Characteristics

Unlike the bone-marrow-deep pain of the previous two times, the process of devouring within the sea of consciousness brought a ceaseless wave of dizziness and nausea. Pain could impair one's sanity, but it could also sharpen the mind, allowing Xu Yuan sufficient focus to steer and guide the Source Qi within his body. Dizziness and nausea, however, left his consciousness in a perpetual daze, prone to lapsing at the slightest lapse in concentration. Difficulty focusing was exceptionally bad news. Everything inside a cultivator's body was precise to the utmost degree, tolerating not the slightest deviation—much less in an undertaking as perilous as devouring another's intent-soul within one's own sea of consciousness. Yet alongside this bad news came a piece of good news. This time, the intent-soul secret art rotated on its own. All he truly needed to do came down to two things. First, maintain a stable state of mind, watching to see if the automatic operation of the secret art in his sea of consciousness developed any deviations, and immediately guiding it back on course if it did. Second, expend the intent-soul that had merged with the Heavenly Yan divine soul by various means, preventing it from bursting his sea of consciousness from sheer volume. This made digesting the Heavenly Yan divine soul far easier than Xu Yuan had imagined. Of course, this "easiness" was only relative to the immense agony of obtaining the Innate Dao Body and spiritual vision. As the secret art devoured it, Tianyan's Heavenly Yan divine soul battered relentlessly against the inner walls of Xu Yuan's sea of consciousness. Had the inherent foundation of the Innate Dao Body not been so extraordinary and its sea of consciousness's inner walls exceptionally resilient, Xu Yuan might have already been reduced to an idiot from a ruptured sea of consciousness. Yet even with the resilience of an Innate Dao Body's sea of consciousness, under such impacts, hairline fractures still began to appear along the inner walls. Or rather, calling them fractures made it sound far too physical. After all, a cultivator's sea of consciousness was not a physical organ like the dantian. It was more like a domain of void, housed within the brain. And within this domain of void, fine, particulate specks gradually emerged along the periphery. Pure black at their cores and grey along their fringes, they clustered into dense patches, from which wisps and threads of intent-soul dregs steadily seeped outward. The manifestation of this upheaval in the outside world was the gradual emergence of hallucinations in Xu Yuan's consciousness. There was the decadent luxury of his past life, and the dissolute romance of his present one. One second he stood amidst a modern metropolis, surrounded by smoking-hot young women in colorful miniskirts swaying to deafening, pumping music. The next second he was back in an antique pleasure house, where the slow, gentle plucking of clear zither strings tugged at the soul. Just as his mind wavered for an instant, a sharp, clear shout rang in his ears: "Calm your mind." The moment the voice sounded, the surging illusions vanished at breakneck speed, and everything returned to Tianyan's chamber, with its gaping hole in the wall. It was Tianyan's Heaven Character True Words. Sensing this, Xu Yuan hastily composed himself. He discovered that the self-operating intent-soul secret art had begun to warp due to the gaps opened by the ruptures in his sea of consciousness. He needed to rectify it at once. Enduring a sickening dizziness that tempted him to end it all, Xu Yuan forcibly steered the straying intent-soul back onto the proper path. Suddenly, a spark of enlightenment arose in his heart. That brief experience had suddenly shown him the underlying mechanics of illusion arts in this world. The fundamental logic of casting an illusion art was not to affect a cultivator's intent-soul, but their brain. It was simply that a cultivator's natural bodily rejection would cause their intent-soul to subconsciously resist the intrusion of the illusion technique, ultimately turning it into a contest between intent-soul secret arts. As for why the Meishen cherry tree could drag him into an illusion regardless of cultivation or constitution, it was most likely because it could bypass the defenses of the intent-soul altogether. Once he grasped this mechanism, numerous ideas on how to employ the Meishen Dao Charm sprang into Xu Yuan's mind. However, the present crisis was far from over, so he temporarily suppressed these thoughts. Everything so far had merely been an appetizer. Xu Yuan could sense that the Heavenly Yan divine soul ground down into fine sand within his sea of consciousness was only one-third digested. Time ticked by, second by second. As everyone in the chamber held their breath, Lou Ji's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. Though her intent-soul could not delve into Xu Yuan's sea of consciousness, with her experience, she could already deduce what he was undergoing merely from the aura leaking from him. Wisps of irritability began to surge within her heart. Willpower was indeed crucial to a cultivator, but material realities would not bend to strong willpower alone. Such as the rupturing of Xu Yuan's sea of consciousness right now. The technique the Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had just used was merely a stopgap that treated the symptoms rather than the root cause. The words "Calm your mind" had not repaired the fissures in the inner walls of Xu Yuan's sea of consciousness; they had merely shielded his brain from being affected by the illusions. And now, the protection brought by those words was beginning to recede. In the silence, Lou Ji glanced at Tianyan. "Saintess, can you cast that move once more?" Tianyan stared at the half-naked young man on the bed, her delicate brows slightly knit, her voice still devoid of emotion: "I could cast it earlier because the fissures in Changtian's sea of consciousness were small. If I cast it again now, it will most likely make matters worse. The soul force used to protect his brain will seep backward into his sea of consciousness along those fissures." Uncertainty flickered through Lou Ji's amethyst eyes. "Which means we can only wait? If this goes on, do you think Changtian can endure it?" "..." Tianyan did not reply. "We can use medicine." Amidst the silence, Luo Xiran suddenly interjected. Lou Ji turned her gaze back at once, her eyes carrying an unspoken question. As the highest secret of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, she had only ever heard the name of the Heaven-Deducing Art in the past. Her only sources of information were this Saintess and Changtian's sworn sister who had lived for ten thousand years. And now, one said medicine could not be used, while the other said it could. Luo Xiran swept her gaze over Xu Yuan on the bed, her melodious voice laden with gravity: "This seat does not mean realm-breaking medicine, but medicinal remedies that nourish and repair the sea of consciousness, such as a Blood Spirit Reversal Pill." Tianyan's clear golden eyes flashed with an unusual light upon hearing this, and she chimed in: "Pills of that sort could indeed assist Changtian in devouring my Heavenly Yan divine soul." "A Blood Spirit Reversal Pill?" A complicated note entered Lou Ji's voice. Hearing her tone, Luo Xiran asked with a hint of curiosity, "Yes. Why? A supreme treasure pill refined from the Snake Heart Lotus between the brows of a Seven-Life Python—has the recipe been lost?" "..." Lou Ji gritted her teeth, remaining silent. Back then, when that boy Xu Changge had slain Ji Qingyue, the eldest princess of the Guyuan Snake Clan, he had naturally brought back a Snake Heart Lotus, and the chief alchemist of the Prime Minister's Manor had turned it into a pill. Furthermore, that pill was right inside her Sumeru ring. Yet the problem was, no one among the upper echelons of the Prime Minister's Manor needed a Blood Spirit Reversal Pill, so naturally, they would not use a once-in-a-lifetime treasure like the Snake Heart Lotus to refine one. Compared to a Blood Spirit Reversal Pill, a Golden Kirin Pill, which possessed realm-breaking effects, undoubtedly maximized its utility. Lou Ji locked her intent-soul onto that Golden Kirin Pill inside her Sumeru ring, her palms clenching slightly. Just then, Tianyan suddenly spoke: "The Prime Minister's Manor once slew a Seven-Life Python, but presumably, they used it to refine a Golden Kirin Pill." Lou Ji's icy glare snapped toward the speaking girl at once: "If you have the leisure to mock this seat, why not think of a way to resolve Changtian's condition?" Tianyan shook her head, her voice aloof: "Chief Lou, you seem to have forgotten that more than one Seven-Life Python was slain back then." "..." Lou Ji was taken aback. Concern had muddled her mind; to think she needed Tianyan to remind her of such a thing. After a few breaths of silence, Lou Ji raised her slender, fair fingers to massage her temples. The frost in her tone faded, replaced by mild banter: "Saintess, if you could permanently maintain this state, that girl Li Qingyan probably wouldn't be able to push you around." Tianyan's golden eyes, tinged with divinity, merely glanced at Lou Ji: "If you have the time to tease, why not think about how to turn that Snake Heart Lotus into something useful to Xu Yuan?" The refining process for a Blood Spirit Body-Melding Pill was extraordinarily tedious; there was no time for that now. Given the current situation, it would most likely have to be simply processed before being consumed directly. Apart from Bai Muxi, who knew nothing of either pills or the Heaven-Deducing Art, the other three women present understood this full well. Luo Xiran spoke up at this moment: "This seat knows a thing or two about the Dao of alchemy, but there seem to be no alchemical instruments here." "No matter. The demon flame this seat cultivates can perform a simple extraction." With that, Lou Ji let out a light laugh and looked toward Xu Yuan. "Changtian, lend Big Sis your Sumeru ring to see." "..." Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. He had heard all of the women's conversation just now. With a light sigh, his calm voice drifted out softly: "The Blood Spirit Body-Melding Pill... has already been refined." "..." The moment these words left his mouth, except for Tianyan, who maintained her divine demeanor, everyone, including Lou Ji, showed a look of astonishment. Under the gaze of the four women, Xu Yuan calmly brought out a jade bottle. Inside, a blood-colored pill adorned with six brilliant pill veins rested quietly at the bottom of the translucent bottle. Looking at the pill, Lou Ji hesitated slightly: "Changtian... did you prepare this for Luo Daofan?" She phrased it delicately. Under normal circumstances, no one would refine a Blood Spirit Reversal Pill. Except for old monsters who had seized bodies. They needed this item to resolve their body's Rejection Syndrome. Xu Yuan kept his voice low and calm: "No, this was prepared for my father." Back then, his old man had laid all his cards on the table, telling him he had only twenty years left to live. To continue enjoying the shade under the great tree that was his father, Xu Yuan naturally had to find a way to prolong his life. The recipe for the Doomfall Pill required for cultivating the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art had been lost, so he had entrusted that old fellow Jiang He to research it. Meanwhile, the Blood Spirit Body-Melding Pill could be refined, and since all the ingredients had been assembled, it had naturally been completed and kept in reserve. Hearing this, Lou Ji's gaze softened considerably. As the head of the Chancellor's intelligence network, she had naturally noticed that over recent years, certain orders issued by the Prime Minister had grown somewhat hurried. Because of that, she had been able to deduce some inkling of the truth. Yet since the Chancellor had never spoken of it, it meant the matter was incurable. With a light sigh, Lou Ji said softly: "To think we would find it right under our noses after searching high and low. Changtian, take it." Xu Yuan shook his head gently. "I cannot take it." Lou Ji looked into his eyes, a faint smile on her lips: "The Seven-Life Pythons aren't extinct. When there is a chance in the future, we can simply slaughter another and refine it again." Xu Yuan let out a bitter smile. His seductive, blood-red pupils shimmered with bursts of golden radiance as he shook his head: "That is not what I mean. "If I consume this, it will indeed repair the fissures in my sea of consciousness. But at the same time, this Blood Spirit Reversal Pill's soul-fusing property will accelerate the operation of my intent-soul secret art." Lou Ji frowned upon hearing this. "Changtian... what do you mean?" Sitting cross-legged on the bed in the five-points-to-heaven posture, Xu Yuan spoke in a steady, calm tone: "Although this pill will only repair the sea of consciousness and will not affect the intent-soul directly, it will quicken the pace at which the intent-soul secret art devours and merges. "Sis, you ought to know that secret arts involving the intent-soul are precise to the extreme. The slightest error will result in a colossal blunder." With that, he glanced at Tianyan beside him and murmured: "Simply put, with my future cultivation, I would gradually and permanently become like Tianyan is right now—losing emotion and gaining divinity." Though it was far from complete, Xu Yuan could already sense changes occurring in his consciousness. This shift was extraordinarily subtle, faint almost beyond detection. Yet his past experience with aberrant ghost transformation had made him exceptionally sensitive to conditions that altered his own cognition. Fortunately, this encroaching assimilation by the Heavenly Yan divine soul was continuously being dismantled and ground down by his self-operating intent-soul secret art. This was an equilibrium. Any external force would shatter this delicate balance. Understanding dawned on Lou Ji at once, and she raised her hand to press her temples. To be honest, a crown prince of the Prime Minister's Manor devoid of emotion and possessing only divinity was not necessarily a bad thing for the vast manor. After all, a brilliant, rational monster was the unrivaled choice to become a leader. Yet the question was, was that all the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion was aiming for? If he lost his emotions and was left with only divinity, would subtle conscious impressions be quietly planted within him to sway Changtian's decisions? If that were possible... "Saintess..." Lou Ji did not pursue that line of thought any further, her tone flattening. "Can you explain this to this seat?" Now that her anxiety over Xu Yuan's critical condition had receded, she had reverted once more to the cold, murderous Black-Scaled Poisonous Woman. A flicker of confusion surfaced in Tianyan's eyes, but her current state, where divinity held sway over sensibility, quickly brought her to an answer: "My current state of 'Emptiness' is a secret art of the Heaven-Deducing Art. I was unaware that cultivating the Heavenly Yan divine soul alone would cause one to lose their reason. This is likely part of my master's plotting." Before Lou Ji could speak, Xu Yuan's voice transmission had already arrived: "Sis, that's enough. "Whatever the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master plotted, the scheme has already been broken. We will discuss the rest once I finish digesting Tianyan's divine soul." With that, Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes. As the Heavenly Yan divine soul within his sea of consciousness was steadily digested and devoured, Xu Yuan's perception of his surroundings grew increasingly transparent and clear. Through this process of devouring and merging, his intent-soul had gradually begun to take on the characteristics of the Heavenly Yan divine soul. The scattered Source Qi drifting in the air became pure enough to see with the naked eye. Without even needing to deliberately sense it, he could already perceive the orbs of Source Qi around the four women beside him, radiant enough to blind anyone.