Watching the Mountain

Teacher Qing Xuan was still in seclusion, so Xu Ran had no choice but to seek out Flowing Clouds Master regarding Shen Wuchen’s peculiar state.

At first, Flowing Clouds Master had been quite looking forward to meeting Shen Wuchen. After all, this was the great hero who had helped his grandson regain his spirits; in a way, he was a benefactor.

But upon sensing Shen Wuchen’s strange Mental Realm, he immediately fell silent.

Then, with a complicated expression, he sized Shen Wuchen up and down. A question surfaced in his mind: ’Can this person really be a worthy rival for my grandson?’

Seeing Flowing Clouds Master’s reaction, Shen Wuchen’s heart sank. However, he wasn’t familiar with the master, and besides feeling worried and uneasy, he didn’t know what to say. He could only stare back at him, his face expressionless.

Seeing his student’s state, Xu Ran quickly spoke up. "Elder Flowing Clouds, what is it? Is this a Mental Realm?"

Flowing Clouds Master snapped back to his senses at the question. He nodded, his expression still complicated. "It is."

Hearing this, both Xu Ran and Shen Wuchen let out a long sigh of relief.

Xu Ran then asked, a little puzzled, "Then, given your reaction, Elder, is there a problem with his Mental Realm?"

Shen Wuchen also focused his full attention on Flowing Clouds Master.

Flowing Clouds Master glanced at Xu Ran, then turned back to Shen Wuchen. "It’s nothing, really. The reason you find it strange is that this Mental Realm isn’t one he comprehended himself. It was imposed upon him by others."

"A Mental Realm can be imposed?" Xu Ran was stunned. This was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

Flowing Clouds Master nodded slightly, then looked at Shen Wuchen with a strange expression and explained:

"When one person leaves the same impression on many others, it forms a special kind of ’presence.’ It is the collective impression everyone who meets him has of him."

"Normally, this kind of presence doesn’t amount to much. It just gives people a certain first impression."

"However, by a fortunate coincidence, your student here sensed this presence and actively took control of it, turning it into the Mental Realm you see now."

"Now, he can actively control this presence to alter others’ impressions of him, much like how a Mental Realm can influence others."

After hearing Flowing Clouds Master’s explanation, Xu Ran nodded deeply. ’Well, I’ll be. I’ve really learned something new today. I can’t believe that’s possible.’

’It seems Shen Wuchen’s image is just too deeply ingrained in people’s minds.’

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Ran asked again, "Normal Mental Realms have countless wondrous uses. Elder, how do you think his Mental Realm should be developed to unleash its power?"

Flowing Clouds Master fell silent for a long time before slowly replying, "It can help him form his Golden Core?"

Currently, Shen Wuchen’s Mental Realm only created an illusion, equivalent to giving others a first impression. It wouldn’t make someone lose their mind. It might make an opponent a little careless in a fight, but the effect was negligible. That was why he could only give such an answer.

"Ah." Xu Ran’s expression stiffened. He turned to Shen Wuchen and said, "That’s actually pretty good. At the very least, you can now form your Golden Core. Once you reach the Golden Core Stage, you might even be able to defeat ordinary Core Formation Stage Cultivators."

"The Golden Core and ordinary Core Formation are part of the same major Realm. The difference in their strength comes from the presence of a Mental Realm. So, you might no longer be the weakest among those in your Realm."

Shen Wuchen, however, had a great attitude. As long as he was certain that what he had comprehended was a Mental Realm and that it could help him break through to the Golden Core, that was enough for him.

"Master Xu, please don’t worry. For me, being able to comprehend a Mental Realm and form a Golden Core is the greatest surprise. Whether this Mental Realm has any offensive power doesn’t matter."

Seeing that he wasn’t disappointed, Xu Ran relaxed. He felt Shen Wuchen’s mindset was excellent and truly suited for cultivation.

*

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*

On the way back, the more Xu Ran thought about it, the more insidious he felt Shen Wuchen was becoming. Although his Mental Realm wouldn’t affect the minds of Cultivators at the same or a higher Realm, it still had some effect on those with a lower Realm than him.

And besides sparring matches, he wouldn’t fight people in the same Realm anyway; he only ever fought those with lower Realms.

In other words, his entire strategy was already based on crushing enemies with his superior Realm. As if that wasn’t enough, he now had this Mental Realm to make his enemies lower their guard and harbor the illusion that they could turn the tables and kill him.

That was truly insidious.

"Master Xu, why are you looking at me like that?" Shen Wuchen felt a little uncomfortable under Xu Ran’s gaze.

"It’s nothing. I’m just happy that you have the chance to form a Golden Core."

Shen Wuchen was deeply moved. "It’s all thanks to your guidance, Master Xu."

After he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added, "The Sect has now decided to name the cultivation path I am following the ’Flying Immortal’ path, meaning to rapidly break through Realms and become a Flying Immortal."

"The Sect plans to organize a group of willing individuals soon to learn from me, rapidly raise their Cultivation Realms, and then be sent to support the pioneering efforts."

Xu Ran was slightly taken aback. He then asked with some concern, "Is the Sect really planning to do that? Aren’t they afraid of causing public outrage in the Cultivation Realm?"

He understood the Sect’s thinking. They wanted to quickly form a group of people like Shen Wuchen—weak against those in the same Realm but able to crush those in lower Realms—and use high-Realm Cultivators to fight low-Realm ones.

But the rules of the Cultivation Realm usually dictated that battles were between those of the same Realm. Even if it did happen, it was rare to see a group of high-Realm Cultivators attacking low-Realm ones.

If the Profound Pure Sect really intended to do this, they would be setting a precedent in the Cultivation Realm. It was hard to say what kind of situation they would face then.

Information from the pioneering efforts in the New Domain was slow to arrive, and not much was circulating.

As the person in charge of the newly established Flying Immortal Team, Shen Wuchen knew some inside information.

"I’ve heard the situation in the New Domain is chaotic. Everyone had originally divided up their own territories, but in practice, it’s been very difficult to enforce. This is especially true for some resource veins, which are often interconnected and rarely exist entirely within one territory. As a result, everyone claims ownership, which leads to disputes and, subsequently, battles."

"Right now, disputes are breaking out there almost every day, and the tactics being used are becoming more and more shameless. The Sect’s thinking is that they don’t necessarily have to send the Flying Immortal Team into the fray, but having an extra group of people who appear to be in a high Realm to hold down the fort will still act as a deterrent."

"The Sect’s current idea is to prioritize letting those who are stuck at their current Realm and unable to break through give it a try and see if they can succeed."

"This is especially true for those stuck in the Core Formation and Nascent Soul Stages. If the Sect could produce a few more Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, even if they were the weakest Nascent Souls, it would still be a powerful deterrent."

"Nascent Soul?" Hearing this, Xu Ran took a deep breath, his expression shocked. He had almost forgotten—while Shen Wuchen, the pioneer of the Flying Immortal Stream, was at the Purple Mansion Stage, the cultivation philosophy of this path was already mostly complete. Core Formation Stage and Golden Core Cultivators could very well use this opportunity to try breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

If the Sect could really produce a group of Nascent Souls, the scene would indeed be quite intimidating.