Starting from the thirtieth level, the magical power and heart power required for cultivating the Celestial Spirit Axe Technique were already several times that of the previous level. Upon reaching the thirty-second level, even with Xu Qing practicing day and night, he still could not advance further.
To increase his chances of defeating Ghost Law, Xu Qing decided not to help the Demon Exorcism True Monarch hunt ghosts anymore and entrusted all ghost-hunting activities to the Ascendant Fuluan. He then entered a state of seclusion and deduction.
With his mind reaching the divine scenery of nothingness, Xu Qing wielded a large axe, constantly slashing and maneuvering.
Here, Xu Qing forgot the passing of time in the outside world; he devoted himself fully to cultivation—one year, two years, three years...
During this time, the Ascendant Fuluan, who was coming and going, felt the violent aura hidden within Xu Qing more than once.
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch felt it even more strongly. By the third year of Xu Qing's meditation, the two of them, without prior agreement, distanced themselves from Xu Qing and went to the courtyard outside the Incense Hall to cultivate.
The True Monarch and the Immortal both feared that if they stayed too close one day, they might unintentionally disturb Xu Qing and be harmed by his sudden outburst!
"Brother Demon Exorcist, is Daoist Xu truly not having a setback in his cultivation?"
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch opened eyes that were entirely black, surrounded by dark mist and malevolent energy. Suppressing a mad desire to devour the Ascendant Fuluan, he rasped:
"Daoist Fuluan, rest assured, even if Brother Xu indeed makes a mistake in his true cultivation, it will be me who turns into a demonic being before he does!"
"..."
The Ascendant Fuluan's forehead went cold, and he immediately took several steps back, nearly forgetting that apart from being a tiger, these two within the bone temple were also wolves—each seeming more sinister than Ghost Law.
Even this dignified Immortal, having cultivated for two thousand years, felt fear rising at this time.
May it not be that before Ghost Law is eliminated, he himself is first eliminated by these two monstrosities...
At this moment, inside the Incense Hall.
The divine scenery of the human body as a heavenly palace, a place of nothingness.
Within the darkness, Xu Qing, who was constantly deducing the Celestial Spirit Axe Technique, finally ceased his actions.
He closed his eyes and fell into silence, remaining motionless for seven days, like a piece of wood, before slowly raising the large axe in his hand.
The phantom-like large axe seemed to weigh as much as mountains and rivers, and Xu Qing's mind buzzed incessantly. At one moment, he heard a crisp sound resembling the shattering of jade clappers in his ears.
Xu Qing was unmoved; he only felt as if the world were turning upside down, and the large axe that was previously difficult to lift suddenly became weightless.
He had realized the laws of heaven and earth, breaking through the shackles of the rules, reversing the axe's momentum that was supposed to fall towards the ground into one that plummets towards the 'celestial dome.'
Even though it was only a human-height range of effort, the axe in Xu Qing's hand seemed to fall from beyond the thirty-third heavens, and as it fell, it continued to be pressed down by a pair of large hands, such that when it finally chopped down, the power contained in the axe had already stacked up to the thirty-third level!
In the chaotic divine scenery, there suddenly came a thunderous boom, and Xu Qing's vision instantly brightened.
It turned out that while deducing the thirty-third level of the Celestial Spirit Axe Technique, he coincidentally split open the seventh unconquered bridge of knowledge—Hidden and Bright Consciousness.
Cultivators have nine bridges of knowledge, namely: eye, ear, mouth, nose, tongue, body, mind, end, and hidden.
The hidden is the Hidden and Bright Consciousness, once opened, it can communicate with the bridge of heaven and earth, enter the divine scenery, perceive inside and out, and comprehend the True Profound.
The process of Xu Qing deducing the Celestial Spirit Axe Technique happened to be refining the divine scenery, so when his axe technique underwent a qualitative change, the ever-chaotic divine scenery was also subsequently developed.
Simultaneously, at the moment Xu Qing developed the divine scenery, he vaguely seemed to grasp a hint of the mystique of the Celestial Spirit Axe Technique's creation.
However, his magical power was too thin, and what he saw was not clear, unable to immediately comprehend that truth beyond the essence of heaven and earth.
In the dream, it was only seven days, but outside the temple, seven years had passed.
Xu Qing opened his eyes, yet did not see the Demon Exorcism True Monarch or the Ascendant Fuluan, only the bone temple before him split into two halves.
"..."
Xu Qing was left speechless.
He was only closing his eyes to deduce the Celestial Spirit Axe Technique, so how could it affect the outside world?
Xu Qing walked out of the bone temple, only to see a hideous demonic god over a dozen feet tall and a painted-faced immortal staring at him in horror.