653: The Origin of Mental Force

The Origin of Mental Force

Ming Yue could not disguise her surprise. She was frozen for a moment, not knowing how to react to such words.1

On the other side, Zhi Jinguo put on a small smile. 

"I didn't think that he'd pick up a disciple, much less teach them about Mental Force. He was always such a daydreamer."

Her smile dropped, replaced by a frown as she slowly took several steps back. 

"He and I worked together on a few projects but in the end, we didn't quite see eye to eye."

And then she started clapping again, letting each beat echo throughout the wild. 

"I barely escaped with my life when he incited the others against me, nearly started a hunt. A witch hunt, you could say. Despite rather close attempts at my life, I survived and fled the Dark Water Kingdom, never to return. All because Shen Zhong didn't agree with my methods but proper steps must be taken to understand the great mysteries of the world, don't you think?" she asked. 

Ming Yue looked at her coldly. Despite the clapping, she was unaffected by it, it was nothing more than the buzzing of a mosquito to her. She lunged forward, brandishing her sword as the gap between them closed in a matter of seconds. 

"Your methods include torturing and killing people?" 

Even though Zhi Jinguo had no weapon, she was quite hard to catch even for the cultivator. The old woman always seemed to know where to go, avoiding Ming Yue at the very last second. But between them, the Witch was at the same if not a higher level than Yingba, the Ogre.

Most likely the Third Sky or perhaps, even the Fourth Sky. 

She looked at Ming Yue mockingly, even speaking with a rather haughty voice. 

"You may be talented but your experience isn't enough. And are you so naive as to think that there aren't others doing the same? Do people not die every day? Do you think that it's just me that will torture others? Of course not, good or bad, people will do what they must to achieve their goal. And tell me, do you think that your own master has not killed before? Do you believe that he has never committed anything taboo?" 

Presented with such questions, Ming Yue couldn't respond. Of course, she knew that they were valid points but she did not want to acknowledge them. To hear them be said so outright stung her. 

The duo moved swiftly from one place to the next. The clapping followed by the howling of a sword formed an unsettling song. 

"What is that noise? Is it... is it the Witch?" 

The others seemed somewhat confused, not knowing what to make of this strange combination. But the other members of the Fourteen Evils quickly recognized the clapping and turned toward their followers. 

"Quickly! Cover your ears! If you hear the clapping, you will fall under the Witch's spell!" they shouted. 

Those who were quick enough, plugged their ears up, either using their own energy or cloth to do so. But there were a few unlucky ones. 

"Gah, this clapping, when.... when does it end?! My head... it hurts!"

Those that couldn't avoid it suffered the same pain as the Ying Yi and the others, dropping to the ground and clutching their heads. In fact, the pain seemed to be even worse than what the members of the Azure Wind Kingdom experienced. 

"Damn it, for her to use her hands instead of that staff, she must've found the one that's trying to rescue them."

Giving each other looks, they all nodded and made their move, heading towards where she was. 

"Damn it, that clapping..."

Ming Yue's face changed, showing a bit of discomfort now. Even her attacks seemed to get a bit sluggish as the clapping battered away at the shield around her consciousness. It might've been a mosquito's buzzing before but now, it began to resemble more of a drumming sound. 

Noticing the change, the Witch chuckled. 

"Ehehehe, did you think that I would be unfamiliar with Mental Force? I was his senior sister, I reviewed all of his work. He may have improved it or even changed it but it is not some all-powerful force. And you know what? Has Shen Zhong ever told you how he managed to create it? How he made that discovery?"

Each word from her mouth came out very teasingly, poking at Ming Yue's curiosity.

"You could ask him but I'm sure that he'll just avoid it or give you some fake answer. He wouldn't want to tell you about all of the failures he had, all of the lives that he's ruined trying to create his magnum opus. Do you think that it was just him working all alone?"

The cultivator heard it all but kept calm. 

"She's just trying to provoke me, that's it. That's all it is", she thought to herself. 

But Zhi Jinguo didn't stop there, she continued to talk. 

"The creation of Mental Force requires combining multiple powers and doing so needs careful control. At its worst, failing could mean death and well, there have been more than a few deaths on his accord. Those who didn't die, well, they'll be spending the rest of their lives broken. They're minds would've been shattered, nothing more than empty shells of themselves."

Her eyes gleamed as a wicked grin appeared on her face. 

"Despite that, he didn't care, moving on to the next person. In fact, those that survived were nothing more than notes on his paper. It's quite fascinating just how far he went for himself and yet, I open up a living person and he says it's going too far. Don't you think that it's hypocritical? Someone who has treated others like experiments finds that very behavior appalling."

The clapping grew even stronger and more erratic, reverberating against dozens of tree trunks. Ming Yue furrowed her brows as beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Her hand seemed to twitch in anger. 

She knew what Zhi Jinguo was doing but even then, how many people could endure such words against someone who saved their life?

But Ming Yue did, she endured it and kept the chase on. Her other hand lashed out, sending dozens of wind needles toward the old woman, who still managed to avoid them all.

"Just stop, you can't defeat me! Destroying my staff was nothing more than a mistake on my part! Do you truly think that you could defeat me? You might be in the Sky Realm but the gap between us is immeasurable, just give up", she called out. 

Her hands were swift, creating a hypnotic beat that seemed to play with her mind, poking and prodding away at her cracking shield. A grunt of pain escaped Ming Yue's mouth as a head-splitting headache slowly grew.

Suddenly, she stopped chasing Zhi Jinguo, standing there with Blood Moon pointed at the ground. The Witch stopped as well, studying her from afar. The young woman clutched her head with one hand, revealing a pained expression. 

Was Ming Yue unable to endure it?

Standing there, Zhi Jinguo continued to clap, making each one louder than the last. 

"That's it, just break. I'll take you back and make good use of you", she thought. 

Placing both hands on the sword, Ming Yue held it tightly. The young cultivator ignored it all, pushing through the noise and the pain. She could feel her heart pumping. 

She knew full well that a prolonged fight will only end in her defeat. All she needed was one chance, one opportunity to end it all. 

Controlling her breathing, everything seemed to slow down around her. It was just her and the Witch, nothing more and nothing less. 

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