Taibai Luminous Godly Ban’s sixth and seventh Prohibitions are designated as the ’Great Tendons’ and ’Skin Membrane.’
The ’tendons’ in the cultivation method do not refer to tendons in the ordinary sense; it is a vague and broad concept. Commonly mentioned with muscles and fascia, the ’tendon’ represents the indistinct portion amidst flesh and the skin membrane, including parts of the muscular ligaments, meridians, and blood vessels.
Generally, ’tendons’ refer to the connective tissues that link blood and flesh to bones and internal organs—anything that transmits power or connects pivot points, whether they be blood vessels or flesh, ligaments, or veins, all fall under the category of tendons.
Since tendons link the viscera and the flesh, entwine around bones, and prop up the skin membrane, they may not be the source of Qi and strength. Still, one cannot exert force without them, hence the saying, ’An extra inch of tendon gives tenfold strength.’
When Taibai Luminous Godly Ban is imbued upon the Great Tendons, it turns the body of flesh into indestructible steel springs and iron levers. The moment this transformation occurred, An Jing could feel an itching in his flesh that was promptly replaced by a sense of comfort. A more harmonious force began to surge within him.
This was a force that could not be exploited due to hard limitations, now emerging due to his physique’s enhancement.
But this was not the limit.
Having already achieved Inner Strength and with the Son of Heaven Method at his aid, also guided by Mingguang Dust and Jin Yanhua in the practice of the Lesser Yang Swordsmanship, nourishing Essence Qi, An Jing smoothly proceeded to condense his Skin Membrane.
Just as tendons are not merely tendons but rather ’transmitters linking various pivot points,’ skin is not simply skin, but also ’a protective layer that envelops the internal organs.’
The ’skin membrane’ in cultivation includes not only the skin, a major organ, but also protective layers of internal organs, as well as the periosteum and cartilage.
If the visceral force is overly vigorous, it can injure the body itself. Yet, if the cultivation of the Skin Membrane and the Magic Prohibition succeed, one can freely maneuver their strength internally and externally without suffering backlash.
Cultivating the skin touches upon the nuances of the internal organs, and while imprinting Magic Prohibitions, it halts the operation of parts of the internal organs. Therefore, one must finish the cultivation within a specified timeframe, which is immensely difficult. It should come after ’flesh and blood,’ the ’source of strength,’ as one of the precursors for the ’Qi Refinement Nine Prohibitions.’
However, with the Son of Heaven Method and Grasping Heavenly Moment at his command, details such as ’Entering Minutiae’ and the stress of time-bound cultivation became uninteresting imprinting Homework under the influence of quickened thoughts and perfect introspection.
After completing the Seventh Prohibition, An Jing even felt like yawning because with Grasping Heavenly Moment at his command, these Spirit Awakening stage cultivation methods, even the Immortal God Cultivation Methods, had become simple, blissful, yet monotonous.
"I still have to thank Master for that cup of Spiritual Wine."
Having cultivated two more Prohibitions, the white patterns coursing through An Jing’s body were about to cover his entire body, seeping into its deepest depths.
As the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban is an ancient method of Immortal Gods, it actually requires a great deal of resources—An Jing, having the advantage of two worlds and bearing the Heavenly Mandate, was thus able to cultivate it rapidly.
Even so, An Jing could now perceive the subtle efficacy of the Spiritual Wine he drank last night—that was a Spiritual Object that even a Divine Repository True Person would get drunk on; An Jing might have dispelled its more impulsive force, but the wine’s warmth and vitality had permeated his flesh and blood and now served as an aid in his current endeavor.
Mingguang Dust and Jin Yanhua intended to enable An Jing to cultivate swiftly without seeking outside resources, and to keep him from going outside and attracting trouble in their absence.
However, they had greatly underestimated the potency of An Jing’s cultivation method; they had not anticipated that the power of the Spiritual Wine designed to last for many days would be fully extracted by An Jing all at once.
But the effect was also impressive.
An Jing raised his hand, picking up a small pinch of dust from the ground, then rubbed his palms together with force.
Boom. A dazzling spark ignited, streaking out from between An Jing’s hands.
Rubbing dust into fire.
An Jing spread his hands apart.His hands had not yet fully matured and still bore the tenderness of a child who had not gone through puberty. The Imperial Heaven and Houtu Method and Taibai Luminous Godly Ban that An Jing practiced were not methods for external cultivation that transformed the surface of the body, so his hands were pale and slender, the palms and fingertips full and rosy, perfectly natural.
But in the next instant, as An Jing channeled strength into his great tendons and skin membrane, his somewhat childish arms instantly began to swell and turn red, his clothes bursting at the seams. One after another, veins as if forged from steel, blue-black in color, emerged. They spread across his entire arm in a pattern as orderly and dense as branching tree limbs, like a layer of blue-black metal, radiating a cold, hard luster.
An Jing’s palms met, and immediately there was a thunderous roar, a visible burst of Qi Force exploding like a thunderclap.
"So that’s how it is." An Jing had an epiphany: "This is the ’Vajra Arm’!"
As the strength receded, An Jing’s hands returned to their original state, apart from his now torn clothes, there was no sign of how solid his arms had become moments before.
Afterward, An Jing began to experiment with different types of strength circulation, making his arms swell and then contract.
His Blood Qi circulated ceaselessly, but because his tendons, skin membrane, and energy pathways were well-established, An Jing’s body didn’t show the slightest sign of fatigue or wear.
"This is the Vajra Arm, the Supporting Beam Hand, the Surging Wave Hand..."
Some time later, An Jing concluded his test, satisfied: "The essence of Divine Abnormality is to fix the structures created by different types of strength circulation, continuously strengthen them, and then reach a state akin to ’Divine Skill’!"
Just now, when An Jing had made a breakthrough in the second prohibition of tendons and skin, he had realized that his physique could now endure a stronger infusion of Inner Breath.
As long as Inner Breath fortified his body, his physique could become extremely solid, extremely powerful, and incredibly flexible.
In particular, strengthening his arms and unleashing power, along with a portion of metallic Spiritual Qi solidification, constituted the precursor to the Divine Abnormality known as "Vajra Arm."
The explosive force An Jing had just channeled was obviously far from the true Vajra Arm—at least An Jing’s could not withstand a direct hit from the Sword Box at the expense of a light injury. But compared to his original strength, An Jing was confident he could block a direct strike from the Sword Box without losing too much combat strength.
Similarly, by channeling Piercing Armor True Strength into his arms for solidification, An Jing could also achieve the immense strength akin to the Supporting Beam Hand—even a cart weighing thousands of pounds could be easily tossed aside in this state.
Divine Abnormality meant completely solidifying the various capabilities developed through cultivation onto oneself, transforming them into like a mini-Divine Skill.
And these abilities also laid the foundation for the future Great Divine Power and Formation, constituting another splendid path developed by Martial Cultivators.
An Jing was conducting these tests to confirm why Divine Abnormalities are generally limited to five, yet with his concurrent practice of Qi Refinement and Martial Arts, how many he could potentially have.
The answer was simple.
Just like the Divine Skills in the Dao of Qi Refining occupy a portion of a cultivator’s inherent Spiritual Power, preventing that segment from participating in the Grand Circulation and instead creating its own small cycle,
Divine Abnormalities also occupy the Blood and Essence Qi within the body of a Martial Arts practitioner.
For ordinary humans, the stronger their physical body is worked, the stronger the solidified Divine Abnormality becomes. This is a percentage-based consumption—five is the limit; beyond that, a further load on the body is unbearable.
There are only two possibilities to exceed five Divine Abnormalities.
First, possessing a bloodline that surpasses that of humans, thereby allowing one to condense one or two more Divine Abnormalities beyond the limit of five that a human body can handle, using the power of the bloodline.
Emperor’s Blood is a classic example, You Ruhui was even born with Divine Abnormality, and Huaxian Sound and Mysterious Yang Eye are the Divine Abnormalities brought by bloodlines.
The second possibility involves consuming certain Spiritual Objects related to the principles of Life Essence or the powerful force of one’s Fate Pattern, using an external power as a base to forge additional Divine Abnormalities for oneself.