Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Sitting cross-legged on the soft bed, Mu Chen recalled the advice Dilaka and his Master had given him and began to plan his future path of cultivation. Life was like that; you didn’t have to map out your entire existence in one go, but you absolutely needed a goal for each stage.

’Master said I should strengthen myself in three areas: one, Spirit; two, Body; and three, Martial Arts Realm.’

Muttering to himself, he flipped his wrist, and an ancient, white-bound book appeared in his hand. The cover bore no name, only faint creases and a cracked surface that spoke of the ages it had weathered. Yet when he brushed a hand over it, not a speck of dust rose. It was clear its previous owner had cherished it as dearly as their own life. At this thought, a slender but resilient figure surfaced in his mind.

’Forest of Myriad Manifestations, Sima Shanshan...’

It had been two years and five months since he left the Senluo Tomb. More than two years was enough time for anything to change.

’I wonder how she’s doing now. She got the God-Smashing Technique and specializes in Spiritual Power, so her Spirit Realm must be far beyond mine by now.’ His brow furrowed, and he gave a self-deprecating smile. ’I have to start working harder, and soon. I’ve been too lazy lately. If I keep this up, even the greatest natural talent will go to waste.’

Muttering to himself, he gently opened the first page of the white book. There was no preface, no author, and still no title—only a page densely packed with characters. It all defied logic, yet to Mu Chen, it felt perfectly reasonable. After all, this was the Ninghun Family’s last resort for survival, yet Sima Shanshan had insisted on giving it to him. And after receiving this High-level Cultivation Method, hailed as the work of a genius, he had simply let it gather dust in his Storage Ring until now. It was a truly shameful waste.

His gaze swept over the page, the words imprinting themselves on his mind. After reading just the first sentence, he found he couldn’t look away.

The faster he read, the brighter the strange light in his eyes grew. Time ticked by, and the only sound in the silent room was the rustle of turning pages. An unknown amount of time passed. When he finally closed the Forest of Myriad Manifestations, his face was etched with disbelief and profound admiration.

He let out a long breath. Even he couldn’t help but be in awe of the heaven-sent genius who created it. ’This High-level Spiritual Technique... no, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a Peak Technique. It’s too powerful!’

At this thought, Mu Chen glanced at the sky. Seeing it had not yet begun to brighten, a look of eagerness appeared on his face. He mentally reviewed the cultivation process for the Secret Technique three full times. Once he was sure he hadn’t missed anything, he put away the Senluo Secret Technique, sat upright and cross-legged with his palms and soles facing up, and an invisible power began to radiate from the spot between his eyebrows.

Then, a strange silver engraving appeared between his eyebrows, occupying the spot where the Array Map for his Attribute Spirit would normally manifest. This was none other than the Soul Engraving Mu Chen had carved while tempering his soul!

Immediately, Mu Chen left a mere trace of his Spiritual Power in the Outer Realm and submerged his consciousness completely into his Sea of Souls. Feeling the solid armor that enveloped his Spiritual Body, he smiled in satisfaction.

’I haven’t used my Spiritual Power in a long time. It seems to have grown quite a bit along with my Martial Artist Realm.’

Although he still hadn’t broken through to the Li Realm, he had reached the Peak of Li Realm. Even the bottleneck felt a little loose. He hadn’t noticed it before, but this was the perfect opportunity.

He habitually glanced toward the center of his Sea of Souls, but it was empty. He sighed in resignation. ’Back when Xiaobai was here, at least I had some help with my God-Smashing Technique cultivation. Now that Xiaobai is hidden away, I can only rely on myself.’

His Spiritual Body sat cross-legged in his Sea of Souls, perfectly mirroring his physical body in the Outer Realm, palms and soles facing up. With a single thought, he began to circulate his energy according to the Forest of Myriad Manifestations.

According to the instructions in the Forest of Myriad Manifestations, the first step of the Cultivation Technique was to gather all of one’s Spiritual Power between the eyebrows. Not having a Soul Engraving was fine, but having one was even better. This would condense the energy into a product of Spiritual Power, its form created by the user’s own will.

Mu Chen did just that. Deep in his subconscious, the Nine Spirits Profound Jade Fan was the most vivid image. So, when he gathered all his Spiritual Power between his eyebrows, the Soul Engraving radiated a dazzling white light. A moment later, a white Profound Jade Fan, about the size of his index finger, emerged from it.

Sensing his Spiritual Power completely converged within the fan, Mu Chen began to rapidly circulate his energy according to the Forest of Myriad Manifestations. A moment later, thin white threads extended from his Spiritual Body, rapidly weaving around him to form an intricate, multi-layered web. Each layer of this web rotated at its own unique speed.

Mu Chen knew the purpose of these spiritual threads: they would continuously lock onto any nearby Spirit Condensation Bodies. As long as a Spirit Condensation Body attempted to pass through, the threads’ rotation would not stop. If his own Spiritual Body was so much as touched by one, it would be utterly devoured. Therefore, if his Spirit Condensation Body came into contact with a single thread of the web, the consequences would be fatal.

What Mu Chen had to do was guide his Spirit Condensation Body through these rotating webs to the other side within a set time. To succeed, he had to constantly use his Spiritual Power to manipulate the Spirit Condensation Body, threading it through the gaps in one web without letting it be touched by the next.

’Three hundred layers?’ Using his powerful calculation and perception, Mu Chen analyzed the web woven from the threads. He frowned. ’Just the beginner’s training has a three-hundred-layer Spiritual Net? I can’t imagine how insane the higher levels will be. Oh well, let’s give it a try.’

Focusing his mind in an instant, Mu Chen wrapped his entire will around the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan and sent it flying toward a gap in the first layer of the web at top speed.

Initially, the first layer of the web wasn’t moving too quickly. But as the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan drew near, the web’s speed suddenly surged. The gap he had targeted instantly shifted to another location, startling Mu Chen so much that he immediately halted the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan right before it.

Mu Chen broke out in a cold sweat. ’Phew... That was close.’ His temples throbbed. The feeling was just like lunging for a treasure at top speed, only to have a sharp spike shoot up from the ground, aimed right at your face, the moment before you could grab it.

’This really isn’t easy. It looks like I don’t just have to lock onto a position, but also react to its sudden changes. But isn’t this a bit too difficult for the beginner level?’

Suddenly, a thought struck Mu Chen. He focused his mind and pulled the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan back again. Just as he suspected, once the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan returned to its starting point, the web’s rotation slowed to its original speed.

’Could it be that the web’s speed is different when it’s idle versus when it’s actively intercepting?’

With a theory in mind, Mu Chen was eager to test it. He once again used his Spiritual Power to propel the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan toward the first layer of the web. The instant it drew close, the web’s speed skyrocketed again, spinning exactly as fast as it had before.

’It’s exactly as I guessed.’

Having confirmed this pattern, Mu Chen no longer pulled the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan back. Instead, he let it hover in place, waiting to acclimate to the speed before attempting to break through.

A few breaths later, Mu Chen finally found the perfect opportunity to break through. He sent out a wisp of Spiritual Power to lock onto his chosen gap, then commanded the Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan. With a SWOOSH, it shot through.

WHOOSH...

A successful breach. The first layer of the web dissipated, and the rotational speed of the second layer immediately surged.

’Excellent!’

With a silent cheer, Mu Chen felt he was getting used to the web’s speed. He again sent out a wisp of Spiritual Power, locked onto a gap, and commanded the Jade Fan to dash through with a SWOOSH.

Just like that, he passed through the second layer with ease. His expression was relaxed, as if to say, ’What was I worried about? This is easy.’

He continued on a roll, breaking through the tenth web in no more than eight seconds. At this rate, barring any surprises, he would complete the beginner’s training in four hours and enter the next stage of the Forest of Myriad Manifestations!

But could a cultivation method from a High-level Spiritual Secret Technique really be overcome so easily?

The answer was, of course, no.

Because just as Mu Chen was about to breach the eleventh web, he was shocked to find that it was spinning nearly fifty percent faster than the tenth.

This sudden change was extremely jarring for Mu Chen, who had just grown accustomed to the speed of the first ten webs. The Spiritual Body Profound Jade Fan was almost devoured by the eleventh web. Fortunately, he reacted quickly; seeing he couldn’t make it, he pulled back instantly, barely escaping.

Only then did Mu Chen understand the insidious nature of this High-level Spiritual Cultivation Method. Generally speaking, human adaptation follows predictable patterns.

Normally, people adapt in one of two ways: either incrementally or to a fixed challenge. Incremental adaptation means the first layer has a certain speed, the second is slightly faster, the third is slightly faster than the second, and so on. By adapting to this gradual increase, a person can quickly master the pattern and find a way through.

The fixed-challenge approach means that from the start, the speed is far beyond what you expect or can handle. Only after constant attempts, countless failures, and gradual adaptation can you eventually surpass your limits, acclimate to the speed, and easily break through.

But the Beginner’s Chapter of the Forest of Myriad Manifestations incorporated both approaches, with a long segment separating the two styles. This meant that just as Mu Chen broke his limits and grew accustomed to the fixed speed of the first ten webs, he was suddenly forced to confront the much faster eleventh web.

This instantaneous shift in the pattern was incredibly disorienting, and the result was that his forward progress came to a dead halt.