Ren Yuanhao felt a surge of joy, but the system's ability to demoralize was truly exceptional.
"Unfortunately, you currently only have 800 points. If you want to get things done, I suggest you earn more points. Also, I've gone to the trouble of setting up this illusion, so you'd better get a good grasp of the Bì Hǎi Cháo Shēng Jué. Furthermore, I think you need to buckle down and tackle that incomprehensible manual."
Manual. The word itself sent a piercing headache through Ren Yuanhao whenever he heard it mentioned, referring to the one copied from the top of that large box. The content wasn't so much unreadable as it was utterly irrelevant.
Normally, a manual would begin with an introduction, at least a general overview at the start of the scroll, right? But this manual, at its opening, would talk about wind for a while, then ramble about clouds, then mention fog, and then the sea.
One moment it would say that true qi was like the wind, ever-changing, coming and going as it pleased, drifting through heaven and earth, existing wherever there was an opening.
The next it would say that true qi was like clouds, formless, transforming at will, often gathering and directing the heavenly energies.
Then it would speak of true qi like fog, misty and hazy, light as gauze, heavy as smog, obscuring all things in the world within it.
Finally, it would speak of true qi like the sea. Only when this point was reached did Ren Yuanhao gain some understanding, and realize that this manual was indeed a manual.
Flipping further, the manual also mentioned condensing water into ice, striking water to form mist, and transforming into clouds by riding the wind, which was utterly like celestial scripture. With his current intellect, he had no way to comprehend such profound matters. Every time he read it, he felt dizzy and drowsy.
Now, with the system mentioning the manual again, he could only vent these grievances, the result of which was only the system's cold reply.
"I'm sorry, system AI is not responsible for interpreting any manuals."
"Alright, alright. I'll properly consolidate the Bì Hǎi Cháo Shēng Jué now. Perhaps I can make some headway with the remaining wind, clouds, mist, and sea."
The system's voice faded, leaving only the sound of the surging sea.
Ren Yuanhao watched the rising and falling tides, and a terrible, bold thought immediately sprang to mind—to fully comprehend it, he had to merge with it, not just watch from the sidelines!
With this realization, Ren Yuanhao leaped directly into the turbulent, vast ocean.
Just then, a colossal wave struck him. Ren Yuanhao felt as if the sky itself had collapsed. Under the power of nature, humanity was as insignificant as an ant.
He was swept under by the current, feeling the immense pressure of the water as if it were a mountain. What was more terrifying was that a mountain lacked the fluidity of water; the force was relentless, leaving no chance to even turn over.
Ren Yuanhao, after much effort, used the current to surface. Initially, he resisted the waves with his internal energy, only to find that the more he struggled, the greater the pressure on his body. Conversely, the more he exerted force in the direction of the surging tide, the more he gained an indescribable thrust at the critical moment of the waves' descent. After several attempts, he gradually learned to dodge within the tidal currents with ease, and his understanding of the Bì Hǎi Cháo Shēng Jué deepened.
At this moment, he was like the wave-riders of old, standing proudly atop the crests of the waves regardless of their rise and fall. Of course, he understood this was an illusion, and the sea in the illusion was bound to be different from reality. In reality, surviving such chaotic tides was still a question.
And at this moment, he suddenly discovered something. In the illusion created by the system, his physical condition seemed to have been adjusted to a perfect state. His internal energy flowed freely, coming and going as it pleased, a true delight.
"Since that's the case, why can't I try to activate my true qi with the Mermaid's Tear?"
With this thought, Ren Yuanhao closed off his dantian and used the same Bì Hǎi Cháo Shēng Jué to channel the internal energy from the Mermaid's Tear. But at that very moment, he realized with a jolt that the seawater beneath his feet had begun to form a layer of frost with his leaking true qi!
"Condensing water into ice? That's right! The true qi that the Mermaid's Tear can carry is primarily frigid ice. Ice belongs to water, while the qi in my dantian belongs to fire. This means that the reason I have no way to blend the two types of true qi is likely because water and fire are incompatible!"
Ren Yuanhao stood on the ice, seemingly enlightened yet filled with doubt. It was as if a clear path lay before him, yet he had fallen into an even greater maze.
"It seems you've grasped some of the intricacies?"
The system's voice descended as if from the heavens. Within the illusory domain she had constructed, she was the master. In the blink of an eye, the area where Ren Yuanhao stood was completely transformed into a thousand miles of frozen expanse, a world of pure white. This immediately caused Ren Yuanhao to shield his eyes tightly, allowing them to adjust.
"Damn, doesn't the system小姐姐 worry I'll get snow blindness?"
"Stop the nonsense. The time I can sustain this illusion is limited. Your Mermaid's Tear true qi is not very abundant because you don't know how to condense water into ice. Now, I'm having you do the opposite. When this ice field transforms back into the previous vast ocean, you will surely enter a new realm."
"Holy crap, no way! Turning this place into the previous ocean? How long will I have to sleep then? Until the seas dry up and the rocks decay? Until the pillars of heaven collapse?"
The system gave a cold snort.
"Don't worry. Have you forgotten that the real-world time and illusion time are completely asymmetrical? If you're fast enough, you might accomplish it by dawn. Also, I just reviewed the copied manual, and now I can tell you definitively, the name of that manual is 'San Fen Gui Yuan Qi'!"
"Holy hell! Then are you going to tell me that 'Sword Twenty-Three' really exists in this world?"
"Anything is possible. Why shouldn't it?"
The system vanished completely after uttering this sentence. Ren Yuanhao, seemingly having finally accustomed himself to the dazzling white world, slowly sat cross-legged and meditated for a moment. He immediately closed off the Mermaid's Tear and activated the scorching, fire-like true qi within his dantian.
However, as he attempted to impact the ice field with his dantian qi, he found that it could only cause cracks in the ice. Melting the ice field, however, was completely impossible.
"Damn, that's weird."
Ren Yuanhao closed off his dantian again and activated the Mermaid's Tear. His mind suddenly heated up, and he immediately thought of the "Xī Xīng Dà Fǎ," which could transform stored internal energy into 'deep valleys, deep chests'!
"Since there's so much cold energy here, I, Ren Yuanhao, shall gladly accept it!"
He suddenly emptied the Mermaid's Tear and then activated the Xī Xīng Dà Fǎ. The surrounding cold energy, like solidified frost knives, began to penetrate the acupoints all over his body!
"Reversing the course, like a deep valley, open!"
His body emitted a series of crisp cracking sounds from within, like tearing silk. True qi rampaged within him, like a turbulent current!