essence of swordsmanship.

The saying "One sword controls life and death" means that sword cultivators completely entrust their lives to a single sword strike.

This does not mean that sword cultivators rely solely on a single sword, but rather that all of a sword cultivator's cultivation, will, and Dao heart are condensed into a single sword pellet.

As long as the sword is there, the person is there; if the sword is gone, the person is gone.

But more importantly, when a swordsman draws his sword, he is 'determining life and death' on behalf of heaven and earth—with a single strike, the fate of the enemy is already decided.

This absolute control over 'life and death' makes swordsmanship one of the cultivation methods closest to the fundamental laws of heaven and earth.

The concept of "a solitary path carrying yin and yang" reveals a deeper philosophical meaning of swordsmanship.

Kendo is a solitary path.

Sword cultivators do not rely on external objects or complicated magical artifacts; they travel the world solely with the sword in their hands.

But this "isolated path" can "carry both Yin and Yang".

The Yin and Yang here do not refer to the two energies of Yin and Yang alone, but rather to the three thousand Great Daos.

The numerous documents in the Great Dao Jade Slip outline the Dao of the sword into three paths based on the different laws governing them and the understanding of the Dao.

The first is the Killing Sword.

This is the most dangerous of the three roads.

Its core concept is "With a single sword strike, nothing is left uncut."

It doesn't pursue fancy variations, but only absolute killing power.

The ultimate killing sword, no matter how many magical treasures or supernatural powers you possess, I can destroy them all with a single strike.

The essence of the Killing Sword is actually a pure understanding of the laws of life and death.

For example, the Killing Sword has a supernatural power called "One Thought Annihilation Sword".

They are said to be able to kill enemies in the blink of an eye.

This is not a physical kill, but a decision that determines the life or death of an opponent in the blink of an eye, touching upon the very essence of the laws of life and death.

If he had to describe it, Anton felt that this supernatural ability was somewhat similar to the spell "Death Finger".

If the enemy's will and spirit are not strong enough, they will die instantly.

Of course, the level of One Thought Sword is many levels higher than that of Death Finger.

In addition, there is the "Severing of Spirits and Absolute Separation".

It can sever all spiritual energy within a thousand feet with a single stroke.

With a single sword strike, all techniques of concealment, clones, and transformation were rendered useless and annihilated.

This is also a way of utilizing the laws of life and death, only the target is not intelligent beings.

The second path of Kendo is Extreme Sword.

The Extreme Sword School takes a different path—maximizing speed.

Their tactical philosophy is "In all martial arts, speed is the only way to break through defenses."

As long as my sword is fast enough, you can't defend against it.

As long as I'm fast enough, you won't be able to catch me.

What they seek is absolute initiative: to fight when they want to fight, and to leave when they want to leave.

The core divine power of the Extreme Sword, "Heaven and Earth in Harmony," pushes speed to an unbelievable level.

No matter where the sword light splits and goes, as long as it remains within this world, it can instantly disappear and go there.

This means that a swordsman can ignore spatial distance and teleport from one end of the battlefield to the other in an instant, or appear at the location of multiple sword lights at the same time.

There is also a supernatural power called "咫尺天涯" (Zhǐchǐtiānyá), which demonstrates the manipulation of spatial distance.

With a thought, the sword light can instantly appear a hundred feet away, rendering spatial distance meaningless.

The enemy didn't even have time to react before the attack came.

Whether it's being as close as heaven and earth or as close as a stone's throw away yet worlds apart, it's clear that the core of the laws of space has been touched upon.

The final path for sword cultivators is to transform into a sword.

The path of the Transformation Sword is different from that of the Killing Sword and the Ultimate Sword.

Its core is the differentiation of sword light.

From the initial single sword pellet, it branched into two, four, eight... and eventually thousands upon thousands of sword lights.

Once the sword strikes are unleashed, they become overwhelming, like a raging storm, unstoppable.

It looks exactly like the splitting and separating technique that Anton is currently cultivating, but the essence is different.

The sword light that is separated by the splitting and recombining of light is just sword light, a weapon capable of attacking.

Each sword light that splits from the transformed sword is like an independent magic weapon, capable of attacking, defending, and casting spells and supernatural powers independently.

When practiced to a high level, it can transform into billions of sword lights and trillions of stars, and can also integrate thousands of Taoist techniques to evolve into infinitely wonderful uses.

Its ultimate goal is to "transform all laws with one sword".

The Sword Transformation Dao has no specific supernatural power, but when cultivated to a high level, each sword light can integrate Daoist techniques and supernatural powers.

It can be said that the art of sword transformation is itself a kind of supernatural power.

In general, the three paths of sword cultivation represent three different understandings of the Great Dao.

The killing sword represents the laws of life and death.

The Extreme Sword represents the laws of space.

The sword symbolizes inclusiveness, transforming one into myriad things and integrating all methods.

All three paths lead to the same destination, ultimately pointing to the understanding and application of the great principles of heaven and earth.

However, in comparison, the Killing Sword and the Extreme Sword pursue a single ultimate goal.

The transformation of the sword, on the other hand, is the pursuit of the infinite possibilities contained within its myriad transformations.

This was also the main reason why Anton initially chose to cultivate the "Star Luo Sword Scripture" and follow the path of sword transformation.

Of course, he also doesn't intend to give up the other two paths.

Because if one wants to reach the highest level of swordsmanship, the "Heart Sword" level, it is impossible to cultivate any one path alone.

Only by integrating these three paths can one possibly reach this level.