Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror (Revised)

After the black octagonal mirror had completely drained Shi Fen, it did not detach from his palm, appearing to continue "sucking" at his body as a massive amount of strange, multicolored substances flew out from within him and surged into the mirror.

This process lasted for about half an hour, during which Shi Fen remained in a state of peculiar suspended animation.

When multicolored substances no longer emerged from his body, the black octagonal mirror hovered above Shi Fen's head, and a vast amount of colorful "dense fog" erupted from the mirror's surface. As if guided by some force, the fog surged frantically into Shi Fen's withered body.

In less than a second, Shi Fen's body miraculously recovered its previous appearance.

"Ugh."

With a muffled groan, Shi Fen's eyelids twitched with difficulty, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Shi Fen realized he was surrounded by a sea of colorful light. He raised his hand, wanting to grasp at the light, but his hand passed right through it without the slightest resistance.

"Is this the underworld?" Shi Fen whispered to himself.

"No, that's not right. Why do I feel so comfortable?" Shi Fen felt an incomparable sense of comfort, even more pleasant than the sensation he had experienced during his last spiritual power awakening.

Shi Fen hurriedly stood up and scanned his surroundings. He was exactly where he had been: the lounge of the forging room. For some reason, the mirror had left his palm and was now hovering in mid-air, releasing a massive amount of "colorful mist."

"Phew," Shi Fen let out a long breath, realizing he was not dead.

"I still have a chance to continue my life." Having experienced the brink of death and the subsequent flash of memories, Shi Fen cherished his current life even more.

"I just don't know why the mirror is releasing this colorful mist."

Seeing that Shi Fen had regained consciousness, the mirror continued to emit colorful light. It flew toward him of its own accord, pressed against his palm once more, and "skillfully" sliced it open to continue frantically drawing his blood.

"Damn it."

Seeing the black octagonal mirror stuck to his palm again, draining his blood, Shi Fen immediately cursed.

Shi Fen was no "gentleman or sage"; even a rabbit will bite when pushed to the limit, let alone someone like Shi Fen, who had held a high position in his past life. Back then, his subordinates were often on the receiving end of his tongue-lashings.

In fact, Shi Fen had been scolded by Teacher Yi since he was a child...

The black mirror cared nothing for this, drawing his blood with such frenzy that it consumed dozens of liters in a single second. A normal human body contains less than five liters of blood; Shi Fen was losing more than five liters every second.

If not for this colorful light and the constitution of a Golden Horned Beast, he would never have survived such a draining.

Blood poured wildly from Shi Fen's palm. He felt like a freshly squeezed watermelon being frantically "sucked" by the mirror.

"This time, it feels different."

Shi Fen looked around as countless rays of colorful light surged into his body.

Although he was losing a massive amount of blood, he felt no "fear of death." On the contrary, his body felt incredibly comfortable, and he could clearly sense his physical fitness skyrocketing.

Shi Fen understood: this was once again the handiwork of "that great being." He wouldn't give him anything good without scaring him a few times first.

Thinking of this, Shi Fen stopped worrying.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, watching quietly as the mirror frantically drained his blood.

Over an hour passed...

"Is it finally finished?" Shi Fen remarked as the mirror stopped drawing blood.

The last traces of colorful light in the room were completely absorbed into his body. As the light vanished, the black octagonal mirror resting on his palm gave him a sensation of "water and milk blending together."

He felt as if the mirror had become a part of his body, and controlling it felt like an instinct.

The mirror was small, about 10 centimeters in diameter and 1 centimeter thick, entirely black.

One side was an incredibly smooth mirror surface; even though it was black, Shi Fen could still see a clear reflection.

The other side featured an ancient Eight Trigrams pattern. It was somewhat similar to the Fuxi Innate Eight Trigrams Diagram, but the pattern on the back of this mirror was slightly more complex. Along the very edge of the design were many groove-like patterns that Shi Fen could not decipher.

With a slight movement of his mind, the black mirror merged directly into his hand and vanished. He moved his mind again, and the mirror appeared abruptly in his hand.

Controlling it was extremely simple.

"Truly miraculous."

Shi Fen discovered he could make the mirror appear anywhere within one meter of his body. To put it away, he only needed to touch it with any part of his body and use his mind to retract it.

This worked even through clothing.

"Interesting..."

Shi Fen did not immediately inspect his "gains." He was in no rush now; he put the mirror away, got off the bed, and began to exercise his body.

The awakening of his spiritual power and the subsequent infusion of colorful light had greatly improved his physical fitness. He wanted to initially adapt to his current strength before examining his harvest.

Shi Fen stood in the open space of the lounge, his gaze sharpening. He clenched his right fist, crouched slightly, and threw a punch with all his might. The air vibrated violently from the force of his strike, producing a fierce whistling sound.

"My strength has increased significantly. I wonder what my level is now."

While pondering his strength, Shi Fen practiced Tai Chi over and over. He focused his consciousness on every part of his body, sensing the changes in his muscle power and gradually mastering them.

His movements were sometimes fast, sometimes slow, occasionally using too much force, and at other times appearing flimsy. Even the most uninitiated observer would have thought Shi Fen was a novice just learning the art.

As he practiced, his movements gradually became smooth and natural.

After practicing Tai Chi for nearly a full hour, Shi Fen had finally gained a preliminary grasp of his surging power.

"I feel like my strength has increased at least four or five times. By that calculation, my strength should be at the high-level Warrior rank," Shi Fen muttered to himself, clenching his fist with uncertainty. "I'm this strong without even learning Genetic Energy; if I learn it, my physical fitness might truly reach the heavens in one step.

However, I'm in no rush to become a martial artist. Comprehending the legacy of Teacher Yi is the priority."

"Let's see what I've gained. Eighteen years of hard work in exchange for this mirror—I wonder what kind of treasures are inside." A black octagonal mirror appeared abruptly on Shi Fen's palm. Full of anticipation, he established a mental connection with the black mirror.

Immediately, a massive influx of information poured directly into Shi Fen's mind.

This black octagonal mirror was named the "Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror."

It contained three Inner Worlds, in addition to two other abilities. Given the mirror's name, Shi Fen highly suspected it possessed a third ability: the power to send him into reincarnation, allowing him to be reborn.

The first ability was the detection function.

Much like a "detector," it possessed extremely powerful scanning capabilities.

Within its detection range, it could detect any matter within its precision limits.

The detection diameter was one thousand kilometers.

The detection precision was at the decimeter level; any object with an actual side length greater than ten centimeters could be detected.

Shi Fen could process the information with his brain or project it as a 3D image for real-time viewing. Shi Fen could also grant permission to others to receive the information, sharing the detector's data.

Below this entry, there was a thoughtful note indicating Shi Fen's current information processing limit: a spherical space with a diameter of 11,235 kilometers.

The second ability was the scanning and recording function.

This function worked in conjunction with the detection function.

Once an object or life form was scanned, all information regarding it would be obtained and stored in the mirror's "database." This data could then be used for analysis and parsing to assist in treasure refining.

The scanning diameter was one thousand kilometers.

Scanning and recording limit: All material treasures below the True God level could be scanned, recorded, and saved as raw data. The more complex and profound the item, the longer the scanning time required.

Of these two functions, only the upper limit of the scanning and recording function caught Shi Fen's eye, given his "God's-eye view" of this world.

Having known of various miraculous heavy treasures and supreme treasures, the "mere" detection and scanning functions didn't impress him much.

In his eyes, for such an "arrogant" mirror, its two auxiliary functions were limited to detection and lacked any offensive power.

This made Shi Fen quite sad.

Even knowing that these functions didn't consume his energy, he still felt quite dejected.

It was no wonder Shi Fen felt this way.

He felt that high-end large and small detectors could fully replicate these two functions, and with a larger detection range at that. As for the energy consumption issue, Shi Fen didn't care; once his strength increased slightly, a one-thousand-kilometer detection diameter would consume a negligible amount of energy.

As for the three Inner Worlds, that was a completely different story.

Their power was heaven-defying!

According to the information, Shi Fen could travel freely between the three Inner Worlds.

First, the Inner World.

It was a continent with a length, width, and height of one million kilometers, filled with extremely pure and dense cosmic energy, much like a cosmic secret realm in the primal universe.

The gravity of the Inner World could be adjusted through the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror.

The setting range was from 0 to 10,000 times Earth's gravity.

Second, the Image World.

The place he had been in previously was a sub-world of the Image World. Once Shi Fen completed the qualification trial, the sub-world shattered.

The Image World now corresponded entirely to the Treasure Refining World; it was a reflection of the Treasure Refining World. By forging and researching treasure manufacturing here, Shi Fen could save a vast amount of materials.

Third, the Treasure Refining World.

Unlike the previous "virtual trial space," the interior of the Treasure Refining World now consisted of several "rooms" connected to each other, resembling the interior of a palace complex.

The items inside were all real.

The size of the "Main Hall" was identical to the previous "virtual trial space," 1,000 meters wide and 100 meters high. The other "side halls" were relatively smaller, 300 meters in length and width, and 30 meters high.

He could "pilot" the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror to fly within this space.

Counting this flight capability, the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror now had three abilities. By comparison, Shi Fen felt the flight function was the most practical.

After gaining a general understanding of the information, Shi Fen did not immediately head inside to inspect his various gains.

Suppressing his excitement, he unlocked the door to the forging room, handed the Perfect Feather-Pattern Dagger to Shi Tian, gave his brother a few casual excuses, hailed a taxi, and flew home.

Back home, Shi Fen locked the door again, dashed into his bedroom, and pulled the curtains shut.

Shi Fen immediately activated the detection projection, casting a colorful light sphere with a diameter of one meter; a 3D projection appeared before his eyes. The center of this sphere was exactly where Shi Fen was currently located.

At the bottom of the sphere was the mantle magma layer 500 kilometers underground. At the top of the sphere was Earth's atmosphere; because the detection radius was 500 kilometers, the highest point he could see reached the "exosphere," the outermost layer of the atmosphere.

Looking from top to bottom along the longitude lines, he could see the miraculous transition from the atmosphere to the mantle layer. Having been a "scientist" his whole life, Shi Fen felt amazed to see such a miraculous Earth.

Studying Earth from this angle.

This was far more fun than studying forging.

Delighted by this new discovery, Shi Fen continuously adjusted the size of the light sphere, released his spiritual energy, and examined it carefully for a long, long time. He even adjusted the brightness of the sphere, stuck his head inside, and inspected everything with his naked eye.

As they say, men remain boys until they die.

For Shi Fen, who had already died once, he still possessed an incredibly strong curiosity for novel things.

By the time he had studied the light orb to his satisfaction, it was already 8:00 PM.

Shi Fen hesitated for a long time, but still did not dare to personally subject himself to the information review. It was so late, and he was afraid that if he saw something he shouldn't, he would get a "stye" in his eyes.

He gripped the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, communicated with the mirror with his heart, and his figure vanished from the bedroom, arriving within the Inner World.

Shi Fen stood in the center of this continent, gazing at his surroundings.

Here, there were no high mountains, only an endless expanse of grassland. A faint mist drifted through the air; strangely, this mist was highly translucent and did not obstruct light in the slightest. Shi Fen raised a hand to shield his eyes as he peered into the distance, but he could only see a vast, hazy horizon.

A continent with sides one million kilometers long was no joke. Although he could not see the edges with his own eyes, relying on his control over the Inner World, he could overlook it from a "God's-eye view."

On the surface of the continent grew dense, slender blades of grass. Aside from that, there was no other vegetation.

He took a deep breath, and Shi Fen felt refreshed, as if taking a few more deep breaths would increase his strength.

He knew that the mist contained a massive amount of "cosmic energy." This was a treasure trove for cultivation, though he hadn't expected the boost to his strength to be so exaggerated.

Shi Fen estimated that he could increase his strength by at least a few kilograms a day, which was completely on par with the effects of the "Five Hearts Toward the Sky" genetic energy cultivation method mentioned in the original work.

By comparison, "cultivating" using gravity within the Inner World yielded the best results. For Shi Fen, who had just undergone a "rebirth," gravity could act upon his entire body, providing all-around, no-dead-angle tempering to solidify his foundation.

He only needed to adjust the gravity and go about his daily studies and life inside, and he could continuously increase his strength.

"It seems I'll have to come here to rest from now on. Should I buy a bed and send it in, or just build a prefab cabin?" Shi Fen rubbed his chin with the hand holding the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, pondering what to do.

Soon, he made a decision.

"Forget it, how can I sleep without a roof? It's too creepy to sleep in such a huge place. I'd better spend the money to build a prefab cabin. With my spiritual energy, it shouldn't be difficult."

Shi Fen held the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, preparing to activate it to leave.

"Hm?"

Shi Fen looked at the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror in his hand and froze.

"This isn't scientific." Once he reacted, Shi Fen's eyes widened into perfect circles.

Because he had been too focused on other issues, he hadn't noticed this major "bug" until now.

This problem.

It was like a person holding a large sack, putting themselves inside it, and after entering, the sack was still in their hand.

This did not conform to "common sense."

It was like Luo Feng in the original work; if his true self used a World Ring to store his clone, and after the clone entered, the World Ring remained in the clone's hand.

That was impossible, right?

That World Ring would be in the hand of Luo Feng's true self.

Only that would conform to the laws of space!

Yet, the Inner World directly broke this rule.

"It's like a Klein bottle, trapping myself inside," was how Shi Fen felt right now.

However, the current Shi Fen had seen the world; after a slight shock, he understood some key points.

First, naturally, was the mysterious powerhouse whose name he did not know; his abilities were simply too heaven-defying.

Second, was what the previous functional introduction had stated.

Shi Fen could shuttle between the three worlds, meaning they were connected, yet not entirely connected. He could "pilot" the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror to fly within the Treasure Refining World, but it never said he could do the same in the Inner World.

This indicated that the two were not entirely identical.

The "Inner World" was exceptionally special.

To verify this, Shi Fen traveled back and forth between his home and the Inner World several times. No matter where he was, the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror was always in Shi Fen's hand.

At home, he found a camera without any data transmission functions, brought it into the Inner World, set it up, aimed it at the position he would be standing in, and started recording.

Shi Fen walked into the recording range and entered the Treasure Refining World directly. Without bothering to see what was inside, he waited for one second and immediately exited. Then, he entered the Image World, waited for one second, and immediately exited.

He turned off the recording, returned home, set up the camera again, aimed it at his position, and started recording.

He returned to the Inner World once more.

After watching the two recordings, Shi Fen understood completely.

When he entered the Treasure Refining World, his body vanished, and only the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror hovered in the air. When he entered the Image World, both his body and the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror remained outside. When he entered the Inner World, both his body and the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror vanished simultaneously, and the return was the same.

After watching the recordings, he took the camera and headed to the Treasure Refining World, aiming it at himself again to start recording. In the Treasure Refining World, Shi Fen traveled to the Inner World and the Image World respectively.

After Shi Fen entered the Treasure Refining World, the main body of the mirror remained hovering in his bedroom.

The result was the same as before: entering the Inner World, his body vanished; traveling to the Image World, his body remained in place.

He used the camera to aim at himself again and started recording, first entering the Image World, then traveling to the Inner World and the Treasure Refining World respectively. The result this time was somewhat special; Shi Fen felt his consciousness return to his body first, and then he traveled to the other two worlds.

Because the main body of the mirror remained in the bedroom, Shi Fen did not carry the mirror when he entered the Inner World this time.

He really could shuttle freely between the three worlds.