“`
“Who is your master?” Chen Mu asked calmly.
“I’m of mediocre talent, I don’t have a master,” Liang Cheng said honestly.
No master?
“Who is instructing you in your cultivation?”
“This time it’s Mr. Zhuang Fu,” Liang Cheng replied.
“This time?” Chen Mu asked, puzzled.
“I had just broken through to Perceptive Spirit Light and went to the Scripture Transmission Institute for guidance,” Liang Cheng explained. “The main speaker that time was Mr. Xin Yi.”
Private tutoring classes that charge a fee at the Scripture Transmission Institute?
Chen Mu suddenly realized.
In the private classes, it seems no one teaches how to cultivate the Perceptive Illusion Breaking, right?
He had inquired about this during his previous visit to the Scripture Transmission Institute.
“So, the cultivation materials for after achieving the Perceptive state are only open to true disciples of the Lower Courtyard?”
Chen Mu suddenly had an epiphany.
He couldn’t help but look up at Liang Cheng, who was half-suspended in mid-air.
This guy seems to have just bought a class from Zhuang Fu…
…
The next day.
Beneath Cold Moon Pond, Scripture Transmission Institute.
In a two-story wooden building built against the mountain.
“The key to cultivating during the Illusion Breaking stage lies in condensing the Primordial Talisman and connecting the abstract with the concrete.”
“Only then can one draw upon the Earth Spirit Vitality to enter the Jade Seed, merging Essence, Qi, and Spirit into Three Elements Unification and cultivating mana.”
“While cultivating, one must have a heart of valiant progress, hesitation is a major taboo in cultivation…”
Dressed in white, Zhuang Fu sat cross-legged behind a long, low table, speaking fluently.
Seven people of various ages and attire sat on the straw mats in front of the table, listening intently with respect.
Chen Mu, wearing Liang Cheng’s face, listened just as carefully and attentively.
“Not as insightful as my understanding; the Scripture Transmission Institute is just so-so.”
“Liang Cheng’s hundred-plus White Jade is wasted.”
He mocked inwardly but appeared enchanted on the surface.
And from time to time, he feigned sudden enlightenment along with the others.
After a good while, Zhuang Fu finally finished the scheduled lesson and moved on to the Q&A session.
Patiently waiting for the others to finish their questions, Chen Mu then carefully asked in Liang Cheng’s voice and tone.
“Mr. Zhuang, when cultivating the Illusion Breaking Technique, I faintly feel a sense of addiction, is this normal?”
“You’re making quick progress,” Zhuang Fu raised his eyebrow.
Chen Mu gave a shy smile, saying nothing.
“What did I just say? The Illusion Breaking stage requires valiant progress, just listen to me, and keep cultivating with ease,” Zhuang Fu said with a smile.
You just taught less than what I know, and you want me to be at ease listening to you?
“What should one do if they are so addicted that they cannot extricate themselves?” Chen Mu asked with a hesitant face.
“Is it as if a moment’s distraction makes time pass very long?” Zhuang Fu asked, smiling back.
“Yes!” Chen Mu’s eyes brightened; this trip was indeed worth it!
I still somewhat underestimated the Scripture Transmission Institute.
The experience provided by the gray wall was like sightseeing while traveling, taking in the scenery along the way.
The experience from the Scripture Transmission Institute was like a travel guide. Not as comprehensive as my own observations, but allowing me to know what’s coming next.
Chen Mu looked forward to Zhuang Fu’s response.
“Every time you practice, do you feel like you are on the brink of an abyss, as if standing on the edge of a cliff with a sense of fear?” Zhuang Fu asked gently.
Chen Mu nodded excitedly: “Please teach me, sir.”
“Jump down!”
Chen Mu: “…”
“Will I wake up if I jump?”
That simple?
“Wake up? Why would you want to wake up?”
“To truly fall into it, you have to jump down.”
“That hazy, almost celestial feeling, tsk tsk… what more could one ask for!” Zhuang Fu exclaimed with shining eyes, full of praise.
Are you sure this isn’t just getting high? Chen Mu wondered dispassionately.
“Alas, ultimately the depth of one’s cultivation is too shallow. Unable to live off the wind and dew, hunger wakes you up, and you have no choice but to eat,” Zhuang Fu sighed with regret. “I encountered this problem when I was cultivating. It was such a pity that I couldn’t indulge in it all day!”
Explore more stories at empire
“But that didn’t stop me!” Zhuang Fu’s spirits lifted. “I thought of the Fasting Pill!”
“I specifically arranged for someone to look after me, popping a Fasting Pill in my mouth every few days, so I wouldn’t be woken up by hunger. With this method, I managed to indulge for an entire year!”
Zhuang Fu’s complexion was rosy, and he became unnaturally excited recalling this memory.
“That feeling, tsk tsk… indescribably wonderful!”
“`
Chen Mu: “…”
“Your description, is it really freaking okay?”
…
Liang Cheng suddenly came to his senses with a start.
He immediately reached for his neck, felt it was intact, and then he sighed in relief.
“I survived!”
Then he recalled the events before he fainted, and a wave of sorrow hit him.
“My one hundred and twenty White Jade Coins…”
Paying money for others to attend classes?
He sniffled, engraving the scent from last night deep into his memory.
There was a leaderboard, and the scent from last night placed him third.
“Wait till I perfect Illusion Breaking…”
Soon after, he saw a book left on the table.
The calligraphy was as elegant as that of immortals, looking at it was refreshing to the mind and spirit.
“Insights on cultivating the Illusion Breaking stage?”
Liang Cheng smacked his lips.
“Fine, I suppose.”
He mentally pushed the taste from last night down the list.
“Twelfth place, it can’t be any lower than this.”
…
In Yiyou District, at Chen Mu’s wooden hut.
In the underground secret chamber, Chen Mu was awakened by the growling of his stomach.
“Can hunger really wake someone up?” Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
He really couldn’t afford to be unconscious for such a long time.
“The experience provided by the Grey Wall is indeed reliable.”
After some struggle, Chen Mu found that he actually didn’t need to do anything special, he just needed to cultivate step by step.
“At least it wasn’t a wasted effort, now I know that hunger is one of the conditions to wake myself up,” Chen Mu shrugged.
And then there was that instinctual fear.
“To penetrate illusion, must I also see through this fear?” Chen Mu had some clarity.
Without overcoming this fear, it was indeed possible to make no further progress!
He had tested it.
As long as he overcame the fear and focused intently on the black sphere at the center of the Jade Seed, he could earn more experience.
…
Half a month later, in the underground secret chamber.
Chen Mu’s eyes were shut tight, his face showing a struggle.
In his mind, he stared at the black sphere, striving to overcome the innate fear.
At a certain moment, he felt a pull coming from inside the sphere.
His consciousness was drawn in, continuously descending.
The Jade Seed grew larger and larger before his eyes, he approached it, penetrated it, entered, and then whoosh—he was actually sucked into the middle of the black sphere.
The very next moment, Chen Mu abruptly opened his eyes.
Streams of silver threads, like swirling mist, weaved around his body.
“Spiritual Vitality?!”
He looked up to survey his surroundings.
“Passing through the black sphere, consciousness returns to the body. To connect the virtual with the real, is it to connect the space where the brain is located with the body in the real world?”
He glanced at the panel subconsciously.
Hundred Intentions Illusion Breaking Technique: Maximum;
“I did it.”
He immediately closed his eyes again.
His consciousness returned to the space of the brain, and his view shifted back to an aerial perspective.
In the center of the Jade Seed, the black sphere seemed unchanged.
But on closer inspection, it appeared as if it was nailed in the void, becoming one with the Jade Seed.
Solid, eternal, forever…
Around the black sphere within the Jade Seed, there were now several glistening spheres of white light.
Looking closely, they were clusters of nodes entangled like balls of yarn.
“Divine Will Talisman?!”
Chen Mu looked at the grey fog that still lingered all around.
The points of light that had shone through the fog were now nowhere to be seen.