Chapter 275: The Price of Eavesdropping
As time passed, the Time Dao Runes on the Mantra Treasured Axis continued to fade one after another, while the image being depicted on the wall of light became more and more stable.
To Han Li's elation, as the image stabilized, he began to be able to hear some sound from the wall of light, but it was very muffled and staggered, making it impossible for him to make out what was being said.
During this time, the portly monk said some other things, and just like before, a stream of five-colored runes surged out of his mouth as he spoke. These runes rose up into the air before transforming into a five-colored stream of light, which then transformed into a series of strange-looking plants and ferocious beasts that Han Li had never seen before, presenting a kaleidoscope of fascinating sights to behold.
The five figures seated around the stone platform occasionally raised some questions before sitting back down with enlightened expressions after hearing the monk's answers.
Han Li was becoming really agitated about not being able to hear what was being said, but he could only force himself to remain calm. As opposed to being concerned about the rate at which the Time Dao Runes were fading, he was now beginning to hope that they would dim faster.
A short while later, the image on the wall of light was finally completely stabilized, and the sound coming from the image became a little louder.
It was still rather muffled and unclear, but Han Li was able to make out some of the things that were being said.
Han Li immediately flew over to the wall of light until he was no more than a foot away from it, then sat down with his legs crossed before making a hand seal. All of the immortal spiritual power in his body was injected into his ears at his behest, and he activated an auditory enhancement ability that he had learned by chance in the past before listening intently to the sound coming from the image.
Thanks to this ability, the sound coming from the wall of light instantly became clearer.
The monk's voice was warm and ethereal, striking the listener with a sense of awe and veneration, and even though he was speaking in an unfamiliar language, Han Li's eyes quickly lit up as he listened to the monk's lecture.
He couldn't understand what was being said, but just hearing the voice of the monk alone was giving him an extremely profound sensation, as if he had attained some type of enlightenment, but he couldn't tell exactly what he had been enlightened to.
Even so, he was still feeling ecstatic, and he carefully memorized everything that he was hearing.
After only listening to a single sentence, lights of all types of different colors, including gold, azure, and silver, emerged from his body one after another. All of the cultivation arts and abilities in his body were being activated by the monk's voice!
Han Li was astonished by this turn of events, and he began to listen even more intently.
He still couldn't understand what was being said, but the same enraptured look on the faces of the five figures in the image had appeared on his face as well.
As time passed, the lights flashing from his body were becoming brighter and brighter, and arcs of silver lightning emerged alongside a projection of a Lightning Bird.
A projection of a giant azure bird emerged within a flash of azure light.
A giant golden ape then appeared amid a flash of golden light, pounding its chest as it roared to the heavens.
One true spirit projection after another emerged from his body, and in the blink of an eye, all of Han Li's current true spirit forms had appeared around him before revolving around his body.
The same applied to all of his other cultivation arts as well, and the circulation of immortal spiritual power in his body was becoming faster and more forceful by the second.
Right after the portly monk uttered his eighth sentence, a completely inexplicable turn of events began to unfold.
Han Li's entire body shuddered, immediately following which he was struck by a numb sensation. His dantian had also become scorching hot, but it was a very warm and comfortable sensation.
In the next instant, a clear thud rang out from within his body, and Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, following which an elated look appeared in his eyes.
Before he had a chance to do anything, seven more thuds rang out in succession within his body.
In the next instant, eight specks of light emerged on his body, and they were identical to the 12 existing ones.
He had just opened eight immortal acupoints in one go!
Immediately thereafter, he felt the surrounding world's origin qi surging toward him in a frenzy, forming an enormous vortex of spiritual qi, and the immortal spiritual power in his dantian was rapidly elevating!
Han Li was ecstatic to sense these changes in his body, and he took a glance at the Mantra Treasured Axis in the air to find that over half of the 108 Time Dao Runes had already been snuffed out.
He still had some time left, and he was determined to take full advantage of it. Hence, he continued to listen intently to the portly monk's ninth sentence.
The eight sentences that he had heard up to this point had allowed him to open up eight immortal acupoints, and he felt as if he were in a dream.
He couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen upon hearing the ninth and tenth sentences, and his heart was brimming with excitement.
However, it seemed that his luck had finally run out.
The portly monk was halfway through his ninth sentence, and Han Li could sense that his ninth immortal acupoint was beginning to budge, but all of a sudden, the portly monk stopped talking as he turned to Han Li's direction with a surprised look on his face.
The other five figures also turned to the same direction, and the tall yellow-robed figure instantly rose to his feet before yelling something in an enraged voice. He was speaking in the same language as the portly monk, but his words didn't seem profound to Han Li in the slightest.
The other four figures exchanged a few glances with different looks on their faces, and they remained silent, but it was clear that they weren't very happy.
I've been caught!
Han Li's heart instantly tensed up in anxiety, but before he had a chance to do anything, the portly monk suddenly said something, and the wall of light exploded into countless specks of light that quickly faded away.
The spatial rift was also instantly closed, while the Mantra Treasured Axis flashed erratically with golden light, and all of the Time Dao Runes that remained lit were instantly snuffed out amid a string of faint cracks.
Han Li's entire body shuddered as he threw up a mouthful of blood, and his face instantly turned extremely pale, while the immortal spiritual power in his body was thrown into complete disarray,surging chaotically in all directions.
An alarmed look appeared on his face as he hurriedly summoned a white pill vial, within which was a batch of white pills, and he didn't have time to count them before tipping them all into his own mouth and swallowing them. After that, he immediately closed his eyes to digest the pills.
A string of dull thumps rang out incessantly from within his body, while lights of different colors flashed over his body, clashing and conflicting with one another.
One moment, the azure light suppressed all of the other lights, but in the next instant, the golden light overwhelmed the azure light, following which the silver lightning rose to the fore.
Han Li's face was also alternating rapidly between purple and blue, presenting a harrowing sight to behold.
However, as time slowly passed by, the lights surging over his body gradually faded, and his complexion slowly returned to normal as well.
Only after close to a day had passed did he slowly open his eyes, and his face was still rather pale, but his aura had already stabilized.
Fortunately, he had reacted very quickly, devouring those meridian stabilization pills in a timely fashion. Otherwise, he would've most likely suffered from qi deviation.
Han Li gently exhaled, and an elated look reappeared on his face as he felt the eight newly opened immortal acupoints in his body.
Even though the situation just now had been an extremely perilous one, he had also reaped tremendous rewards, opening up eight immortal acupoints just by hearing the portly monk's lecture through the wall of light.
The ninth acupoint wasn't completely opened, but it was already beginning to budge, and he was certain that he would be able to open it given some time.
Due to the fact that he had focused primarily on attaining additional Time Dao Runes during the past 10 years of cultivation, he hadn't been able to open any new immortal acupoints, yet he had managed to open eight in what was virtually the blink of an eye!
Perhaps it was because these breakthroughs hadn't been attained through cultivating the Mantra Axis Scripture, or perhaps it was because there were already 108 Time Dao Runes on the axis. In any case, he hadn't attained any additional Time Dao Runes as a result of these breakthroughs.
He was naturally ecstatic to have made such significant progress in such a short time, but what excited him the most was the eight and half sentences that he had heard from the portly monk.
The more he thought back to those eight and half sentences, the more profound and unfathomable he felt them to be, and it seemed to him like they were part of the mantra for a certain cultivation art.
To think that that monk was able to help me open up multiple acupoints just by speaking alone... Could it be that he's a Dao Ancestor?
Han Li sat down with his legs crossed as a contemplative look appeared on his face, but in the next instant, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he hurriedly summoned his Mantra Treasured Axis amid a flash of golden light.
All 108 of the Time Dao Runes on the axis had become dull and gray, seemingly having lost all of their vitality.
It seems like this was both a blessing and a curse. In order to hear that monk's preaching, I've had to let all of my Time Dao Runes go dark. |
Han Li heaved a faint sigh, then consumed a restorative pill before closing his eyes.
Three days and three nights later.
Han Li opened his eyes, and at this point, he had already fully recovered from his injuries, but as he turned to his Mantra Treasured Axis, he discovered that the 108 Time Dao Runes on its surface were still completely dark.
How could this be?
It suddenly occurred to him that that final glance from that portly monk may have harmed the foundation of the Mantra Treasured Axis.
With that in mind, he hurriedly tried to unleash the axis's time-slowing effect, but it was completely unresponsive.
He then tried to unleash his Reversal True Axis ability, but the outcome was identical, and a grim look appeared on his face.
The Mantra Axis Scripture was currently his main cultivation method, and if the Time Dao Runes on the Mantra Treasured Axis had been permanently destroyed, then he wouldn't be able to cultivate the Mantra Axis Scripture any longer.
He shook his head and forcibly composed himself, then activated the Mantra Axis Scripture to try and sense the Time Dao Runes on his Mantra Treasured Axis.
Moments later, his eyes sprang open as a hint of elation appeared on his face.
It was very faint, but he could still sense some power of time within the Time Dao Runes, and his spiritual connection to them hadn't been severed, either.
This was quite a relief. As long as the spiritual connection still remained, there was a chance that the Time Dao Runes on the axis could be restored.
With that in mind, Han Li continued to cultivate the Mantra Axis Scripture, attempting to recover his Time Dao Runes while also pondering the eight and a half sentences that he had heard from the portly monk.
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