Chapter 6129, Escape (13)
by SilavinAuthor: Silavin
Yang Ji naturally caught onto what Hong Jun had done, but Wu Lun warned him to not bother bringing it up. He should just keep those used pieces and be happy.
“Huh? But, isn’t it better for me to keep the unused ones? Why are you asking me to keep the ones I’ve already drawn on?” Yang Ji could not help but question.
“Keeping those black talisman sheets means currying something of value on you. Used talisman sheets meanwhile are basically worthless, especially when they don’t contain any proper Rune.” Wu Lun justified.
“B-But, you’ve just said they are useless, so why should I keep them?”
“It’s just a figure of speech. They still have some worth but definitely not enough for people to rob you for them.” Wu Lun gave a shrug and continued to advise, “But, since they are already suggesting you draw on the deck, you might as well do so. So much free real estate here.”
“That guy is so going to kill me after this.” Yang Ji lamented but he steeled himself to do so anyways.
“Well, he is already going to kill you. Why bother worrying so much?” The nonchalance in his voice was truly grating. However, not like Yang Ji could do anything about it. Through this journey, regardless of how ridiculous the instruction, Wu Lun had basically proven himself right. Furthermore, it was not like what Wu Lun said was wrong.
Yang Ji picked up the brush once more and dipped it in the ink. Once he held the brush, ready to write, he basically ignored all his surroundings. In a way, this helped manage the nervousness one would feel when being scrutinised by so many unknown eyes.
In his eyes, there was only him, the floor and the Runes floating in mid-air. Nothing else entered his field of vision.
The brush touched the ground, and once more, the boy began to practice again. Each stroke was made with heavy intent, mimicking every single stroke Hong Jun had drawn.
As expected, due to his experience with the Dao of Space, and Divine Sense, minute details in each of his strokes was made apparent to him. Be it strength, wrist rotation, length, proportion, everything was calibrated little by little. Not to mention, his masterful bodily control did help in this as well.
The first Rune he drew merely looked similar. The second would be a marked improvement upon the first. The third, fourth, fifth, ordinary people might not even be able to differentiate them.
Such a scene played out in front of everyone.
Since every single person on board was a cultivator, naturally all of them could tell the marked improvement with each iteration.
Those who held little to no knowledge of the True Dao of Runes would be impressed by this quick improvement. Meanwhile, those that studied and pursued this True Dao quietly lamented in their hearts.
Why?
It was simply due to the Young Mistress’ inability to cultivate. One had to know that part of the difficulty in drawing Runes was perfecting the Rune itself. The drawing itself was just the foundation. To actually form Runes, one had to inject their own Qi and intent into the Rune to make it come to live.
So, the issue was the Young Mistress could not operate Qi. No matter how talented she was at mimicking Runes, if she could not take the next step, all these Runes she drew out would just be mere drawings. They held no power.
Hong Jun stared at amazement for a moment. At that point, he could not help but see the potential in this child right here.
One had to know that even with perfect memory, creating a proper Rune was still exceptionally difficult. Every stroke had to be perfect. Precise was not enough. It literally had to be perfect.
Runes were different from Arrays because unlike Arrays, which source power from its Array Core, Runes absorb power from Heaven and Earth. Naturally, it did not just mean the surroundings, it also meant the paper they were drawn on and the ink used.
Runes were also not created, they were passed down.
Unlike Arrays which could change in design, Runes were basically fixed. Any change, even in the tiniest of strokes, could ruin the entire Rune. Thus, all the Runes Hong Jun knew about had been passed down onto him through books or someone’s inheritance. He was simply incapable of creating a Rune of his own, despite being an Immortal King.
As for where Runes originates from, even Hong Jun did not know. Though some might call him an expert in the True Dao of Runes, he himself would never dare claim such a lofty title. In fact, he had always felt that he merely scratched its surface. There was so much to the True Dao of Runes that eluded him.
Yang Ji continued to draw and draw. In fact, at this point, each one of his drawings were perfectly on point. There was not a single flaw in any of them. Every twitch in his muscle controlled, every breath even. He was like a machine, writing the same exact few Runes over and over again.
But of course he was. He investigated the Runes time and time again after each one he wrote. He truly could not find any further flaw. Yet, why was it that he felt nothing?
[It’s the same thing. I don’t think there is any difference in the shape and the timing. Why is it that I still can’t feel anything? This is no different to me just writing…] Yang Ji suddenly stopped. He raised the brush and turned toward Hong Jun. “There no longer seems to be any difference between what you wrote and what I wrote. Is there something I’m missing?”
Hong Jun’s eyes narrowed a little. In truth, he was reluctant to teach Yang Ji. He thought that these few Runes, needing to write them perfectly, would require a considerable amount of time out of Yang Ji. Who knew that the boy would be truly done in two hours?
No, technically, it only took him half an hour. Past the half an hour mark, Yang Ji’s drawings had all been perfect. Even with his powerful Divine Sense, Hong Jun truly could not spot a single flaw in what Yang Ji wrote.
The boy simply continued to draw, and Hong Jun saw no need to stop him. However, it turned out that this crippled prodigy held enough realisation to now seek further guidance.
Yet again, under the stares of so many onlookers, more than previously due to the massive list of trial Runes on the deck, Hong Jun had to deliver a proper answer.
“No. I’m impressed the Young Mistress is so talented in drawing out Runes. You’ve already written everything perfectly. The next step is to understand what each Rune does.” Hong Jun said and with a flick of his finger, one of the Runes floating in mid-air sat above his finger. “This one is a basic Wind Calling Rune. It can contain and release the power of Wind.”
Hong Jun gave it a light tap and the Wind Rune immediately glowed. A breeze soon blasted out, enveloping the trio. It was by no means weak, but it was also not strong enough to do any damage.
Yang Ji saw this and his eyes narrowed. He could not help but ask Wu Lun through his Divine Sense. “Was it me, or did he inject his Qi into the Rune? Then, the Qi suddenly took the form of Wind?”
“You’re not so blind, after all.” Wu Lun quibbed. “Yeah, Runes convert the energy of Heaven and Earth into its purpose creation. It’d be nice if it can just run off World Energy, right? But sadly, most Runes require more juice to show their effect. So, you’d still need to inject energy into them.”
“‘Most?’”
“Yeah, some Runes can run on World Energy, but you will probably never use them. No, scratch that, I doubt you will be able to find them. But, don’t worry about that for now. You’ve only learnt some basic crap that you can see in books. You need to push for more to get your money’s worth.” Wu Lun said and instructed Yang Ji on what to do next.
Meanwhile, the boy could not help but wonder, [Ah. So, that’s why he said ‘You think ordinary paper can hold the power of an Immortal King?’ So, talisman sheets must be able to store the Qi of the user… in that case, doesn’t that mean I would need to be able to cultivate before I can actually make use of Runes?]
Still, even if he could not really use it right now, he could at least learn whatever he could during this period and make use of it once he began cultivating.
Yang Ji turned towards Xing Ting and asked, “Can you see if any of these work?”
Yang Ji pointed to one of the most recent Rune he had drawn on the deck, which he found to be the most perfect.
It was the same Wind Calling Rune.
However, Hong Jun interjected, stopping Xing Ting. “Young Mistress, it would be useless for her to inject her Qi into it. The True Dao of Runes is not so easily manifested as a mere drawing. One’s insights into the True Dao also affects how the Rune performs. Though you have understood how to draw out their shape, you have not curved out their core.”
“Core?”
“Exactly. Each Rune gained their form not as an objective, but it is merely a byproduct.” Hong Jun said, which caused Yang Ji to furrow his brows in confusion. After all, he had checked the sample Rune with his Divine Sense before. He had truly drawn out everything to the exact same. Just what was this nonsense about objectives and byproducts?
Hong Jun paused for a moment to let Yang Ji absorb what he had just said. Then, he drew another Rune in the air. It was exactly the same Wind Calling Rune.
Yang Ji did a quick check for both Runes, and found them to be no different. However, when Hong Jun passed Qi to the other one, nothing happened. It was no different to those that Yang Ji had drawn.
Seeing Yang Ji’s frown deepen, Hong Jun asked, “To you, are Runes alive or dead?”
“How can they possibly be alive?” Yang Ji immediately answered while looking at his own Runes.
Hong Jun shook his head. He crushed both Runes and using both hands, drew another paired copy. Like before, they both looked perfectly the same. In fact, Hong Jun did the same and injected his Qi into both once more.
However, he did not inject at the same pace as before. The Qi he injected was much slower, much more gentle. As a result, the Rune on the left took time to activate while the Rune on the right remained still as ever.
The left Rune produced the same gust of wind, but it felt tiny bit weaker, probably due to the limited Qi that was being poured into it.
Yang Ji, who saw this, placed all his focus on the two Runes. Since the Qi for the left Rune took time to activate, he could sense that something was different between the two. Outward appearance might be the same, but it felt like inside, they were vastly different. The flow of Qi itself was different.
But… How could that be? How was it possible for the Qi flow to be different? Hong Jun had not done anything different but slowed the rate of his Qi being released.
Yang Ji’s eyes narrowed. [Alive? Does the difference lie in one being alive while the other is dead?]
Even as he thought so, he could not possibly accept Runes gaining a life of their own. That was far too absurd of a proposition to even consider.
Still, the mystery lay before him, like an opened book that could not be read. Wu Lun had told him that he should not ask Hong Jun further in this regard, that he needed to resolve this mystery on his own. He mentioned how this was crucial if he wanted to learn more.
While in thought, the Rune on the right suddenly glowed. This was the same Wind Calling Rune yet, it was also different. The blast of Wind within was more abrupt, and its strength was far stronger than the one on the left. Yet, after one sudden blast, it completely crumbled.
[What!?] Yang Ji was thoroughly confused. He thought that Rune was just inert, but it showed a completely different effect from the left Rune. It was the same Wind Calling Rune yet different. How could such a thing possibly exist?
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