Lican became increasingly intrigued as he continued reading.
Soul/Divine Sense Carving — Magical Weapons & Spirit Stones
Instead of using a hammer and chisel, a cultivator with sufficiently powerful Divine Sense could use their mental will to microscopically etch miniature arrays directly into the structure of an object.
The technique could be used to create formation flags, weapons, spirit stones, and countless other treasures.
Lican shook his head.
He hadn't even reached the level required to cultivate Divine Sense. That realm was still far beyond him.
Still, he continued reading, trying to understand the concepts.
Communing with the Dao
A cultivator must first comprehend a natural concept—the Concept of Fire, the Concept of Wind, the Concept of Lightning, or something similar.
A rune was not merely a symbol,It was a language.
A means of forcing the laws of the world to manifest according to the cultivator's understanding.
Channeling Heaven and Earth Qi
The cultivator drew spiritual energy from their surroundings, using the Qi of Heaven and Earth as the power source that fueled the inscription.
Lican continued reading.
He became so absorbed in the manual that he failed to notice how deep into the night it had become.
The Stroke — Intent
Every brushstroke and every mental carving had to be flawless.
If the cultivator's concentration wavered by even the slightest fraction, the spiritual energy could become unstable.
The result could be catastrophic.
The weapon might shatter.
The formation could collapse.
Or the talisman could explode directly in the cultivator's hands.
"This is fascinating," Lican murmured.
He pulled his thoughts back to the manual.
The Link — Formations
When multiple individual runes were connected, they could form a Grand Formation.
Such formations could manipulate the spiritual ecosystem of an entire mountain—or, at the highest levels, influence territories spanning hundreds or even thousands of miles.
Lican's face slowly paled.
"This is cheating, man."
His eyes remained fixed on the page.
"If someone at a lower cultivation realm learned this art, wouldn't they be able to fight cultivators above their level?"
He paused before muttering,
"This could be used in large-scale battles... and protection."
His fingers turned the page.
What he saw next made him even more interested.
True Essence Condensation — Energy Inscription
True Essence was highly compressed spiritual energy stored within a cultivator's Dantian.
Unlike the gaseous, invisible Qi commonly used by mortals, True Essence possessed a far greater density. To the naked eye, it could even appear almost liquid, glowing with a faint spiritual radiance.
Then there comes the Mechanics of extraction and extrusion.
The cultivator forced True Essence out through their fingertips or through the tip of a specialized brush made from the hair of spirit beasts,Which leads to Materialization
As the energy left the body, the cultivator used their will to condense it into a solid, luminous, glass-like state in midair.
Lican was fascinated as he kept on reading.
After understanding materialization then the next part lican became focused, because this part was somehow stated mandatory,
The Script of the Laws
They are ancient characters and geometric patterns which would be inscribed into the condensed energy.
These shapes or patterns were not arbitrary.
They represented the cultivator's understanding of natural laws—the jagged trajectory of lightning, the swirling pressure of a hurricane, the burning nature of fire.
After one inscribes their understanding of the natural laws, the next step is activation.
Once the final stroke was completed, the condensed rune became like a magnet.
It draws Heaven and Earth Qi toward itself.
The surrounding spiritual energy would surge into the inscription, triggering a violent elemental manifestation, like
A firestorms.
A gravity field.
An invisible barrier.
The possibilities depended on the inscription and the cultivator's comprehension.
And there was a catch.
True Essence inscriptions were extremely volatile.
Most were temporary.
They were primarily used in fast-paced combat, rapid-fire techniques, temporary defensive barriers, and sudden bursts of power.
Lican nodded slowly.
"This one is easier." A faint smile appeared on his face.
"And it suits my style."
He continued reading, then his eyes stopped.
Blood/Essence Inscription
Lican's expression changed.
The Process
Blood contained life force. Because of that, it could serve as a powerful medium for inscriptions, allowing the life force within the blood to support and activate the rune.
Creating a blood rune required both physical sacrifice and absolute mental precision. A slight mistake during the inscription could cause the blood essence to become unstable.
The sacrifice came through the extraction of blood. A cultivator could slash their palm, bite their tongue, or use their internal energy to force a drop of Heart Blood from their chest.
However, the technique did not necessarily require human blood. The blood of powerful beasts could also be used, as it contained their own concentrated life force.
Even beast cores could serve as a medium when properly refined.
The stronger the bloodline and the greater the life force contained within the medium, the more powerful the resulting inscription could potentially become.
Using a finger like a brush, a cultivator could guide the blood through the air.
A master with sufficiently powerful Divine Sense could manipulate the blood directly with their mind.
Others could use specialized objects to hold and stabilize the inscription.
The moment the rune was completed, the blood would no longer merely act as ink.
It became part of the formation.
The inscription could inherit properties from the blood used to create it.
A beast's blood could carry traces of its innate ability,A powerful bloodline could strengthen the formation.
And the blood could physically stain whatever it was inscribed upon.
If written upon a mountain, the mountain could absorb the blood, turning the stone itself into a permanent spiritual conductor.
If written upon an enemy...
The rune could burn into their flesh and, at higher levels, penetrate their soul.
Lican's eyes brightened.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the chains wrapped around his body,An idea began forming in his mind.
I will need a better weapon eventually,His fingers brushed against the cold metal.
Perhaps a magical one.
He continued reading.
The Three Tiers of Blood Inscription
Tier One — Blood-Sacrifice Array
A cultivator—or even an entire sect—could paint massive runes across city walls, mountain ranges, or entire battlefields using their own blood.
The result could be a Great Defensive Array or a localized field of control.
The blood served as a permanent spiritual medium.
In powerful arrays, the formation could remain active for centuries.
Some could even recognize the bloodline of those who created them, allowing descendants carrying the same lineage to activate or control the formation.
Lican's eyes widened slightly.
An entire battlefield...
He imagined thousands of cultivators standing behind an enormous blood formation.
One command.
One activation.
And the entire battlefield could change.
He swallowed and continued.
Tier Two — Soul Curse / Life-Binding Contract
This inscription was far more sinister.
The rune could be inscribed directly onto the forehead or heart of a living being—a defeated enemy, a captured beast, or another unwilling target.Once activated, the blood rune would sink into the target's soul.
The master could then use the connection to control the life-bound target,With a single thought, the rune could trigger.
The consequences depended on the inscription,It could burn the target's blood.
Destroy their Dantian.
Sever their spiritual channels.
Or, in the hands of a powerful master, obliterate their mind entirely.
It was an art of absolute spiritual bondage.
Lican's expression became solemn.
He turned the page.
Then he froze.
Tier Three — Taboo/Demonic Overdrive
Unlike the previous tiers, this inscription was not designed to control others.
It was designed to destroy one's own limits.
A cultivator could draw blood runes directly across their limbs, face, chest, or entire body using their own burning life force.
The inscription would force the body to release power far beyond its normal limits.
In desperate circumstances, a cultivator could temporarily unleash strength equivalent to someone two major realms above their current cultivation.
But the price was terrifying.
The runes burned the cultivator's lifespan as fuel. For roughly ten minutes, a cultivator could fight with overwhelming power, temporarily surpassing their normal limits.
But afterward...
They might be crippled. They might lose decades of their lifespan. They might age rapidly, or they might even die.
Lican's face slowly paled.
His eyes remained fixed upon the final line.
For the first time since opening the manual, he didn't feel fascinated.
He felt fear.
"Ten minutes..."
His fingers tightened around the edge of the page.
"Two realms..."
He stared at the blood inscription for several breaths before quietly muttering,
"That's not a technique."
His gaze darkened.
"That's gambling with your life."
Unlike True Essence Inscription and Soul Engraving, whose effects could be recovered through rest and meditation, Blood/Essence Inscription permanently depleted the cultivator's life force.
Lifespan Theft: Refining too much Heart Blood into a rune could cause a cultivator to age instantly. A young man might become a wrinkled elder in a matter of breaths, losing hundreds of years of potential lifespan.
Cultivation Regression: Extracting too many drops of core blood could damage the Dantian. If the damage was severe enough, the cultivator's cultivation could permanently regress.
Demonic Backfire: If the rune was disrupted before completion, the blood energy would violently reverse its flow and rush back into the cultivator's body. Their blood vessels could burst from the inside out, leaving them crippled—or dead.
Lican slowly shook his head.
He tried to calm himself, but the headache only grew worse.
There was simply too much information.
The more he understood, the more complicated the world of cultivation seemed.
He had initially thought cultivation was merely about gathering Qi, strengthening the body, and breaking through realms.
But now he understood that there were countless paths hidden beneath the surface.
Runes.
Formations.
Divine Sense.
Dao Concepts.
True Essence.
Blood.
Soul.
Each one possessed its own dangers and mysteries.
Lican rubbed his throbbing temple and exhaled.
"It's too much to understand in one night..."
He looked down at the manual again.
Despite the headache, his eyes remained bright.
He wasn't going to stop reading