the next day.

Having made all the necessary preparations and with his injuries almost fully recovered, Chen Jing set off towards the outskirts of the city with the necessary supplies and equipment.

He directly used noise invisibility, guiding his mind into a state of faint sadness and depression, passing through the early risers, the guards on the street, the open city gates, and the people talking.

He is completely unrelated to the outside world, so the outside world doesn't notice him.

Chen Jing walked along the familiar road, as he always did, through the fog, toward Meijing City.

As Chen Jing explored and mastered spiritual energy, transforming most of it into spiritual energy capable of generating spiritual power, his understanding of "noise invisibility" deepened. To use noise invisibility, the most important thing was to control the "mind." By finding a way to put one's heart in a state of sadness, loneliness, or other low emotions, one could naturally draw upon the spiritual power of the Dao energy and enter the noise invisibility state.

During this period, the invisible spiritual energy consumption was merely a trigger; the real power came from the Blood Realm Dao Qi flowing within Chen Jing's blood.

If one does not expend spiritual energy, and is already in a state of sadness, then the noise invisibility can be activated and maintained naturally without the need for spiritual energy, until Chen Jing notices this or breaks free from his sadness.

Once the blood-realm spiritual energy filling the body is fully mastered and transformed into spiritual energy capable of generating spiritual power, then the noise invisibility will naturally no longer require the expenditure of spiritual power and can be activated and maintained as if by instinct.

However, Chen Jing only had an unverifiable answer as to why cultivation techniques could accelerate the mastery of spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy contains the spiritual imprint of its former master. The essence of cultivation methods is to bring the cultivator's body and mind closer to that spiritual imprint. The closer one gets to that spiritual imprint, the higher the degree of control over the spiritual energy and the deeper one's cultivation.

Therefore, even without a specific cultivation method, one should still be able to cultivate, although it may involve many detours and require practical experience to discover what that spiritual imprint is like.

When Chen Jing was reviewing secret documents in the Dream Realm, he also read some accounts from the Sword Pavilion elders regarding spiritual imprints. They said:

If spiritual energy comes from the previous spiritual energy carrier, and cultivation is about getting closer to the spiritual imprint of the predecessor, then did the earliest, most initial spiritual energy have a spiritual imprint?

If we acknowledge its existence, then from whom does this spiritual energy originate? From the Great Dao itself? Or from Pangu, who created the world? Or from other ancient gods and demons? This remains a question even now.

We believe it exists. Apart from the spiritual imprint of the carrier, all spiritual energy also has a universal spiritual imprint that has always existed from beginning to end, which we call "Taoist traces".

Many people often confuse the concepts of "Dao traces" and "spiritual imprints." In fact, the two are very similar, but Dao traces are universal. Each different path of cultivation has different Dao traces, but the Dao traces within the same path are the same. It is no exaggeration to say that Dao traces are one of the symbols for distinguishing paths of cultivation. On the other hand, spiritual imprints are unique. Every amount of spiritual energy, and even different practitioners of the same spiritual energy, will cause different changes to the spiritual imprint.

The traces of the Battle Qi are very clear and obvious. Those who cultivate the Battle Qi are all heroes and outstanding figures throughout history. The traces of the Battle Qi are the backbone of humanity, those heroes who fight against heaven and earth and never admit defeat. The cultivation method of the Battle Qi is both simple and difficult. It is simple because anyone can become a hero, and it is difficult because only heroes can achieve it.

...Unfortunately, the rest of the text focuses on the mental techniques of combat, such as how to train the body and cultivate combat skills in the Body and Blood Realms; how to read widely, understand astronomy and geography, and make inventions in the Core Realm; how to cultivate an indomitable spirit, courage, and pride in the Qi Realm; and how to understand and perceive the meaning and purpose of combat within oneself in the Clarity Realm.

Chen Jing still doesn't know how to cultivate the Qi of Dao; he only has some vaguely summarized "principles" at present.

Walking alone on the road to Meijing City was a first for Chen Jing, and he couldn't help but think:

"The traces of the Dao Qi are so sorrowful. The original owner of that Dao Qi must have been a very lonely person."

"So pitiful."

However, after walking halfway, Chen Jing overturned his previous ridiculous self-pity. Dao marks are imprints in spiritual energy, not a state of mind that needs to be entered when using the inherent abilities of spiritual energy. He was probably overthinking it.

Chen Jing chuckled at his own thoughts, and with a smile, he continued forward.

In the noise-invisible environment, the monsters he occasionally encountered along the way ignored Chen Jing. Common monsters such as dolls, zombies, and wandering spirits couldn't see Chen Jing at all. Even if Chen Jing walked past them while dancing and singing, they wouldn't sense him in the slightest.

Ash City was no longer visible in the fog, and Meijing City was still far away, but Chen Jing was already very familiar with this wilderness and knew how to proceed.

They remained silent the entire way.

...

In the misty lands of the former Song Dynasty, a group of people were traveling on horseback, their horses entirely black. Among them were men and women, adults and teenagers.

"Let's stop here for a bit," the burly man leading the group said, pointing to the thick fog. "There's a cave over there; let's rest there for a while."

The burly man was tall and strong, as if he were made of steel or iron. He had a square face and his muscles were full of explosive power.

He wore sturdy boots, practical leather trousers, a white shirt, a coat with many pockets, a grey cloak, and a pistol and a straight sword at his waist.

"Old Xia, we haven't gone far, why are we setting up camp already!" A young man shouted from the crowd, drawing stares and shakes of the heads of those around him.

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