"Many patriarchs of the sects have even called the vessel sigil techniques divine techniques. They have also said that many other cultivators at the sixth mortal coil don't have techniques at the caliber of the vessel sigil techniques."
"If what they say is true and the vessel sigil techniques are truly divine, then I don't think it is far-fetched that they will be useful in helping you reach the seventh mortal coil. After all, the seventh mortal coil is also called the divine transformation realm."
Arthur heard something intriguing, which made him ask, "What are divine techniques?"
He asked because he has divine techniques and had always been wondering how different they could be from normal techniques and spells.
Patriarch Thunder Drakes said, "As I said earlier, I don't really know much about the seventh mortal coil. But I've heard that divine abilities are techniques whose source of power is not limited to one's existence but is sourced from outside the body."
"Take the Lightning Vessel Sigil technique, for example; it is a technique that creates an external store of energy on your body, which you can use to capture and store heavenly lightning."
"The heavenly lightning is definitely stronger than whatever you can produce or control. Yet, you can capture it and use it to produce power that is beyond your normal power output."
"So that is what I believe divine abilities are. They are techniques that augment one's power by using an external source."
The more the patriarch spoke, the more Arthur drew similarities between the divine abilities of the Mountain Sitting Dao and the vessel sigil techniques.
The Mountain Karma divine ability was a perfect example of the definition of divine abilities that the patriarch used. The Mountain Karma divine ability enhances his power by using good karma, which he earns by helping people.
The more he heard, the more he was enlightened. His eyes lit up as he said, "So that's it."
Patriarch Thunder Drake didn't know what he was thinking about. The man continued what he was saying by encouraging Arthur.
He said, "So you might have a good chance of advancing to the seventh mortal coil with a sigil technique. But I don't think the sigil techniques of the sect will work for you. You might have to turn to the ancient method, like Sword Flash did."
Arthur asked in surprise, "Patriarch Sword Flash used the ancient external method to advance?"
Thunder Drake nodded and said, "He did. Like you, he didn't have a compatible cultivation method to advance. But that was his fault, of course."
"In order to advance to the fifth mortal coil, he had to count on understanding a great truth. The great truth that he understood and used to advance is spatial teleportation. That's what the teleportation talisman is based on and why he is called Sword Flash."
"Seeing as you just got that talisman inheritance and also came into contact with spiritual energy, the culprit of your impromptu attempt to advance to the fifth mortal coil is clear as day."
"The combination of higher knowledge and the experience of coming into contact with spiritual energy, which caused you to notice the existence of your soul, all worked together to make you try to liberate your soul."
Arthur's eyes lit up, and he said in understanding, "So that's why?"
He remembered vividly that when he had received the sliver of spiritual energy from the patriarchs, he had felt weird. He had an illusion that he should be experiencing something, but he couldn't experience that thing.
The particular illusion was that the sliver of spiritual energy should have been heavy, but his sensation of it was dull and nonexistent. It had felt like he was carrying a giant foam.
The array spirit in the form of the small boy had explained that it was because he couldn't perceive spiritual things. The boy had made the whole situation seem harmless.
But when this seemingly harmless situation was combined with the acquisition of the teleportation talisman, the potential for enlightenment was created. All it needed was one spark, and that spark was him trying to convince Roar to expand his horizons.
It was as if his own soul had listened to him and was trying to leave his body in order to expand its horizon. The more he thought about it, the more he chuckled inwardly.
He said to himself, "I could have died. Fortunately, I didn't."
"I guess all I can say is that all is well that ends well. It definitely ended well since the attempt wasn't a dangerous use of my time. I gained something out of it, so I should be happy."
He was thinking about a lot, meanwhile he said to Patriarch Thunder Drake, "Patriarch Sword Flash's is truly a genius for coming up with something like the teleportation talisman. I am sure that the sixth mortal coil is within reach for him. Even the seventh mortal coil might be in his future."
He spoke with true admiration of Swoed Flash. As someone who also admired Sword Flash, Thunder Drake could sense the sincerity in what Arthur said.
He was also a nascent soul cultivator who cultivates lightning so he could tell when weak people like Arthur were lying.
But even though he admired Sword Flash Thunder Drake still said to Arthur, "He is a genius, but he is wasting his talents and potential."
He explained what he meant by saying, "He is clearly a genius. That's undisputed. But his genius is something that is better spent walking on a path that had been walked on by predecessors."
"He shouldn't have tried to create his own cultivation technique. Even though he succeeded in it, he wasted his time and potential. And right now, he might be stuck at the fifth mortal coil."
"He was too proud and ambitious, so he took a new route and created a new path. He didn't need to at all and even though he has made a lot of progress with his new path, it turned out that his path might be a dead end after all."