Chapter 2 The Spring and Autumn World
"What? Have you recovered, kid?" The old Daoist lay askew on a large mulberry tree, scratching his armpit with no regard for his appearance.
"Greetings, Senior. Your junior is fine now," Mo Chuan bowed.
"Good, good," the old Daoist waved his hand, flipped over, and floated down from the tree like a shower of petals, smiling as he spoke, "Do you know who I am?"
"Uh…"
"Let me think… My youngest disciple, Qing Lianzi, do you know her?"
"Your junior's teacher, I was fortunate enough to study the Daoist text 'Great Freedom Meditation'."
"Oh… that beginner's pitfall…" The old Daoist scratched his head. "This little girl only teaches useless things, doesn't she see what kind of talent this is? A waste of time… Then my third disciple, Nan Shanzi, do you know him?"
"Yes, I do…" Mo Chuan had already guessed who this slovenly old Daoist was. "Your junior, Mo Chuan, greets Grand-Master."
"Hehehehe… Don't say it, it sounds pretty good…" The old Daoist chuckled and said, "Little grand-disciple, this old Daoist has already given you a meeting gift, so I won't give another this time!"
"Meeting gift?" Mo Chuan hadn't recovered his senses when he noticed that the old Daoist was holding the Gong Chi he had obtained at Yueyang Tower.
Mo Chuan suddenly remembered Wang Hu's words and immediately understood what the old Daoist was talking about – the old Daoist must have gone to Yueyang Tower and wanted to hint at the matter of Yueyang Tower bestowing treasures, but Mo Chuan had been contemplating the affairs of the noble families at the time and hadn't paid attention.
"Mo Chuan thanks Grand-Master," Mo Chuan bowed again.
"No need to thank me, no need…" The old Daoist liked Mo Chuan more and more, so he said, "How about this, let's have a spar. I'll see how you utilize your spiritual energy. If you do well, I'll tell you what this ruler is for, how about it?"
"Thank you, Grand-Master. Your student will be presumptuous." Mo Chuan had suffered a loss at the hands of Marshal Long before, and he knew how powerful these old fellows were. Thus, he immediately unleashed his full power, equipping himself with [Hellwalker: Crimson Moon] and launching [Soul Severing Grasp] and [Desolation] in quick succession at the old Daoist.
Watching the giant hand rise from the ground and the explosion of spiritual energy, the old Daoist remained unfazed, calmly watching the surging spiritual energy elements surge towards him.
"Boom—"
Although [Desolation] was a basic skill, with Mo Chuan's more than 5000 magic power, the skin effect of [Crimson Moon], and the magic resistance reduction buff of [Soul Severing Grasp], it unleashed an effect comparable to a ultimate skill.
The Spring and Autumn World seemed to tremble with it, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Seeing no reaction from the dust cloud for a while, Mo Chuan's heart sank – had he just accidentally blown the old Daoist to death?
Good heavens, bullying and killing ancestors right off the bat, this is too criminal. This life is becoming more and more criminal.
As Mo Chuan thought this, he was about to go check on the old Daoist's condition when he suddenly saw a blur in front of him, and a thin, withered hand pointed at Mo Chuan's chest.
"What…" Before Mo Chuan could react, he was instantly hit by a deluge of wails and whispers that overloaded his brain. The intense headache forced him to cover his head and lie on the ground, unconscious.
"Your cultivation is still too shallow…" The old Daoist looked at the unconscious Mo Chuan, shook his head, and sat quietly beside Mo Chuan, waiting for him to wake up.
About an hour later, Mo Chuan slowly woke up. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and the drool from his mouth, then rubbed his head and said, "Grand-Master…"
"How is it? Does your head still hurt?"
"It hurts… and I have severe tinnitus…"
"This is one of your weaknesses," the old Daoist said. "You will have to face Qin Guangwang sooner or later. Her move alone can subdue you. How will you fight her?"
"Then why is this happening?"
"Are you a soul cultivator, and do you have the ability to refine souls? Then naturally, you will make a mistake that all soul cultivators make – the emotional energy within the souls you absorb."
"Most soul cultivators don't pay attention to this, but demonic cultivators who dabble in the demonic path are very sensitive to it, because they are naturally sensitive to all sorts of emotional fluctuations."
"You have absorbed too many souls but have not dissolved the emotional energy within them. Therefore, when someone who specializes in this area directly stimulates the emotional energy within you, the energy that is identical to your own soul's emotional energy will be completely released, and conversely, it will attack your soul."
"For example, under the influence of Qin Guangwang's matter, your soul's negative emotions have become very strong. Therefore, when I directly activated the anger, sorrow, and despair within the emotional energy of the souls you absorbed, the results were quite obvious."
Mo Chuan fell silent upon hearing this – he hadn't expected that so many of his accumulated passives would backfire on him now, but fortunately, he had the guidance of an expert, so it wasn't too late to learn to change.
"I will teach you a method now that can effectively solve this problem," the old Daoist said, placing his hand on Mo Chuan's shoulder. "Do as I say: clear your mind, breathe lightly, sit on the ground, and place your five senses towards the heavens."
"The heart harbors one breath, which is the righteousness within the heart, the vast and righteous energy. This energy resides in the heart and manifests externally."
"The first purity is the True Self, born between heaven and earth. Its nature is inherently bestial. All greed, gluttony, envy, selfishness, and lust are the self's innate drive for survival. If indulged without restraint, they become the source of evil. Now, expel this, drive away evil thoughts, and let them transform themselves."
Mo Chuan circulated his spiritual energy according to the old Daoist's instructions. For a moment, he heard the wails and whispers in his ears again, and the headache began to return.
Just then, the [Scarlet Moon] skin was automatically removed, and replaced by the [Soul Blossom] skin that Mo Chuan had never used.
Mo Chuan had a reason for not using it, because its skin skills were too heaven-defying: [Soul Blossom · Nightshade · Netherlight Body]: when the current health is below twenty-five percent, it will automatically split into a clone with fifty percent of your base attributes. The clone will possess all your equipment and skills; and while you are channeling the skill, you cannot change your skin and will enter the [Spirit Form] state. In the [Spirit Form] state, you cannot receive physical damage, but your magic resistance will be reduced by twenty percent; this skill can be automatically canceled, but it will enter a long cooldown period.
Simply put, with this skin, he had an extra life.
And while Mo Chuan was practicing the secret technique, this skin, carrying an extremely strong soul aura, suddenly appeared on its own, which truly startled the old Daoist beside him.
However, an even more astonishing scene unfolded:
The lantern, which flashed with an ominous light, flickered once, and a figure like black fog appeared opposite Mo Chuan. Its scarlet eyes and violent aura all proved its identity – the True Self.
"It succeeded on the first try? Although the commotion was a bit much, it's still too incredible," the old Daoist muttered, then guided Mo Chuan, "The second purity is the True Self. In this life, one constantly cultivates oneself by transcending oneself, suppressing evil and promoting good, adhering to one's original heart, not being moved by external things, not being swayed by external affairs, guarding the True Self, and upholding one breath."
As the old Daoist finished speaking, a gentle radiance emanated from Mo Chuan's body. A pure aura wound around Mo Chuan, adding a touch of etherealness and Daoist charm to his already heroic and handsome appearance.
"Finally, the third purity is the Non-Self. The Great Dao is unfeeling, neither sad nor happy; heaven and earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs. The path of the supreme sage often discards selfish desires for the Great Dao, exterminates human nature to seek heavenly opportunities. Although noble and righteous, it is unfeeling and unjust, not in accordance with the laws of nature. Therefore, it is cast out and allowed to transform itself."
As Mo Chuan circulated his spiritual energy, after a while, a golden light flew out from the lantern, transforming into an extremely sacred and cold figure that sat on the ground.
The three figures faced each other, forming a three-way standoff.
However, Mo Chuan did not open his eyes to see that the foreheads of the "True Self" and the "Non-Self" bore a seal with the character "嬴" written in seal script.