A Broad Mind

The sensation of touching the finger ring was ordinary. Upon closer inspection, the materials and craftsmanship used to forge it were nothing special. Yet, Yu Ci had a distinct feeling that the ring was merely an outer shell, with something else concealed within.

"Perhaps I should peel it open?"

With that absurd thought, Yu Ci clenched it in his palm. Of course, he didn't exert any force, but the sensation in his palm was undeniably real, so much so that the ring's size and shape were imprinted in his mind, perfectly clear.

Then, something miraculous happened.

A small hammer, appearing from nowhere, struck with a "bang." Just like breaking an eggshell, the image of the ring in his mind suddenly shattered. Immediately after, Yu Ci's mind was filled with a vast amount of information, so much so that it felt like an entire room had been crammed into his head.

He jolted violently, and the overwhelming sensation shifted from his mind to his palm. In that instant, his palm seemed to expand, and what he held was no longer a small ring, but a room filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.

Yu Ci took a deep, sharp breath and finally understood:

"A Storage Ring!"

His real-life experience finally merged with fragments of his past memories. That's right, these were the legendary wondrous portable spaces that cultivators possessed, a divine ability to contain the immense within the minuscule. In his youth, he had seen them on the Twin Immortals; they were almost an iconic item inextricably linked to the identity of a cultivator.

"What a treasure..." As this thought surfaced, Yu Ci suddenly froze. A faint, indistinct thought intruded from the side, like a hurricane suddenly erupting on a calm sea, stirring his emotions into a surging tide that washed over his chest.

This emotion was contrary to the Storage Ring itself. He was still holding the ring, and the expansive, full sensation was clearly discernible. The items meticulously arranged within its inner space seemed ready to spill out. Yet, he completely disregarded them.

At the crest of the emotional tidal wave, his last shred of rationality roared:

Are you there? Are you still there?

He didn't care about the ring, or at least, compared to that other thing, he truly didn't care. He only wanted to know if the "little hammer" – the one that had just appeared from the void and shattered the outer shell of the Storage Ring – was still there. Where was it?

With a "ding," the Storage Ring slipped from his palm, striking a protruding rock and bouncing far away.

Yu Ci had done this intentionally. He didn't pick up the ring immediately. Instead, he stood in place for a long time. During this period, he forced himself to forget the sensations and memories from moments ago, to clear his mind until it was a blank slate. Only then did he slowly step forward, bend down, and pick up the ring again.

Yes, he wanted to try once more.

His breathing became difficult, and the hand holding the ring trembled.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Ci intended to exert force. If possible, he even wanted to crush this precious Storage Ring. But, it was no longer necessary. As soon as the thought formed in his mind, the ring in his palm vibrated slightly, almost imperceptibly. Then, a tangible sense of expansion, transcending the limitations of his physical body, fed directly back into his mind.

Everything was as he wished!

A blissful dizziness spread through him. Yu Ci had to exert all his strength to maintain the last sliver of his sanity and issue one final command.

With a "rustle," countless miscellaneous items poured from his half-open palm. Nothing was more tangible than the physical objects that appeared out of thin air, piling up into a small mountain before Yu Ci.

Expensive, worthless, useful, useless... no matter what they were, they existed concretely. More importantly, they had been retrieved from that wondrous Storage Ring by Yu Ci's own power.

Yu Ci no longer needed to search for a "little hammer," because that hammer was himself. That miraculous power originated from within his spirit and soul, fused with his very life. It manifested with a thought and vanished with its cessation, as instinctive as breathing.

He recalled the words of the Crimson Yin Female Immortal describing a cultivation realm, spoken only once long ago:

"To divide consciousness and manifest intent, to achieve perfect divine will, is to attain Spirit 통."

Yes, only when the spirit and soul were strong, and the divine will had been achieved; only when the divine will was divided and reborn as divine consciousness and divine thought, could one open a Storage Ring.

What did that signify?

It signified truly transcending the "Three Mortal Gates," truly possessing magical arts and divine abilities, truly entering the "Spirit 통" realm.

Yu Ci felt all the blood in his body rush to his face, until his lips felt numb. He struggled to control himself, to maintain that sliver of reason in his mind. Then, he reached out his hand. Without activating the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, he simply used his own finger to trace, stroke by stroke, those incredibly familiar patterns in the void.

As his fingertips moved, his heartbeat suddenly calmed. Simultaneously, a wondrous pulsation of his spirit and soul reappeared. Yu Ci felt as if he had gained another "self," but as his heart adjusted its rhythm, the pulsations of his spirit and soul and heart began to resonate and merge at an astonishing speed, ultimately becoming one.

Perhaps spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, perhaps not. But before Yu Ci's eyes and in his heart, a familiar world unfolded.

Within the chaotic void, vast and dim. Yu Ci's fingers seemed to possess magic; with each movement, they lit up a star, pulling a bright ray of light from that star. Slow yet urgent, hundreds of stars ignited, becoming brilliant nodes in the void's tapestry.

Talismans formed spiritual resonance. In this drizzly weather, in a corner of the vast, wild mountains, a massive blue arc of electricity suddenly flashed, piercing the sky and merging with the dark clouds above. It was like a reversal of lightning, wondrous and beautiful, followed by rumbling thunder.

A single, perfectly executed Five Thunder Talisman drained Yu Ci of all his strength. His knees trembled uncontrollably, and he bent forward, gasping for air. Yet, his panting seemed, no matter how one looked at it, like a hoarse, wild laughter.

Spirit 통 was an invisible, insurmountable wall, the starting point for a mortal to truly embark on the path of eternal life.

And at this moment, that wall crumbled before Yu Ci, turning to ash and smoke!

"Ah!"

With a roar, Yu Ci kicked out, and the small mountain of miscellaneous items in front of him collapsed with a thunderous sound. Debris scattered in all directions.

This outburst of emotion seemed to come from nowhere, yet it had truly been accumulating in Yu Ci's heart.