Ling Xiao cultivated the "Soul Condensation Art" together with the "Sword-Controlling Technique Black Iron Scroll" mainly because the latter required a large amount of soul power to practice.
Nevertheless, even so, with the powerful analytical and practice capabilities of the Mountain and River Martial Soul, within only five days, he had successfully cultivated both the beginner top-tier martial arts, the "Sword-Controlling Technique Black Iron Scroll" and the "Soul Condensation Art" to the Perfect Realm.
However, to cultivate to the Transcendental Realm would likely require some opportunities.
He was in no hurry, as some things needed to be improved through combat. Having reached the Perfect Realm, he was already content.
Upon reaching the Perfect Realm, he didn’t hesitate to use the "Bull Demon Technique: Condensing Evil Spirits" to devour these two beginner top-tier martial arts.
Top-tier martial arts truly lived up to their name, for just two of them enabled the "Bull Demon Technique" to advance once more.
At this point, the "Bull Demon Technique" had evolved from "Bull Demon Technique: Condensing Evil Spirits" to "Bull Demon Technique: Transformation."
According to the clues in the Mountain and River Map, once the "Bull Demon Technique" ascended to the "Transformation" stage, the evil energy can directly condense into the form of an Ox Demon, attaching to the surface of the martial artist’s body, with the dual effects of enhancing both defense and attack.
Ling Xiao always found the "Bull Demon Technique" a bit strange and wondered whether after cultivating it to a certain extent, he might directly possess the combat abilities of the Bull Demon Race.
The Bull Demon Race is indeed one of the most terrifyingly strong among the Ten Thousand Clans.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking. For now, the enhancements of the "Transformation" stage were enough for him.
In the following period, he planned to devote himself entirely to cultivating the "Heavy Shadow Sword Technique."
The "Heavy Shadow Sword Technique" is essentially a superior top-tier martial art, the best within the top-tier martial arts category.
Therefore, it is the most powerful and also the hardest to master. It’s important to note that even Clan Leader Ling Xiaotian was unable to succeed in cultivating it.
This was also why Ling Xiao decided to leave it as the last one to practice.
Leaving the practice room, Ling Xiao replenished some dry food and heard some news from Ling Luo.
It was said that three days ago, Ling Feifan had already left the Ling Family to gain experience through traveling.
Meanwhile, Ling Chen was secluded in the third layer of the Book Collection Pavilion, cultivating an unknown martial art.
This piece of news indeed brought a bit of pressure to Ling Xiao, but this pressure was also a source of motivation.
Since his opponents were progressing, he had to work even harder.
Closing his eyes, Ling Xiao began to concentrate and comprehend every move of the "Heavy Shadow Sword Technique."
However, just as he had anticipated, superior top-tier martial arts were obviously much more difficult to practice.
The "Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique" was also a superior top-tier martial art, which he was only able to cultivate to the sixth rotation by relying on a large amount of gold and Cold-Pond Golden Fluid.
The difficulty of the "Heavy Shadow Sword Technique" was not any less than that of the "Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique."
Comprehension alone was enough to cause discomfort.
If it weren’t for the powerful analytical and practice abilities of the Mountain and River Martial Soul, he might not have made much progress in a month, or even in several years.
Now, after spending a day, he finally had a slight understanding of the "Heavy Shadow Sword Technique."
The key to this martial art lay in comprehension.
Once thoroughly understood, the actual practice would actually become simpler.
"Indeed, it’s not simple. It requires the combination of soul power, Gang Qi, and Martial Soul to conjure an avatar. This is truly not something an ordinary martial artist can achieve!"
But the more difficult it was, the happier Ling Xiao became.
If he could successfully cultivate something others couldn’t, he would inevitably gain a significant advantage.
This kind of martial arts was no joke to practice because it involved soul power and was very easy to go awry.
So, only those who practice it know how difficult it really is.
In order to immerse completely in cultivation, Ling Xiao even employed "Soul Entry" to enter a state of total control.
In this state, even if there was the slightest problem, he could detect it promptly and correct it.
For others, what was a very dangerous martial art became almost risk-free when it came to him.
Since he had already cultivated the "Soul Condensation Art" to the Perfect Realm, Ling Xiao’s "Soul Entry" state lasted even longer.
Maintaining it for one shichen was no issue at all.
However, after a single shichen, he must rest for at least a quarter of an hour.
In this quarter-hour break, Ling Xiao didn’t continue cultivating. Instead, he condensed his Martial Soul Avatar to watch and repeatedly practice the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique.
Not only could this help him discover any issues from his previous training, but it also further deepened his impression and didn’t waste time.
Finally, after three days, Ling Xiao’s practice of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique reached the first layer, signifying the beginner stage.
Within his attacks, he could create a shadow avatar, with about thirty percent of his own strength.
Once combined, it meant his attack power could increase by thirty percent in a single strike.
Of course, this was just the beginning.
The second layer of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique would conjure a second shadow avatar, boosting his strength even more.
Although the difficulty of practicing the second layer was greater than the first, having the foundation of the first layer meant it was not as hard as anticipated.
He consumed a Gang Qi Pill during his training and, in four days, he broke through to the second layer.
In terms of attack power alone, the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique’s second layer had already reached the Perfect Realm of advanced martial arts.
And that was just the second layer.
This made Ling Xiao extremely excited.
So he continued to intensify his training.
However, transitioning from the second to the third layer, he encountered some difficulties.
It wasn’t that there was no improvement, but the difficulty increased significantly, and the pace of advancement slowed tremendously.
After a whole month, because he was continuously using "Soul Entry," he even managed to extend the duration of "Soul Entry" by a quarter of an hour.
But the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique had only just barely advanced to the peak of the second layer. It was as if he had hit a wall that he simply couldn’t break through.
If he could penetrate this wall, he would naturally be able to elevate the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique to the third layer.
The third layer would add yet another shadow avatar, and, naturally, the increase in power would be much more significant.
What exactly was the issue?
After analyzing, Ling Xiao finally found the answer to the problem.
It was still the issue of his realm being too low.
If he could raise his realm to the Martial Meridian Sixth Layer, breaking through the third layer of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique would become much easier, he believed.
Thinking this, Ling Xiao stopped fixating on the problem and began practicing the Snow Lotus Qi Technique.
The Cold Pond’s Golden Fluid within the Mountain and River World inside his body was still present. Using the Cold Pond’s Golden Fluid to enhance the Snow Lotus Qi Technique, coupled with the remaining three Gang Qi Pills, breaking through to the Martial Meridian Sixth Layer was not impossible.
Once he started cultivating, another half-month passed.
One night, half a month later, a huge roar suddenly erupted in the practice room.
Of course, it couldn’t be heard from the outside.
The soundproofing of the practice room was very good.
Ling Xiao’s face showed signs of fatigue, but his heart was extremely excited.
The Snow Lotus Qi Technique had finally been cultivated to the seventh layer, reaching the Great Achievement Realm.
Simultaneously, he had overcome the obstruction of the fifth Martial Vein, entering into the cultivation of the sixth Martial Vein.
Martial Meridian Sixth Layer!
The chill from the Cold Pond’s Golden Fluid had also been entirely absorbed. From now on, seeking another rapid advancement in the Snow Lotus Qi Technique would likely require finding an alternative to the Cold Pond.
Naturally, the Golden Snow Lotus was one such substitute.