novelraw Chapter 262: Building a Mental Sea from World Bubbles, Letting the Corporate Sect Master Go to Prison
Chapter 262: Building a Mental Sea from World Bubbles, Letting the Corporate Sect Master Go to Prison
May 20, Clear
"I checked one million Beihai residents' addresses."
"The trip into the Heart Image Remnant clearly proved how much damage letting outstanding bloodlines from the Mirror Kingdom run free can cause."
"If the person who went in with me back then had been Simo Tu instead of those two lackeys, I wouldn't have lost so many items on that operation, and I might not have almost failed my objective."
"With the Mirror Kingdom's technology fully mobilized, I hope we can find even a trace of Simo Tu. If he's still alive, that's best."
May 25, Clear
"Azure Cloud Sect is still looking for their sect master’s husband. I glanced at the photo and, wow, a bit of disciple spirit—name is Jiang Si?"
"They mobilized everyone in their power base for this person, acted recklessly, stirred up all of East China, and even affected South China."
"Has it been ten days? A little girl in love, haha."
"Such a pathetic and ugly posture, Shion."June 6, Clear
"The system sent good news. He didn't suddenly die inside the Heart Image Remnant, and now he's appeared in a classroom, so I immediately went to recruit him, trying to make him an Honorary Marquess of the Mirror Kingdom."
"Unmasked, he was kind of handsome. No wonder he's the man I admire most."
"The negotiation went smoothly, but some things surprised me."
"He wasn't an athlete."
"And he... is Jiang...? Hmm?"
....
"Yi? Jiang Si...?"
"Who is Jiang Si?"
June 7, Overcast
"Yesterday's diary is problematic. Someone interfered with my memory. Who?"
"Are Jiang Si and Simo Tu the same person? Are Jiang Si and Simo Tu different people?"
"Need to recollect information..."
June 11, Clear
"Just returned from Beihai. As expected, Jiang Si and Simo Tu are closely connected. For now I can confirm Jiang Si and Simo Tu might be the same person. Still, he insisted on engagement and later risked everything to protect me, not bad."
"Memory modifications were probably his doing. What method did he use?"
"Did he not want me to be attracted to his face but to notice his inner self?"
"This makes me a little intrigued. Hah, an interesting man."
June 13, Clear to Cloudy
"Found more evidence, and the timelines basically line up. No doubt—Jiang Si is Simo Tu."
"Although the Witch Association outside its headquarters is infiltrated like a sieve, letting a few internal traitors slide, Azure Cloud Sect performed outstandingly, elevating Simo Tu into a Witch Association legend. Splitting the Witch Association—this move, even I must praise. Well played, worthy of being the Mirror Kingdom's strongest opponent right now."
"Still, one move off. In front of my Mirror Kingdom intelligence system, all that secrecy means nothing."
"Azure Cloud Sect—what a sect, the more interesting they get, the better. But my Mirror Kingdom is no pushover."
"I will make you regret acting so rashly."
June 16, Overcast
"Since learning Jiang Si is Simo Tu, I was troubled for a long time. I have the intel advantage, yet I couldn't find a way to exploit it."
"Now, finally, I know how to use that advantage."
"Though I am a prince, I know my flaws. I possess incredible political instinct and wisdom, but that comes with poor acting. If I just negotiate with Jiang Si straightforwardly, I'd risk exposure. I must prevent Jiang Si from realizing this."
"I must make him believe I truly fell in love with him, that I want him for a husband, to bind this wild youth by emotion and continue to use him."
"As Azure Cloud Sect's sect master's boyfriend, Jiang Si could create far more benefits for the Mirror Kingdom and intimidate those ants in the old world who are acting up."
"Before obtaining full authority, Jiang Si's power is indispensable."
"To fool others, first fool yourself!"
"To use others, first use yourself!"
"I, Prince Itaen of the Mirror Kingdom, will henceforth have the system completely delete the intelligence that 'Jiang Si is Simo Tu' from my brain."
"And use strong suggestions to increase my fondness for Jiang Si, adjusting my special attitudes and reactions toward him."
"This way he won't notice anything odd, avoiding the use of memory-modifying methods I don't know about that could alter me again."
"Two birds with one stone."
"I will never truly fall."
"On the contrary, a boy like Simo Tu has probably never seen such an arrogant and noble girl display so much lover-like affection and intimacy in front of him—especially coming from a Mirror Kingdom prince."
"That stark contrast will break him. Not just Jiang Si, anyone would be easily won over!"
"Simo Tu, your defeat is sealed."
"Be confident, Itaen. Your charm far surpasses Shion's. As long as Jiang Si is male, he cannot refuse you."
"Everything in this world is merely a tool for my grand achievement, including myself!"
June 17, Heavy Rain
"Old world members have started acting. Some Azure Cloud Sect disciples exceed expectations."
"Truly enviable, Shion of Azure Cloud Sect."
"Not only does she have that power, but she also has many strong and loyal subordinates."
"Precisely because of this, I will challenge her."
"Defeating her will have value."
"This world does not need two equal rulers."
"Memory deletion and the suggestion work will take some time. I'm still calculating the subsequent steps, but the overall plan is set."
"Once Jiang Si is completely ensnared and becomes my captive, the Mirror Kingdom will execute the second plan."
"Sow discord, make Jiang Si and Shion's relationship collapse—even a public, explosive breakup!"
"Shion, as Azure Cloud Sect's sect master, claims to be the leader of orthodox righteousness, guarding the world for generations."
"Her boyfriend being ambiguous with me, the Prince of the Mirror Kingdom, and even engaged—that is something Shion, with her supreme, self-centered temperament, surely cannot accept."
"Because we stand at the same height, we can understand each other."
"When people reach a certain height, they cannot accept what they possess being shared."
"The stronger someone is, the more domineering."
"Shion will never accept her boyfriend becoming my husband, and I will never accept that either."
"Shion could never imagine that by sending her boyfriend as an undercover agent, she actually pushed him into the fire herself."
"She is overconfident in her appearance and assumes her strength makes Jiang Si incapable of betraying her."
"But in reality, Shion is still a little girl with limited understanding of men, as limited as her stature. She simply doesn't understand men."
"Sweet talk today, marriage vows with another tomorrow."
"This moment's sincerity doesn't prevent the next moment's change of heart."
"I will let Shion taste the bitterness of arrogance. I want to see whether that haughty, purple magical girl will show regret and pain when her boyfriend discards her."
"Will she cry like an ordinary girl?"
"Pull that lofty deity down into muddy ground, turn her into an ordinary little girl."
"This is my century-long plan to destroy Azure Cloud Sect and rule the new world!"
"Kill, annihilate the heart!"
"After I finish using Jiang Si, I will reveal my true face, let Jiang Si know all my supposed fondness and admiration were a disguise. With my venomous heart and icy nature, I would never fall for someone without Mirror Kingdom blood."
"The only person I've ever loved is myself."
"Recording such grand strategy in a diary makes me excited and thrilled. Frightening, my talent and ruthlessness."
"I am the world's ruling king and the demon who toys with human hearts!"
"Come, Jiang Si, I will thoroughly capture you, crush you and your Shion!"
[Hide the above diary contents.]
June 18, Clear
"Simo Tu is so handsome. Today review his combat videos."
June 19, Clear
"Nothing to do. Send Simo Tu a message."
June 20, Cloudy
"The Full Bloom Plan is on track. Finally some time to rest. Draw Simo Tu... no, Itaen, Itaen, how can you be so lazy? Finish drawing Simo Tu's portrait today, and stop wasting time on Simo Tu..."
June 21, Clear
"Draw another one."
June 22, Overcast
"Simo Tu actually got so close to Azure Cloud Sect's Shion. How infuriating—trying to steal Simo Tu from me? I absolutely won't let you succeed. Simo Tu is only a tool for me!"
[The above diary data has been destroyed. Please re-record.]
[Play the prince's final recording before the memory deletion.]
The video shows the prince who finished his diary look up, revealing a confident and brilliant smile:
"Hello, me. By the time you watch this, the plan should have succeeded. Enjoy it, future me. This victory belongs to you. Back then, looking at the ugly, wolfish Jiang Si and Shion, you probably couldn't hold back laughter. Indulge, sing praises, savor this hard-won triumph!"
The independent space echoed with the past prince's hearty, confident laughter.
Now the present prince—an adolescent girl—expressionless, turned off the recording her past self left for her.
Although she refused memory restoration, she still took time to glance at her century-long plan, including her hidden diary and the video she had left.
After a long while, she shakily removed her non-prescription glasses and looked at Jiang Si, who had been pushed into a world bubble in the distance.
The system's detection results were out: it was a damaged world bubble. An unstable world bubble is no different from a black hole. Once you fall in, you cannot come out.
It will die with a final collapse when the bubble breaks.
To be frank, she felt like crying.
If not for her innate pride, the prince would have started sobbing like a little girl.
Instead, she took a breath and smashed the recording she had left behind.
The demon who toys with human hearts.
Damn it, it's just been toying with itself!
[Pause...]
"Pointless words don't help. Let everyone mourn! Let my past self mourn!"
[Comment: I didn't expect His Majesty to be so sad...]
"Which eye of yours saw me sad?" the prince said coldly. "I only acted sorrowful to deny my past self's wishes. If I look happy now, wouldn't that mean my past self's manipulations succeeded? No way!"
Alice Unit 10086 raised a hand: "This is a major business opportunity: 'His Majesty Was Mind-Controlled for Twenty Years'—"
"—I am a victim of mind control. I'm willing to take responsibility for all my statements."
"The one who controlled my mind is my past self..."
The prince's anger dissipated for a moment; her expression looked tired and drained.
"Get out."
10086 immediately shrank into a ball and rolled around the space in circles.
[...Alright, His Majesty being upset with himself isn't a bad thing, but please quickly clear those fond feelings toward Simo Tu... or Jiang Si. Those later suggestions are significantly interfering with your judgment.]
"Is it possible," the prince suddenly said, as if struck by an idea, serious and grave, "that the fondness and closeness toward Simo Tu are actually the real emotions I've developed now, while the utilitarian and indifferent stance toward Simo Tu were the suggestions and manipulations my past self implanted?"
[Praise: Very creative idea, worthy of His Majesty. Generally though, this would be called putting the cart before the horse.]
"Right and wrong—I no longer care."
The prince said lightly, "All former old-world members involved in crushing the disaster-human realm: enter that world bubble to find Simo Tu. One hundred thousand Alices under orders—charge, find him dead or alive, collect all the ashes back to me!"
Alice 10086 stopped rolling and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, Simo Tu's ashes aren't enough for one hundred thousand Alices to charge."
"Flush her down the toilet first!!"
"Do you know what else Shion the sect master is called?"
"What?"
"The Corporate Sect Master!"
"What does Corporate Sect Master mean?"
"It means a scapegoat. The real power was hollowing out Shion; the actual ruler is the Magical Girl Winter! This is Azure Cloud Sect's darkness..."
Flying while cradling the Disaster Beast that devoured the disaster-human realm's world bubble, Jiang Si could hear the people inside chatting.
They were Ling Mei and Coral.
Ling Mei continued recounting some Azure Cloud sectarian gossip she'd heard from who-knows-where.
More absurd than the web novel Battle Through the Heavens—where the Emperor's cave has hundreds reserved for destined fighters, complete with inheritance and sources to reach Emperor level—these ancient eight clans are just some unbelievable rumor that can't be found anywhere.
"You don't know—Azure Cloud Sect has many factions and peaks. There are seven true-transmission disciples. Each of those seven represents a separate orthodoxy. During sect competitions, it's a bloody mess; none of the seven submit to another. If it weren't for Shion suppressing the competition, Azure Cloud Sect would have split ages ago!"
"What seven orthodoxies? If Bai Mei came, she'd kill them all!" Ruo Yun protested. "If you actually understand Azure Cloud Sect, you'd know besides Shion, the strongest is Ri Gong."
"Dandelion's magic can one-shot Bai Mei." That was Hyacinth—she claimed to have seen Dandelion before; clearly she was trying to stir up trouble.
"Baloney. Winter would eat Dandelion and Bai Mei in one gulp!" said Ling Mei, who, aside from Shion, firmly believed Winter was Azure Cloud Sect's true strongest magical girl.
Then it devolved into elementary-school-level name-calling—"one-shot" and "baloney."
For a moment Jiang Si found them laughably childish.
The truly powerful of course are Bai Mei; second strongest is Shuangye.
Proven achievements are real strength; otherwise claiming to be the top but finishing only in the last thirty-two is a joke.
But Mo Ji did have ways to promote her disciples’ excellence widely.
At one point he felt like some ideas clicked in his head.
In cultivation, the most important thing is the clarity of thought.
Before the sect master returns to Azure Cloud Sect, she plans to have Bingtang release the confiscated true-transmission battle records publicly.
Rank the true-transmission disciples, give someone second place as encouragement.
Right now Shuangye's record is overwhelmingly strong.
While thinking about Azure Cloud Sect's development, Jiang Si assigned methods for cultivating Divine Sense to Qinghua—after all, Qinghua's puppet-crafting lets her better fuse three types of mana to generate Divine Sense.
Once Qinghua masters it, she can promote it more efficiently.
As he observed the world bubble, many more ideas occurred to him.
Taking the disaster-human realm into a world bubble to hide from old-world pursuit primarily served to learn more about these world bubbles.
Jiang Si also discovered why Ling Mei could wield massive amounts of mana.
Because the world bubble itself can produce and store mana.
This is entirely different from the corroded old-world dregs. Now Jiang Si understood why Xiao Qi said the world and world bubble are one light-and-shadow.
Ling Mei drew a massive amount of mana directly from storage in other world bubbles to use in battle; the connection was almost undetectable, so people assumed her mana reserves were astonishing, despite her control being crude.
Even when sewing Azure Cloud Sect together, Jiang Si had to compliment how well it was stitched.
A fake Foundation Building rank, an infinite Qi cultivation method—clever!
This gave him an idea.
He started considering the compatibility between world bubbles and the Mental Landscape.
World bubbles don't produce a large amount of mana, but they can store a lot. Though merely reflections, they are compatible with a variety of mana types.
This means if every Azure Cloud Sect magical girl were paired with a world bubble, manipulating and using lots of mana would become easier.
"Helen."
While traversing the world bubbles, Jiang Si called out.
Helen, who had been watching the magical girls bicker, immediately answered: "Here, here, Master. Witch Hunter Helen, always at your service!"
She glanced around and noticed it seemed only she heard the Saint Hall Envoy's question.
"About that storage mana device I mentioned."
Deep in the Golden Calamity Dragon King's claws, after scooping Helen out of the disaster-human realm, he only looked at the surrounding world bubbles.
The black world bubble they had deliberately had the disaster-human realm fall into was actually a transit channel straight into the beast's body, which is why the bubble's survival rate was extremely low.
He disguised his body into a world bubble form too; afterward, it would endure digestion by that Disaster Beast.
For Jiang Si this wasn't much trouble.
As for the disaster-human realm, it's located around the beast's cranial area. In a sense, Jiang Si had brought the beast's brain into its own stomach...
"Look at these world bubbles. Aren't they premium materials?"
Helen leaned on the disaster dragon's forehead, pulled out a pistol Jiang Si didn't understand, and fired at a world bubble.
She extracted part of the bubble.
Removing the magazine, Jiang Si saw the absorbed world bubble material.
"Our Saint Hall tools are all made by Ruo Yun; she has to make everything into guns..."
Hearing Helen's explanation, Jiang Si worried a bit.
If she made a Supreme Emperor's Weapon, would she fill his workshop with firearms?
He imagined later building the Void Mirror with her making sniper scopes and shuddered.
This desecration of a Supreme Emperor's Weapon must be strictly forbidden!
Firearms have no place in a cultivation world—when I reach the Great Emperor, I'll regulate weaponry and make firearms vanish from history!
Flying swords can still perform long-range bombardment.
"Material-wise it's fine. The edges of world bubbles are extensible, but mixing mana gives high destructive power. The key is suppressing mana activity. We must pick world bubbles that suppress mana activity so storage is safer. Activate them when needed..."
Jiang Si nodded, understanding.
World bubbles used by lower cultivation must ensure mana stability and not react and explode.
He thought if he wanted to use world bubbles to craft a Mental Sea, he'd need some sufficiently stable ones.
His Mental Landscape, the Purple Mansion, can only be used in magical girl form. Since it was carved from the greater world, it's not malleable—he can't build palaces inside it.
No palace, no Nirvana Palace; no Nirvana Palace, no Mental Sea.
Generally, without a Mental Sea there's no Divine Sense.
But as an outsider to orthodox cultivation, his Divine Sense is synthesized with magic and then put into a Mental Sea. In principle it's the same.
So he had to find another way to create a Mental Sea.
This new Mental Sea he planned for use by his physical body.
It concerns his future body's Six Natures Perfection, ascending directly to Nascent Soul Transformation.
In terms of the body's mana control ability, he wasn't crushing Azure Cloud Sect's other magical girls; compressing ordinary world bubbles inside his body could still cause dangerous mana conflicts and internal explosions.
"Although we agreed to gift you world bubbles, they aren't that easy to use. They exist like bubbles and have lifespans," Xiao Qi appeared at some point, floating inside the disaster beast's vast internal space, seeming to drift between all the world bubbles.
"If you want methods to use world bubbles, we can make another deal."
Without looking at it, the Golden Calamity Dragon King's claw suddenly grabbed a nearby world bubble, mana surging as it wrapped and wildly compressed the bubble, squashing it to the size of a basketball!
"Feels inferior to a Mental Landscape," Jiang Si sneered, casually tossing it to Helen. "Go research how to use it better."
Helen cradled the compressed world bubble, startled by its weightlessness, then immediately nodded, "Task accepted!"
Xiao Qi wasn't upset, just leisurely: "Amazing."
Jiang Si ignored it.
He wanted to pick a top-quality world bubble and try to open a Mental Sea for himself, while searching for clues to larger outside worlds inside these bubbles.
But then he heard White Fox's voice.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"Why can you help the disaster-human realm?" White Fox scanned the disaster-human realm's mountains, rivers, Azure Cloud Sect, and the chirping magical girls in the corner.
It felt like her former Black Mountain Realm. "Why spare them? Why not kill their Disaster Beast?"
Although also a reused old-world, even only a world bubble—not a true old world—they received better treatment than the Black Mountain Realm.
Why?
This question kept gnawing at her, so she decided to ask Master directly—even if it meant risking death.
"Master's answer never has warmth."
"Just simply because I'm in a good mood today."
White Fox lowered her eyes and softly asked, "Just because of interest?"
"Mm."
But somehow Bai Hu didn't accept that answer.
Master usually didn't care, so his response couldn't be taken seriously. She needed to voice her own theory and seek his recognition.
Find the answer that would put her mind at ease.
"It's not like that, right, Master?"
For the first time Bai Hu denied her master and earnestly began to think, piecing clues together to find her own answer.
"Because the Black Mountain Realm didn't appear in front of you."
White Fox said, clutching her chest. "It's luck."
"The disaster-human realm was lucky and appeared before you. Because you saw it and knew Disaster Beasts' role, you didn't act."
"But if only the Disaster Beast appeared to you and you didn't know the disaster-human realm existed, you would still have killed that beast."
"Even if that meant the disaster-human realm would be destroyed and all its magical girls gone, you wouldn't care—just like the Black Mountain Realm and the Great Ring Realm."
She thought she saw Master smile. Or maybe it was an illusion—Master would never smile at her.
He would smile and be gentle with others, like when talking to Keke; his voice would not be icy. But with her there was never warmth—she knew she didn't deserve it.
"Thinking is good, but wrong."
After that, Master conceded one point. "But one thing you said is not wrong: luck. Lower cultivation people's lives and deaths depend on luck; they must pray the layout and malice of the upper cultivation won't fall on them."
"Eliminating Disaster Beasts is benevolent. You have no obligation to discern the meaning behind every Disaster Beast," Bai Hu clutched her phone, quoting what she learned from web novels. "You have no duty to shoulder unseen responsibilities of old worlds thousands of miles away. You don't have to subjectively destroy or ruin—"
"Is your Dao Heart only this shallow?"
Master interrupted her.
"Is your hatred only this limited?"
"Don't disappoint me, White Fox."
White Fox fell silent.
Because she couldn't avenge, must she defend the enemy and dispel reasons for hatred and revenge?
She understood the implication.
She didn't know if she truly felt that way because she knew she was cowardly. Maybe she did.
But she thought long and hard.
She realized she just wanted to understand Master more.
Yet many things remained unsaid—no reason, no qualification, no courage. She lowered her head and stared at the words on her phone.
She dared not forget.
Many things she dared not forget.
"Master, I just..."
She murmured, then was drowned out by the massive tremor of the world bubble.
Master stopped looking at her.
Enveloped in blinding light, she felt violently flung out of the disaster-human realm.
Falling somewhere else.
Was she abandoned by Master?
She struggled to get up. The nearby street was so silent it felt suffocating.
She must have fallen into another world bubble.
She remembered the day Jade Fox mother left.
The street had almost no people anymore.
"Wait at home for me, White Fox."
Even old and feeble, she had led with a magical girl's heart, forever ahead to guide her daughter—and she never returned.
That street never saw people again.
"Don't, don't leave me..."
She whispered, walking forward—only her footsteps echoed on the quiet street.
"I was wrong, Master."
"I will never speak recklessly again."
"Forgive me, Master."
"Please don't, please don't abandon me alone..."
Learn to beg, learn to cry, learn to apologize, learn to grieve, learn to hurt.
If she learned all that, surely she would never be abandoned again...
Her steps quickened until she was running, searching the empty city for a human figure.
Suddenly her hurried footsteps stopped.
The lingering echoes faded into the distance.
White Fox instinctively took a step back, then froze.
She simply stared at the small figure in front of her.
The purple girl turned her head coldly; her indifferent violet pupils glanced at her.
The enormous pressure forced White Fox to lower her head, barely able to stand!
Shion...