Mind Mirror

Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, when consumed, allowed one to cultivate Fiery Golden Eyes and see through countless wondrous things.

Unlike in the original story, when Tang San absorbed the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, only a faint reddish-gold glow had gathered around his head and converged toward his eyes.

At this moment, Lin Rong's entire body radiated light.

The light was not reddish-gold, but pure gold—one could also call it bright yellow.

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon martial soul emerged on its own behind Lin Rong, its surface likewise coated in a layer of blue-gold radiance.

Under the control of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, the medicinal power of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew did not gather around his eyes, but circulated through the meridians of his entire body.

In the end, refined by the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew transformed into an unknown pure energy that flowed into his heart.

Thump! Thump!

A steady, powerful heartbeat echoed through the mountain forest.

Within the range of that heartbeat's echo, every living creature—

Whether towering trees, blades of grass, ants, mountain birds, or even the Old Butler, who possessed the cultivation of a Soul Douluo, their breathing rhythms all became identical to Lin Rong's.

Beneath the golden radiance, Lin Rong's skin began to turn transparent at some unknown point.

Through his skin, the flow of blood through the vessels beneath his cheeks could be seen clearly.

Thump! Thump!

His heartbeat grew increasingly calm and powerful. It seemed to possess some sort of magic, bringing peace and tranquility to anyone who heard it.

Beneath his clothes, at his chest—

Through his skin, his beating heart could be seen emitting a faint blue-green glow.

Each time his heart beat, that blue-green glow dimmed by an almost imperceptible degree.

This was the External Soul Bone, the Heart of the Banyan Wood, completely merging with Lin Rong's own heart.

When the faint blue-green radiance vanished entirely, the Heart of the Banyan Wood would have fully fused with Lin Rong.

A few breaths later, that moment arrived.

The golden light on Lin Rong's body had already vanished, and his transparent skin had returned to normal.

Lin Rong still had his eyes closed, yet he could clearly "see" every sight within a radius of ten zhang around himself.

Those scenes appeared in his mind in the finest detail, even more real and vivid than what his eyes could see.

Likewise, they were clearer and more detailed than anything detected through spiritual power.

"This is the Mind Mirror—using the heart to observe all things in the world, possessing the extraordinary ability to perceive any person, event, or object."

"From now on, any Illusion Realm or charm-type soul skill will be ineffective against me."

Cultivating the Mind Mirror meant that the second realm of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture—Perfect Wisdom and Self-Awareness—had been successfully attained.

Although this breakthrough in the Marrow Cleansing Scripture had not caused any heavenly phenomenon like his previous breakthrough into Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself, The commotion from this breakthrough into Perfect Wisdom and Self-Awareness was still considerable. Lin Rong's heartbeat had carried across several nearby mountain peaks.

Of course, if Lin Rong had broken through at the Duke Mansion Estate, given the size of its grounds, the heartbeat would not have traveled beyond it.

Still, where there were many people, there were many tongues. Letting too many servants hear that heartbeat would have been troublesome as well.

"Other than cultivating the Mind Mirror this time, my greatest improvement has been in spiritual power."

With a thought from Lin Rong, a small stone on the ground flew into his palm.

"Spiritual power can interfere with reality. Unfortunately, I can only do so within the Mind Mirror's range for now."

Casually tossing the pebble away, Lin Rong finally opened his eyes and saw the scenery ten zhang away.

The Mind Mirror had only just been cultivated, and its range was limited to a radius of ten zhang.

As the realm of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture rose in the future, the Mind Mirror's coverage would gradually expand as well.

But at present, with the Mind Mirror covering only a radius of ten zhang, his eyes were still more useful when it came to actually viewing the scenery.

The deep mountains were especially quiet in the middle of the night.

It was the second day of the lunar month, and the moon in the night sky was pitifully incomplete.

Without looking carefully, it would have been difficult to notice that amid the stars filling the heavens, a waning crescent moon still hung in the sky.

A cold wind blew past.

The Old Butler walked to Lin Rong's side and draped a cloak over him to ward off the chill.

Lin Rong wrapped himself in the cloak, then turned and took out two items: a brilliant golden tulip and a white jade box.

"Grandpa Yu, it's your turn. Absorb these two herbs and become the first Titled Douluo under my command!"

"This old servant will not fail the young master's trust."

The Old Butler accepted the tulip and the white jade box without saying anything more. After consuming the stamens of the Aromatic Silk Beauty, he opened the white jade box and chewed and swallowed the Eight Petal Immortal Orchid.

After finishing all this, he found a spot to sit down and began refining the medicinal power within his body.

Aromatic Silk Beauty and Eight Petal Immortal Orchid were a pair of companion herbs.

Like Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot, they complemented one another.

For that reason, Aromatic Silk Beauty and Eight Petal Immortal Orchid could be absorbed and refined by the same person without affecting each other's medicinal properties.

Old Butler Yu Yuan's soul power was at level eighty-six, not far from level eighty-seven.

The younger one was, the greater the improvement to one's aptitude from absorbing immortal herbs.

Old Butler was already sixty-six this year.

Therefore, most of the medicinal power from the two immortal herbs Old Butler absorbed would be used to raise his Soul Power Level, with only a small portion left to improve his aptitude.

Barring any surprises, the majority of Aromatic Silk Beauty and Eight Petal Immortal Orchid's medicinal power could raise Old Butler's Soul Power Level to ninety.

Even if not, it would at least raise him to level eighty-nine, bringing him close to ninety.

At most, after a year of refining the remaining medicinal power within his body, Old Butler would be able to break through to level ninety smoothly.

As for Old Butler's Ninth Soul Ring, Lin Rong already had a target in mind.

He would go to the Extreme North Forest and use Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng to lure out the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King.

If everything went smoothly, Lin Rong would have a Titled Douluo with a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring and a soul bone.

"Speaking of which..."

Lin Rong took out a White Peony. Several spots on its petals were scarlet as blood, making it look somewhat startling.

This was Lovesick Heartbreak Red, known as the king of immortal-grade herbs. Beneath its stem was a pitch-black stone called Dark Absolute Stone.

Only blood containing the sincerest of feelings could make it fall from the Dark Absolute Stone.

"Isn't it just true and sincere love? Easy."

The first realm of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself, allowed one to enter a "mind empty" state and freely control one's emotions.

In the mind-empty state, the simulated love would contain not the slightest stray thought, perfectly meeting the conditions for plucking Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

Lin Rong bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, which landed precisely upon the White Peony.

The next moment, Lovesick Heartbreak Red fell from the Dark Absolute Stone without swaying in the slightest.

At this point, Lin Rong had obtained both key items needed for the Nine Bend Vine Dragon Martial Soul Avatar.

Lovesick Heartbreak Red and Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, these two peerless immortal-grade herbs, complemented each other.

Although Lin Rong could not understand how ginseng and peonies had become connected.

That did not change the fact that this had indeed been mentioned in the original work, and it was something even the supposedly omniscient Tang Sect had not recorded.