dmims Chapter 27 The Art of Mind Reading and the Fear of the Soul
Chapter 27 The Art of Mind Reading and the Fear of the Soul
Lin Yan returned to the east wing of the front yard, casually told his cousin-in-law, "I'm tired, I'm going upstairs to rest for a while," and went straight up to the second floor. After closing the door, with a thought, his figure disappeared from the spot and entered the Qiankun Realm.
He hurried into the study in the courtyard, almost running. His mind was filled with the box of stolen money and remittance slips that Yi Zhonghai had hidden at the bottom of the jar, which he had just glimpsed with his divine sense. An indescribable feeling, a mixture of a sense of justice and a mischievous excitement, surged within him.
He sat at his desk, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the surface, and began to conceive various scripts:
"How should we let Sha Zhu know? An anonymous letter? Or should we use illusion magic to guide him to 'accidentally' discover it himself?" He stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming. "That old fox Yi Zhonghai will definitely try his best to deny it, and might even turn the tables and say that someone framed him, and then use his 'moral blackmail' and 'grandparental duty' to brainwash Sha Zhu... Will that stubborn mule Sha Zhu really be fooled into forgiving him again?"
"Or... to provoke him more severely, make Sha Zhu fly into a rage and call the police without thinking? Send Yi Zhonghai to the Northwest to eat sand for theft and embezzlement? That would solve everything, but wouldn't that be too easy on those bloodsuckers from the Jia family? Without Yi Zhonghai's salary, they'll definitely bleed Sha Zhu even more frantically."
"Or... to protect his reputation and job, Yi Zhonghai might be willing to pay several times, or even ten times, the amount of money to compensate Sha Zhu? Sha Zhu may seem reckless, but he's actually soft-hearted and values relationships. Considering the huge compensation and years of 'neighborly friendship,' would he choose to swallow his anger and settle the matter with the money?"
This exploration and interplay of human nature, along with the various possible outcomes, gave Lin Yan an unprecedented sense of...entertainment. He suddenly realized that although he had achieved success in his career during his previous 45 years, his experiences seemed somewhat "barren."
Because in that top-tier global financial circle, the rules are actually very simple and naked—all the glamour, the erudition, the exclusive connections—at their core, are about legally pocketing other people's money and making it your own. It's filled with a pure, cold "evil," where profit is the sole measure of your worth, and the only standard distinguishing you from a "human" or a "beast." To survive in that environment, the rule of thumb is extremely simple: always assume the worst about everyone and everything, and you'll minimize your losses.
Reborn into this era, and encountering these "ordinary people" who would endlessly calculate over a pound of grain coupons, a room, or a small amount of pension, he discovered that these people lived far more "human," more complex, more layered, and more... interesting lives than those financial tycoons.
Shaking off these thoughts, Lin Yan turned his attention back to the practical problem. He needed a method, a key that could pry open Yi Zhonghai's hypocritical mask.
He began searching through the vast sea of ancient books and jade slips in his study. Body-refining spells? No way. Offensive spells? Too much noise. Array formations? He didn't know how!
After much deliberation, his gaze finally settled on cultivation techniques related to the mind and spirit. Firstly, such methods were unpredictable and difficult to defend against; secondly, their effects directly impacted the mind, making them the most effective. He couldn't very well, as a mere fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, openly storm into Yi Zhonghai's house, tie him up, and torture him for a confession, could he?
Without further ado, he found the jade slip left by his ancestor, a cultivation method for refining divine sense and tempering the soul—the "Divine and Demonic Visualization Method."
The name itself exudes a ruthless aura. The introduction states that it is also a supreme divine skill that points directly to the origin of the Great Dao, possessing boundless power. Upon mastery, one's divine consciousness can transform into gods and demons with a single thought, and penetrate the void. However, it adds a sentence: "Because the cultivation process is extremely painful, only those with great perseverance and unwavering will can cultivate it. Therefore, few people cultivate it, and most give up halfway."
"How painful could it be?" Lin Yan's curiosity was piqued, and he placed the jade slip on his forehead without hesitation.
A massive flow of information flooded into the mind, condensing into an extremely... simple and crude visualization diagram.
The core of the technique is to visualize a colossal stone mill covered in profound runes within one's sea of consciousness! Then, one actively throws one's divine soul and consciousness under that stone mill, allowing the cold, heavy boulder to slowly and gradually crush one's "divine soul" until it is completely pulverized!
Afterwards, precious Soul-Replenishing Pills are taken to repair and nourish the damaged soul.
This process is repeated nine times, involving crushing and repairing, before the first cycle is complete.
This "Divine and Demonic Contemplation Method" has a total of thirty-three turns!
"Holy crap! Ruthless!" After reading it, even with his two lifetimes and resilient mind, Lin Yan couldn't help but gasp and utter a curse! This was more than just pain; it was self-torture, self-harm! It was like grinding himself like wheat over and over again!
"Among the pills left by our ancestors, are there any Soul-Replenishing Pills? If not, do I have to start learning alchemy from scratch and grow spiritual herbs first?" He felt a little uneasy and quickly pulled Xiao Qi, who was playing outside, over.
"Little Seven, quick! Help me check if there's a 'Soul-Replenishing Pill' among the pills the Ancestor gave us?"
Xiao Qi blinked her big eyes, tilted her head to sense the contents of her storage ring, and quickly replied, "Yes, brother! Ancestor prepared a lot! Pills for tempering the soul and body during the Qi Refining stage, as well as medicinal herbs for medicinal baths, are all prepared!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yan finally breathed a long sigh of relief: "Thank goodness... the ancestor finally did something decent..." With the support of the pills, at least he didn't have to worry about turning himself into an idiot while practicing.
But after relaxing, an unprecedented sense of hesitation and...fear quietly rose in my heart.
In his past life, he was fearless. He fought his way through the business world, doing whatever he wanted, and if he failed, he could simply go bankrupt and start over. He had even deposited a sum of money in a Swiss bank long ago, enough to ensure his comfortable life for the rest of his days, giving him the confidence to take any risks.
But after embarking on the path of cultivation, he found himself changed. From the moment he swallowed his first Marrow Cleansing Pill, every breakthrough was a struggle on the verge of death. Without a master to guide him, without fellow cultivators to exchange ideas with, he had to figure everything out on his own, proceeding with extreme caution. The experience of nearly blowing himself up when reaching the second level of Qi Refining left him with a psychological scar.
Now, looking at this soul-forging technique that can be described as "torture," he began to doubt his own willpower for the first time.
"Can I really... withstand the pain of having my soul crushed bit by bit? Can I really take the initiative to face it again and again?" This thought popped up uncontrollably.
He swallowed hard, instinctively finding an excuse for himself: "Cough cough... Anyway, there's no rush. Let's stick to the original plan and try to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining first! Yes, improve my cultivation first. If my cultivation is higher, my soul might naturally become stronger. Then, when I practice this, maybe... maybe it won't hurt so much?"
He had a bit of an ostrich mentality and wanted to put this terrible technique aside for now.
But he hadn't achieved his main goal for the day. He forced himself to continue searching through the pile of jade slips. Finally, his efforts paid off, and he found a low-level illusion technique called "Bewitching Illusion."
The jade slip explains that this is not a profound technique, but it is highly effective against mortals whose intelligence is not yet developed or whose spiritual awareness is far weaker than that of the caster. Its principle is similar to deep hypnosis, which can induce a hallucination in a person as if they are in the most trusted and relaxed environment, facing the most trustworthy person, thus making them answer any question and reveal the truth.
The activation method is also very simple—simply make eye contact.
"This is it!" Lin Yan's eyes lit up! This was practically tailor-made for the current situation!
However, when he saw the final training requirements, his newly ignited enthusiasm was dampened.
[Prerequisite for cultivation: The strength of the divine soul must reach 'Level 1, Stage 1'. (Note: This is approximately equivalent to completing the first stage of the "Divine Demon Visualization Technique" and the first Soul Crushing stage.)]
Lin Yan: "..."
Well, we've gone full circle and are back to where we started!
To learn this seemingly simple hypnosis technique, the prerequisite is that he must first put himself under that damned stone mill and be completely rolled over!
"Alas... the road ahead is long and arduous..." Lin Yan sighed bitterly, his face filled with despair. It seemed that using cultivation techniques to fight the birds in the courtyard was no easy task. This path of cultivation was indeed fraught with difficulties, and even taking shortcuts was hard to come by.