Listening to these inexplicable words, Kuang Yanqi understood clearly that although the shadowy figure before him bore the appearance of Tu Du’s Yin Spirit and spoke in a tone identical to Tu Du’s, he was no longer Tu Du. He called himself a “Shadow Puppet,” a fragment of some “great figure’s” soul, parasitic within Tu Du’s Yin Spirit.
That day, when Xie Yan tested Yu Ci, Kuang Yanqi, as a bystander, encountered this entity on his way back to his residence. He couldn’t comprehend what this shadow-like monster truly was, nor did he know when or how a master like Tu Du had fallen to such a fate. All he knew was that on that night, he was forced to “swallow” a shadow. What had this monster said?
Even to his own ears, his tone sounded pathetically weak.
So, it was only natural that “Tu Du” sneered coldly in response: “Of course, I remember. I promised you that as long as you accepted this ‘Heavenly Demon Seed,’ once matters here are settled, I’d take you north with me. There, I’d guide you to join the most prestigious sect under the heavens, where you could cultivate an indestructible demonic art that defies eternal tribulation. Who knows, one day you might even become a Heavenly Demon… Heh, you ignorant brat! If we were in the north, countless thousands would fight for the chance to take this ‘Heavenly Demon Seed.’ Yet here you are, hesitating and whimpering like a woman!”
Kuang Yanqi’s face flushed red. He wanted to retort but lacked the courage. It was only that night that he truly understood: there existed an absolute power in this world capable of stripping away one’s courage and will.
Before this “Tu Du,” he had no bravery to resist.
At that moment, above the Dan Cliff in the distance, the battle grew increasingly fierce.
Kuang Yanqi recognized the distinctive glow of the “Myriad Rays Draping Cloud Pearl,” and his attention was inevitably drawn to it.
He was watching the nearby Heavenly Wings Pavilion.
Atop Heavenly Wings Pavilion, Yu Ci waved dismissively at Geng Fu.
The plump man retreated obediently, unaware that Yu Ci’s gaze lingered on his back with a complex expression. Perhaps, as his name suggested, this fatty was indeed a harbinger of fortune?
Dismissing the stray thought, Yu Ci took out the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, carefully savoring the sensation of his Yin Spirit wielding the artifact.
There was no need to use Qi to lift it; the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror floated before him as if alive. He had experienced similar moments before, but this time there was an irreplaceable sense of reality.
With his soul in the Yin Spirit state, Yu Ci could distinctly feel the inner layer of his primordial spirit radiating divine consciousness, penetrating the outer layer to exert its unique power.
The Yin Spirit extended an invisible hand… No, that description wasn’t quite right. The true sensation was that his Yin Spirit had attached itself to the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror. It was as if he had found a new “body,” commanding the bronze mirror, transitioning from sluggishness to agility as he gradually adapted.
Of course, his Yin Spirit hadn’t left his body. What attached to the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror was merely a projection of his Yin Spirit—the most crucial step in wielding an artifact with the Yin Spirit: “Spirit Attachment.”
Once the spirit was attached, everything flowed naturally.
He touched the power accumulated within the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, grasping the pathways of its energy flow. Truthfully, he still couldn’t decipher the intricate, almost transcendent patterns of its operation—perhaps he wouldn’t understand them for a long time to come.
For now, he could only grasp a general sense of its flow, feeling the power of his Yin Spirit seep through the central aperture, following the mirror’s energy pathways, splitting into countless threads that radiated outward toward the mirror’s edges—dispersing, dispersing, dispersing…
Compared to before, this was a significant improvement.
At that moment, his soul’s perception suddenly activated.
The perception originated from his soul, but upon activation, it first passed through a medium—the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror.
If his soul’s perception were likened to a beam of light, that light first filtered through the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, as if passing through a transparent yet uneven piece of glass.
In this process, the divine consciousness radiating from his soul was inevitably influenced by the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, following its complex energy pathways toward the edges. Simultaneously, the mirror’s power seeped in, subtly altering the nature of his divine consciousness.
Then, from the surface of the bronze mirror, a single point of starlight shot forth!
Yu Ci seemed to hear a faint “hiss,” so soft and subtle it might have been an illusion.
The starlight didn’t interact with the surrounding air, appearing like a phantom shadow. Yet it was linked to his innate Qi, fluctuating with the expansion of his perception range.
His perception spread like rippling water, and that starlight was like a lamp flame floating on its surface, flickering in and out, guiding Yu Ci’s focus.
What was this thing for?
The thought stirred in Yu Ci’s mind, and it immediately provoked a reaction. The “lamp flame” drifting on the “lake” flickered dramatically, suddenly locking onto a target. With another illusory “hiss,” the starlight darted forth, merging into the aura of someone nearby, as detected by his soul’s perception.
The starlight struck, and light shimmered, revealing a figure—almost identical to the scene before the banquet.
This time, however, it wasn’t the plump Geng Fu who appeared, but a beautiful maid standing respectfully outside the Cloud Bamboo Garden.
The starlight sank into the crown of her head, and vibrant colors spread—her jade-like face, raven hair, plain attire, and yellow skirt all took on hue, even the green bamboo beside her springing to vivid life.
With a slight shift of thought, Yu Ci could even see the maid’s taut, delicate figure in exquisite detail, strikingly captivating.
Yu Ci felt he could probe deeper, but that would be pointless.
At that moment, another patch of color appeared within his perception range—not a result of the starlight this time, but something already present.
Yu Ci shifted his focus there, and as expected, through Geng Fu’s skull, he saw starlight gleaming. Two points of light resonated with each other, strikingly vivid—but only to Yu Ci.
Neither Geng Fu nor the beautiful maid reacted to the starlight entering their minds. They continued their tasks, oblivious to the fact that they had become unique sources of light and color.
The “colored” areas they illuminated weren’t large—Geng Fu’s spanned about two zhang in radius, the maid’s only seven or eight chi. The shapes weren’t perfectly circular either, extending farther in front and shrinking at the back and sides.
This led Yu Ci to wonder if the range of this “coloring” was tied to their sensory limits. Regardless, his once-monotone soul perception was now markedly different.
Yu Ci finally understood: there was nothing strange about Geng Fu himself. The reason he triggered a change in the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror was that, prior to the banquet, a “starlight” processed by the mirror had already been left on him.
Starlight was divine intent.
It originated from Yu Ci’s soul, altered in nature by the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror as it passed through, yet its essence remained unchanged. Even when projected outward, it maintained a clear, intimate connection with Yu Ci, relaying external information back to his mind’s control.
In this process, his soul’s perception was the source, while the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror was the key to transformation. They worked in tandem yet with distinct roles—precisely the “union” Yu Ci had desperately sought but couldn’t achieve in recent days.
Before the banquet began, Yu Ci had actually succeeded once, but that was in the state of “Void Within the Mind,” where his holistic consciousness unified everything. The soul’s perception and the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror had merged more tightly and naturally, making it harder for Yu Ci to grasp.
Now, a third starlight shot from the mirror.
This time, the glimmering light drifting on the “mind’s lake” encountered resistance. It failed to strike its intended target—a “foreigner” seated in the banquet hall, a cultivator at the initial stage of Core Refinement. A powerful vortex seemed to surround the man’s body, flinging the starlight away. It wasn’t just him; the other attendees, all Core Refinement cultivators, also repelled the starlight’s penetration.
Naturally, none of them noticed anything unusual. This reminded Yu Ci of the Core Refinement mist on the Divine Map.
He wasn’t discouraged. The third starlight, repeatedly rebuffed, simply shot out from the tower’s open roof, tracing an arc through the night sky before falling toward a distant covered bridge.
That was the edge of Yu Ci’s perception range, but this time, vibrant colors successfully spread from there.
Almost instantly, Yu Ci “saw” the anxious, unsettled people there, capturing every detail of their postures and expressions around the target.
Then came the fourth starlight. This one pierced through the floorboards, descending three levels to successfully embed itself in the crown of a Divine Connectivity cultivator, settling in his mind palace.
From then on, the starlight’s flight became unstoppable.
Three or five, seven or eight, then dozens, hundreds, even thousands! Within Yu Ci’s perception, the starlight erupted like a cascade of jade, shooting endlessly from the mirror’s surface. It was a breathtaking spectacle only he could witness—like the most dazzling fireworks transforming into a radiant star rain, scattering in all directions.
The “hiss” of the shooting stars blended together—first faint, then loud, and finally silent. Through this, Yu Ci distinctly felt his Yin Spirit’s power rapidly harmonizing with the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror. The fading of the illusory “hiss” marked the transition from rough to refined to perfected harmony.
As for the thousands of starlights, Yu Ci didn’t need to seek targets deliberately. They clearly possessed a spirituality of their own, autonomously seeking out the auras of living beings and infiltrating them. His perception range lit up piece by piece, vivid colors layering and interweaving, gradually restoring a tangible, authentic world.
Each starlight illuminated a region, infusing “color” through the living being at its center. Some areas were distinct, others overlapped, and some connected perfectly. Since each region centered on an individual, their perspectives varied. If these fragmented regions were pieced together and their viewpoints aligned, wouldn’t it resemble…the Divine Map?
As this thought flashed through his mind, Yu Ci’s attention abruptly shifted.
Just moments ago, through the flying starlight, he discovered that it wasn’t just Heavenly Wings Pavilion that held people—there were also figures on the cliffs outside.
A starlight was breaking into one’s crown, spreading color.
No, wait—there were two!