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A golden wall appeared before him, and Clawn fixed his gaze on the line for the Golden Light Mantra.
[Golden Light Mantra: 4638/10000; Level Zero] (Your energy is abundant, requiring only four hours of sleep each day to maintain vitality.)
Exhaling deeply, he found a new resolve. Since advancing to Level Three, common potions no longer increased his proficiency, and he lacked the ingredients for Blood-Boiling Elixirs. The last few days, he had only managed to stockpile standard potions and ointments.
Determined, he decided to limit his time making potions to two hours daily, devoting all remaining hours to advancing in the Golden Light Mantra. If this mantra could quell the strange disturbances within him, he would prioritize it—he would grind his way to the next level! It was the sole zero-level skill bathed in gold upon entering the golden wall, filling him with anticipation.
At his current pace, he estimated that a full effort would allow him to advance in just ten days.
Eight days later, nightfall.
Clawn sat cross-legged inside, concentrating fully on visualizing the Golden Light Mantra. Four days earlier, he had awoken in an unusually weakened state—his face was ashen blue, and he trembled uncontrollably. He had abandoned potion-making entirely, devoting every moment to the mantra.
With each episode of weakness, he found that restoring his strength required increasingly extended practice of the Golden Light Mantra. Clawn feared that another episode or two might end him entirely.
He imagined his heart, small at first, emitting a golden glow that expanded like dawn, illuminating his chest and organs. Gradually, he envisioned the sun moving to his Middle Elixir Field and pausing briefly before settling in his Lower Elixir Field. In his mind, waves of golden light expanded, filling his entire body and radiating outward through his pores in a sphere of light.
When he completed a cycle, an indescribable sensation filled his heart, and two talismanic seals and two hand gestures appeared in his mind.
Clear Heart Talisman: Purifies the self and conquers inner demons. Usage: Draw the symbol, burn it, and dissolve in clear water to drink.
Golden Light Talisman: Emits divine radiance to repel evil. Usage: Draw the symbol and place it on the chest, back, or objects to ward off malicious entities.
Great Sun Seal: Press thumbs together with other fingers tightly interlaced.
Moonlight Seal: Join thumb and index finger, allowing other fingers to spread naturally.
The descriptions were brief, accompanied by illustrations of materials and techniques. Without focusing much on making the talismans, he eagerly summoned the golden wall. The text of the Golden Light Mantra had transformed to a vivid blue.
[Golden Light Mantra: 1/50000; Level One] (Calm the mind, cleanse malevolence. During evening worship, face the bright moon, form the Moonlight Seal, and envision the silent illumination purifying the soul. At dawn, face the sun, forming the Great Sun Seal, visualizing the radiant sunlight tempering the body. Note: As a novice in this discipline, you may only handle moonlight and sunlight at these specific hours; do not tempt fate!)
Calm the mind, cleanse malevolence! His heart leaped with joy; all the despair of recent days dissolved. The strange afflictions he endured, he suspected, were remnants of an encounter with an evil spirit. He hadn’t sought help from the priest since the so-called sacred rituals at the church hadn’t resolved it either—why waste time if the help he paid for was ineffective?
That night, Clawn slept peacefully.
Morning.
Before dawn, Clawn rose early. He swiftly washed up and boiled a dozen eggs. Once cooked, he placed them in a wax-paper bag, grabbed his g*n, stowed the bag and his water flask in his backpack, and set off for the hills east of town.
There, he would greet the first rays of sunlight. The night before, he had carefully studied the cultivation of the Golden Light Mantra. From now on, he understood he would need to meditate separately at dawn and dusk as part of the practice.
He planned to visualize the heart and his entire being radiating light in the dawn sun with the Great Sun Seal, and during the dusk, he would only visualize the serene moonlight enveloping him. For now, he could only use the sun and moon to temper himself, with no means to harness their full energies.
After nearly an hour of walking, he arrived at the spot he had in mind. The sun had not yet risen, but the clouds on the horizon were tinged gold.
Clearing away the stones and sticks at his feet, he sat on the ground facing the rising sun. Forming the Golden Light Seal with his hands, he began his visualization.
After ten minutes, as he once again visualized a golden sun radiating from his lower field, the sun broke over the horizon, casting its light upon him.
Clawn felt a profound warmth filling his body, and in his consciousness appeared a pristine crystal sphere. It floated serenely, unaffected by his visualization. Examining it, he noted an S-shaped division, with a glint of gold emerging at the bottom left.
He had barely begun to focus on it when a shriek of terror, laced with an unnatural decay, sounded in his mind. Instantly, he was wrenched from his meditation. His head throbbed painfully, as if someone was hammering a gong inside it. He opened his eyes, seeing his arms covered in writhing blue veins, twisted like centipedes under his skin. It was as though rats were scurrying beneath his skin, his blood vessels bursting open like a sea of blossoming blood.
As the blood welled up, patches of searing black spots surfaced across his skin. Though he could not see it, his entire body had succumbed to this grotesque sight.
Something was inside him.
An icy dread filled him as he clenched his fists, gritting his teeth against the pain. After ten minutes, the disturbance finally subsided, though the black spots remained. Lifting his hands, Clawn stared at the dark patches, sensing an eerie decay—like gazing upon the aged and the dying.
After catching his breath, Clawn rose slowly. An intuition gripped him: the malicious spirit terrorizing the town these past weeks had taken residence within him. Though he could not explain why, he knew it as fact.
The revelation left his limbs shaking. Yet, he wasn’t entirely defenseless—at least the Golden Light Mantra could contain it. Sighing with relief at the thought, Clawn retrieved the water flask and paper bag from his backpack, drinking a mouthful of water before peeling and eating the eggs.
Once he finished eating, he rested briefly, his strength returning somewhat. Clawn hoisted his backpack and began the journey back to town.
- Writer
