Chapter 28 – Substitute Paper Figure

The altar possessed the ability to inscribe spells. The three-tiered altar represented Mu Lin’s Divine Soul Realm, and more importantly, it meant he could inscribe three spells upon the altar.

The altar’s second ability was amplification. Daoist Practitioners and Qi Refiners often spoke of setting up altars to perform rituals, and the altar was one variant of such platforms. With an altar, Mu Lin could consume more Mana to amplify the power of his own spells. The three-tiered altar meant Mu Lin could increase the power of his spells by ninety percent.

However, there were some differences between the altars of orthodox mystical sects and Mu Lin’s altar.

“As a long-standing tradition, Paper Artisans are closer to shamanism than Daoism. As structures for venerating heaven, earth, and spirits, altars are most adept at amplifying spells such as spirit summoning, ghost beckoning, curses, blessings… The amplification for ordinary elemental spells is relatively smaller.”

Beyond inscription and amplification, the altar’s third ability was summoning.

This was also related to the fundamental power of Mindscape – Sky Burial City. The courtyard within Mu Lin’s Divine Soul could summon Sky Burial Power to descend upon himself.

As a reflection of Mindscape – Sky Burial City, his Spirit Foundation could also summon this strange and powerful force.

The difference was that when summoned within the Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Burial Power would corrupt Mu Lin’s Divine Soul.

When summoned within the dantian’s qi sea, the Burying Heaven Power would pollute Mu Lin’s Mana and physical body.

“Many Cultivators of the Yin Eight Gates end up neither human nor ghost, likely because of this.”

Thinking of the miserable state of previous Paper Artisans, Mu Lin had already decided that from now on, he would absolutely not summon the Sky Burial Power unless absolutely necessary.

The reason it was “unless absolutely necessary” rather than a firm refusal was that while the Burying Heaven Power was indeed fraught with danger, its might was undeniably real.

Faced with a life-or-death situation, even knowing the Burying Heaven Power had consequences, he would still summon this power to survive, because:

“The Burying Heaven Power threatens the future, but if a person dies, there is no future at all.”

In summary, the Burying Heaven Power was indeed dangerous, but it also served as Mu Lin’s trump card in desperate situations.

…

With the dantian opened and the Spirit Foundation formed, the foundation Mu Lin had painstakingly cultivated was finally fully unleashed.

Upon reaching this realm, Qi Refiners truly transcended ordinary mortals. For this reason, many did not recognize the Sensing and Qi Drawing realms, directly considering Spirit Awakening as the starting point for Qi Refiners.

Mu Lin didn’t care about these distinctions. Meanwhile, his Spirit Foundation wasn’t just the altar—the humanoid figure on the altar was also an important component of Mu Lin’s Spirit Foundation.

This humanoid form was the condensed manifestation of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture, and its name was quite simple—Substitute Paper Figure.

As a substitute, its abilities were diverse. When released through the Paper Figure, Mu Lin could use it to confuse enemies or withstand others’ Spell attacks.

Of course, if that were all, this ability, while decent, would hardly be worthy of being the fundamental spell of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture.

After all, this Cultivation Method was Earth Grade High Rank.

And spells like substitutes, illusions, Clones… were not rare across various disciplines.

Even the Paper Crafting Scripture contained a simplified version of the Paper Substitute technique.

Using this as a fundamental spell would indeed diminish the dignity of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture.

Fortunately, Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure was not ordinary.

Ordinary clone spells mostly rely on illusion arts to deceive enemies. Consequently, some beings with powerful divine souls or those possessing special spells can easily distinguish between clones, illusions, and the main body.

Additionally, many spells that directly target the soul’s origin can ignore illusions and strike at the main body.

However, Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure does not suffer from this flaw. Composed of a human meridian diagram, essence blood, and divine soul aura, it carries all of Mu Lin’s aura, making it impossible for ordinary spells to distinguish between his main body and the clone.

Beyond being difficult to identify, it offers Mu Lin two additional advantages.

First, the Paper Substitute can be “blown” into existence using the Paper Figure Art.

As it is a projection formed from the aggregation of Mu Lin’s Three Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, it possesses nearly half of Mu Lin’s abilities. Once summoned, Mu Lin can briefly engage the enemy in a righteous two-on-one fight.

“Of course, there are drawbacks. My total mana is limited, and summoning it splits my mana in half.”

“Moreover, the Substitute Paper Figure lacks a divine soul, requiring me to divide my attention to control it.”

Despite these flaws, the pressure exerted on an opponent in a one-on-one fight versus a righteous gang-up is entirely different.

Especially since, as a substitute, Mu Lin can have it fight to the death or even self-destruct to create opportunities for his main body.

Overall, this is a useful trait.

Beyond this, the Paper Substitute possesses one most important and core characteristic.

This is also why it can become the foundational spell of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture, an Earth Grade High Rank cultivation method.

This characteristic is called—Injury Transfer!

—Because the Substitute Paper Figure is a projection of Mu Lin’s Three Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, he can rely on their connection to transfer injuries, curses, and even other negative effects from his main body to the Paper Substitute!

Thinking of this, Mu Lin eagerly decided to test it.

Taking out a paper-cutting knife, he made a cut on his arm.

“Slice…”

As Mu Lin applied force, a wound immediately appeared on his arm. Seeing this, he stopped and directed his divine soul into his dantian, focusing on the altar and the Substitute Paper Figure upon it.

Unsurprisingly, the Substitute Paper Figure on the altar showed no injury at that moment.

However, as Mu Lin willed it, the wound on his arm gradually faded, while a matching scar appeared on the Substitute Paper Figure.

The only disappointment for Mu Lin was that only thirty percent of the injury on his main body was transferred.

“My proficiency is still too low!”

The power of a spell depends not only on its grade but also on proficiency, cultivation realm, and the mana used during casting.

Even the most powerful spell will not be very effective if cast with insufficient mana or low proficiency.

Take Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure, for example. As the foundational spell of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture, its grade matches that of the cultivation method—Earth Grade High Rank.

However, with a proficiency of only the 2nd Realm (Proficient), its full power cannot be fully unleashed.

Soon, Mu Lin discovered that the 2nd Realm Substitute Paper Figure had other limitations besides only transferring thirty percent of injuries.

The upper limit of injuries Mu Lin could transfer was also restricted.

The injuries and curses inflicted upon the Substitute Paper Figure could be expelled into the outside world by Mu Lin through the method of Paper Folding Transference.

Just as now, Mu Lin took out a small Paper Figure and casually tossed it. The injuries on the Substitute Paper Figure were transferred onto the small Paper Figure before him.

As the small Paper Figure spontaneously combusted in the outside world, the Substitute Paper Figure within Mu Lin’s dantian was already safe and sound.

However, although its injuries were gone, the gaps caused by the damage remained.

Since the Substitute Paper Figure was composed of Mana, these gaps would gradually recover as Mana was replenished.

Yet this recovery required a certain amount of time, which also meant that within a given period, there was a certain upper limit to the injuries Mu Lin could transfer.

If he sustained severe injuries continuously, the Substitute Paper Figure could be torn to pieces.

“But even so, the power of this Spell is remarkably potent. Whether it’s the indistinguishable Clone, the ability to justly engage in a two-on-one fight, or the capacity to transfer injuries—all of these are immensely useful to me.”

“Especially the last one… Evil Aberrations are troublesome, and curses are particularly difficult to deal with, far more so than mere injuries. But I can completely transfer curses onto the Substitute Paper Figure and then, through Paper Folding Transference, cast them into the outside world.”

(End of Chapter)