Chapter 143: Understanding the Gap

After a brief casual chat, Chen Mu and Xue Tian discussed some of the flaws and shortcomings Chen Mu had revealed during the recent battle. Xue Tian’s advice was candid and insightful, so Chen Mu took careful notes, determined to find ways to improve.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Mu said, “My Solar Bloodline Power has awakened a divine technique called the Great Sun’s Radiant Flame—a fire attribute spell far more potent than ordinary flame magic. When I activated the bloodline, I entered a state of sudden enlightenment and, relying on that insight, spontaneously developed a new maneuver for this Great Sun’s Radiant Flame. Could you evaluate it for me?”

Xue Tian was taken aback and then asked skeptically, “You’re certain it was sudden enlightenment? Such a state isn’t something a low-level cultivator can easily attain.”

“Yes, it was enlightenment. I haven’t studied advanced fire manipulation techniques, but this move evolved in my mind as if from nothing. Its subtlety and complexity are beyond anything I’ve managed before,” Chen Mu said earnestly.

Xue Tian was somewhat speechless. “Are you showing off? I’ve never experienced sudden enlightenment myself, yet you, a newcomer to the Nascent Core realm, have already achieved it? Well... enough talk. Demonstrate the technique—I’m curious to see what makes your divine skill special.”

Chen Mu nodded, then raised both hands, summoning the Great Sun’s Radiant Flame. Flames surged upward and converged above his head. A mass of these flames swarmed together, compressing into a small crimson sun suspended in the air. This miniature sun radiated overwhelming, intense solar energy, so fierce that even the surrounding air seemed to waver.

This was Chen Mu’s newly realized technique, Rising Crimson Sun. It was different from the first time he created it; its power had advanced to a new level. When he first conceived the move, Chen Mu had just perfected the Foundation Establishment stage. After breaking through, the technique transformed, shaped by his deeper grasp of Nascent Core strength.

The small sun floating above Chen Mu’s head caused Xue Tian to feel a dry dryness in his mouth—a faint but distinct sense of danger emanated from it. Being a fire attribute expert, Xue Tian was at a disadvantage against this skill; it clearly countered him well.

According to Chen Mu’s estimation, Xue Tian’s current strength was above mid-level Nascent Core, possibly not late stage, but certainly capable of contending with early Nascent Soul. Chen Mu knew he could not match early Nascent Soul with just Foundation Establishment; he could at best defeat late Nascent Core practitioners without activating his Blood Ignition Transformation. If he did activate it, he could overcome even perfect Nascent Core, but Nascent Soul at early stage required him to call upon his Body Refinement realm as a last resort. Though he couldn’t defeat early Nascent Soul outright, he could prevent them from easily gaining the upper hand.

Overall, Chen Mu’s Body Refinement realm was consistently stronger than his Foundation Establishment by at least one tier. As a body cultivator, his physical offense and defense could withstand attacks from one or even two minor realms above his own without injury, and any harm could be swiftly healed—this was the advantage of body cultivation.

This advantage would become more pronounced over time. After solidifying his foundation through the first five great realms, at the sixth realm he would condense a Divine Core. Then, the path to becoming a Divine Body cultivator would truly begin.

With a Divine Core, one could unleash secret divine clan techniques that pierced heaven and earth. In harmony with nature, there was no need for humans’ cumbersome gestures, chants, or manipulation methods. A mere thought or hand movement would suffice to manifest the desired attack. Truly, the divine clans were the true children of this universe.

Moreover, the Divine Core was like a second life. As long as the Divine Core remained, the cultivator could not die. The Divine Core housed the soul, containing all the life’s genetic information and spirit—it was the essence of a divine clan individual.

Upon reaching the Golden Body realm, cultivators could use their understanding of heaven and earth to forge a unique Golden Body—a milestone on the path to divinity. Their ordinary punches and kicks became as powerful as divine techniques, and their physical strength far surpassed that of those who had not yet formed a Golden Body.

At this level, the gap between them and cultivators who sought immortality through Dao cultivation widened significantly. Though the divine clans initially focused solely on body cultivation without comprehending the Dao, once their physical foundation was solid, they instinctively perceived the Dao of heaven and earth.

For example, those with affinity to fire would grasp their own secret flame divine techniques, able to unleash them effortlessly. Unlike humans, who needed to perform hand seals, chant spells, or manipulate energy to activate magic, the divine clans’ abilities were innate—more like instinct than learned skills.

Their secret divine techniques resembled the innate bloodline inheritance skills of the demon clans. After all, the ancestors of the divine and demon clans were the first and second beings ever born in the cosmos, so their natural superiority was unsurprising.

However, the divine clans’ secret techniques differed from the demon clans’ in that demon clans inherited them directly from the primordial bloodline, so the strength and scope depended on the purity of their blood. They could only access what was recorded in their inheritance.

The divine clans, by contrast, obtained whatever they comprehended. All the myriad laws of heaven and earth could be transformed into their divine techniques without limitation. If they could perceive it, they could wield it. This was somewhat similar to human Dao cultivation, but on an entirely different level. The divine clans could easily perceive the Dao, while humans started with only a faint sense of the Dao and slowly deepened their understanding.

Humans had long ago borrowed this affinity for the Dao from the divine clans and developed their own cultivation methods accordingly. But since the divine clans’ cultivation techniques were unsuitable for humans, humans only adapted the concept of perceiving the Dao, crafting their own approach rather than copying divine methods directly.

These innate advantages of the divine clans explained why the human cultivation system of seeking immortality was always a step behind the divine clans’ path of body cultivation to divinity.

Yet, due to humans’ overwhelming numbers, the divine clans were nearly wiped out by sheer manpower, leaving humans as the dominant rulers of this world.

As for the Divine Core realm, where the core housed the soul and all genetic and life information, Chen Mu could not yet determine whether this was a blessing or a curse. His situation was unique—his body was not a pure divine body but a perfect fusion of human traits and divine essence, combining the strengths of both.

This allowed Chen Mu to practice Dao cultivation, enabling him to condense his soul into a primordial spirit within his Sea of Consciousness. The question remained: would this primordial spirit reside within the Divine Core of his Divine Palace? Furthermore, after absorbing a trace of dragon bloodline, Chen Mu had also condensed a thunder attribute demon core. His inner core within the Sea of Consciousness was evolving and might soon become a demon pill.

This raised critical questions: should his primordial spirit lodge in the demon pill within his Sea of Consciousness, or in the Divine Core of his Divine Palace? Or, like the Dao cultivation path, could he eventually let his primordial spirit escape into the Nascent Soul, allowing him to flee instantaneously if his physical body were destroyed?

These uncertainties plagued Chen Mu, but without answers, he could only proceed step by step.

Returning to Chen Mu’s Rising Crimson Sun technique, it was now capable of severely injuring a late Nascent Core practitioner with a single strike. Such power gave Chen Mu an advantage of nearly two minor realms in combat. Even against the prodigies of the Azure Sky Continent at his level, he could confidently suppress them and innovate his own moves.

Moreover, the energy consumed by Rising Crimson Sun was not excessive—far less than that required by his Darkless Radiance or Thunder Dragon Phantom techniques.

With Rising Crimson Sun, Chen Mu could defeat the prodigies of equal rank on the Azure Sky Continent, though killing them outright would be difficult. After all, the top prodigies had also condensed Purple-Gold Nascent Cores like Chen Mu.

Thus, his current strength only slightly surpassed these elite prodigies, a feat made possible solely by his ancient clan bloodline advantage.

The Azure Sky Continent lacked ancient clan bloodlines; so-called bloodline aristocracies merely preserved family legacies without inheriting genuine power, functioning more like great sects or clans.

Though Rising Crimson Sun was formidable, it could only handle late Nascent Core cultivators. Against perfected Nascent Core opponents, it could only trade blows briefly without inflicting real damage, and inflicting harm on a Nascent Soul-level expert like Xue Tian was out of the question.

While Rising Crimson Sun currently could not harm Xue Tian, he recognized its potential. If it continued to improve, it would surely become a threat.

The core within the small sun already gave Xue Tian a faint sense of danger; who knew what it might evolve into.

Rising Crimson Sun surged toward Xue Tian, shaking the air of the training ground. Though Xue Tian’s expression was solemn, he showed no sign of nervousness.

The blazing small sun exploded before him with earth-shattering force, leaving the onlookers Chen Haoran and Rou’er both deeply impressed and concerned.

The technique was spectacular, but despite its brilliance, at Chen Mu’s current level it could not cause Xue Tian significant harm.

Even so, Xue Tian did not hold back this time, unleashing eighty to ninety percent of his strength to block Rising Crimson Sun.

Though the flame seemed capable of incinerating everything, it failed to injure Xue Tian, who demonstrated near-full power.

This underscored the terrifying might of Chen Mu’s Rising Crimson Sun, yet Xue Tian remained far ahead, at least one minor realm above him.

Moreover, Xue Tian’s foundational strength was solid and formidable, making it no surprise that Chen Mu’s Rising Crimson Sun had to force him to reveal nearly his full power.

This was a considerable achievement for Chen Mu.