Due to the weather, I caught a cold the day before yesterday and yesterday, leaving me dizzy and mentally fogged. I cooked up a bug, and was still mute. I only realized it two hours after publishing the post and immediately made a revision. The change wasn't significant, just adding a description of using Spirit-Gathering Script in place of voice. It shouldn't affect the reading experience. I also extend my special thanks to and for pointing it out.
Simulated by the Heart-Illusion Mirror, at first, even with the aid of the Second Nascent Spirit, the 1st Sword, was defeated in just one breath.
However, was not afraid of being slain. Normally, in an illusion, the spirit would also be affected. But at this moment, outside the door, a simple girl was playing the Spirit-Calming and Soul-Soothing Melody, so he had no further reservations.
He only needed to exert his full strength, using Spirit Arts Talismans to resist the crushing might of this Day-Roaming Spirit Master.
In this illusion, everything was formed according to the memories in 's mind. In his previous life, he had seen a great deal and experienced many battles. He was intimately familiar with the methods of Spirit Masters. This Day-Roaming Spirit Master simulated by the Heart-Illusion Mirror possessed eighty to ninety percent verisimilitude. It truly possessed the ability to command mountains and rivers, and its techniques were unpredictable and never rigid.
The same method of overcoming an enemy was almost never used twice. Thousands of Spirit Arts that knew were deployed at his fingertips.
From beginning to end, he was being utterly dominated and slaughtered.
In truth, if this were a martial arts scenario, even with only the cultivation of the Earth Wheel, 2nd Meridian, was confident he could hold out for more than four breaths using his martial intent.
But this time, the illusion was specifically generated to train the fighting methods of a Spirit Master, so the means could employ were limited strictly to Spirit Arts. This left him completely bewildered, unsure of what method to use for defense.
It wasn't until half an hour later, after hundreds of exchanges, that managed to block and break one of the opponent's spells, only to be instantly annihilated by the overwhelming flood of spiritual energy that followed.
However, the number of broken spells gradually increased—two, then three, then four. And then, occasionally, he managed to push into the window of the second breath.
Perhaps it was due to the high-pressure combat, but the Spirit Art fighting style that was slowly taking shape within him was markedly different. Either he utilized his Talisman Dao attainments to break spells before they could fully manifest, or he sought ways to achieve spiritual counter-control. These were extremely perilous methods for the weak to challenge the strong.
At the beginning, still kept track of time, but after only a quarter of an hour, he unconsciously let go of everything. He was completely absorbed, only knowing how to constantly analyze and summarize.
It was unclear how long had passed when 's consciousness finally returned. He was then astonished to find that he could now regularly enter the stage of deploying his attack during the sixth breath under the Day-Roaming Spirit Master’s fierce assault. Moreover, it felt as if his movements possessed a rhythm, incredibly tight and pleasing to the eye.
Spirit Arts erupted from his hands, not only faster but also showing a clear improvement in his understanding of the Talismans compared to before.
“That felt like an epiphany just now.”
Recalling it carefully, it was somewhat vague. However, when he was fully engaged in combat, he truly felt inspiration surging like a tide, and his thoughts were several times faster than usual.
In such a state, learning anything would be incredibly swift.
But since it wasn't an epiphany, what was the reason? Was it because of the Heart-Illusion Mirror? He had indeed used some techniques with this mirror.
It was a self-applied illusion technique developed in later eras, used by Spirit Masters targeting themselves.
Through continuous self-suggestion and hypnosis, one could achieve mental clarity and clearer thoughts.
This was merely the most rudimentary application. About five thousand years later, there was a deviant who constantly hypnotized himself into believing he was the sole divine being in the world.
This person eventually became impossibly strong, not only founding his own school but also advancing to the Saint Realm, achieving dominance for a time.
did not possess that level of capability, nor did he have that near-abnormal level of self-confidence.
This method of advancement was extremely rapid, and it had one major flaw: once confidence was shattered and the hypnosis broken, one's cultivation would instantly plummet by ninety percent.
The sect leader who later created the Soul-Hypnosis Method met his end this way.
did not wish to follow in his footsteps and end up tragically. He only employed methods that had been proven safe and effective in later generations, amplified by the Heart-Illusion Mirror to make the effect particularly potent.
Even so, this shouldn't have led him into a state almost identical to an epiphany.
Suddenly, the sound of a zither drifted softly into his ears. immediately opened his eyes, as if grasping something, and looked toward the main door.
He had mostly figured out the reason: the Heart-Illusion Mirror's hypnosis was one factor, and this ’s Spirit-Calming and Soul-Soothing Melody also played a significant role.
Moreover, this zither music had evolved beyond what it was at the beginning; it was profoundly refined and sublimated. Every note was precisely placed—not too fast, not too slow, not too soft, not too loud. This music alone was enough to clear all distracting thoughts, making one wish to immerse their spirit in its embrace forever.
This was the true Spirit-Calming and Soul-Soothing Melody! A sound-based secret art rumored to be capable of subduing a 9th-tier exotic beast at its peak!
With a slight projection of his soul, he could sense that was completely focused. Her eyes were closed, a faint smile on her lips, suggesting that playing this piece was the most soothing thing for her.
Nearby her, had long since fallen asleep. The other guards were all placidly silent.
Looking again at the sunlight filtering through the window, it was already noon. This clearly exceeded the one hour previously agreed upon.
stared dumbfounded, thinking to himself: So this is what human character is. It seems the epiphany just now wasn't mine, but belonged to this simple-minded woman.
It appeared his earlier words had thoroughly awakened , causing her to break through some kind of barrier. Heavens pity him, he truly hadn't thought that deeply at the time; he was merely operating under the casual thought that if he could trick her, great; if not, it didn't matter.
After a brief sigh, swept away the extraneous thoughts. Without hesitation, he lit several purple sandalwood incense sticks and placed them before him. Then, he reverently took out a 'Fortune' Talisman and placed it on his forehead.
This opportunity was too rare; even if he suffered misfortune for the next few hours, he accepted it.
He then remotely activated the Heart-Illusion Mirror, casting its light above his head.
His intent instantly plunged into a state of the ethereal, with only one character in his mind: 'Pure' ().
He then decomposed it into dozens of structural foundations and thousands of spiritual patterns, constantly dismantling, constantly refining, and constantly recombining it, building up this character 'Pure' in his mind over and over, then pushing it away without leaving a trace.
Until this character perfectly conformed to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and resonated with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth.
He didn't know when it happened, but the little gold on 's left arm began to emit a faint warmth.
And before , the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth spontaneously began to gather. Again and again, it manifested the character 'Pure'. While each iteration was slightly different, every variation made the spiritual energy within the thousand-zhang radius cleaner by a fraction.
All the dust within the hundred-zhang wide martial arts room was driven into the corners by an esoteric force, leaving the ground where sat exceptionally clean.
And this talisman script also acted upon ’s soul and physical body. If could observe internally now, he would certainly detect that the true qi within his body was currently incomparably pure, and the vortex in his Sea of Consciousness was clear to the point of near transparency.
With this realization, again completely forgot time.
Only when the talisman in his mind could no longer progress through repeated attempts did 's consciousness reawaken. He understood that continuing further would yield no progress; this was due to the limits of his accumulated talisman knowledge and insight.
“This is the true epiphany!”
A faint trace of purple light flickered in 's eyes, revealing surprise.
“I have completed sixty percent of this True Talisman. Even if I only deduce it slowly from now on, it will only take about half a year to fully comprehend it. If I can find extant records verifying this talisman, the time could be further shortened.”
For Spirit Masters, after passing the initial stage of rapid progress, even geniuses often took four or five years to advance.
To enter the next realm in half a year, was thoroughly satisfied. This speed was already comparable to the direct lineage geniuses benefiting from sectarian resources.
His mind was still exceptionally active. Stimulated by the zither music and the Heart-Illusion Mirror, inspiration flowed endlessly.
Just as he was about to press his advantage and study the Kingly Martial Arts further, his eyebrows suddenly twitched, and he looked remotely towards the distance, past the large door.
Because of the zither music and the Heart-Illusion Mirror, ’s spirit was also unusually sharp.
In that instant, he suddenly caught a malicious intent piercing toward him from afar.
“This is a Heaven-Rank Martial Grandmaster…”
Almost instantly, discerned the strength of this intent and the killing aura faintly contained within it.
His thoughts spun, and within moments, he had roughly guessed the origin of this person.
“The Demonic Mountain Sect?”
sighed inwardly; this was truly troublesome.
Within Qian Tian Mountain City, on his own turf, he did not fear a Heaven-Rank Martial Grandmaster.
A powerhouse of the Black Tortoise 8th Meridian like , who was adept at utilizing the momentum of martial arts, could contend with a Heaven-Rank expert with preparation, leveraging the force of four hundred thousand troops. If he could advance another stage, ten thousand troops would suffice.
The reason and held the advantage in the city that day, despite being vastly outnumbered by 's side, was precisely this.
And he himself could also leverage the might of a nation. Although his cultivation was only at the Innate 2nd Meridian, the forces he could truly command were few, but based on his martial cultivation, he had no problem ensuring his survival in a direct confrontation.
However, the true strength of a Heaven-Rank Martial Grandmaster lay in themselves. If they were determined to antagonize Qian Tian Mountain by using guerrilla tactics and assassination, then he truly wouldn't have many ways to deal with them.
He probably wouldn't be able to leave Qian Tian Mountain City for the next two or three years, and this person’s caution suggested they were waiting for something. He also vaguely sensed a larger crisis quietly approaching.
He suspected that besides this person, there might be other experts, perhaps even an 8th-tier Martial Venerable.
A sharp glint flashed in ’s eyes, and his heart felt icy cold. Nevertheless, even so, he would never regret what happened that day in the Blood Valley Demonic Corpse Mountain.
Even knowing that retaliation might follow, knowing it might plunge him into a state of eternal damnation, he would still have acted without hesitation that day!
Born into this world, one ought to know what to do and what not to do. If he had chosen to endure and stand by then, what would have been the point of living this life?
A Martial Venerable expert? If he couldn't fight, then it was just death! (To be continued)