The Psyche Dao was the path of psyche refinement. It focused primarily on the psychic soul.

Regardless of whether a cultivator followed the paths of body refinement, qi refinement, or psyche refinement, once they reached the Fifth Heavenly Realm, they could condense their mental power into psychic will to use as a deterrent, into a psychic consciousness capable of attaching to and manipulating objects, or into a loose but extremely sharp psychic thought.

Over time, the standards for condensing psychic will, psychic consciousness, and psychic thought had actually lowered significantly.

In ancient times, practitioners had to reach the fifth realm to condense any of these powers, but now, the fourth realm was sufficient. In cases where one was willing to pay a certain price using special methods, even the Third Heavenly Realm could allow for the condensation of psychic consciousness and psychic thought.

The essence of all three was mental power, though their specializations differed, much like how classical mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetics branched out from the broader field of physics. Psychic consciousness still possessed the ability to perceive, but it lacked the sharp sensitivity of psychic thought.

Compared to the psychic thought of a psyche cultivator, I still want to follow the path of qi refinement to condense my psychic consciousness. Once psychic consciousness is attached to external objects or vitality, I can transition into a sword cultivator, forge a life-bound flying sword, and soar through the sky to slay enemies from thousands of kilometers away. Or, I could follow the path of a spell cultivator, covering the land in techniques until the earth is scorched red...

It was not that the path of a psyche cultivator was inferior; it was just that the two had different focuses.

A psyche cultivator’s psychic thought was relatively loose. While it was sharp and had a massive range, it was often used for investigation, perception, and locking onto enemies, providing no immediate boost to one's actual combat strength.

At most, having a powerful psychic thought would allow him to better sense his own condition and improve cultivation efficiency. The problem was that since his realm was higher than his actual strength, his cultivation efficiency was already at its maximum. This kind of auxiliary effect was not practical for him. There was also another problem, which made Yaoguang feel a bit of regret...

Sword cultivators are just cooler. As high-tier cultivators, sword cultivators can already fly by riding their swords. But martial artists can only fly once they reach the star lord level. And because they use the stellar force field for a sort of anti-gravity flight, it involves an extra step. In terms of both agility and speed, they cannot compare to a sword cultivator of the same realm.

After a moment, he pulled back his thoughts. He stood up and beckoned to Lei Yun in the small villa.

"Young Master," Lei Yun answered.

"I recall the World-Saving Society intended to send a batch of gifts. Have they arrived?" Yaoguang asked.

"They have arrived and are currently at the checkpoint below Yuhuang Mountain's villa, being inspected for any dangerous items," Lei Yun replied immediately.

"Bring them up," Yaoguang said.

Lei Yun acknowledged the order and relayed it to those at the checkpoint. Meanwhile, Yaoguang's gaze swept over Lei Yun and Su Yaoxue. After a moment, he nodded slightly. "You have been at the martial master tier for about three months now. It is time to take the next step and begin refining your organs. Have you been taking the Snow Spirit Pills?"

"Yes," Su Yaoxue answered. "One pill every three days, without fail."

"Good. With the foundation laid by these pills, the internal refinement of your organs will not be difficult for you." Yaoguang nodded.

The Snow Spirit Pill was essentially an improved version of the Snow Ginseng Pill. Its effects far surpassed those of the Snow Ginseng Pill, and at the same time, the medicinal power was far gentler.

The price of a single bottle of Snow Spirit Pills was comparable to a nation's annual revenue. Of course, that was the retail price; the production cost was somewhat lower. Even so, over ninety percent of the core members of national royal families wouldn't dare use this kind of pill for cultivation. At most, they would take one or two when attempting to break through a realm. After all, they were far too expensive.

"Go on then." Yaoguang waved his hand.

"Alright." Su Yaoxue nodded.

Breaking through from a martial artist, who wasn't even at their peak, to a martial master was equivalent to jumping from level 2 to level 6. To do so in half a year was almost unimaginable.

However, considering the person teaching her and the medicine she took daily, this speed was not surprising. Someone more talented could even progress slightly faster than her, given the same resources.

For instance, Jiang Xuntian had become a martial paragon by the age of twenty-one. Su Yaoxue was currently using more resources than what Jiang Xuntian had at his disposal back then, and she also had the personal, hands-on guidance of a heavenly being like Yaoguang.

Despite that, she estimated it would take her another two to three years to become a martial paragon. She felt no trace of pride.

She understood very well why she was able to enjoy such vast resources. It was thanks to the blood relation between her and Yaoguang. Although they weren't closely related, they were still family.

Because of this, the only thing she could do was to cultivate desperately and try to live up to Yaoguang's expectations as quickly as possible. Only then could she be worthy of the investment he was making.

***

An hour later, crates of supplies were carried down. Among them were several recently discovered divine weapons. After Yaoguang accepted these items, he didn't bother checking them thoroughly and instead focused his attention on his mental world.

The newly sprouted Psyche Dao branch had already grown to the seven-tier since it had first appeared. However, even though it had reached the seventh tier, it had only produced two Dao Fruits. The situation was rather surprising.

He focused his gaze on the ancient tree. At some point, the main trunk of the ancient tree had merged with the Martial Dao branch, and the two had become indistinguishable. It was just like people would treat a branch as the main trunk once it became thicker than the main trunk.

I originally thought that achieving the ninth tier in the Refiner profession yielded only two Dao Fruits because of how the profession's tiers were divided. However, it now seems that it might be because the Martial Dao branch has become my primary profession, and the others are treated as secondary pursuits. Therefore, the gestation of their Dao Fruits... Yaoguang took a moment to sense the secret techniques derived from the two newly formed Dao Fruits. Must these new Dao Fruits also center around the Martial Dao, acting merely as supplements to my main profession?

Of the two Dao Fruits, one was Perception. This Dao Fruit's effect overlapped heavily with his existing Perception ability. The only difference was that this version was more refined. Not only could it precisely distinguish between martial artists, daemons, and cultivators, but it could also judge their specific realms and strength.

A thought surfaced in Yaoguang’s mind. He quickly recalled a device Xie Yi'er had sent over recently. It was a pair of glasses-like instruments that could roughly estimate a person’s physique, true origin, and psychic soul strength. A grandmaster at the human limit would show a value of 9 across various categories, while a martial paragon who had broken past the human limits would score 10 or higher.

Using these numerical formulas, Yaoguang fine-tuned his new secret technique. When he looked at Su Yaoxue again, the value 6 emerged in his mind, while Lei Yun’s value reached 7.

Not bad. At the very least, it allows me to know myself and my enemies to a certain extent. Yaoguang thought as his lips curled into a smile.

Of course, these numbers were only for reference; a martial artist's strength never relied solely on their physique. For someone like him or members of the Rebirth Society, killing enemies of a higher level was incredibly easy. Besides...

The sharpness of psychic will can never compare to psychic thought, Yaoguang mused.

Fortunately, the second Dao Fruit, Split Psyche, perfectly solved this issue.

A human brain cannot harbor two distinct ideologies simultaneously; it must be either psychic will or psychic thought. Mixing them will only result in something neither here nor there. Even a Lunar Fiend, who specializes in psyche cultivation, focuses on a single discipline when possessing a living being. For instance, a Lunar Fiend following the Horned Fiend path focuses on body refinement; they only convert all their psychic will into psychic thought to strengthen themselves at the very last moment, when they refine their qi into psyche...

Yaoguang quietly sensed the passive effect brought by this Dao Fruit. Given my unique circumstances, Split Psyche has unearthed the lingering traces of the original host's consciousness and forged a second psychic soul. I can use this soul to condense psychic thought...

This could be considered the final gift the original host had left him.

I am now practicing both body refinement and psyche refinement. Unfortunately, practicing qi refinement as well has now become a completely lost hope.

Yaoguang wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. After a long while, he shook his head; it didn't matter. The important thing was that psyche refinement was already in his grasp, although qi refinement remained distant.

Still... the total value of these materials is significant. Why hasn't the growth of the Psyche Dao branch reached 100% for the seventh tier yet? This is much slower than the progress of the Martial Dao back then. Yaoguang focused and sensed it for a moment. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he shifted his gaze to the Merchant branch.

Right. The manpower cost has increased again, he quickly concluded.

Before, he was merely a grandmaster or a martial paragon, but now, he was a heavenly being. Naturally, the cost of the labor of a heavenly being was a step higher than that of a grandmaster or a martial paragon.

"It's basically the same as getting no experience from killing low-level mobs once your own level is too high," Yaoguang lamented.

Fortunately, the Daemon Hunter profession did not account for manpower costs.

He glanced at his Martial Dao progress. Previously, he had managed to jump more than a full tier thanks to the Five-Emperor Soul-Refining Furnace. To level up again would be as difficult as reaching the heavens, at least in this world.

Therefore, any experience he gained next would have to be funneled into the Daemon Hunter and Merchant branches. He didn't need to raise them too high; reaching a level comparable to the seventh tier, which was enough to derive two Dao Fruit techniques, would suffice.

Over the next few days, maintaining the mindset that he might as well stay busy, Yaoguang began practicing the Psyche Dao after his physical tempering reached its limit, beginning to condense his own psychic thought.

Soon enough, news arrived from Xie Yi'er. The Snowdragon Empire had finished calibrating the Star Gate.

***

At Yujing Mountain, Yaoguang stood before the majestic, hundred-meter-tall Star Gate, his expression solemn. Beside him stood Xie Yushu, Gu Wanquan, and most of the high-ranking members of the Xie family. Among them was Xie Tiandao, who had recently ascended to the throne.

"Sacred Lord Yaoguang, please rest assured. Once the Star Gate opens, it will be maintained for half a year. We will then spend another half year recalibrating the coordinates to open it again. At that time, we will certainly return and bring you the latest news from Cangwu." Xie Yushu stood before the Star Gate and gave Yaoguang a solemn promise.

"I trust all of you." Yaoguang had no intention of entering with Xie Yushu and the others. He would let Xie Yushu, Zong Yan, Ji Pingtian, and Hong Chuan lead the way and scout ahead.

Indeed, along with the Xie family, members of the World-Saving Society were also going. In a way, they served as a form of surveillance over the Xie family.

"Sacred Lord, thank you for your kind words," Xie Yushu said, glancing at the Star Gate. "There is no time to lose. We shall depart now."

"I wish you all a safe journey," Yaoguang said, giving a fist-and-palm salute.

Xie Yushu and the others nodded heavily. Then, without hesitation, they turned and strode resolutely toward the Star Gate, stepping into the unknown world beyond.