Chapter 174: What Do You Think of Me? What Do I Think of You?
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"You little b*stard, if you dare to destroy my magnificent and awe-inspiring image, I'll beat you up!"
Lin Feng stared intently at the image in the halo above Xiao Budian's head. In that halo, a completely new image appeared.
Inside the image, there was only a single person: Xiao Budian. He was sitting underneath a mountain, and he leaned quietly against the mountain, sound asleep.
Lin Feng searched everywhere but he could not find another living creature.
The little boy slept peacefully, his face a picture of bliss. It was if he was detached from the troubles of the world, and as long as he leaned against the peak nothing dangerous could possibly disturb him.
The mountain helped him support the nine heavens, the mountain helped him stand firm on the ground. The mountain shielded him from the wind and rain and the mountain guaranteed for him that all was well.
"Am...I the mountain?"
Lin Feng's suddenly reached a new level of understanding. As he looked at the soundly asleep and gently snoring Xiao Budian, he felt a great sense of calm washing over him. "You little b*stard..."
He steeled himself, and he could not help but smile as he shook his head. The halo above Xiao Budian's head started to move and placed itself above Xiao Yan's sleeping body.
Xiao Yan too projected images into the halo. One particular image flashed constantly inside the halo.
Lin Feng was interested in Xiao Yan's perception of everyone too, however, he used his mana to feel for Xiao Yan's spiritual altar and crucible.
"Xiao Budian had already formed five spiritual altars in his aura sea, perhaps there would be more in the future," Lin Feng thought. "What about Xiao Yan?"
Xiao Yan's prodigious innate ability was not possessed by everyone. Xiao Yan had only one spiritual altar, and on top of it was a single first class crucible.
Lin Feng sighed, slightly disappointed. His Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams was already extremely powerful. Those who could perfect it would likely establish a first class spiritual altar. That was already something prodigious.
The most powerful mantra of Man could be found in the two books of the Great Void Sect. Respectively, they were "Mantra of the Great Oblivion" and the "Yin Yang Mantra of the Void". Those who cultivated these two ways would be guaranteed a second class spiritual altar at least. As to whether one could form a first class spiritual altar, it was contingent upon one's own ability.
Other than the "Heavenly Classic of the Way of the Tao", the Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams was already superior to all other mantras in the Foundation Establishment stage.
However, as for the supreme spiritual altar, that was something that could only be encountered rather than coveted. As for Lin Feng himself, he only created supreme spiritual altar due to a promotion in the system.
However, a talented individual like Xiao Yan could only produce a first class spiritual altar. Despite the fact that a golden elixir could also lead to one obtaining the best elixir, the purple elixir, Lin Feng felt that something was still not right.
As he thought about it, Lin Feng suddenly felt Xiao Yan's crucible wiggle.
"Eh? What's this?" Lin Feng dexterously noticed the abnormal movement in Xiao Yan's crucible. Despite it being only a slight movement, Lin Feng became alert.
For one's Tao foundation to be ready for the intense amount of effort required to reach the aurous core stage, one's crucible must be firm and stable.
Xiao Yan's crucible was not firm, and that made Lin Feng highly wary. He did not want anything to happen to his most senior disciple.
However, in Lin Feng's heart, he cautiously hoped that Xiao Yan's crucible possessed some unknowable secret or was unique in some way or another, just like how Xiao Budian managed to build five spiritual altars.
As a prodigy too, Xiao Yan must possess some extraordinary talent too right?
Once his aura entered Xiao Yan's crucible, Lin Feng felt as if he had entered a purple world. Endless amount of purplish-blue flames engulfed the sky and the earth, burning all around him.
"F*ck me!" Lin Feng cursed silently. Xiao Yan's crucible was not based solely on his powers, but also the Nefarious Spectral Primordial Fire from Nefarious Almighty Sword to form a fire crucible.
Lin Feng's eyes flashed as he stared and thought for a while. Suddenly, he retrieved his kindling of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame, controlling it carefully, before injecting a little bit of it into Xiao Yan's crucible.
"Boom!" Xiao Yan's crucible reacted immediately as it swallowed the kindling of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame and incorporated it into itself.
Li nFeng could feel clearly that Xiao Yan's crucible was more concentrated and of a higher quality than before.
Lin Feng then fed the Nine Heavens Formless Squall, the River Styx Primordial Water and the Acalanātha Inferno into the crucible, but without result.
Even if there was a result, it was not a good one. For example, the River Styx Primordial Water was nearly blown away by Xiao Yan's crucible.
"Indeed, Xiao Yan's crucible is bigger than ordinary people, and hence there's a possibility that it can continue evolving. However, it appears that it'll require the Seven Legendary Primordial Fires to upgrade his crucible."
Lin Feng chewed his lips and thought, "I wonder if he would possess any sort of special abilities after he finished cultivating his aurous core. If I continue to let him absorb whatever I throw into his crucible, I wonder what would happen if I gather the Seven Legendary Primordial Fires?"
However, even if it was the Seven Legendary Primordial Fires, Xiao Yan could only improve if the firepower was enough. One required power akin to the Nefarious Almighty Sword. Lin Feng's kindling was evidently not enough.
"Quickly mastering the Spell of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame will be beneficial to not only me but also my disciple."
As Lin Feng calculated in his mind, he stared at the halo image above Xiao Yan's head.
In it, a picture continued to flash.
The first image showed Xiao Budian jumping up and down in a barren land, without showing any sign of exhaustion.
Over here, he destroyed the river banks and caused a flood of biblical proportions. Over there, he set ablaze a mountain and created an apocalyptic scene.
Xiao Yan followed behind him, bored. He was continually clearing up the mess left by Xiao Budian, such as stopping the flood and suppressing the volcanic lava. He was busy beyond belief.
Xiao Budian, on the other hand, ran ahead, clapping his hands and laughing, "I loved to wreck havoc, create trouble and destroy things! I like it! I like it! Ehh ya, hey!"
Lin Feng looked at it and smiled bitterly. While the two of you may be a pair of treasures, you were my scapegoat in my eyes and in your eyes, I was a trouble-maker.
In the second image, Xiao Yan appeared to be climbing a mountain by himself, but Zhu Yi suddenly appeared.
Zhu Yi was reciting poetry and discussing morality while his head bobbed up and down. He leapt up the mountain casually, and upon reaching its peak he roared like a mighty dragon. Truly, Zhu Yi appeared carefree.
However, in the next second, a bolt of thunder struck Zhu Yi's head.
Lin Feng stared at it with his mouth agape, he took quite some time to react. "Are...are you saying that this is the legendary 'fake till you're struck by thunder'? Is this the image of Zhu Yi in your mind?"
In the third image, the protagonist changed to Wang Lin.
Under the foot of a mountain, Wang Lin held a hammer and chisel and was futilely digging away.
In comparison to the gigantic mountain, Wang Lin's digging speed was extremely slow. At that pace, it would take him hundreds and thousands of years to move the mountain.
However, Wang Lin's expression was determined. He was silent, and his hands showed no sign of slowing and an amazing stability. He dug at the moment steadily and firmly.
Unlike someone who would walk around the mountain and give up, Wang Lin showed extraordinary perseverance in his dig.
Looking at this scene, Lin Feng sighed in his heart. The image Wang Lin left for Lin Feng appeared to be not bad.
"In your heart, Wang Lin is like the old man who tried to move the mountain right? Maybe not now, but once Wang Lin started to really improve his achievements may not be beneath yours."
The image changed again. It was the fourth one now.
Lin Feng jolted back to his senses as he knew that this image would be related to him.
In it, it was a field of blue. Xiao Yan swam alone in the vast ocean.
The waves raised and lowered him. It was limitlessly vast. When the ocean was calm, he swam to his heart's content and did as he wanted.
However, once he met with an obstacle, the ocean turned into a ferocious tsunami that helped him crush his obstacle.
It appeared to tolerate him and supported him in whatever he did, but once he was met with danger it shielded him like a father.
"Am I the sea?" Lin Feng wondered to him, as his consciousness left the image.
He raised his head and looked at the messy gray world formed by the coming together of the black and white, and thought, "The powers of this dimension is extremely abnormal. Once someone enters a dream, one could sense the true thoughts and feelings of the person."
This power may be unintentional, but whatever led to its formation made Lin Feng uneasy.
"If I were to fall asleep here, would someone see my inner world should he enter this world?"
Lin Feng tightly arched his eyebrows, as he scooped up Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian.
"Split!" Lin Feng hollered as he emitted a vast purple aura which formed a tiny purple world, within which the elements of creation clashed.
The small world was akin to an alternate dimension like the world of the chess board. Its borders were in flux, and through Lin Feng's willpower, it collapsed suddenly, like a scene from Doomsday.
Such a powerful energy also forced the chess board dimension to change, and as the two dimensions came into contacted and rubbed against each other a dimensional split was generated.
Through the split, Lin Feng could see the terrified faces of Zhu Yi and Wang Lin.
"Spin!" The split disappeared, but Lin Feng took advantage of the limited time he had and pulled off a Dual Dimension Vacuum Charm. He turned swapped places between his current location and the dimension on the outside, bringing Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian out of the chess board world.
As he stepped into the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, he turned around and looked at the grubby old man playing chess, who appeared totally detached from everything. It was if he did not realize that Lin Feng and his disciples had entered into the chess board world.
Once they exited the chess board world, Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian woke up. Looking at Lin Feng, both of them were filled with glee, "Master!"
Lin Feng nodded his head, and said, "You, while you have grown you became even more mischievous."
Xiao Budian grinned shyly.
Lin Feng waved his hand, "Alright, we have guests. All of you please be on your best behavior."
He almost wanted to say, "Follow me to receive the guests". However, he felt that something was amiss, and he swallowed his words. He realized that his disciples were all dressed differently, and he stroked his chin and said, "Before that, let us standardize our attires."
Saying that he waved his hand and a thick wave of purple gas enveloped the four disciples.