After nightfall, the yang energy between heaven and earth drops to its lowest point, and yin energy spreads out.

  Zhang Ruochen stopped his cultivation to prevent the invasion of yin energy into his meridians, which would affect the power of "Taiyang Mai Jianbo".

  Zhang Ruochen took out the purple crystal from the storage ring and placed it on the ground.

  A purple glow illuminated the night sky with an enchanting color, and even the pool water beside it condensed a layer of purple light.

  Zhang Ruochen called over Kong Xuan who was contemplating the sword intent and gestured for her to sit down, asking: "How's your contemplation going?"

  Kong Xuan sat down on the ground with caution, his long legs crossed, his hands placed on his knees, his chest upright and his slender waist straight.

  Behind her, a pair of seven-colored wings appeared under the reflection of amethyst crystal, with specks of light floating around her slender body, just like a rainbow-colored light rain enveloping her.

  Kong Xuan's voice was soft and beautiful, clear and pleasant to the ear. "I'll report back to Master," he said. "The slave has already grasped some of the sword intent, but to reach the initial stage where the sword follows one's heart, it will still take some time."

  No rush

  "Zhang Ruochen pointed at the purple crystal and asked, 'Do you know what this is?'"

  "I don't know," said Gong Xuan.

  "This is a Beast Taming Crystal, extremely precious. Through it, warriors can influence the minds of ferocious beasts and control them to help themselves attack cities and kill enemies."

  Zhang Ruochen said again: "It also has another function, which can test the spiritual power of a martial artist. You will place your palm on the crystal and try to empty yourself to feel the energy in the crystal."

  Kong Xuan followed Zhang Ruochen's instructions, rolled up his sleeves, revealing a snow-white jade-like arm, stretched out a slender and boneless jade hand, and gently placed it on the surface of the purple crystal.

  Her eyes slowly closed, forming two charming eye lines with dense and neat eyelashes.

  It has to be said that as a Peacock Half-Human, Kong Xuan's body indeed had an unusual beauty, with delicate features, smooth skin, and a slender figure, simply being an enchanting seductress.

  Of course, Zhang Ruochen did not notice the beauty on her body, but stared at that purple crystal, seeing the patterns on the surface of the crystal, and nodded lightly.

  After a while, Kong Xuan opened his eyes, withdrew his palm and asked: "Master, what is the intensity of my spiritual power?"

  "The Fourteenth Level." Zhang Ruochen said.

  "Is it very low?" Kong Xuan asked somewhat nervously.

  Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "Generally speaking, the older a person is, the higher their spiritual power. Of course, if one doesn't specially cultivate their spiritual power, even if they're very old, it won't exceed fifteen levels. A normal person, after reaching adulthood, should have around ten levels of spiritual power. Reaching twelve levels already makes them a genius. Reaching fourteen levels is already quite impressive."

  "Don't be too happy yet, those who truly have spiritual power that defies the heavens, can even reach the 10th stage at birth; by the age of 10, they can reach the 20th stage; and when they grow up, they can reach the 30th stage."

  Of course, as Zhang Ruochen said, such a heaven-defying existence would be hard to come by even in ten thousand years.

  That's why I said that, also don't want Kong Xuan to be too proud and self-satisfied.

  Zhang Ruochen also placed his palm on the purple crystal and began to test the intensity of his spiritual power.

  "Wow"

  The purple crystal's radiance grew stronger and stronger, illuminating the entire cultivation mansion.

  Fortunately, there was an array method in the practice mansion, otherwise it would have startled other students.

  "The master's spiritual power is truly great"

  Kong Xuan sat in stunned silence beside him, gazing at Zhang Ruochen who was sitting upright like a deity, his beautiful starry eyes revealing an infatuated expression.

  The light gradually dissipated, and Zhang Ruochen withdrew his palm.

  "Master, what level has your spiritual power reached?" Kong Xuan asked.

  "Thirty-six steps."

  Zhang Ruochen did not hide anything from Kong Xuan.

  "The master is indeed a genius with spiritual power as rumored." Kong Xuan exclaimed.

  "I suppose"

  Zhang Ruochen smiled and said: "The spiritual power is more difficult to improve as it goes further, with my current spiritual power realm, it's hard to even upgrade one level."

  "If one can reach the 40th level, the power of spiritual energy will begin to manifest. Even with just a single glance, one can control a warrior at the Tianji boundary and turn him into a puppet."

  Moreover, when spiritual power reaches the 40th level, one can also possess some magical abilities, such as: opening the heavenly eye, severing life and death, summoning wind and thunder, and observing star divination.

  "What is meant by 'opening the heavenly eye' is that a unique spiritual eye is condensed at the brow, which can see mineral veins hundreds of feet underground; can see the aura on a person's body; can see hidden talismans and seals; and can also see ghosts wandering between yin and yang realms."

  "Predicting life and death refers to being able to tell a person's remaining years of life just by looking at them once, and can even determine the day they will die. Of course, this excludes unnatural deaths."

  "Summoning the wind and thunder, it is to use spiritual power, summoning the wind and rain, rushing thunder and lightning. The First Central Empire has established departments such as the Thunder Department, Rain Department, Wind Department, Yin-Yang Department, etc. The envoys of the Thunder Department are commonly known as Thunder Masters. The envoys of the Rain Department are called Rain Masters. The envoys of the Wind Department are called Wind Masters. Their main responsibility is to regulate the climate of the Kunlun Realm and manage some mysterious things that ordinary warriors do not know about. Of course, their own strength is also very powerful."

  Kong Xuan exclaimed in surprise: "Their spiritual power has all reached above 40th rank"

  Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "Yes."

  Kong Xuan asked: "Then what does astrology mean?"

  Zhang Ruochen smiled and said: "The art of stargazing is a bit mysterious, it's said to be related to the starry sky above our heads."

  "In the eyes of those sages, the starry sky above corresponds to the situation on earth. By observing the changes in stars, celestial bodies and constellations, they interpreted the changes in all things under heaven, and could even predict major events that would occur in the future."

  "Really?" Kong Xuan said.

  Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "My spiritual power has not yet reached the 40th level, so I am unable to understand the thoughts of those sages. I cannot see through the celestial phenomena, let alone practice astrology. How can you expect me to answer?"

  Kong Xuan said: "Being able to open the heavenly eye, being able to cut off life and death, being able to summon wind and rain, and even being able to observe astronomical phenomena. With spiritual power reaching 40 levels, it's already so formidable. If spiritual power reaches 50 levels, what will happen?"

  Zhang Ruochen said: "If spiritual power reaches the 50th level, one can become a saint. Once becoming a saint, one can live for 360 years, which is several times that of an ordinary person's lifespan."

  "Alright, I've told you so much, but what I really want to tell you is the importance of spiritual power. The higher your spiritual power, the more helpful it will be for you to comprehend sword intent and cultivate martial skills. Moreover, if you want to break through to the Tianji boundary, your spiritual power must also reach the 20th level."

  Zhang Ruochen also wanted to cultivate his spiritual power to the 40th level as soon as possible, but it was too difficult, and he couldn't rush it.

  Zhang Ruochen put away the Crystal of Beast Taming and took out a white bone over ten meters long, placing it in front of Kong Xuan.

  That one white bone contained a dense flame power, crystal clear and translucent, like a dog-toothed blood jade pillar, emitting a strong barbaric aura.

  "This is the vertebral column of a fourth-order savage beast, the Huoyun Wolf. Do you know what use it has?" Zhang Ruochen said.

  Kong Xuan shook his head.

  Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "The spinal cord of a fourth-stage savage beast contains bone marrow essence, also known as spiritual marrow. Long-term consumption can enhance the mental power of warriors."

  Immediately afterwards, Zhang Ruochen took out a half-meter-high pot and two bronze wine cups, placing them on the ground at the same time.

  "Whoosh"

  Five fingers clenched into a palm knife, swinging down to cut open that one root of over ten meters long white bone neatly.

  Zhang Ruochen poured out the spiritual essence contained in the white bones and filled that one jar.

  All the essence was poured out, and the jar was also filled halfway.

  He poured out twice the spiritual liquid from the urn, one cup was handed over to Kong Xuan, and the other cup Zhang Ruochen took up himself.

  Huoyun Lang was originally a Flame-attributed Barbarian Beast, so the Spiritual Essence born from its vertebrae naturally also possessed the Flame attribute.

  The essence in the wine cup presents a deep red color, just like flames burning.

  Just pinching a wine glass can also feel a scorching power.

  Kong Xuan merely put it to his lips and lightly sipped, but felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of flames, his entire body burning hot, the meridians within him seeming to have ignited.

  Zhang Ruochen raised his wine cup and directly swallowed the spiritual marrow inside, after a moment, the spiritual marrow was refined by him.

  Then Zhang Ruochen drank two more cups in a row.

  Kong Xuan gritted his teeth and endured the scorching heat within him, downing the entire cup of spiritual essence.

  Her body was like a furnace, with her true energy and blood boiling over, her spirit extremely excited, the originally pure and crystal-like skin also covered with a faint red glow, as if her body was about to be torn apart.

  "Uh-huh"

  Just as she was about to reach her limit, Zhang Ruochen placed one hand on her back and began to help her refine the spiritual marrow's power.

  Half a time later, the red light on Kong Xuan's body gradually converged into his body.

  Zhang Ruochen led Kong Xuan into the secret chamber, took out the Half-Saint's Divine Map and hung it on the stone wall. "After absorbing the Spiritual Essence," he said, "contemplating the Half-Saint's Divine Map will allow your spiritual power to advance at the fastest speed."

  Under Zhang Ruochen's guidance, Kong Xuan quickly entered a meditative state and his spiritual energy entered the world of Holy Spirit Diagram.

  At the same time, Zhang Ruochen also sat cross-legged under the Half-Saint's Saintly Intent, and began to cultivate.

  The next day, the sun had just risen.

  Yang energy returns to the earth.

  Zhang Ruochen put away his Half-Saint Divine Intent and continued to cultivate "Taiyang Mai Sword Wave".

  Kong Xuan sat cross-legged at the foot of the stone wall, beginning to comprehend the meaning of the sword.

  After a night of spiritual cultivation, her spirit was more full and radiant than ever before, with a rosy glow on her face, an aura that was almost palpable, and even her skin was filled with an enchanting luster.

  In this way, Zhang Ruochen practiced "Taiyang Mai Sword Wave" during the day and comprehended the Half-Saint's Divine Intent Diagram at night, and seven days passed in a row.

  Seven days later.

  It was noon, and the sun was like fire.

  "Taiyang Mai Jianbo"

  Zhang Ruochen pinched his fingers, and his thumb became extremely hot. The sword intent and true energy merged together.

  A semi-transparent energy circle with a diameter of ten zhang was formed around Zhang Ruochen's finger.

  Energy sphere, rapid contraction, converging at fingertips.

  Point out.

  "Hiss"

  A scarlet sword wave flew out from Zhang Ruo Chen's left thumb, emitting a sharp whistling sound, forming a majestic sword path that traversed dozens of meters before crashing into the wall.

  A loud bang.

  A sword wave struck through the wall, leaving behind a gigantic circular hole with a diameter of two meters.

  The stone walls around the cave are almost completely melted, dripping down drop by drop of magma. When the magma cools, it forms a mirror-like structure.