Chapter 44 - Great Spirit Integration Part 1

“So many techniques. Ah, what do I choose?” Shu grumbled as he browsed through several bookcases.

“How about finding a Practitioner technique with several stages? Similar to the living spirit technique in your body, but with different effects as you increase your mastery over the many stages,” Spook chimed in.

“Someone might hear you,” Shu whispered, looking around.

“I checked. No one is on this floor. You can relax,” Spook grinned. “I’m serious, though. The greatest Practitioner techniques are the ones with several stages. Not only that, a Practitioner with high enough mastery and insight can create further stages and make the technique their own. Your Radiant Howl technique is, no doubt, a powerful spirit technique. Blades of water that you can manipulate. You can make it ice or swirl outward like a whirlpool formation. However, it is just a material spirit technique. You don’t need to find another with that evolving technique at your disposal.”

“You’re talking about soul techniques—techniques that target a person’s Mystic Stone. How does that apply to magical beasts, Hyperion, and mages? Mages don’t have, or need, Mystic Stones at any level. Also, Hyperion and magical beasts have demonic cores,” Shu sighed. “Since I learned that in class, I’ve mostly been researching how to strengthen my soul’s defenses in case I encounter such an expert on soul attacks.”

“Demonic cores are the souls of Hyperion and magical beasts. As for mages or ordinary creatures, soul attacks can still kill them. Soul attacks target a person’s life force. Hyperion and magical beasts cannot live without demonic cores. Practitioners cannot live if their Mystic Stone is destroyed. Sealing it just bars them from using spirit energy. It has a higher degree of difficulty to learn, but it is the most effective in combat. Most creatures don’t condense their soul or own a soul-protecting artifact,” Spook answered. “I believe it is something you should learn. It will help you in killing the Hyperion. Trust your talking ring. I was made from two rings owned by the Great Ancestor and fused together by a Spirit Sage. Trust your ring. I’m here to help and guide you, under orders by the Great Ancestor. It’s why I was made.”

“Right. I’ll look for one,” Shu agreed. “Thanks. It’s good to know someone with vast amounts of knowledge.”

“Speaking of knowledge, I suggest putting all your valuables in me. I have a spatial ability. You can store unlimited amounts of stuff in me. Not only that, no one can access what’s in the ring or sense that I have such an ability. Everyone will think I am just a simple skull ring. I was forged by a Demon Emperor, the Great Ancestor himself,” Spook grinned with pride.

“What should I keep in the storage bag?” Shu asked.

“Keep most of your gold in me and leave about two hundred million in that storage bag. As for the lion wine, keep three barrels in that storage bag. Just a barrel alone is enough for most Spirit Shamans to kill for. Keep your clothes in there too—more realistic. However, the jacket the Overseer gave you should be with me. It’s good stuff. Other than that, keep ten percent of your spirit pills in there. Put the true Archon body technique manual in me,” Spook began. “Oh, and the dagger too. Since you revealed the flying moon blades, keep them in that storage bag. I think that’s it, since you have that stone talisman in your pocket all the time. Oh, put the pearls of liquid elixir containing the essence of the elements and the planet’s life force in me. You definitely do not want to be questioned about how you got those. In fact, just put the stone talisman in me too. You don’t need it when you’re on campus. Use it when you head to the mountains to find that hidden valley.”

“Uh, right,” Shu said and did as Spook advised, sorting his storage bag and putting most of his valuables into Spook.

“Now it won’t matter if someone steals from you. Now, use your spirit sense. Some of the more powerful techniques can emit spirit energy, even if it is written in a book or scroll,” Spook grinned before becoming still again.

Shu drank a few sips of his lion wine and focused his spirit energy into his eyes as he closed them. He opened them slowly and began walking to the northern section of the floor, stopping before a few statues that towered over scrolls and books on pedestals. He could vaguely feel spirit energy coming from those texts. Shu began looking at the titles, not daring to read the contents within. He only unrolled a scroll enough to see the title and only opened a book if he did not see the title on the cover or spine.

“Wraith. Bahamut. Guard my body if I fall into a coma. Make sure I am not moved in the slightest. Wraith, tell the demon lion at the bottom of the stairs to bar the path until I descend. It should comply as it knows who I am,” Shu ordered.

“Yes, master,” Wraith said and leapt from his shadow as Bahamut extended to its full size and laid down behind him, facing the stairs.

“Okay. Time to learn a new technique,” Shu grinned as he picked up a white scroll with the image of a black phoenix with purple tail feathers encircling a black lotus and unrolled it to read the title and a brief description before a warning about the scroll’s contents.

“Hello, junior. You wish to learn one of the techniques personally made by me, the Black Lotus Immortal? This technique is profoundly difficult. Why? Because you can use more than one element for this technique! I had the beast spirit of an Evil God Phoenix. I used this technique to combine the elements of fire, wind, and darkness into the ultimate soul technique!” the scroll stated. “Elements? They are just aspects of spirit energy. Is the fire a Practitioner creates the same as fire he can manipulate? No. He turns his spirit energy into fire. What you will combine is not the element you convert your spirit energy into, but the essence of elemental spirit energy you use to perform the act itself. I did not really combine fire, wind, and darkness together. Their properties exist, but they coexist in harmony without destroying or neutralizing each other. Of my five ultimate techniques, this is the only soul technique I created. It is not the most powerful, but it is the most deadly. If you have dual spirits, you’ll be better off.”

“Interesting. Combining different elements together and it still wasn’t his most powerful technique. What a monster,” Shu admired. “Pity it is his only soul technique. I better keep reading until the true contents of the scroll start.”

“Junior, if you have dual spirits, you should keep one manifested at all times. I personally used my weapon spirit in conjunction with my Practitioner weapon. It will allow you to get used to manifesting your spirit. Whenever you use the soul technique, a part of you will fuse with your spirit. I felt as if I was an almighty phoenix as I burned and slaughtered my enemies. This is a risk you must take. Some spirits are more powerful and feral than others. You might even lose all sense of sanity until your spirit energy is depleted. The connection is that strong,” the scroll warned.

“The soul technique that I will impart to you is called the Great Spirit Integration technique. What you will fuse with is not your own spirit. Your spirit is the catalyst for your elemental spirit energy. What you will bind with is a Great Spirit. This scroll is a key to the Spirit Realm. There, you must contract with a Great Spirit and make its power yours. If you succeed, the knowledge in the scroll will imprint itself in your mind. Mages summon spirits to fight their battles for them. You will become a Great Spirit and fight with its very power. You will assault both the material and the soul of your enemy,” the scroll read. “If you are ready for this indescribable experience, open the scroll and take its power.”

Shu sat down in a lotus position as he manifested his mask spirit on his face. He held Arctic Emperor in his left hand as he laid down the scroll. He waited for Wraith to return and position itself to protect him before laying the scroll on his lap, unrolling it with his right hand. The whole pagoda shook as a dark black light shone from the scroll. People cultivating under the formation array in the basement of the pagoda stared up as the formation was momentarily disturbed. Shu lost consciousness as his very soul separated from his body, and his body slumped into a stupor. The principal, Arthur Hog, stared at the pagoda in surprise. He knew the pagoda only shook if someone was attempting to learn one of the five ultimate techniques of the Black Lotus Immortal.

“Someone wishes to learn his technique? Which one is it?” the principal murmured and felt pity as he believed the student would fail and die.

Shu woke up in the middle of a great plain. The grass waved to and fro as a cool breeze swept over the plain. Shu stood up and felt strange. He looked over his body. He did not have Spook on his right hand or Arctic Emperor in his left hand. In fact, all he wore was a simple white silk pair of pants. The tribal scorpion tattoo was prominent on his back. Furthermore, he could feel so much spirit energy around him that he had to struggle not to absorb it into his body. The tattoo glowed a jade green, and Shu could feel a reaction from the White

Ocean Tiger as well as the mask spirit he had materialized.

Shu decided to walk in a single direction and walked for what felt like hours. He never tired, hungered, or thirsted while he was there. It was as if the spirit energy was supplying him with his bodily needs. The sky was not really blue, as it had an aurora to the north, the rainbow light spreading from it like a glow. He kept walking toward that aurora, hoping to find something. Finally, he saw the end of the plain as it bordered a mountain with a large cave in the center.

Narrowing his eyes with suspicion, Shu exited the plain and entered the cave. The longer he stayed, the more powerful his spirits became. The White Ocean Tiger grew more massive, snowflakes trailing its every step as frost appeared with every breath. His soul ocean just kept expanding slowly, as if the foundation below was stretching aimlessly. His mask spirit dematerialized on his face and appeared on the tiger’s face, fully forming to cover its entire face. The change continued as armor formed on its legs.