Chapter 254: Requires Practice

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Requires Practice

This was an internal change.

Not just an abstract internal change, but a physical one.

He could now mimic bone age, blood, and even things like genetics and bodily functions.

Of course, this wasn’t a tangible transformation. It was an illusion, or rather a form of mimicry, created by the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body.

At this stage, using the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body required immense psychological adaptability and an outstanding talent for improvisation.

He had to be able to deeply understand and interpret various roles in a short amount of time, quickly immersing himself in everything from the emotional turmoil of joy and sorrow, partings and reunions, to complex social networks.

He had to truly embody both form and spirit, changing at will.

When necessary, he could become anyone, leaving no trace of his original self in any of his personas—a "disguiser" walking the mortal world.

’I’ve only just reached the Mastery stage. I’m not yet skilled with the new abilities that come with it.’

Jiang Xu could now disguise himself with another person’s temperament and all their habits.

But to do so, he had to capture enough information—that is, to fully understand what kind of person they were, their usual behaviors and habits, and so on.

To change his bone age, blood, and the like, he also needed the relevant information about the target.

If he truly wanted to become identical to someone with just a single glance, he would have to wait until his Skill Level in the Mastery stage was maxed out.

But now, Jiang Xu found that increasing his Skill Level was not as easy as before.

Previously, he could slowly raise his Skill Level just by practicing relentlessly in his Seclusion Chamber.

That wasn’t the case anymore. Jiang Xu had been in Cultivation for half a day, but it hadn’t risen one bit. He also felt that his Thousand-Faced Illusion Body had made no progress in the process.

He had a feeling that if he wanted to keep improving the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body, he couldn’t just work in isolation.

He had to go out and get real-world practice.

This meant he had to go out, collect physical information on all sorts of people, and then transform into them one by one.

He might even have to disguise himself as them and interact with the people in their lives for a while. Only then would it count as improving his Thousand-Faced Illusion Body.

’What a pain!’

Jiang Xu let out a deep sigh.

He glanced at the sky. It was about time for his meeting with the Broker.

...

Walking down the streets of the Demon Communication Workshop.

After reaching the Master Level with his Thousand-Faced Illusion Body, Jiang Xu had developed a strange habit.

He loved to constantly scrutinize other people.

It wasn’t about judging whether they were attractive or not.

Instead, he observed their subtle habits and reactions.

Take walking, for instance.

When these people walked, did they habitually lead with their left foot or right? What was the interval between each step, the distance between their feet, the subtle shifts in pressure as their soles hit the ground?

Or their reactions when meeting an acquaintance—did their eyes dart away, or did they hold their head high and meet their gaze?

When they saw a beautiful woman, did they instinctively look at her chest first, or her face?

When they saw dog droppings, did they frown first, or cover their nose?

Jiang Xu felt like a detective.

Besides observing others with meticulous detail, he also tried to deduce their thoughts, their next actions, their professions, their origins, and more.

This novel sensation was utterly fascinating to Jiang Xu.

Sometimes he would even secretly follow them for a distance to test his hypotheses.

Lost in his game, he hadn’t noticed the sky was already growing dark.

Jiang Xu snapped back to reality and hurried to the designated meeting spot.

The Broker was already waiting in the distance.

An anxious look was on his face as his eyes darted around restlessly. A thin layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

His body was leaned slightly forward, his toes tapping lightly on the ground. From time to time, he would look up at the deepening night sky, a hint of helplessness and anxiety in his eyes, clearly afraid of missing his appointment with Jiang Xu.

When Jiang Xu’s figure appeared in his line of sight, the Broker’s anxiety eased slightly. He quickly went up to him and called out in a low voice:

"Sir, I’m glad you’re here. I was worried you’d run into some trouble."

Jiang Xu walked over quickly, smiling apologetically. "My apologies for making you wait," he said.

"Something came up today, and I lost track of time. Let’s discuss the matter of the Passage Order now."

Hearing this, the Broker breathed a small sigh of relief and hurriedly shared the intelligence and action plan he had gathered, including the specific time and location of the trade meet, the conditions for participation, and the potential competition they might face.

"This trade meet is very secretive, so there will likely be a lot of illicit goods. And... I’m afraid it might be a bit dangerous."

"Dangerous? You don’t mean someone would dare cause trouble within the Marketplace?"

"No. To be honest with you, sir, I suspect there’s something shady going on inside. You should be extra careful. I’ve heard from several of my peers that there’s something wrong with this event."

Jiang Xu nodded.

Though he was still cautious, he felt much more confident now.

With one more life-saving Magic in his arsenal, he was naturally more certain of his own safety.

Jiang Xu was about to leave but stopped and asked the Broker another question:

"I’d like to ask, do you have any information on Wood Element Techniques? Preferably one that allows Cultivation directly to the Golden Core Realm."

"Golden Core Realm? Wood Element?"

The Broker looked troubled.

"Things like Cultivation Techniques are strictly forbidden from being sold to outsiders. The controls are even tighter than for Magic."

"Obtaining a Cultivation Technique that reaches the Golden Core Realm is extremely difficult. They’re basically things that only Major Sects possess, or perhaps they’re Secret Techniques from some Medium-sized Sects."

"Hmm... I can’t recall a Cultivation Technique like that ever being auctioned."

"If it were a Water Element Golden Core Technique, we’re close to the Youxian Sea, so there might be a sliver of hope. But a Wood Element Technique... the chances are slim."

"Is that so."

’Just as I thought,’ Jiang Xu said to himself. He was about to turn and leave when he heard the Broker speak again:

"However, there is a chance of obtaining one, if you’re lucky enough."

"The first way, and the simplest, is to join a Sect and earn enough merits for the Sect to reward you with such a Cultivation Technique. The price, however, might be that you are forever bound to that Sect."

"The second way is to search for ruins or cultivators’ abodes left behind by predecessors. You might find ancient Cultivation Techniques and Magic inside. It’s even possible to find Cultivation Techniques for the Nascent Soul Realm, or Magical Treasures."

"But what you find is completely random. It’s more likely that you’ll go through all the trouble, risk your life to get in, and find it empty, or that everything inside has already been taken."

"The third way is to try your luck. There are many stalls in the Marketplace that sell all sorts of things. If you have a discerning eye, you might just find a hidden gem."