Being a Saint Since the Age of Myth

As Wuxin grew increasingly focused, his consciousness seemed to turn into countless particles, slowly seeping into the air inside the sphere of light and becoming part of it.

Is this what air is made of?

The first things he "saw" were countless enormous rocks floating around him.

Those were dust particles in the air.

It was only because he had extended his consciousness into the air, shrinking his field of view, that he mistook the dust for rocks.

Beyond the dust were currents of gas in various colors, tangled together like ribbons, or like a pot of eight-treasure porridge with all sorts of delicacies stewed together.

It looks like these are the air itself! Understanding immediately dawned on Wuxin.

Air was not a pure substance, but a mixture of countless other components.

For example, nitrogen and oxygen accounted for roughly ninety-nine percent of it, while the remaining one percent consisted of various other gases.

Wuxin was not sure whether the proportions of the air in this world were the same as in his original world, but its general components should be the same.

Then I'll start by ruling out the two most abundant gases! He ruled out the two gases that were most abundant in his perception.

That was because he had sensed nothing special about either gas.

Logically, given his talent and affinity for the power of death, coming into such close contact with corpse qi should have elicited some special reaction.

Then the corpse qi I'm looking for should be among the rarest components! He focused his attention further on the rarest portions of the air.

They accounted for very little, only one or two percent. If Wuxin had not extended his consciousness into the air, observing their existence from outside would have been almost impossible.

Immediately afterward, Wuxin formed his consciousness into a probe and thrust it inside.

Merging with the air was already the limit of what he could currently manage. He could not merge any further into that one or two percent of rare components, so he had no choice but to investigate them with a probe.

The instant the probe pierced inside, Wuxin's mind jolted.

Many strange things were mixed into that smallest portion of the air.

There was the moist warmth of water vapor and the fragrance of soil, but what attracted Wuxin most was a foul, putrid aura.

His intuition told him that this was what he was looking for.

He concentrated, trying to analyze the components of that aura.

Yet when he actually began this step, he discovered that he could not understand or recognize the various complex components within it at all.

This fell entirely within a blind spot in his knowledge.

Chapter 18: Reanimating a Skeleton

What should I do?

Wuxin grew somewhat irritated.

Being unable to analyze the components of corpse qi meant he could not simulate it with his Cosmo.

He could not cross that crucial barrier.

He could not help opening his eyes and stopping his fruitless exploration. With a bitter smile, he said, "Do I really have to go out of my way to study chemical analysis, then properly research the components of corpse qi?"

"No, that's not right!"

Given the current state of human civilization, chemistry has only just begun. There's almost no possibility of analyzing the components of corpse qi. A few hundred years earlier, it would have been even more impossible! More occurred to him.

In more distant times, especially in Hakurei's generation, no one could possibly have used chemistry to analyze the precise components of corpse qi.

Then how had Hakurei and the others simulated corpse qi and used the power of death without knowing its components?

I may have gone down the wrong path! As his thoughts deepened, Wuxin reached a conclusion.

Hakurei and the others had not needed to analyze the components of corpse qi at all to simulate it.

In other words, his deliberate efforts to analyze its components had been entirely unnecessary.

He had used the wrong method.

It was not completely wrong or without any merit, but compared with Hakurei's method, it was certainly not right!

Then what method did Hakurei and the others use? Looking at the sphere of light on his right hand, Wuxin organized his thoughts and reconsidered.

One thing was certain: Hakurei and the others definitely had not analyzed its components before simulating it.

Taking Wuxin's method as an example, even if he truly determined the actual components of corpse qi, he would still need to simulate each component and finally combine them to obtain simulated corpse qi.

But that would make the work of simulation enormous, hardly something an ordinary Saint could master.

Wuxin even doubted whether someone at the level of the seventh sense could necessarily accomplish it.

If even learning the most basic thing had such a high threshold, something was surely wrong.

Just what method could it be? He sank into thought.

He did not know how much time had passed when, recalling his earlier training in using calligraphy to strengthen his mental power, a sudden flash of inspiration crossed Wuxin's mind.

Simulation, simulation, simulation-

Simulation is a kind of imitation. Isn't tracing a kind of imitation too?

In calligraphy, there was a method of laying thin white paper over written characters, then tracing them onto the paper.

Through this method, practitioners could reproduce similar lettering.

Combining this with the problem before him, Wuxin came up with an excellent idea.

"Let's try it!"

He immediately resumed sitting cross-legged, closed his eyes, and once again extended his perception deep into the air sealed within the sphere of light.

This time, he did not foolishly try to analyze the components of a corpse again. Instead, he locked onto a wisp of corpse qi and wrapped a wisp of Cosmo power around it.

He was going to take an impression, using it as a mold.

This was the method he had found in tracing calligraphy, simple and crude.

Although he could not obtain something completely identical, he could bring his Cosmo power as close as possible to the form of corpse qi.

Soon, Wuxin completed his first impression and obtained a wisp of something extremely similar to corpse qi.

"Yes, that's it!"

Having found a workable method, he was immediately filled with excitement.

As long as he had the right method, achieving it became possible.

Thus, over the days that followed, Wuxin tirelessly captured corpse qi and took impressions of it, increasing his understanding and familiarity with it.

At first, he could do nothing but mechanically take impressions, but as the number accumulated, he slowly began to understand corpse qi through this method.

As his understanding deepened, he also gradually tried to move away from taking impressions and independently control his Cosmo power to transform and imitate it.

From unfamiliarity to proficiency, Wuxin slowly mastered the techniques of imitation, and the corpse qi he imitated grew closer and closer to the real thing.

Finally, after nearly a week of practice, he completely mastered the technique of imitating corpse qi independently and no longer needed to take impressions.

"Now the corpse qi I simulate and create isn't much different from real corpse qi!" Opening his right hand, Wuxin directed his Cosmo power at will, transforming it into a pale gray current in his palm.

"It's time to test the results of my studies!"

The corners of his mouth lifted. With a hint of excitement, he gathered the corpse qi, then poured it all into a white skull at his feet.

"Awaken from death's slumber, you dead of this land of bones!"

Once the corpse qi had fully entered the skull, a spectral blue flame was born within it.

Unlike the ghost fires produced by burning phosphine, this was a soul flame, a symbol of the birth of an undead being.

"I did it!"

Wuxin was thrilled at the sight.

Yet after his excitement passed, he discovered that the skeleton underwent no further changes after the soul flame appeared. It still lay quietly on the ground.

"What's going on?"

"Is there something else I missed?" Wuxin grew somewhat anxious.

He had never imagined that, having already taken the first step toward success, he would be unable to lift his trailing foot no matter what, leaving him rooted firmly in place.

After repeated examinations and tests, he discovered that the skeleton's soul flame was not a true soul flame, but something rather similar.

In other words, there was no consciousness within that soul flame, so the skeleton could not move.

However, Wuxin soon came to terms with this.

Creating a soul and consciousness was simply beyond his abilities.

Never mind him-even Hakurei could not have done it if he were here.

Creating life was the domain of gods.

"Although it can't move on its own, I can make it move through outside control!" Wuxin pressed his hand against the skull and poured Cosmo power into it again.

This time, he infused the skeleton's soul flame with a trace of his own consciousness.

The skeleton was now like a robot, lacking an independent consciousness of its own. It could only start up by relying on a fixed logical program supplied from outside.

As he infused his consciousness, Wuxin slowly established a special connection with the skeleton on the ground, as though he had gained an extra body.

Once the infused consciousness had fully merged with the soul flame, Wuxin suddenly gained a new field of vision.

Through the skeleton's perspective, he saw an entirely new world.

A world of the undead.

Dense corpse qi drifted through the air, and a living being radiating an aura utterly opposed to corpse qi stood beside him.

That was his original body in the skeleton's field of vision.

"Interesting, interesting!"

Wuxin nodded repeatedly, then controlled the skeleton's body, slowly climbing up from the ground.

Perhaps because the bones had been exposed to wind and rain here, many had already rotted completely, and several bones broke before it could even find its footing.

Left with no choice, Wuxin found a few other bones on the ground and attached them, finally giving the reanimated skeleton the ability to move.

"It worked!"