It turns out that the Yin Spirit is not invisible. However, whether it is visible directly to the naked eye or must be discovered through the Divine Mirror is a question that needs to be studied.
Yu Ci still wanted to see more clearly, but at this moment, his eyes began to feel dry, and the breath he had been holding naturally dispersed. He felt an undeniable sense of fatigue spreading through his body. The image in the small courtyard seemed to be covered by a layer of light gauze, becoming blurred.
Encountering this situation, Yu Ci suddenly had an epiphany. He raised his perspective, overlooking the entire Cliff City.
The Dan Cliff and the Central Basin are closely adjacent. Compared to the upper and lower cities next to each other, Yu Ci indeed found some differences. As the foundation of the Sun Light Sect, the upper city appeared slightly lighter in color on the Divine Mirror, resembling a slightly faded painting or a picture covered by a thin veil. In contrast, the lower city, where the common people gathered, had a very bright color in the Central Basin.
This difference is extremely subtle, hidden among the multicolored lights and shadows. Without Yu Ciâs awareness, it would be difficult to distinguish. Combining past experiences with the current situation, he wondered if he could make a guess:
The range and clarity of the Divine Mirror’s reflection might be directly related to the strength of the surrounding entities it reflects. However, the clarity of the Divine Mirrorâs image seems to be inversely relatedâthe weaker the target, the clearer the image, and the stronger the target, the more blurred it becomes.
If this theory is correct, then everything can be explained.
Of course, saying “strength” alone is not accurate, as strength is a relative concept that requires a reference point. If such a reference or standard exists, who could be more suitable than the owner of the Divine Mirror?
The issue boils down to a fundamental question: What is his current strength?
At the moment this thought arose, he shifted his focus and instantly moved from the Dan Cliff dozens of miles away to the center of this forest, which is the exact center of the Divine Mirror. There, on a large tree stump in the forest, sat a figureâthe reflection of himself in the Divine Mirror.
Yu Ci was seeing his own reflection in the Divine Mirror for the first time and found it extremely fascinating. He had once thought that while he was observing the reflection, it must also be observing another âreflection in the Divine Mirrorâ; and that âother reflectionâ would observe yet another âreflection in the Divine Mirrorâ… This nesting would continue infinitely.
However, in reality, what he had guessed did not happen. As his gaze fell, the reflection in the Divine Mirror seemed to gain consciousness. It slowly raised its head and met his eyes.
At that moment, the reflection of himself in the center of the Divine Mirror moved.
The tiny figure inside seemed to stand and gaze thoughtfully; it was as if standing in place, calm and natural. Regardless of how it is described, this was certainly not a reflection of his current state. At this moment, the image in the mirror seemed to come alive, acquiring free will.
Yu Ci stared at the figure in the mirror, feeling an irresistible magic. Unconsciously, his focus merged with it, making it difficult to distinguish between the world inside and outside the Divine Mirror, unsure of what was real and what was illusion. At that moment, driven by an unknown force, his body trembled, and the tree stump beneath him shattered with a loud crash.
He naturally steadied himself, striking a pose identical to the one in the image. As his blood and Qi surged, he felt his entire bodyâs bones, tendons, and muscles suddenly tighten into a single force, and all his essence, blood, and energy condensed together, surging upward.
His top of the head trembled, as if a crack had opened, and his entire essence, blood, and qi burst forth from his body.
At this moment, his sleeve trembled, and the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror seemed to have developed its own consciousness. It spontaneously flew out, spinning, and passed over his head, then abruptly stopped spinning. The instant the mirror stopped, its smooth surface faced downwards, covering his crown and blocking the surge of blood and energy.
The mirror emitted a âhumâ as it vibrated. The Divine Map before him was also affected, its brilliance intensifying before transforming into a swirl of light mist, which flew towards the mirror overhead and quickly merged with it. At this point, the silent mountain forest was left with only Yu Ci and the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, both engaging in an incredibly marvelous reaction.
The mirror seemed unable to withstand the power contained within the blood and qi, beginning to wobble uncontrollably, and then it started spinning once more.
Without the Divine Map, Yu Ci should not have been able to see the changes in the mirror above his head. However, at this moment, he felt an incredibly real connection with the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror. The floating mirror seemed as if it was held in his hand, or perhaps it had become a part of his body. He distinctly felt a circuit similar to meridian channels behind the mirrorâs surface, through which his blood and energy flowed, immediately causing a response.
Injection, circulation, accumulation; injection, circulation, accumulation⌠These three distinct stages looped endlessly, channeling all the blood and energy breaking through the top into the mirror, accumulating in the âcircuitâ centerâs âacupoint,â solidified like a pearl, without a trace of leakage.
Below the mirror, Yu Ciâs condition was dire. The surge of blood and energy had drained all his strength, and an overwhelming sense of emptiness spread throughout his body. His current state was even worse than a newborn babyâs; perhaps a gust of mountain wind could end his life.
Then the wind came, and Yu Ci’s body felt as if it was floating, as though it had lost its weight and might be carried away by the wind.
This was clearly an illusion; it was not his body that was drifting away. In reality, his body remained unmoved. What was about to be carried away were his perceptions and consciousnessâthese purely spiritual aspects of himself, his soul that had been tempered for over ten years and was on the verge of accomplishment.
He had already reached the level of soul and energy resonance. At this moment, it was the phenomenon of the essence stored in the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror responding to and attracting his soul.
If he were not careful, the increasingly strong attraction between the two could indeed cause his soul to be drawn into the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror along with the essence. The essence breaking through the top was already a terrible thing, and if his soul also escaped, he would be left as an empty shell with no meaning of existence.
In this critical moment, Yu Ci managed to steady his mind. Regardless of everything else, he used the âGuarding the Acupointâ technique from the âNine Palaces Moonlight True Art,â concentrating his spiritual intent, focusing on the Niwan Palace, and gathering the last bit of his strength. With a thunderous shout, he exclaimed:
âSettle!â
The sound wave spread, and the rotation and vibration of the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror abruptly ceased, bringing sudden silence to the forest. Immediately, Yu Ci felt a heavy weight on his head, as if a heavy iron pestle were pressing down on him. He was not surprised but rather pleased. For what was pressing down was the Essence Pearl that had condensed in the center acupoint of the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror.
Spirit and qi resonated, attracting each other; if one side remained still, the other naturally moved!
The essence pearl slid out of the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, appearing both solid and illusory, seamlessly merging into the top of his head and then pressing into the Niwan Palace. Under this force, the Niwan Palace jumped, driving the four corners and expanding throughout the entire brain palace, extending to the limbs and bones, making all the muscles and blood tremble in unison.
Yu Ci vaguely sensed that the Essence Pearl should be gathered together, but the pressure from the pearl was overwhelming, making it hard for his body to endure. Thus, guided by his spiritual soul, his body instinctively reacted, with his limbs and every part of him generating a powerful attractive force, which acted on the Essence Pearl through the central area of the Niwan Palace.
Under the influence of this intricate attraction, as soon as the Essence Pearl settled into the Niwan Palace, it lost its original form. It transformed from a heavy iron weight into a warmth as gentle as a spring breeze, like the most comfortable warm water, flowing down from the brain palace without distinguishing between meridians and blood vessels. Instead, it permeated every fiber, bone, and organ, from top to bottom, and from bottom to top, like an hourglass, circulating endlessly.
After several cycles, Yu Ci felt this warmth filling his entire body, gradually like a stream filling a valley, steam rising over a lake. It truly was both clear and obscure, strong and weak, present and absent. It pervaded everything, so much so that his mind became blended with it, making it hard to distinguish.
At this moment, his previously stiff body finally became flexible. Yu Ci opened his hand, feeling a slight perspiration in his palm. He had to admit that his state was excellent, unprecedentedly good, but before this, he had encountered the most dangerous peril. One misstep, and his essence, qi, and spirit could be drained by the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell to decay in the mountains!
Why did such a situation arise? Especially since it felt so familiar, like… like when he was at the bottom of the Sky Rift Valley, swinging his sword to kill that Old Xu, where his mind and energy harmonized without a gap.
He stared at his palm, slowly bending his thumb and little finger, the three fingers straight as a sword. After a moment of stillness, he suddenly made a cut. A faint hiss was heard in the air, which quickly blended into the mountain wind, leaving no trace.
Yu Ci’s fingertips felt no resistance, not even the air’s drag. He only felt an unprecedented lightness as if his flesh and blood had become intangible. In reality, there was a fir tree of about the thickness of a bowl right in the path of his fingers.
Another gust of mountain wind blew, and suddenly, a small notch appeared on the edge of the fir tree, with fine wood shavings falling off. In an instant, the notch extended, about half an inch deep, with a smooth cut surface, as if crafted by the most skillful carpenter.
Fixing his gaze on the fir tree’s scar, Yu Ci was slightly stunned. His fingertips still retained the previous sensation, but it was so subtle that he found it hard to recall the exact details.
However, the feeling was vaguely similar to the sword intent that had penetrated his body at the top of the Sky Rift Valley and the edge of the cliff, left by Ye Bin.
In recent days, Yu Ci had been studying that mist-like sword intent and had been trying to replicate the profound subtlety when the sword intent passed through him, but the results had always been unsatisfactory. Yet, the sword-like movement he had just casually made unexpectedly had a trace of that flavor, which was a great surprise.
All of this was undoubtedly related to the azure glowing bronze mirror above him.
He looked up, his face just reflected in the smooth mirror surface. At that moment, the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror truly resembled an ordinary bronze mirrorâexcept that it was still floating in mid-air.
“Old friend, what exactly are you?”
In his exclamation, the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror seemed to have a spiritual quality, its azure light rippling like water. Then Yu Ci saw a beam of light projected from the center of the mirror, piercing his brow directly without giving him any time to react.
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