Chapter 368: Advanced Ether Art

Within the Middle Land World, amidst the towering peaks west of the Zhong Continental City, was a region shrouded in perpetual mist and clouds. It was completely enveloped by an array spanning hundreds of li.

Wu Yuan was still unable to understand the reason behind the severed connection of the teleportation array, hence he continued to exercise caution. While his qi refiner self ventured afar, his body refiner self remained in the Middle Land, dedicating most of his time to quiet meditation within the Yanqing Hall and occasionally spending time with his family.

After all, the teleportation array stood as the sole proven passage between the Middle Land and the greater world beyond!

The meditation chamber within the Yanqing Hall was spacious and mostly empty. Here, a young man with short-cropped hair sat atop a jade platform in the center, his torso bared to reveal skin as smooth and pale as fine jade, muscles sculpted with precision akin to a master craftsman's hand.

Massive waves of vital aura surged around him. Strings of cryptic symbols formed, wove, and concentrated on his flesh. This ever-growing tapestry of cryptic patterns strengthened his vital aura, which grew vast and limitless.

It was as if he was undergoing a metamorphosis of life itself!

The mere pressure exuded by his body was so terrifying that if a Qi Sea immortal cultivator stood before him at that moment, they would fall to their knees in worship.

As the cryptic patterns continued to manifest, Wu Yuan, seated in the lotus position, felt a subtle transformation take hold. His skin acquired a faint bronze hue. The mysterious cryptic patterns branded into his flesh, his musculature, and blood. His body began transforming from the most fundamental level, and his physical strength continued to rise!

Celestial Body.

Wu Yuan’s eyes were closed in serene contemplation, his heart still save for one lingering image.

A star—a radiant beacon in the vast expanse of void.

Boundless pressure emanated from that sovereign of the cosmos. Wu Yuan’s consciousness was immersed in Visualization.

As he meditated, he gained numerous insights into the various profundities of the star, each realization causing new intricate cryptic patterns to form on his body.

This scene of the cosmos was precisely the imprint of the advanced ether art: True Celestial Body from the inheritance memories.

Ether arts served as the foundation of a body refiner’s power, the reason they could dominate worlds. It was a powerful ability that required the integration of various parts of one’s body. This put a heavy burden on the cultivator’s body. Furthermore, one had to comprehend the profundities of various ether arts. Therefore, it was extremely difficult for a body refiner to learn a new ether art.

The first ether art that Wu Yuan's body refiner self learned was Eldritch Form, which could greatly enhance his overall strength.

After stepping into the Spiritual Body phase, his body and soul chamber were further strengthened, allowing him to learn more and stronger ether arts.

If I only had fourth or fifth-degree eldritch tattoos, I would only be able to cultivate one basic ether art upon reaching the Spiritual Body phase. But with second-degree eldritch tattoos, I can not only cultivate another basic ether art, but also an advanced ether art.

The levels of ether arts could be categorized into basic, advanced, and grand!

Grand ether arts were pursued even by Archeldritches, who would focus on cultivating and studying them over many years. Each grand ether art, when practiced to its extremes, could allow one to dominate numerous spacetimes.

If one managed to make some progress in advanced ether arts, they would far surpass those who could only execute basic ether arts, astonishing others with their power.

Ordinary body refiners struggled to cultivate even a single ether art.

Meanwhile, thanks to Wu Yuan’s eldritch inheritance, he had access to numerous ether arts, providing him with a multitude of options.

After deliberating with the realm master for the last few years, Wu Yuan chose to cultivate the ‘True Celestial Body’.

Advanced ether arts contain insights into the soul chamber, body, and the profundities of the Dao, and must not be casually cultivated. To cultivate the True Celestial Body to full mastery, one must understand the Celestial Body Dao at a deep level.

This advanced ether art greatly suited him.

Above all else, this is a self-preservation and defense-oriented ether art.

Little Black excels in speed and movement techniques. If I cultivate an ether art that focuses on defense, it will greatly improve our self-preservation abilities when we combine our strengths to face enemies!

Having been through so much, Wu Yuan became increasingly aware that staying alive was the most important thing on the path of cultivation. Only by staying alive could one achieve their goals! Once dead, everything was in vain.

Wu Yuan had chosen to cultivate the True Celestial Body long ago. Yet despite his deep understanding of the Celestial Body Dao and robust immortal root, it took him several years to grasp it at a rudimentary level.

Time passed.

Boom!

With the emergence of the ether art’s cryptic patterns, Wu Yuan's entire being trembled. His musculoskeletal structure, blood, flesh, and every aspect of his being evolved and strengthened. His bones grew sturdier and his muscles grew tougher!

His internal organs strengthened and his skin turned as durable as protective armor. Relatively weak spirit weapons wouldn't even leave a mark on his skin...

While he had yet to make a breakthrough in his eldritch ether and cultivation phase, the cultivation of the advanced ether art had caused a monumental transformation in Wu Yuan's body refiner self.

It felt like he was evolving into a higher life form.

This process lasted for ten whole days!

I have finally succeeded.

Wu Yuan opened his eyes slowly, his pupils appearing brighter than before. Without hesitation, he summoned a heavy earthy-yellow battle saber into his hand.

Let’s test it out.

Wu Yuan gripped the saber with his right hand, channeling all his power into it.

The blade sliced through the air, striking his left arm heavily.

The resilient skin on his arm split open, revealing a visible wound. Blood spilled freely.

A surge of eldritch ether emanated from him, and the wound on his hand quickly healed.

Haha! Even though I exerted my full power and wielded a third-grade spirit saber, my strike only left a shallow wound.

Wu Yuan smiled with satisfaction.

His body refiner had reached the fourth-stage Spiritual Body phase. The combination of his strength and the saber's power could easily shatter even low-grade spirit equipment.

His body had now become a fortress, nearly impenetrable to harm.

When I don the eldritch armor, my defense will be unparalleled among those of the same phase.

Wu Yuan's excitement was palpable.

Even though he knew advanced ether arts were powerful, he was still shocked by its effects when he actually cultivated one. With this, his strength had multiplied several times over.

Sword cultivators relied on their lifebound flying swords and sword arrays, and were known to excel in killing. Meanwhile, body refiners were known as war deities due to their mastery of ether arts.

For a sword cultivator, each upgrade of their lifebound flying swords requires a large number of treasures. Meanwhile, the cultivation of this True Celestial Body does not require additional treasures, at least for the first three levels.

It was only upon reaching the fourth level that he needed the core of a star to temper his body.

However, Wu Yuan was not worried about that at all. Typically, those cultivating the fourth level were at the Elysian Field phase. Currently, he had just cultivated the first level.

One step at a time.

According to the teachings, when one reaches the pinnacle of the True Celestial Body, one will transform into a Heavenly Star, where body, soul, and spirit become perfectly fused as one, unshakeable.

Wu Yuan felt a strong yearning in his heart.

The thought of what such power would entail was beyond Wu Yuan's imagination. It was a true advancement of one’s body towards a celestial body.

The second level is still beyond my current level of understanding. But even the first level has proven to greatly increase my physical strength.

Wu Yuan rose to his feet.

It was time to put his body to the test.

Though he was still at the fourth-stage Spiritual Body phase, Wu Yuan sensed that the power he could unleash had grown to an even more frightful degree.

However, this ether art seems to take a toll on both my body and soul chamber.

Wu Yuan analyzed.

Cultivating another ether art would not be an easy task.

For my third ether art, I will cultivate the Four-Armed Form.

Wu Yuan quickly made up his mind.

This was an attack-based ether art. Though it was a basic ether art, it could later evolve into the advanced ether art: Three-Headed Eight-Armed Form, and the grand ether art: Nine-Armed Eldritch Progenitor.

But to cultivate the Four-Armed Form, I must first reach the seventh-stage Spiritual Body phase.

Wu Yuan chose caution over haste.

The strain on his soul chamber from cultivating the True Celestial Body was immense.

Just as how heavy stress could cause a structure to collapse with the slightest added load, exceeding the body and soul chamber's limit when cultivating ether arts could lead to the collapse of the soul chamber.

By then, regrets would serve no purpose once the damage was done.

With a graceful step, the layer of dirt on Wu Yuan's form disintegrated, then white robes draped over him, granting him an air of authority.

Beneath the robes, the earthy-yellow eldritch armor clung to his body like a second skin.

As Wu Yuan emerged from Yanqing Hall, A dark streak of light streaked towards him, coiling around his arm before lifting its head.

"Master," Little Black chirped eagerly, “You’ve mastered the True Celestial Body?"

Wu Yuan nodded with a faint smile. "The first level."

"Ah, as expected of Master. You are so much more amazing than me," Little Black lamented with a sigh. "I've cultivated the basics of Deity Step long ago, but I’ve yet to grasp Realm Crossing after all these years."

"Take your time, there's no rush," Wu Yuan reassured, stroking Little Black's head gently.

Realm Crossing was an advanced ether art for enhancing the movement of either a pair of legs or wings, greatly surpassing Deity Step.

Once successfully cultivated, the already incredible agility and speed of the Teng Snake would only grow more terrifying. At that time, even an Amethyst Cradle Reverand would have a hard time capturing it.

"Are we heading to the Xin Continent, Master?" Little Black inquired.

"Mm," Wu Yuan nodded. "The spiritual tide approaches, more fierce than any previous one in history. The Spiritless Region has been rapidly receding. The passage to the Xin Continent is about to open, and no one knows what will happen next."

“As the ruler of the Middle Land, it is my duty to monitor the area frequently.” Wu Yuan said in a deep voice.

Little Black gave a small nod, a glint of determination in its eyes.

It did not fully grasp the concept of responsibility. All it knew was that wherever Wu Yuan went, it would follow.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan and Little Black soared into the sky. The array below them activated, and streams of light entered the mist.

With four puppets guarding the area, it should be fine.

Wu Yuan thought.

Wu Yuan rode the Teng Snake, streaking through the air towards the Xin Continent with incredible speed. In a single breath, it could cross nearly 1000 li.

Below them, the land stretched endlessly, filled with bustling life and rising smoke from houses.

For more than two decades since the establishment of the Wu Empire, the world has been at peace. I can only hope that the upcoming spiritual tide will not be too harsh, and that we have the capacity to endure whatever comes.

However, it may also afford me the opportunity to explore the world beyond the Middle Land, to see what the Summerpeak World is like.

Perhaps, I will discover alternate paths to leaving the Summerpeak World.