Chapter 165 - Festival’s Eve (Part IV) (Patreon)

Since the beginning of their clash, Lucian hadn't understood why the Resonant Sea Ancestor kept revealing information about cultivation for no apparent reason. This was precisely the kind of knowledge he lacked, and he was certain she knew it. She seemed to retain full control of her faculties while inside his soul, and read his memories just fine.

That mystery only deepened after the ripples he felt within his Sea of Consciousness increased. This feeling, combined with three other important points, made him deeply wary of everything she taught.

Firstly, the Resonant Sea Ancestor had strong soul techniques. She had entered Xu Hua's body with her split soul, tampered with the Rune of Lust, discovered Lucian, and attempted to read his memories on the spot. Even after failing, she had left her split soul behind to recover inside Lucian, eventually escaping the countless memories imprisoning her.

The second important point was her title. At first, Lucian had assumed the "Sea" in Resonant Sea referred either to Water Qi or to the Great Sea itself. But after witnessing her abilities, another possibility emerged.

He guessed that it referred to the Sea of Consciousness, the Spiritual Sea!

After all, someone capable of effortlessly taking control of half of his own soul had to be a true expert in that field, in his opinion. With this, he guessed that not only did she have powerful soul techniques, but she was specialized in them!

However, it was the final and third important point that convinced him to prepare countermeasures with the Rune of Lust.

Xu Hua’s life!

Lucian knew she had erased parts of Xu Hua's memories. She had also personally acted as Xu Hua's mentor. She had taught Xu Hua, just as she was teaching Lucian now!

More importantly, Lucian understood the importance of Sword Masters and how Xu Hua had been nurtured to refine Sword Qi and eventually become a vessel to get Vestiges for the Ancestors. He didn't know what those were, but he knew they were very important.

Individually, those facts were already relevant enough. And Lucian was smart enough to use logical connections. In his view, Resonant Sea Ancestor had deliberately orchestrated Xu Hua's hardships to temper his Sword Heart so he would eventually become useful to her.

Yet, several questions remained.

Why personally teach Xu Hua at all? Why spend years guiding him instead of letting him suffer and sending him to the Sailor School to complete his training?

Zhi Jian had made clear that whatever the Ancestors demanded, the Sailor School obeyed.

For Lucian, there was only one reasonable explanation for her senseless, selfish act of mentorship.

She needed to teach Xu Hua herself. More than that, the Resonant Sea Ancestor needed Xu Hua to accumulate countless memories connected to her and to the knowledge she had shared.

Lucian didn't know why this was relevant, but he knew it mattered. And so, he had acted accordingly. He had focused on creating false memories through the Rune of Lust. In the same way he could manipulate others' minds, he could also manipulate his own!

For that realization, he had to thank his youngest daughter, Glenda, the source of his greatest regret.

She had spent her entire life deceiving her own mind through the Rune of Lust, convincing herself that she loved her family, so that her mother could die with a smile. In the past, Lucian had learned this technique directly from his child.

Since he noticed that something was wrong with Resonant Sea Ancestor's teachings, Lucian used the Rune of Lust to create false memories, storing every piece of cultivation knowledge the Resonant Sea Ancestor revealed inside them, and keeping his true awareness separate.

He never destroyed those false memories, waiting for the Resonant Sea Ancestor’s move.

Then, after sensing strange ripples, echoes, and an unfamiliar connection forming around them, he isolated the memories within a secluded corner of his Sea of Consciousness and continued fighting.

Until the Resonant Sea Ancestor detonated them.

The explosion was powerful enough to blow Lucian's projected body, even though his true Spiritual Sea remained unharmed. And her attack confirmed his guesses. The Resonant Sea Ancestor possessed a technique that allowed her to implant knowledge into another person, use those memories as anchors to attack their soul, and eventually possess them.

He had found a countermeasure to her technique, but he didn't know how long it could last. Besides, when Lucian saw the crimson waters turn emerald while thousands of ripples propagated through the air, he understood that the true battle had just begun.

I'm in serious trouble, he thought, relying on the merged runes to prevent his true thoughts from being exposed. Every attack I make consumes the foundation of my soul. If I become too weak, she can withdraw her split soul and devour me from the outside. At least, I will assume so. Salazar would have done it this way if he were a cultivator and not a necromancer.

He had been sincere when he complimented her soul possession technique. It was truly incredible, in his view. This wasn't the first time someone had tried to seize control of his body, after all.

As he felt his body breaking apart layer by layer, trembling beneath the Resonant Sea Ancestor's Domain, and the Seven Curses began to struggle against the Authorities pressing upon them, Lucian conjured another rune, externalizing it.

Outside, he wouldn't have been able to use it so freely, much less manifest its true power.

But here, within the effects of the Resonant Sea Ancestor's technique, he could unleash it without restraint.

Soon, a simple rune formed behind him, showing six crimson dots surrounded by shifting sigils. It quickly and silently fused with the other runes.

Devilish Arts: Boon of Wrath - Night Within

From the six partially merged runes, countless humanoid creatures resembling bats emerged. Crimson flesh dripped with blood as they shrieked and roared, spreading through his Spiritual Sea and darkening the surroundings.

Their mere presence was enough to contend with the Resonant Sea Ancestor's Domain, causing crimson radiance to collide with the emerald light.

Far away, watching thousands of those humanoid monsters appear, the Resonant Sea Ancestor muttered in shock, "Blood Devils? Didn't the Blood Moon Ancestor exterminate them all?"

After a brief shock, she refused to remain still. Floating in the air, sweet melodies condensed into countless orbs around her. Then, they flew toward the so-called Blood Devils.

"Do you know what a combat system is, Fellow Daoist?" she asked, maintaining Flowing Echoes of Resonant Care. "I saw nothing similar within your memories. A combat system is a structured method of cultivation, in which techniques complement one another. One develops a technique from every category, then fuses them in compound techniques and killer techniques, understanding when each one should support and strengthen another."

Beneath the six merged runes, Lucian raised his eyes toward her, commanding the creatures born from the Rune of Wrath to attack. Storing the knowledge received inside fabricated memories created through the Rune of Lust, he replied,

"We call them magical sets. Vampires, magical beasts, and mutants do not need such things."

The Resonant Sea Ancestor's eyes shone. She nodded slowly, blood leaking from her eyes. "Impressive. You're trying to use my own killing technique against me, but you lack the fundamentals,” she said, bombarding her own soul with an influx of Qi.

She had felt Lucian attempting to use the resonance she created through her technique to implant knowledge back into her own mind, exploiting that connection to attack her split soul.

Truly terrifying!

While she prepared countermeasures to protect herself, searching for a way to turn Lucian's own actions against him, she heard Lucian click his tongue. Hundreds of thousands of night creatures circled him, forming a crimson hurricane.

"Explain what Authorities are. You should know, as you possess three," he said. Then, his next words left his mouth slowly. "Resonance. Echo. Flow. Very interesting."

Resonant Sea Ancestor froze. She had no clue how he had discovered that!

Caught off guard by his deduction, she unleashed wide-area techniques, destroying entire swarms of crimson creatures while simultaneously studying Lucian's movements and the runes floating behind him.

She enhanced her own thoughts, and echoes spread through her mind, multiplying the same thought. Then they resonated and combined, making new flows of thoughts and mapping countless possibilities.

Resonant Sea Ancestor observed the runes, defending herself. Her expression changed, and she muttered, "You... No. How? Those aren't merely traces of a Heavenly Dao! They're Authorities as well!"

Lucian laughed loudly as his crimson eyes shone brilliantly. "Tell me more! Explain them to me!"

Suddenly, the Resonant Sea Ancestor's body burst into thousands of bubbles. Each bubble popped, dissolving into ripples that scattered throughout the Spiritual Sea. After she vanished, her voice echoed everywhere.

"You're trying to steal my thoughts! How?"

"You were the one who tried to possess me first," Lucian replied, ascending higher into the dark sky as more crimson creatures poured endlessly from the merged runes, flooding every corner of the Spiritual Sea.

Resonant Sea Ancestor concealed herself deep within his Spiritual Sea, plotting the next action. She was very wary of Lucian's abilities and how he seemed to grow midfight. What she failed to perceive was that she hadn't read all his memories and didn't even glimpse his true capabilities!

"Now that you've made such a bold move, don't blame me for returning the favor," Lucian said.

Next, two colossal fangs shimmered into existence below the dark sky.

"Gluttony," he muttered. "Waste no more."