Free Web NovelChapter 307: Chapter 301: Four Seals
Feng Shanshan chuckled fondly at Mu Chen’s dumbfounded expression. The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit snapped its fingers, and a table and three chairs materialized out of thin air in the middle of the vast green field, looking somewhat abrupt and out of place.
"Have a seat." The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit gestured casually at the chairs but took a seat first itself. Feng Shanshan didn’t stand on ceremony, sitting down and asking, "Mirror Spirit, you said the Forest of Myriad Manifestations has a flaw. But why has our family practiced this Cultivation Technique for tens of thousands of years without discovering anything strange?"
The Mirror Spirit nodded slightly. "No one understands the Cultivation Technique my master created better than I do, because I was by his side when he created it. The flaw I mentioned doesn’t mean there’s a problem with the technique itself. Rather, this seemingly complete Cultivation Technique is actually incomplete. Or, to put it another way, it’s missing an auxiliary Secret Technique."
Mu Chen was taken aback. "An auxiliary Secret Technique?"
The Mirror Spirit hummed in affirmation. "When my master created the Forest of Myriad Manifestations, he truly exhausted a lifetime of wisdom and research on the soul. It was only after all sorts of theoretical and practical applications that he finally confirmed it was a successful Cultivation Technique. In fact, it is indeed a heaven-defying Cultivation Technique. You could say that on the Extreme Martial Continent today, there are definitely no more than ten Spiritual Techniques remaining. Moreover, they are all mid-to-low-tier Secondary Cultivation Techniques. There is only one that can truly be considered a High-level Spiritual Technique. But the benefits of this Spiritual Technique my master created are second only to that High-level Cultivation Method."
Neither Mu Chen nor Feng Shanshan spoke. ’Actually, I really want to ask,’ Mu Chen thought, ’didn’t they say Spiritual Techniques had completely vanished from the continent? But on second thought, there are always a few that slip through the cracks.’ He felt relieved at the thought.
"That was the first time I had ever seen my master so happy. After creating this Spiritual Technique, he didn’t even practice his Cultivation for several days. He was constantly deducing its completeness, forwards and backwards. After a few days of analysis, his modifications and creations for this technique grew more and more mature, more and more perfect. It got to the point where later, whenever he mentioned this Cultivation Technique, he would speak of it with great relish." The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit seemed to recall the scene, the corners of its mouth turning up slightly. "After the theoretical proofs, my master began to try cultivating the technique himself. Shennong tasted a hundred herbs, and a Pill King consumes a thousand pills. Every creator is the first to experiment."
Feng Shanshan frowned. "Did the Senluo Ancestor discover that the Cultivation Technique was still flawed when he was experimenting with it?"
The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit shook its head. "No, the results of the experiment were flawless. It could be called perfect! It was precisely because of this that my master’s fame gradually spread across the Extreme Martial Continent."
"No flaws?" Mu Chen asked, puzzled. "But you just said..."
"I just said it has a flaw, and a major one at that, right?" the Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit interrupted with a smile. "But it wasn’t discovered after my master’s successful experiment. It was discovered much, much later, during the last few hundred years before my master’s departure. That’s because ever since his Spiritual Power reached the Peak of Qian Realm, he was unable to make even a sliver of progress. I assume you both know that when a Martial Artist’s Spiritual Power reaches the Peak of Qian Realm, they have theoretically achieved an Undead Body."
Mu Chen nodded. "Indeed, our predecessors have said as much. Is that not the case?"
The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit gave a bitter smile. "If it were, then why would I be waiting here all alone? And why would my master have passed away?"
Mu Chen and Feng Shanshan froze at the same time. ’That’s right. If a person’s soul cannot be annihilated, then theoretically, they should live forever. What’s more, the Senluo Saint was a High-tier Saint.’
"So, in the end, my master did pass away. In the final few hundred years before his departure, he sat day and night within this Spiritual Domain he created, thinking constantly. If his predecessors had already determined that the Peak of Qian Realm was the threshold to an undying human soul, why could he still feel his lifespan about to run out? The more he thought, the more questions he had. As his thoughts deepened, he came to believe all these questions pointed to one thing: the peak Spirit Realm that humans currently achieve is not the true peak. He felt that something in this Human World seemed to be locked away by some powerful force." freewebnovёl.ƈom
The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit’s explanation grew deeper, its expression more and more solemn. "With a breakthrough point for the problem, my master spent the following years continuously researching the human soul, constantly trying to comprehend the Soul Dao between heaven and earth. This period of comprehension lasted a hundred years, but he made no progress whatsoever. Seeing my master’s lifespan dwindling and the disharmonious aura between heaven and earth growing thicker, I tried to persuade him to stop comprehending the so-called Soul Dao. That kind of soul comprehension seemed to have touched upon some kind of Natural Law!"
BOOM!!
A loud roar drew everyone’s gaze to the sky. Looking up, Mu Chen felt an incredibly terrifying and immense pressure descend from above, as if it was suppressing his very soul... But in the sky, aside from the vast Azure Sky formed by the Spiritual Domain, there was nothing.
The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit gazed at the sky with a grim expression. "As expected. Thirty thousand years have passed, and the things my master comprehended are still not accepted by this world. But I must still tell you. Although this violates the Natural Law, as a Spirit Body, I no longer fear such things."
"On the verge of his final day, my master finally comprehended the strangeness of the Soul Dao. It was exactly as he had initially guessed. The Peak of Qian Realm that humans now break through to is not the true Peak of Qian Realm at all, but... an illusion!"
Feng Shanshan and Mu Chen froze. "An illusion... it’s actually an illusion..."
The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit chuckled. "That’s right. In other words, the Spirit Realm passed down among Martial Artists today is not real at all. It is obscured by a facade. Take this little girl’s Spirit Realm, for example. It’s very high, already at the Early Stage of the Kun Realm. But if calculated according to the realms my master comprehended, that level is, at best, only the Early Stage of the Kan Realm."
"Only the Early Stage of the Kan Realm?" Feng Shanshan pointed to her own nose. "No way. I’ve been practicing the Forest of Myriad Manifestations for a full thirteen years..."
The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit chuckled. "That’s actually not bad. The True Realm of this little fellow next to you is even lower—the Middle Stage of the Li Realm at most."
"Middle Stage of the Li Realm? This..." Mu Chen was dumbfounded as he felt his own burgeoning Spiritual Power. ’This is what the Middle Stage of the Li Realm feels like? In that case, doesn’t this mean my Spiritual Power hasn’t improved at all since my Master went into slumber?’
"Don’t be so quick to disbelieve. Back then, my master had reached the Peak Realm of Spiritual Power, but according to the true calculation, he was only at the Late Stage of the Kun Realm. Why would there be such a huge restriction?" the Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit asked, already knowing the answer.
"Why..." Of course, Mu Chen and Feng Shanshan didn’t understand.
"Because the entire Extreme Martial Continent has had a Seal placed upon it by some powerful entity! Not just one Seal, but four of them at once!"
"Four Seals?!"
"I don’t know what it is, but after my master had his epiphany about Soul Power, his expression was filled with sorrow. He told me that humanity seemed to be shackled by some supreme entity. Thus, four Seals were placed upon the soul. One Seal is used to obscure humanity’s true Spirit Realm, while the other three are used to seal away humanity’s even higher Spirit Realms, all to curb humanity’s continuous breakthroughs. And this person... might just be the god of this world..." As it spoke, the Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit’s expression changed as if it had become another person entirely, looking utterly entranced.
"But my master refused to let humanity be shackled like this. He chose to defy the heavens and create a Secret Technique capable of breaking the first Seal. This Secret Technique would allow humanity’s falsified Spirit Realm to approach infinite closeness with the True Realm, and then successfully remove the first layer of shackles to charge toward the three higher, sealed realms!"
"And this was the goal my master strived for before his departure. In fact, he ultimately did succeed. But his actions completely enraged the Natural Law. The moment that Secret Technique was born, my master was struck by a heavenly punishment that obliterated him, leaving not even his bones behind. Even his soul was completely annihilated, truly vanishing from the Extreme Martial Continent." As it spoke of this, the Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit’s expression held a trace of sorrow, but even more so, it was filled with pride.
"Heh heh. Unfortunately for it, my consciousness has always been connected to my master’s. That heavenly punishment thought that by destroying my master, the Secret Technique he created would also be destroyed. But it was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong! In his final moments, my master had already carved that Cultivation Technique firmly into the depths of my soul. Unless I am completely dissipated, I will absolutely never forget it!" The Soul Mirror Spirit looked smugly at the sky, its eyes filled with infinite ridicule.
"It’s a shame Sima Changkong was such an idiot! He completely sealed me away before I even had a chance to speak of this matter! That seal lasted for thirty thousand years! Thirty thousand years! If the Ninghun Family had known about this Cultivation Technique sooner, how could they not have a place among the peak powers of the Extreme Martial Continent today?! Wasn’t he obsessed with power? Wasn’t he obsessed with status? If he had known all this, how could he have worried about not leaving his name in history?! But instead, he sealed me away. Only today have I been able to speak these words hidden deep within my soul! He was an absolute bastard!" The Soul Condensing Mirror Spirit was beside itself with rage, roaring hysterically.
Mu Chen and Feng Shanshan gave wry smiles and rubbed their noses. The things they had heard today were simply too shocking. ’Still, I feel a hint of relief,’ Mu Chen thought, ’because my own guess has been proven true. The Soul Realm is definitely not as simple as just reaching the Qian Realm. Since there are ten Martial Artist Realms, how could there only be four Spirit Realms?’
"Hah... hah... I haven’t spoken this much in a long time. It feels great. I’ve explained the whole story now. Although thirty thousand years have passed and I don’t know the current state of the Ninghun Family, seeing you, little girl, is enough. Even if you are the only one left in the Ninghun Family, I am capable of making you stand at the peak of this continent. Of course, I mean standing at the peak of the entire continent through Spiritual Power. Because what I am about to tell you is the Spirit Secret Technique that transcends the Natural Law—the God-Nashing Technique!"
