Chapter 116: The Astral Seal Technique

Upon returning to his courtyard, Zhou Changwang first turned his attention to the method for breaking the restriction.

This so-called method was simple: it was merely a spiritual consciousness construct, somewhat similar to a rune structure. One only needed to outline this "construct" with spiritual consciousness to naturally break the seal on the jade slip and view its contents. The restriction was like a "lock," and the spiritual consciousness "construct" was the corresponding key. By using the "key" to open the "lock," he could open the "gate" and view what lay within.

Zhou Changwang traced the construct with his spiritual consciousness and pressed it against the jade slip. The seal broke instantly. His spiritual consciousness flooded into the slip, and its contents were deeply imprinted into his mind. As long as he willed it, the information would surface, remaining for three days before fading. However, if he failed to master the techniques within those three days, the memory would dissipate, and he would lose the chance to study it again. As for the jade slip itself, it had crumbled the moment his spiritual consciousness invaded it after the seal was broken.

"Is this the 'Divine Word Art'? Using this art to record content means that once a jade slip is accessed, the information is imprinted directly into the cultivator's mind. But in exchange, the content disappears, effectively cutting off any chance for others to learn it through the same slip."

Zhou Changwang was stunned, then quickly grasped the subtlety. The Law must not be lightly transmitted. He had paid spirit stones to learn it, but thanks to this characteristic of the Divine Word Art, he could not easily pass it on to others. As for copying it while he still remembered? The true difficulty of a spell lay not in the content, but in the structural complexity and the casting process. To record such a legacy, one had to master the spell to at least a minor success level to imprint it with spiritual or divine consciousness. He hadn't even learned it yet, so how could he record it?

"The 'Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp.' This secret art can be considered a special type of spell. It uses the five elements of spiritual power as a foundation to create a 'Glazed Heart Lamp' that roasts, burns, and filters the spiritual power passing through it, purifying it and making it more refined and powerful. It uses the power of the heart lamp to forge spiritual energy as pure as glaze."

Only then did Zhou Changwang truly focus on this technique. It was called a "method" because it acted upon his Dantian, yet it was a "spell" because its casting process was similar to one, requiring a runic structure as a starting point and the five elements as a bridge to manifest the lamp.

"Eighty-one runic structures. As a spell, this is a true high-grade technique." Zhou Changwang’s heart sank; the difficulty of cultivating this was far beyond the Five Elements Thunder Art. The latter had only fifty-some structures; though powerful, it was a first-grade intermediate spell, and its challenge lay in the nature of lightning itself and his lack of a lightning-aligned constitution. But the Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp, with eighty-one structures, was a high-grade spell. Although he possessed a Five Elements constitution, which was naturally suited for this, eighty-one structures were not easily manifested all at once.

"I only have three days. After that, the memory will fade. If there are any mistakes, it will be incredibly difficult to master."

Zhou Changwang discarded all other thoughts and focused entirely on memorizing the structures. Fortunately, the Divine Word Art had its unique benefits; it not only provided clear memory but also allowed him to "pull" the information out for comparison, accelerating his mastery. Moreover, having practiced many spells to the stages of great success and perfection, he found that many of the runic structures overlapped with those of the Glazed Heart Lamp. This reduced the difficulty significantly—twenty-six structures overlapped, meaning he only needed to master fifty-five new ones.

"At this rate, it's equivalent to the Five Elements Thunder Art. And with my current spiritual strength, which far exceeds what it was before... it shouldn't be difficult to reach the entry level within three days."

He did not grow complacent. After familiarizing himself with the structures, he began to practice. One structure, two, three... he failed and corrected repeatedly. Fortunately, his spiritual consciousness had been significantly enhanced by the "Distraction Art," the "Taiyi Records," and the recent "transformation" baptism from cultivating the hundred-year-old Red Leaf Spirit Tea Tree. This made the practice feel much easier.

As time passed, his mastery grew. Whenever his spiritual consciousness was exhausted, he would rest in the gazebo, brewing a pot of hundred-year-old spirit tea to restore his spirit while enjoying a rare moment of leisure. The tea tree, though growing slowly now that he had stopped using the "Annual Ring Art," showed signs of new buds. It would likely produce tea again in two or three months, provided he could supply enough spiritual rain. However, the spiritual energy in the field was insufficient, and he would soon need to seal and transplant the tree.

Within a short time, his spiritual strength would recover, and he would return to practicing the Glazed Heart Lamp. He spent his nights focusing entirely on this spell, only turning to his "Five Elements Pure Yang Technique" in the late hours.

Three days flashed by. Standing in the backyard, Zhou Changwang manipulated his spiritual consciousness to weave the runic structures. Sometimes slow, sometimes rapid. After nineteen breaths, he completed the final structure, connecting the first and last, and channeled his spiritual power.

*Hum!*

Spiritual power was consumed frantically. Silently, a five-colored light emerged before him—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. In the center of this light burned a silent flame: the Five Elements Fire. It was not hot and seemed devoid of threat, appearing as a static, illusory projection. Zhou Changwang knew this was the "Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp," capable of purifying and tempering his spiritual power.

*Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp +1*

He checked his attribute panel: *Spell: Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp (Entry 1/100).*

Success. He no longer had to worry about the memory fading. Now, he just needed to practice to increase his proficiency. Without hesitation, he guided the heart lamp to hover over his Dantian and began circulating his internal energy through it.

The difference was instantaneous. "The energy 'roasted' by the lamp is indeed much purer. It's like turbid water that has been filtered until it is clear, transparent, and powerful."

He felt a surge of joy. Although the process consumed some of his spiritual energy, it removed the impurities, leaving only the essence. He could manipulate this "new" energy with much greater ease, and his cultivation speed had noticeably increased. The spell and his Five Elements Pure Yang Technique complemented each other perfectly.

After an incense stick's worth of time, the lamp dissipated. Though his purified energy would inevitably mix with the rest, he knew the solution: increase the proficiency of the spell to "Mastery" or "Great Success" until its duration exceeded the time it took to complete a full cycle of his cultivation technique.

The next day, Zhou Changwang went to the "Runecraft Pavilion." The owner, Wei Xingyuan, was trimming rune paper. Seeing Zhou, he put down his tools and exclaimed, "Master Zhou! Are you here with another batch of finished runes? You saved me last time! By the way, have you heard? The Lin Runecraft Shop a hundred meters away has closed down."

"Closed? Why?" Zhou asked.

"The struggle between the Bai and Chen families," Wei sighed. "The Lin shop couldn't keep up with the demands of both. The Bai family had them arrested on trumped-up charges of colluding with bandits. He had to pay two thousand spirit stones to get out, but his shop is finished. It’s chaotic out there. The Rakshasa Gang's leader was killed in a massive battle over a fire-crystal iron vein, and many others are being dragged into the chaos."

Zhou Changwang listened intently, treating this as intelligence. He wasn't interested in the gang wars, but he needed a new technique. "I'm not here to sell runes today. I'm looking to learn a new runecrafting method. Do you have the method for drawing a 'Sealing Rune'?"

Wei Xingyuan shook his head. "Forget the simple 'Sealing Rune.' Learn the 'Seal Rune' instead. It doesn't just isolate energy; it can seal spells. Once you complete the rune, you cast a spell into it. To use it, you simply activate the rune, and the spell is released. The power depends on your own mastery. If you use high-quality materials, you can even seal second-grade spells."

Zhou’s heart jumped. If he could seal his Five Elements Thunder Art—a spell he could push to perfection—into these runes, he would have a devastating trump card.

"I have a manual called the 'Star Seal Rune Method,'" Wei offered. "It covers first and second-grade seals. How about three hundred spirit stones?"

Zhou Changwang didn't hesitate. "Deal."