NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Dantian ? Soul nest
"Wow, big bro, you're amazing! As expected of my brother!" Chen XiaoJun was the quickest to react, immediately chiming in.
Hearing this, Ye Xiuxin also revealed a delighted smile and asked, "Son, when did you break through? Come, release your soul power so Grandpa and Mom can sense it."
"Okay." Chen JianJun responded and released his soul power, causing it to ripple out.
"Indeed, good, good, good!" Chen Yu looked very pleased.
Ye Xiuxin's gentle voice couldn't hide her joy as she said, "Your father has been away for over half a year. He'll surely be thrilled when he learns that you've advanced to Soul Elder."
The Soul Elder realm was significantly different from the previous Soul Master and Grand Soul Master stages, as it represented the first major bottleneck on the path of a soul master—breaking through the Soul Nest.
A Soul Elder nearing twelve years old, and one who practiced the Middle Way Sword Qi Technique of the Seven Kill Sword at that, was an impressive feat.
The Seven Kill Sword naturally carried killing intent. To establish a solid foundation and avoid future issues such as unstable fundamentals or backlash from the killing aura, the founding ancestor, Chen Xi-Li, had created the Middle Way Sword Qi Technique. Over generations, it had been refined into a superior meditation method.
This technique, when combined with the Seven Kill Aura Suppression Technique, subdued the sharpness of the killing aura, stabilizing the foundation and making the soul power more balanced and harmonious. It also helped to nourish the meridians and internal organs.
The only downside was that the conversion efficiency of soul power was somewhat slower. Many Seven Kill Sword clan soul masters didn't reach the Soul Elder stage until they were around fourteen or fifteen years old.
Chen Jianjun was also delighted as he said, "I broke through the day before yesterday."
"Good. How is your body? Any discomfort? Although breaking through to Soul Elder isn't extremely difficult, any damage to your meridians could be troublesome. Xiuxin, check him over," Chen Yu instructed his mother.
Ye Xiuxin was a Soul Emperor-level support and healing-type soul master, making her well-suited for this task.
Chen Jianjun shook his hand and replied, "No need, Grandpa, everything's fine."
"Let your mother check your body!" Chen Yu insisted on the examination.
Ye Xiuxin stood up, walked to her eldest son, and placed her right palm—glowing faintly blue—against his left hand. The two stood palm-to-palm for a moment.
After a short while, Ye Xiuxin withdrew her hand, exhaled softly, and spoke, "Hmm, no major issues with the meridians. There's some slight stiffness, but after two or three days of nourishment, it'll be fine. Although the Seven Kill Sword Qi has been moderated, it remains aggressive when breaking through bottlenecks. The lower Soul Nest has indeed been opened."
"Jianjun, Mom congratulates you."
"Grandpa, Mother, what is a Soul Nest?" Chen Xiaojun latched onto this crucial point.
Chen Yu began explaining slowly, "The Soul Nest is where soul power and spiritual power converge. It's hidden within the body, not part of the meridians, yet connected to them. It serves as a reservoir for both soul power and spiritual power.
"Before the Soul Elder stage, our soul power is stored within the meridians. But how much can the meridians hold? Not much. Through exploration, our ancestors discovered the location of our martial soul within the body, and by using the martial soul, they could refine and store soul power there.
"Though the exterior of this space may seem small, it's actually like a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru—spacious on the inside and capable of expansion, potentially limitless. Thus, the soul master community refers to it as the 'Soul Nest,' symbolizing the nest where the martial soul resides and soul power is stored.
"There are three Soul Nests in total: lower, middle, and upper. To become a Soul Elder, one must fully open the Soul Nest where their martial soul resides. For those with tool martial souls, this is the lower Soul Nest, located just below the navel. For beast martial souls, it's the middle Soul Nest, located slightly above the center of the chest.
"The exact location must be sensed individually; no one else can help. Only after the Soul Nest has been opened can others perceive its existence. This is one of the reasons the soul master community divides martial souls into beast and tool types—not just because beast martial souls can possess the body while tool martial souls can manifest externally.
"Soul Nests are normally invisible and closed. However, during martial soul awakening with the Awakening Stone, the Soul Nest's entrance is shattered, leaving a small gap that allows connection to the outside. This forms the basis of our sensory abilities.
"Only by sensing this gap and fully breaking open the entrance, without causing significant damage to related meridians and the Soul Nest, can one become a Soul Elder and cross the first major threshold in the path of a soul master.
"After becoming a Soul Elder, one can gradually expand the connected meridians and use the martial soul to refine higher-quality soul power. This is how a soul master progresses in levels."
"I'm just a blade of grass. Isn't this essentially the lower and middle dantian? Turns out this world calls it a Soul Nest. Makes sense; it wouldn't make sense to call it a dantian in the Douluo Continent. The name fits the soul master system well," Chen Xiaojun silently mused before continuing to ask, "Grandpa, what about the upper Soul Nest?"
"The upper Soul Nest is different from the lower and middle ones. The upper Soul Nest primarily stores spiritual power. Within it lies a sea of spiritual power, which we call the Sea of Consciousness. This is where we channel spiritual power for perception and manipulation, known as soul sense.
"Everyone has a Sea of Consciousness, and engaging in meditation depletes the soul sense. It can only be restored through rest before continuing further meditation.
"However, only soul masters with spiritual power strong enough to reach the Soul Sage level can open the upper Soul Nest, as this process is primarily driven by spiritual power.
"Unlike the lower and middle Soul Nests, which are opened from the outside inward, the upper Soul Nest opens from the inside outward. In this regard, spiritual-type soul masters have an advantage.
"The current soul master community lacks effective methods to train spiritual power. Apart from head soul bones, a handful of natural treasures, and a few rare techniques, the only way is to accumulate spiritual power through daily life, meditation, depletion, recovery, and repetition. It grows naturally with the advancement of one's soul master level.
"This constitutes the second major threshold for soul masters!"
"Indeed, this corresponds to the upper dantian. Although the two worlds are different, they align with the three dantian system of my previous life. It seems that while the power systems differ, human anatomy remains similar," Chen Xiao-Jun pondered.
"Grandpa, what is the third threshold for soul masters?"
Chen Yu paused, took a sip of the tea Ye Xiuxin had brewed, and replied, "The martial soul resides in the Soul Nest. Tool martial souls in the lower Soul Nest and beast martial souls in the middle Soul Nest. However, in the depths of the upper Soul Nest's Sea of Consciousness lies a virtual manifestation of the martial soul, called the Virtual Soul.
"When a Soul Douluo's soul power reaches its peak, and their body's blood and energy are abundant, they must comprehend willpower, elevate their spiritual power, and guide the fusion of their martial soul's physical form with its virtual form. This fuses the two into an elevated martial soul, liquefying soul power and breaking through to Rank 90 to become a Title Douluo.
"This threshold blocks most Soul Douluo—it is exceedingly difficult!"
"Haha, this aligns perfectly with the Taoist cultivation steps of refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit to return to the void. Taoism emphasizes the harmony of natural laws, understanding the Dao of Heaven and Earth. The final step of refining the void to merge with the Dao must be the key to breaking through in the later stages of becoming a Title Douluo," Chen Xiao-Jun thought, amused.
Seeing Chen Xiao-Jun lost in deep thought, Chen Yu turned to his eldest grandson and said, "Jian-Jun, Grandpa will take you to hunt soul beasts. Have you decided what you want?"
Chen Jian-Jun thought for a moment and replied, "For my third soul ring, following the soul master path plan, I want a skill primarily enhancing speed, preferably wind- or light-attribute. Wind would be best, with an inclination toward offensive cutting abilities.
"I recall Grandpa mentioning that in the depths of the Shaolin Mountains, there are evolved forms of the Gale Wolf—like the Cyan Wind Azure Wolf and the Tempest Demon Wolf. We could try to find those. Alternatively, birds like the Swift-Light Finch or the White-Headed Sea Eagle would work, though finding large birds of prey might be challenging."
Chen Yu considered this and said, "Not bad. Mountain ranges, unlike forests, do have more birds, especially larger raptors. However, the Cyan Wind Azure Wolf is an excellent choice. While a 1,500-year-old Tempest Demon Wolf might be harder to find, I know where to locate a Cyan Wind Azure Wolf. It's not too far, and we can make it back before your brother's awakening day."
Chen Yu then instructed Ye Xiuxin, "Xiuxin, the day after tomorrow, I'll take Jian-Jun to set out. When Chen Xun returns, let him know."
"Alright, Father. No rush. We can wait until you're back to awaken Xiao-Jun's martial soul," Ye Xiuxin agreed.
Finally, Chen Yu addressed Chen Xiao-Jun, "Xiao-Jun, take another medicinal bath today, and one more the day before your awakening. Your body's strength is already quite good—it seems the ancestral medicinal bath agrees with you. Its effects have been excellent. This will benefit your martial soul awakening."
"Alright, Grandpa. I wish you and Big Brother all the best!"