Mu Chen's jaw dropped slightly, but he quickly calmed himself. "Are you saying you can repair my Dantian?"
"Are you kidding? A broken Dantian can't be restored unless you have an Emperor Level expert to help you. Otherwise, no one can do it." The Profound Old Ghost rolled his eyes.
Mu Chen's face darkened. "Where are you going to find an Emperor Level expert on the Extreme Martial Continent these days? Are you just messing with me because you're bored?"
The Profound Old Ghost completely ignored the second half of his question and said in surprise, "What did you say? There are no Emperor Level experts on the Extreme Martial Continent now?"
Mu Chen scoffed, "Obviously. Even a three-year-old knows that Emperor Level experts haven't existed on the Extreme Martial Continent for over ten thousand years." But then, recalling the Profound Old Ghost's surprised reaction, Mu Chen's heart skipped a beat. He asked tentatively, "Could it be... you're an Emperor Level expert?"
The Profound Old Ghost was blunt. "No. If I had the power of an Emperor, I would have gotten out of this stupid pearl long ago."
"'A stupid pearl?'" Mu Chen was confused.
"Focus your attention and enter a state of Meditation. Relax your body and don't worry about anything else."
Mu Chen quickly entered a state of Meditation. Although he couldn't practice Cultivation, he still knew how to meditate. As soon as he did, a sudden pulling force dragged his consciousness into a crystal-clear space. This space was like the night sky, dotted with countless stars. Mu Chen was stunned by the sight before him; he had never seen anything like it.
"What is this?" Mu Chen asked subconsciously.
"This is your Sea of Souls," the demonic, charming voice replied. Here, however, Mu Chen could hear it with greater clarity.
"'Sea of Souls? You mean I'm inside my own body right now?'" Mu Chen exclaimed.
The Sea of Souls, commonly known as the mind, is where every person's Soul Core resides. What made Mu Chen exclaim in shock was that only someone who had reached the Martial Master Realm could possess the ability of Introspection. Yet here he was, a cripple who couldn't even reach the level of a Martial Disciple, standing inside his own Sea of Souls. How could anyone remain calm in this situation?
"So jumpy. See anything special?" The Profound Old Ghost rolled his eyes again before asking.
Mu Chen looked closely. The entire Sea of Souls was vast and empty. Other than the crystalline starlight, there didn't seem to be anything special...
"Wait!" Mu Chen was startled again, his eyes locked on the center of his Sea of Souls. A transparent, fist-sized pearl was floating there. It was exquisitely clear and flawless. If one didn't look carefully, it would be difficult to even notice its existence.
"See it now?" the Profound Old Ghost chuckled.
Mu Chen nodded. "I see it. What is that?"
"Hehe, I can answer that question, but let's talk outside." Elder Xuan sounded very pleased. Then, Mu Chen's vision went black. When it returned, the scene before him was his own room again. Of course, he could still see everything clearly without opening his eyes.
"Can you tell me now?" Mu Chen asked impatiently.
"You little brat, you have no composure at all," the Profound Old Ghost said irritably.
Mu Chen pouted and said, "Well, like you said, I'm just a little brat."
The Profound Old Ghost cleared his throat. "Ahem, let's get back to the pearl." 'To think that after living for over a hundred thousand years, I'd get tripped up by a little brat. A miscalculation, indeed.' The Profound Old Ghost sighed and said, "This story must begin from the dawn of Chaos."
"'The dawn of Chaos? What's that?'" Mu Chen was very curious and blurted out the question without thinking.
The Profound Old Ghost was furious. "Shut up, you brat! Don't you know not to interrupt when an elder is speaking?!"
Mu Chen gave a wry smile and rubbed his nose. He could already picture a white-haired old man huffing and glaring.
Seeing that Mu Chen had finally fallen silent, the Profound Old Ghost cleared his throat and continued, "In ancient times, there was a Great Power who possessed the might to sunder the heavens and split the earth. With a single glance, oceans could turn to mulberry fields; with a wave of a hand, clouds could be overturned and rain summoned. As this Great Power's lifespan neared its end, he looked to the heavens and sighed. He seized control of Chaotic Power, shattered space, altered the rules, and forged the Extreme Martial Continent. In the continent's beginning, at the dawn of Chaos, countless wondrous objects were born. The Extreme Spirit Pearl, a supreme object of Heaven and Earth, possesses the ability to seize the good fortune of creation itself, absorbing the world's Ultimate Power for its own use. It is a Chaos Supreme Treasure."
As the Profound Old Ghost spoke, that Barbaric Aura appeared once more. His voice was like a Brahma Sound, and the story echoed in Mu Chen's mind like a series of images. Mu Chen was in absolute shock. 'Just what kind of Great Power could possess such strength, to be able to create an entire world?'
"So, do you know what this pearl is now?" The Profound Old Ghost realized he had lost his composure and let his Barbaric Aura show. He quickly suppressed it again and spoke softly.
Mu Chen's eyes were filled with shock. "This pearl... is the Extreme Spirit Pearl?"
The Profound Old Ghost replied, "Correct. It is indeed the Extreme Spirit Pearl."
Mu Chen was incredibly excited, but a thought of his current condition instantly deflated him. Dejectedly, he said, "But what does this supreme treasure have to do with a cripple like me?"
"You still don't get it. Let me put it this way: everyone's Dantian is like a small world. It's just that their small worlds are created at birth—passively created. Depending on your personal talent and luck, you might get an Attribute Dantian, you might get an Attributeless Dantian, or you might not have a Dantian at all. But no matter what, they all share one common characteristic."
"They're all innate," Mu Chen interjected.
This time, the Profound Old Ghost didn't get angry at Mu Chen's interruption. Instead, he said with appreciation, "Correct. They are all innate."
"Then why are you telling me this? Mine was innate too." Mu Chen rolled his eyes.
The Profound Old Ghost chuckled and said unhurriedly, "That was before. Now, you're the lucky brat who has been acknowledged by the Extreme Spirit Pearl as its master. A Dantian certainly can't be repaired, but..."
Mu Chen froze. "But what?"
"But, I never said it couldn't be reforged," the Profound Old Ghost said in a deep voice.
"Re... Reforged..." Mu Chen's whole body trembled, and his voice was hoarse. In that instant, he suddenly felt his throat go dry. The word "reforged" was like a savage beast, ramming itself relentlessly against his heart. He could feel his left hand trembling violently with excitement.
"Of course. If that Great Power could create a great world from nothing, why can't you create a tiny Dantian? In truth, at the dawn of Chaos, all things were just a single kind of element. These elements were extremely chaotic; you wouldn't even know what some of them were. But in the end, they all became a part of this world. Some became mountains, some became water, some became the earth, some became the heavens, and some... became you," the Profound Old Ghost said gravely.
"Right now, your Dantian is a mess of chaos, which is why you can't communicate with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. This chaotic Dantian is even tormenting your body at every moment. But think about it from another perspective: isn't your Dantian exactly the same as the world at the dawn of Chaos? All you need is a blueprint—a plan that can turn your shattered Dantian into its own world."
BOOM!
The Profound Old Ghost's words struck him like a bolt from the blue. Mu Chen was completely stunned. Reforging a Dantian... the idea was too ethereal, completely beyond his comprehension. On the Extreme Martial Continent, no one had been able to even repair a Dantian for at least thirty thousand years. After a moment, Mu Chen suddenly asked, "How do you know all this?"
"The Extreme Spirit Pearl."
"You're the Extreme Spirit Pearl?"
"No," the Profound Old Ghost denied.
"Then who are you?" Mu Chen pressed.
"A solitary soul saved by the Extreme Spirit Pearl," the Profound Old Ghost said with a sigh.
"However, after a hundred thousand years, my soul has long since fused with the Extreme Spirit Pearl, becoming inseparable from it. You could say that I am the Pearl Spirit of the Extreme Spirit Pearl," the Profound Old Ghost continued.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Mu Chen's expression was strange. 'The real world had taught him that there's no such thing as a free lunch; to gain something, you must give something. And sometimes, what you got in return for your payment was just pain. Or death.'
"To help you, and to help myself. Knowing too much right now won't do you any good. I'll only ask you one thing: do you want to become strong and reclaim your dignity, or do you want to be trampled on like a dog for the rest of your life?" the Profound Old Ghost said lightly after a moment of contemplation.
Mu Chen fell silent. Scene after scene from the past twelve years flashed before his eyes.
"Mother, why do I always have to drink this bitter medicine?"
"Mother, I want to play with my brothers too, but they don't like me."
"Mother, my brothers always call me a good-for-nothing. What's a good-for-nothing?"
"Mother, I... I want to practice Body Forging like my brothers, too."
"Mother..."
For twelve years, he had endured the daily torture of his ailing body and the gossip of outsiders. After he learned why he was a "cripple," he learned to be silent, to forbear, to be strong. He endured, hoped, and prayed for the day he could live like a normal person. He didn't need to be a dazzling genius everyone looked up to; even just being an ordinary person would be enough.
But this wish, so ordinary for anyone else, had remained a hopeless dream for him. And yet, just as he was about to give up, hope appeared. Someone was actually telling him that his Dantian could be reforged, that the brand of "cripple" seared onto his very being could be stripped away. At that moment, the grief and sorrow that had been suppressed in his chest for twelve years erupted.
"Hahaha! HAHAHAHA!..." Mu Chen roared with laughter. In that moment, he seemed to forget everything around him, focused only on venting all the grief and sorrow from his chest.
His laughter lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Mu Chen laughed until his voice grew hoarse. Two streams of clear tears ran down his cheeks, leaving silvery tracks on his face.
Mu Chen choked out, "Can I... Can I really become strong?"
There was only silence. The Profound Old Ghost didn't speak. He was shocked—shocked by the anguish suppressed in this young boy's heart. After a long while, the Profound Old Ghost's deep voice finally came. "Do you believe me?"