Chapter 445

Chapter 445: Essence of Fear

The moment Ji Yang obtained the gold foil, a clear understanding blossomed in his mind.

The essence contained within the gold foil was the essence of the Way.

The Essence of Fear allowed cultivators to tap into their inner fears, transforming that fear into power. The greater the fear within a cultivator’s heart, the stronger the essence’s power would become.

No wonder the elder had inquired about him earlier; he probably wanted to stir up Ji Yang’s own fears.

Unfortunately, what he did not know was that Ji Yang felt no fear. With his current strength, he considered that even a cultivator at the Unity with the Dao stage would not stand a chance against him, let alone something transformed from mere essence.

While Ji Yang pondered this, two lines of text suddenly appeared before him.

[Detected Essence of Fear, would you like to absorb it?]

[Yes? No?]

Looking at the unexpected prompt, a glint of surprise flashed in Ji Yang’s eyes; this had never happened before.

Typically, when an ordinary cultivator obtained an object infused with essence, they needed time to comprehend, understand, and absorb it. They also had to consider whether the essence they acquired resonated with them before successfully transforming it into their own essence.

To his astonishment, he had eliminated all the intermediate steps.

But since he already mastered one form of essence, could he absorb another?

Upon reflection, it seemed that the Cultivation World had not specified that a cultivator could only master one essence.

To find out if it was possible, he would simply have to try.

Without further hesitation, Ji Yang chose to absorb the essence.

In an instant, the gold foil in his hand emitted a soft glow, and an invisible rhythm quickly flowed from the foil to be absorbed by Ji Yang’s body.

However, after Ji Yang absorbed the Essence of Fear, another force suddenly emerged within him.

That familiar sensation was undoubtedly his Essence of War.

As the two essences coalesced within him, Ji Yang realized he could attempt to merge the Essence of Fear into the Essence of War or choose to keep it as a separate essence.

Which should he pursue: fusion or absorption?

Ji Yang found himself in a dilemma once more.

If he chose to fuse, the recently absorbed Essence of Fear would no longer exist. But if he opted for absorption, he would possess two forms of essence.

After pondering for a moment, Ji Yang decisively chose fusion.

It was about the quality of essence, not the quantity. Instead of fixating on the number, he preferred to enhance the quality.

Given that he could not yet actively use the Essence of War, merely adding another type of essence would not guarantee a rapid enhancement of his strength.

Thus, he decided to focus on one essence first, elevating the Essence of War to a usable level and seeking to break through to Unity with the Dao!

As for other essences, he would have opportunities to acquire them later; he did not believe this estate held just the essence he currently possessed.

Once the two essences merged into one, Ji Yang felt the density of the Essence of War increase significantly.

To confirm, Ji Yang opened the essence section to check his progress.

[Essence of War: 6.3%]

Sure enough, the previous 4.3% density of the essence had instantly increased by two percentage points, far exceeding what he had gained through occasional comprehension, and it was much faster.

Unfortunately, even after absorbing the Essence of Fear, Ji Yang still couldn’t actively use the Essence of War. This showed that the fusion was inadequate and did not allow Ji Yang to break through to Unity with the Dao.

Moreover, during the fusion of the essences, Ji Yang sensed that some of the essence was lost, indicating that the fusion was not perfect.

Ji Yang attributed this to the incompatibility between the two essences, seeing it as a forced fusion. If he had used another essence more closely related to the Essence of War, the density of his Essence of War would surely have been higher.

However, Ji Yang had a feeling that if he absorbed two more different essences, he might be able to use them actively.

At that moment, Ji Yang felt that the barrier to breaking through Unity with the Dao had relaxed considerably, showing that the required density of essence for that breakthrough was not as high as he had previously imagined.

With the absorption of the Essence of Fear, the gold foil in his hand lost its original luster, turning dull and gray.

A breeze blew by, and the gold foil instantly transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, disappearing into the wind.

This piece of gold foil, once infused with essence, became nothing more than a common item after losing its essence.

As Ji Yang watched the foil vanish from his hand, he suddenly recalled the ten or so items that had flown out when the estate’s formations were broken.

If his item was an essence, what were those things that they had been vying for?

Although those ten streams of light had indeed seemed extraordinary, Ji Yang had not felt any stirring of his own essence from them.

In contrast, the moment the elder appeared, Ji Yang had experienced a different feeling.

……

“Hahaha, I got it! I got it!”

Outside the estate, the battle raged on as a late Void Refinement stage cultivator held up a circular painting, shouting with excitement.

This painting was one of the items among the ten streams of light. After a fierce struggle, he finally seized it.

Seeing this, the other cultivators turned their attention toward him and moved closer.

But just as this late Void Refinement stage cultivator intended to leave the chaotic area while holding the infused essence, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

When he looked down again, he saw that the painting, which originally held the essence, was gradually beginning to disintegrate, slowly vanishing from his grasp.

Seeing the essence he had worked so hard to acquire dissolve into nothing, the late Void Refinement stage cultivator was momentarily stunned, his face showing a hint of confusion.

Where was his essence?

“It’s fake! How could this happen?”

The other cultivators exclaimed in disbelief.

All the cultivators present were from various Major Sects, and they naturally had some understanding of essence. Even if it was just a common object, it would become extraordinary when infused with essence.

But now, with the painting dissipating, it could only prove one thing: it was not true essence.

The cultivators who had gathered around soon halted, shifting their gaze to the items that other cultivators were now fighting over.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, other items infused with various essences began to break apart. Those who had just obtained the essences looked incredulous, unable to accept what was happening.

“Damn it! We’ve been deceived!”

“This isn’t essence at all!”

……

Angry shouts echoed within the crowd of cultivators. They had fought hard and nearly died, only to have been tricked without realizing it. It was hard not to feel angered.

Even the late Void Refinement stage cultivators from the elite sects had grim expressions.

This was because even they could not immediately distinguish that these items were not true essence.

As the essence vanished, the combatants all stopped fighting. What was the point of continuing if the things they fought over were gone?

They did not come here to resolve sect rivalries or personal grudges.

“Quick! Let’s go inside!”

“There must be true essence in this estate!”

The crowd quickly recovered and turned their gazes toward the estate’s entrance.

They firmly believed that their earlier assessment was correct. Even though the essence they had encountered was fake, there must be real essence hidden within the estate.

During their battle, a group of cultivators had already entered, and they had not paid much attention to it before.

But now that their essence was fake, they had to take it seriously.

At present, they could not let the less capable cultivators get ahead of them.

Some late Void Refinement stage cultivators flew toward the estate entrance first, hoping to seize the opportunity, while others quickly followed suit.

However, some cultivators chose not to rush in. Instead, they opted to recover their energy and restore their state, as the recent battle had drained them significantly.

A few cultivators, severely injured, decided to retreat.

Of course, this did not mean they were no longer interested in obtaining essence; it was just a temporary and prudent measure. Remaining here could attract unwanted attention.

…

Outside the balcony, Ji Yang, having dealt with the elder, was about to move forward.

But suddenly the surroundings changed dramatically; the original waterside gazebos seemed to roll up like a painting.

When Ji Yang looked up again, he found himself inside a room.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings and quickly saw the waterside gazebos from before outside the door.

This appeared to be the same balcony from which the elder had just exited, but now he was inside the balcony instead of outside it.

Illusions?

Ji Yang muttered to himself while keeping a close watch on his surroundings but soon shook his head.

It did not seem like an illusion; rather, it felt like a much more advanced spatial technique.

It appeared that this estate held many secrets. Ji Yang chose not to dwell on it and focused on the interior of the balcony.

This too was an ancient building, and judging by the layout and furnishings inside, it was a study.

The study was well-equipped with various items.

Near the window stood a writing desk covered with scholarly tools.

Not far away, there was an incense table with a pot atop it. The soil in the pot had turned dark gray, and there were bits of plant fragments scattered on top, indicating that it had once held some exceptional flowers and plants, perhaps even some rare spiritual plants.

But with the passage of time, it had become unrecognizable.

Ji Yang carefully examined the surroundings and, not wanting to linger, made his way to the writing desk, lowering his head slightly.

The desk was thick with dust, except for a clean rectangular mark in the center, untouched by dust.

This mark, similar in length to the gold foil from earlier, suggested that the gold foil had been placed here.

This made Ji Yang’s heart stir. Since there was one essence in this study, could there be others as well?

Ji Yang immediately turned and approached the nearby bookshelf, pulling out an ancient text to examine.

However, just as he grasped the ancient text, a gentle breeze from outside caused it to vanish before he could even take a closer look.

Not just the text, but other ancient books and the entire bookshelf disappeared in that breeze, leaving only the dust on the floor a bit thicker.

Looking at the suddenly empty balcony, Ji Yang was left speechless.

Fine, perhaps he was overthinking it; it seemed this study had only one essence.

This estate had likely existed for a long time, and it was only natural that ordinary things couldn’t be preserved.

Only the essence could endure through the river of time, lasting forever.