Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 381 - 332: Going Home

Chapter 381: Chapter 332: Going Home
In the dimly lit cave, the Ink Silk Clone carefully examined the Sumeru Hourglass nestled in the groove of a stone table.
The whole affair was indeed peculiar. If he hadn’t assisted Abe Takano back then, he wouldn’t have obtained the Water Spirit Bead, nor discovered the Time Sand within. And without the Time Sand, his visit to the Jialan Sect ruins wouldn’t have triggered the hidden Sumeru Hourglass.
Coincidence? Destiny? Could it really be as the books in the Academic Palace say, that anomalies attract each other?
The cave echoed with his mutterings. Li Ang still couldn’t be sure what would have happened if he hadn’t "returned" a sufficient amount of high-density Mo Si to the Bodhisattva’s Purifying Bottle. Nor could he determine what the final outcome for the Jialan Sect would have been without his participation.
The cycle of time and the loop of causality were truly mind-bending. After considerable thought, he still couldn’t find an answer. He could only suppress the doubts in his mind and focus on the Sumeru Hourglass before him.
There was still a small amount of Time Sand left in the hourglass. Li Ang experimented with it. When the Sumeru Hourglass was set upright, time began to accelerate. When it was inverted, time continually slowed, eventually stopping and even reversing.
The person holding the Sumeru Hourglass could specify its range of effect—himself, a specific surrounding space, or even the entire world. In other words, as long as there was enough Time Sand, this was essentially a time machine.
This must be the strongest effect I’ve ever seen among all first-level mutated objects. It could even manipulate the time of beings as powerful as the Demon Buddha. And there seem to be no adverse effects—at least none I’ve felt so far.
The time-controlling effect of the Sumeru Hourglass depended on the total amount of Time Sand that elapsed. Judging by the remaining amount, it was far from sufficient for another century-long journey through time.
It seems best to keep this as a last resort for saving my life. I wonder if there is any other Time Sand in the world...
The Ink Silk Clone carefully placed the Sumeru Hourglass back into the groove in the stone table and then inspected its own changes.
During the journey through the Jialan Sect, the Mo Si had engulfed a vast amount of special metals, completely transforming into a dark golden color. This transformation persisted even after Li Ang had separated many portions from it.
The Fifth Stage Mo Si could parasitize and control living beings, while its Sixth Stage ability was assimilation.
Touch metal, and it transformed into metal.
Touch fabric, and it became fabric.
Sand, stone, Jade, amber, wood...
No matter what material the Mo Si touched, it could spend some time changing into the same type of material. This transformation was not just in appearance; it could also perfectly mimic physical properties.
Apart from living beings and gases, most liquids and solids with a higher density can be simulated. Color, density, hardness, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, ductility... all could be mimicked to an indistinguishable degree. It only reverts to its original Mo Si form when destroyed.
Li Ang took a deep breath, immediately realizing the uses of this new Sixth Stage ability, such as infiltration.
If Mo Si touched flesh and blood, it could transform into a mask, covering the face and morphing into any designated appearance to disguise its user as someone else. Clothing, voice, and other features could all be simulated.
And for espionage, the Mo Si could disguise itself as fallen leaves or willow catkins, drifting into someone’s home to monitor all activity in the vicinity. It could even form weapons. The Ink Silk Clone slowly raised its arm, the end of which morphed into a flintlock long gun.
BANG!
The trigger was pulled. Accompanied by rising black smoke, a round projectile shot from the muzzle, embedding itself into the cave wall. The deformed projectile reverted to its Mo Si form, spreading slowly like a spider web on the wall.
The Ink Silk Clone transformed the flintlock gun back into an arm.
The times had changed, or perhaps they hadn’t—a high-level cultivator’s perception of danger was extremely acute. Once they were on guard, ordinary bullets could not penetrate the defenses of a Telekinesis Master or a Body Refining Martial Artist. A sneak attack from a concealed position, however, still held some promise.
However, what Li Ang truly wanted the Mo Si to become was not a weapon, but something else.
The Ink Silk Clone’s feet drilled deep into the soil like tree roots, rapidly burrowing downward to touch various trace minerals. Simultaneously, it raised its arms and crossed them in front of its body. The two arms then melted, churned, and solidified, eventually transforming into an odd-looking device.
It was composed of an iron core, a rotor, electromagnetic coils, and other structural components, forming an early, primitive generator.
The Ink Silk Clone gazed at this early generator, then outfitted it with a transformer and an electric lamp assembly.
HUM—
The rotor of the generator slowly turned, cutting through magnetic field lines, generating an electric current that flowed into the lamp.
SNAP.
The lamp suddenly lit up, illuminating the dim cave and also casting light on the Mo Si’s blurry face.
The Red-eyed Purple Lady Bees in the cave, startled by the light, instinctively took flight, filling the air with noisy buzzing. Meanwhile, Li Ang stared at the stable light, so different from an oil lamp, and fell into a long silence.
Electric power, light.
His thoughts were instantly pulled back to the modern world; the Illusion he had witnessed at the Jialan Sect had been so real, so vivid.
Memories of his time in that world continuously surged into his mind. Two worlds, two lives—neither could be easily abandoned. In terms of sheer richness of memories, that other world was perhaps even fuller.
Melancholy, reluctance, homesickness...
The Ink Silk Clone gradually stopped the operation of the generator. The light bulb went out, and the cave returned to darkness.
Go home...
In the East Chang’an inn, on the second floor, Lu Yunan, a merchant from Northern Black Mountain, sat by the window, flipping through a newspaper. Her gaze occasionally swept to the window—her clan members were loading goods onto the carts.
The Northern Black Mountain region was bitterly cold, especially in autumn and winter when it was ravaged by snow and whipping winds. It was essential to transport this batch of goods back as soon as possible to ensure the survival of her people.
KNOCK KNOCK.
The door was knocked, and the plump inn cook walked in, carrying a meal box.
"Please place it on the table, thank you," Lu Yunan said casually.
The cook put down the meal box, wiped her hands on her apron, and said with a beaming smile, "Qixi, midnight, Changle Square."
Lu Yunan was momentarily stunned, then she quickly realized. The cook was no ordinary cook; in all of Chang’an City, only one person spoke to her with that tone: Ya Jiu.
Lu Yunan slowly put down the newspaper she was holding as the wooden door of the room discreetly closed. "What do you need me to do?"
"After the twenty-fourth ringing of the Haotian Bell," the cook—or rather, Ya Jiu—took a withered Brocade Bag from her bosom and placed it on the table. "Open this Brocade Bag."
Lu Yunan glanced at the Brocade Bag emotionlessly. "A talisman? Or a Mutated Object?"
Ya Jiu smiled. "That is none of your concern. You simply need to be at that time and place, open it, and then leave."
Lu Yunan pressed on, "Why not use an iron piece for communication? And why not find someone else? With your abilities, it should be easy."
Ya Jiu shook her head. "Direct communication is better. This Brocade Bag is a bit special; it can only be opened by a true Cultivator, and everyone else has their own tasks on the night of Qixi."
"What are you planning? To destroy Chang’an?" Lu Yunan asked coldly. Ya Jiu appearing as a clone served as both supervision and a warning—the Zhao Ming’s power was vast and inscrutable. Even if Lu Yunan could escape pursuit, the entire Black Mountain Tribe could not.
"Not you, us," Ya Jiu corrected, a smile touching her lips. "The state of the world has been stagnant for far too long, hasn’t it? It’s time to stir things up a bit."