Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

Liuyun Palace, quiet room.

Shen Mo sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed. In his sea of ​​consciousness, the Myriad Laws Source Pearl floated quietly, emitting a hazy, chaotic light that nourished his soul and subtly connected his senses with the energy of the entire Qingyun Mountain Range.

Since he inscribed the "complete" "Golden Elixir Formula" into the core inheritance jade slip of the Pill Hall, and "unintentionally" let Li Xiaocao "discover" it and begin to study it in depth, he has maintained this state most of the time, adjusting his breathing while silently observing and perceiving from a detached perspective.

He was observing what kind of "medicinal reaction" would be triggered when this prescription, which he had "fabricated," was put into the "cauldron" of reality.

For the first few days, nothing unusual happened.

Li Xiaocao's research is progressing smoothly, but it is just a normal alchemical deduction. The fortune of Qingyun Mountain flows as usual, and the Myriad Laws Source Pearl remains calm and undisturbed.

Shen Mo even began to wonder if he was overthinking things. Was the Star River Ruler incident just a coincidence, and was this pill formula ultimately just an unverifiable "story"?

However, on the very night that Li Xiaocao failed in her first attempt to simulate the fusion trajectory of the "Golden Condensation Pill" using existing medicinal materials, based on the pill formula, and in a small-scale "simulated pill refining" attempt in the Danxiang Hall's underground fire chamber—

Shen Mo, who was sitting quietly, suddenly felt a stirring in his mind.

A faint, indescribable ripple gently brushed against his senses. It was not a sound, not a picture, but a kind of inexplicable feeling.

It was as if a tiny pebble had been thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples that were almost invisible.

The source of these ripples seems to be from the direction of Danxiang Hall, or more precisely, from the "concept" carried by that "Golden Condensation Elixir Formula," which Li Xiaocao poured all her attention into trying to "awaken."

Almost simultaneously, the Myriad Laws Source Pearl, which had been steadily rotating in his sea of ​​consciousness, trembled slightly. It was so slight, like the breath of a sleeping person, that Shen Mo would have been almost unaware of it if his mind had not been so closely connected to it.

The chaotic halo flowing on the surface of the bead seemed to brighten slightly, and an indescribable tremor, as if it had faintly resonated with some distant, ancient, and grand existence, flashed by and disappeared.

Shen Mo suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with a sharp light that instantly pierced through the barrier of the quiet room, "looking" towards the direction of Danxiang Hall.

In his perception, the invisible yet real "Net of Fortune" that centered on Danxiang Hall and covering the entire Qingyun Mountain seemed to have... become slightly more active?

Although it was barely perceptible, it was undeniable that the originally calmly flowing river of fortune seemed to have been infused with some new, vibrant, and hopeful "source," causing a very faint, upward ripple.

This surge is not a sudden increase in power, but rather an improvement in "quality" and the emergence of "possibilities," like withered trees coming back to life in spring, with new vitality beginning to grow within.

"This is... a slight shift in the flow of Qi? What caused it? Was it because of the pill formula? Was it because of Li Xiaocao's 'belief' and 'practice'?" Shen Mo's heart was filled with shock.

He tried to capture that fluctuation, attempting to analyze its source and essence, but the feeling came and went quickly, vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving only a faint aftertaste and the weak yet real resonance of the Myriad Laws Source Pearl.

"It's not an illusion..." Shen Mo suppressed the shock in his heart. He slowly got up, walked to the window, and looked towards the Danxiang Palace, which was brightly lit in the night and had a faint fragrance of medicine. His eyes were extremely complicated.

Li Xiaocao's simulated alchemy attempt failed, which was within his expectations. The main ingredients were all legendary, and the substitutes had vastly different properties; it would be strange if he succeeded on the first try.

But the failure brought an unexpected "success"—the "concept" carried by the "Golden Elixir Formula" seemed to have touched some kind of mysterious rule and generated a mysterious resonance and "blessing" with the fortune of Qingyun Mountain and even the Myriad Laws Source Pearl in his sea of ​​consciousness because of Li Xiaocao's wholehearted dedication, rigorous deduction and personal practice.

This confirms his boldest and most outlandish conjecture: his "fabrication" was not unfounded.

When enough people believe in this "fabrication" and put it into practice in reality in some form (such as research, practice, or inheritance), it may begin to transform from a nonexistent "story" into "reality" and trigger related, mysterious changes in fortune!

The records in the Star River Ruler are proof of the "past," while this "Golden Elixir Formula" is verification of the "present"!

"The legacy of our ancestors... the lineage of the Flowing Cloud Sect... Could it be that when I compiled 'The Travels,' it wasn't entirely fictional, but rather... under the influence of some force I myself was unaware of, I touched upon fragments of the true ancient heritage of the Qingyun Sect scattered throughout the river of time?"

Shen Mo's mind raced, and an even more astonishing thought emerged: "The Myriad Laws Source Pearl... After refining this pearl, my comprehension greatly increased, and my understanding of the Dao became increasingly profound. Could it be that this pearl also possesses the mysteries of gathering, manifesting, and even... 'completing' the causal relationships, fortune, and inheritance related to the Qingyun Sect?"

He recalled the vast, star-like aura he felt when refining the Myriad Laws Source Pearl, an aura that seemed to contain the origin of all laws.

If the Pearl of Myriad Laws truly possesses this ability, then all of this seems to have a source that can be reasonably explained.

It was the Myriad Laws Source Pearl that projected the scattered fragments of cause and effect related to the "Star River Ruler," the "Golden Elixir," and even the possible connection to Ancestor Liuyun into his consciousness in the form of "inspiration" and "fabrication."

When these "fabrications" are anchored by a sufficiently strong "belief" and "practice," they begin to have a subtle impact on the real world, thus influencing one's fortune.

This idea both excited and horrified Shen Mo.

The exciting part is that if this is true, then he will possess an unimaginable power—to gather fortune, complete the inheritance, and even... create the future by "fabricating myths"?

What's terrifying is that this power is completely beyond his comprehension and control; its origin, its limits, and its cost are all unknown.

Today it may cause a slight ripple in fortune, but will it bring unpredictable backlash in the future?

"Sect Leader Brother?" Li Xiaocao's voice came from outside the quiet room, tinged with fatigue but unable to hide his excitement.

Shen Mo composed himself, his face regaining its calm: "Come in."

Li Xiaocao pushed open the door and entered, her face still flushed from the fire, her hair slightly disheveled, but her eyes were strikingly bright. In her hands she held a jade slip for recording images and several small jade bottles.

"Senior brother! I've made a discovery! A major discovery!" She rushed forward, disregarding formalities, and handed over the jade slip, her voice filled with excitement. "Look! This is a detailed record of my failed simulated alchemy attempt today, along with an analysis of the dregs!"

Shen Mo took the jade slip and immersed his consciousness into it. It contained detailed records of how Li Xiaocao selected low-grade spiritual herbs with similar attributes to simulate the main ingredient, how she set up a simplified version of the "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Array" (miniature) to attract weak star power, and how she manipulated earth fire to simulate the changes in fire recorded in the pill formula... The process was rigorous and the data was detailed.

Finally, at the "Stellar Radiance Emerges" (simulated fluctuations of stellar spiritual energy) node, the conflict of medicinal power spiraled out of control, the simulated alchemy furnace exploded, and the attempt failed.

Currently reading: Chapter 384, "A Slight Ripple of Fortune," latest chapters available here.