In the dimly lit cave, the Ink Silk Clone carefully examined the Suru Hourglass nestled in the groove of a stone table.
The whole affair was indeed peculiar. If he hadn’t assisted Abe Takano back then, he wouldn’t have obtained the Water Spirit Bead, nor discovered the Ti Sand within. And without the Ti Sand, his visit to the Jialan Sect ruins wouldn’t have triggered the hidden Suru Hourglass.
Coincidence? Destiny? Could it really be as the books in the Academic Palace say, that anomalies attract each other?
The cave echoed with his mutterings. Li Ang still couldn’t be sure what would have happened if he hadn’t "returned" a sufficient amount of high-density Mo Si to the Bodhisattva’s Purifying Bottle. Nor could he determine what the final outco for the Jialan Sect would have been without his participation.
The cycle of ti and the loop of causality were truly mind-bending. After considerable thought, he still couldn’t find an answer. He could only suppress the doubts in his mind and focus on the Suru Hourglass before him.
There was still a small amount of Ti Sand left in the hourglass. Li Ang experinted with it. When the Suru Hourglass was set upright, ti began to accelerate. When it was inverted, ti continually slowed, eventually stopping and even reversing.
The person holding the Suru Hourglass could specify its range of effect—himself, a specific surrounding space, or even the entire world. In other words, as long as there was enough Ti Sand, this was essentially a ti machine.
This must be the strongest effect I’ve ever seen among all first-level mutated objects. It could even manipulate the ti of beings as powerful as the Demon Buddha. And there seem to be no adverse effects—at least none I’ve felt so far.
The ti-controlling effect of the Suru Hourglass depended on the total amount of Ti Sand that elapsed. Judging by the remaining amount, it was far from sufficient for another century-long journey through ti.
It seems best to keep this as a last resort for saving my life. I wonder if there is any other Ti Sand in the world...
The Ink Silk Clone carefully placed the Suru Hourglass back into the groove in the stone table and then inspected its own changes.
During the journey through the Jialan Sect, the Mo Si had engulfed a vast amount of special tals, completely transforming into a dark golden color. This transformation persisted even after Li Ang had separated many portions from it.
The Fifth Stage Mo Si could parasitize and control living beings, while its Sixth Stage ability was assimilation.
Touch tal, and it transford into tal.
Touch fabric, and it beca fabric.
Sand, stone, Jade, amber, wood...
No matter what material the Mo Si touched, it could spend so ti changing into the sa type of material. This transformation was not just in appearance; it could also perfectly mimic physical properties.
Apart from living beings and gases, most liquids and solids with a higher density can be simulated. Color, density, hardness, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, ductility... all could be mimicked to an indistinguishable degree. It only reverts to its original Mo Si form when destroyed.
Li Ang took a deep breath, imdiately realizing the uses of this new Sixth Stage ability, such as infiltration.
If Mo Si touched flesh and blood, it could transform into a mask, covering the face and morphing into any designated appearance to disguise its user as soone else. Clothing, voice, and other features could all be simulated.
And for espionage, the Mo Si could disguise itself as fallen leaves or willow catkins, drifting into soone’s ho to monitor all activity in the vicinity. It could even form weapons. The Ink Silk Clone slowly raised its arm, the end of which morphed into a flintlock long gun.
BANG!
The trigger was pulled. Accompanied by rising black smoke, a round projectile shot from the muzzle, embedding itself into the cave wall. The deford projectile reverted to its Mo Si form, spreading slowly like a spider web on the wall.
The Ink Silk Clone transford the flintlock gun back into an arm.
The tis had changed, or perhaps they hadn’t—a high-level cultivator’s perception of danger was extrely acute. Once they were on guard, ordinary bullets could not penetrate the defenses of a Telekinesis Master or a Body Refining Martial Artist. A sneak attack from a concealed position, however, still held so promise.
However, what Li Ang truly wanted the Mo Si to beco was not a weapon, but sothing else.
The Ink Silk Clone’s feet drilled deep into the soil like tree roots, rapidly burrowing downward to touch various trace minerals. Simultaneously, it raised its arms and crossed them in front of its body. The two arms then lted, churned, and solidified, eventually transforming into an odd-looking device.
It was composed of an iron core, a rotor, electromagnetic coils, and other structural components, forming an early, primitive generator.
The Ink Silk Clone gazed at this early generator, then outfitted it with a transforr and an electric lamp assembly.
HUM—
The rotor of the generator slowly turned, cutting through magnetic field lines, generating an electric current that flowed into the lamp.
SNAP.
The lamp suddenly lit up, illuminating the dim cave and also casting light on the Mo Si’s blurry face.
The Red-eyed Purple Lady Bees in the cave, startled by the light, instinctively took flight, filling the air with noisy buzzing. anwhile, Li Ang stared at the stable light, so different from an oil lamp, and fell into a long silence.
Electric power, light.
His thoughts were instantly pulled back to the modern world; the Illusion he had witnessed at the Jialan Sect had been so real, so vivid.
mories of his ti in that world continuously surged into his mind. Two worlds, two lives—neither could be easily abandoned. In terms of sheer richness of mories, that other world was perhaps even fuller.
lancholy, reluctance, hosickness...
The Ink Silk Clone gradually stopped the operation of the generator. The light bulb went out, and the cave returned to darkness.
Go ho...
In the East Chang’an inn, on the second floor, Lu Yunan, a rchant from Northern Black Mountain, sat by the window, flipping through a newspaper. Her gaze occasionally swept to the window—her clan mbers were loading goods onto the carts.
The Northern Black Mountain region was bitterly cold, especially in autumn and winter when it was ravaged by snow and whipping winds. It was essential to transport this batch of goods back as soon as possible to ensure the survival of her people.
KNOCK KNOCK.
The door was knocked, and the plump inn cook walked in, carrying a al box.
"Please place it on the table, thank you," Lu Yunan said casually.
The cook put down the al box, wiped her hands on her apron, and said with a beaming smile, "Qixi, midnight, Changle Square."
Lu Yunan was montarily stunned, then she quickly realized. The cook was no ordinary cook; in all of Chang’an City, only one person spoke to her with that tone: Ya Jiu.
Lu Yunan slowly put down the newspaper she was holding as the wooden door of the room discreetly closed. "What do you need to do?"
"After the twenty-fourth ringing of the Haotian Bell," the cook—or rather, Ya Jiu—took a withered Brocade Bag from her bosom and placed it on the table. "Open this Brocade Bag."
Lu Yunan glanced at the Brocade Bag emotionlessly. "A talisman? Or a Mutated Object?"
Ya Jiu smiled. "That is none of your concern. You simply need to be at that ti and place, open it, and then leave."
Lu Yunan pressed on, "Why not use an iron piece for communication? And why not find soone else? With your abilities, it should be easy."
Ya Jiu shook her head. "Direct communication is better. This Brocade Bag is a bit special; it can only be opened by a true Cultivator, and everyone else has their own tasks on the night of Qixi."
"What are you planning? To destroy Chang’an?" Lu Yunan asked coldly. Ya Jiu appearing as a clone served as both supervision and a warning—the Zhao Ming’s power was vast and inscrutable. Even if Lu Yunan could escape pursuit, the entire Black Mountain Tribe could not.
"Not you, us," Ya Jiu corrected, a smile touching her lips. "The state of the world has been stagnant for far too long, hasn’t it? It’s ti to stir things up a bit."
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