Chapter 549 - Breaking the Cocoon

Lin Yun executed the Seven Profound Steps and appeared before Mo Ling. Looking at the smile on Mo Ling’s face, Lin Yun smiled bitterly. However, he felt relieved when he saw that Mo Ling wasn’t furious. Clearly, she was just joking around with him.

“You remembered?” Mo Ling opened up her fan and casually fanned herself with it.

“Yeah.” Lin Yun knew that Mo Ling was purposely putting on airs. After all, becoming a third grade spiritualist was significant to Lin Yun, even more so than the Profound Yin Flower. So he had no choice but to submit.

“Very well. Then show me the Ablaze Phoenix Painting that I taught you six days ago. I’ll see if you can still remember it.”

“Right here?” asked Lin Yun.

“Yes, right here,” responded Mo Ling.

Lin Yun then took out a brush and paper as he started drawing according to his memory. There was naturally no way he would forget the painting in just a few days. The Ablaze Phoenix Painting was a spiritual diagram that was just under the level of the rose painting that he had seen. He still remembered how majestic the painting was when the nine paintings combined together.

Mo Ling closed the fan in her hand and observed Lin Yun’s painting seriously. Lin Yun’s facial features were accented as his pupils occasionally sparkled. As he drew on the paper, the spiritual runes looked majestic and powerful.

The Ablaze Phoenix Painting was ranked in the top ten among all third grade spiritual diagrams. In fact, in terms of lethality, it could be found within the top five. In the entire academy, there weren’t many elders who could draw this painting. Among the disciples, Mo Ling was the only one who managed to accomplish it.

Two hours later, Lin Yun let out a long breath. His eyes bloodshot as beads of sweat constantly dripped from his forehead. His face was pale from exhaustion. Even with his attainments in spiritual runes, it was still somewhat forceful for him to draw the Ablaze Phoenix Painting.

When the nine paintings combined together, they formed a majestic painting. The phoenix in the painting looked lifelike, but it was a pity that it was lacking seven plume feathers. Compared to Mo Ling’s Ablaze Phoenix Painting, Lin Yun’s version looked less lively.

“Please take a look,” said Lin Yun as he shook his head. He was clearly not satisfied with his work.

But Mo Ling was stunned for a long time before she sighed, “Your attainment in spiritual runes is really terrifying. I can’t imagine what height you’ll reach if you solely focused on spiritual runes. You will definitely surpass me in two years.”

Lin Yun still wasn’t used to Mo Ling’s praise, so he replied, “It’s all thanks to your teachings.”

A smile appeared on Mo Ling’s face as she replied, “This painting still lacks seven plume feathers. Every single feather is made of a third grade spiritual rune. But in reality, the seven spiritual runes are the same. They’re known as Firefeather.”

Lin Yun fell into deep thought and asked, “So you’re saying that I’ll be able to produce the complete Ablaze Phoenix Painting if I learn how to inscribe the Firefeather Rune?”

“That’s right, but it’s not that simple. You’ll know what I mean after giving it a try.” Mo Ling opened up her fan and casually swept the nine paintings to the side.

Placing a new paper on the table, Mo Ling started to inscribe the Firefeather Rune. When it was drawn on the painting, it didn’t look any special. Lin Yun watched Mo Ling very carefully and memorized the entire drawing process.

“It doesn’t seem that difficult.” Lin Yun took over the brush and started drawing the Firefeather Rune as well. Third grade spiritual runes might be complex, but they were nothing to Lin Yun who had a photogenic memory.

But the moment Lin Yun started, his face became ugly. He could sense a powerful energy gathering in his head. Every time he tried to move his brush on the painting, he would experience a head-splitting pain. The pain was a lot more brutal than when he exhausted his mental energy to inscribe spiritual runes.

Suddenly, Lin Yun felt his entire world spinning and his surroundings turning dark. Aside from the Firefeather Rune, all other light sources had disappeared. It was an uncomfortable feeling where it felt like his soul was about to be ripped apart. Fear also started appearing in Lin Yun’s heart and he realized that he couldn’t stop it.

Right at this moment, a light appeared on his forehead that lit up his surroundings. When Lin Yun recovered from his previous state, he had shock on his face as he wiped the blood dripping down from his nose. “What happened to me?”

“You should know that a spiritualist’s mental energy is a lot stronger than ordinary cultivators, right?” asked Mo Ling.

“I do. Our mental energy will gradually grow as we inscribe spiritual diagrams. The growth might not be obvious, but it’ll be considerable over time,” said Lin Yun as he nodded his head. Lin Yun had felt it greatly when he was learning spiritual runes from Mo Ling.

In the beginning, his mind felt like it was going to be blown apart when he drew a few hundred spiritual runes. But at the end of the entire fifteen days, he could easily inscribe over a thousand second grade spiritual runes.

“Do you know why a third grade spiritualist is just the entry into the path as a spiritualist? A third grade spiritualist has to open up the profound palace and convert their mental energy into soul energy before condensing a soul mark in their profound palace,” said Mo Ling.

“So what has it got to do with me inscribing the Firefeather Rune?” Lin Yun asked.

“You can consider the process of inscribing a third grade spiritual rune as a ritual. It is a ritual of converting your mental energy into soul energy. This is like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon as a butterfly. Not only is this process painful, but you might even lose your life if you’re careless. In the entire academy, there are many second grade spiritualists, but there aren't many third grade spiritualists.” Mo Ling paused briefly before she continued, “Generally speaking, a second grade spiritualist will pick an easier spiritual rune to complete this ritual.”

“But this means that the quality of their soul mark will also be different, right? It’s like cultivating different cultivation techniques,” said Lin Yun.

Mo Ling raised her brow when she heard that as this was the first time she heard such an analysis. She smiled, “You can consider it that way. But they’re still more or less the same. Go get some rest and come back tomorrow.”

“Senior Sister, I want to give it another go,” said Lin Yun.

“Are you sure? You only have three chances in total. If you fail all three times, you will never be able to become a third grade spiritualist in your lifetime,” said Mo Ling with a grave expression.

“I am,” said Lin Yun.

Mo Ling began to hesitate when she saw Lin Yun’s gaze, but she ultimately agreed with Lin Yun. She had a feeling that Lin Yun could create miracles. Plus, she had seen a confidence in him that she couldn’t see in any of the disciples of the academy.

One hour later, Lin Yun had finally finished adjusting himself as he opened his eyes. His face was more rosy than before and it was no longer pale. He let out a long breath and slowly stood up, grabbing the brush once more. His expression was grave. He might’ve failed the first time, but he was rather confident about his second attempt.

After calming himself down, Lin Yun began to move his spiritual brush. His boundless mental energy began to move as his eyes flickered across the canvas. He was going through immense pain once again. But Lin Yun gnashed his teeth as he persevered through it. He didn’t stop moving the brush in his hand.

Along with the movement of his brush, the Firefeather Rune was slowly being drawn. At the same time, his mental energy was also gradually condensing together, forming a vortex. When the vortex was formed, Lin Yun’s body began to tremble as the pain spread throughout his body. At this moment, his body felt like it didn’t belong to him anymore.

The pain was unimaginable, but Lin Yun had joy flashing in his eyes. After all, he didn’t experience his mental energy forming a vortex in the previous attempt. This meant that he made more improvements.

Outline of the profound palace? Mo Ling was shocked when she saw this scene. After all, Lin Yun’s improvement was much faster than she had imagined.

The speed of the vortex spinning wasn’t stable, but Lin Yun could feel a vague rhythm to it. Suddenly, Lin Yun’s eyes turned black as the Firefeather Rune began to blur. Lin Yun could feel his consciousness gradually fading away as the pain was too much.

Damn it! Am I going to fail here?! Lin Yun’s hand was trembling as he held onto the brush. As the Firefeather Rune gradually collapsed, Lin Yun also threw up a mouthful of blood on the paper.

“It’s going to dissipate. Lin Yun, stop!” barked Mo Ling. At the same time, her fan flew towards Lin Yun’s brush, forcibly trying to knock it away.

“Condense!” But right at this moment, Lin Yun roared furiously as the mental energy vortex began to compress. Lin Yun had reached his limit as his mental energy fluctuated from his body. He caused the surrounding space to tremble.

At the same time, Mo Ling’s fan was knocked away. Grabbing onto her fan, Mo Ling looked at the pale-faced Lin Yun as she muttered, “This fellow is too ruthless to himself…”

She was so shocked that she forgot about stopping Lin Yun.