He said, "In fact, I feel better than ever."
She nodded and said, "It is definitely because of your high-density soul. Now that you've reached the second mortal coil and your mind has activated, it is expected that your spiritual acuity will begin to take effect now."
"This is a good thing for you. It means that the mental side effects of techniques will have less effect on you. This is usually a benefit that nascent soul cultivators have. They have gained perfect control of their soul so they can resist mental influence."
His eyes widened, and he said, "Wow."
She chuckled and said, "I'm impressed too. I knew your high-density soul was great, but I didn't expect it to be capable of shrugging off the influence of a rank 6 blood essence. In that case, I don't need to send you back to rest before we move on to the next section of your growth."
She used her divine sense to sweep away all the debris in the room and threw it out of the window.
Then she said, "Sit down."
He sat down on the cushion that had now been exposed again while he was in awe of what she just did.
She didn't move at all, yet she was able to make the world move for her. He could tell that it was the power of her solidified divine sense.
The divine sense is an extension of her mind. His own mind has just awakened, so the best he can do is see mana and control it to cast spells. He can't push and pull mana in large waves like she can. Her mind is simply more powerful than his.
She said to him, "As you can already tell, the foundation of the power of the second mortal coil is their activated life force and activated mind."
"With their activated mind, they can perceive and interact with mana. So they can refine mana into energy and use it to cast spells. That is the path of energy refining."
"The path of body refining, on the other hand, is the act of refining life force and burning it for more power. The better the quality of the life force and the better the quality of internal energy, the more power can be gained from them. This is the goal of transformation in the second mortal coil."
"So those on the path of energy refining transform their internal energy, while those on the path of body refining transform their life force. No one transforms their body. The body will remain the same until the third transformation, where the two paths will completely diverge."
She said, "You should know this."
So she continued, "This is the normal way things are done for everyone. They choose one path and stick to it. But we in the Blood Skull sect practice both paths and combine their power. That's why we are so powerful."
"Even without combining the power of both paths, you are already better than others because the technique you used to transcend the first mortal coil is special and superior."
"For example, I can see that you are already cultivating even though you aren't doing anything actively. The seed within you has a passive growth potential. It wants to grow, so even if you're not doing anything, it will try to draw energy from the world and from your body."
"That's both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good because your cultivation will be faster. Even when you're not doing anything, your cultivation will increase. So when you're doing something, your cultivation will grow faster."
"But it is a bad thing in that if you don't give your seed the energy it needs to grow, it will take that energy from your body and take over your body. We need to prevent that."
Arthur nodded in agreement and said, "We should, please."
Elder Storm Hawk quirked her lips in amusement. But what he saw was terrifying.
She had only moved her face, but her emotions had fluctuated, which caused the ball of lightning within her to spike and expand dangerously.
He was focusing on her with his spirit sense, so he saw this. The sight scared him so much that he jumped away from her in fright. His face was so solemn that he looked like he was facing a great enemy.
But when he saw that she wasn't about to take deadly actions against him, he coughed to ease the awkwardness. Then he returned to his cushion.
Elder Storm Hawk didn't seem to mind. Her face returned to its previous calmness.
She continued calmly, "Another difference between you and others is you don't need to actively burn your life force for power. Your life force is exuberant and abundant, so you are always in a state ready for fighting."
He chuckled and said, "It seems all those superior blood pills weren't taken in vain."
Elder Storm Hawk didn't find what he said funny. He was grateful for that. He just wasn't in the mood for another jump scare currently.
She said, "The final difference between you and normal cultivators at the second mortal coil, or should I call it the cumulative difference, is that you have more lifespan than them."
"You should have more than twice the normal life span. Others get 50, but you should get at least 100. So you have more time to reach the third mortal coil."
Arthur nodded in agreement. He saw in his system that he had indeed gained more than 100 years of life span.
He gained 124 more years, which is about what cultivators at the third mortal coil gain. He can imagine that if he continues to gain twice as much as his peers, he might have a chance at truly becoming everlasting.
Elder Storm Hawk brought back his attention by saying, "These differences are all good, but they come with their disadvantages. The greatest weakness is that the wood element is weak and can't boost the life force for attacking."