Chapter 1695: Surge in Soul Depth

“Heart Pavilion?” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Let’s head there to take a look!”

Since the Temple of Confucius had not opened yet, he had some time to spare. Given that the Heart Pavilion could help him temper his state of mind, there was no harm heading over to take a look.

All along, he had been dependent on fortuitous encounters in order to raise his Soul Depth. However, it would not do for him to be solely reliant on luck in tempering his state of mind. It would be great if he could acquire a feasible cultivation technique that would allow him to raise his Soul Depth.

After walking for a while, a building came into sight. Walking in, they were greeted by a middle-aged man.

“Greetings. Do you intend to temper your state of mind or examine it?”

“We wish to temper our state of mind,” Zhang Xuan replied.

“This way please…” The middle-aged man gestured with a smile. “First and foremost, our Heart Pavilion doesn’t accept spirit stones and other currencies. We only accept Saint pinnacle artifacts as payment. Every two hours inside will cost a Saint pinnacle artifact!”

“It sure is expensive…” Zhang Xuan was slightly taken aback by the price.

After all the scavenging that he had done, he had no lack of Saint pinnacle artifacts in his inventory. Nevertheless, it was still a price that most cultivators would struggle to fork out, including those from major clans.

Most Saint 9-dan cultivators would not even have a Saint pinnacle artifact, and yet, two hours in the Heart Pavilion would cost one such item.

“It can’t be helped. It’s extremely expensive to construct a formation and space that is safe yet challenging enough to temper one’s state of mind, and maintaining it also costs a hefty sum,” the middle-aged man replied.

“That’s true, I suppose.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Most of the cultivators who had come to Qufu to temper their state of mind were 9-star master teachers, individuals who possessed Soul Depths of 27.0 and above. At their level, ordinary Illusory Formations and Beguilement Formations were already ineffective on them. In order to exert pressure on them, the highest quality formations and artifacts had to be used. Given so, it was inevitable for the cost to be on the pricier side.

“Here you go!” Zhang Xuan tossed over a Saint pinnacle weapon. “I would like to test the effects out for myself first. If it’s effective, let’s go in and cultivate together!”

Having plundered the military resources of 110,000 Otherworldly Demons, there were more than a thousand Saint pinnacle artifacts in his storage ring. Considering that he had no use for artifacts of that tier anymore, he had no issues spending them there.

The crowd nodded in response.

“This way please…” The middle-aged man swiftly led them into a vast hall.

Placed at the very center of the hall was a crystal ball. It revolved quietly above a stone platform, emanating a mesmerizing glow.

The walls around the hall were inscribed with insights and cultivation techniques that would raise one’s Soul Depth.

“These are left behind by the experts who have been to the Heart Pavilion to temper their state of mind. We have tested them personally, and they are all highly effective in raising one’s Soul Depth. However, please do take caution when reading through them. If you attempt to take in too much, they could end up hindering your state of mind instead. Use them prudently, and your Soul Depth will surely surge ahead,” the middle-aged man said with a smile.

Cultivation techniques were valued not in quantity but quality.

Attempting to take in too much would only end up confusing one instead.

Every cultivator had their own path of cultivation to follow. The more they attempted to emulate the route of others, the further they would stray from their path. If a cultivator lost themself in the wisdom of others, not only would their growth slow down, their cultivation might even go berserk!

It was for this reason that the Master Teacher Pavilion discouraged individuals from studying too many cultivation techniques.

Of course, there were pros and cons to the matter.

If a cultivator successfully utilized the wisdom of others to further their own path, they would be able to reach a height far beyond their predecessors.

“When you are ready, just place your hand on the crystal ball ahead and focus your attention on your consciousness. The crystal ball will process the fluctuations in your state of mind. If you reach the limits of your tolerance at any point in time, we’ll immediately terminate the formation so that you are not hurt!” the middle-aged man explained.

“I understand!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

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He took two steps up to the crystal ball, but he did not rush to place his hand on it. Instead, he swept his gaze across the wall opposite of him.

Hu!

A new book materialized in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

Placing his finger on the book, its content swiftly flowed into Zhang Xuan’s mind. Slowly, his eyes lit up in excitement.

By compiling all of the cultivation techniques and insights detailed on the wall together, he had successfully compiled a Heaven’s Path Heart Tempering Art.

While he had encountered numerous books relating to the tempering of one’s state of mind in the past, he had never paid much attention to it. However, as he browsed through the content of the Heaven’s Path Heart Tempering Art, he swiftly realized that raising one’s Soul Depth was not easy. In terms of difficulty, it was much higher than raising one’s cultivation, especially due to how elusive and intangible the entire field was.

The typical method to temper one’s state of mind in the Master Teacher Continent was using Illusory Formations to put one’s consciousness through various turmoil. Through overcoming those ordeals, one’s state of mind would gradually grow steadier and more resilient.

However, this ‘typical method’ was both passive and indirect. It relied heavily on luck and circumstances. Even if one augmented the process with heart tempering cultivation techniques and artifacts, the rate of growth still would not be too remarkable.

Fortunately, the Heaven’s Path Heart Tempering Art that Zhang Xuan had just compiled through the Library of Heaven’s Path resolved this problem perfectly. It allowed him to cultivate his state of mind directly, just like his zhenqi and soul.

“Let me begin…” Zhang Xuan quickly went through the heart tempering cultivation technique in his mind before placing his hand on the crystal ball.

Weng!

A shimmer of light shrouded the crystal ball as numbers surfaced on it—29.1.

Just as Zhang Xuan had calculated, his Soul Depth had already reached a level equivalent to 9-star pinnacle master teachers.

“He’s… a 9-star master teacher?” The middle-aged man recoiled in shock.

He had thought that given how young Zhang Xuan was, his Soul Depth would surely be the lowest among the group. Most likely, that was why he had gone there to temper his state of mind. Yet, who would have thought… 29.1! Even if he looked at the whole of Qufu, it was unlikely that there would be too many master teachers who could match him.

“Un.” Seeing the middle-aged man’s shocked expression, Sword Saint Meng nodded proudly. “Is there anyone who has encountered sudden bouts of inspiration while tempering their state of mind here?”

“There is! Many years ago, Yang shi visited our Heart Pavilion, and his Soul Depth was at 28.2 when he first tested it. In the midst of tempering his state of mind, an epiphany suddenly struck him, and his Soul Depth shot up by 0.2, reaching 28.4. That matter has become a legend of our Heart Pavilion!” the middle-aged man said.

The difficulty in raising one’s Soul Depth grew exponentially difficult the higher one’s Soul Depth was. Beyond 27.0, every increment of 0.1 would usually require many years of hard work. It was indubitably a remarkable feat for Yang shi to have advanced his Soul Depth by 0.2 in less than two hours. Very few would be able to emulate his success.

“Yang shi is indeed formidable… Do you have any rank board or the sort here? What is the fastest rate that a master teacher has raised his Soul depth?” Sword Saint Meng continued asking.

“We do have something similar to that. The current record holder for the fastest increment in Soul Depth is held by an 8-star master teacher. His Soul Depth was 24.7 when he first arrived, and when he tested it two hours later, it had already reached 25.7. That was an increment of a whole 1.0! But of course, it’s hard to compare this with Yang shi’s feat. After all, the higher one’s Soul Depth is, the more difficult it is to raise it!” the middle-aged man said.

Raising one’s Soul Depth was similar to building a narrow tower. The bottom layer was always easier to build, but after reaching a certain height, the difficulty would suddenly skyrocket.

“Dear, are you thinking that our Xuan-er will be able to break the record?” Sword Saint Xing asked.

It was not too difficult for him to follow his wife’s train of thought.

“My son is a prodigy. Isn’t it normal for him to break records?” Sword Saint Meng replied matter-of-factly.

“I think you have too much confidence in our son! Tempering one’s Soul Depth is different from raising one’s cultivation. There’s no way to force the matter…” Sword Saint Xing shook his head.

Raising one’s Soul Depth was not as easy as taking in spiritual energy and converting it into one’s strength. It was a far more complicated process, and it was highly dependent on luck. Even though his son was a prodigy, there were some things in life that talent simply could not influence!

“Look over there!”

Before Sword Saint Xing could finish his words, a shrill voice sounded. Sword Saint Xing immediately turned his gaze over, and on the crystal ball, he saw the number ‘29.1’ flickering and turning into ‘29.2’, ‘29.3’, ‘29.4’…

“This…” Sword Saint Xing was flabbergasted.