I changed the world.

Page 218

A stick of sandalwood incense was burning in the quiet room, its smoke curling upwards. Zhang Jing was sitting cross-legged on a large meditation chair.

Outside, the weather was clear and sunny, with a bright moon in the sky and occasional wispy clouds drifting by. The air was crisp and cool, and the temperature was low this year. Even in the south in March, the temperature had not yet shown any signs of rising.

Since entering the third stage, a more mysterious transformation has begun to occur in Zhang Jing. Not only has his connection with the void become closer and more harmonious, but an even greater change is that his powerful physical body has begun to nourish his spirit, causing even greater changes to take place on certain levels that are not visible to the naked eye.

At this moment, with the operation of the secret technique, Zhang Jing's entire spirit was unprecedentedly concentrated. In the seemingly calm quiet room, a storm-like change was taking place in Zhang Jing's spiritual realm.

Suddenly, many of the utensils in the quiet room began to move on their own without any wind, as if an invisible wind was generated in the room. The calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls began to sway rhythmically, and the long sword on the sword rack and the bronze incense burner burning sandalwood all vibrated at the same time, emitting a buzzing sound...

Outside the courtyard wall, a stray cat that happened to be passing by seemed to sense something, let out a startled cry, and leaped up as if its fur had stood on end, disappearing into the night.

After a while, the quiet room fell silent again, with wisps of smoke rising, as if nothing had happened.

On a level invisible to the naked eye, Zhang Jing was standing in the center of the quiet room, looking at his physical body.

He currently exists in a form similar to a spirit. In some texts, this current state is referred to as "the spirit of the underworld."

This was Zhang Jing's first time entering this state. As his cultivation level increased, a cultivator's spirit became so powerful that it could exist independently after leaving the physical body's protection. This independent spiritual state is called "soul body" in some texts, while in others it is called "spiritual body" or "astral body"...

However, at this point, the soul, having separated from the body, still has many taboos, the greatest of which is the inability to move in sunlight. What appears as warm sunlight to ordinary people is like a huge flame to the spirit; any contact will result in burning, and even a slight touch will cause great harm.

Furthermore, natural phenomena such as lightning can cause significant harm to the departed spirit, which is why the third stage of the Celestial Venerable Realm is called "Night Wandering." Many ancient texts discourage cultivators at this level from frequently engaging in night wandering, as it poses unpredictable risks.

Standing in the quiet room, Zhang Jing, in his spirit form, was experiencing something quite peculiar. His physical presence had vanished, leaving him with a profound sense of insecurity and rootlessness. His vision had shifted from bi-directional to omnidirectional, blurring the lines between front, back, left, right, up, and down, allowing his spirit to simultaneously perceive movement from any direction.

With a thought, he passed through the wall and appeared outdoors. Clearly, the wall was no longer an obstacle for him at this moment.