The painting was monochrome, rendered only in black ink. The negative space outlined an old man lying on his side, his posture wild and unrestrained. He had a bristly beard, thick brows, and large eyes, and his robes were half-open.
The old man had one eye half-closed and the other wide open. A cold light shot from the narrowed eye, while the wide one seemed utterly vacant.
The moment Chu Fan’s gaze met the wide-open eye in the painting, his soul convulsed. The world spun around him, and then, everything changed.
He was on a vast, boundless Grassland. An old man with a bristly beard sat astride a colossal beast that stood over ten feet tall. The creature resembled a ferocious tiger, except that, apart from its astonishing size, its fur was pure white.
As the tiger roared, its four fangs—each over a foot long—gleamed with a cold light, radiating an immense pressure that could be felt with a single glance.
The old man threw his head back and let out a long cry, then drew a snow-white flute from behind his back. He brought it to his lips and began to play.
The melodious sound of the flute drifted for thousands of miles.
Chu Fan stared blankly at the scene before him, his heart surging with emotion as he listened to the elegant melody.
Perhaps in harmony with the music’s intent, the very earth began to tremble. The sound of the Ten Thousand Beasts stampeding thundered from all directions, drawing ever closer.
Until the herd of beasts completely engulfed Chu Fan.
Yet, Chu Fan felt not the slightest fear. The beasts were all savage in appearance, but they posed no threat to him.
The herd came to an orderly halt around the old man. They settled onto the ground and, just like Chu Fan, listened quietly to the music.
Just then, a voice as resonant as a great temple bell rang in Chu Fan’s ears.
"The human heart is ever in motion. When it moves, it descends into chaos as a myriad of thoughts take flight and illusions intertwine, never allowing a moment of peace... The most difficult thing for a man to subdue is this very Demon heart at work..."
"...As the ancient sages said: When the mind conquers the world, one becomes an Immortal; when the world conquers the mind, one remains a mortal..."
"..."
Listening to the enlightening voice, accompanied by the elegant melody, Chu Fan felt as if his very soul was ascending to a higher plane.
The feeling was simply beyond description.
It was profound, yet utterly captivating.
The illusion shattered only when Ye Xiaohan rolled up the painting back in the real world. A wave of dizziness washed over Chu Fan, and he found himself back in the simple room, feeling disoriented and out of place.
"That painting?" Chu Fan asked, pointing to the Scroll that Ye Xiaohan now held in his hand.
"This painting was actually created by that ancestor using his Spiritual Power. There’s even a drop of his blood essence in the ink. Anyone not of the Ye Family’s Direct Lineage who stares at it for too long will have their Spiritual Power collapse, turning them into a drooling idiot."
"How long was I looking just now?" Chu Fan asked.
"About three breaths!"
"Three breaths?" Chu Fan exclaimed.
’I was in that Illusion Realm for at least an hour. How could it have only been three breaths?’
Just then, Chu Fan sensed the Juntian Mirror inside his Dantian trembling nonstop.
"Get some rest. Don’t forget your breathing Cultivation before sunrise tomorrow," Ye Xiaohan reminded him. With that, Chu Fan hurried back to his bedroom.
After closing the door, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began his Introspection.
Sure enough, the Juntian Mirror above his Dantian was spinning rapidly.
Focusing his consciousness on it, he discovered that it wasn’t the entire Juntian Mirror in motion, but only its outermost ring, which was spinning with a low hum.
As this ring spun, the one hundred and eight identical, indecipherable characters on it flew up. They slowly converged, forming a single, glittering golden character.
Just as Chu Fan wondered what this character meant and why it had appeared, a human figure materialized above the Juntian Mirror.
The figure wore an immaculate white Daoist Robe. His face glowed with a healthy red light, and his hair and beard were stark white.
He looked just like an Immortal from the legends.
The Immortal began to chant an incantation, his right hand twisting to form a Hand Seal.
A massive Lion Shadow shot out from the Immortal’s body and let out a deafening roar at Chu Fan’s spiritual projection.
The thunderous sound instantly blasted Chu Fan’s consciousness out of his body.
Still shaken, Chu Fan rubbed his aching head.
Countless questions swirled in his mind.
’What exactly is the Juntian Mirror?’
’And who was that Elder Immortal?’
’It seems this great fortune the Xiezhi gave me is beyond anything I could have ever imagined!’
’Does what just happened mean I’ve undone the outermost of the Nine-Layered Seal?’
’How did this transformation start?’
’I glanced at Ye Xiaohan’s heirloom painting, fell into the Illusion Realm, and then the Juntian Mirror reacted.’
’So, has my Spiritual Power increased?’
Chu Fan probed his power and was overcome with a joyous surprise.
’Level 9! My Spiritual Power jumped three levels just from looking at that painting! Does reaching Level 9 Spiritual Power unlock the first seal?’
’Does that mean that as long as my Spiritual Power reaches a certain Realm, I can undo the seals on the Juntian Mirror one by one?’
’So what’s the benefit of undoing this first seal?’
’Is it the Hand Seal and incantation from that Elder Immortal?’
Just as he was contemplating this, a flood of information suddenly poured into his mind.
Beyond the Hand Seal and incantation, he also learned that the technique was called the Inner Lion Seal, one of the Juntian Mirror’s Nine Great External-Attached Divine Techniques.
’Nine Great External-Attached Divine Techniques? Does that mean the Juntian Mirror also has Inner-Attached Divine Techniques?’
’Since they’re called Divine Techniques, just how powerful can they be?’
He followed the new information in his mind, methodically performing the steps and forming a seal with his right hand.
He chanted, "Spiritual Power of all creation, answer my call! One Seal, converge!"
The moment he uttered the final word, "converge," he felt a wave of dizziness.
Then, a massive Lion Shadow shot out from his body, opened its cavernous mouth, and roared.
The lion’s roar was like a clap of thunder.
Then came a deafening BOOM.
The entire house he was in was blown to rubble, which then settled as a cloud of dust and debris.
Chu Fan was stunned by the scene before him.
He stared, dumbfounded, at the devastation. He was still in a daze when Ye Xiaohan, Qi Wei, and Wang Xing rushed over.
’Back when I was in the Golden Core Realm, could my strongest attack have caused this much destruction?’
’The answer was an absolute no!’
’The destructive power of that roar was equivalent to a full-force strike from a Martial Artist at the Nascent Soul Realm Early Stage.’
Despite the lingering dizziness, his heart soared with an excitement that was beyond words.
’If the outermost of the nine External-Attached Divine Techniques is this badass, what about the other eight?’
’And what about the Inner-Attached Divine Techniques? What kind of power will they hold?’
’Yu Zongding sent me here to die. He would have never dreamed, not in a million years, that it would lead to me gaining such a heaven-defying opportunity!’
"Brother Chu! Brother Chu!" Ye Xiaohan’s worried shouts snapped Chu Fan out of his reverie.
Chu Fan got to his feet, swaying as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Qi Wei and Wang Xing rushed forward to support him.
"Let’s go back to your room. Bring out that painting so I can see it again," Chu Fan said.
"I think we have a problem," Ye Xiaohan said, gazing at the torches in the distance.
Chu Fan followed his gaze and saw a squad of soldiers carrying torches, running in their direction.
Clearly, the commotion had alerted the City Guard.
When the City Guard arrived, Chu Fan had to talk his way out of it to avoid further trouble. After spinning a bunch of excuses, he finally settled things by paying out over one hundred silver.
After the City Guard left, Ye Xiaohan couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Chu, what was that lion’s roar all about?"
"Just a new Martial Technique I learned. It’s nothing special."