Innate Divine Ability

Reflected in her eyes was the dancing flame, and Shi Yu could sense the immense potential contained within it.

Like the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame, it had detached from the main body and was not as powerful as its source. Yet it shared a connection with the origin of all flames in heaven and earth, being the purest fire essence. One day, it too would grow into an imposing and vast existence equal to its source.

Raising her hand, Shi Yu composed her mind and slowly guided the flame hovering above her palm into her forehead.

Red light intertwined like delicate threads, docilely filtering into her forehead bit by bit.

Her spiritual meridians and dantian burst with bright rays of light, eager to accept the Yanyang Xuancang Flame.

It burned continuously between her brows. Guided by Shi Yu, its origin power flowed along her meridians, intermingling and permeating with her spiritual Qi.

The searing heat of the flame and the purity of her spiritual Qi collided and empowered each other. Meanwhile, Shi Yu was drenched in sweat, feeling her flesh and blood grow tougher under the fire's searing heat while her meridians were washed completely clear by its surging energy.

...

The refining process lasted about two hours. Once the Yanyang Xuancang Flame had traversed her entire body along her meridians, it settled obediently in her dantian like the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame, becoming one of her natal fires.

The two flames reflected off each other. Both originated from their true bodies, possessing comparable power and gentle temperaments, so they showed no repulsion or conflict toward one another, coexisting in harmony.

A warm power spread outward from the depths of her body—or rather, from the depths of her divine soul.

Having integrated the Yanyang Xuancang Flame after the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame, Shi Yu once again saw clearly into the depths of her bloodline.

The phantom image of a divine bird spreading its wings had grown somewhat clearer. Of the nine chains binding its form, the first chain had now completely shattered into nothingness, while the second chain showed subtle signs of loosening.

When all nine chains shattered, the day of her bloodline's full awakening would arrive.

Looking at it now, her progress was fairly good.

Moreover, the benefits brought by the shattering of just the first chain were already obvious.

An emblem shaped like a Divine Phoenix had appeared within her divine soul. The moment Shi Yu's consciousness touched this emblem, she naturally understood what it was.

“Is this... my innate divine ability?”

Innate divine abilities were possessed only by spirit beasts and cultivators with special bloodlines or unique physiques. They came in vast varieties, differing in strength and form.

Generally speaking, the strength of an innate divine ability was tied to the bloodline's potential and purity. The higher the grade of the spirit beast or the rarer the bloodline, the more formidable and wondrous the innate divine ability would be.

The innate divine ability Shi Yu acquired from unlocking the first chain was called the Divine Phoenix Seal.

Under her intent's perception, the full effects of the Divine Phoenix Seal surfaced in her mind: I can unleash up to three seals at once, which can be applied to myself or others. Once cast, they remain effective for fifteen minutes. During this time, the target's overall power receives a complete boost—spiritual Qi capacity, recovery speed, movement speed, technique power, and so forth all increase by ten percent...

After silently reviewing it, Shi Yu couldn't help feeling delighted, thinking to herself, This is remarkably practical.

Though a ten-percent boost might not sound huge, casting the Divine Phoenix Seal consumed none of Shi Yu's resources at all—it merely required half a month to condense anew after each use. Furthermore, it could be executed with a single thought without needing time to charge up, taking effect in an instant.

Boost-type spirit talismans also existed, but low-grade ones weren't very useful, while high-grade ones were far from cheap to refine.

As for pills... most that offered temporary power boosts left side effects. The milder ones merely caused temporary exhaustion, while severe ones—like the Extreme Devouring Pill—consumed essence blood or even lifespan, which was far too heavy a price.

Battles changed in the blink of an eye. With this as auxiliary support, even a ten-percent boost possessed considerable utility. Thus, Shi Yu was quite satisfied.

The benefits of refining and integrating the Yanyang Xuancang Flame didn't stop there. Her body's flesh and meridians were tempered, reaching a level of strength incomparable to before. More importantly, her spiritual Qi surged significantly, granting her cultivation a substantial leap.

Nearby, Master Ji noticed the change in her aura. Turning his gaze over, he asked in surprise, “Girl Yu, have you reached the Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection?”

Shi Yu nodded and replied, “Refining the spirit flame brought me quite a few benefits.”

Master Ji stroked his beard. If not for concern over President Song still making his breakthrough nearby, he would have let out a hearty laugh.

He instructed her solemnly, “Now that you've reached the Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection at the ninth layer, you are only a single step from Foundation Establishment. You must not grow careless.”

“Yes,” Shi Yu obediently agreed.

She had a vague intuition that she could ride this momentum and break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in one go—without even needing the help of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Yet after a brief moment's thought, she made her decision without the slightest hesitation, decisively suppressing the impulse to break through. She knew this was not yet her peak potential.

Foundation Establishment was divided into three tiers: Heavenly, Earthly, and Mortal. Each tier was further subdivided into nine grades based on the quality of the manifested Foundation. Her spiritual meridian aptitude was far from exceptional—merely adequate, in fact. Her ability to reach the Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection so rapidly was largely thanks to the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell.

Her cultivation technique, 《Fate-Tapping Record》, possessed an unknown tier but boundlessly subtle mysteries. Coupled with the assistance of Life Spring water, it compensated for her weak spiritual meridians. Furthermore, her proficiency across artifact refining, alchemy, array formations, or talismans ensured she never lacked cultivation resources, enjoying expenditures no less than those of disciples from major sects and aristocratic families. Only through all this had she reached her current level.

Now supported by two clusters of Heavenly Fire, Shi Yu instinctively felt that if she chose to construct her foundation directly right now, she might achieve Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment, but it would strictly be at a low grade within the Earthly tier.

The importance of Foundation Establishment goes without saying; I must be prudent above all else. Letting out a slow breath, Shi Yu thought to herself, I will push everything within my power to the absolute limit. That way, whatever the outcome, I will have no regrets.

She had always possessed great patience and was in no rush for quick results.

In Shi Yu's estimation, she wanted to reach the high grades of the Earthly tier if at all possible. As for Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment... that was beyond reach, because achieving Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment required not only extraordinary aptitude and comprehension, but also an opportunity to invoke the power of the Heavenly Dao itself.

Even among the prodigies of the Central Continent, lavished with endless resources like spiritual nodes and precious dew, achieving Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was exceptionally difficult.

Shi Yu possessed clear self-awareness and wouldn't pine after such an illusionary goal.

She drank a mouthful of Life Spring water, swallowed a pill, and sat cross-legged to cultivate. Inside her dantian, the Qi cyclones surrounding the Yellow Sprout Dao Foundation now numbered exactly one hundred, incapable of spawning a single new one. The newly generated spiritual Qi squeezed forcefully inside, dispersing into these one hundred Qi cyclones and filling every last trace of space.

The Qi cyclones were already near their limit. As they struggled to accommodate this newly flowing spiritual Qi, they were forced to slowly expand, and the speed at which they rotated around the yellow sprout slowed down.

Until there was no remaining room to squeeze into, the newly generated spiritual Qi had nowhere else to go, dispersing into her limbs and bones to nourish and temper her meridians and physical body, boosting her physical strength.

With day after day of cultivation, the momentum toward a breakthrough grew even more pronounced, and forcefully suppressing it was far from pleasant.

Shi Yu could only do her best to restrain the impulse, turning her attention to other matters to distract herself.