Finding a Method

Chapter 12: Finding a Method. After learning of the existence of his family's secret weapon, Mu Chen knew it would play a crucial role in the family's fight against the Black-Robed People. He quickly gathered Tan Qingshan, Tang Qian'er, and several other companions who specialized in spiritual energy research and interpreting ancient texts, beginning the arduous quest to find a way to activate the secret weapon. They first went to the family's Library Pavilion, which housed a vast collection of ancient texts accumulated over generations. Bookshelves towered into the clouds, packed with all manner of scrolls and volumes, and the air carried the scent of aged paper and ancient spiritual energy. Mu Chen and the others split into several groups and began searching the sea of ancient texts for clues to activating the secret weapon. Leafing through a thick ancient tome, Tan Qingshan muttered, "How long is this going to take? There are so many ancient books here, and I don't even recognize a lot of the characters." Tang Qian'er said earnestly, "Stop complaining, Qingshan. The family's fate depends on this. We have to search carefully. Any page could hold the information we need." Mu Chen said nothing, wholly absorbed in the ancient text in his hands. His gaze swept swiftly over the ancient writing and faded illustrations, missing not a single detail. Suddenly, he discovered an illustration in one of the books. It depicted a sword resembling the family's secret weapon, with strange symbols and light surrounding its blade. "Everyone, come look!" Mu Chen called. His companions gathered around him. "This sword looks a lot like the one we saw in the Forbidden Grounds. There might be a clue here," Mu Chen said, pointing at the illustration. They carefully studied the text beside it. Although the writing was obscure and difficult to understand, their combined efforts allowed them to extract some information. The ancient text described the sword as an ancient divine artifact that could only be activated when "the five elements power converges, the Spiritual Thought Key unlocks, and the Star Guidance leads the way." "The five elements power? The Spiritual Thought Key? The Star Guidance? What does any of that mean?" one companion asked in confusion. After pondering for a moment, Mu Chen said, "We all know what the five elements power is: the five spiritual energy attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. We can try finding family members with those five attributes to help us. The Spiritual Thought Key might be a special kind of soul intent, perhaps related to how we use our soul power. As for the Star Guidance, I think it may be connected to the star power I've mastered." Following this clue, they began searching the family for members with the five elemental spiritual energy attributes. After checking through the family, they found several who met the requirements. These family members came to the Forbidden Grounds and took their places around the secret weapon. "Everyone, try channeling your spiritual energy into the blade in the order in which the five elements generate one another," Mu Chen instructed. The family members with the five elemental attributes each summoned their spiritual energy. The one with metal spiritual energy poured it into the blade first, followed by those with wood, water, fire, and earth spiritual energy. Once all five had been channeled into it in sequence, the blade trembled slightly and its runes flickered, only to dim again moments later. "It looks like we're still missing the Spiritual Thought Key and the Star Guidance," Mu Chen said with a frown. To find clues about the Spiritual Thought Key, they returned to the Library Pavilion. After a long search, they found an account of it in another ancient text. According to the book, the Spiritual Thought Key was a pure and unwavering conviction of the soul. In a situation of extreme danger or a matter of life and death, the wielder had to transform their faith in their family and in justice into soul power and channel it into the weapon. "That's going to be a little tricky. We can't really wait until we're on the brink of death to try it, can we?" Tan Qingshan said worriedly. "Maybe we can simulate that kind of situation and bring our soul power to that state of purity," Mu Chen said. They therefore held a special training session at the family's training grounds. Using spiritual energy, they simulated various dangerous scenarios and placed themselves within them, stirring the love for their family and the conviction to protect it deep within their hearts. During this process, Mu Chen worked hard to transform that conviction into soul power and tried to establish a connection with the secret weapon. After repeated attempts, Mu Chen sensed some changes in his soul power. He returned to the Forbidden Grounds and channeled this soul power, imbued with powerful conviction, into the secret weapon. This time, the blade shone a little brighter, and its runes flickered more frequently. "Now all we need is the Star Guidance," Mu Chen said. Mu Chen had some ideas of his own about the Star Guidance. He went to the family's Star Observatory, one of the places where star power was most concentrated. Sitting cross-legged on the observatory platform, he began using his star power spiritual technique. He released his star power and established a connection with the stars above. Drawn by his star power, the stars in the sky seemed to respond, and shafts of starlight fell upon the Star Observatory. Mu Chen drew the power of that starlight into his body, then went to the Forbidden Grounds and channeled his star power, now fused with the power of starlight, into the secret weapon. The instant the star power entered it, the secret weapon let out a powerful hum. Brilliant light blazed from the blade, engulfing the entire Forbidden Grounds in a dazzling radiance. "It worked! We found the way to activate it!" His companions cheered. But Mu Chen knew this was only the beginning. They still needed to learn how to control the secret weapon so that it could unleash its greatest might in battle and become a true weapon against the Black-Robed People. In the days that followed, they conducted further training and research centered on the secret weapon, preparing thoroughly for the great battle to come.