Chapter 1283: Leaving a Mark

The Wind Rises Across the Nine Provinces

On Bright Moon Peak of the Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye spent two months thoroughly reading all the books on the path of spirit marks left by his master. He then came to this holy land of Spirit Mark Masters to observe the legacies of the pre-Nine Provinces era, and spent another three months sparring and discussing with many fellow cultivators.

After five full months of dedicated cultivation, Lu Ye wasn't sure how much his understanding of the spirit mark path had improved, but he felt it still wasn't enough.

He still had an area he could continue to delve into and draw from: the knowledge carried on the leaves of the Talent Tree.

Similar to when he first read his master's books, previously, when he acquired this knowledge, his proficiency in the spirit mark path wasn't high, so he merely skimmed through it. He knew what certain things were, but not why they were. Now, revisiting and savoring them, he gained new insights.

It was like eating a bowl of rice. Before, after finishing a bowl, Lu Ye would only think it was delicious and tasty. But now, eating the same bowl of rice, he could discern what ingredients were added and what cooking methods were used.

In this way, if he had a need, he could make that bowl of rice himself.

While reviewing the information carried on the Talent Tree leaves, Lu Ye was also organizing his own knowledge. Each time, he discovered unexpected surprises.

So, from that day on, one fewer Spirit Mark Master participated in the debates and sparring within the holy land. Lu Ye sat motionless before a smooth stone wall, like a statue, silent and still. If not for his steady breathing and lingering vitality, others might have truly mistaken him for a dead man.

During this time, some new people joined, and some departed. In a place like this, no one restricted what others did. As it was a holy land for Spirit Mark Masters, any qualified Spirit Mark Master was free to come and go as they pleased.

One day, a group of Spirit Mark Masters concluded a debate. An elderly man turned his head and glanced, sighing, "This young fellow has been in meditation for over two months now. I wonder what kind of insights he's gaining that requires so much time."

Gaining insights here and entering a state of enlightenment was not uncommon. Typically, outsiders would not rashly disturb someone in such a state. However, no one had ever meditated for such an extended period at once; the longest duration previously was less than three days.

After all, insights into the spirit mark path were often flashes of inspiration, not requiring long periods of time like cultivation.

"Who knows?" someone else replied. "We can only wait for him to wake up and then ask."

As they spoke, someone suddenly exclaimed, "He's awake! He's awake!"

Everyone looked up, and indeed saw Lu Ye, who had been sitting motionless for two months, slowly rise. Then, accompanied by the sound of a long blade being unsheathed, he drew his Stone Mountain Blade from his waist.

Seeing this, everyone was startled.

Someone asked in astonishment, "What is he doing?"

This was a holy land for Spirit Mark Masters. The stone walls were all inscribed with the legacies of ancient sages and powerful figures. It was improper to brandish weapons in such a place. So, even if Spirit Mark Masters argued fiercely here, no one would actually resort to fighting, lest they damage the stone walls. If that happened, they would be considered sinners for eternity.

So, upon seeing Lu Ye actually draw his long blade, some people grew anxious, fearing that the young man, having failed to comprehend the mysteries of spirit marks, might act out in frustration and cause widespread destruction.

Such a thing was not impossible.

But soon, everyone realized something was amiss, because the stone wall Lu Ye faced was smooth, with no ancient markings left upon it.

As Lu Ye leaped forward to the stone wall, and with the surge of spiritual energy and the dance of his long blade, everyone realized what he intended to do.

"Is he going to... leave an inscription?"

At these words, all the Spirit Mark Masters gasped.

"Leaving an inscription" was not "leaving a name." No one would leave their personal name in such a holy place. However, if someone had a novel idea or deduced a new spirit mark previously unknown to the world, they could leave their inscription here for future generations to admire and learn from.

The legacies on the holy land's stone walls were not all from the same era. Some were extremely ancient, others more recent, and some clearly left within the last few hundred or thousand years. These were all inscriptions left by Spirit Mark Masters who had gained insights and cultivated here in the past, serving as a display of their knowledge.

Without exception, any markings qualified to be inscribed here, whether a complete spirit mark or not, had to withstand the scrutiny of later generations.

It wasn't simply drawing a few nonsensical lines on the wall and calling it an inscription; such an act would earn not recognition, but ridicule.

On the four stone walls, the most recent inscription dated back over three hundred years. In that era, a genius Spirit Mark Master emerged who deduced a new spirit mark based on ancient knowledge. Since then, no one else had been qualified to leave an inscription in this holy place.

However, the act of leaving an inscription lived on as a legend.

None of the Spirit Mark Masters present expected that in the present day, someone would have the audacity to leave an inscription here, and a young man with a youthful face at that.

Wasn't he afraid of becoming a laughingstock?

After all, once a marking was inscribed on the stone wall, it would have to withstand the scrutiny of all the Spirit Mark Masters present. There was no faking the depth of its mysteries.

Hissing sounds continuously emanated as stone chips flew. Lu Ye was unaware of the movements of the other Spirit Mark Masters around him. After more than half a year of arduous pursuit in the path of spirit marks, a strong feeling suddenly welled up within him.

That was, if he deduced a new sharp spirit mark at this moment, there was a high chance of a pleasant surprise!

He acted on the thought immediately!

He did not choose to deduce the new sharp spirit mark on the Talent Tree leaves, but instead chose to directly inscribe it on the stone wall before him. This was a powerful display of confidence in his current state!

As the Stone Mountain Blade danced across the stone wall, leaving behind interwoven lines, all the surrounding Spirit Mark Masters were drawn closer, gathering behind him. Regardless of whether they approved of his actions or not, at least for now, no one rashly spoke out to disturb him; they all waited quietly.

Even if they intended to criticize, they would wait until Lu Ye had finished!

Lu Ye was oblivious to all of this. At this very moment, he was entirely immersed in a profound, ethereal state. Various inspirations continuously erupted in his mind. This feeling was very similar to when he deduced the new sharp spirit mark on Verdant Bamboo Peak with the help of the Talent Tree more than half a year ago, but it was even more intense.

During that previous deduction, there was always a sense of dissatisfaction, as if he couldn't fully exert his strength. And indeed, the new sharp spirit mark he eventually deduced proved to be of limited use.

But this time was different. Lu Ye felt his state was excellent. He understood that his previous inability to fully exert himself was due to an insufficient understanding of the spirit mark path. However, after more than half a year of dedicated study and cultivation, his proficiency in the spirit mark path had greatly improved. Thus, he could pour all his effort into it and fully display what he had learned.

"Is he going to... inscribe a complete spirit mark?" The Spirit Mark Masters observing from behind were gradually astonished.

They had initially thought that even if Lu Ye were to leave an inscription, it would probably just be a unique set of lines. If that were the case, there would be ample room for criticism, as no one could be sure if such a segment of lines would truly be functional within a complete spirit mark.

But if he were to inscribe a complete spirit mark, the outcome would be entirely different. There was no room for criticism for a complete spirit mark, because it was self-contained and could fulfill its intended purpose!

And inscribing a complete spirit mark in a place like this would undoubtedly mean it was a brand-new spirit mark, one that had never appeared in the cultivation history of the Nine Provinces.

This would undoubtedly be groundbreaking, something that could leave a lasting mark in history.

Throughout history, all the various spirit marks that had appeared in the cultivation world were deduced by generations of supremely talented Spirit Mark Masters. The birth of every new spirit mark was enough to cause a stir in the spirit mark community.

The Nine Provinces had not seen the birth of a new spirit mark for many years.

Could it be that history was about to unfold before their very eyes today?

Instantly, many Spirit Mark Masters grew excited, watching with increasingly close attention.

But as time passed, everyone slowly noticed something amiss.

"This spirit mark... it's a bit too complex," someone murmured. "It already has nearly a thousand basic elements, and it seems less than half finished. If it's fully inscribed, wouldn't it have at least two thousand basic elements?"

Spirit marks, in general, were not better the more complex they were. On the contrary, simpler spirit marks were more widespread, because they were easy to construct.

This allowed them to be effective in combat or other fields. But if they were too complex, they would be difficult to construct and naturally couldn't be widely adopted.

Take the crafting of a spiritual artifact, for example. While crafting, spirit marks needed to be inscribed within the artifact to form enchantments. Even the most exceptional artifact refiners were reluctant to inscribe overly complex spirit marks into spiritual artifacts, because doing so would increase the possibility of failure.

A spirit mark like this, with at least two thousand basic elements, simply could not be used in artifact refining. The requirements for refiners would be too high. Inscribing such a spirit mark as an enchantment would be equivalent to inscribing five or six normal spirit marks, making it too inefficient.

Such complex spirit marks were generally used in array formations, specifically those pre-arranged arrays, as they allowed ample time for preparation and error correction.

Gradually, the number of basic elements on the stone wall surpassed two thousand, confirming the previous Spirit Mark Master's inference. After a moment more, Lu Ye suddenly withdrew his blade. As the last of the stone chips drifted down, a complete spirit mark appeared in everyone's sight.

It contained a total of two thousand and forty-six basic elements. At first glance, the overall shape of the spirit mark resembled a drawn long blade.

In fact, if someone unfamiliar with the spirit mark path were to observe it, they would only see the image of a long blade inscribed on the stone wall. However, that long blade was meticulously composed of over two thousand basic elements.

A sharp, keen aura surged forth from the stone wall!