Ask the Mirror

Chapter 175: Out-of-Body

Inside Yu Ci’s storage ring were numerous medicinal herbs and pills. Among them was some Tranquil Incense that Bi Chao had given him last time. Now, fragments of these items scattered through the air and were crushed by the black tide in the void, ground even finer, and fell all over Yu Ci’s body.

If his body couldn’t endure, this would likely have been his end.

What kind of hellish place was this?

Yu Ci could barely even move his eyes now, let alone assess his surroundings. All he could see above him were fractured layers of rock, like an inverted crater looming overhead, giving him the disorienting sensation that space itself had turned upside down.

He tried using his divine soul to sense his surroundings, but the moment his soul force extended just over a foot, it was immediately suppressed and slammed back. Worse, the oppressive black tide surged inward, threatening to invade his divine soul. Yu Ci hadn’t expected such backlash. His soul was shaken as if flung into a tsunami, buffeted by giant crashing waves, one after another. Thankfully, his willpower was tough, and the lingering power of the Innate Qi of the Heavenly Dragon from earlier still remained, just enough to stabilize his soul and prevent instant annihilation.

Even so, the crushing pressure was unrelenting, determined to grind his divine soul to dust. Right now, Yu Ci’s divine soul and vital energy were tightly linked—what struck one struck the other. And with this new layer of burden, his already strained body nearly collapsed.

This couldn’t go on.

A thousand thoughts ran through Yu Ci’s mind, but there was only one thing he could do.

He steadied his focus, mustering nearly all his strength just to part his lips slightly and take a breath. Right then, fragments of crushed pills and herbs were floating in front of his face, mixed with shards of porcelain vials. As they entered his mouth, he couldn’t even begin to describe the taste.

Fortunately, the most refined pills dissolved first. A light coating of saliva was enough to separate their components. Most of it was useless residue that stayed behind in his mouth, but a small portion turned into warm currents that slid down his throat and quickly spread through his body.

“Hope this works.”

Yu Ci closed his eyes. A sequence of incantations flowed through his mind as his divine soul and vital energy resonated.

It was a sensation similar to trembling, starting at his crown and coursing through to his soles. Amid this subtle shiver, Yu Ci felt something fall away and separate from him. It was followed by the sensation of a thick membrane enveloping him. After a brief moment of nurturing inside that “membrane,” his intent surged forth like a sharp blade, instantly slicing it open.

The binding split apart. Yu Ci instinctively flexed, and in the blink of an eye, his body floated weightlessly into the air.

His perspective shifted in an instant. It felt like the entire world flipped upside down. Disoriented, he looked down and saw his own body lying motionless on the ground. He didn’t know how to feel. Raising his hand, he saw two faint, translucent shadows—it was the same with his entire floating form.

His Yin Spirit had left his body!

He had used the secret technique of the Rifting Earth Sect: “Fetal Shedding: Yin Spirit Emergence.” This method likens the Yin Spirit to a newborn and the body to the amniotic sac. Exiting the body was like a baby being born—careful and delicate. Upon emergence, a brief layer of pure yang Qi surrounds the spirit, offering a few moments of protection. For first-time users, this was considered the safest method possible. And Yu Ci had made additional preparations.

His focus shifted to the Pure Yang Talisman Sword held in his physical body’s hand. The qi he had stored before exiting burst forth, and it instantly pierced through.

The fire sealed within the Talisman Sword ignited with a whoosh. Coupled with the already high temperature of this space, the air cracked with rapid snaps, and a blaze erupted. The intense heat incinerated the surrounding air, and his physical body’s clothes turned to ash in an instant. But more importantly, as the fire surged outward, a rich fragrance spread and enveloped the area.

It was Tranquil Incense.

A few days ago, Master Bi Chao had given him the incense along with the Turtle-Crane Censer. Yu Ci had found the incense burner too bulky and left it in his room, but carried the incense powder with him. Unlike pills, incense burns better in powdered form. Now, ignited by the fire of the Talisman Sword, the entire space was quickly filled with a heady, calming aroma.

As the fragrance spread, it was as if a thick curtain had dropped from the heavens, shielding him from the cold wind. Many precious incenses in the world can calm the mind and ward off evil. Before forming a full Yin Spirit, they help nurture the divine soul; afterward, they can ease the spirit’s friction with external energies. Tranquil Incense was especially effective in this regard—far above average.

Yu Ci’s Yin Spirit now resided within this aromatic curtain, which continued to expand. Tranquil Incense was long-lasting. Bi Chao had gifted him over two pounds of it—enough for more than a month of continuous use. However, due to its powder form and direct ignition, 80% of it burned almost instantly. Even so, the aroma was so dense that even after dispersing for a while, it barely thinned.

The surrounding pressure seemed to ease.

At that moment, Yu Ci felt his just-formed Yin Spirit growing more stable. The pure yang Qi from the “Fetal Shedding” technique hadn’t dissipated yet—it was being restrained by some kind of force.

It was the medicinal effect.

This was exactly why he had inhaled the powder earlier. His storage ring didn’t contain many kinds of pills—three types for healing, two for vital energy nourishment, and only one aimed at the soul: the Soul Soothing Pill.

Back when Zhao Xiqiao had traded it for a blood treasure, he claimed that a single pill could protect the divine soul for a whole day—very useful for training Yin Spirit emergence. Relying on his keen sense of smell, Yu Ci had detected the scent of this pill in the powder at the time. Even the faintest trace was better than nothing—an extra layer of protection for his spirit.

And he had bet right.

The black tide’s crushing pressure seemed repelled by the incense. Or maybe the backlash had run its course. Either way, Yu Ci felt much more at ease now. Within the aromatic curtain, he finally had the luxury to look around.

He had previously guessed that he might be inside some hidden sanctuary, perhaps a senior cultivator’s abode, and the black tide was the result of defensive seals…

But what he saw proved that theory wrong.

This was a vast semi-open space—or rather, a massive fissure. It looked like a divine axe had smashed into the mountain, creating a cavity five miles deep and over a hundred feet tall at its highest point. Through the crack, Yu Ci could faintly see the misty void outside.

A person standing here was nothing more than a speck.

The entire opening was sloped, wide at the outside and narrowing inward. However, where Yu Ci lay was clearly an exception—it had been flattened deliberately. A platform had been carved into the sloping surface, smooth both above and below. Yu Ci was right at its center, and overhead loomed a 120-zhang-long passageway.

Floating above his body, he looked up at the pitch-dark corridor and suddenly felt a heavy, oppressive force drop down from within, pressing straight through his crown into his Yin Spirit. The feeling lasted only an instant before vanishing without a trace.

That fleeting moment was enough to make Yu Ci instinctively avoid looking at it again. He extended his spirit senses—his Yin Spirit’s perception mimicking the six human senses—and scanned the area.

Then he saw it: scattered pinpricks of flame.

Fire?

Yu Ci shuddered. In a dim place like this, fire should be the most obvious thing. Yet he hadn’t noticed a single spark before. It was like a thick veil had been covering the area, only now pulled away.

The flames came in two colors—blood-red and pale cyan—distributed throughout the cavern, with the highest concentration around the platform. Each flicker was small, the size of a bean, and they trembled in the airflow, as if about to go out at any moment. But Yu Ci could clearly feel an indescribable power hidden within them.

His spirit sense instinctively reached out. But the moment it got close, a wave of cold shot through him. A massive sense of danger erupted from the depths of his soul, making even his Yin Spirit tremble.

The black tide surged again, vast and overwhelming!

The incense curtain shattered instantly, and Yu Ci’s spirit nearly scattered. Desperately, he chanted a soul-stabilizing mantra, barely holding on. But then came a second wave, a third, a fourth—relentless, like a tidal wave that threatened to destroy everything within the cavern.

And Yu Ci understood: this place wasn’t a sanctuary, and there were no protective seals.

Only those flickering flames—each one a source of the destructive black tide!

In the blink of an eye, Yu Ci was on the verge of collapse. At this point, the incense and soul-soothing pill were useless. The protective curtain was torn apart. Without it, he became hyper-sensitive to the surrounding energies, the shockwaves even more painful.

Now, only his own willpower could hold his spirit together.

Ironically, in this desperate moment, his perception of the flames became clearer than ever. Amid his hazy awareness, he realized the flames weren’t flames at all—but two kinds of fiercely “burning” Qi. At their cores were tiny crystal-clear, jade-like…

Drops of blood?

As that thought struck, Yu Ci’s mind thundered—like a shackle breaking. A flood of images rushed into his consciousness, rearranging themselves deep within his awareness.

And he understood: this was the black tide!

It was knowledge—vast and overwhelming—seeping from the flickering flames in this massive fissure, trying to force its way into the mind of any who entered. But due to the sheer disparity in levels and the lack of a proper conduit, it transformed into an all-consuming destructive force.

Until now—when Yu Ci’s sudden realization found a key—one that unlocked the channel.

A blinding light flared from deep within his mind—born from the freshly arranged flood of information.

Yu Ci saw clouds stretching without end, pierced by a rainbow-colored beam sharp as a blade. In a flash, it sliced through four mountain peaks, then struck a massive mountain hidden deeper in the mist.

The mountain cracked open—and thus this enormous rift was born.

Then, two ghostly shadows slammed into each other from beyond the mist, entangled in violent collision. Blood sprayed from them in hundreds of droplets, the scene utterly tragic.

Each drop that struck the cliff face burst into flame, burning like oil on fire.

[Major Re-edit]

When I first took up Ask the Mirror, I was painfully unaware of just how difficult it would be to translate it. The words used in it are complex, and the unique terms in this novels are as numerous as the starts in the sky. They often appear randomly even after 60-70 chapter, which is enough for my inferior brain to forget them. And some of the terms can be translated in other ways as well, so I sometimes end up translating them differently. None of the novels I worked on before had writing like this. Clearly, I am still quite lacking in knowledge.

And that’s why there might be some inconsistencies in the previous chapters. That’s incompetence on my part. Now, here’s what I will do to fix my mistakes. Firstly, I will create a clear and precise glossary of terms (already in process). This will help me keep things consistent. Secondly, I will begin re-editing from chapter one. I will change some of the terms and fix the mistakes I will find during the process. And finally, I am going to increase the time I spend to translate this novel, which will be tough, but necessary.

The problem now is the fact that I don’t have any extra time to do the re-edit itself. I also can’t let it affect my sleep time, since sleep is the only thing keeping my brain working. So the only way is to use the time I have allotted for AM. And that’s why there won’t be any new Ask the Mirror chapter updates for a few weeks. I know I am making things hard for myself, but I think it’s necessary, since I can’t serve low quality content to the readers.

I hope you understand. Thank you!