CHAPTER 42: SECONDARY MIND

"One who holds two swords in one hand cannot strike true;

But one who holds two minds can wield a thousand blades."

– Sage of the Mirror Heart.

Liu Wei read what the Sage of Mirror Heart said in the preface and could not help but nod in agreement.

He then spent the next hour reading the whole book and closed it.

He closed his eyes and acknowledged he memorized all the contents from the first Chapter until the final Chapter.

He was still surprised by what he read in the last Chapter.

"To think the technique is only the first volume. So, the Sage of Mirror Heart is an immortal, huh?"

In other words, the entirety of the technique is an Immortal Rank cultivation technique.

Liu Wei heaved a sigh of relief.

Although he did not pursue the idea of becoming an immortal, the fact that the technique would still remain with him, learning another volume as he ascended, eased his worries.

Hence, he was not worried anymore if he would not be able to learn alchemy in the future if he continued to ascend in cultivation.

Even if he did not want to ascend in cultivating, he did not have a choice due to his destructive physique.

Now that he was relaxed about the uncertainty of his future, Liu Wei closed his eyes and cultivated Dual Thought Breathing.

The first Chapter explained that the mind is like a single river, easily disrupted by turbulence when split without preparation.

However, the technique helps divide the flow into two smaller streams with separate rhythms, synchronized with dual breathing patterns.

To execute and practice, the second Chapter required Liu Wei to visualize a lotus in his core, initially two petals.

This visualization led to the second name, the Lotus of Two Minds.

With each breath, the petals absorb yin and yang qi alternately, symbolizing duality without conflict.

Once stable, the lotus will manifest two faint soul flames, each representing a different stream of consciousness.

Without hesitation, Liu Wei followed the instruction of the second Chapter.

In half an hour, he successfully manifests two faint soul flames in his Blood Dantian.

It took him some time to gather yin and yang qi as his Blood Pulse Breathing Cycle instantly converted the qi into Blood Qi.

Thankfully, his Crimson Heart Chain understood his intention, not converting the qi, as it eventually transformed into yin and yang qi with the help of visualization of the lotus.

He then followed the third Chapter, which required him to breathe in two separate rhythms simultaneously.

His breath would be divided into two: primary and secondary.

The primary breath, connecting to his main mind, is for his core cultivation—it should be deep and steady.

The primary breath was the Blood Pulse Breathing Cycle.

The secondary breath, connecting to his auxiliary mind, was for refinement arts, like alchemy.

However, he did not learn a cultivation technique for alchemy yet.

Nevertheless, the secondary breath was already established—he was astute to instantly think of using his normal breathing to be his secondary breath.

To fully establish the two breaths, Liu Wei whispered the mantra repeatedly.

"One mind as the blade, one mind as the brush;

One heart beats in slaughter, one heart beats in silence."

The contradictory of different breaths almost made him puke blood.

He already had a headache.

Thankfully, his pain resilience was quite high due to cultivating, especially now he was cultivating an unorthodox technique.

Now, unto the fourth Chapter, it already stated that each petal of the lotus represents progress toward dual consciousness mastery.

In other words, it would take time.

If it was any other cultivator, they might take weeks to form six petals.

However, for Liu Wei, who fully understood his limit, it would only take an hour.

Hence, without hesitation, Liu Wei continued to cultivate Dual Thought Breathing.

In half an hour, he formed four petals.

In another half an hour, all six petals had fully manifested.

At this stage, the secondary mind was strong enough to perform independent breathing and simple movements.

Liu Wei felt like he could execute sword technique on his right hand, while doing alchemy on his left hand.

He opened his eyes and moved his hands simultaneously.

Each of his fingers in different hands seemed to be really independent.

He really has two minds now.

Liu Wei was shocked.

He mumbled.

"If I have two minds, I have two bodies. If I have two bodies, I can master different professions without conflicting with each other."

Even then, the fifth Chapter contained all the warnings and dangers of over relying on the Dual Thought Breathing.

There were three main dangers.

First, the Soul Strain.

If balance fails, Liu Wei risks Soul Collapse, leading to madness or death.

Second, the Qi Conflict.

If the two minds circulate opposing qi types without harmony, meridians may rupture.

Lastly, the Personality Split.

Prolonged use without merging can create dual personalities.

The second warning was not difficult to look out for.

Liu Wei simply had to choose a perfect binary opposition for the Blood Demonheart Sutra and must be a cultivation technique for alchemy.

That way, like Yin and Yang, they would be able to exist in his body in harmony.

As for the Soul Strain danger, Liu Wei simply had to meditate from time to time, performing the Mirror Lotus Meditation—visualizing the lotus in the Blood Dantian glowing steadily.

It was to prevent imbalance where one flame becomes stronger and consumes the other.

What he had to look out for was the Personality Split.

As the secondary mind grows, it would inevitably develop its own will. Though it would still be tethered by the main soul, seemingly being in slavery, the chances of having its own perspective diverged was high.

In other words, like what any creator feared, their own creation might rebel against them.

Of course, it would still be quite easy for Liu Wei, as long as he would meditate to tame the secondary mind, his destructive physique might take advantage of it and control it.

It would take long before his secondary mind would become its vessel, nurturing resentment, fear, or bloodlust, possibly seizing control of his body during moments of weakness.

He would not be surprised if he began to hear his voice, answering when he was not speaking.

When Liu Wei discovered it earlier, he hesitated.

However, he wanted to take a risk.

Simply because it was worth it.

For him, it was always worth it to learn.

Not learning alchemy and other professions in the future was seemingly not that different to a bird in a cage.

He wanted to be set free and fly in the sky full of dangers.

It would be worth it.

As he was lost in thoughts, he heard his voice echoing in his head.

{Come here.}

Liu Wei’s heart skipped a beat.

It was indeed his voice.

But it was not him.

There was only one possible explanation of it.

My secondary mind already forms its own mind. How? I make sure it is still tethered by the primary mind, only receiving thoughts from mine.

How was that fast?

{Come here. I want to talk with you.}

Liu Wei’s heart raced.

He perceived the voice and assumed there was no hostile intent mixed within.

It was seemingly asking for a conversation with him.

He frowned.

In the end, he closed his eyes, and visualized himself entering at the center of the surrounding three petals.

There were two three petals in the triangle position.

The left was the primary mind and the right was the secondary mind.

As soon as he entered the center of the surrounding three petals, he suddenly found himself standing in the vast...

Liu Wei’s heart skipped a beat.

He was standing amidst people killing each other—biting, clawing, slashing, beating, igniting... all sorts of killing occurred in every direction.

He stood in the middle of them, as though they could not see him.

He swept his gaze and realized he was at the vast sea of people, with wooden houses every now and then, killing each other, littering corpses everywhere.

Suddenly, Liu Wei heard a loud baby cry, seemingly calling for him.

He immediately turned his head and searched for the origin of the baby’s voice.

It was in one of the wooden houses, where the wall and the closed door had not been tainted with blood yet.

He slowly walked towards it, with a solemn expression.

Since he was in the environment where slaughter and blood qi was concentrated, he felt his blood boil.

As though it was calling for him to join in the killing spree.

However, he was able to control himself...

Barely.

When he arrived in front of the clear wooden house, he did not bother knocking and simply pushed the door with no door knob.

What he saw inside made his heart skip a beat.

The village seemed to be primitive, using pure flames as their light.

Since it was currently in the middle of night, where the moon appears to be in the blood moon season, they should have been using it to light the outside...

Of course, they did.

Lighting other people with their torches, in fact.

Hence, inside the wooden house, it was pitch darkness.

Except there were two pairs of crimson predator eyes, staring at him.

Sending shivers down his spine.

Liu Wei did not hear the baby cries anymore, so he was certain it came from the two pairs of crimson predator eyes.

And he was right, when it spoke in a baby tone.

"Nice to meet you, Liu Wei."

It’s canine yellow teeth, revealing an obvious smile.

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