Chapter 15 Imperial Qi

Li Mochen was thrilled at the sight and wanted to thoroughly study the mysteries of the Dual Element Mystic Transformation Art and perfect it, but this was clearly not something that could be accomplished in a short time; neither time nor circumstances permitted it.

He still had more important things to do. Before investing time and energy into studying the Dual Element Mystic Transformation Art, Li Mochen had to mend the flaws in his own mind.

Thirty-six hours after the comprehensive cold weapon fighting competition, his sea of consciousness was still filled with demonic thoughts. Even a slight emotional fluctuation threatened to pollute his spirit. This forced Li Mochen to expend great mental effort to suppress his sea of consciousness, maintaining a clean, clear, and calm mind.

But this was by no means a long-term solution. He had to quickly eliminate this threat that could at any moment lead him into demonic possession. He couldn't afford to waste most of his mental strength on this.

Also, his current abnormal desires had to be resolved quickly.

Li Mochen was not at a loss for solutions; he actually had many ways to deal with this problem. Although they were only temporary measures, they were enough to buy him time until he could repair his primordial spirit.

Previously, he didn't understand the original owner's situation, so he dared not act rashly. Only now, after undergoing a thorough internal and external感应检测, did Li Mochen gradually form a plan.

After weighing the options for a while, he ultimately chose a secret technique from the Yuanqiong Realm called the Celestial Mind Illumination.

Merging with the original owner's remnant soul meant that all his previous mental cultivation methods had become invalid, losing their foundation. His foundation had now shifted, like a blank sheet of paper ready for any inscription.

This Celestial Mind Illumination technique could mend his mental flaws while slightly strengthening his spirit and magical power, and even help him break through his current cultivation level. It was the best among all available options.

Li Mochen hesitated because, although this secret technique was exquisite and miraculous, capable of solving all his current problems, it also had certain drawbacks.

It was a method similar to self-hypnosis, making the practitioner extremely self-centered and arrogant. In the language of this world, words like 'megalomaniac' or 'delusional' might accurately describe it.

This was because practitioners of this secret technique had to genuinely believe that the mind precedes material existence, that their will is the will of heaven, and that their actions conform to the laws of heaven, in order to truly enter the gate.

That is, 'Heaven's mind is my mind; my will is heaven's will; the divine will unites with heaven, viewing the world with heaven's mind'!

As for what 'heaven's mind' is like, the Dao De Jing, which is circulated in both the Yuanqiong Realm and this world, explains it clearly: 'Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.'

If only he could truly reach that state. Li Mochen worried that he might aim for a swan and hit a duck, or try to draw a tiger and end up with a dog, which would be awkward.

It was foreseeable that, given his current mental state, this was a likely outcome. But it seemed he had no better choice.

Thinking this, Li Mochen no longer hesitated. He immediately entered a state of meditation according to the formula and began to concentrate and visualize.

Everything went as he expected. Half an hour later, when he withdrew from the state of deep contemplation, he had directly entered the third stage of the Celestial Mind Illumination.

This Celestial Mind Illumination had only five levels in total.

The accumulated cultivation of the 'Divine Firmament Ultimate Void Purple Immortal King' was no ordinary matter. Even a remnant of his essence after severe injury was a foundation so solid that it far surpassed that of most tenth-level magic energy professionals in this world.

When Li Mochen opened his eyes again, his mind was as cold as ice, with almost no emotional fluctuation. A faint divine light gleamed in his eyes as he observed his surroundings with a godlike demeanor.

It seemed that this heaven and earth, this world, was all within his grasp.

In fact, every movement within twenty meters around him, even the dust particles, was reflected in his mind without omission.

Li Mochen could sense the fat neighbor in room B-5, two rooms away across the hall, wearing headphones and swaying his head, apparently enjoying music.

In another building next to the apartment, someone was holding something called a 'thermal imager,' peering through the half-lit window of the basement.

Then there was the vast magical energy pervading heaven and earth—he could clearly 'see' these things, perceive the flow of this magical energy, even its ebb and flow.

This was precisely the characteristic of the third level of Celestial Mind Illumination: initially achieving the union of divine will with heaven, viewing the world with heaven's mind.

Immediately after, Li Mochen proceeded to the next step. He again looked inward at his dantian and primordial spirit, but this time the situation was completely different.

A day ago, he had only ordinary internal perception; now, using the Celestial Mind Illumination method, he could see into the deepest mysteries.

Soon, he sensed the 'Southern Pole Deity' and 'Northern Pole Deity' within his primordial spirit, as well as the two corresponding star clusters in his dantian—if observed closely, they resembled the Little Bear constellation and the Northern Pole constellation.

A look of disdain first appeared in Li Mochen's eyes, then thunder and lightning suddenly erupted within his primordial spirit.

These were not real, but products of Li Mochen's imagination, yet they still possessed great destructive power, shattering both 'Yuan Chen Deities' in his sea of consciousness.

The so-called Northern Pole is the Purple Star, whose star lord is the 'Central Heaven Northern Pole Purple Grand Emperor,' one of the Four Emperors, second only to the Jade Emperor. He is the 'Lord of All Stars, Master of All Phenomena.' He sits motionless at the very center of the starry sky, the highest and most honored star. He governs the celestial meridians and terrestrial parallels, leading all stars, controlling ghosts and gods, and wielding thunder. His authority is vast, overseeing the cosmic cycles of calamity, the rise and fall of the world, the order of immortals' ascension and descent, and the life and death of all beings.

The Big Dipper governs death, but it can only revolve around the Northern Pole.

As for the Southern Pole, it lies at the southern extremity of the sky, corresponding to the Northern Pole. Its star lord is the Southern Pole Longevity Emperor, also one of the Four Emperors. He governs the four seasons and climate transformations, can summon wind and rain, and determines the pivot of fortune and growth for all things. It is said that the 'Universal Thunder of the Nine Heavens Responding to the Primordial Sound' is his incarnation, the root ancestor of the Thunder Department, and ranks first among the Nine Sovereigns of the Divine Firmament. He presides over heaven's calamities and blessings, holds the balance of things, governs beings and objects, controls life and death, and commands thunder.

The Southern Dipper governs life, but it is under the command of the Southern Pole Star.

In the Yuanqiong Realm, the Treatise on Astronomy says: 'The Southern Pole enters the earth by thirty-six degrees, the Northern Pole emerges from the earth by thirty-six degrees, the celestial form leans to one side. Half emerges above the earth, half returns within the earth; all stars and energies rotate leftward, only the pivots of the Northern and Southern Poles do not move, thus heaven can rotate.' From this passage, one can understand the status of these two poles.

It must be said that the original Li Mochen was asking for trouble by choosing the Southern and Northern Poles—if in the Yuanqiong Realm, once he cultivated something substantial, it would be a clear sign of imperial qi, a trend to overthrow the Langya Celestial Dynasty and ascend as emperor.

Unfortunately, the two Yuan Chen Deities cultivated by the original owner had no trace of 'Heavenly Emperor' aura, which made him quite disdainful.

The same fate befell the 'Little Bear' and 'Northern Pole' constellations in his dantian, which were forcibly shattered and dispersed by the sudden appearance of true qi vortices. These two constellations occupied the same positions as the Southern and Northern Poles in Eastern star charts, a convenient approach, but the original owner failed to grasp the true meaning. He could only barely condense a 'Star Dharma Image' to advance.

Fortunately, his cultivation was still shallow; once this foundation was fixed, it would be difficult to make further progress. He would be stuck at level twelve for life.

As Li Mochen meditated and visualized, within just three minutes, two new 'Southern Pole Deities' and 'Northern Pole Deities' appeared in his sea of consciousness. Two new star clusters also emerged in his dantian.

Again, they were 'Little Bear' and 'Northern Pole,' but if an astrologer were present, they would find that these two star clusters were almost exact reflections of those constellations in the night sky, even clearer, containing countless mysteries and truths.

Moreover, they resonated with each other from afar, closely connected, showing signs of mutual resonance.

In Li Mochen's understanding, the stars of the heavens were the reflections of the myriad realms in the starry sky, the manifestation of those realms in this world.

But the starry sky of this world was far inferior to the 'Boundless Void'!

In America, the Boundless Void has another name; it is often called the 'Astral Realm' or the 'Realm of Truth.'

From the name alone, one can know that magic energy cultivators in America generally believe it is the realm of stars, containing all the truths and mysteries of this world.

And Li Mochen, who had personally spent four days drifting in the 'Boundless Void,' was undoubtedly more knowledgeable about the thousands of stars in the sky than many experienced astrologers or masters of Purple Star astrology in this world.

The next moment, a loud boom resounded in Li Mochen's mind, and his heart pounded violently. As the two 'constellations' and the pair of 'Yuan Chen Deities' took shape again in his sea of consciousness and dantian, a sea of magical energy surged toward him, washing over his body and all his meridians.

At this moment, some images arose in Li Mochen's mind—in the empty basement to his left, a large patch of moss and countless plants silently grew and sprouted rapidly; to his right, beyond two walls, the still-sleeping couple suddenly shivered, their faces turning blue from cold. A layer of ice had formed on the walls and floor of their room.

As for room B-5 across the hall, the fat neighbor was fiddling with his radio in frustration. No matter how hard he tried, the radio only emitted a crackling sound.

Above the apartment, in the dark clouds over Atlanta, strands of lightning gathered and flashed.

But Li Mochen could no longer pay attention to these things, because within his body and sea of consciousness, a vast and majestic life force and an equally boundless dead energy simultaneously arose, rapidly forming a huge spiral.