Chapter 16 – Visualization Practice: One Mind, Many Tasks

Although both are facets of the world, Fengdu is, after all, a legitimate institution within the heavens and earth, far better than the ominous Sky Burial City.

Of course, for now, Mu Lin could only entertain such thoughts.

Names indeed hold power, but simply uttering a name does not grant Mu Lin immense strength.

Sky Burial City truly exists in this world and possesses genuine power. Therefore, a cultivation method named after Sky Burial City can attract a trace of its terrifying power.

However, Hell and Fengdu may not necessarily exist.

Even if they do exist, merely speaking their names is not enough to draw upon their power.

This requires additional procedures, such as contracts or profound insights.

“The emergence of Mindscape – Sky Burial City was likely created by ancient sages who mastered a trace of its fundamental power over a long period of time.”

“I am still weak; altering cultivation methods is beyond my current capabilities.”

“As a novice, I should follow the path laid by my predecessors and continue learning and exploring.”

[Mindscape – Sky Burial City, 3rd Realm Expert (1/13600), Traits: Stabilization, Soul Manifestation (Enhanced Thought, Sensing, Divine Soul Possession…), Burying Heaven Power (Through the connection of the True Name, summon a trace of Sky Burial City’s power)]

After checking the status of Mindscape – Sky Burial City on the Proficiency Panel, Mu Lin proceeded with his next stage of cultivation.

However, what frustrated him was that to advance to the 4th Realm Master, he needed to continuously engage with the power of Sky Burial City.

“The cultivation of Mindscape – Sky Burial City at the Expert stage is divided into two parts. One is continued construction. At this stage, I must construct more buildings, tools, and from now on, humans and flying cranes. Only when individual buildings are formed into a commercial street with people coming and going will my construction be considered successful.”

“However, after such construction is completed, without additional traits, my Mindscape will at most be of Mysterious Grade quality.”

Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow—Earth Grade, as the second tier, is not low in rank. It is important to note that various Dao Palaces receive support from the imperial family and aristocratic families. Moreover, during this wartime period, the upper echelons have released many resources to secure victory.

Even so, the highest cultivation methods in the Scripture Repository Pavilion only reach Earth Grade Low Rank.

From this, one can imagine the rarity and power of Earth Grade High Rank.

“Therefore, for my Mindscape to achieve an Earth Grade High Rank evaluation, I must continuously channel the power of Sky Burial City and comprehend this terrifying and anomalous force. Only then will Mindscape – Sky Burial City truly live up to its reputation as an Earth Grade High Rank cultivation method.”

Without channeling this power, it is safe, but the upper limit of my Mindscape will only be Mysterious Grade.

Channeling it is dangerous, but it allows my Mindscape to reach Earth Grade High Rank.

With almost no hesitation, Mu Lin chose the latter.

He had no other choice.

He was well aware that this was a time of war, and the imperial family and aristocratic families were far from benevolent.

By accepting their offerings and resources, Mu Lin would have to risk his life in three years.

Fighting evil spirits and anomalies on the front lines, without sufficient strength, he would struggle to survive even half a year.

“Channeling the power of Sky Burial City may lead to my death in the future, but there is also a chance of survival. After all, the Paper Crafting Scripture of the Yin Eight Gates has been passed down for thousands of years, with many great figures among its practitioners. Practicing it does not guarantee certain doom.”

“Without drawing upon the power of Sky Burial City, three years from now, I will most likely be in constant danger.”

One possibility of death a hundred years in the future, and imminent danger in just three years.

There was no need to even think about which choice Mu Lin would make.

Having made his decision, Mu Lin began visualizing horses.

“First, I’ll construct the horses, paper cranes, and humans. Drawing upon the power of Sky Burial City will be done last.”

The visualization of horses suddenly became much more difficult.

Unlike stationary swords, armor, houses, and coffins, visualizing horses was not enough on its own. Mu Lin also had to visualize their running posture—to make them move.

The shift from stillness to motion was akin to the difference between 2D painting and 3D animation.

Faced with this challenge, ordinary cultivators would slowly construct it by closely observing the running movements of horses.

Mu Lin… forced his way through the visualization.

In his previous life, he had seen images of horses running. With his soul spirit manifested, his memory had greatly improved. After more than a dozen attempts, he truly managed to visualize the fleeing motion of a horse in his mind—though the movement was quite stiff.

It should also be noted that Mu Lin did not visualize just one horse.

His ability to multitask allowed him, while fully immersed in meditation, to visualize four different things simultaneously.

For his first attempt, he chose a lantern, a paper crane, a horse, and a snake.

“The lantern provides illumination, the paper crane delivers messages, the horse carries me as I run, and as for the snake… I have a feeling that visualizing the Blackwater Profound Serpent will benefit my cultivation of the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art.”

“However, ordinary snakes probably won’t help… But what does the Blackwater Profound Serpent look like? Without a concrete reference, I can’t rely solely on imagination.”

“I’ll ask Zong Xiu after school. He’s knowledgeable and should know where to find out…”

With these thoughts in mind, Mu Lin gradually immersed himself in the visualization of his mental imagery.

The surge in his spiritual power not only allowed Mu Lin to visualize multiple objects at once but also greatly enhanced his endurance.

Previously, after visualizing for half an incense stick’s time or one full incense stick’s time, he would need to rest.

But now, even while visualizing four things simultaneously, Mu Lin could persist for much longer.

In the end, he visualized for a full two incense sticks’ time.

The extended duration allowed Mu Lin to observe and successfully solidify the lantern midway through.

Now, lanterns hung under the eaves of Mu Lin’s humble dwelling.

At the main gate, there were two lanterns, one on the left and one on the right.

To make up for this, he observed a boat and successfully visualized and solidified it by the time his meditation was complete.

The only thing troubling him was that when he was at the 2nd realm, successfully visualizing and solidifying one object would grant him 100 proficiency points. Therefore, to reach 800 proficiency points, he only needed to visualize and solidify eight objects.

Now, after successfully visualizing the lantern and solidifying it as part of his humble dwelling, he gained only a single proficiency point.

“Hiss… To advance to Master, do I need to visualize thirteen thousand six hundred objects?”

As soon as this thought arose, Mu Lin shook his head. He felt… it couldn’t be that simple.

“To reach the 3rd realm, I must inevitably come into contact with the Burying Heaven Power. So, if I only visualize ordinary objects, this cultivation method will definitely stall midway.”

The observations of the lantern and the boat proceeded as smoothly as ever. As for the paper crane, the horse, and the snake, Mu Lin had managed to visualize them.

However, because they needed to move, to gallop, and to fly, Mu Lin could only barely observe them and had yet to solidify their forms.

“If this were an ordinary cultivator, this would be a bottleneck. They would have to ponder deeply, even venture out to witness firsthand the movements of snakes, cranes, and horses, and possess a touch of insight to possibly succeed.”

“Fortunately, I don’t need to. With the proficiency panel, as long as I keep grinding and persistently visualize, I will eventually solidify them.”

(End of Chapter)