Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 284 All conditioned phenomena are like dew and lightning; thus should they be viewed.

"The Heart Refining God Emperor... This person is not weak, but unfortunately, he has been targeted by the Origin Emperor."

This Emperor-level expert retrieved a golden scroll from the files of countless powerful individuals. The scroll bore the inscription "Heart Refining Divine Emperor."

In the vast world, this Heart Refining God Emperor is quite famous, and is hailed as the third ascendant who is most likely to achieve the status of Martial Emperor or Flame Ancestor.

This isn't just idle talk. This Heart Refining God Emperor has mastered the ultimate path of the Heart Manifestation and possesses a terrifying secret technique of soul will that can suppress many late-stage God Emperor bloodline cultivators.

If it weren't for the fact that his own cultivation level was only at the early stage of God Emperor, putting him at a disadvantage when facing other ascendants at the mid-stage of God Emperor, he would probably already be comparable to a powerhouse at the Great Perfection level.

However, after Shen Mu appeared, this title naturally disappeared.

"The Way of the Heart and Image... According to the records, this Origin Emperor also purchased the manual of the Way of the Heart and Image through a tavern. Could he also be an ascended being who has mastered the Way of the Heart and Image?"

Ordinary forces may not understand matters of will and soul.

However, the Divine Machine Tavern still had some understanding of the situation. Although the impact of the Heart-Shaped Path's will was powerful, it could only suppress it when facing a will of the same level.

But this Origin Emperor was able to directly destroy souls; such power of will was a bit too outrageous.

"Perhaps, the will of this Origin Emperor has already surpassed the level of a Great Perfection being."

It must be said that this powerful figure from the Divine Machine Tavern is quite knowledgeable, having already deduced the true situation.

Shen Mu's will has always far surpassed his own level by several realms. Now that he has reached the late stage of God Emperor, he is no weaker than a true Hunyuan expert.

Previously, Shen Mu's will had reached the level of advanced Hunyuan, but that was only the bottom line.

True high-level Hunyuan powerhouses possessed strong wills, far surpassing Shen Mu's at the time. It wasn't until his soul transformed into the late stage of God Emperor that Shen Mu's will became comparable to such beings.

While pondering, this Emperor-level expert had already transmitted the information and recorded his analysis.

……

On the other end, in the Azure Dragon Imperial City, at the Divine Machine Tavern.

Lines of text appeared out of thin air on the bright red scroll, ending with a special pattern—a guiding symbol.

This red scroll is a one-time treasure containing the power of cause and effect, extremely precious, and can lock the location of the Heart Refining God Emperor using the cause and effect rules of the Great Thousand Worlds.

"Your Majesty, the information you requested has been compiled. Here is 10,000 crystal jades."

Emperor Lingtian still mustered up his courage and asked Shen Mu for money, but if Shen Mu refused, there was nothing he could do.

"So expensive?"

Shen Mu couldn't help but complain. The spacetime fluctuations in his palm evolved into a vortex, and crystals emerged one by one.

When Shen Mu auctioned off the remains of that low-level Chaos Origin life form, he obtained approximately 15,000 crystals.

Over the years, he has spent a lot of money. Including this time's 10,000 crystals, Shen Mu only has about a thousand crystals left.

"Your Majesty, this is not expensive at all. For someone of your status, purchasing information from our Divine Mechanism Tavern is free. This 10,000 crystals is mainly for the cost of the Causal Scroll."

Seeing that Shen Mu did not dine and dash, Emperor Lingtian breathed a sigh of relief, and then carefully explained.

In reality, the 10,000 crystals were only charged as material costs; no labor costs were charged.

Ten thousand crystals are enough to buy a quasi-primordial treasure at the level of the Ten Absolute Primordial Exquisite Pagoda. Even a mid-stage God Emperor might not possess such a treasure.

"Alright, your Divine Machine Tavern has a bounty service, right? Find me a few of the most valuable ones."

As Shen Mu finished speaking, Emperor Lingtian's lips twitched slightly. He could tell that this supreme expert was short of money.

However, the most valuable bounty... has no one taking it yet.

Emperor Lingtian took out a five-colored crystal and projected a list onto it.

The top names on the list are followed by a long string of zeros, but the people with bounties are among the other strongest individuals in the world today.

The ancestor of the imperial clan has offered a reward of over one billion crystals.

The ancestor of the Wushi Ancient Clan has offered a reward of over 800 million crystals.

The ancestor of the Taiyi Ancient Clan has offered a reward of over 800 million crystals.

……

Yan Zu, the lord of the Northern Fire Realm, has a bounty of over one billion crystals.

Emperor Wu, the ruler of the Southern Martial Domain, has a bounty of over one billion crystals.

"Isn't your Divine Machine Tavern part of the Imperial Clan? How come you have a bounty on your own ancestor's head?"

In response to Shen Mu's question, Emperor Lingtian grinned and said, "A certain deposit is required to issue a bounty. Why not take it if it's free?"

The seven supreme powerhouses are invincible. They may win or lose against each other, but there is no possibility that they could be killed by others.

Once the deposit for this crystal jade is paid, it's equivalent to giving money away to the Divine Machine Tavern for free.

Even if it's your own ancestor, the Divine Machine Tavern will still offer a bounty, as long as you can pay.

"Wow, you guys are really something."

Shen Mu made a couple of sarcastic remarks, then tapped the bounty list a few times with his fingertips.

The seventeenth on the bounty list is the sect leader of the Eastern Sword Sect, a being at the Great Perfection level, with a bounty of 45 million crystals.

The twenty-ninth on the bounty list is the Lord of the Dark Demon City, a being at the Great Perfection level, with a bounty of over 42 million crystals.

"I'll accept both bounties. I'll prepare the money and pay you as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, rest assured. Our Divine Mechanism Tavern will advance the reward and then charge the person who posted the reward."

Shen Mu nodded slightly, then took a step forward, his figure melting into the void.

At Shen Mu's level, tearing through the void and traversing endless rivers and mountains, his speed is naturally extremely fast.

Each step taken traverses countless miles of mountains and seas, a distance that would take an ordinary king-level expert decades to cover.

Several days later, in the eastern corner of the vast world, more than a hundred billion kilometers away from Zhiyang City.

This is a secluded valley, where a majestic sect stands, with streaks of light moving back and forth within its gates.

"We've finally arrived at the Xinxiang Sect."

In the void, Shen Mu's figure emerged, his gaze piercing through the boundless space and time, locking onto a figure deep within the Heart-Image Sect.

The figure sat cross-legged beside a cosmic sea, seemingly in seclusion.

"Who is it that dares to spy on this Emperor!" The figure suddenly opened its eyes, and the will of a God Emperor at the Great Perfection level erupted, shaking space and time.

This power is comparable to the strength of Shen Mu's will when he was at the peak of the King level.

"A will at the semi-primordial level, you're quite impressive."

Shen Mu's voice rang out, and then he took a step forward, ignoring the layers of formations, and appeared in front of the Heart Refining God Emperor.

During this process, Shen Mu did not destroy the layers of the great formation. He simply used his own will to unleash the secret mental technique of Yuan Shu... "Such View"!

As the saying goes, all conditioned phenomena are like dew or lightning; view them all as such!

Simply put, I believe that you are ineffective against me, and therefore you are ineffective against me; I am interfering with reason and principle through my will.

Unless Shen Mu's will, at the high-level of Hunyuan, is unshakable and reaches the level of Hunyuan rules, nothing can resist Shen Mu's will.

Hmm, it can be simply referred to as: the power of my thinking.

"The Origin Emperor..."

The Refining Heart God Emperor naturally recognized Shen Mu.

Back when Shen Mu instantly annihilated the Lord of Rift City, this Refining Heart God Emperor had deduced that Shen Mu might be an existence with an extremely strong will. Now that Shen Mu had approached him, he could naturally deduce Shen Mu's purpose.

Shen Mu walked up to the Heart Refining God Emperor and looked at him quietly.

The Refining Heart Divine Emperor bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Senior, I knew you would come. This is the Ancient Refining Heart Scripture, which I wish to offer to you." With that, he held up an ancient scripture with both hands and presented it to Shen Mu.

Shen Mu took the scripture and nodded slightly, saying, "You're very sensible."

Shen Mu opened the scripture and quickly skimmed through it.

The Heart Refining God Emperor had no intention of hiding anything.

This ancient scripture expounds the Divine Emperor's understanding of the Dao of the Mind.

Besides the ultimate path of the mind, the other ultimate path that the Divine Emperor of Refining the Mind comprehended was the path of illusion.

The Path of Illusion is the Path of Illusion, and it is different from the Illusionary Realm, a branch of the Path of Souls. It is an independent Great Path.

The Refining Heart God Emperor, based on the Ultimate Dao of the Heart, absorbed the mysteries of the Illusory Dao and achieved his own level of enlightenment as a God Emperor.

Looking at Shen Mu, who was reading the scriptures, the Refining Heart God Emperor hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and said, "Senior, I deeply admire your willpower. I humbly request that you take me as your disciple and teach me the method of willpower training. I am willing to pay any price."

Shen Mu frowned slightly, and after a moment of silence, said, "Although your will has reached the Great Perfection level, it still falls short of mine. Do you know why?"

After pondering for a moment, the Refining Heart Divine Emperor respectfully replied, "This junior does not know, please enlighten me, senior."

He truly didn't know, because he too had comprehended the ultimate truth of the mind, reaching a pinnacle of spiritual attainment.

However, after reaching the God Emperor level, the difficulty of possessing a will that transcends one's own realm is far greater than usual.

Even so, the supreme level of mental state still meant that the will of the Refining Heart God Emperor could only reach the limit of this realm, which was the level of half-perfect Hunyuan.

Shen Mu slowly said, "There are limits to one's state of mind, but there are no limits to one's spiritual cultivation. These are two different concepts. If your willpower is not tempered enough and your spiritual cultivation is insufficient, even if you comprehend the ultimate state of mind, you will not be able to raise your willpower to its limit."

The Refining Heart God Emperor pondered for a moment, then asked, "Senior, how can one improve one's mental cultivation?"

Shen Mu looked at the Heart Refining God Emperor and said, "My method suits me, but it doesn't suit you."

"From beginning to end... my state of mind has always been peculiar, and at one point I even regarded everything in the world as a story, and I was the reader."

"This is a barrier of perception, and it cannot be broken. As I become stronger, this barrier of perception will also increase."

"The whole process is a process of transcendence."

"Then, when I finally understood the ultimate meaning of mind, I encountered a real crisis, an unprecedented crisis."

"This allowed me to re-enter the world, break through the barriers of knowledge, master the ultimate of mind, and at the peak of the King level, possess the will of the peak God Emperor."

"So my path is only suitable for me, not for you."

"You can't truly see everything as a story, as an illusion, so you can't reach my level."

The Refining Heart God Emperor fell into deep thought, and then respectfully bowed to Shen Mu.

"Thank you for your guidance, teacher. Please accept me as your apprentice!"

Shen Mu nodded slightly and said, "Since you are so sincere, I will accept you as my student. This is a secret technique I possess, which I can pass on to you."

As he spoke, Shen Mu lightly tapped his fingertip and passed on the secret technique of using willpower he had created, "Qi Yuan Technique," to the Heart Refining Divine Emperor.

"This is... the understanding of the will of a being named Yuan. Teacher, have you ever seen such a being?"

The Heart Refining God Emperor read through the information sent by Shen Mu, his expression one of profound shock.

When they finally saw the ultimate secret technique "Such is the View" created by Shen Mu, they were even more shocked.

Willpower and mind can be used in this way?

"When I first came into contact with the Way of Mind and Image, it was from the legacy left by this senior Yuan that I came to understand it."

"However, it is a pity that I did not inherit this senior's secret technique."

The Refining Heart God Emperor couldn't help but ask, "Even you, Master, couldn't inherit it, so how can anyone else?"

Shen Mu laughed and said, "That's how fate works; you can't force it."

"As your teacher, I have imparted to you the method of using willpower that I created without any concealment, which can be considered as repaying this master-disciple relationship..."

Seeing that Shen Mu intended to leave, the Refining Heart Divine Emperor hurriedly said, "Master, the foundation laid by the Heart-Image Sect for me should be personally managed by you from now on, I..."

Shen Mu waved his hand and said, "I'm not interested in the position of sect leader. Fine, I'll just be a Grand Elder and let others know that you are my disciple."

As he spoke, Shen Mu weighed the Heart Sutra in his hand and said, "Prepare a secluded cultivation room for me."

The Refining Heart Divine Emperor nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, Master. This disciple will take you to the forbidden area behind the Heart-Image Sect."

The forbidden area behind the Xinxiang Sect is a serene place with abundant spiritual energy.

Shen Mu then went into seclusion to study the ultimate Heart Manifestation Dao technique created by the Heart Refining God Emperor, and to refine his own Heart Manifestation Dao to its ultimate form.

……

While Shen Mu was in seclusion, this Heart Refining Demon Emperor, as Shen Mu's new disciple, was also studying the "Qi Yuan Technique" created by Shen Mu.

This is a pure secret technique of willpower application, the foundational mystery and ultimate secret of the Way of Mind, and its strength or weakness depends entirely on individual willpower.

"The way the willpower condensation structure can be stacked like this is truly... ingenious."

"I wonder just how profound the secret technique of Senior Yuan that Master mentioned back then really is."

The Divine Emperor of Refining Gods was somewhat moved. According to the records in Shen Mu's Secret Technique, the framework for the application of this Yuan Technique's will was entirely derived from a legacy called "Lie Yuan Technique".

Even so, Shen Mu never truly obtained the Lieyuan Technique in the end.

"Thus should we contemplate all conditioned phenomena, like dew or lightning."

The Demon Emperor of Refining the Heart murmured, his invisible will enveloping a sword at the peak of the King level, regarding the Dao and principles within the sword as illusory, and then he squeezed it tightly.

"Hmm? It's not working."

The Refining Heart God Emperor did not achieve the principle of will interference at all; this long sword only contained the principle at the ultimate level.

According to the Records of Suchness, with his will at the Great Perfection level of the God Emperor, he could easily turn it into an illusion and make it non-existent.

"Thus I see... The true mystery lies in 'thus'; in my heart, I have never regarded any of this as false."

The Divine Emperor of Refining the Heart found the reason why he could not interfere with reason through willpower: because he... firmly believed in reason.

"Since I can't achieve that mindset, then... I'll distort my perception!"

It is not difficult to change one's perception by using soul techniques. Do not think that you cannot use soul techniques if you do not master the Way of the Soul.

Even in the primordial universe, there are a multitude of secret techniques for the path of the soul.

Countless symbols and soul runes were imprinted on the soul of the Heart Refining God Emperor. This was a trigger-type thought imprint. Whenever he used the secret technique of will, this thought imprint would be triggered, and he would regard all Tao and reason as illusions.

"Thus I see..."

The Demon Emperor of Refining the Heart once again used his secret technique, his invisible will enveloping the brilliant golden divine sword, attempting to distort or even ignore its underlying principles.

In the end, it still failed.

"Why?" The Heart Refining God Emperor looked puzzled, then turned his gaze to Shen Mu's secluded cultivation place.

"Could it be that the teacher is hiding something from me?"

After carefully studying Shen Mu's secret techniques, the Refining Heart God Emperor finally found the reason.

"So... I still believe in the Tao and reason. My use of secret methods to condense the steel imprint of my mind is itself a manifestation of believing in reason. Only when one's state of mind is completely transformed into that of the Master can this effect be achieved."

The Heart Refining God Emperor's expression was complex, because everyone's state of mind is only suitable for themselves and cannot be the same.

(End of this chapter)