"Actually, the source species does not exist."
As soon as he spoke, the old knight's words shocked the boy.
Hilliard stared deeply at Ian who was condensing the 'Source Seed', and said calmly: "It is fake, illusory, something that only exists in our imagination."
--Fake? !
"But, teacher, haven't you emphasized so many times that the foundation of sublimation is the source seed...am I just condensing it now?"
Confused, Ian immediately asked, with a puzzled look on his face: "How on earth can we explain this?"
"Ian, look at my face."
In response to the boy's doubts, the old man just raised his hand and pointed at his face.
After Ian's gaze focused on him, the muscles and skin on his face squirmed and soon turned into the appearance of 'Osenna' again.
"This is true, and it is also false. My skin, muscles and blood can form ten thousand different looks. If other people think this is reality, then they will never be able to find out the real me."
The old knight said lightly, then raised his hand and pointed at the tide outside the window: "Did you see those waves and moonlight?"
Ian raised his head and saw that the dark blue waves were rolling under the silver moonlight in the middle of the night, and he already understood: "I saw it."
Hilliard smiled: "Those are true, and they are all false."
"You live by the sea, and you naturally understand that the color of seawater depends on the sunlight, the sand suspended in it, and the amount of seaweed. Simply taking out seawater, or distilling pure water, it has no color, which is more Reality at the bottom.”
"The sky reflects the color of the sea, and the light of the sun and the moon is composed of dozens or even more genealogy. The rainbow is the proof, but on the surface, it is just gold or red, silver or white. It’s just light.”
Turning his head and looking at the sea, the old man sighed: "Another example is the whirlpool in the sea... Do whirlpools really exist in essence? It is just a form of sea water flow. It is moving sea water and opposing ocean currents. , it just happens to be able to draw fish and ships into it, making the ocean churning."
"Just like the homologous species, it is just the source of movement. Does it really need to be fixed at the heart, just like the whirlpool really has to be in the middle of the sea?"
——The answer is of course no.
Ian's eyes widened. He was stunned for a moment and then suddenly enlightened.
"I understand." He murmured, and then his tone became extremely happy: "Yes, if I can freely control the source of matter, do I really need to fix the source of matter in my heart?"
"Although this is generally the most convenient, if the source material is moved directly to the intestines and stomach after eating, wouldn't the absorption efficiency of the source material be several times higher?"
"Yes, the source seed is not an organ that needs to exist all the time and can only be fixed in one place... It may be a little difficult to condense it for the first time, but as long as I practice in the future, I can easily condense it in one breath! "
"More than that."
Even soon, Ian figured out the real secret that Hilliard wanted to tell him: "The most important thing is the dialectic between truth and falsehood!"
"The source seed is false, but it still exists. It is just a flowing source of essence, but it still has the effect of a second heart..."
"Yes, kid. That's it."
Hilliard looked at Ian with joy, who obviously knew the key.
He spoke softly and elaborated on these mysteries that have been passed down orally between masters and disciples of sublimators since ancient times: "Whether it is psychic energy or sublimation, the first step in practice is to observe the world, summarize the laws, and seek the truth."
"But is the world we observe 'real'?"
"No. What we can see with our eyes, like your and my appearance, the colors of the sea and the sky, the whirlpools in the sea and the light of the sun and the moon in the sky, are all things that float on the surface."
“Without analyzing the inner truth and just observing these appearances, it is impossible to make progress.”
The old knight looked at Ian, smiling at this possibly the smartest student he had ever taught in his life.
He stated calmly: "Just like Ian, you dissected your uncle. If you don't dissect the truth, how can you get close to it?"
"We humans are not a species that can directly see the truth. What we see with our eyes is just like looking through a mirror, it is all illusion and hazy."
"so."
He said: "Let's just start with the 'false' 'imagination'."
“Imagine boldly, be careful with evidence.”
"From falsehood to reality, starting from the imaginary source, and finally truly upgrading one's own life essence. This is the essence of the sublimator."
"Ian, you are still young, and I don't expect you to understand it now...but this is the true secret shared by all ascendants, regardless of bloodline or true form."
"——Use the false to turn into the real, from the false to the true."
To all this, Ian listened carefully.
He learned with respect and curiosity.
Learn everything he has never known before.
One sentence of true transmission, thousands of false ones. Although what Hilliard said was simple, it broke the boy's inherent impression of the road to sublimation.
That is not an ancient and decadent system that uses confusing riddles and all kinds of weird proper nouns to prevent others from understanding...
It is a way of admitting that one does not know the truth, so one pursues the truth and promotion.
——Cultivation in this world may not be as simple as I imagined.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself, and an even brighter spark ignited in Ian's heart: "The world of Terra has its own set of philosophy and logic to explain their world, explain the relationship between psychic energy, reality and self, and summarize It’s an extremely scientific system.”
"I understand...I still need to study hard."
Slowly closing his eyes, Ian thought seriously: "Turn falsehood into reality, turn fiction into reality..."
"There is no need to limit it to one place, my body is the ocean of source matter."
"And source seeds are the ubiquitous whirlpools in the ocean."
At this moment, the light blue lines reflected on the boy's body began to gradually become blurred, and the circular geometric shapes intertwined around his heart melted like ice and snow.
But the light blue source of light did not dissipate. Gradually, they changed from clear and fixed etching patterns to water flow, clouds and mist silently, to erratic and smooth lines.
——Where is the 'ring'?
The mist is floating and the clouds are flowing.
——'Rings' are everywhere.
Time flows.
Under Hilliard's gaze, as the rays of light emerging from Ian's body were absorbed into his body and returned to the blood circulation, everything gradually came to an end.
In the center of the chest, a light cyan light that only sublimated people can see flickers.
success. The boy successfully condensed and replaced the virtual source seed created for him by Hilliard with his own source seed.
Raising his head, Ian looked at the old knight. When Hilliard raised his hand and wanted to applaud and praise, he smiled slightly.
The next moment, with a soft halo of light flashing, the source seed in Ian's body dispersed.
Completely dissipated without any residual structure remaining.
"oh!"
Hilliard's eyes widened. He was shocked at first, but then his expression was filled with surprise.
Because, a moment later, there was another halo of source material flowing, and Ian successfully condensed the source seed for the second time.
And this time, the speed, proficiency, and even the structure of the source species itself are all new improvements compared to the first time!
"The source of essence needs to be condensed, and it also needs to be used."
Standing up, Ian not only didn't feel any weakness at this moment due to using too much physical strength and source material, he even felt that his body was light and full of invisible power.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands. The white and slender hands of a child seemed to be breakable by a blow, but now they were able to hit hard punches that were difficult for adults.
"The same goes for source species."
He raised his head and looked at his teacher. Ian smiled and said: "The source seeds need to be condensed and also need to be dissipated."
With a thought, he caused the source seed in his body to dissipate for the second time, and then in five breaths, he condensed it in another place that was not in his heart.
condensed in the liver.
At this moment, Ian opened his precognitive vision.
He could no longer see his source of seed, because after several consecutive dissipations and re-condensations, the golden source of Hilliard had been completely digested by him. Although he has less physical strength, he is still full of energy.
However, even so, the boy could still see that, as the source of essence that had been re-condensed in the liver circulated, the fragments of source of essence flowing around him began to condense.
In the end, under the processing of the invisible Source Seed, it turned into wisps of light cyan, extremely condensed Source Seed chips.
That is... the source of golden mist lingering in the precognitive vision.
One of the highest levels of sephiroth.
The cyan source material intertwined with the golden halo, and the cyan-gold radiance merged into the liver, making this ordinary organ begin to be dyed with a layer of light from the inside out.
——Sublimation has already begun.
Ian raised his head, and he saw Hilliard's pleased eyes.
"congratulations."
The teacher smiled from the bottom of his heart and said with joy and expectation in his eyes: "It couldn't be better, Ian."
"From today on, you have officially embarked on the road to ascension."
