Chapter 259: Shadow of the True Spirit

After beholding the True Spirit, Ace felt a tremendous difference. Aside from a significant improvement in his perception, his affinity for Mana had also increased dramatically.

In other words, even the 0-Ring Spell Advanced Apprentice Meditation could allow his Mental Power to grow slowly. Although it was extremely, extremely slow, this was a qualitative change from zero to one.

Moreover, he cast spells more freely, and their power increased slightly.

‘Beholding the True Spirit shouldn’t be a necessary characteristic for Level 1 Life, nor even necessarily for Level 2 Life. The Supernatural Common Knowledge I obtained didn’t mention it at all. This might be something only extensively encountered by existences at Level 3 Life or above—that is, Legendary Heroes and beyond.’

After completing a session of 0-Ring Spell level meditation, Ace analyzed earnestly.

‘In the world of Kaya, Divine Descendant Heroes walk the Path of the Body. I remember Arason mentioning that King Aleias became a Golden Hero before he died, but he didn’t have time to solidify his Mental Imagery into a Noble Phantasm.

‘If the Mental Imagery he spoke of is the Mental Imagery World, then it aligns perfectly with the Supernatural knowledge I obtained. Walking the Path of the Body, a Mental Imagery World will be born at the peak of Level 2 Life.

‘The True Spirit will passively open up the Mental Imagery World and then hide within it. I’m afraid under normal circumstances, only Level 3 Life or above can behold their own True Spirit.’

This inference excited Ace. He felt he had likely achieved a certain trait ahead of time, and this trait was bringing him immense benefits right now.

First was the tremendous improvement in meditation effects. The 0-Ring Meditation Method, which had become useless during the Advanced Wizard Apprentice stage, was now effective again. If he invented a 1-Ring Meditation Method or even a 2-Ring Meditation Method, how exaggerated would the improvement be?

Second was complete control over the Soul Sanctuary. This control not only made his spellcasting freer and more powerful, but most importantly, he could absorb the Void Solute through the “mezzanine,” greatly expanding his Soul Sanctuary.

In other words, during his time as a Level 1 Wizard, he could obtain a Mental Imagery World Embryo far vaster than other lives on the Path of the Mind. Simply put, he could master more 1-Ring and 2-Ring Spells!

Third was the enhancement of his own perception and Mana Affinity. While this improvement was nothing compared to the first two, it was still a great benefit.

Mana Affinity, in other words, was Wizard talent. That meant Ace’s Wizard talent had reached an extremely rare state.

All these gains were thanks to the Pain believer who invaded the territory and the Son of the Sea’s Blessing Orb.

While Ace was grateful to them, he was also certain that existences at the Demigod level and above must understand the True Spirit very well and be able to use it proficiently.

‘The discovery and beholding of the True Spirit have raised some doubts about the Projection Ritual. Does a projection possess a True Spirit? Or is it a substitute for the True Spirit?’

Ace didn’t wait. Having a new idea about the Projection Ritual, he immediately put it into practice.

In the ritual room, Ace drew a composite projection Magic Array. He didn’t rush to experiment on himself but used a powerful low-level Monster, a Lightning Monkey, for the projection experiment.

After fixing the Lightning Monkey onto the main body Magic Array and arranging the sacrificial items, Ace activated the entire composite Magic Array.

This was a primitive Projection Ritual. Ace’s latest projection method involved constantly collecting thoughts to form a Thought Entity, and then using a ritual to form a projection. He had been collecting thoughts for over a year, and the Thought Entity was about to form.

The Lightning Monkey’s soul was pulled out, sliced by the blade formed from the Covenant Scale, and leaked some soul substance, eventually forming a projection.

Ace carefully compared the main body and the projection using the microscope. Finally, he discovered that the projection formed by the Projection Ritual did not possess the same True Spirit. Instead, it had a Shadow of the True Spirit.

‘The so-called Shadow of the True Spirit is exactly what it sounds like. The True Spirit is a three-dimensional existence in the spiritual field of vision, possessing length, width, and height. The Shadow of the True Spirit, however, only has two dimensions—length and width. It is a true two-dimensional existence.

‘This explains why the projection cannot survive after the main body dies. The projection’s True Spirit is merely the shadow of the True Spirit. If the True Spirit returns to the Eternal Walls of Sighs or dissipates entirely, the Shadow of the True Spirit cannot exist either.’

After understanding the essence of the Projection Ritual, Ace formed a new deduction.

‘During the Level 0 Life period, the existence of the True Spirit isn’t significant enough, so it can only form one Shadow of the True Spirit. But after advancing to Level 1 Life, the presence of the True Spirit is greatly strengthened. Theoretically, I might form more than one Shadow of the True Spirit.’

Some things were just like that—mysteriously abnormal before being pierced through, but exceptionally simple once exposed.

Before beholding the True Spirit, although Ace could achieve projection through rituals, he knew the ‘how’ but not the ‘why.’ But after beholding the True Spirit, everything was as clear as the lines on his palm.

Ace locked up the Lightning Monkey and its projection, then closed his eyes to meditate in the projection laboratory. His spirit entered the Soul Sanctuary, slowly guiding the True Spirit hidden in the chaotic “mezzanine” into the Soul Sanctuary.

The entire Soul Sanctuary rejoiced. Ace’s spirit merged with the True Spirit giant, and the True Spirit giant opened its eyes.

With the rhythm of Mana, a faint light slowly appeared in the chaotic “mezzanine,” growing brighter and brighter until it turned into a dazzling pale red light.

The light shone upon the True Spirit, and two two-dimensional True Spirit phantoms gradually appeared. As time passed, one phantom solidified, while the other remained illusory.

Ace communicated with the solidified Shadow of the True Spirit, instantly mastering everything about it. No contract was needed; a low-dimensional existence like the Shadow of the True Spirit simply couldn’t disobey a high-dimensional existence like the True Spirit.

Having truly penetrated the secrets within, the natural dimensional difference alone was enough to perfectly control the Shadow of the True Spirit.

Ace cast the Shadow of the True Spirit into his not-yet-fully-formed thought entity. Instantly, a clone spirit body formed. With the injection of mana, this clone formed a perfect Rational Clone according to the will of Ace’s True Spirit.

‘No need for complex rituals, not even a sacrifice, and no connection with the Abyss. Having penetrated the true nature of projection, it’s actually this simple.’

As Ace spoke, he examined the clone. There was no need to open the Soul Sanctuary again; this clone naturally replicated everything about Ace, except its mental strength was only one-tenth of his.

‘If my Mental Power scale reaches above 100, I estimate I can directly project a clone that reaches the level of a Level 1 Life.’

While sighing with emotion, he studied the other illusory shadow of the True Spirit.

Inside the Soul Sanctuary , the True Spirit Ace opened its eyes, looking at the two illusory shadows beneath its feet with some surprise. Subconsciously, he contacted one of them.

Hum!

A frequency vibration at the True Spirit level almost instantly crossed several Planar crystal walls, reaching from the inner side of the world to the Sea of Illusion and Reality on the outer side. The Wizards’ Collective Subconscious Sea hidden within was instantly discovered by Ace.

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