Chapter 106: Soul Lamp Lights the Way
Chapter 106: Soul Lamp Lights the Way
“Gong-Shang-Jue-Zhi-Yu, the five tones? Five-Tone Ruins? Seven emotions, Seven Emotions Medicine Field?”
Li Si felt there must be some connection he couldn’t grasp. On the surface, music stirs emotions, and emotions influence the soul. If the Seven Emotions Great Medicine cultivated in this Seven Emotions Medicine Field truly required complex emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, fear, worry, obsession, and fright to grow, then the entire Mortal Realm, plus the Illusory Realm, was just one huge medicine field.
All living beings were nothing but the soil in this field…
That thought sent chills down Li Si’s spine. The entity that laid down the Seven Emotions Medicine Field was the true, bloody Evil God.
He didn’t dare think deeper; he feared he would go mad.
“I’ll take it one step at a time. Maybe things aren’t so bad. For instance, Gong-Shang-Jue-Zhi-Yu clearly refers to five huge complexes of buildings, yet they are all ruins now. So this might be an abandoned Seven Emotions Medicine Field.”
Li Si adjusted his state of mind. Yesterday, he had clearly been careless entering the Palace Ruins Secret Realm. Okay, fine, that was just an excuse for being a slacker.
The truth was, he hadn’t fully utilized his Crystal Clear Dao Heart or his Bedrock Dao Heart. He’d always clung to the thought that if things went wrong, he could always escape back to the Mortal Realm via the Idol of Fortune.
So, the Idol of Fortune needed to be set aside, right below the lantern.
Li Si concentrated for a long time before checking his internal status. Then he realized something was terribly wrong. After removing the Idol of Fortune, he couldn’t even cast a single Divine Ability or Dao Technique. He was utterly useless.
What was going on?
Li Si panicked briefly but quickly calmed down. These past two days, he’d been tightly clutching the Idol of Fortune, so he hadn’t noticed this.
But now—
“I have no shadow? No, I am the shadow now. My mind and spirit have left my body. But as long as I have the Idol of Fortune or the Hundred-League Law Seal supporting me, I can cast all Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities. Otherwise, I’m just a lost ghost, helpless. Wait, no, I still have the Crystal Clear Dao Heart and Bedrock Dao Heart.”
Li Si wrestled with this internally for some time. But ultimately, he did not pick up the Idol of Fortune again. If he lacked the courage to try without a safety net now, how would he ever make it later?
Wasting no more time, he took a step forward. The surroundings instantly changed. Only a point of light remained ahead. Simultaneously, a musical note resonated within his mind. As expected, there was no reward for soul evolution this time.
Li Si didn’t care. He emptied his mind – achieving pure clarity while simultaneously feeling like an unbreakable bedrock dam.
Step one. Step two. Step three.
Nine steps taken, each accompanied by a distinct musical note, high or low. Yesterday, distracted by novelty and unease, he hadn’t leveraged the advantages of his two Dao Hearts. He’d only clearly heard three high notes, overlooking six lower ones.
Returning today, he realized it was unmistakably an incomplete melody.
A nine-note melody. If he were to hum it… well, Li Si couldn’t hum it. But the Phantom Bride always sings every time she searches for treasure in the ruins. That definitely wasn’t without reason.
The nine-note melody stirred emotions. Changes in emotion triggered changes in the illusions. The more he resisted, the greater the emotional turmoil, and the more difficult the illusions became.
Li Si swiftly grasped the key.
He could take three more steps next. That meant three more notes. A complete set of twelve notes would form a full melody. Then, he would face a trial. He had to pass it to truly progress outward.
Li Si didn’t stop. He walked the final steps smoothly. After the twelfth step, dizziness washed over him briefly. But he regained clarity immediately, a stark contrast to yesterday.
Yesterday, he’d needed the prompt from the Fate Forge to snap out of it. Today, it was entirely due to his own Crystal Clear Dao Heart and Bedrock Dao Heart. Unfortunately, there was no reward.
The area brightened significantly, even more than yesterday. It seemed like wilderness. Black storm clouds hung in the sky, though faint sunlight squeezed through gaps.
It felt like fresh rain, the crisp smell of soil, and dew on the grass blades were all incredibly real. Li Si couldn’t help but look back. A bloody severed head floated right behind him. Turning back brought it close enough for a dance, face-to-face. Worse, it was Ji Chang’s face, twisted in agony, eyes wide open in death.
“Ah!”
Though unable to scream, Li Si felt his scalp crawl. His Crystal Clear Dao Heart collapsed instantly. His Bedrock Dao Heart wavered, barely holding on.
That slight flicker of terror was the spark. Immediately, a violent tempest erupted. Thunder boomed, and torrential rain poured down, soaking Li Si to the bone.
He tried to recover his Crystal Clear Dao Heart, but there was no chance. Ji Chang’s head, as if sprouting wings, latched onto his shoulder. Every second, an alert popped up:
“Soul Alienation Contamination +1%”
“+1%!”
…
The increments seemed small, but the count stacked. Li Si now had exactly 500 seconds.
He didn’t try to ram the head away. Instead, he focused all efforts on stabilizing his Bedrock Dao Heart – his last defense.
He tested his abilities then. As sure as rain, he couldn’t cast any Dao Techniques or Divine Abilities. Yesterday’s ability to use the Artifact-Control Incantation or Armsmaster Control had relied entirely on the Idol of Fortune.
“SHWOOSH! SHWOOSH! SHWOOSH!”
The deluge continued, punctuated by hail and gales. Soaked and trembling, Li Si felt his entire soul drenched. The coldness combined with the head’s draining effect wasn’t just 2+2=4; it felt like 9!
But Li Si finally understood. The more terrified and frantic he became, the worse the environment would get, creating a vicious cycle.
So, ignoring the rain, hail, wind, and ghoul head, Li Si quickly scanned his surroundings. While unable to cast spells, the enhanced senses from his 31% Soul Evolution Level remained. Instantly, he processed everything nearby, quickly locking onto several peculiar details:
Thirty meters east, in the grass: a yellow Devil Mushroom.
Sixty meters west, within shrubs: twelve red berries.
Ninety meters north, beneath a dirt mound: an overgrown grave.
One hundred twenty meters south, near a large boulder: a poisonous snake lay coiled, waiting for prey.
Four potential keys to breaking this. But reaching them wouldn’t be simple. He had to choose.
Moreover, the mushroom, berries, grave, and snake were likely projections of his own subconscious.
If he took them at face value, he’d miss the real solution by a mile.
“The ghoul head is the timer. The storm is interference. The four targets are subconscious manifestations. So my choice is – the Mushroom!”
Li Si hadn’t forgotten how he’d entered. He’d abandoned the Idol of Fortune, cutting off retreat, charging into this unknown secret realm relying solely on courage. Therefore, courage was his talisman.
The mushroom, alluding to the Devil Mushroom Evil God – despite his skepticism about the Phantom Bride’s tales – undeniably influenced him deep down. Thus, it represented his subconscious’s most formidable enemy.
He needed to muster every ounce of courage to confront this strongest adversary, deciding life or death in one battle.
Without hesitation, Li Si marched straight towards the mushroom. Nothing changed along the way. Only when he reached down and grabbed the small yellow fungus… did he forget himself completely.
One moment grasping a mushroom, the next… waking in pitch darkness. Dogs barked. Shouts and cries filled the night. Officials were forcing men into labor. His wife urgently pushed him to escape through the window. Their panicked three-year-old woke screaming. Their eldest child stood paralyzed by fear. His own heart hammered. Frantically, he pulled on a jacket. His wife shoved a rock-hard piece of stale bread into his hand. Violent kicking sounded against the yard gate.
“You’re in charge now, run! Get to the mountains! Hide!” his wife pleaded.
But just as his hands pressed against the rear window frame, ready to flee, he froze. A voice screamed inside him: You need courage, unflinching courage. You cannot flee. You must stand and fight, one battle for survival!
His heart erupted like flame. Seizing a wood-cutter’s hatchet like a crazed bull, ignoring the wails of his wife and children, he slammed the door open and charged out.
Outside, armored officials offered no chance for words. They turned him into a bloody sieve instantly.
Death pierced him. Li Si’s consciousness jolted back. Raw frustration overwhelmed him, nearly shattering his focus. Was that truly courage? Or did overestimating my strength against the Devil Mushroom make me a useless fool?
This sucked!
Reality snapped back. The small mushroom dissolved into rot, instantly causing his left arm to fester. Soul Corruption spiked directly to 250%.
Yet, incredibly, his Bedrock Dao Heart held firm. Steadier, even.
Next, he glanced towards the grave to the north and the snake to the south. Their metaphors were clear: one for the Phantom Bride, one for the Old Madam.
How to tackle them?
Use courage against the snake?
Or kindness against the ghost in the grave?
Being a slacker is so painful.
He chose the snake to the south. Courage? Wit? Brutality? Loyalty? Each choice felt like suicide.
Li Si hadn’t moved very close when the snake struck first. Its fangs sank deep into his left leg, locking on, refusing to let go.
The pain was agonizing. Before today, it would have shattered his Bedrock Dao Heart. Now, it held steady.
But no illusions this time. No more choices to make.
Only Soul Corruption surging to 450%.
Crap!
Li Si broke into a run towards the cluster of twelve berries to the west. No choice—the grave was too far. He wouldn’t make it.
Miraculously, amid this, his Bedrock Dao Heart remained rock-solid. Facing death head-on, he felt himself tapping into its fullest potential.
He reached the twelve berries just as his Soul Corruption hit 492%. A heartbeat away from catastrophe.
He grabbed one and swallowed without hesitation. No time for strategy.
The berry melted on his tongue, sweet and fragrant. Instantly, it reduced his Soul Corruption by 50%. Relieved, Li Si rapidly gathered more. But after picking the third one… he stopped.
Pausing for a mere second, he held out a berry towards the ghoul head gnawing his left shoulder. It actually dropped his shoulder, snapping up the berry. Instantly, it dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.
Then, he looked at the snake clamped onto his leg, glanced toward the northern grave, and started limping that way, dragging the serpent with him.
The snake inflicted constant, excruciating pain but caused no additional Soul Corruption. Not worth wasting berries on.
The head, however, added +1% every second. It had to be dealt with.
The twelve berries were obviously his reward for passing. If he took them all now, the trial would be pointless.
But the grave… needed appeasement.
This likely mirrored his outside situation.
The Devil Mushroom God couldn’t be overcome with sheer courage.
The snake represented the Old Madam. Though it hurt terribly, it wasn’t fatal. It was something tangled with him, inseparable.
The grave represented the Phantom Bride. Seemingly friendly, but actually requiring interests to motivate.
Li Si thought he understood. Or he convinced himself he did. It hardly mattered now.
Now was the moment that demanded courage.
Soon, Li Si stood before the overgrown grave. He offered two berries. From within the mound, a pale, skeletal hand reached out, took them, and drew back inside.
The grave mound split open, revealing a stairway descending into the earth.
The instant Li Si placed his foot on the first step, everything dissolved into illusionary fragments. Darkness swallowed all but a single point of light guiding him forward. Light only ahead; darkness behind and all around.
“Soul Evolution Level +80%. Total Evolution Level: 131%. Consume 100% Soul Evolution Level to ignite a Soul Lamp?”
“Note: Soul Lamp lights the path, enabling travel within the Illusory Void. Reduces Soul Alienation Contamination by 50%. It can preserve one Divine Ability or Dao Technique within.”