If the appearance of the azure spirit crystal was a natural stage every cultivator would eventually reach, then all was well. At least it meant she hadn't gone off track. What worried her was the chance that something had gone wrong with her cultivation—that she had veered onto a dangerous path.
Back during the previous era of cultivation, when spiritual energy had only just begun to revive, many outstanding individuals had emerged. But most of them fell on the road of trial and error, trying to understand the rules of this new world.
Without those pioneers who sacrificed their futures—and sometimes their lives—modern cultivation systems wouldn't even exist. Still, their losses had been tragic and irreversible.
Song Miaozhu respected them deeply, but she had no desire to follow in their footsteps. The core of cultivation in the previous era was about comprehending the laws of heaven and earth. In the current age, it centered around craftsmanship and the mastery of manual skills. And no matter the era, as long as one followed the core path, cultivation was usually safe.
Thinking back carefully, Song Miaozhu couldn't recall doing anything out of the ordinary. It didn't feel like she had deviated, so she allowed herself to relax a little. If the azure spirit crystal marked a new cultivation stage, then what exactly changed in this stage?
With no past experience to refer to, she had no choice but to figure it out herself. She went out behind the house to the bamboo grove to stretch and test her physical condition.
In the previous era, cultivation levels were divided into Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul,... and Mahayana. Beyond that, one could ascend and become an immortal.
Each major breakthrough came with a surge in spiritual power, a significant extension of lifespan, and an overall enhancement of the body. But after her walk in the bamboo grove, Song Miaozhu felt no different from her usual morning training. No major changes.
She couldn't sense whether her lifespan had increased.
There was none of that instinctive awareness of life expectancy that past cultivators had described. Back home, she resumed her usual routine of using spiritual power to nurture crafted items. That was when she noticed something odd.
Previously, she could only draw spiritual power from one source. Now, there were two.
One flowed from the crimson crystal board, and the other came from the newly formed azure spirit crystal. With a thought, she summoned red spiritual energy to her fingertip. Another thought, and it withdrew, replaced by azure energy.
Curious, she took out a paper soldier and channeled the azure power into it.
So far, she had only formed one azure spirit crystal, but even that small amount of power caused a change in the soldier that had never happened before. She felt a force from the paper soldier in her palm spread through her body and envelop her completely.
From the perspective of the little paper servant nearby, her form changed. She now looked like a soldier—over two meters tall, muscled, with double buns tied up on her head.
The same appearance as her paper soldiers when they were in combat mode.
Song Miaozhu was stunned. "I turned into a paper soldier?"
Her field of view had shifted higher too.
Looking down at herself, she still saw her usual body, but it was surrounded by a thick aura of spiritual light, and she was floating above the ground. On closer inspection, it was as if her real body had fused into the manifestation of the soldier.
She swung her fist at a stone bench in the yard.
Boom!
Her fist hadn't even touched the bench, yet it flew across the yard like it had been struck by a sledgehammer.
Song Miaozhu stared at her own hand. "I've really turned into a muscle-bound powerhouse?"
She summoned another paper soldier and ordered it to attack her. The soldier threw a punch. It didn't reach her directly, but the light shielding her blocked it cleanly.
She only felt the force push her back half a step. There was no pain at all, and her body remained unscathed. Even when she tried with blades and swords, it was the same. All the attacks landed on the spiritual light, not her.
From the perspective of her paper servants, the strikes hit the manifested soldier body instead.
The sensation was surreal.
It reminded her of those online novels where characters battled inside powered suits. All the damage was absorbed by the paper soldier form. She was fully protected within. And she could fully access the strength of the paper soldier's form.
Now she understood the result of nurturing her paper soldiers with spiritual energy. They could now possess her body. She could take on their form and control their movements completely.
Even the Heavenly Eye would perceive her as a soldier when she was possessed.
It perfectly made up for her lack of raw strength.
"I wonder if I can still use my own speed and agility?"
With that thought, she jumped—and landed on the treetop of the old locust tree.
"Look! Someone just jumped onto Master Song's tree!"
"What a sturdy-looking girl! Is she Master Song's bodyguard?"
Boom!
"Ha! Master Song's bodyguard just snapped her tree in half!"
Crack~
Down by the foot of the mountain, several townsfolk were strolling nearby. They had heard on the SEIU app that Song Miaozhu had raised a spiritual creature, but didn't dare approach her home for fear of being reported and losing their access to free beginner classes. They happened to witness the entire scene.
"…?"
Song Miaozhu dropped to the ground, trying to keep a straight face, but a smile crept up nonetheless.
Spiritual power enhanced a cultivator's flexibility, speed, and jumping ability. It could even restore stamina. The only thing it didn't do well was improve brute strength.
Paper soldiers were impervious to fire, blades, and had monstrous strength, but they were slow and clumsy. Now, by fusing with the paper soldier's form, she had all of its strengths without sacrificing her own.
She was, in effect, a cultivator with the strength and physique of a paper soldier.
At the same cultivation level, who could possibly defeat her?
She clenched her fist. Not even the embarrassment of snapping a tree in front of an audience could dampen her excitement. Compared to having her paper soldiers defend her from the side, it felt far more reassuring to possess their power herself.
Soldiers might make a mistake or be out of position, but when one was merged into her body, it offered full protection. She felt like she could walk anywhere in the world without fear.
And since the possessed form gave her the appearance of a soldier, not even the Heavenly Eye could tell it was her. Didn't that mean she'd just unlocked a brand-new identity?
She suddenly regretted not designing each squad of paper soldiers with different appearances. The four squads she had already crafted couldn't be changed now, but she could be more careful with the ones she made next.
If each squad had one soldier designed specifically for possession, each with a unique look, she could rotate through disguises whenever she wanted.