The Illusory Demon Eyes

Silver Moon noticed that Ryan had become more obedient and stopped pressing the matter. She spoke, "I've placed the 'Water Spirit Crystal' in your pendant. Now, try to meditate and sense the water element. Use it to connect with the pendant and open the space inside to store this long creature."

Ryan, overjoyed, immediately sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt as though he were surrounded by water, a sensation he had never experienced before.

Despite being shocked, he focused his mind and tried to gather the blue water elements. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could only control about one-tenth of the water elements.

Reluctantly, he gave up the idea of gathering all the water elements and instead used what little he could to connect with the pendant. To his surprise, the process went much smoother than expected. The pendant didn't reject his water element at all.

As his consciousness entered the pendant, he was amazed by the vast space inside. The more he sensed, the more he realized that there was a central area within the space he couldn't access. As soon as his awareness touched that area, it was immediately pushed back.

For some reason, he felt a strange, almost familiar connection to this unreachable place.

Just as Ryan was about to continue his attempts, Silver Moon's voice echoed in his mind. "If you don't leave soon, it'll be daybreak. I suggest you hurry if you don't want to be caught."

Her reminder made him quickly withdraw his focus, slowly opening his eyes. He looked at the corpse of the demon beast on the ground and lightly touched the pendant. A blue light shot out from it, enveloping the demon beast's massive body.

In the blink of an eye, the demon beast was stored inside the pendant.

With everything completed, Ryan didn't linger, immediately turning to leave the cave.

This time, Silver Moon didn't follow him but instead entered the pendant with the dagger.

On his way back, Ryan asked, "What's that familiar, inaccessible place inside the pendant?"

He had assumed that place was connected to Silver Moon, given her mysterious nature and power. It wouldn't be surprising if she were hiding something. However, Silver Moon replied, "That place is related to your body."

"My body?" Ryan thought for a moment. "Is it because I'm sick?"

He waited for a long time, but Silver Moon didn't respond.

Noticing that Silver Moon wasn't going to answer him, Ryan silently continued his journey. An hour later, he sneaked back to House Stark, and the sky had already begun to lighten.

The servants were busy preparing breakfast, and with Ryan's current strength, avoiding them wasn't a challenge.

After the intense tension he had been under, fatigue hit him as soon as he entered his room. He fell asleep the moment he lay down.

Typically, when Ryan didn't go to the tavern for work, he would skip breakfast, and the servants knew not to disturb him.

However, close to noon, he was woken by the sound of the servants' conversation.

Ryan, still a bit drowsy, got up and walked out of his room, asking, "What's going on? What are you all talking about?"

One of the maids, trembling, replied, "Young master, we're sorry for disturbing your rest."

Ryan waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine."

The maid, relieved, quickly explained, "Well, the water in our town has suddenly become bitter and lacks its usual sweetness. Everyone in Sweet Spring Town is talking about it. Several taverns have even stopped working because they can't find proper water sources. Even the tavern you own is said to have stopped working."

Hearing this, Ryan felt puzzled but didn't say much and returned to his room.

Just as he closed the door, Silver Moon's voice sounded in his mind with a soft laugh. "What's so strange about it? You've taken the Water Spirit Crystal; of course, the water here won't be the same as before. Unless you want to give it back."

"Ah?" Ryan suddenly realized, and he understood that the cause of this was indeed his doing. But no matter what, he would never hand over the Water Spirit Crystal.

Silver Moon laughed mischievously. "Hehe, don't worry too much. If you hadn't killed that demon beast, Sweet Spring Town might not have any living people left now."

"What do you mean?" Ryan was shocked. He hadn't realized the hidden danger behind all this.

"By taking the Water Spirit Crystal, you've cut off the demon beast's path to reaching the 10th rank. If it hadn't died, it wouldn't have let this go easily. Though it would have paid a great price for mass slaughter, a demon beast's savage nature wouldn't care about that. So, you've saved the people here. You don't need to feel guilty."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "What kind of logic is that? The whole situation started because of me. If I hadn't been discovered by the demon beast and escaped, what would you have wanted me to do?"

"I would have stopped you from coming back, of course. As for how it would retaliate, I couldn't care less. Life and death are fated; I can't control that," Silver Moon replied indifferently.

Her cold and indifferent attitude sent a chill down Ryan's spine. He realized he was increasingly unable to understand this enigmatic, almost otherworldly being.

It wasn't that Ryan was particularly compassionate. He didn't care much about the lives of others. What mattered most to him were his parents and Leah, especially Leah, who was the one person he couldn't bear to lose.

A brief silence fell between them. Slowly, Ryan began to understand. In the face of absolute power, all thoughts and emotions seemed insignificant. Only by growing stronger could one protect the people they cared about, and one should never rely on others for hope.

Silver Moon noticed that Ryan had become silent and spoke, "No matter how you view me, it doesn't matter to me. I only do what I believe is right. Without firm will, you will only end up being trampled on, a stepping stone for others."

Although Ryan didn't say anything, deep inside, he somewhat agreed with Silver Moon's words. He had felt powerless in her presence, but where was his own will? What was he truly persevering for?

Slowly closing his eyes, Ryan unknowingly entered a strange state. At the same time, a faint blue glow began to emanate from his body, wrapping him in its light.

Silver Moon sensed the change in Ryan and quickly appeared, sealing the room from any external observation. She thought to herself, This little guy has potential. I hope he can find the answer he's looking for and take the next step in his cultivation.

Surrounded by water elements, Ryan found himself transported into his own sea of consciousness. It felt as though he was surrounded by countless mirrors, each reflecting different versions of himself, each filled with various emotions. No matter where he looked, he couldn't detach himself from those emotions.

He gradually realized that emotions were not just limited to joy, anger, sadness, or happiness; there were countless other emotions such as confusion, despair, and helplessness. He found that indulging in any one emotion would eventually lead to realizing that none of them were what he truly wanted. Behind every emotion, there was an emptiness, a hollowness.

As Ryan couldn't find the version of himself he was searching for, he began to feel lost. His body seemed to fade into the mist, his eyes becoming dull, his gaze unfocused.

Silver Moon's eyes glowed faintly green as she fixed her gaze on Ryan. She bit her lip in concern. This is the illusion within Ryan's heart. If he cannot find the right direction, he will be consumed and lost by his own sea of consciousness.

If he were truly absorbed by his sea of consciousness, even she would be powerless to help. However, if Ryan could defeat the illusions in his mind, he would undergo a transformation and take the crucial step toward cultivation—the "Mind Awakening Stage."

Though this stage would significantly enhance an elementalist's power, it was fraught with danger.

Silver Moon knew that Ryan could only rely on himself now—no one could intervene. She hadn't expected that a few simple words could push him to such a perilous situation. She also didn't expect Ryan's breakthrough to happen so quickly.

Looking at Ryan's gradually fading figure in his sea of consciousness, Silver Moon murmured with reluctance, Is this the end?

Just as Silver Moon was about to give up, Ryan's pendant glowed faintly, and a rainbow-colored light surrounded his sea of consciousness.

Silver Moon's eyes lit up in surprise as she exclaimed, "This is…!"

As the rainbow light enveloped Ryan's sea of consciousness, his form solidified once more, and his eyes became sharp and insightful.

This time, Ryan no longer gazed at the myriad reflections of himself. Instead, he focused on the ground beneath him. The rainbow light around him began to fade as his focus gathered on the ground, where a rainbow-colored path emerged, stretching far into the distance.

Standing firmly on the path, Ryan shouted, "Sealed waters, break...!"

With his shout, the entire sea of consciousness shattered like a broken mirror, and sparkling starlight gathered in Ryan's eyes.

Silver Moon, watching from the side, relaxed. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she murmured, "The illusion is shattered and becomes part of him. Breaking free from the illusion of the water moon… Well done, didn't expect this little guy to be so interesting."

As time passed, Ryan slowly emerged from his sea of consciousness, returning to his usual self.

However, something felt different after he woke up. He couldn't shake a feeling of longing that lingered in his heart.

Before Ryan could ask anything, Silver Moon spoke first. "I truly congratulate you, kid. You managed to step into the Mind Awakening Stage without fully mastering the method of element manipulation, relying solely on your will. I don't know how you got so lucky, but what awakened talent did you get?"

Ryan, still somewhat disoriented, asked in confusion, "Is this the 'Mind Awakening Stage'? Why did I suddenly break through?"

Silver Moon nodded slightly. "That's right, you've reached the Mind Awakening Stage. I think the intense elemental power in the Water Spirit Crystal gave you the breakthrough opportunity."

Ryan mulled over it for a moment before replying, "My talent is the ability to create illusions with my eyes to confuse enemies. I call it 'Illusory Demon Eyes.'"

But, based on his expression, it was clear that Ryan wasn't particularly happy. If anything, he seemed somewhat disappointed.

Silver Moon raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, you don't seem happy?"

Ryan sighed, "Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed. It feels like my talent is pretty useless in combat."

"I see…" Silver Moon said, "If you think like that, then you're really out of luck. In this world, everything exists through balance—there is no such thing as an unbeatable talent. Besides, a more domineering talent will often leave less room for advancement. In the cultivation world, things tend to balance out. If you use your talent well, any talent can have its own unique strengths. Why don't you show me how it works? I'd love to see it and maybe offer some advice."

Silver Moon's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked at Ryan, eager to see what kind of talent this young man had awakened.