Ritual Method

Yu Ci felt a thunderous vibration in his mind, and a layer of mysterious information penetrated through along with a beam of light. It suddenly activated, turning into a string of short, clear sentences, and finally combined into a passage of spell techniques. It was a teaching on how to harmonize one's breath, how to direct spiritual intent, what methods to use to blend the two, and finally how to apply it all to the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror.

This was... After organizing it over a dozen times in his heart, Yu Ci finally woke up to the realization: this was the refining method for the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror!

This information had been deeply hidden within the bronze mirror in some form, and even when it fell into the hands of the Purple Thunder and Crimson Yin Immortals, it went undiscovered. Perhaps Yu Ci truly possessed some fraction of affinity, accidentally triggering the mechanism to receive the information.

The spell technique could be considered concise, simply instructing one step-by-step in clear tiers to perform the actions without any superfluous explanations. Fortunately, Yu Ci had already learned the relevant basic concepts from Ye Tu, so he was not entirely clueless. On the contrary, this concise style of narration suited his appetite even more; there was no need to ponder over profound mysteries, just copy the gourd according to the model.

Yu Ci also noticed that in this refining spell technique, there was only one section that was "nonsense" to him. That was the "mirror nurturing" step at the very beginning, where their breaths communicated and eventually blended together. In the spell, this was achieved through a lengthy and complex sacrificial text, containing many phrases praising the so-called "Boundless Void Divine Lord", stating that one used a pious heart to exchange for the Divine Lord's response and unlock the precious mirror's divine abilities.

It was just that Yu Ci had obtained this refining spell technique rather too late. He did not, as the spell stated, wholeheartedly perform rituals to the Divine Lord. Instead, he used the most clumsy method: keeping the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror close to his body, constantly infusing it with true qi, and obtaining the azure light spiritual guide to use for drawing talismans.

Living together day and night like this for as long as twelve years, material nature and human breath merged, naturally causing their auras to communicate. He bypassed the ritual step, and after he stepped into the Tongshen realm and met the most basic refining requirements, everything came naturally.

This was precisely the fundamental reason why the Purple Thunder and Crimson Yin Immortals were unable to unlock the miraculous efficacy of the precious mirror. With their status, how could they possibly carry a mirror close to their bodies year-round? Even if they really carried it, it would be stored in a Storage Ring. How could they be like Yu Ci, never leaving it from their skin for a moment, ultimately reaching the point where their auras communicated?

Yu Ci's body froze for a long time before he reached out and took down the suspended bronze mirror. The Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror was bizarrely hot to the touch, as if it had been roasted on a fire for a very long time, while a layer of strange luster flowed across the mirror's surface. He stared at the mirror. If possible, he truly wanted to dismantle it to see what other extraordinary secrets were hidden inside.

Regardless of everything, twelve years after acquiring it, he had finally obtained the refining method for this treasure. This declared that he had finally become the undisputed master of the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror.

With such a harvest, those dangers from earlier did not amount to much at all.

Seemingly responding to his joyful mood, the light on the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror flashed again, and the just-vanished Zhaoshen Map once again presented itself in the void. As his thoughts shifted, he could see a middle-aged man wearing a dark gold long robe and a jade belt around his waist stepping up onto a carriage atop Dan Cliff. Chief Steward Lu Yang led two young people and stood respectfully to one side, while the rest of the servants and warriors all prostrated themselves on the ground as if seeing a divine being.

The carriage was pulled by four spirited Cloud-Treading Beasts; fierce beasts formed the skeletal frame, and it was roofed with celestial silk. Beyond its luxury, it could turn over mountains and ford rivers when encountering them, and traveling a thousand li in a day was also an effortless matter. Who else could it be, to ride such a carriage and be so revered by the people of the Bai Ri Mansion, if not Mansion Lord Jin Huan?

The moment this thought arose, Yu Ci suddenly froze. The next instant, a thick fog descended, and that clear scene was covered by a heavy haze, becoming blurred and indistinct.

Was what he had just seen truly Jin Huan?

Yu Ci still harbored doubts. He took a long breath and concentrated to look again; within a range of about a li around, it was indeed still a blur... It was merely a blur, and if one strained their eyes, they could still see human figures moving inside, but their faces were indistinguishable. Although it could no longer be restored to the clarity of that single previous instant, the phenomenon of the light and shadow being violently distorted also never appeared again.

This was progress, and there was no "progress" more intuitive than this.

Yu Ci forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart and kept his gaze fixed on the movement of the misty spots, only to see these spots descend the Dan Cliff and turn toward the east gate of Juebi City—they were heading along the exact same path as him!

Sharing the same path was wonderful!

Among the hundred thousand great mountains between heaven and earth, the Duanjie Mountain Range was neither the most majestic nor the one with the most spiritual veins, yet it still occupied an extremely important position in the hearts of the residents of this realm. This was because it was the source of the two longest rivers in this realm, and also the absolute western end of the Eastern cultivation world. Heading further west from here meant the Sky Rift, which was the boundary line between the east and the west, geographically dividing the cultivation world in half.

The Western world was very distant. Most people—and even most cultivators—in the legendary boundless Buddha land never had the opportunity to go over there even once in their lives, so in the minds of many, Boundary Breaking Mountain was the end of the world.

It was already the sixteenth day since leaving Juebi City. Yu Ci wandered like a mountain ghost deep within the Duanjie Mountain Range. The mountain range was so vast that even with the Zhaoshen Map, he almost lost his direction. Fortunately, he had a most definite target.

The transverse mountain range was rarely visited by humans, and Jin Huan's group of ten was probably the largest-scale team within a radius of a thousand li. Furthermore, the other party did not deliberately conceal their traces, which made Yu Ci feel that even without the Zhaoshen Map, he likely wouldn't lose them.

Of course, Yu Ci would never risk approaching them. After a period of observation, he felt more and more vividly the boundless power of core formation cultivators. During the fixed period every day, when Jin Huan practiced and regulated his breath, inhaling and exhaling true baleful intent, the four directions trembled. Within a radius of one li, the heaven and earth yuan qi rolled and boiled as if on fire, and an area of ten li around was affected. Displayed in the Zhaoshen Map, that patch of terrain scenery almost looked as if it were burning, and Lu Yang and the others had to stay far away to act normally.

And this also gave Yu Ci the opportunity to gather intelligence. Over the past few days, he had already identified everyone's identities. Besides Jin Huan, Lu Yang, and Kuang Yanqi, there were six accompanying guards and warriors. In addition to them, there was Jin Huan's grand-nephew Jin Chuan, who was a year younger than Kuang Yanqi yet possessed the exact same Tongshen cultivation, and they were referred to alongside Kuang Yanqi as the twin jades among the new generation of cultivators in the mansion.

Jin Huan also held high expectations for them. This time, bringing the two young people along seemed to be in preparation for sending them to cultivate within the "mountain gate" of a certain sect. Along the way, Yu Ci could not see Jin Huan himself, but he more than once saw Lu Yang open and close his mouth with "The Mansion Lord said," instilling in the two youths how precious this opportunity was.

Thinking about it now, Lu Yang dragging Kuang Zheng to instruct his own disciple before departure was also to make preparations early on.

As for that sect, it was called the Li Chen Sect.

This sect sounded very unfamiliar, but judging by the degree of importance attached to it by Jin Huan and the others, it was clearly by no means ordinary.

It was time for Jin Huan's cultivation session once again. Lu Yang checked the defenses of several accompanying guards, turned back, and spoke to the two youths:

"We will arrive in just three hundred li. The Mansion Lord's intention is for you to conserve your energy and rest here for the night, so that tomorrow you must display your absolute best state and not disgrace the face of the Bai Ri Mansion."

Hearing Lu Yang say this, his disciple naturally obeyed with awe, yet Jin Chuan, as the grand-nephew of the Mansion Lord, was able to ask a few more questions:

"I remember Uncle-Grandfather mentioning that the Li Chen Sect's mountain gate is located near the source of the Li Luo River, fully seven thousand li away from Juebi City. We have been traveling for half a month now, and even if the sun carriage runs eighteen hundred li a day, it's at most a little under thirty thousand li. We haven't even traveled half the journey yet, so how is it that we've arrived?"

As the undisputed third-figure in the mansion, Lu Yang only maintained minimal respect toward this young master sun, and he smiled, saying:

"How could the mountain gate of the Li Chen Sect be a place ordinary people can enter? We cannot go there directly; we must first arrive at its sect's external affairs Daoist temple, Zhixin Temple. After making contact there, we will invite the immortal elders from the mountain to come down and pick people up. However, a few days from now, Young Master Sun will surely become the very first outer sect cultivator within a radius of tens of thousands of li around Juebi City to step into the Li Chen Sect's mountain gate."

With Lu Yang's status laid out there, no matter how conceited Jin Chuan was, he dared not accept such flattery just like that, and hastily smiled, saying, "Since Senior Brother Kuang and I are traveling the same path, naturally we will encourage each other..."

These few people were exchanging pleasantries over there, little knowing that a few dozen li away, someone was taking in their every move with absolute clarity, leaving nothing out save for the sound.

"Zhixin Temple?"

Yu Ci was thoughtful, but very quickly, he shifted his attention back to the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror in his hand.

At this moment, warmth pervaded his body as if he were soaking in warm water. The heat penetrated his pores, lingering both inside and outside his body, and under the gathering of his spiritual intent, it poured into the bronze mirror. Right now, he was refining the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror.

Refining was a crucial step that cultivators in the cultivation world could not bypass. Treasures in the cultivation world were divided into Dharma treasures, magical instruments, and crafted artifacts. Among them, Dharma treasures were the finest, magical instruments came next, and crafted artifacts were the lowest, with various upper, middle, and lower grades within them, making it extremely complex.

Among these, crafted artifacts only passed through the hands of artisans and could be used right out of the furnace without any need for refining, hence they could only be considered ordinary tools, and their power was naturally limited.

As for the two stages of magical instruments and Dharma treasures, not only did they require artisans to put in great effort to forge them, but the user also had to fuse, refine, and grind them with their own essence, qi, and spirit. Over the years and months, by connecting oneself with the vessel, not only could one unleash greater power when facing enemies, but the two could also link together and grow concurrently. Even the most ordinary utensils could grow into treasures of astonishing might.

Take the golden blade and the jade blade successively used by Ye Tu in the Sky Rift that day as an example. In fact, the materials used for both were not all that different; both were capable of cutting through iron like mud, extremely tough and sharp. Yet by comparison, the power of the former far surpassed the latter, precisely because Ye Tu had spent time painstakingly refining it during his journey, resulting in this heaven-and-earth difference.

With such examples before him, how could Yu Ci dare not to be diligent?

The method of refining the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror was very peculiar, and within it, the Zhaoshen Map played an extremely important role.

The refining spell technique similarly contained the method to unlock the Zhaoshen Map, but the approach relied on the preceding sacrificial text to petition the "Boundless Void Divine Lord" to open it across the void. However, judging from his many years of experience masquerading as a charlatan, Yu Ci felt that the elements of mystification within it constituted a greater portion.

Even though his way of unlocking the Zhaoshen Map was somewhat baffling, it was still far more substantive than that shamanic dancing method. Interestingly enough, this imagery illuminating the void was also referred to as the "Zhaoshen Map" within the text, which could be considered a coincidence of minds.

Of course, all the above could be considered minor details. What was truly crucial was that entire set of refining methods relying on the Zhaoshen Map, which truly opened Yu Ci's eyes and proved infinitely useful to him.