There were many opportunities. Clearly, Sixteen Xuan had an excellent chance to deliver a fatal blow to the Heavenly Ghost Map, yet it always hesitated to seize them.
"Brother Peng, are you teaching how to use this Divine Striking Map?"
"The Divine Striking Map isn’t particularly intricate. As long as you emulate my thod and study the disciples’ pathways from Wuwen Mountain carefully, you’ll be able to grasp its domineering essence. The true mystery lies in the Heavenly Ghost Map."
Peng Sheng perford a few more agile leaps and then said to Zhou Xuan: "Brother Xuan, I am disassembling the Heavenly Ghost Map bit by bit. Carefully sense the flow of its aura, ponder over it, and see if you can sketch out equally intricate tattoos."
Zhou Xuan understood the implication and began focusing on perceiving the aura revealed by the injuries and cracks on the Heavenly Ghost Map.
His perception, already rare within the Jing Country continent, allowed him to sense things that others—even those with eight or nine incense sticks of expertise—could not.
Piecing together these discoveries, Zhou Xuan managed to uncover so truths.
From within the Heavenly Ghost Map, he sensed the presence of nurous God-level Alien Ghosts.
For instance, the dream-like aura of "Earth Child," the sandy essence of "Six Longevities," and the resilience of "Bitter Ghost," whose fate is bitter but who persists in striving forward with unyielding strength...
These varied alien ghost auras were all sensed by Zhou Xuan through the twenty-four divine pictures.
"Sothing’s not right, Brother Peng. There’s one particular aura I can’t identify, but I can vaguely sense that it’s also from an alien ghost."
"You still lack the final three pictures from the twenty-four divine images."
Peng Sheng summoned the Ancestor Tree, letting its peach blossom branches coil around Zhou Xuan.
The last three tattoo maps: the first, a folded fan and a gavel.
The second, a misty mountain with a golden dragon coiled upon it.
The third, a blood sacrifice altar, atop which was enshrined a grim-faced, tusked evil ghost.
"Brother Xuan, the first two maps represent your roots, depicting the storyteller god ’Bi Fang’ and the dragon-seeking god ’Mountain Ancestor.’
The third map represents the alien ghost ’Longevity Master’ of the Sacrificial Ghost Tangkou."
When the aura from the three maps entered Zhou Xuan’s body, he imdiately understood, saying, "That unidentified aura earlier—it belongs to this ’Longevity Master.’"
With all the divine images mastered, the secrets behind the Heavenly Ghost Map were laid bare.
Zhou Xuan called over to Peng Sheng, "Brother Peng, the Heavenly Ghost Map is created by gathering all Heavenly Do-level alien ghosts together into one tattoo."
"Brother Xuan, you are indeed gifted."
Peng Sheng’s teaching plan began unfolding smoothly as he continued, "Nine sticks of incense later, once you master all twenty-four divine images, you will have an opportunity to design your very own tattoo map atop the twenty-four divine pictures. The Heavenly Ghost Map is this kind of tattoo.
Brother Zhou, I will now guide you into this opportunity."
Peng Sheng, while maneuvering Sixteen Xuan to battle with Peng Hou’s Heavenly Ghost Map, spoke loudly to Zhou Xuan: "Brother Xuan, you are not a mber of our Tree Clan, so you wouldn’t know about the mirror our clan sees at birth..."
A mirror again?
Zhou Xuan, after burning the second stick of incense, found himself pulling Peng Hou’s mask from within another mirror.
"In its initial state, the mirror is utterly empty—no light, no people. When you gaze into it, there is a sense of clarity, but sotis you’ll feel restless, as though longing to grasp sothing from within the mirror,
This mirror is the secret behind our Tattoo Clan’s rapid enhancent in incense fire cultivation,
Our clan calls this mirror ’Kongming.’
The Kongming Mirror grows with us, gradually revealing various secrets of Jing Country—insights into incense fire divine techniques, details of sacrificial ghost rites, and how gods employ incense fire thods,
The accumulation of knowledge in the mirror continues until we reach ten years of age,
Once our tenth birthday passes, the mirror completely disappears—not shattered, but hidden."
Peng Sheng added, "The tattoos we Tattoo Clan create simultaneously exist as reflections inside that unseen mirror.
And this mirrored tattoo is the one truly imbued with power. It erges from the mirror to rge with the tattoo we create, endowing our tattoos with mystical strength.
Within the mirror, it seems there exists a phantom world—a realm of illusion that grants us mysterious power."
Zhou Xuan felt a chill run through his scalp.
No wonder Peng Hou’s mask had been hidden within a mirror.
Peng Sheng continued, "As we grow, the Kongming Mirror conceals itself. However, when our incense fire cultivation reaches nine sticks, the Kongming Mirror reappears. This ti though, it is incredibly empty:
No people, no light, no objects. Yet this emptiness provides tattoo masters with an exceptional opportunity—to infuse the twenty-four divine images’ auras into the Kongming Mirror and condense a tattoo map unique to themselves."
Peng Sheng elaborated, "Brother Xuan, the twenty-four divine images embody twenty-four distinct strengths, but not all strengths can be infused into the Kongming Mirror. The more powers you successfully pour in, the more intricate your refined tattoo map will be."
"And what if I manage to pour in all twenty-four strengths?"
"Theoretically, it’s impossible."
Peng Hou explained, "The power of the gods conflicts with that of alien ghosts, while the Great Buddha’s power diverges from both gods and alien ghosts. It’s unfeasible to infuse all twenty-four strengths simultaneously."
Feeling slightly deflated by Peng Hou’s explanation, Zhou Xuan nevertheless beca increasingly excited at the thought of soon possessing a tattoo map as powerful as Peng Hou’s Heavenly Ghost Map.
But after contemplating for about ten seconds, Zhou Xuan felt crestfallen again and said, "Wait. Brother Peng, you ntioned the Kongming Mirror only exists for Tree Clan mbers. I’m not part of the Tattoo Clan—how could I have a mirror?"
"It’s just that the Tattoo Clan has unique physical attributes. However, during my westward journey seeking the Buddha with Yun Ziliang, we discussed the Kongming Mirror."
"We both concluded that the Kongming Mirror likely exists throughout Jing Country—it simply requires the condensing mirror technique.
The magic skill of condensing mirrors was purely theoretical to until I saw sothing in your shop that confird its legitimacy. Therefore, my current goal is to guide you to open the Kongming Mirror and comprehend a tattoo map above the gods’ level."
Peng Sheng explained further.
Curious, Zhou Xuan asked, "What did you see in my shop?"
"Ziliang’s painting."
"Lao Yun’s painting—is that actually a Kongming Mirror?" Zhou Xuan scratched his head.
"A manifestation of the Kongming Mirror," Peng Sheng said, "In our Tattoo Clan, if soone is born blind, their Kongming Mirror manifests as a painting, capable of harboring souls and obscuring heavenly visions."
Zhou Xuan gasped in amazent. No wonder Yun Ziliang had managed to hide for three hundred years through that painting without anyone discovering him...
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