Eternal Swordmaster Chapter 979 - 974: Genius II

Ten Illusions Formless Reincarnation.

Once Lin Xin stepped into the secret chamber, the door sealed shut behind him, with Yun He personally bringing in heaps of food.

He just plopped down on the floor, since the chamber lacked any tables or chairs, featuring only bare walls and ceiling.

Lin Xin scanned the room with his gaze, swiftly absorbing the contents of the scriptures etched on every side.

This odd scripture delved into the essence of truth versus illusion.

Its core revolved around idealism, yet Lin Xin sensed it wasn't designed for simple reading.

He bowed his head in thought briefly before lifting it once more.

"Dreams prove real, illusions stay false, all existence balances in harmony, neither true nor false, water and fire breed tranquility, ice and frost spark motion, earth and heavens deceive, life and death serve as vessels. Nine paths lead to void, one boils fiercely, boiling void generates heat, utmost heat ignites motion....."

Scripture verses poured steadily from Lin Xin’s lips.

As his voice echoed, the whole chamber slipped into a strange, faintly warped ambiance.

No energy ripples appeared, yet this childlike whisper strangely parted the air and light inside the room.

Lin Xin appeared oblivious, fully immersed in chanting the scriptures.

Ripples of distortion kept emanating from his form.

In mere minutes, Lin Xin had recited every scripture and grasped the essence of this Secret Manual called Formless Reincarnation.

Formless Reincarnation splits into five layers, each focused on fully dominating and flipping the five senses.

Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, touch: these five senses form the primary links for humans engaging the cosmos.

They act as bridges linking the body’s inner realm to the vast universe.

Cultivating Formless Reincarnation lets the practitioner seize total command over the five senses, blurring false into true and true into false.

Essentially, it’s a pure mental illusion art.

Little emphasizes bodily boosts, included mainly to forge ironclad self-mastery, with bits targeting specific organ fortification.

The emphasis lies heavily on outward manipulation.

"..... Truth and falsehood swap freely, the world deceives, the universe deceives, my heart endures true. Does the heart dictate, or does reality compel—this marks ultimate transcendence."

Lin Xin mulled over this line deeply.

"Intriguing...."

Though crude and basic, the art’s path sparked fresh insight in him.

The Formless Reincarnation Secret Manual stands as the pinnacle art of the Ten Illusions Sect.

It has five layers; completing one boosts all prior arts’ power by twenty percent.

Attaining the Fifth Layer doubles the might of every previous technique.

It hides an ultimate secret art, the Ten Illusions Sect’s mightiest strike.

Grasping even one layer qualifies one to learn this strike.

Lin Xin skimmed the cultivation steps, then activated electromagnetic force to prod his body’s divine acupuncture points and meridians.

Electromagnetic force, a cosmic fundamental power, holds mysteries Lin Xin hasn’t fully unlocked.

Now, it raced through him along a mystical path.

The electromagnetic nudge on his flesh softly drove countless cells into silent, vibrating tones.

These ultra-high-frequency vibrations chained into a rhythmic chant of the Secret Manual’s verses.

Normally, cultivators need a decade of grueling effort, and rare genius, to hit this level.

Yet Lin Xin nailed the First Layer’s chant in just over ten minutes, effortlessly.

As the unseen chant swelled softly, Lin Xin shut his eyes, sensing the faint shifts rippling through his body.

High-frequency vibes supercharged myriad cells.

Vast reserves of stored power drained fast, all funneled to empower his physical eyes.

His sight sharpened and transformed at a terrifying pace.

"Not just raw power-up; it weaves in unique triggers."

Lin Xin sensed the mechanism keenly, piecing it together mentally.

Soon, the First Layer chant wrapped up fully.

Lin Xin halted, checking his updated attribute panel.

’Xu Hong—Attack 334, Defense 412, Evasion 1599, Constitution 236, Free Attributes 72.4d.’

Any extra statuses, arts, or such popped up in droves with a mere thought.

By now, Lin Xin had absorbed countless arts, losing track entirely.

So he shoved them to the bottom, dismissed the list, and tuned them out.

"First Layer down, evasion jumps a thousand points on average.... fascinating." Lin Xin mused deeply.

Time for the Second Layer.

Second Layer, Deceptive Ear, targets hearing as implied.

It ties to the scripture’s next part.

Prior power stores emptied, so Lin Xin hooked up a cable from the corner—a standby supply prepped to fuel electromagnetic force for practitioners.

For elite electromagnetic force martial artists, electricity serves as ideal reserve energy, restoring inner qi and stamina on demand, anywhere.

Linking the power line to his palms unleashed a thousand-volt torrent into Lin Xin’s frame.

His Second Layer chant kicked off anew.

This grueling Secret Manual, demanding decades usually, fell to him in five minutes flat.

Then came Third, Fourth, and Fifth Layers.

To Lin Xin, the whole manual held zero mysteries; he conquered every layer in under an hour.

Now, he’d wait daily as the manual remade his body bit by bit.

Body overhaul drags slow and steady, unsuited for overnight blasts.

Though feasible, it’d slash lifespan sharply.

This round, Lin Xin skipped free attributes entirely, relying purely on this world’s martial arts to grow stronger.

Upon fully claiming the Fifth Layer.

Lin Xin eyed his stats anew.

Everything else stayed static, save Evade, skyrocketing to 8875.

"Finally, the Ten Illusions Sect’s supreme ultimate secret."

Lin Xin tilted his head up, staring at the overhead ceiling.

A carved motif, more scripture pattern, adorned it.

After studying the ceiling design, Lin Xin dropped his gaze and shut his eyes.

Moments passed; he snapped them open.

He rose slowly, yanked the power cord from his hand, and headed to the chamber’s exit.

Buzz...

The chamber detected exit intent and parted its door gradually.

Ten Illusions Cloud guarded outside; spotting Lin Xin burst out, her expression shifted instantly.

"Out so soon?"

A grim thought struck her.

"Don’t tell me... you couldn’t cultivate it..."

"Formless Reincarnation, fully mastered."

Lin Xin declared coolly.

He thrust out his right arm; pure white currents erupted, forming a long halberd-like white weapon.

Its head bore a huge ring, dangling smaller rings aplenty.

A faint shake rang out crisp wind-chime tones from the whole thing.

Crash...

The weapon’s clear peal spread like unseen force, blanketing the entire chamber.

Ten Illusions Cloud’s eyes quaked wildly; suddenly, a stunning pink flower sea bloomed around her.

She lunged for drifting petals, clutching at air, empty-handed.

"First Layer! Deceptive Eye!"

Having touched the First Layer before, Ten Illusions Cloud knew it instantly.

Then, scorching heat flooded her chest, a colossal wave crushing down.

Like a boulder pinned her ribs, breath nearly snuffed.

Unmatched prodigy!

Unmatched shock!

Before reacting, wind sighed through the flowers ahead, petals rustling, insects humming, damp earth crunching.

Myriad sounds fused into lifelike reality.

"Second Layer! Deceptive Ear! Truly mastered! Mastered!! Hahaha....!" Cloud’s glee exploded.

From Lin Xin’s entry to exit, barely an hour elapsed.

Such blistering pace, claiming two layers so fast.

Proof my prized disciple perfectly suits the Ten Illusions Sect—practically born for it!

"Heavens bless my Ten Illusions! Hahahaha!!" Cloud roared in triumph.

"Teacher."

The vision shattered, unveiling Lin Xin’s serene, aloof face.

"Here’s my result; your thoughts?"

"Excellent... outstanding!" Cloud struggled for words; hour-long Second Layer was freakish speed, topping all Ten Illusions talents ever.

Unrivaled, once-in-history feat.

"You qualify as a true martial artist now."

Cloud drew herself tall, gazing gravely at Lin Xin, her top disciple.

"Today, I proclaim to every sect: my Ten Illusions Sect will reclaim lost glory in this year’s grand tournament!"

Cloud brimmed with soaring pride.

At zenith, Ten Illusions hit top ten in empire-wide sect ranks.

Today, mocked as mere beauty salon.

Barely counts as martial sect.

Among taunts, Cloud loathed most the jabs at their battle weakness.

Folks deemed Ten Illusions toothless, just spa sect unfit for martial contests.

The martial sect tournament crowns Storm Empire’s top sects.

It battles for prime spots, snagging elite disciple and sect resources.

Ten Illusions clings to ninety-third; decent amid thousands, but faded to third-rate from past splendor.

"Xu Hong, you’re my teaching triumph, Ten Illusions’ sole hope! The tournament rides on you!"

Cloud gripped Lin Xin’s shoulder hard, eyes blazing fierce resolve.

"Understood." Lin Xin dipped his head faintly.

He’d restrained himself, hiding Fifth Layer prowess. Two layers per hour stunned plenty.

More would scream monster, not genius.

"I anticipate this tournament too," Lin Xin whispered low.

He yearned to witness this world’s diverse cultivation paths.