The Contradictory Person

His elders had told him that being able to manifest a distinct outline in his sea of consciousness when it had only just begun to open was already a sign of extraordinary talent.

Most cultivators had to reach the Core Formation or even Nascent Soul stage before they could condense a manifestation within their developing sea of consciousness—and even then, its outline was usually indistinct.

By the time he reached the Core Formation stage, that manifestation of divine sense had become much clearer. His elder’s teachings still echoed in his ears.

“Everyone’s sea of consciousness is different. It reflects what lies within your heart—what you seek, what you wish for, or perhaps everything you are. The vast expanse of mist within the sea of consciousness is an endless ocean waiting for us to explore. So there’s no need to lose yourself simply because you can’t see clearly. All you need to do is keep searching.”

But could someone please tell him why so much of the thick haze in his sea of consciousness had suddenly dispersed?

Wasn’t it supposed to be an endless ocean?

Wasn’t it already extremely rare for a Core Formation cultivator to have even a single manifested object in their sea of consciousness?

Wasn’t it only after reaching the Fusion stage that this endless ocean would gradually become clear?

This was completely different from what his elders had told him.

He Yi stared at his sea of consciousness. The only thing that had originally stood out within it was a spirit talisman. Now, however, mist swirled all around it, and beneath that mist, faint, warm-yellow lights twinkled in the distance, their forms clearly visible through the talisman’s manifestation.

His sea of consciousness had undergone such a tremendous change in just a few days. And before this change occurred, the only person he had come into contact with was Lin Xiao. It was difficult to say that Lin Xiao had nothing to do with it.

After discovering the changes in his sea of consciousness, He Yi immediately checked his divine sense as well. To his surprise, not only was it undamaged, but the strength of his divine sense had actually increased.

And this increase was far from negligible. In fact, it was quite substantial.

Take the most basic measure—the range of his divine sense. It had expanded by a full third compared to before.

Normally, aside from cultivating and making talismans, He Yi spent almost all his time on those two pursuits. Such a considerable increase in the strength of his divine sense should have been impossible unless one was a cultivator who specialized in divine sense, had just advanced in cultivation, or had obtained some heavenly treasure capable of strengthening the divine sense.

Clearly, He Yi did not believe anyone could be so extravagantly wealthy—or insane—as to force-feed him some heavenly treasure during the three days he had been unconscious.

And then there was his cultivation…

How had he reached the mid-stage of Core Formation?!

When he came to the mortal realm, he had already reached the peak of the early Core Formation stage and was only a step away from advancing to the middle stage. But even so, that final step should not have been crossed merely by sleeping in this spirit-energy-depleted mortal realm.

He Yi hurriedly inspected the golden core within his body once more.

It was round, bright, and perfectly intact.

There was not the slightest sign that he had forcibly broken through, nor any indication that his golden core had become unstable or fragile.

Yet when he looked at the tiny, smooth white orb within the golden core, He Yi’s expression turned solemn. He cautiously tried circulating the cultivation technique he had practiced all his life.

His face immediately paled.

The Talisman Sect’s supreme water-element cultivation technique, the Waterheart Formula, which he had practiced since childhood, could still be circulated with difficulty. But it was nowhere near as smooth as before. Instead, the flow was sluggish and obstructed in many places.

He Yi possessed a single water spirit root, and the Waterheart Formula was the highest-grade secret cultivation technique among the Talisman Sect’s collection. It was the most formidable water-element technique in the entire Northern and Southern Spirit Realms, having reached the upper grade of the Earth Rank.

Under normal cultivation, he had a chance of forming his Nascent Soul within a hundred years.

But if the technique continued to circulate at its current speed, he would accomplish nothing in those hundred years!

He Yi was shocked and bewildered, but he still took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Panicking in the face of trouble would do nothing but throw him into disarray.

He sorted through everything from the beginning.

After waking from his sleep, three obvious changes had occurred within his body.

First, the scene within his sea of consciousness had expanded and changed. Second, an unknown smooth white orb had appeared inside his golden core. Third, the cultivation technique he practiced could no longer circulate smoothly.

Since there was a problem with his cultivation technique, he shifted his attention to his sea of consciousness and the smooth white orb.

After thinking for a moment, He Yi tried connecting his divine sense to the orb within his golden core. When he had circulated his cultivation technique earlier, he had already discovered that although the orb was inside his golden core, it was completely unaffected by his cultivation technique. It had not reacted to the Waterheart Formula in the slightest.

Thus, he could only use the other change within him to investigate its true nature.

To his surprise, it actually worked.

The moment He Yi’s divine sense touched the orb, it suddenly trembled. Then, faint ripples of light began spreading around it in circles.

But that was all.

As long as his divine sense touched it, the orb continued to emit rings of light. The moment his divine sense withdrew, it returned to its former stillness. No matter how he probed inward with his divine sense or tried to jostle the orb, it remained completely motionless.

With no other choice, He Yi stopped.

To undo the knot, one had to find the person who tied it.

This change in him was certainly related to Lin Xiao. He would have to seek him out.

Thinking of Lin Xiao reminded He Yi of the reason he had come to Xiushui Village.

The original matter had not yet been resolved, and now he had encountered this strange change in his own body as well. It was truly giving him a headache.

He had no idea what method Lin Xiao had used to alter his sea of consciousness and golden core. Perhaps he possessed some sort of treasure…

At that thought, He Yi could not help giving a self-deprecating laugh. How could the mortal realm possibly possess such a treasure? Even if one truly existed, it had probably long since been seized by the eyes watching the mortal realm.

He was deeply conflicted.

On one hand, based on everything he had known before, he felt that the changes in his body could not possibly have been caused by someone from the mortal realm. On the other hand, aside from suspecting Lin Xiao, he had absolutely no other leads.

In the end, he simply got out of bed, changed his clothes, and left the room.

When he reached the first floor of the inn, the shop assistant spotted him immediately.

“Oh, honored guest, you’re awake!”

It was the dead of night—or rather, the hour just before dawn. The sky outside was hazy, the final moment before the earth awoke.

The sounds of farmers already up early and heading into the fields could be heard outside.

The shop assistant, who had been wiping tables and moving chairs, tossed the rag over his shoulder and hurried over to He Yi with a beaming smile.

“Honored guest, would you like some breakfast? The kitchen has steamed some large meat buns, and there’s also Eight-Treasure porridge simmering. If you’d like anything else, I can go buy it for you on the street.”

He Yi was just about to say no when the innkeeper entered the front hall from the rear courtyard, yawning.

When he saw He Yi, he froze for a moment. Then he immediately recovered and stepped forward, speaking respectfully.

“Honored guest, you’re up. Are you going to seek Sect Master Lin?”

He Yi looked at him. “Yes.”

Sensing He Yi’s questioning gaze, the innkeeper explained, “Sect Master Lin instructed us that if you woke up and wished to see him, you should go directly to Lingxian Academy and tell Master Pei there.”

Hearing this, He Yi nodded, thanked him, and left the inn.

He did not realize that if this had been the old him, he would have regarded these mortals merely as people who feared the extraordinary and followed a cultivator’s instructions—pitiful wretches clinging to life, concerned only with profit and exchange. Thanking them would only have made them uneasy, and from his perspective, it would have been entirely unnecessary.