A Contradictory Man
The elders said that to be able to have such a concrete image appearing at the very beginning of the Sea of Consciousness is already an extraordinary achievement.
Most cultivators need to obtain the Golden Core or even the Nascent Soul to condense a vague, concrete image during the expansion of their Sea of Consciousness.
When he reached the Golden Core, his Divine Sense became much clearer, and the teachings of his elders still resonated in his ears.
"Everyone's Sea of Consciousness is different. Your Sea of Consciousness represents your inner self, whether it be what you seek, what you desire, or everything else. And the vast fog within your Sea of Consciousness is the boundless ocean for us to explore, so don't be confused because you can't see clearly. Just keep trying to explore."
But now, can anyone tell him why so much of the previously blurred and scattered material in his mind's Sea of Consciousness has faded away?
Wasn't it said to be an endless sea?
Isn't it said that when one's cultivation is at the Golden Core Stage, it's already quite rare to have even a tangible object in Sea of Consciousness?
Isn't it only after Body Integration that this boundless sea will gradually become clear?
This is completely different from what the elders said.
He Yi looked at the tangible talisman that was originally the only one in his Sea of Consciousness and was very conspicuous. Now, it was surrounded by smoke, and under the smoke, the faint warm yellow lights in the distance were clearly visible through the talisman.
The fact that his Sea of Consciousness had undergone such a dramatic change in just a few days, and that the only person he had contacted before this change was Lin Xiao, makes it hard to say that this was unrelated.
Upon noticing the changes in his Sea of Consciousness, He Yi immediately checked his Divine Sense and found that not only was his Divine Sense Divine Sense undamaged, but its strength had actually increased!
This growth is not subtle; on the contrary, the rate of increase is quite significant.
Take the most basic range of Divine Sense as an example; it has actually expanded by one-third compared to before.
It should be noted that he usually spends his time either cultivating or making talismans. Such a significant increase in the strength of one's Divine Sense is almost unheard of unless one is a cultivator who specializes in cultivating Divine Sense, or when a cultivator is improving their cultivation level, or when they obtain some rare and heavenly materials and earthly treasures that can enhance Divine Sense.
He Yi believe that anyone would be so wealthy and powerful as to feed him rare and heavenly materials and earthly treasures during the three days he was unconscious.
Moreover, his cultivation level is also...
How did he reach the Golden Core Middle Stage?!
Although he had already reached the peak of the Golden Core Early Stage stage when he came to the Mortal Realm, just one step away from the middle stage, surely that one step shouldn't be something he could just skip by sleeping in this Spiritual Qi scarce Mortal Realm?
He Yi hurriedly inspected the Golden Core within his body once more.
It's round, shiny, and perfectly intact.
There was not a trace of the fragility or instability of the Golden Core caused by a forced breakthrough.
However, looking at the small, smooth, white bead inside the Golden Core, He Yi solemnly tried to circulate the mental cultivation method he had been practicing all along.
His face immediately turned pale.
Although he could still barely operate the top-tier water-based technique of the Talisman Sect, "Myriad Waters Instruction," which he had cultivated since childhood, it was far less smooth than before, and instead became more obscure and stagnant.
He possesses a single Spirit Root, and the "Myriad Waters Instruction" is the highest-grade secret cultivation method among the cultivation methods collected by the Talisman Sect. It is the most powerful water cultivation method in the entire South Spirit Domain and North Spirit Domain, reaching the Earth Rank High Grade.
If he cultivates normally, he should be able to form a Nascent Soul within a hundred years.
However, if he continues at the current speed of this cultivation method, he will not achieve anything in a hundred years!
He Yi was shocked and confused, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Panicking in the face of a crisis is utterly useless and only leads to further confusion.
He sorted out his thoughts again.
Upon waking up, I noticed three obvious changes within my body.
First, the landscape of his Sea of Consciousness expanded and changed; second, a smooth, white, round bead of unknown origin appeared within his Golden Core; third, the mental cultivation method he practiced could not be circulated smoothly.
Since there was a problem with his cultivation method, he turned his attention to his Sea of Consciousness and the smooth, white bead.
After pondering for a moment, He Yi tried to use his Divine Sense to connect with the smooth white bead inside the Golden Core. He had discovered this while practicing his mental cultivation technique, as the bead, though inside the Golden Core, was completely unaffected by it and showed no reaction to the "Myriad Waters Instruction".
Therefore, he could only try to test the waters with another change.
Surprisingly, this action actually worked!
When He Yi's Divine Sense touched the round bead, it suddenly trembled, and then faint light began to ripple around it.
But that's all.
As long as he touched it with his Divine Sense, the bead would continue to glow, and it would return to calm as soon as his Divine Sense left. Apart from that, no matter how he tried to probe inside with his Divine Sense or shake the bead, it remained completely still.
He Yi they could do but stop.
The one who tied the knot must untie it.
This change in myself must be related to Lin Xiao; I still need to go find him.
Thinking of Lin Xiao reminded He Yi of his purpose in coming to Xiushui Village.
The original problem hadn't been resolved yet, and now this unexpected turn of events has happened to me. It's really a headache.
No one knows what methods Lin Xiao used to alter his Sea of Consciousness and Golden Core; he must possess some kind of treasure...
Thinking of this, He Yi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. How could the Mortal Realm possibly possess such a treasure? Even if it did, it would probably have already been seized by those eyes watching the Mortal Realm.
He was conflicted.
On the one hand, based on past knowledge, he felt that the changes in his life could not have been caused by people from the Mortal Realm; on the other hand, apart from suspecting Lin Xiao, he had no clue what to do.
So he got out of bed, changed his clothes, and left the room.
When he arrived on the first floor of the inn, the waiter spotted him very quickly.
"Oh, sir, you're awake!"
It was early morning, the sky outside was still hazy, and it was the last moment before the earth awoke.
Outside, the sounds of early-rising farmers heading to the fields could already be heard.
The waiter, who was wiping tables and moving chairs, slung the rag over his shoulder and trotted briskly to He Yi's side, asking with a smile:
"Would you like breakfast, sir? The kitchen has steamed large meat buns and stewed eight-treasure porridge. If you'd like anything else, I can go to the street and buy it for you."
He Yi was about to reply that it wasn't necessary, the innkeeper yawned and entered the front hall from the back courtyard.
Upon seeing He Yi, he was taken aback for a moment, then immediately reacted and stepped forward to He Yi greet He Yi:
"Sir, you're up. Are you going to find Sect Master Lin?"
He Yi looked at him, "Exactly."
Faced with He Yi's questioning gaze, the shopkeeper explained to him:
"Sect Master Lin instructed that if you wake up and wish to see him, simply go to the Lingxian Academy and speak with Teacher Pei there."
Upon hearing this, He Yi nodded his thanks and left the inn.
He was completely unaware that if it were him in the past, he would have thought that these mortals were simply following the instructions of the cultivators out of fear of the extraordinary. He would have thought they were cowards who lived for profit, and that thanking them would not only frighten them but also be pointless for him.