The physical changes were no longer the most concerning thing for Chen Jing, what he was worried about was the curse of the dead soul attached to his soul. Without a virtual spirit, he couldn't see how many more red spots had been added to his soul and how many had turned green. This was what he was most worried about, and in recent days, he had been trying to find a balance between the black butterfly fantasy in that sword and the real world.

  When his mind entered the world of the black butterfly in that sword, his own consciousness was extremely faint, so he could calm down the vengeful spirit. This feeling is similar to when he casts Instant Sword Technique, yet it's completely different. When casting Instant Sword Technique, Chen Jing had a sense of unity with the sword, looking at the world through the eyes of the butterfly in the sword, as if he was the spirit controlling the sword.

  One is refinement, refining the sword and spirit. One is fusion, fusing to the point of indistinguishability, only then can one forget, only then can one sever the root of the curse of the lost soul's nightmare.

  If Chen Jing were to teach others how to grasp these two states now, even if he could verbalize it, others would still not be able to learn. Because that feeling can only be known through personal experience. Yu and Rong seem to differ greatly on the surface, but the true feeling is actually just a thin line apart, and cannot be clearly expressed.

  These days, he found that the power of the Soul Curse was growing stronger. If it weren't for him escaping into the world of Black Butterfly before each outbreak, cutting off all thoughts in between, he would have long been lost and become a true demon.

  After leaving Qin Guang City, Chen Jing always let the virtual spirit use 'Soul Mirror' to reflect himself every now and then, observing how long it would take for the Soul Curse to go from dormant to active. Previously, after a period of quiet sitting, at least ten or more hours would pass before the Soul Curse would be triggered, but now it would trigger in just a few hours, without even being stimulated.

  From here back to Jiuhua State, it should be a journey of over 200,000 miles. Chen Jing is afraid that he will not return to the embroidered spring bend before seeking eternal sleep on the ground. At that time, I'm afraid that in order not to become a killing corpse, he will fall into an illusion forever and never wake up again.

  So he is now looking for a balance point, where most of his spirit merges with the Black Butterfly, but leaves behind a thread of consciousness to control his body and head towards Jiuzhou.

  It has been more than three months and still can't find it.

  The time he spent on the road while awake grew shorter and shorter, the silent time of the lost soul grew shorter, but the time he fell into a trance-like state, forgetting himself, grew longer and longer. Although the aura from the underworld on his body was growing fainter, the spiritual energy in the talisman had slowly transformed into the spiritual energy of this world. But the danger that clung to his bones like a ghost did not weaken, but instead grew stronger.

  Before he was overtaken by the woman named Mo in that valley, he had this feeling. Not long after, Mo appeared out of nowhere, and Chen Jing didn't sense anything at all. Now this feeling has arisen again, and he wonders if someone else is closing in nearby.

  Waking up in the cold pool, looking at the towering trees all around, sunlight can't penetrate at all. Looking at the mountains embracing from all sides, I have a feeling of being trapped like a turtle in a jar. A sense of being buried here for no reason arises.

  "It would be great if it rained now." Chen Jing suddenly thought.

  If it's raining, he can use the rainwater to escape, and at that time, the air is filled with spiritual energy, so even if he escapes, no one will notice. But now if he uses the water escape technique, the spiritual energy fluctuates greatly, making it easy to be discovered. Escaping in the wind and rain would be silent, and even if there's a secret method to break the escape technique, it would still be extremely difficult to detect. As for flying with a sword, although it's fast, it's also more eye-catching, and at that time, it will also produce a humming sound from the sword.

  Just then he remembered that he seemed to have a book of magic spells on him, and hastily felt in his bosom, where the book was still intact. He took it out and found that it had not been wet by the water, but the words "summoning the wind and rain" on the cover seemed to shine even brighter after being soaked.

  The spell of summoning wind and rain had no power to defeat the enemy in Chen Jing's impression, but now he wanted to learn it quickly. When the time came, he would summon the wind and rain, merge with them, and escape by borrowing the rain. What a refreshing feeling! There was also a chance to escape.

  Until now, he carefully looked at the book cover and saw that apart from the big characters "Calling the Wind and Rain", there was also a dark pattern. Upon closer inspection, the picture depicted a scene of strong winds and heavy rains. Although this blurry wind and rain diagram didn't show anything special, Chen Jing felt a sense of grandeur.

  "Could this be some kind of powerful magic?" He felt a surge of excitement, and as he opened the first page, the first line that caught his eye read: "Summoning the ninth heaven's whirlwind to blow away all things, calling forth the weak water to reveal its true form. The heavens change color, the world returns to dust."

  The first page only has a few sentences, with characters that seem to be blown by the wind and submerged in the green mountains. At first glance, it appears chaotic, yet it also gives off a sense of mystery. However, upon closer inspection, one feels an overwhelming grandeur, with a majestic aura that makes all other methods pale in comparison.

  Chen Jing couldn't help but turn to the next page again, but the content inside made him stunned. The words were like dragons and snakes, twisted together, but he didn't recognize a single one. Turning further back, the font became more and more complicated, yet still not a single word was recognizable.

  "Seal script?" Chen Jing pondered in his heart, he would draw many seals with spiritual energy, but those were all because he had become the River God and naturally knew them after receiving the imperial seal. He didn't know what they meant at all, let alone recognize the seal script. This suddenly reminded him of Zhao Yuzai who recognized the seal script. With a faint sigh, he put away the book and looked up at the sky again, unable to see the sky but knowing it was probably around dusk. He closed his eyes once more to sense the surroundings, then opened them and headed in one direction.

  It turned out that the mountain had a mountain god, and he secretly warned himself in his heart. He silently recited a big intention and quickly went towards the valley outside. One step out, his body floated like the wind, and he swiftly moved between the trees, quickly arriving at the entrance of the valley. However, when he walked out of the valley entrance for that instant, the scene in front of him changed again, and he returned to the edge of the cold pool once more.

  He was slightly startled in his heart, and after calming down to take a closer look, the scene was real and not an illusion. He immediately understood what was going on and cupped his fists to say: "The River God of Jinghe, Quansheng, is passing through Baoshan, I hope to borrow the road to proceed."

  As soon as Chen Jing's words fell, a sharp and shrill voice replied: "Haha, borrowing the road! Good, since you borrow the road according to the rules of heaven and earth back then, I will also follow the rules."

  "What's the rule?" Chen Jing heard that he could borrow a road, and his heart slightly relaxed. Being trapped in the mountain and fighting against the mountain god was extremely exhausting. If one wasn't careful, they would be suppressed by the opponent using the power of the mountains and rivers.

  "Of course, it's a treasure to buy a road." The sharp and shrill voice floated in the void, making it impossible to discern where he was, as if this entire mountain was speaking.

  "Exchanging treasures for a road? When did gods also become like mortals?" Chen Jing said slowly as he walked.

  "Haha, well said. But this isn't a rule I set, it's just naturally formed in heaven at the time. Do you know why?"

  "Why?"

  "We are with ordinary people in the same world, although our ways of survival are different, but we all have a heart full of hope, I am so, and you are so."

  The mountain god's voice was sharp and unpleasant to hear, but what he said made Chen Jing feel extremely reasonable.

  "I don't have any magic tricks." Chen Jingzhao said in mid-air.

  "It doesn't have to be a magic treasure, a spell will also work."

  Chen Jing's heart tightened, he had already anticipated what he was going to say, yet still asked: "I only know swordsmanship and won't use any special magic."

  "Swordsmanship is difficult to learn and master, it's not possible to achieve great success without dedicating one's entire heart and mind. Even if you had the Xian-slaying sword of the Primordial Era and the Yin-Yang Sword Dao teachings, I wouldn't learn from you even if you taught me. But seeing how focused your expression was when you were flipping through that book just now, it seems like you're not bad. Just hand it over to me, and I'll let you leave."

  Ye Qingxue once said that a person who practices swordsmanship must have a strong and unyielding heart, one that is not easily broken. In addition to this, they must also possess decisiveness and sharpness, a determination to sacrifice their life for the sake of the way, and a sharpness that would rather be shattered like jade than remain whole like pottery.

  "Do you have one?" Chen Jing asked Ye Qingxue after she had tried in vain to persuade him not to learn swordsmanship.

  Chen Jing suddenly thought of Ye Qingxue's question back then, but he couldn't remember how he had answered it. He sighed in his heart: "After all, it has affected my memory. Perhaps one day, my memories will become fragmented and disordered." Listening to the Mountain God talk about the Exterminating Immortal and the Yin-Yang Sword Dao, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity, but couldn't recall anything.

  He walked step by step towards the outside of the mountain, and replied: "You and I are both gods, living in this world. Although our lives are much longer than those of mortals, we also have three disasters and six difficulties, and we will also be affected by cause and effect. It is inevitable that one day we will fall into trouble, just like me today. If you can let me go, I will repay your kindness another day."

  "Haha... anyone can make empty promises. What makes you think you have the ability to fulfill them?" The sharp voice echoed through the void.

  "Then how do you want me to prove it." Chen Jing stopped, because he found himself standing by the edge of the cold pond again.

  "If I were to ask you to leave this mountain, it would be somewhat unseemly. The mountain on your left is a cliff, and if you pass through the forest and walk along the cliff wall to the top, you can do so." This voice was no longer as sharp and ephemeral as before, but came from the high air on the left. Chen Jing looked to his left, and a steep cliff wall that pierced the clouds appeared out of nowhere. He clearly remembered that there had been no such mountain wall before.

  Concentrating his mind, he gazed at the divine technique that was supposed to emerge from his heart, but nothing changed. He couldn't help but sigh in dismay, thinking that the divine technique was becoming increasingly useless, not just the divine technique, but also the spells in the imperial edict, which had too many inexplicable and unused techniques up until now. If it weren't for him having a deep understanding of the water's mysteries, how would he have escaped from Mount Wu with his life a few years ago? He thought to himself: "No wonder there are so many divine techniques and mysterious arts circulating in the world that can see through the nine hells." As for these techniques, he had been skeptical before, but only after being trapped in Qin Guang City did he realize the power of those mysterious and divine techniques.

  Chen Jing walked directly towards the cliff, his footsteps calm and peaceful, as if strolling in a leisurely courtyard. He arrived at the edge of the precipice, reached out to touch the icy smooth surface, and gazed out into the endless wind and rain, which had turned the cliff a dark grey. Looking up, he found that the top was even larger than the bottom, giving him a sense of being top-heavy and liable to topple over at any moment. Suddenly, he felt a strange illusion, as if the mountain spirit might take advantage of the situation to crush him beneath this very precipice.