Chapter 5012 — The Weakness Period

If his only goal had been to trace the bloodline of the Beast King, projecting a spirit-body the way Nantian Jiguang had done would have sufficed. Why would he have needed to risk his own neck and end up in such a wretched, humiliating state?

"Not so. In theory one might indeed think so, but the Spirit Convergence Formation has its limits. By our tests, once a cultivator surpasses the Xuan Ascension stage, it can no longer focus the whole spirit effectively onto a single point, and then nothing can be done at all," Steward Sun said with a shake of his head.

"I see." Wei Zhao understood at last. The Spirit Convergence Formation worked only up to the Xuan Ascension stage. With a monster like Gui Dongxi's strength, it was not even worth dreaming about.

"By the way, once the spirit is successfully projected into the mortal world, only a single thread of spirit-link remains between the spirit-body and the original body. How long the spirit-body can remain in the mortal world depends entirely on how long that thread holds. Young Hero Lin, mark this well: the moment the link weakens, you must dissolve the spirit-body and return at once, or the consequences will be unthinkable," Steward Sun warned gravely.

"Understood." Wei Zhao nodded. He did not need Steward Sun to spell out the consequences. Once the spirit was wholly severed from the original body, it would inevitably wither swiftly in the mortal world. If even a being as mighty as Gui Dongxi had met such an end, the fate of one such as himself was plain enough.

And if it truly came to that, Wei Zhao would not even enjoy Gui Dongxi's chance to linger on in a broken half-life. Death would be certain.

"Island Master Aotian, Young Hero Lin, that is essentially the extent of what I know. Since I have never experienced it myself, I cannot speak to the finer details. I ask you both to forgive me," Steward Sun said, cupping his hands.

"No matter. I brought you here to explain the principles of the Spirit Convergence Formation to Young Hero Lin. As for the finer points to watch out for, I have found someone else, and he should know them better." Aotian Zhou waved a hand and turned to Wei Zhao. "I know Young Hero Lin is on bad terms with that Nantian Jiguang, but for this matter—the Cloud-Tier Islands open to the mortal world only once every several thousand years, and he is the only guide we can find. He is the one man who has personally undergone spirit projection. Young Hero Lin, bear with it and hear him out."

"Island Master Aotian worries too much. This is a good thing for me. So long as he is willing to speak, why would I refuse?" Wei Zhao said, shaking his head.

"Good." Aotian Zhou at once gave an order for Nantian Jiguang to be brought over.

A short while later, Nantian Jiguang arrived in high spirits. These past days, because of the recent uproar, Wu Miao had stopped mentioning anything about making him acting deputy island master. He had been burning with anxiety over it, so when Aotian Zhou suddenly sent for him, his first thought was that some good fortune had come knocking.

But the moment he saw Wei Zhao standing beside Aotian Zhou, Nantian Jiguang's eyelid twitched and his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He said awkwardly, "Island Master Aotian summons this old man—might I ask what instructions there are?"

"Young Hero Lin is preparing to project his spirit into the mortal world. Deputy Director Nantian was the guide last time, so I would like you to brief Young Hero Lin on the precautions. No problem, I take it?" Aotian Zhou said, watching him.

"This..." Nantian Jiguang was of course utterly unwilling. He and Wei Zhao had no direct feud, but they could never possibly see eye to eye—how could he be willing to give Wei Zhao pointers? Yet with Aotian Zhou looking on, he did not dare refuse either. He could only brace himself and say, "Since Island Master Aotian commands it, of course there is no problem."

"Good, then tell him," Aotian Zhou said. He and Wei Zhao exchanged a glance. With an expert like Steward Sun present, they had no fear of Nantian Jiguang spouting nonsense to fob them off. After all, even if Steward Sun did not know some details, once they were spoken he could always reason them out. If anything failed to make sense, Steward Sun would surely challenge it on the spot, and then Nantian Jiguang would be in for it.

Nantian Jiguang knew this as well. After a moment's thought, he could only tell it straight. "Steward Sun has likely covered the general process. There is nothing else worth saying, except that after the spirit is projected, one's physical strength will be extremely weak for a time. During this period of weakness one must be exceedingly careful and on guard. The mortal world has no truly powerful beings, but if luck runs against you, there is still the chance of capsizing in a ditch."

"Oh? And how did Deputy Director Nantian deal with it at the time?" Wei Zhao asked.

"The place this old man projected to was a remote stretch of deep mountains and old forest, so I simply hid there for a month and only went to the Five Luminaries Sect to find Xuanchen after my strength had stabilized. What happened after that, you already know," Nantian Jiguang said, glancing at him.

"You were able to stay that long?" Wei Zhao was startled. From what he had learned earlier, he had assumed ten days at most would be impressive. He had not expected Nantian Jiguang to hide away for a full month before venturing out.

Seeing Wei Zhao's look of disbelief, Nantian Jiguang's old face flushed red at once. The brat was openly looking down on him to his face!

On any other occasion, even if he did not fly into a rage, he would certainly have stormed off in a huff. But with Aotian Zhou watching from the side, he could only smile bitterly and explain, "This old man was, after all, at the peak of Nascent Soul at the time, already half a step into the Xuan Ascension stage. In terms of strength I was the academy's Grand Libationer—how could I not stay that long? If this old man wished it, two months in the mortal world would have been no problem."

"Oh." Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. That result was far beyond what he had expected, and since staying longer was exactly what he wanted, he said, "Then if it were me, could I not stay in the mortal world for a year?"

"How could that be!" Nantian Jiguang snorted at once, but catching the displeasure on the faces of Aotian Zhou and Wei Zhao, he hastily covered his mouth and said with an awkward smile, "Young Hero Lin, this old man knows your strength is great, but do not be angry at what I say—staying a year is a thing to be dreamed of, nothing more."

"How so?" Wei Zhao asked, unconcerned.

"The cultivation method this old man practices is the Formless Divine Art, which can swiftly imitate the martial techniques of others, and so it places extremely high demands on spiritual sense. Even alchemists of the same rank could not compare with this old man. Though I was at the peak of Nascent Soul then, my spiritual sense already rivaled that of a Xuan Ascension expert, and that is why I could stay so long. Were it an ordinary peak Nascent Soul expert, I doubt he could last even a month," Nantian Jiguang said smugly.

"The Formless Divine Art?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. (To be continued.)