Chapter 128: 128. Madness

"Imagine the inscription as a line of text. You understand its meaning because it's written in a language that you can read. However, simple words can't express the language of the "Breath", that's why cultivators use inscriptions instead of words. The same goes for the ink used in the writing: normal ink can't contain the true meaning behind the words of the "Breath". So, what would the ink for the inscriptions be made of?"

Ivor drank a mouthful of wine, waiting for Noah to answer.

"Only the "Breath" can be used to write its language."

Ivor nodded.

"That's right. Nevertheless, in the Elemental forging, it's the will of the cultivator that dictates the effect of the inscription. There is no need for translation or understanding, the cultivator sets the meaning behind his writing."

Noah sat on the floor in front of Ivor and fell deep in thought.

'In the Attunement method, a cultivator learns to hear the "Breath" and copies its meaning, writing it with the "Breath" itself. In the Elemental forging, the cultivator writes his own meaning, it's no wonder that a strong will is needed to create a satisfactory effect.'

A doubt formed in his mind and he raised his gaze to look at the Professor.

"What is the ink in the Elemental forging?"

Ivar nodded again and continued his explanation.

"This is one of the first problems of the method. Even if a cultivator has a will that equals the Heaven and Earth, it will be useless if he lacks the ink that can sustain the meaning of his words. However, only the "Breath" can give birth to such wonderful effects."

Ivor took out a filthy book from his backpack and handed it to Noah.

"You can imagine though that the "Breath" of Heaven and Earth will never follow the instructions of a cultivator, it barely allows some of them to hear its language after all. That's why, if you want to use the Elemental forging method, you need to steal the "Breath" from Heaven and Earth."

Ivor pointed at the book and Noah carefully opened it.

He was so engrossed by the speech that he totally disregarded the poor state of its pages.

Inside it, a description of a technique to absorb "Breath" and refining it was illustrated.

Noah read with wide eyes before speaking with an incredulous voice.

"Is this really possible?"

Ivor nodded, releasing a small laugh.

"This is only the first part of the method, it will allow you to store the ink needed for the inscription. Then, it will be the time for the forging but I don't want to increase my headache to explain it before you are successful in this part."

Ivor stood up and prepared to exit the door when Noah stopped him.

"How do I know that all of this is possible? For what I read here, many of these processes are conflicting with the theories about cultivation."

Ivor snorted and took out a small sheathed knife from his backpack.

"Have you seen an inscribed weapon before?"

Noah nodded and focused on the knife.

"This is my masterpiece and the only stable product that I managed to forge. I made it imbuing my meaning of sharpness."

He unsheathed the knife by less than a centimeter and hastily put it back inside the cover.

"If you decide to give up, I want that book back."

Ivor exited the lodging, leaving a confused Noah still sitting on the floor.

'Is he brain-damaged? I felt nothing form that gest-'

THUD!

He stopped his thoughts because he heard a thump behind him.

He turned and his pupils constricted looking at the scene.

The bed was cut in two and a long vertical sign was on the wall behind it.

'What the fuck? When did that happen?'

Noah stood up and inspected the bed.

It was a clean cut and some residual traces of "Breath" were still there.

Noah looked again at the book in his hands, his expression became serious.

'I endured the Forging of the Seven Hells because my family wanted to slow my improvements. I find nothing wrong in doing something as dangerous because Heaven and Earth want to do the same.'

He sat on the broken bed and began to read through the pages.

'Absorption and refinement of the "Breath" in the sea of consciousness, this is madness.'

The technique created a way for the mental sphere to absorb the "Breath" in the environment and then refining it as a personal form of energy for the cultivator.

'But the sea of consciousness is almost immaterial, how can it store something so powerful?'

The mental sphere was the most independent part of a cultivator.

Even in the dantian, the "Breath" would oppose the act of compression, maintaining its nature, what would it do to the mental sphere if it was refined in there?

'Maybe that's how Ivor's sphere cracked.'

Noah memorized the technique and decided to give it a try.

'Let's start with the size of half a fingernail.'

Noah concentrated and his half-transparent figure in his sea of consciousness opened its eyes.

Noah moved toward the bottom of the sea, in its deepest part.

'Here there should be fewer damages in case of a failure in the procedure.'

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His figure crouched and touched the sphere with his hands.

Slowly, the hands began to trespass the border of the walls, immersing themselves into the substance of his sphere.

After a few minutes, the hands came out of the edges of the sea of consciousness, right into the material world.

Noah felt his hands being disintegrated by the pressure of the outside world but the water inside the sea entered his ethereal body, reconstructing them.

Noah endured the pain and hastily made a gesture which expended even more of his mental energy to create a suction force on the outside world.

In a few seconds, a small strand of black "Breath" reached his hands and used the half-transparent body as a connection to enter his sea of consciousness.

The "Breath" was surrounded by the sea as soon as it entered the borders of the mental sphere and struggled madly to escape the restraints.

At some point, it self-detonated, creating a shock wave that made all Noah's mental sphere shake.

Noah interrupted the technique and opened his real eyes, holding his head due to the immense pain he was feeling.