Chapter 84 – Substitute Cultivation: Achieved!

“Pfft!”

With a stab of the blade, Mu Lin’s arm immediately erupted in excruciating pain. But the next moment, as he willed it, the injury on his arm gradually faded—not healed, but transferred away.

At the same time, as the injury was transferred to the Substitute Paper Figure, the progress of this Mystical Art of Mu Lin’s increased by another point.

This +1 precisely brought Mu Lin’s Paper Substitute to the limit of the 3rd realm, Expert level—that is, (8100/8100).

“Hum…”

As the proficiency filled to the brim, a sense of perfect mastery arose in Mu Lin’s heart. The next moment, he was struck by a sudden, profound realization.

Thus, picking up the paper-cutting knife, Mu Lin immediately gripped it and stabbed it fiercely into himself.

“Pfft!”

Stabbing himself with a knife—this was something Mu Lin had done countless times, so it seemed unnecessary to elaborate.

An ordinary self-stabbing indeed required no further explanation, but what if this time, Mu Lin stabbed his heart?

Yes, unlike before, this time Mu Lin did not target ordinary parts like his limbs or buttocks. Instead, he drove the knife straight into his own heart, ruthlessly piercing it through.

“Pfft!!”

Such an injury, even Mu Lin could not ignore.

His heart throbbed with intense pain, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

At the same time, a realization surged within Mu Lin—he was about to die.

After all, Mu Lin was human, lacking the powerful regenerative abilities of demonic monsters. Moreover, his physical Cultivation Level had not yet broken through to the Gushing Spring Realm. If left untreated, a pierced heart would indeed kill him.

And this was precisely one of the super-difficult hurdles for advancing the Substitute Paper Figure to the Master Realm—to reach the Master Realm, a Qi Refiner must stake everything and stab their own vital points.

Moreover, it had to be a fatal injury. Then, in that desperate situation, Mu Lin needed to transfer the injury.

Success meant advancement; failure meant death.

Hmm… some people would prepare backup measures.

However, harboring such reservations would drastically reduce their chances of success.

Unless such Cultivators possessed monstrous, heaven-defying talent or abilities perfectly suited to the task, they had almost no possibility of advancing.

Fortunately, or perhaps inevitably, Mu Lin did not have to worry about this.

In that special moment of sudden enlightenment, as if protected by Azure Heaven, Mu Lin effortlessly transferred this fatal injury into the body of the Paper Substitute.

Along with the injury, his mind and will were also transferred.

Yes, Mu Lin discovered that he could transfer not only injuries but also his mind and consciousness through the close connection to the Substitute Paper Figure.

The Divine Soul’s possession greatly deepened Mu Lin’s understanding of the Paper Figure. At the same time, with the transfer of the fatal injury, the proficiency of Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure increased by another +1.

Since it had already reached its limit before, this +1 naturally triggered its advancement.

Its advancement brought Mu Lin countless insights. Now, these insights, combined with the Divine Soul’s possession of the Paper Substitute, plunged Mu Lin once again into a state of enlightenment.

In this enlightened state, Mu Lin’s thought processing speed increased a hundredfold, while countless sparks of inspiration continuously exploded in his mind.

With powerful thinking and endless inspiration, these states blended with knowledge from his past life, allowing Mu Lin’s Paper Substitute to advance gradually according to his will, subtly forming its own unique style.

“…I now understand the method of constructing meridians…”

“…Once it’s successfully constructed, I’ll be able to cultivate… It’s just a pity that, limited by its materials, the Paper Figure’s cultivation efficiency is only half of mine…”

“…Fortunately, my Divine Soul is strong, allowing me to create even more Substitute Paper Figures. Now, I can have six Substitute Paper Figures existing simultaneously…”

Under normal circumstances, Mu Lin would have stopped thinking here, but this moment of enlightenment truly opened his mind to boundless possibilities.

“…Wait, since Paper Figures are limited by materials and their cultivation efficiency isn’t high, could I improve their cultivation efficiency—or even surpass my own—by changing their materials?…”

“…This is possible. As long as I find good enough materials, it can be done… Moreover, I can not only replace the materials but also inscribe Arrays within them to accelerate cultivation efficiency…”

“…Although this might fail, it doesn’t matter. Paper Figures aren’t human; they can be experimented with freely…”

“…It’s just a pity that after changing materials and inscribing Arrays, the cost of Substitute Paper Figures skyrockets countless times. The better the materials and the more precious the Arrays, the less easily the Substitute Paper Figures can be discarded. Therefore, I can’t replace all my Paper Substitutes; I must keep some for transferring injuries and confronting enemies…”

“…Fortunately, I have enough Paper Figures to divide them into combat use and cultivation use…”

“…Sigh, another thing is quite regrettable. If the Puppet Master Dongfang Ya intended to introduce me to hadn’t been busy, I would likely have already started learning and gained some knowledge about puppets. Because of that, right now, I wouldn’t just be fantasizing but actually considering what materials to replace and what Arrays to inscribe on the Paper Substitute…”

“…Forget it. Even if I went to study, I wouldn’t learn much in just a few days. However, since Paper Substitutes can increase my cultivation efficiency by changing materials, I have no choice but to seek out a Puppet Master to learn from. After all, by then, the Paper Figure would already be considered an alternative puppet substitute…”

In this state of enlightenment, Mu Lin’s thoughts raced swiftly. Although he had pondered much, only a moment had passed in reality.

Soon, the thoughts in Mu Lin’s mind shifted to other directions.

“…So that’s how quantum mechanics can be understood?…”

“…Speaking of which, if injuries can be transferred and curses can be transferred, what about fatigue? Can that be transferred too?…”

“…Hmm, Curse Art and Substitute Paper Figures are closely linked… Since I can transfer injuries from the Paper Figure to others through curses, can I do the reverse—transfer injuries from others onto the Paper Figure?!”

“…Creating Substitute Paper Figures for others is useless to me… No, wait, it’s useful—it can earn money…”

The transition from 3rd realm Expert to 4th realm Master is a transformation, and the Paper Substitute is the core Mystical Art of Mu Lin’s fundamental Cultivation Method, the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture. Therefore, this moment of enlightenment was particularly prolonged for Mu Lin.

A full cup of tea’s time passed before his enlightenment faded.

By then, the Substitute Paper Figure had undergone a great transformation, and its abilities had changed significantly.

First are the original two abilities: Clone Phantom and Injury Transfer.

Currently, the injuries Mu Lin can transfer have reached eighty percent.

“It seems that only a Grandmaster can achieve one hundred percent transfer.”

“That makes sense. If injuries could truly be transferred one hundred percent, I would nearly obtain an Undying Body with limited uses. Such an ability is too powerful, so it makes sense that only a Grandmaster can awaken it.”

As for Clone Phantom, its changes are even greater. First is the quantity: Mu Lin can now summon six Substitute Paper Figures simultaneously.

Beyond quantity, the Substitute Paper Figures can also do more. The cultivation Mu Lin has long yearned for can now be carried out.

However, limited by the material of the Paper Figures, the cultivation efficiency of each Paper Figure is only half of Mu Lin’s.

“But that’s fine. I have six Paper Figures. Cultivating together gives me triple speed, and with my own diligent practice, that makes quadruple speed!”

(End of Chapter)