Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2808: Learning The Spectral Phantasm Strike

”Interesting,” Lin Mu mused, inspecting his fingers and sensing around with his Qi. He found no trace of the stones left whatsoever.

With his first test done, Lin Mu reviewed everything he had just experienced before taking out another pinch of the grains.

The Spectral Mirror Stones rolled off his fingers, and a small amount fell back into the pouch. Lin Mu ensured that nothing fell outside, not wanting to waste even a single grain.

ʼThese would be a pain to obtain, after all,ʼ Lin Mu thought, as he used his Immortal Sense to probe the stones again and activate their effects.

HUALA

Once more, Lin Mu felt the dizzying effect take hold. His vision blurred, and the world seemed to shift ever so slightly.

Meng Bai, who was practicing his spear techniques in the middle of the courtyard, looked strange—like there were two overlapping images of him. His spear moved like a slow-moving stream, leaving behind a trail of visual echoes.

Lin Mu observed the boy for a while until the effects of the Spectral Mirror Stones wore off.

”I need to try a few more times,” Lin Mu muttered. He knew this wasnʼt enough.

He was nowhere near understanding the true nature of the technique.

Determined, he took out another pinch of the grains and activated them once more.

HUALA

The effect returned—vision blurred, images doubled, and Meng Baiʼs movements left behind those same strange trails.

Lin Mu repeated this process four more times, each time focusing on observing the blurred image trails and lingering distortions.

Eventually, a spark of understanding emerged.

ʼIs this meant to teach me what the effects would look like to others?ʼ Lin Mu wondered.

It made sense. A blurred trail of images like that would be incredibly disorienting for an opponent. It would be difficult to distinguish the real strike from an illusory afterimage. The confusion alone could give Lin Mu a vital edge in battle.

He pondered the implications for a few hours, letting the observations sink in. Slowly, a new idea began to take shape.

ʼSo if the first step is to experience the effects, then the second step should be to figure out how to actually apply this to myself.ʼ Lin Mu reasoned.

With this in mind, he considered his options.

His first thought was whether he needed to absorb the Spectral Mirror Stones, but that didnʼt seem right. There was no mention of ingestion or refinement anywhere in the technique manual.

He flipped the book open again and read the next instruction carefully.

ʼOnce youʼve found the specters within, understand them.ʼ

Simple in writing, but its actual meaning was anything but straightforward.

ʼPerhaps I need to make some moves while under its effects?ʼ Lin Mu considered, getting to his feet.

He took another pinch of the grains and activated the effect.

HUALA

As the dizziness settled in, Lin Mu shifted into a basic combat stance and began executing a simple fist technique.

SHUA SHUA SHUA

His punches carried strength and speed, slicing through the air with force. The gusts stirred up the wind so much that even Meng Bai, who was nearly a hundred meters away, felt his robes ripple.

But Lin Mu wasnʼt concerned with that—his focus was solely on himself. He watched his own fists, noting how they too left behind visual trails. The faster he moved, the more defined the afterimages became.

The effect wore off after a minute.

”Perhaps itʼs time I upped the dose,” Lin Mu muttered.

This time, he took out two pinches of the Spectral Mirror Stones and activated them together.

HUALA

Although the intensity didnʼt change much, the effect now lasted twice as long.

”Hmm… Iʼm certainly on the right path,” Lin Mu said, satisfied. ”But I canʼt just keep on using the Spectral Mirror Stones like this. I have to be conservative with it.”

The amount he had might seem plentiful—especially since he was only using pinches at a time—but he knew it would eventually run out. Even with a full pouch, there might not be more than two hundred pinchesʼ worth inside.

ʼRoughly three hours of use in total,ʼ Lin Mu estimated.

And three hours was not a lot when it came to mastering a profound combat technique. With this in mind, Lin Mu revised his strategy.

He would use the Spectral Mirror Stones to practice and immerse himself in the experience. But once the effect wore off, he would continue practicing without them, reviewing and internalizing what he had observed.

He followed this routine for the next two weeks.

During that time, Lin Mu didnʼt feel like he was making any significant breakthroughs.

”I feel like Iʼm getting closer, but Iʼm still missing something…” Lin Mu furrowed his brows in frustration.

With no other options, he decided to increase the dose once again—this time using three pinches.

HUALA

He went through the technique again. Punches, steps, and shifts—watching how each movement distorted the space around him.

Just as the effect was about to fade, realization struck him.

ʼWait… if the enemy is supposed to experience these effects, I need to be able to replicate them!ʼ Lin Muʼs eyes lit up.

He sat down cross-legged and began chanting the Calming Heart Sutra, calming his mind so he could process the insight.

ʼFor an enemy to feel the effects, I need to project them somehow… but how?ʼ he asked himself as he slowly drifted into a light trance.

Another week passed like this.

Then, finally, the answer came to him like a flash of lightning.

”Immortal Sense! Of course!” Lin Mu exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Immortal Sense was one of the most essential abilities of an Immortal—second only to physical senses. Immortals relied on it for countless tasks, including controlling weapons, refining pills, setting up formations, and more.

It made complete sense that this particular skill required Immortal Sense too—just in a different, more nuanced way.

The realization also brought back something Xukong had once told him, back when he had first obtained the technique.

ʼThis is ultimately an illusory skill…ʼ Lin Mu recalled.