Chapter 163: Days (I)

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Below the mountain, the Kunshan Sect and the Blue Cloud Sword Sect had set up an inescapable net to search for traces of the masked man from East Lake City to the Eastern Lake and from East Lake City to Cloud Port City.

This was especially true for the Kunshan Sect. They had mobilized most of their forces, and every disciple had been promised a handsome reward. It was a very thorough search.

On the mountain, ever since Chen Yiming met Zhou Xuesheng that day, he had been arranged to stay in the residence of the disciples of the Mantis Snake division. He would temporarily be an inner sect disciple.

Each house had four rooms, and each disciple lived alone in one of the rooms.

The duration of the assessment for copying the concept diagram was one month. During this time, Chen Yiming could freely enter the library of the Mantis Snake division and reference all the concept diagrams of the Mantis Snake Sword Technique.

The Mantis Snake Sword Technique was an assessment technique from the Mantis Snake division. There were nine complete concept diagrams of the black fog here.

From the true disciples of the Mantis Snake division to the disciples from the outer sect who wanted to enter the Mantis Snake division, the difference between them was the level of mastery of the black fog concept diagram of the Mantis Snake Sword Technique.

On a sunny morning, a breeze blew past the branches of the willow tree, making a rustling sound.

On the stone path, disciples from the Mantis Snake division were coming and going. On the cliff not far away, some were practicing their swordsmanship as the sun rose, and some were discussing the problems they had encountered in their cultivation.

The entire Mantis Snake division was enveloped in a thick atmosphere of martial arts cultivation, and was filled with vitality.

Chen Yiming blended into the crowd and arrived at the library of the Mantis Snake division.

Because the 12 inner divisions each had their own library, the Mantis Snake division’s library only had one floor, which was divided into two areas.

In one area, there was various information about the cultivation techniques of the warrior realm and martial arts for the disciples to reference. In the other area, nine concept diagrams of the black fog were hanging there.

After showing his identity token to the elder stationed there, Chen Yiming stepped into the library.

At this moment, there were already many disciples in the library who had arrived earlier than Chen Yiming. Most of them were reading the books left behind by their predecessors, looking for ways to resolve the problems they had encountered during their cultivation.

Chen Yiming gave them a brief glance before entering the area with the black fog concept diagrams.

The nine concept diagrams were like murals hanging on the surrounding walls, and each was about two meters long and wide.

During the past week, Chen Yiming had secretly completed the transformation of the black fog internal force after comprehending the nine concept diagrams. However, he would still come every day and behave like a normal disciple.

Now, he was trying to fuse the black fog internal force and the strength-based internal force, trying to figure out the path of cultivation for the third stage of the warrior realm in preparation for incorporating the concept diagrams of the other inner divisions in the future.

“Let’s try to fuse them.”

Chen Yiming found an empty spot and sat down cross-legged. He closed his eyes and thought to himself.

In the spiritual world, the figure in his mind received the order. One hand turned into a meteorite while the other turned into a black fog. The whole figure gradually split into two.

Soon, the phenomenon of a black fog gradually fusing with a meteorite appeared in his spiritual world.

However, after a short while, the meteorite expanded a few times, then began to shake continuously, and its structure became unstable.

After a long time, the black fog was suddenly pushed out of the meteorite. Then, the energy structures of the meteorite and the black fog began to collapse, dissipating into scattered spiritual energy.

“It lasted a little longer than the last time.”

Chen Yiming opened his eyes and rubbed his swollen temples.

The concept diagram of the black fog and the concept diagram of the meteorite represented two completely different stable energy structures. If he wanted to fuse them together, he would need to construct countless suitable connections between them.

There was no reference for these suitable connections, so Chen Yiming could only try them out one by one.

This time, Chen Yiming had failed again. He was still far from mastering the fusion of the black fog concept diagram and the meteorite concept diagram.

After resting for a few minutes, the figure in his mind regained its vitality under the enhancement of his Undying Body talent.

“Let’s continue to start with a simple combination,” Chen Yiming closed his eyes again and thought to himself.

The figure in his mind received the order and began to repeat the process from earlier.

However, it was a little different this time. Instead of trying to completely fuse the black fog with the meteorite, he made the black fog turn into a cloud that lifted the meteorite up.

During this process, Chen Yiming repeatedly tried to create a suitable connection point so that the black fog could overcome the strength-based concept of the meteorite.

He failed again and again.

Chen Yiming tried various simple combinations of the two, allowing him to gain a deeper understanding of the black fog concept diagram and the meteorite concept diagram.

He no longer only knew how to use them simply. Instead, he had a deep understanding of the various nodes and combinations of the concept diagrams.

This was one of the rare times when he completely relied on his own ability to figure things out and try to take a path that others had not taken.

Chen Yiming was so immersed in the new understanding he was gaining that he completely forgot about the passage of time.

He did not notice the movements of the other disciples around him. They came and went, and finally, he was the only one left.

It was only when someone patted him on the shoulder that he snapped out of his daze.

The elder stationed at the library smiled and said, “You have to pay attention to not overwork yourself during cultivation. It’s already midnight. It’s time to go back and rest.”

Chen Yiming rubbed his swollen head and replied, “I’m sorry. I grasped something new during my cultivation and forgot about the time.”

He had cultivated from early in the morning to midnight, and the small figure in his mind had collapsed and recovered from more than 100 times. If it were anyone else, they would have long developed a serious mental problem. It was only because of his talent that he had been able to persist with it.

The elder guarding the library sighed and said, “I’ve been in charge of the library for more than 10 years, but this is the first time I’ve seen a disciple like you.

You have been cultivating the concept diagram for the entire day. Clearly, your spiritual talent is extraordinary.

You should cherish what you have and not let your body suffer from over-exhaustion.”

He had a good impression of this diligent new disciple, so he specially reminded him.

“Then I’ll go back and rest first.” Chen Yiming still felt like he hadn’t done enough. He only felt a little tired and was far from reaching his limit.

However, the Myriad Phenomena Sect had their own rules. These rules were also set up for the safety of their disciples, so he had no choice but to follow them.

Chen Yiming quickly left the library and walked towards his lodgings.

When he pushed open the door, two of the other three disciples who lived in the same house had already returned.

Seeing Chen Yiming enter, Qian Bingnan, who was practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard, stopped and shouted, “Are you here to spar?”

Qian Bingnan had a muscular body and was often naked from the waist up. He was passionate about sparring and was a competitive person.

Chen Yiming shook his head and rejected the offer. “I still have something to do. Ask Dai Yuanhang to spar with you.”

Beside the stone table in the courtyard, Dai Yuanhang, who was flipping through some information, raised his head and sighed. “Sparring like this won’t help with comprehending the concept diagram. It’s a complete waste of time and energy.”