Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Seeing Elder Mu’s grim expression, Mu Chen’s own face grew serious. "The Divine Hall of Light... It sounds like a righteous and awe-inspiring power."

"Hmph! Righteous? Kid, you’re thinking too highly of them." Elder Mu sneered. "They are an extremely evil and bizarre power, it’s just that their methods are utterly baffling. This faction is incredibly mysterious. Almost no one knows when it was founded, who founded it, where they’re located, or what their objective is. In short, there’s a saying that circulates in the Outer Realm..."

"What is it?" Mu Chen asked.

"Where there are people, there is light..."

Elder Mu’s words made Mu Chen shudder. "Where there are people... there is light. Are they trying to tell everyone that they’re everywhere?"

Elder Mu nodded. "That’s likely what it means. However, their influence is incredibly widespread. From the Emperor of the Empire down to a street beggar, even the merchants you see every day could be their members. For years now, I’ve been secretly investigating the Divine Hall of Light."

"You’re investigating them?" Mu Chen was stunned. He’d never imagined the old man who seemed to do nothing but sleep on the counter all day was involved in such a secret affair. ’But why is Elder Mu telling me all this?’

"Yes. It’s hard to live in peace knowing such a potential threat exists on the continent." Elder Mu nodded and continued, "After all these years of investigation, I’ve finally uncovered some information about them. One of those things is their method of recruitment, which I call ’proselytizing’. And that black book you just showed me is the brainwashing tool they use for it: the Holy Scripture of Light! As for the brainwashed members, I call them Cultists!"

"Holy Scripture of Light... proselytizing... Cultists..."

"The Holy Scripture of Light’s contents tell Martial Artists to abandon their single-minded devotion to the Martial Dao and embrace faith instead. It claims that by using the Power of Faith, one can rapidly increase their strength—a shortcut to power. In short, it is an exceptionally evil and forbidden power, completely different from the Primordial Power we use. I saw this Power of Faith in action once, ten years ago."

As he thought of this, a look of deep reminiscence filled Elder Mu’s eyes. "That year, I was out gathering intelligence on the Divine Hall of Light, as I often did, when I encountered someone. He was a Three-Ring Grand Martial Master. When I found him, he had been cornered in a gorge by a Martial Emperor expert. I was merely passing through and assumed it was a personal dispute, so I decided not to get involved and was about to leave."

"However, the moment I turned away, I suddenly felt an intensely evil and filthy aura wash over me from behind. When I whipped my head back around, the Three-Ring Grand Martial Master was gone. In his place stood a monstrous black creature, something neither human nor ghost. Its entire body was pitch-black and reeked of rotting flesh, with disgusting pustules constantly bursting all over its skin. Black liquid splattered from its body, acting like a potent poison. Wherever it touched the flowers and grass, they instantly withered and decayed into a patch of barren earth."

"I was sure then that this hideous monster was the transformed Three-Ring Grand Martial Master. The reason was simple: the monster’s face was still his. The only difference was that after his transformation, his Martial Artist Realm had instantly leaped two Great Realms, reaching the level of a Martial Sect. And then... he self-detonated..."

"He self-detonated?!" The very words made Mu Chen’s skin crawl. ’The power of a self-detonation is just too terrifying.’

"Mm. Luckily, I was a great distance from the epicenter of the explosion. I had realized it was about to self-detonate and retreated even further, so I escaped unharmed. But what horrified me was that after the blast, both the monster and the Martial Emperor expert had vanished. All that was left in their place was a circular patch of barren, yellow sand..." A trace of fear still lingered in Elder Mu’s heart as he recalled the scene.

"What about the Martial Emperor expert?" Mu Chen was fixated on this question. ’Even the self-detonation of a Martial Sect shouldn’t be enough to kill a Martial Emperor.’

Elder Mu simply shook his head and sighed. "He’s most likely dead. Although that Martial Emperor looked as if he had only just broken through to the First Ring, a Martial Sect is still just a Martial Sect. The difference in realms between them is immense. I simply cannot comprehend how that Martial Emperor could have died."

"I stood there and thought for a long time. It’s not that there aren’t Secret Techniques that can rapidly increase one’s power in an instant, but none of them emit such a vile aura. Unless..." Elder Mu paused, his voice dropping. "Unless it was some kind of Forbidden Technique."

"Driven by curiosity, I approached the site of the monster’s self-detonation. And that was where I found three black books—it was my first time seeing the Holy Scripture of Light. The strange thing was, an explosion powerful enough to instantly obliterate a Martial Emperor expert hadn’t damaged these three books in the slightest. That, of course, made me suspicious."

"Over the next few days, I found a cave and began studying them, forgetting to eat or sleep. The text in these three books was written entirely in an ancient script. Fortunately, I am proficient in ancient languages, so I deciphered them all fairly quickly. When I closed the last book, I was utterly shocked by its contents. After reading what was inside, even I was almost corrupted, tempted to join the Divine Hall of Light." A look of relief flashed in Elder Mu’s eyes.

Mu Chen frowned and said, "What kind of content could nearly sway even someone like you, Elder Mu?"

Elder Mu said, "It described an evil Cultivation Technique, but an incredibly potent one. It began by explaining a power completely different from anything in our world, a power they call Divine Power! If a Martial Artist recites the book’s contents ten times a day, after one year, they can earn a ’god’s’ approval and receive the aid of Divine Power. Then, whenever they wish, they can chant the Mantra from the book to use that Divine Power and instantly boost their own strength. At a minimum, they can jump an entire Great Realm. Those with the deepest faith can even jump three Great Realms at once. That’s what happened with the Three-Ring Grand Martial Master."

"I must say, whoever wrote this book had a talent for bewitching the hearts of men. By having people constantly recite its contents, it brainwashes them. Over time, the information in the book is branded into the reader’s mind, giving the author control over them, body and soul."

Mu Chen was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Can a power other than Primordial Qi actually exist on the Extreme Martial Continent?"

"No!" Elder Mu shook his head with certainty. "The Extreme Martial Continent only has Primordial Qi. There is no other form of power."

"Then how can something like Divine Power exist?" Mu Chen asked, deeply confused.

Elder Mu continued, "Indeed. That question puzzled me, too. But that was decades ago. I know the answer now."

"The answer?" Mu Chen looked into Elder Mu’s eyes.

Elder Mu nodded. "Correct. After decades of studying those three black books, I finally discovered the secret. The so-called power that rapidly elevates a Martial Artist’s Realm doesn’t come from nature, and it doesn’t come from the Extreme Martial Continent! It’s transmitted from a specific place through some kind of special spatial channel for others to use."

"Transmitted? Through space? Are there other planes of existence connected to the Extreme Martial Continent?" Mu Chen exclaimed.

Elder Mu first shook his head, then nodded. Finally, he said, "I don’t know. But since things like Independent Spaces exist, who can say for sure that other planes of existence aren’t out there?"

Mu Chen fell silent again. ’He’s right. The Extreme Martial Continent is vast. Humanity hasn’t even fully explored it, so how could we possibly know about other planes of existence?’ This brief conversation had broadened his worldview several times over. He had truly learned a great deal.

Elder Mu patted Mu Chen’s shoulder. "You should go read some other books when you have a moment. As for the Divine Hall of Light... with your talent, if you continue to persevere, you will one day cross paths with this emergent power. When that day comes, just be sure not to lose sight of who you are. Evil will always be evil."

Mu Chen looked at Elder Mu with resolve. "Rest assured, Elder Mu. I can’t guarantee I’ll always be a saint, but I will never lose my way and resort to such evil and despicable acts."

Just as Elder Mu was about to reply, a figure burst into the Library Tower. He immediately spotted Mu Chen talking with the elder and shouted, "Brother Mu Chen! By order of the Emperor, I’ve brought the things you requested."

Mu Chen turned toward the voice with a slight smile. "Kong Ye Ming. It really is you."

Indeed, the arrival was none other than Kong Ye Ming, the very same Three-Ring Martial Spirit who had once been defeated by Mu Chen at the academy. Xuan Yin had told Mu Chen that he would have Kong Ye Ming deliver the Medicinal Herbs the following day. ’Looks like Xuan Yin got them ready as soon as he went back,’ Mu Chen thought.

"You’re just in time. I need your help with something." Then, turning to the elder, he said, "Elder Mu, something has come up and I must be leaving. I’ve learned so much from our talk today. Thank you." Mu Chen stood and gave Elder Mu a respectful bow.

For some reason, Mu Chen had a feeling that Elder Mu was no ordinary man, and he subconsciously felt that such a formal bow was warranted. After paying his respects, Mu Chen grabbed Kong Ye Ming and WHOOSHED out of the Library Tower. He left Elder Mu sitting alone, gazing at the doorway with an appreciative smile and muttering to himself, ’That kid is sharp. It’s a good thing I’ve hidden my traces so well, otherwise he might have seen right through me. Still, I never would have thought the Divine Hall of Light would have members even in a backwater place like the Xuanling Empire. What exactly are they up to?’

With that, Elder Mu shuffled over to the counter, took a deep breath, and once again closed his eyes to doze.

Kong Ye Ming, completely powerless in Mu Chen’s grip, could only let himself be dragged toward the academy gates at a breakneck pace. There was hardly anyone around, as most students were in class. Unable to keep up, Kong Ye Ming finally gasped out in exasperation, "Mu Chen, stop! Just tell me what you want! Two guys wrestling like this on campus is going to give people the wrong idea!"

Mu Chen’s face darkened. "I just wanted to ask when the next auction in the Imperial Capital is..."