The Spiritual Power Training Arc (Part 2) - Thousand Illusions Realm (Long time span, the Enrollment Arc will begin)

A week after reaching completion in the Gentle Waves Realm, Yan Hongchen began breaking through to the second level of Phantom Sea Condensing Truth—the Thousand Illusions Realm.

"Gentle Waves is water's softness; Thousand Illusions is water's change."

"Water has no fixed form, taking shape according to its vessel. Square, round, curved, or straight, it reveals itself according to circumstance. Illusions arise from the heart and are hidden within the heart. Of all transformations, none surpass this chapter."

Unlike the Gentle Waves Realm, cultivation in the Thousand Illusions Realm was mainly carried out within the sea of consciousness.

The Gentle Waves Realm cultivated the initial "external release" of spiritual power—using gentle ripples to sense the world and influence it.

The Thousand Illusions Realm, meanwhile, cultivated the initial "internal transformation" of spiritual power—within the sea of consciousness, allowing spiritual power to take on a thousand forms and ten thousand appearances.

"Within the sea of consciousness, anything is possible." Yan Hongchen's awareness sank into his sea of consciousness.

The azure-green sea shimmered with ripples, its waters clear and bright.

He stood upon the sea's surface—or rather, his consciousness had condensed into a phantom figure standing atop his own sea of consciousness.

"Let's try the simplest transformation first."

He drew spiritual power from the sea and condensed it before him... into a sword.

The blade was long and slender, its edge sharp. The hilt was wrapped in anti-slip silk thread, every detail rendered with perfect clarity. It was no different from a real longsword.

"Changing forms within the sea of consciousness is much easier than doing so in reality."

Yan Hongchen realized that this was because the sea of consciousness itself was spiritual power's "home ground."

Here, spiritual power was not bound by the physical laws of the real world and could change form however he wished.

He tried more complex forms.

An eagle. Its feathers, eyes, and talons were lifelike as it spread its wings and circled above his sea of consciousness.

A pavilion. Its upturned eaves and ornate beams were exquisitely detailed, down to every roof tile and pillar.

A human figure. A figure identical to himself stood opposite him, meeting his gaze.

"The first step of the Thousand Illusions Realm is achieving 'countless transformations' within the sea of consciousness."

But Yan Hongchen soon encountered his first bottleneck. He could create all kinds of forms within his sea of consciousness, but every transformation required concentration. He had to decide what shape to create, then direct his spiritual power to execute it. The process had a delay, and the consumption was considerable.

The Phantom Water Spirit Toad had been staying with him during this period. Tilting its head, it said, "Master, you've gone a little astray... The Thousand Illusions Realm isn't about 'imitating' forms. It's about 'becoming' those forms."

"Becoming?"

"That's right. Look—"

The Phantom Water Spirit Toad's body suddenly began to change shape. It did not transform slowly, but shifted in an instant like spilled mercury.

It first became a butterfly, the patterns on its wings rendered in perfect detail; then a short sword, cold light flowing along its blade; then a lotus flower, its petals layered one upon another; then a drop of water, crystal-clear and translucent...

Each transformation took no more than the blink of an eye.

"See? I didn't 'think' about becoming a butterfly. I simply was the butterfly." The Phantom Water Spirit Toad returned to its original form, its tone solemn.

"The core of the Thousand Illusions Realm is 'forgetting form.'"

"Forgetting form?"

"Forget that you are 'changing forms.' Forget that you are 'using spiritual power.' Let your spiritual power and imagination become one. Whatever you imagine, it becomes—without any process of 'execution' in between."

Yan Hongchen fell silent for a long while. "Whatever I imagine, it becomes..."

He closed his eyes and stopped thinking, I want to turn my spiritual power into a sword. Instead, he imagined that he was holding a sword in his hand.

Spiritual power surged forth on its own and condensed in his grasp.

After one breath, he opened his eyes. A longsword floated before him, the patterns on its blade clearly visible and almost identical to what he had imagined.

"There was no process of 'thinking' this time... I only imagined what the sword looked like, and it became a sword on its own."

"Master has understood!"

After fully comprehending "forgetting form," his cultivation in the Thousand Illusions Realm advanced by leaps and bounds.

Yan Hongchen practiced repeatedly within his sea of consciousness, allowing his spiritual power to "remember" the "instincts" of different forms.

What texture a sword should possess, what posture an eagle should have in flight, what process a flower should undergo when blooming...

He integrated these instincts into his spiritual power, allowing it to become those forms on its own.

By the third month of Thousand Illusions Realm cultivation, Yan Hongchen began trying to transfer this transformative ability from his sea of consciousness into the real world.

But the real world differed from the sea of consciousness.

Within the sea of consciousness, spiritual power was on its "home ground" and could transform freely at will.

But in the real world, spiritual power was constrained by physical laws—air resistance, gravity, light refraction... all these factors affected the precision and stability of its transformations.

"I need to undergo 'constriction' training in the real world."

Yan Hongchen discovered that in the real world, the most suitable range for the Thousand Illusions Realm's transformative ability was within a few meters around his body.

Beyond that range, the precision of his spiritual power transformations dropped sharply. But within a few meters, he could achieve extraordinarily fine changes.

During the first week, he tried condensing a flower in his palm. Its petals layered over one another, its stamens were slender and distinct, and even tiny fuzz could be seen on its stem.

During the second week, he tried condensing a butterfly before him. When its wings flapped, they stirred faint currents of air, while its antennae swayed gently with the movement of the air.

In the third week, he attempted to make subtle adjustments to the environment within three meters of himself—darkening the walls slightly, dimming the lights a little, and warming the air by a degree.

These changes were tiny, but they proved one thing: Thousand Illusions' spiritual power could create "illusions" in the real world.

They were not merely visual deceptions, but full-spectrum sensory simulations—sight, sound, touch, even the perception of temperature.

"The essence of Thousand Illusions is using spiritual power to 'simulate' reality."

Yan Hongchen recalled the second soul bone skill granted by his head soul bone, called "Simulation."

The essence of this skill was to distort space through spiritual fluctuations, using himself as the foundation to simulate various forms. He could simulate another person, an animal, or even an object, but its range was limited—currently only about five meters.

"Five meters... This highly overlaps with Thousand Illusions' precise range." Yan Hongchen keenly realized that Thousand Illusions and the Simulation skill could be used together.

Thousand Illusions could create detailed illusions within a few meters around him, but those illusions were "empty"—they only produced sensory effects and possessed no physical substance.

The Simulation skill, meanwhile, could distort space and use him as its foundation to "become" a certain form. This was a "real" transformation, but its range was limited and it could only affect himself.

If the two were combined...

Yan Hongchen began to experiment.

He first used the Simulation skill to distort the space around himself, making himself "become" an eagle.

Space warped, and his body began to change—not through actual transformation, but through the refraction and distortion of space around him. What others saw was the image of "an eagle," rather than his true body.

Then, using the spiritual power of Thousand Illusions, Yan Hongchen created illusions within three meters of himself—the details of feathers, the texture of wings, the disturbance of airflow...

The layered effect emerged.

The Simulation skill provided the "skeleton"—giving his altered form the support of spatial distortion;

Thousand Illusions provided the "flesh"—giving his altered form sensory detail.

Combined, the eagle he had "become" not only looked like an eagle, but felt like one, sounded like one, and even carried the scent of one.

"This is no longer merely 'Simulation' or an 'illusion'... This is a 'real incarnation.'"

Yan Hongchen continued experimenting.

He expanded the Simulation skill's range to its maximum—five meters.

Within that range, he used Thousand Illusions to create all kinds of illusions, layering them over the spatial distortions of the Simulation skill.

The results were astonishing.

He could "become" a tree, its trunk rough, its foliage lush, with even fallen leaves drifting down from its "canopy."

He could "become" a rock, its surface covered in moss and cracks, with even droplets of water sliding down its "surface."

He could "become" another person—his appearance, build, voice, and aura all exactly matching that person's.

"The Simulation skill provides the 'skeleton' of spatial distortion, while Thousand Illusions provides the 'flesh' of sensory simulation. Layered together, they can make the false indistinguishable from the real."

But there was one limitation: when used together, the consumption was several times greater than using either skill alone.

"I can't maintain it for long at present, but at a critical moment... it will be enough."

The cultivation of Thousand Illusions lasted a full six months.

Over those six months, Yan Hongchen began with the ever-changing transformations within his sea of spirit, gradually transferring that ability into the real world, until it ultimately merged perfectly with the "Simulation" skill of his head soul bone.

As for his soul power cultivation, he had already broken through from level twenty-seven to level twenty-nine, only one step away from Soul Elder. However, he still had a Soul Ascension Pill. After taking it, he could directly break through to level thirty!

Yan Hongchen felt that neither his spiritual power nor soul power had any room left to improve. As for his physical body, he had yet to gather all the necessary materials. He had overlooked that the whale glue needed to be roasted by a fire-attribute soul master before it could be consumed. Now, he could only end his seclusion.