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Chapter 224 - Sea of Consciousness
🕑 Added 2025-01-22 07:00:06 +0000 UTCJust as he was about to exit his room, Leyvi suddenly remembered the Nascent Soul that was still inside his sea of consciousness.
He hadn't seen Fantylia for a long time because Anda had said not to interact with her. After he entered seclusion, he had totally forgotten about her. The days in isolation had blurred into one another, filled with endless cycles of meditation and cultivation, leaving no space for external distractions.
He stopped in his tracks and entered his sea of consciousness. The familiar pull was instantaneous and Leyvi's avatar appeared the next moment, immediately looking around.
He didn't notice any changes to his sea of consciousness. It was the same as usual, meaning Fantylia's presence couldn't affect him in any way.
Then, Leyvi faced the direction where he could feel a foreign aura, which was Fantylia.
To his shock, Fantylia had become much smaller now!
Her Nascent Soul had been the size of his fingernail last time, but now she was only the size of his dot-like mole on his palm.
What is happening? Is she dying? Does a Nascent Soul need to eat too? Leyvi was full of questions.
"Fantylia, are you alright?"
"Lord Leyvi! You are here! Please, Lord Leyvi, don't torture me anymore! I will be your loyal follower until I die! I'm begging you!" Her tiny form trembled as she spoke, her voice tinged with desperation.
Leyvi was taken aback.
Woman, when did I torture you? Don't tell me being trapped in here is already considered torture? She sure is weak-willed for someone who reached the Nascent Soul realm. He crossed his arms, observing her with a mix of curiosity and disbelief.
"Why are you so small now?" Leyvi inquired.
"Lord Leyvi, I'm not the one getting smaller. You are the one getting bigger, together with your sea of consciousness," Fantylia quickly explained. She hadn't expected that Leyvi still didn't realize what was happening. Her voice carried an undertone of frustration she tried to mask.
"Eh? I'm getting bigger? Weird... why don't I feel like that? So that means you are okay?" His brows furrowed as he processed the information, glancing at his surroundings for some visible clue.
"No, no! Lord Leyvi, I'm not okay! I feel terrible here! I couldn't even tell how time had passed. Previously, my Nascent Soul already felt oppressed here, but recently your sea of consciousness grew larger again, and the oppressive aura on me got stronger. If this continues, I might go crazy and die. Please show me mercy, Lord Leyvi!"
"Recently?" Leyvi showed a confused expression.
If recently... there was only his breakthrough. Did his breakthrough somehow affect his sea of consciousness? Could it be his new core?
No, no. Why would his core have anything to do with his sea of consciousness? The core only affects his Qi. The only thing that is closely related to the sea of consciousness right now is the spiritual sense.
Hmm? That's right! His spiritual sense went through a massive upgrade just before his breakthrough. That must be it!
Wait, does spiritual sense affect the sea of consciousness, or is it the other way around? Leyvi became even more confused.
Oh right. We have a Nascent Soul realm expert here. Why do I have to think so hard?
"Fantylia, what is the relationship between the sea of consciousness and spiritual sense? Which affects which?" he asked curiously.
Fantylia was speechless. How can you not know about this? You have a sea of consciousness this massive, and you don't know? Then how did you expand it this much? Oh lord... Why did I get greedy and mess with this family? I ruined my future.
Although vexed, Fantylia didn't dare show it and replied truthfully.
"Lord Leyvi, the sea of consciousness is our existence. Without it, we won't be ourselves anymore, meaning... death. Before a cultivator reaches the Nascent Soul realm, the brain is the vessel for it. That's why if the brain can't function, the person dies."
Leyvi nodded. He understood this part.
"Consciousness can be born without a brain, but a brain would definitely accelerate the process by countless times. For example, it takes far, far longer for a plant to give birth to its consciousness because it doesn't have a brain."
Leyvi nodded again. It reminded him of the demonic plants he had encountered in the past. Lilian said that their consciousness formed and gathered over a long period into a crystal called a demonic heart.
"As we cultivate, our body is constantly being nourished by our Qi. And when we reach the Foundation Building realm, the upgraded Qi further nourishes our body, including our brain, elevating it to another level."
"As our brain functions become greater, so does our sea of consciousness. This is how our spiritual sense comes about. Every time we have a breakthrough in our cultivation, the Qi nourishes our body again, repeating the cycle and enhancing our spiritual sense."
"Later, when the sea of consciousness advances even more, it becomes possible for us to transfer and merge it with our core, forming a Nascent Soul. At this point, the Nascent Soul is our existence. Even if our body gets obliterated, like what happened to me, I am still alive as a Nascent Soul."
"However, I can't continue to cultivate if I don't have a body... that's why I possess other people. That's all I know about the sea of consciousness. I don't know what caused your sea of consciousness to be this vast either."
Leyvi listened to Fantylia's essay about consciousness without interrupting until the end. For some reason, he was quite interested in the topic.
At this point, he already had the answer to his question. The expansion of his spiritual sense recently was caused by the upgrade to his sea of consciousness.
But now a new question arose. Why did his sea of consciousness become enhanced out of nowhere? He understood the enhancements after the breakthrough. But what about before the breakthrough?
What was that sensation he felt just before his spiritual sense became enhanced suddenly? It was definitely related to that.
Leyvi decided to stop thinking about it. He was already tired from cultivating for a long time, so he didn't want to think about stuff like this for the time being.
"Alright then. You stay in here for now. I'll come back later," Leyvi instructed.
"Eh? Lord Leyvi, please bring me out! I swear I will be obedient! I don't want to stay in here anymore. Please..." Fantylia begged.
"How can I let you out like this? Just wait for now. I'll look around to see if we can find a method to restore your body first."
"Yes, Lord Leyvi..." Fantylia could only agree dejectedly.
The next moment, Leyvi's avatar disappeared, and his real body opened his eyes.
"Maybe I should ask Anda about what to do with Fantylia," Leyvi said as he exited the room.
"CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BREAKTHROUGH!"
Everyone was already waiting outside Leyvi's room and congratulated him the moment he came out. No need to guess, his panda wife was definitely the one who gathered them to congratulate him like this.
He quickly scanned everyone, and two figures attracted his attention first.
They were Tal and Tasya. They weren't that much different physically from three years ago. Their bodies had almost fully grown by then. But their demeanor had changed. Both of them had the demeanor of adults now.
At 20 years old, Tal became a handsome young man wearing a scholarly style of outfit that was completely different from Leyvi's rugged appearance.
Tasya had also grown into a beautiful young lady who, in his opinion, wouldn't be wrong to say she was the prettiest lady in the household. She was definitely the great beauty that was often described exaggeratedly in cultivation novels.
Leyvi sighed inwardly. His disciple Tal would have a hard time having to deal with his rivals. No, he might already have to deal with a bunch of them. A great beauty like Tasya would have plenty of pursuers, no doubt. Good luck, my disciple.
His attention shifted briefly to the rest of the household. Leyvi noticed that everyone in the house had already advanced to the Foundation Building realm, including Bana. He no longer looked as old as he was before. He reverted back to his slightly older middle-aged man appearance with a straighter posture.
Leyvi wasn't sure how to act when people congratulated him like this, so he could only do what he always did. When in doubt, act goofy!
"Hahaha! Thank you, everyone. I, Leyvi Leyan, am now officially a Core Formation expert. If anyone bullies you, report it to me. I will beat them up. Behold my new strength!" Leyvi unleashed his Core Formation aura while flexing his muscles.
A mighty presence immediately enveloped everyone.
"Wow! So strong! Darling, your early-stage Core Formation aura feels stronger than my middle-stage aura," Nala exclaimed, clapping her hands together with excitement.
Ava Clover, who was watching from the back, felt worried.
Am I going to fall into this sex fiend's clutch no matter what? No, no. He only had a breakthrough in his Qi cultivation. His physical strength shouldn't have increased much. He shouldn't be able to beat me yet. I need to find a way to further my body cultivation technique. I don't believe my cultivation can only stop here!
Afterward, the group moved to the dining room to continue the celebrations. The atmosphere was lively, the sounds of laughter and clinking dishes filling the space. Tasya and the maids had long prepared the celebration dishes, most of which were Leyvi's favorite foods. The table was laden with an array of delicacies, their tantalizing aromas weaving through the room.
"When should we depart to Holy Cat City?" Leyvi asked Anda while eating.
His mind immediately imagined the Cat Lady Ghost... no, no, the City Lord of Holy Cat City after he mentioned it.
Gulp. Will he be targeted again?
