The unexpected arrival of Xie Yan and Yu Ci startled Geng Fu, who was busy preparing the top floor. At this time, the banquet on the top floor was fully set, but it was absolutely inappropriate to invite two of the most distinguished guests at this time. The plump innkeeper immediately scurried over, respectfully inviting the two to the Cloud Bamboo Garden.
The Cloud Bamboo Garden was the best viewing spot on the Sky Wing Tower. Its semi-enclosed space was not suitable for large banquets, but it was perfect as a VIP lounge. Yu Ci was quite fond of this place. As for Xie Yan, aside from the Golden Bone Jade Disc, he had no other concerns at the moment and allowed Geng Fu to arrange everything.
After ushering the two distinguished guests into the garden, Geng Fu did not dare to linger. Once the tea and refreshments were served, he respectfully excused himself.
The Cloud Bamboo Garden then fell into silence.
Yu Ci looked at Xie Yan. Seeing the Immortal Elder sit down and close his eyes to rest, presumably intending to do so until the banquet began, Yu Ci smiled. The Fish-Dragon instinctively feared Xie Yan and kept its distance, swimming among the bamboo. Yu Ci leaned on the railing, overlooking the view of the sheer cliff city.
Because it was nestled between mountains and it was winter, the sky over the sheer cliff city darkened quickly. As the mountain blocked the slanting rays of the sun, a huge shadow was cast, covering more than half of the city. A layer of gray shadow spread out, shrouding the sky above the city, and one by one, the lights in the city were lit.
On the crisscrossing streets of the city, people were bustling. Shop fronts were opening one after another, the smell of food wafting upward, mingling with the clouds above and obscuring the opposite dark Cinnabar Cliff, as if erasing it from the gradually darkening sky.
Struck by this impression, Yu Ci couldn't help but chuckle. He no longer looked in that direction, but at the lights of the thousands of homes in the New City. In his spare time, he practiced the Linked Star Secret Method he learned from the "Shangqing Star Secret Talisman Book" to pass the time.
At this time, there were no stars in the sky, so he used the city lights instead, connecting them against the backdrop of the massive mountain city to draw talismans. Various talisman patterns such as Clear Mind Incantation, Five-Thunder Talismans, Godspeed Talisman flowed through his mind. Perhaps this could be considered cultivation, but he was mostly enjoying himself.
However, he failed to successfully draw the Five-orientation Telepathizing Talisman. This talisman was complex, and the city lights flickered unpredictably. It was not a proper environment for using the Linked Star Secret Method. After failing several attempts, he didn't force it. Instead, he directly drew a proper Five-orientation Telepathizing Talisman Book. Divine light scattered, instantly relieving his frustration.
Xie Yan merely gave it a glance, too lazy to bother.
The divine light shining on the top floor naturally couldn't escape the notice of many cultivators upstairs. However, everyone knew that there was a formidable Immortal Elder present, and while they discussed among themselves, none dared to go up and investigate.
Feeling the spread of the Divine Light, Yu Ci shifted into a more comfortable position, closing his eyes. The days of cultivation had formed a habit in him. After releasing the Five Directions Spirit Charm, he would practice Soul Sensing. As Elder Jie Liang had said, the combination of the two was an excellent method for cultivating the Divine Soul.
With familiarity and ease, Yu Ci's "Heart of the Lake" expanded, a set of huge concentric circles unfolded, and quickly formed a positive cycle of sensing information, making judgments, clarifying the environment, and having a clearer sense of perception.
Gradually, a set of vague outlines appeared: there were railings, cultivated bamboos, indistinct human figures, and lively, slender creatures moving about.
This was the Cloud Bamboo Garden beside him.
Such perception was exactly what Elder Jie Liang described as the state of a Golden Elixir cultivator with a Golden Elixir "suspending in the void, reflecting the vast universe".
In the past, Yu Ci could use the Five Directions Spirit Charm to enhance his Soul Sensing, and after a long preparation, enter this state. Now, neither the method of entry nor the preparation time had shortened, but the "place" where this state was presented had changed.
Here, the sky was dark, with a bright moon hanging above, and the mountain forest was quiet and secluded. The central small lake was sparkling, like scattered silver. In the lake, a vague shadow was moving, which was Yu Ci's Mental Image that had already appeared but was still unformed.
Unbeknownst to him, Yu Ci's mind had already entered the "Inner Void of the Heart".
The key lay in the central small lake.
In the structure of Yu Ci's "Inner Void of the Heart", the bright moon represented traces of the past, the boundless darkness was the future waiting to be explored, while the mountain forest and the small lake constituted everything he possessed now. Among them, the central small lake could be seen as the physical body of Yu Ci's Physical Spirit, and the surrounding mountain forest was the "External Objects" represented by the Divine Bronze Mirror, forming a reciprocal relationship.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
In Yu Ci's view, the shadow moving in the central small lake was the "Mental Image", but the small lake and the Mental Image couldn't be separated. The small lake was actually an extension of the "Mental Image", a symbol of his "Physical Image", corresponding to the Divine Soul, or the basic structure of the "Concentric Circle Theory".
Therefore, naturally, the "Heart of the Lake", representing the Structure of the Soul, became one with the central small lake, inseparable.
Of course, we must not forget the role of the Divine Bronze Mirror symbolized by the surrounding mountain forest. This treasure not only reflected the Mental Image but also built a bridge between the "Inner Void of the Heart" and the outside world, connecting the originally independent "Inner Void of the Heart" with the world outside.
In such circumstances, Yu Ci could perform Soul Sensing within the "Inner Void of the Heart", connecting with the outside world, and then casting the sensed information back in. It seemed as if the Divine Map was being replicated within the "Inner Void of the Heart". However, the scope and clarity couldn't be demanded too much.
Before the disappearance of the Divine Map, Yu Ci had been attempting to combine Soul Sensing with the Divine Map, yet he was utterly clueless. Now that the Divine Map was gone, he managed to make a breakthrough. The wonders of the world could not be more extraordinary than this.
At this moment, beyond the small central lake, the vast space and the forests remained the same. However, the part near the lake was replaced with a vague outline of the "Cloud Bamboo Garden". This was manifested by Soul Sensing, a symbol of the connection between the internal and external voids.
In fact, Yu Ci's exercise of the Divine Soul and enhancement of sensing were not smooth. The aura within the Sky Wing Tower was extremely complex due to the presence of numerous Cultivators. Their mixed auras provided a vast amount of information for Soul Sensing, allowing Yu Ci to make judgments under more detailed conditions, but also exponentially increased the complexity of the environment.
As he had lamented on the cliff top before, even a tiny Fish-Dragon with its surrounding Aura had already exceeded his control limit, let alone hundreds of Cultivators with accomplished cultivation levels gathered together, influencing and changing each other.
This created a very peculiar situation: on one hand, Yu Ci's understanding of the surroundings, such as fences, tables and chairs, and various decorative furnishings, became clearer, which was the result of his Divine Soul's precise judgment. On the other hand, the images of all the Cultivators within the sensing range were extremely vague and chaotic, intertwined and difficult to distinguish.
Under the effects of the Five Elements Spirit Symbol, Yu Ci's sensing limit was more than three miles. However, due to the above situation, the area he could accurately grasp was only the "Cloud Bamboo Garden". He knew that while he was deeply sensing, several powerful Cultivators had entered the garden and paid their respects to Xie Yan.
The aura of these people was very distinctive, but if he wanted to probe further, his diffused Divine Will Power seemed to hit an invisible curtain, always separated by a layer. After a long time, their auras mixed together, making it more difficult to sense, causing discomfort in his heart, but he didn't know how to deal with this huge and solid "curtain".
After a stalemate with no progress, Yu Ci felt that enough people had arrived in the Cloud Bamboo Garden and was about to give up temporarily. Suddenly, the water waves of the "Heart of the Lake" surged, and a new entity entered this small world.
Compared to other Cultivators with exquisite cultivation levels, this fellow's Aura was far simpler! It was like a ragged gap, the weakest spot on the huge curtain. As soon as the gap appeared, Yu Ci didn't care what it was, his Soul Sensing operated automatically, and the long-accumulated Divine Will Power surged in. At that moment, Yu Ci seemed to hear the crisp sound of a barrier shattering.
Then, a chubby figure, endearingly clumsy, seemed to "jump" out of the void.
The fat man's thick lips moved, as if saying something, but Yu Ci couldn't quite catch it. All he "saw" was the vibrant colors radiating in all directions from the chubby figure.
If the initial image of the fat man was merely a rough outline sketched with an ink brush in an abstract style, after the "coloring", it became a meticulously detailed fine brushwork painting. Then this painting "came alive", transforming into a clear and real character, appearing before his eyes. Along with it, his surroundings also became vivid and vibrant.
At this moment, Yu Ci thought of the Divine Map.
It was also at this moment that Xie Yan's voice echoed in his ear: "Let's go."
Yu Ci jolted, his mind springing out from the "Inner Void of the Heart", returning to the real world. By now, there were seven or eight people in the Cloud Bamboo Garden, naturally forming a small circle around Xie Yan, all standing up, preparing to leave, casting peculiar glances his way.
After Xie Yan got up, only Yu Ci remained, casually leaning against the railing, meditating with his eyes closed, only opening them when Xie Yan personally called him.
Yu Ci was unfazed. As a Cultivator, cultivation was his top priority. He didn't even care about Xie Yan, let alone the gazes of others.
He nodded and smiled at the familiar and unfamiliar Cultivators in the garden, then stood up. In just a glance, he saw Geng Fu bowing, making a "please" gesture, inviting the Immortal Elders to take their seats. His image was identical to what had appeared in his "Inner Void of the Heart."
Moreover, the chubby man seemed completely oblivious to the spiritual shock Yu Ci had just experienced.
Just then, a burning pain shot through his left forearm.
Within Yu Ci's sleeve, the Divine Bronze Mirror was hot to the touch. The surging heat flowed from the tender flesh inside his arm, merging into his Primordial Qi, making it hard to distinguish between the two. Driven by such heat, Yu Ci's heart began to race uncontrollably.
It seemed he had made an extraordinary discovery...
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to investigate it now. At this moment, led by Xie Yan, all the important figures in the Cloud Bamboo Garden were walking out of the bamboo screen, and the outer banquet hall was filled with the sound of music, instantly becoming lively.
The time had come, and the Treasure Exchange Banquet was about to begin.
**********
The final preparations were underway, and the Cliff City was about to come alive. Begging for collection, .
...
I have also posted the following more chapters [All free] on: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e