Chapter 76 Ripple Mystical Qi

Wang Qi squatted down, looking at the rock he had just shattered with his hand.

The place where the rock was struck remained completely intact, no marks or cracks, but a strange force had seeped into the rock's interior, causing the entire stone to break apart.

Wang Qi stared at the stone fragments, no bigger than the size of his palm, and said, "This power... is so unscientific..."

If it had been a spell to shatter the rock, Wang Qi wouldn't have been so surprised. After all, it's not difficult for a Qi Refining stage cultivator to form a little grenade-like spell. But he had just casually struck with his hand!

"Could it be that this world truly follows the path of understanding and cultivation, where once you reach a certain level, you can just keep improving... No, no, I'm still at the Qi Refining stage. And this effect..." Wang Qi picked up a piece of rock, noticing that the fracture was very clean. It wasn't smooth like a mirror, but at least it didn't look like it had been violently shattered.

"This effect... It's somewhat like the Elephant Wave Technique, but also not quite," Wang Qi muttered.

Zhen Chanzi reminded, "Look inward. You have many methods and they might have triggered an unnoticed breakthrough. It's common to gain new powers that aren't under control."

Following Zhen Chanzi's advice, Wang Qi closed his eyes and turned his attention inward. After a while, he opened his eyes and raised his hand before his face. A strange mystical force was now coiling around his hand. This power was golden, and it spread out in ripples from his palm in concentric circles, ethereal, like a mirage.

"What is this?" Zhen Chanzi asked curiously, "I feel like I can sense it, but at the same time, I can't. Such a strange power?"

Wang Qi was about to respond when the golden halo, like a candle flame in the wind, instantly dissipated. He sighed and said with a bitter smile, "I see now... it's Ripple Mystical Qi."

"Ripple Mystical Qi? I remember in all the cultivation methods, its rating is equal to the Heaven Diagram Recording!" Zhen Chanzi said.

"The difficulty to cultivate is also extremely high," Wang Qi sighed. "I was wondering why other methods had detailed descriptions, telling me the basic functions of the method, and some even came with accompanying martial arts or spells. But this one only had the technique itself. Now I realize, the person who created this method never expected anyone to break through to Ripple Mystical Qi at the Qi Refining stage, so there's no elaboration!"

Ripple Mystical Qi was a technique derived from the Elephant Wave Technique, developed by the Wave Heavenly Lord, Xue Ding'e. In Wang Qi's view, the foundation of this technique was the Schrödinger wave function. According to Earth's scientific history, Schrödinger had drawn inspiration from the concept of material waves to create his wave function.

"Material waves are probability waves, but the Elephant Wave Technique didn't show much of that probabilistic nature." Wang Qi pondered, "This instability has been magnified in Ripple Mystical Qi."

Zhen Chanzi's question interrupted Wang Qi's thoughts. "I've never seen you use this. What's going on?"

Wang Qi explained, "This technique is extremely hard to practice. I only entered the basics before, and the mystical power is hard to control. The killing power isn't strong either, so I didn't use it much."

Zhen Chanzi exclaimed, "Look at these rocks! Are you telling me this isn't strong enough?"

Wang Qi was also confused, "I just broke through, it feels like I've completed the first stage fully and am about to enter the second stage."

But why did this breakthrough happen?

Was it because I recalled my past life and reflected on Schrödinger's wave function, which influenced my understanding of the technique, triggering the breakthrough?

Or was it because I confirmed my heart's intent, my thoughts aligned, allowing me to break through?

The Observer Effect?

What is so mysterious about this technique?

While Wang Qi was deep in thought, he suddenly felt the ground beneath him shake. He looked around in confusion. "Is there a giant beast coming to drink from the lake?"

Zhen Chanzi's voice sounded serious, "I think it's more like an earthquake."

No sooner had he spoken than the shaking intensified. Above the trial forest, a strange multicolored light membrane appeared. This membrane began to warp with the shaking of the ground, and eventually, it cracked open.

Wang Qi sat down abruptly. "What the hell! What is happening?"

"The barrier has broken!"

Wang Qi glanced at the stone he had shattered earlier and said, "Don't tell me I just broke the eye of a large formation?"

Zhen Chanzi replied, "Stop worrying about that. There's something more urgent you need to do."

"What?"

"Run! The beast herd by the lake has been disturbed!"

At the summit of Xin Mountain, the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance.

In the rear hall of the top floor, a disciple from the Myriad Laws Sect handed a jade slip to Chen Jingyun, who was sitting at a desk.

Although Chen Jingyun was far from the top expert of the Myriad Laws Sect, in an era where immortality was hidden, he was the most powerful official of the sect. Moreover, he was the current Sect Leader, which made the disciple feel quite respectful.

Chen Jingyun glanced at the jade slip and asked, "Did you submit reports like this when Master Deng was in charge?"

This jade slip contained the daily affairs of the Immortal Alliance, known as the "Memorials" in Shenzhou. However, this report was slightly different from the usual. It consisted mostly of numbers, formulas, and statistical charts, with minimal text.

The disciple from the Myriad Laws Sect smiled, "Of course not! Normally, my reports are written properly. But now that you're in charge, I thought I should keep it more informal, since both of us are Myriad Laws disciples!"

Chen Jingyun nodded, "I admit, it's a bit more comfortable this way. But most non-Myriad Laws disciples would find it hard to follow."

The disciple replied, "Many administrative positions in the Immortal Alliance are held by Myriad Laws disciples. We usually do things this way internally."

Chen Jingyun was about to say something else when suddenly, a violent shaking interrupted their conversation.

The Myriad Laws disciple was stunned. "An attack?"

Xin Mountain's geological structure was stable, and earthquakes were rare. Even if one did occur, the sect's cultivators would issue a warning. This sudden, unannounced tremor could only be caused by something man-made!

Who would have the guts to attack the Immortal Alliance's headquarters?

Chen Jingyun remained calm. He made a hand seal and shouted, "Mirror, open!"

A mysterious fluctuation of spiritual energy entered the room, and before Chen Jingyun, a three-dimensional map of Xin Yue in ink-wash style appeared.

This map was created by the Myriad Immortal Mirror, a powerful artifact that, when paired with a secondary instrument, could monitor the entire world. The Immortal Alliance's headquarters was a high-priority monitoring zone.

The map marked all major spiritual barriers and cultivators at the Golden Core stage or higher near Xin Yue. At this moment, many of the representations of major spiritual barriers were faint, like ink that had been blurred by water.

"During the tremor, twenty-one major spiritual barriers were damaged, including this underground one... The source is also underground?"

Chen Jingyun muttered to himself, but the disciple, who was at the Great Master level, had excellent hearing.

Underground? This word triggered some unpleasant rumors.

Since Xin Mountain was once the place where the Holy Infant Sect imprisoned the Lord of the Xuanyue Sect, many believed that there was a secret prison beneath the mountain. Some said it contained ancient cultivators trapped for centuries, or perhaps powerful demon beasts captured from overseas...

Seeing the disciple's expression, Chen Jingyun smiled and said, "No need to guess. This is just a normal accident."

"Normal accident?" The disciple couldn't help but be shocked.

Chen Jingyun shook his head, "This is a matter of secrecy. Don't ask. In any case, it's over now, and there's no need to worry about a Great Ascension cultivator coming out to slaughter everyone."