Chapter 5: Do You Trust Me?
Mu Chen's mouth fell slightly agape, but he quickly calmed himself. "Are you saying you can fix my Dantian?"
"Are you kidding? Unless you have an Emperor Level expert helping you, no one can recover from a damaged Dantian," the Profound Old Ghost said, rolling his eyes.
Mu Chen's face darkened. "Where are you going to find an Emperor Level expert on the Extreme Martial Continent these days? Are you just messing with me because you're bored?"
The Profound Old Ghost ignored the second half of his question, asking in surprise, "What did you say? There are no Emperor Level experts on the Extreme Martial Continent now?"
Mu Chen sneered. "Obviously. Even a three-year-old knows that Emperor Level experts vanished from the Extreme Martial Continent ten thousand years ago." But then, recalling the Profound Old Ghost's surprised reaction, Mu Chen's heart skipped a beat. 'Could he be an Emperor Level expert?' he asked tentatively.
The Profound Old Ghost was blunt. "No. If I had the power of an Emperor, I would've escaped this stupid pearl long ago."
"Stupid pearl?" Mu Chen was confused.
"Focus your mind and enter a state of Meditation. Relax your body and don't worry about anything else."
Mu Chen quickly entered a state of Meditation. Although he couldn't practice Cultivation, he still knew how to meditate. As he did, a sudden suction force pulled his consciousness into a crystal-clear space. The space was like a night sky, dotted with countless stars. Mu Chen was stunned by the sight; he had never seen anything like it.
"What is this?" Mu Chen asked subconsciously.
"This is your Sea of Souls," the demonic, charming voice replied. Here, however, Mu Chen could hear it with much greater clarity.
"My Sea of Souls? Are you saying I'm inside my own body right now?" Mu Chen exclaimed.
The Sea of Souls, commonly known as the mindscape, is where every person's Soul Core resides. What shocked Mu Chen was that one had to reach the Martial Master Realm to be capable of Introspection. Yet here he was, a cripple who couldn't even reach the level of a Martial Disciple, standing inside his own Sea of Souls. How could he possibly remain calm?
"So jumpy. Have you noticed anything special yet?" the Profound Old Ghost asked, rolling his eyes again.
Mu Chen looked around carefully. The entire Sea of Souls was vast and empty. Other than the glittering starlight, there didn't seem to be anything special...
"Wait!" Mu Chen was startled again. His eyes locked onto the very center of his Sea of Souls. A fist-sized, transparent pearl floated there. It was so crystal clear and flawless that it was difficult to spot without looking closely.
"See it now?" the Profound Old Ghost chuckled slyly.
Mu Chen nodded. "I see it. What is that?"
"Heh heh, I can answer that, but let's talk outside." Elder Xuan sounded very pleased. Then, Mu Chen's vision went black. When it returned, the scene before him was his own room again. Of course, he could still see everything clearly without opening his eyes.
"So, can you tell me now?" Mu Chen asked impatiently.
"You little brat, you have no composure at all," the Profound Old Ghost said irritably.
Mu Chen pouted. "Well, you said it yourself. I'm a little brat."
The Profound Old Ghost: "..."
"Ahem, let's get back to the pearl." The Profound Old Ghost coughed twice. 'To think that after living for over a hundred thousand years, I'd get played by a little brat. A miscalculation, truly.' The Profound Old Ghost sighed and said, "This story begins at the dawn of Chaos."
"The dawn of Chaos? What's that?" Mu Chen was very curious and blurted out the question without thinking.
The Profound Old Ghost was furious. "Shut up, you brat! Don't you know children shouldn't interrupt when their elders are speaking?!"
Mu Chen touched his nose with a wry smile. He could already picture a white-haired old man huffing and glaring.
Seeing that Mu Chen had finally fallen silent, the Profound Old Ghost cleared his throat and continued, "In ancient times, there existed a Great Power capable of opening the heavens and splitting the earth. With a single glance, seas could turn into mulberry fields; with a wave of a hand, clouds and rain could be overturned. As this Great Power's life drew to a close, they looked to the heavens and sighed, seizing control of the Chaotic Power to shatter space, alter the rules, and forge the Extreme Martial Continent. At the continent's genesis, the dawn of Chaos, countless strange and wondrous things were born. The Extreme Spirit Pearl, a supreme object of Heaven and Earth, possesses the ability to seize the good fortune of creation itself. It absorbs the Ultimate Power between Heaven and Earth for its own use. It is a Chaos Supreme Treasure."
As the Profound Old Ghost spoke, that Barbaric Aura appeared once more. His voice was like a Brahma Sound, and the story replayed like a series of images in Mu Chen's mind. He was utterly horrified. 'Just what kind of Great Power could possess such immense strength as to create an entire world?'
"So, do you know what this pearl is now?" The Profound Old Ghost realized he had lost his composure and let his Barbaric Aura slip. He quickly suppressed it and spoke with a quiet intensity.
Mu Chen's eyes were filled with shock. "This pearl... is the Extreme Spirit Pearl?"
The Profound Old Ghost: "Correct. It is the Extreme Spirit Pearl."
Mu Chen was incredibly excited, but a thought of his current condition immediately deflated him. "But what does this supreme treasure have to do with a cripple like me?" he said, dejected.
"You still don't get it. Let me put it this way: everyone's Dantian is like a small world. The only difference is that their small worlds are created at birth—passively created. Depending on your innate talent and luck, you might get an Attribute Dantian, or you might get an Attributeless Dantian. You might even be born without a Dantian at all. But no matter what, they all have one thing in common."
"They're all innate," Mu Chen interjected.
This time, the Profound Old Ghost didn't get angry at Mu Chen's interruption. Instead, he said with appreciation, "Correct. They're all innate."
"Then why are you telling me this? Mine was innate too," Mu Chen said, rolling his eyes.
The Profound Old Ghost chuckled, speaking in a calm, unhurried tone. "That was before. Now, you're the lucky brat who has been acknowledged by the Extreme Spirit Pearl. It's true that a Dantian cannot be repaired, but..."
Mu Chen froze. "But what?"
"But, I never said it couldn't be reforged," the Profound Old Ghost said in a deep voice.
"Re... Reforged..." Mu Chen's whole body trembled, his voice hoarse. In that instant, his throat felt dry. The word "reforged" was like a ferocious beast ramming against the walls of his heart. He could feel his left hand trembling violently with excitement.
"Of course. If that Great Power could create a great world from nothing, why can't you create a tiny Dantian? In truth, at the dawn of Chaos, all things were but a single element. These elements were incredibly chaotic; you couldn't even tell what some of them were. But in the end, they all became a part of this world. Some became mountains, some became water, some became the earth, some became the heavens, and some... became you," the Profound Old Ghost said gravely.
"Right now, your Dantian is a mess of chaos, which is why you can't communicate with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. This chaotic Dantian is even tormenting your body at every moment. But look at it from another angle: isn't your Dantian exactly the same as the world at the dawn of Chaos? All you need is a plan—a blueprint that can turn your shattered Dantian into its own world."
BOOM!
The Profound Old Ghost's words struck Mu Chen like a bolt from the blue. He was completely stunned. Reforging a Dantian... it was too ethereal, too far beyond his comprehension. On the Extreme Martial Continent, no one had been able to repair a Dantian for thirty thousand years. After a moment, Mu Chen suddenly asked, "How do you know all this?"
"The Extreme Spirit Pearl."
"You're the Extreme Spirit Pearl?"
"No," the Profound Old Ghost denied.
"Then who are you?" Mu Chen pressed.
"A lonely soul saved by the Extreme Spirit Pearl," the Profound Old Ghost said with a sigh.
"However, after a hundred thousand years, my soul has long since fused with the Extreme Spirit Pearl, becoming inseparable. You could say that I am the Pearl Spirit of the Extreme Spirit Pearl," the Profound Old Ghost continued.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Mu Chen's expression was strange. The real world had taught him that there's no such thing as a free lunch; to get something, you must give something. And sometimes, what you get in return for your efforts is just pain. Or death.
"To help you, and to help myself. Knowing too much right now won't do you any good. So I'll only ask you one question: Do you want to become strong and reclaim your dignity, or do you want to live like a dog, trampled on by everyone?" the Profound Old Ghost said lightly after a moment of contemplation.
Mu Chen fell silent. Scenes from the past twelve years flashed before his eyes.
"Mom, why do I always have to drink this bitter medicine?"
"Mom, I want to play with my brothers, but they don't like me."
"Mom, my brothers always call me a cripple. What's a cripple?"
"Mom, I... I want to do Body Forging like my brothers too."
"Mom..."
For twelve years, he had endured the daily torment of his ailing body and the gossip of outsiders. After he learned why he was a "cripple," he learned to be silent, to forbear, to be strong. He endured, he hoped, he prayed for a day when he could live like a normal person. He didn't need to be a peerless genius; even being an ordinary person would be enough.
But for a wish so ordinary for anyone else, he had never seen a glimmer of hope. And yet, just as he was about to give up, hope appeared. Someone had actually told him that his Dantian could be reforged, that the brand of "cripple" seared onto his body could be stripped away. In that moment, the grief and sorrow that had been suppressed in his chest for twelve years erupted.
"HAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!!!" Mu Chen roared with laughter. In that moment, he seemed to forget everything around him, focused only on venting all the grief and sorrow in his heart.
The laughter lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Mu Chen laughed until his voice grew hoarse, and two streams of clear tears streamed down his cheeks, leaving silvery tracks in their wake.
Mu Chen choked out, "Can I... become strong?"
...
There was only silence. The Profound Old Ghost didn't speak. He was shocked—shocked by the anguish suppressed in this young man's heart. After a long while, the Profound Old Ghost's low voice finally sounded, "Do you trust me?"
...