"Illusions?"
Han Jue's expression remained cold and unmoved.
He and Diaman had been wandering through the merfolk city, searching for any trace of a treasure vault when Rimuru detected an extremely high concentration of energy in a specific location. Naturally, Han Jue had taken Diaman to investigate.
They'd arrived at a strange sea region not far from the merfolk city's outskirts.
The waters there shimmered with a faint pink hue, as though beckoning anyone who gazed upon them to enter its depths.
As soon as they stepped into those waters, Han Jue sensed something was amiss. Before he could retreat, however, the power within those strange currents drew him into an illusory realm, trapping his consciousness in layers of fabricated reality.
"Illusions are useless against me!" Han Jue closed his eyes, his will like tempered steel.
"Absolute Original Heart!"
Although Han Jue had never relied on this secret technique throughout his entire cultivation journey, he'd never ceased studying and refining his understanding of it. The Ice Wasteland World Master had acquired this technique by chance rather than creating it himself, yet Rimuru had once noted that Han Jue possessed perfect affinity for its cultivation path, and that assessment proved absolutely correct.
After more than a year of dedicated practice, Han Jue had successfully mastered the foundational level of this legendary secret technique!
Within his sea of consciousness, a golden radiance appeared on the surface of Han Jue's soul, protecting it from all external mental attacks and illusory influences.
"You think this illusion can move my heart?"
Han Jue remained completely lucid, his will as steadfast as an immovable mountain, utterly unaffected by the external assault on his mind.
According to the "Absolute Original Heart" technique's classification system, even a beginner who merely grasped the fundamentals gained immunity to Universe-level soul attacks. Reaching the intermediate mastery level granted immunity to even Domain Lord-level mental assaults!
"Break!"
Layer after layer of illusions shattered like brittle glass beneath Han Jue's unwavering mental force.
The complexity and intensity of these illusions far surpassed anything Rimuru could generate, yet Han Jue's mind remained as calm as still water, entirely unmoved by their attempts to seduce or break his spirit.
Within the illusory realm, seconds felt like years!
Every moment became endless torment as the illusions attempted to wear down his resolve. Yet this endless assault only helped Han Jue refine his inner self, tempering his spirit like fire refining gold.
Cultivating one's spiritual state could be divided into three fundamental levels.
The first level emphasized "clarifying one's mind and seeing one's true nature, directly reaching one's original heart", a mentality as sharp and decisive as a blade!
The second level represented the harmony of yin and yang, the unity of heaven and man, achieving a pure heart, a mentality as clear and tranquil as undisturbed water!
The third level embodied a mind both boundless and ethereal, capable of infinite expansion, a mentality that could embrace everything within existence itself!
With each breakthrough in these three states of mind, resistance to external pressure, illusions, and spiritual attacks increased tenfold or even a hundredfold.
Yet fundamentally, these three spiritual states were essentially different paths toward the same ultimate destination!
Han Jue's chosen path of spiritual cultivation emphasized absolute self-awareness and unwavering confidence. If categorized according to these three traditional states of mind, it belonged to the first level: adhering to one's original heart without any unnecessary complexity. This represented absolute self-confidence, for if one didn't even believe in oneself, then what was the point of spiritual cultivation?
"The key to achieving any spiritual state isn't about reaching some predetermined realm, but about maintaining firm conviction, purity of purpose, and remaining truly independent from all external influences!" Han Jue saw the fundamental truth with crystal clarity. "Any spiritual path, when cultivated to its fullest extent, possesses power equal to any other!"
These thoughts crystallized within his consciousness.
Confident, but not arrogant. Bold, but not foolish!
This was Han Jue's chosen path of spiritual cultivation.
Illusions held no power over his inner world.
Within the illusory realm, a single second became infinitely magnified, equivalent to an entire year of subjective experience.
Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, countless emotions attempted to influence Han Jue's heart, yet he remained utterly unmoved.
Later, even when his soul began suffering the agonizing pain of being torn apart, it still couldn't shake Han Jue's resolve.
An unknown amount of time passed.
"Absolute Original Heart" naturally advanced to the intermediate mastery level!
The Earthling's natural affinity for spiritual cultivation fully activated at this breakthrough moment.
Han Jue's consciousness had reached the level of a Domain Lord!
Layer after layer of illusions continued endlessly.
These illusions honed his mind like a whetstone sharpening a blade.
His original heart remained absolutely firm in its conviction: believing in oneself meant strengthening the heart, maintaining faith that one represented the strongest existence! No matter what obstacles arose, one must firmly believe in oneself and never waver from that truth.
Han Jue's will was extraordinarily firm, frantically breaking through layer after layer of illusions with increasing speed. The rate at which new illusions formed gradually became unable to keep pace with the speed at which Han Jue shattered them.
Outside the illusory realm.
Han Jue's physical body was slowly being drawn deeper into the sea by the pink water's mysterious currents.
The deep water seemed intent on swallowing Han Jue entirely.
Fortunately, Han Jue suffered no physical harm during this process, and no sea beasts appeared in the surrounding area, as though something about this location repelled all marine life.
Rimuru spun in circles frantically, his usual calm completely shattered by panic, yet he had no solution for this predicament. He could only pray desperately that Han Jue would wake up quickly and break free of whatever trap had captured his consciousness.
After a long time.
The surrounding water gradually began to fade, losing its distinctive pink color and becoming indistinguishable from any other ordinary sea region.
The power of the illusion finally dissipated completely.
Diaman broke free from the illusory realm and regained consciousness.
"A breakthrough?"
Diaman felt momentarily puzzled when he realized, without understanding how or why, that he'd crossed the threshold he'd longed for his entire life!
Universe-level, first rank!
Clenching his fists and feeling the surge of new strength coursing through his body, Diaman had just begun experiencing a sense of joy when he realized something was terribly wrong.
"Han Jue!"
Diaman's anxiety spiked immediately as he searched frantically but couldn't find Han Jue anywhere.
Where had he gone?
You're gone! Who will take me out of here?
"Outsider, how dare you intrude upon this place?" a deep voice echoed from behind Diaman, causing his blood to run cold.
"Master! You're finally awake!" Rimuru exclaimed joyfully, his relief palpable through their mental connection.
Deep within the Mirage Sea.
Han Jue slowly opened his eyes, processing the flood of new memories that emerged within his mind, gradually understanding everything that had transpired.
"This universe's secret realms truly shouldn't be underestimated," Han Jue murmured thoughtfully.
The tiny Dry Sea Secret Realm could surprisingly give birth to such an extraordinary creature and leave behind such a profound legacy.
After breaking free from the illusion, Han Jue realized that the force which had trapped him was actually a unique secret technique performed by a special life form, a legacy that could also be considered an inheritance.
It was a soul-attacking illusion technique called "Mirage Sea."
Its creator, the Mirage Sea Lord, was like the Dry Sea Lord in that both were born within the Dry Sea Secret Realm itself.
The crucial difference was that the Mirage Sea Lord's true form had been a special life form with a genetic multiplier exceeding one hundred, an incredibly rare existence.
The two had been close friends since childhood.
The Mirage Sea Lord excelled in souls and illusions to such a degree that his illusionary abilities alone surpassed even those of the Zerg Queens at his rank. In terms of overall power, he could be considered a peak Immortal Marquis, barely qualified to be regarded as an Immortal King in strength.
Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to fulfill his potential.
The Mirage Sea Lord had actually achieved Immortality even before the Dry Sea Lord managed that breakthrough.
In a far more distant era, a Universe Venerable from an unknown race had arrived at the Dry Sea Secret Realm, discovered this special life form, and attempted to enslave it through force.
The Lord of the Mirage Sea had fought valiantly despite facing an opponent far beyond his capabilities, but ultimately met his end. Before dying, he'd entrusted his legacy to his closest friend, the Lord of the Dry Sea.
After achieving Immortality himself, the Lord of the Dry Sea had placed his friend's secret legacy within his Divine Kingdom, hoping that his fellow merfolk would inherit the legacy of the Lord of the Mirage Sea and carry on his friend's will.
This was the true origin of the Mirage Sea region.
An unknown amount of time had passed before the Lord of the Dry Sea himself provoked the human race's ire and met a similar fate, killed by more powerful enemies.
Following the deaths of both legendary figures, the Lord of the Mirage Sea's legacy had remained unattained for countless eons, passed over by generations of merfolk who lacked sufficient willpower to claim it.
Until it ultimately passed into Han Jue's hands.
The "Mirage Sea" secret technique was a soul-attacking method combining illusion and mental manipulation, a technique that could genuinely be classified as king-level in quality and power.
This technique had nine progressive levels, and the minimum requirement for even attempting to inherit it was possessing willpower exceeding one's current cultivation rank by a significant margin, combined with successfully mastering its fundamentals.
Han Jue, who possessed Domain Lord-level willpower despite only being at Stellar rank, naturally met these requirements, in fact, he exceeded them by a considerable margin.
As a result, he gained tremendous benefits from this inheritance. Besides the secret technique itself, he'd also received something else entirely.
Han Jue's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise as he gazed at the soft, transparent sphere of liquid that materialized in his hand.
"Rimuru, this thing looks remarkably like you."
Han Jue squeezed the sphere experimentally, finding its texture quite satisfying.
"!" Rimuru immediately expressed his profound dissatisfaction through their mental link. "What do you mean 'looks like me'? I'm nothing like that!"
"Indeed, you're right, I can't squeeze you like this," Han Jue agreed with perfect seriousness.
"Han Jue!" Rimuru's indignation came through loud and clear.
Han Jue ignored the AI's protests.
This sphere of liquid was actually a descendant of the Lord of the Mirage Sea.
Of course, it was dead now.
It was easier to understand if one thought of it as a life essence relic. Its function was to help Han Jue rapidly comprehend the secrets of the Mirage Sea technique while granting him a portion of the spiritual power inherent to the Lord of the Mirage Sea's bloodline.
It was somewhat similar to the inherited soul seal that Hu Yan Bo had left behind in his own legacy.
Han Jue swallowed it in one smooth motion. The substance was colorless and tasteless, with a jelly-like texture that reminded him of a childhood snack from Earth.
A warm current emerged within his body, circulating through his meridians before finally flowing into his sea of consciousness, fundamentally transforming Han Jue's spiritual foundation.
"Hmph!"
Han Jue grunted softly, enduring the changes with gritted teeth.
Within his sea of consciousness, pale pink miniature planets rapidly materialized from nothing, then transformed as though accelerating through stellar evolution at impossible speeds. They fissioned and strengthened rapidly, metamorphosing into miniature star systems.
Before long, the transformation completed.
His spiritual power had reached Stellar rank, seventh level!
With his spiritual power elevated to match his genetic energy cultivation, Han Jue had completely mastered the first level of the "Mirage Sea" secret technique.
He glanced around, taking note of his location. Fortunately, Rimuru had meticulously recorded the entire route along which Han Jue's body had been pushed away by the sea currents, otherwise, returning would have proven extremely difficult.
Retrieving his Ice Wasteland spacecraft from his spatial storage, Han Jue quickly set course toward the merfolk city.
Outside the Dry Sea Divine Kingdom, within the Dry Sea Secret Realm proper.
Marquis Cang Yuan and Lord Hafa stood suspended above the sea's surface, their expressions contemplative.
"Teacher, the rate of collapse within the Dry Sea Divine Kingdom has clearly accelerated," Lord Hafa observed respectfully. "The spatial treasures within must have either become ineffective or been claimed by someone."
"Hmm, it appears this trip was essentially for nothing." Marquis Cang Yuan shook his head with mild disappointment.
"Teacher," Lord Hafa paused hesitantly. "What if Bai Zhou and the others managed to obtain it?"
"Them?" Marquis Cang Yuan shook his head dismissively.
"I don't mean to belittle their achievements, but they're so far inferior to the genuine geniuses cultivated by the Virtual Universe Company and the Great Axe Dojo. They're even inferior to the prodigies from the Universe Mercenary Alliance. Only the geniuses nurtured by the Universe First Bank can truly compete with those organizations on equal terms."
"I've also observed that Han Jue you mentioned previously. His Stellar-level comprehension of the laws is approximately equal to Bai Zhou's current understanding. The Virtual Universe Company has dozens of people at his level among their younger generation."
Lord Hafa didn't know how to respond. The five major factions of the human race's power hierarchy were clearly established, and Universe First Bank, while respectable, ranked noticeably behind the top three organizations.
"Alright, prepare to extract the trial participants. This Divine Kingdom is about to collapse completely, and I need to retrieve them beforehand," Marquis Cang Yuan said with a casual wave of his hand.
"I had hoped this expedition's harvest would allow me to make a genuine push toward achieving the title of Immortal King, but it seems fate had other plans," Marquis Cang Yuan sighed deeply. "Lord Hafa, grow stronger quickly. I plan to try my luck on the outer battlefield during the next era."
"I came here because I owed a favor to an Immortal King, and such debts must eventually be repaid."
"I hope I can witness you achieving Immortality one day."
"Teacher..." Lord Hafa's voice carried obvious worry. "Why must you push yourself so hard?"
"The pursuit of greater strength is the fundamental goal of every true warrior," Marquis Cang Yuan stated simply.
After saying this, he stopped speaking, his gaze distant as he contemplated the dangerous path that lay ahead.
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