It's All Made Up

Today was September 8th. The weather was cloudy.

Bai Mo was a man of action. Since he had decided last night to help his second uncle, he would definitely help!

It had absolutely nothing to do with any split or share. It was purely because he was someone who enjoyed a good show... enjoyed helping others.

At the Blue Light magic potion shop, Bai Mo faced the pretty young lady at the front desk and asked, "Hello, I'd like a bottle of Heart's Moon potion."

Heart's Moon was a potion launched by Languan Company specifically for searching one's past memories, and it was also the most effective one on the market.

The power of the Mind Element contained inside was as gentle as moonlight. It could be mobilized very easily, allowing one to probe the depths of memory for things from the past.

"Handsome, our Blue Light has released a new product for this potion—the Fresh Memory series. It can organize your memories as neatly as reading computer files, letting every scene from your past appear vividly before your eyes. Would you like to give it a try?"

The young lady at the front desk took out the box containing the Heart's Moon potion, then brought out another box with similar packaging but a more refined design and recommended it.

An enhanced version?! Bai Mo was slightly surprised, so he simply nodded. After asking the price, he paid directly.

Then he saw the young lady take out another potion labeled Memory Foam and pack it into the gift bag as well. Seeing him looking at it, she smiled and explained, "This is Memory Foam potion. It can help you forget certain memory scenes that occasionally pop up and are rather hard to talk about. It's a gift for you!"

Bai Mo nodded. He knew about this thing. It could trap certain socially fatal memories, such as walking into the wrong restroom, making a fool of oneself after drinking, taking the wrong route at certain critical moments, and so on, stopping them from popping up again.

He had never used it, and he did not need it.

He would give it to Bai Hanxing when he got back. His last blind date seemed to have been with his own high school teacher.

Wouldn't that make him cringe hard enough to dig out an entire courtyard house?

After returning home, he drank the potion, skillfully used his Mind Element power to find the memories related to Yitian Tulong Ji, then used the potion's power to wrap them up. One image after another leapt into his mind.

After that, he transformed into a merciless typing machine.

By evening, Bai Mo rubbed his slightly aching hands and suddenly thought how nice it would be if those Mind Element researchers could develop a device that converted memory images into text.

He wanted to go out for a walk, and stop by Qingtian Hunter's Association to ask Lingling about the Illusion Stone, to see if she knew anything.

He was still very curious about it.

There was still only Lingling alone in the lower hall of Qingtian Hunter's Association. Old Man Bao did not come out often. He seemed to prefer staying in his room.

"Why are you here? There haven't been any tasks that require going out recently," Lingling said.

The Hunter's Association often had tasks like finding pets or locating people. The bounty usually was not too high, but it still reached the association's starting price.

Lingling usually relied on her computer skills, as well as her intelligence and wit, to handle them herself. Of course, that was during the holidays.

Most of the time, she was growing mold at school, so those tasks often expired along with it.

"That's not it." Bai Mo shook his head, went behind the bar by himself, and while sorting out some expired commissions, asked, "Do you know about Illusion Stones, Lingling?"

"Illusion Stone?" Lingling lowered her head and thought for a moment. "I think I've seen that name somewhere. It should be some kind of Cultivation Resource, but I'm not a mage, so I didn't pay much attention. What's up?"

"Nothing. I'm just a little curious. You're right, it's a resource that assists in cultivating Mental Power."

Bai Mo briefly told her about how he had used the Illusion Stone last night.

"It sounds like it can't be unrelated to Mind Element mages." Lingling thought for a moment, and a few traces of interest surfaced in her eyes. "I'll help you look into it."

"Fine." Bai Mo nodded, then asked, "Is your sister still investigating that demon beast essence blood matter?"

"Mm. She hasn't been in Modu these days." Lingling shook her cup, and the ice cubes clinked.

Bai Mo walked over and refilled her lemon tea, then sat down beside her while he was at it.

Lingling lifted her little head and asked, "Do you have any plans for your Contracted Beast?"

"I'll leave it to fate. Elemental life forms with high bloodline ranks aren't easy to find, so what's there to be picky about?" Bai Mo stretched lazily and said casually, "Besides, my Summoning Element hasn't reached Intermediate Level yet."

"What do you think of the Earth Element?" Lingling continued asking.

Bai Mo raised his brows slightly, sensing that something was off. Since when did Lingling usually ask so many questions? So he probed in surprise, "Did you find a suitable one? Earth Element?"

"I'm not sure yet," Lingling said. "I saw someone on the Hunter Network say that traces of a juvenile Divine Dust Tiger were discovered around the Dabie Mountain area. The information was posted by a trainee Hunter. Judging from the profile, he's a rookie who just graduated from Magic High School, so there's no way to confirm whether the news is true or false."

"Divine Dust Tiger!" Bai Mo was a little surprised. Ever since he had awakened Summoning Element magic, he had read plenty of books about all kinds of demon beasts and Summoned Beasts. Naturally, he knew the information about Divine Dust Tigers by heart.

The Divine Dust Tiger, also known as the South China Tiger, possessed the bloodline of a high Monarch. It had the earth attribute and was known as the king upon the land.

Unlike the little-known Kunlun Ancestor Tiger, the Divine Dust Tiger, together with famous tiger-type demon beasts such as the Northeast Demon Sealing Tiger, Tianshan White Tiger, and Southwest Holy Light Tiger, was known as one of the Four Great Tiger Clans of Kyushu.

It was just that they were all few in number and liked staying far away from human habitation. Even though they were famous, their tracks were hard to find, let alone their cubs.

What Bai Mo had not expected was that Lingling had actually obtained information about a Divine Dust Tiger cub.

Then he frowned and said, "The Dabie Mountain area is huge, and there are quite a few demon beast groups there too. How are we supposed to find it?"

"There are many difficulties. We'll solve them one by one. Right now, the issue is that I still can't confirm whether this information is true."

Lingling raised her hand a little and patted his shoulder. In an old-fashioned tone, she said, "Young man, hurry up and work hard on your cultivation. Otherwise, even a duck that's reached your mouth might fly away."

"Besides, demon beasts with Monarch Level bloodlines grow slowly without a Summoner raising them. You still have time."

Bai Mo thought about it. What Lingling said was indeed right. The key now was confirming where it was.

As long as he was sure, then even if his own strength wasn't enough, he could always find someone to help. He still had his family behind him, after all.

Six days later, Bai Mo sat in front of his computer and sent Yitian Tulong Ji to his second uncle. If possible, he would have him adapt it into a script himself and help him register the copyright while he was at it. If not, he could at least help him publish it. Bai Mo remembered that the Zhuang Family had a fairly large publishing house.

At noon, in a small, authentic Sichuan Cuisine restaurant, Bai Mo looked at Ding Yumian, who had already drunk two glasses of cold water across from him, and smiled.

"It's really spicy, right? What did I tell you? This place is seriously authentic." Bai Mo glanced at her empty cup and picked up the cold-water pitcher beside him. "It's gone!"

"Boss, three cartons of milk."

Ding Yumian silently stared at him without saying anything. Only after the owner brought over the milk did she look away, fixing her gaze on the few dishes in front of her that looked appetizing at a glance.

"It really is novel. I've never tasted this kind of flavor before." She took a sip of milk before saying, "Didn't you say you had some things to ask me?"

"Oh, right!" Bai Mo nodded. He had been too busy enjoying the show just now. "Do you know about Illusion Stones?"

Hearing Bai Mo's question, Ding Yumian glanced at him and nodded. "You've used an Illusion Stone. No wonder."

"No wonder what?"

"I felt your Mental Power suddenly increase a little."

Bai Mo blinked and asked curiously, "You can even feel that? How did you feel it?"

"You don't know?" Ding Yumian looked at him sideways.

Bai Mo shook his head in confusion. "I don't."

"Mm." Ding Yumian nodded and said, "I'm not telling you. It's a secret."

"Fine, then you can at least tell me about Illusion Stones, right?" Bai Mo shrugged, then changed the subject. "I'm pretty curious how there can be life memories inside an Illusion Stone. Or rather, life memories that don't exist in reality at all."

Hearing that, Ding Yumian nodded lightly, took another sip of milk, looked at him, and slowly began to explain.

"At the very beginning, Illusion Stones were provided to Mind Element mages at the Advanced Level and above for cultivation. After reaching the Advanced Level, their control over magic became increasingly proficient, and Mind Element mages gradually split into clear schools.

The most common are combat-type Mind Mages, who focus on breaking through enemies and guarding against powerful magic from the opposing side.

Next are Mind Mages focused mainly on beast taming. There are more of these in the military, and they mainly tame wild demons.

Finally, there are illusion-type Mind Mages. They use their abilities to invade the depths of other people's minds and weave scenes of joy, sorrow, or fear, destroying their enemies from within."

Bai Mo nodded. "So, the so-called life memories inside Illusion Stones are the work of illusion-type Mind Mages?"

"Yes, and no." Ding Yumian shook her head and continued clearing up Bai Mo's confusion.

"I said Illusion Stones are provided for Mind Element mages to cultivate, all Mind Element mages, no matter which path they take. In reality, they'll dabble in the others to some degree. Illusion Stones are just a little more effective for illusion-type Mind Mages."

"We use this special kind of stone to weave stories. The protagonists of the stories can be all kinds of things, and they need to include everything from tiny, trivial matters to major life events. That's how the life memories you mentioned are formed.

This helps us better experience the power we wield over the mind. At the same time, it can also serve the current function of Illusion Stones, training a person's Mental Power."

Ding Yumian took another sip of milk before continuing.

"And when the Mind Element ability used to weave the story has filled the Illusion Stone, the Mind Element mage uses certain methods.

Then it becomes the Cultivation Resource currently used on the market, one that can help people train their Mental Power through dreams."

"So that's how it is. Then do these stones not have any real life memories?" Bai Mo asked curiously.

"They do!" Ding Yumian nodded with certainty, filled her empty cup with milk, and continued.

"Weaving stories yourself is too laborious and consumes a great deal of mental energy, so aside from illusion-type Mind Mages.

Other types of Mind Mages usually refer to some literary or artistic works to write their stories, but that isn't easy either. Often, it takes half a year to produce a single Illusion Stone.

Therefore, in earlier times, this special stone was implanted into the body of another lifeform through special methods and marked. It would automatically record the entire life of the being it was implanted into, and that was a real life memory. The mages would wait until it died before taking it out, and the effect was better than weaving a story themselves."

After saying all that in one go, Ding Yumian drank some water before continuing.

"There were also people with crooked intentions who forcibly decided the life and death of others, using mages as containers to create this kind of resource. It was listed as a forbidden art.

Afterward, this method mostly involved choosing heinous criminals from prisons, and even more often, selecting beasts, plants, and the like."

"However, more of the predecessors chose to place Illusion Stones on themselves, recording their own lives and then benefiting future generations. But Illusion Stones are also precious resources. Not everyone would do it, was willing to do it, or was able to do it."

"So this method of infusing real life memories takes a long time. As a result, most Illusion Stones like this were left behind by predecessors. Later generations enjoyed them, and they also had to leave another batch behind for those who came after them."

After listening to Ding Yumian, Bai Mo nodded, guessing that some lousy Mind Element mage had made the Illusion Stone he had used yesterday.

"By the way, if the story woven into an Illusion Stone was all cultivation experience, secret techniques, combat skills, and things like that, would it be possible for it to affect the user?"

"I don't know, but it probably wouldn't be possible." Ding Yumian fixed her gaze on him and shook her head, then added.

"But there's a story recorded in a book. It says a noble spent a huge sum to ask an Advanced Level Mind Element mage to customize a story.

The story was very simple. He relied on his superb emotional intelligence to wander among all the beauties from ancient times to the present, surrounded by them. He even gave the story a name: I Am Surrounded by Beauties!

Apparently, he wanted to cure his son's misogyny, but it failed in the end."

After hearing that, Bai Mo had only one word written on his face: based.

Then he looked at Ding Yumian again, his expression turning strange. "Then is there a possibility—"

"No!" Before he could finish, the girl across from him interrupted and shot him a reproachful look.

To dispel Bai Mo's unrealistic ideas, Ding Yumian added.

"That noble's deeds inspired many people, so during that period, a lot of rather improper stories flowed onto the market. In the end, because they implicated the leaders of multiple factions, this kind of story-writing was banned."

On the other hand, the Mind Element mages discovered that making up those kinds of stories was not very effective, and it would even contaminate their own minds, so they stopped doing such things."

"I didn't say anything, did I? What's with you stressing that?" Bai Mo looked deeply hurt. "I'm so pure. Would I think about something like that?"

"You'd better be!" Ding Yumian shot him a glance.

Bai Mo blinked innocently and changed the subject.

"Then do you know where this kind of stone comes from?"

"Do you know about the Void Illusion Snake?" Ding Yumian answered with a question of her own.

"This thing has something to do with the Void Illusion Snake?" Bai Mo thought of the snake he had run into during his training last year. "I ran into one before. It ambushed me, and I beat it back, but unfortunately I didn't catch it."

"Then it was probably still in its juvenile stage. It must have been attracted by the Space Element aura on you."

Ding Yumian nodded and continued, "After a Void Illusion Snake grows to the Commander-in-Chief Level, every time its strength improves, it finds an underground cave and sheds a layer of skin."

"Commander-in-Chief Level creatures are mostly enormous, and the Void Illusion Snake is no exception. After it finishes molting, it leaves the cave it was staying in and finds another one."

"So the Illusion Stone is actually the Void Illusion Snake's skin?" Bai Mo's expression turned strange.

"No." Ding Yumian shook her head. "The Void Illusion Snake's shed skin carries dense Space and Mind power, which seeps into the surrounding earth as time passes.

It forms a special ore, and only after humans mine and refine it does it become what we call the Illusion Stone."

"Oh..." Bai Mo nodded. He understood.

Putting out a bowl and asking for votes.