The ti had arrived at night.
I and Mazao stepped out mid-way to have dinner at the base cafeteria, Fu Feng ca over again to chat with , beating around the bush about my views on Governance Ideology; Dong Che also appeared, joining the conversation while observing Mazao with a peculiar gaze.
We didn’t give them a chance to continue the conversation, heading straight back to our room after dinner.
However, there was new progress in Mazao’s work.
Sadly, the progress wasn’t in the investigation of the Divine Spear’s head, and the true identity of Impermanence behind the Divine Spear remained shrouded in darkness. The progress made was the circle mirror I had given her to repair last night, suspected to have fallen from the deceased Dr. Silver Mask.
It is no longer appropriate to call this item a "shattered circle mirror." The circle mirror, once blackened by the flas, now looked thoroughly cleaned, and the once cracked surface had beco flawless, reflecting the surroundings clearly.
Mazao placed the Divine Spear’s head on her knees and handed the seemingly intact circle mirror.
"I already know what this is."
She had not only completed the repair of the mirror but also seed to have investigated its historical information.
"This is a magical item, and indeed, as you guessed, it has a profound connection to Dr. Silver Mask. To be precise, it could be said to be part of his ’body’," she said.
"Body?" I was surprised.
She nodded first, then explained patiently, "Ying Lingyun’s ’Possibility Avatar’ is a copy of Lu Chan, and their effects are identical. What they summon are not truly material bodies, but Spiritual Body avatars. Since they lack a physical vessel, they are quite vulnerable to soul attacks.
"To overco this weakness, Ying Lingyun equipped each of his ’Possibility Avatars’ with cloned physical bodies. As both Spirit and flesh are similar to the original, their compatibility is also high. But Dr. Silver Mask is an exception.
"Dr. Silver Mask is an avatar born from the possibility of ’Ying Lingyun who never encountered Yinyue’, whose life diverged at a very early stage, forming a completely different soul, therefore not very compatible with Ying Lingyun’s cloned body. The struggle to smoothly connect to the ’Possibility Avatar’ consciousness network is probably due to this reason.
"Given Dr. Silver Mask’s outstanding research abilities, even knowing this avatar could rebel, Ying Lingyun still kept him. However, as a precaution, Ying Lingyun did not design a human body with free mobility for Dr. Silver Mask but chose to encase his soul within an item. Only within the dream-like independent reality space can Dr. Silver Mask manifest in human form."
She rarely spoke so much at once, taking a deep breath after finishing while looking in the eye.
"I see..." I said, "What about the soul inside this item now?"
"Of course, it’s dead. Not saved. Even my Power of Return can’t resurrect the dead..." she paused, then added, "At least those who have been dead for that long certainly can’t be brought back to life."
aning that as long as the corpse hasn’t gone completely cold, you might be able to revive it.
Mazao continued, "Additionally, the purpose of this magical item is not rely to contain souls; or to put it another way, containing the soul is rely a secondary function."
"What’s the primary purpose?" I was curious.
"Ying Lingyun and Dr. Silver Mask call this magical item the ’Fake Water Moon,’" she said, "As the na suggests, it’s an imitation of Water Moon. Although it can’t replicate others’ superpowers like the real Water Moon, it still possesses a formidable Illusion Technique power, which can be used to invade others’ souls."
"Invasion of souls..." I pondered for a mont, then said, "Lu Youxun once suspected that Chen Long was brainwashed by Ying Lingyun using the Water Moon... Although Ying Lingyun never actually did that, could it be that this Fake Water Moon possesses a similar power?"
"Perhaps?" Mazao was also uncertain, "However, the previous destruction of this Fake Water Moon likely occurred because you killed Dr. Silver Mask in the independent reality space, which then affected the actual item in the real world. Since you were the destroyer, I couldn’t completely repair this magical item. Most of the illusion functions are in a crashed state, and I’m not sure what functions are still usable."
"From your description, it seems that the Fake Water Moon wasn’t specifically designed to contain Dr. Silver Mask’s soul, but rather created before that... But since Ying Lingyun already had the true Water Moon, why would he deliberately create a fake one?" I asked.
She seed well-prepared, confidently saying, "It is the result of his using the true Water Moon to study Yinyue’s power of Transforming Illusion into Reality from when she was alive. It is also one of the directions he tried in his attempt to revive Yinyue. The Fake Water Moon is rely a byproduct."
Mazao really uncovered a lot of information. Ying Lingyun has likely taken nurous counter-Divination asures related to his own information, yet Mazao’s investigative skills are a different path from Divination. Counter-Divination can only act as a delay, and Ying Lingyun would have found it hard to guard against everything.
Furthermore, as Mazao’s powers have recovered to achieved level, her investigative skills have significantly strengthened, and the effectiveness of counter-Divination asures in delaying her progress seems to have beco less apparent. In the past, without relying on the Broom Star Physique, it might have taken over a week to unearth so much information; now, she has managed in just one day. Her main target of investigation is not the Fake Water Moon, but the head of the Divine Spear.
"Can I use this Fake Water Moon?" I asked.
Speaking of invading the souls of others, it reminded of Yinyue, who hijacked Changan’s soul. Perhaps the Fake Water Moon could be used against her—no, that thought might be naive. Even the real Water Moon is a magical artifact that erged based on her Illusion Technique power; using the illusory power of the Fake Water Moon to confront her would be like carrying coal to Newcastle.
Even Mr. Zhu has said that Yinyue’s understanding of Illusion Technique could even rival the historical master of illusions, Impermanence.
However, the extent to which sothing can be utilized is one matter; whether it exists or not is another. Moreover, while thinking about how to defeat Yinyue, I also have to consider how to retrieve Changan’s soul. A soul is not a physical body that can be conveniently carried ho, and since the Fake Water Moon can interfere with the soul and also serve as a container for it, it might be just what’s needed for this task.
"It should be usable. I’ve also investigated how to use it. Let teach you," Mazao proactively suggested.
I saw no reason to refuse and sat down with her. She seed a bit nervous but tried her best to regain her composure and carefully taught how to use the Fake Water Moon.
First, one must inject their Mana into it, which is the straightforward part; what follows involves more abstract, thought-based operations. For instance, you have to construct an image of certain tools in your mind, then imagine using these tools to pry open the target’s heart, and so on. Understanding the usage purely in terms of language is mostly ineffective; it’s best to get hands-on and try it out.
I finally understood how idiot-proof the Outer Path Impermanence Sword, the magic weapon I hold, is. It’s not that I’m belittling the Evil Sword; I’m fully aware of its high technical content. Furthermore, although it isn’t fair to compare it with the Fake Water Moon, specialized in Illusion Technique, the Evil Sword is definitely a first-rate magic weapon not inferior to the Fake Water Moon. That it’s "so easy even an idiot can use it" really highlights its outstanding qualities.
The Fake Water Moon has one inconvenient feature different from the Evil Sword; the latter can be tested alone at will, while the forr requires a "victim" for a test run.
"Use for the test," Mazao said.
"You?" I hesitated.
"It’s just a trial to see how to invade the target’s soul. As long as there is no intent to harm, it won’t damage my soul. It’s no different from a touch," she showed her understanding of the Fake Water Moon, "and I can also describe what it feels like to have one’s soul invaded. If any strange errors occur during the process, we can use the Power of Return to start over."
"It’s not so easy to simply start over with matters concerning ," I said.
"Now that you know about it, all you need is to ntally agree to let start over, and don’t use so much strength," she said convincingly, "also, we still don’t know to what extent the Fake Water Moon has been repaired, which functions are working, and which are not. If you plan to use it later on for sothing, it’s necessary to confirm its capabilities now."
She seed particularly eager to make herself useful.
Combining her ticulous introduction to the Fake Water Moon earlier, it shouldn’t bring up any negative issues. Even if I were to mishandle the operation at my end, at worst, the attempt to invade the soul would fail. After all, the Fake Water Moon is not a weapon designed for harm.
If my hesitation stems from unfamiliarity with the Fake Water Moon, then Mazao’s decisiveness is founded on understanding. Perhaps I shouldn’t just stay verbal, but should also show in actions that I trust her ability.
Moreover, if I refuse here, she would certainly be disheartened.
Facing her very hopeful expression, after much consideration, I agreed.
I picked up the Fake Water Moon, faced its mirror surface toward her, and recited the spell she had just taught :
"——Lofty beams and rafters, collapsing in a mont. The mirror image of the Water Moon, moves without intention."
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