The cogs in Aksai’s head started spinning.
The Consciousness Creation Technique could turn ordinary items into extraordinary tools.
Weapons that could think, shields that could strategize defenses, even everyday objects that could perform complex tasks autonomously. The potential was limitless.
“This thing is not part of the Heretic Talismanic Dao. I think this was Mao’s lucky encounter. I don’t think much time has passed since he obtained this technique.
Otherwise, he would have become even more formidable. Plus, there would have been more stories about him and his strange talismans,” Aksai murmured to himself, a smile forming on his lips.
“The old demon found something truly groundbreaking for me. He must have explored some ruins. Or did he have contact with someone from the Shinayin Empire that lies past Duya Forest? In any case, he was magnanimous enough to give it to me on his deathbed. I should offer prayers to his restless soul.”
Aksai thought to himself and joined his hands in offering a sincere prayer to his benefactor. Even though Mao had malicious intent when he was alive, the dead Mao was nothing but a blessing for him.
Aksai could make use of this technique to completely transform his Everwood farm one day—turning it into a mysterious forest where every plant and tree could talk to him and give him real-time updates about their health and potential yields. He could use this technique in conjunction with the Anahat Soul-splitting technique as well, producing groundbreaking results.
Furthermore, Aksai could enhance the effects of the Consciousness Creation Technique even further by using the principles of Aether energy. He could create a completely different technique that could enable him to mimic the effects of a 4th-order treasure before becoming a Nascent Soul King himself.
The Consciousness Creation Technique could even be used to optimize the Sentient Fiend creation methods. For example, if Aksai used his neural link fabric to fuse the techniques together, it would be possible for him to turn a corpse into a Sentient Fiend just by slapping a talisman on its forehead or burying it deep inside the vessel.
Though the Consciousness Creation Technique could be used in various ways, it had a high compatibility with the talismanic dao. It meant that a talisman could be used as a pre-programmed consciousness for an artifact or item to give it a temporary consciousness, removing the need for someone to cultivate the item itself for months on end.
Although the consciousness imparted using the talismans had its limitations, it was very convenient for someone to foster a consciousness into an object or organic matter they had just come in contact with.
What was even more surprising was the fact that the Consciousness Creation Technique was highly compatible with the Heretic Talismanic Dao. With the right use, the potential of the Heretic Talismanic Dao could be enhanced tenfold in the same rank using the consciousness-imparting technique, and that too without harming the user’s soul in the process.
“Hmm? A malicious intent? Imparting consciousness through the use of talismans? Heretic Talismanic Dao… Talismans… Heretic healing-type talisman… search for a disciple… Wait a damn minute…”
Aksai started connecting the missing dots in his head and came to a rather terrifying hypothesis. He quickly took out the heretic healing-type talisman Mao had handed to him at the private exchange meeting and started observing it more thoroughly.
Aksai ordered the neural link fabric to analyze the heretic healing-type talisman once again. This time, he asked the neural link fabric to identify anything that was even remotely related to the principles and Essence Equations mentioned in the Consciousness Creation Technique.
The heretic healing-type talisman was encrypted. Plus, the neural link fabric had previously ignored all the additional information inscribed in the talisman by labeling it as redundancies. However, it started analyzing the talisman afresh after its database was updated with the information related to the Consciousness Creation Technique.
Aksai’s guess was right. The 44 discrepancies he had found in the earlier scan weren’t actually discrepancies but the principles mentioned in the Consciousness Creation Technique. Only now did he realize why Mao was okay with handing over the talisman to him.
“This old devil… he wanted to cultivate a consciousness inside me? But whose?” Aksai thought to himself, feeling shocked.
A foreboding feeling enveloped him. He quickly closed his eyes and used a technique from Acarnis to access his Mind Palace.
***
Aksai’s consciousness entered his Mind Palace, manifesting as his real self floating over the surface of an endless blue sea.
Above his head stretched an equally endless blue sky. Aksai looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
Focusing on the sea, he dove like a falling meteor. As soon as Aksai entered the water, which represented his consciousness, all-form awareness, Soul essence, and Aether energy, he detected a subtle fluctuation. With a thought, he swam like the fastest carnivorous shark, moving swiftly to the source of the disturbance deep within the water.
He found a thumb-sized version of Mao slumbering deep in the water. Aksai formed hand-signs and manifested several Aether Equations, using them as chains to shackle Mao’s tiny consciousness.
“That old man… No wonder people feared him. This was what he was up to.”
Realization dawned as he captured Mao’s slumbering consciousness in his hand and rose out of the water. Floating calmly above the surface, Aksai scanned Mao’s consciousness carefully and came to a conclusion.
“This old devil used the heretic healing-type talisman as a decoy to plant his consciousness inside me. That’s why he was so keen on finding a disciple for himself. And that’s why he let me keep his talisman without triggering the self-destruction mechanism he had planted inside it.
He created a completely different technique using the combination of the Consciousness Creation Technique and Heretic Talismanic Dao,” Aksai started solving the puzzle.
“Different from a Soul possession technique, he wanted to plant an embryonic form of his consciousness inside someone that could pave a way for his resurrection even after his death.
And since the technique was not actually soul possession or soul replacement, it couldn’t be guarded against using regular means. It was fast and effective with no smoke in sight.
There was not even a struggle between the two souls to take ownership of the same vessel. He would have just turned me into him eventually if I had let his consciousness foster inside my soul,” Aksai gulped as he started to understand the true might of a bonafide Foundation Building Expert in the late stages.
“Technically, it wouldn’t have been resurrection but a step-by-step rebirth with a clean slate. This was why my emotions were haywire after battling him. My anger and vulgar use of words were side effects of Mao planting his consciousness inside me using that heretic healing-type talisman.
This consciousness was separate from Mao’s soul. This was why it was not affected by the Druid’s Curse. However, since Mao had died after the battle, its progress was halted and it went into a deep slumber.
This… this was a huge time-bomb that the old devil had planted inside my soul.”
Aksai concluded, staring at Mao’s consciousness with a mix of fear and amazement.