Ashlock wasn't sure what Douglas was on about as he freaked out. To him, Elaine stood with a mischievous smile before Douglas while the well-dressed man acted as if invisible people were clinging onto his arms as he stumbled back and tried to push them off. It was rather funny watching Douglas freaking out, but it also made Ashlock incredibly curious. What had happened to Elaine in such a short month for her to be able to do this?
Unlike Diana, who had undergone a practical evolution, Elaine looked the same. "So it must be something on the inside..." Ashlock scrutinized Elaine with his {Demonic Eye} and tried to gaze into her soul but came up short. Rather than being able to peer through her skin and see the true power of her soul, he could see nothing.
It was as if Elaine was nothing but a human-shaped void. "Well, that confirms she still cultivates void Qi, so what's with Douglas seeing hallucinations?"
Douglas looked to Elaine with his face flushed red, "Elaine, make these other versions of you relax! Why are they crawling over me like this?"
Elaine pushed up her glasses with a grin, "Mhm, interesting."
"What do you mean interesting?!" Douglas grumbled as he shivered.
Elaine walked over and tapped the side of Douglas's head. The man glanced around and sighed in relief, "Phew, they are gone. That was getting uncomfortable."
"You're the one who made it awkward for yourself," Elaine brushed her rose gold hair behind her ear as she stepped back.
"How? What was that?" Douglas insisted.
"I would also like to know," Ashlock said to Elaine through {Abyssal Whispers}. She seemed entirely unbothered by his voice and illusions, which he found odd.
"Just a little trick," Elaine said as she opened her palm, and a translucent white flame flickered to life and then shifted between various colors like a rainbow, "In the void, I was given a life-changing opportunity by Mars to overcome the curse upon my family."
"Curse?" Douglas asked with concern, "What curse?"
"We thought our Voidmind family was cursed as nobody in our family had made it into the Nascent Soul Realm." Elaine explained, "But it turns out it's basically impossible to form a Nascent Soul out of void Qi, so Mars suggested I take on another affinity to form one."
Ashlock was glad to learn more about the supposed curse on the Voidmind family and was even more delighted to hear that Elaine could progress further. But the method Mars had suggested baffled him. He knew dual affinities existed; Kane Azurecrest was one such example, but he had no idea people could take on more affinities later in life!
Stella manifested next to Elaine and squinted at the flame dancing in her palm. "So? What affinity did you pick?"
Ashlock also wanted to know. He didn't know the choices Elaine had been given by Mars, but if he was given such a big decision, he wasn't sure what he would pick.
"Void would be a good choice, but Elaine already has void affinity, so what else is a good choice? Perhaps something easy to cultivate, like water Qi, could be good. I can imagine a void tsunami being hard to survive." Ashlock got lost in thought for a moment but then realized what Elaine had done to Douglas was the likely answer. "Some kind of mind control or mind-altering affinity. What a strange pick."
For Ashlock, having a good offense was the best defense. So, if he could pick any affinity, he would choose the most destructive one, no matter its cost. "Although I have a rather unfair advantage due to my biology and a literal forest of offspring providing me with far more Qi than anyone else could access."
"You picked illusion affinity, didn't you?" Douglas asked from the side.
Elaine hesitantly nodded, "Err, yes, I felt it suited me best, and it works very well with void Qi, as you just experienced. It just came at a price..."
"What price did you pay for a second affinity?" Ashlock asked. If he knew what it cost, he could replicate it at some point.
"Everything... my soul was split in half, my cultivation was stripped, and then Mars put in a strand of my chosen affinity and stitched my soul back together around it," Elaine shuddered.
"So Mars ripped your soul in two and made you cultivate again from the start?" Ashlock asked. With his Mystic Realms and immense cultivation resources, that didn't seem such a steep price to pay...
"Oh, also, Mars was only able to do it because of my void affinity," Elaine added and shut down Ashlock's dreams.
One thing still bugged Ashlock, though. How could Elaine regain her cultivation in a month without his cultivation resources? "How long did it take to recover your cultivation?"
"I have no clue how much time passed as the void works in a strange way. It could have been centuries or only days. We sometimes went to the celestial fog to cultivate ambient illusion Qi, and then Mars taught me this technique since it's apparently close to something Worldwalkers are biologically capable of."
"So that's what an illusion technique feels like," Douglas massaged his temples, "It felt so real and vivid, and my mind still feels cold. Is that normal? Also, are you still the same Elaine I knew if your soul was remade like that?"
"Yes, of course, I am still me, and that numbness should go away in a few minutes," Elaine hummed to herself, "Mars told me that usually, a person's illusion Qi has to overpower their target defenses, but by tapping the side of your head, I could skip your body's defenses and insert the illusion straight into your mind by using void Qi."
"Terrifying," Diana said as she touched down beside Elaine and withdrew her wings while drenching the area in demonic mist, "I wonder if that Worldwalker-inspired technique would work on me, considering my demonic Qi?"
"I can try it on you if you want?" Elaine said sheepishly as she turned to face the demon and then blinked, "You... look different."
Diana smiled, showing a hint of her fangs. "You think so?"
"You look like a true mist demon now," Elaine gave a strained smile as she placed her finger next to Diana's ear. "Ready?"
"Sure, just don't destroy my brain out of revenge, please."
Elaine laughed, "Don't worry. I only use void Qi to bypass the Qi around your skull. I then insert illusion Qi carrying a suggestion that your brain interprets in its own way." Elaine withdrew her hand, "There. Done."
Diana's eyes widened, "I didn't even feel anything or have a chance to fight back." She glanced around, "I can see multiple versions of you sneaking around in the corner of my vision, holding swords and staring me down."
"Why is Diana's illusion of you so much different to mine?" Douglas grumbled, and that made Elaine laugh again.
"Because the illusion only carries a suggestion, this is to make it as undetectable as possible. The more I try to influence someone's mind, the more likely a person's subconscious mind will notice something is off and rebel against the illusion." Elaine explained, "So it seems you want me to crawl over you, whereas Diana wants to hunt or fight me."
"I... errr..." Douglas stammered as he adjusted his suit jacket and cleared his throat.
"Ooh! That sounds fun, do me!" Stella jumped in front of Elaine.
"Sure, sure," Elaine tapped the side of Stella's head. "There you go."
Ashlock was impressed at how such a casual touch on someone's head invoked such a powerful technique. No matter who it was, seeing many versions of someone else during a fight would be incredibly distracting, and if Elaine learned how to use Void Step, she would be able to get that close to people easily.
Stella glanced around, "This is crazy. There's a hundred perfect copies of you kneeling in a circle around me."
"Elaine, can they tell you apart from the illusions?" Ashlock asked. Even if they could, these illusions can serve a purpose in battle. But then he would need to make sure an Ent or someone guarded Elaine in fights, as the best way to deal with a summoner or illusionist is to target the source.
"Well, let's test it out. I didn't get a chance to experiment with its capabilities alone in the void," Elaine replied, "Stella, close your eyes and reel in your spiritual sense for a moment. I want to test something."
"Okay," Stella did as instructed, and Ashlock watched Elaine walk in a half circle and then kneel on the floor. Obviously, Ashlock couldn't see the illusion that Stella was seeing, but even under his {Demonic Eye}, Elaine was like a ghost.
Opening her eyes and looking around, Stella spun on her heel. She glanced past Elaine and pointed in the opposite direction of her to a random spot on the floor, "Is that you?"
Elaine stood up, "No, I am over here."
"Ah?!" Stella spun around with surprise written on her face, "That is so weird."
"Void Qi has always been nearly impossible to detect, so the fact Stella couldn't detect you makes sense," Ashlock said, "But that is still very impressive. Can you cast illusions without touching people's heads, Elaine?"
"Not yet," Elaine shook her head, "I only have this one technique for now. I will need to go source some others and meditate on some other ideas I had."
"Well, I have a grove filled with Dreamweaver Orchids that produce illusion Qi, so feel free to use that to further your cultivation. Actually, on that point, what is your cultivation level now? I can't tell due to the void Qi."
"Sixth stage of the Soul Fire Realm," Elaine sighed, "I'm still behind everyone, but Mars helped me increase my cultivation faster than I have ever experienced."
"What! Sixth stage already?" Douglas patted Elaine on the shoulder with a genuine smile, "I barely reached the 8th stage, so you have almost caught up with me!"
It was good to know Douglas had grown by two stages, but it was far more impressive that Elaine had jumped up six stages!
"You should reach Star Core by the end of the year after another two Mystic Realm visits," Ashlock said excitedly, "What outstanding progress and great choice of a second affinity. You will definitely be a pillar of the Ashfallen Sect in the future once your powers have grown some more."
Elaine looked at the floor and seemed embarrassed as she leaned into Douglas, "Thank you, Patriarch... I will continue to work hard."
"Why is it fighting back?!" A sudden shout drew everyone's attention. In the middle of the mountain peak near the giant hole that led down to the cavern was Diana, seemingly fighting an invisible enemy.
"Fighting back? I didn't know they could do that," Elaine admitted. Seemingly just as surprised as Diana. "Tell me what's happening. This is helpful knowledge to know."
Diana looked over her shoulder and shouted, "My mind genuinely sees the fake version of you as a threat. I instinctively dodge their void-coated attacks even when I know they aren't real," Diana seemed to sense danger and dove to the side while counterattacking with a swing of her hand, "Only when I thoroughly attack them and convince my brain they aren't real do they disappear. All the other illusions become a little more obvious when this happens." Diana spun around and looked straight at Elaine, "For example, I can tell which of you is real now."
"Fascinating," Elaine said as she summoned a hand-sized piece of parchment and began jotting down notes with an ink pen. "It would seem your subconscious mind becomes more aware of my trick the more you disrupt my illusions."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Diana replied as she spun on her heel to dodge an invisible attack. "Pretty good for practicing actual combat, though, assuming they attack you." Diana laughed, "I don't think Stella will get much out of it with them all just kneeling to her."
"Being worshiped like this is tiring in its own way," Stella snapped at Diana but had a grin on her face. She teleported over and rested a hand on Elaine's shoulder, "Hey, can you free me from this torment?"
"Sure," Elaine said as she flicked the side of Stella's head.
Stella squinted at Elaine, "Did you have to flick me?"
"No, Your Highness, but you deserved it," Elaine replied nonchalantly.
Ashlock laughed as Stella scowled. It must feel weird for Elaine to learn how others viewed her. Of course, he didn't know what suggestion Elaine's illusion Qi had carried, but it seemed to be something along the lines of 'How do you view me' or 'What would you do with me?'
"I broke free from it!" Diana shouted triumphantly as her claws retracted into her hands, and her majestic wings disappeared. "After killing ten of you, the rest faded away."
"I... don't know how I feel about that choice of wording, but that's good to know," Elaine grumbled as she scratched it down on the parchment in her hand. "So we now know my illusions are different depending on the person. For Diana and Douglas, they would cause issues during a fight, whereas Stella would be a more difficult target."
Stella looked smug as she crossed her arms, "I would only become even more motivated to fight with such an audience."
"I could still hide among the crowd and ram a sword through your back as you passed me," Elaine pointed out, making Stella pause and frown. "Anyway, my illusion Qi aside." Elaine turned to Douglas, "I still want to hear the story behind that crown. Is it an artifact? You got that from a pocket realm, right? Can I research it?"
"Woah woah, hold ya horses lady. There's not much to research as I know all about it, and that's no way to speak to the king of the Mudcloaks!" Douglas summoned his ornate walking stick made from a brown gemstone stalactite and tried to look majestic.
"The who?" Elaine tilted her head, "Mudcloaks? That's a rather stupid-sounding name."
"It's what I named them," Douglas grumbled under his breath. "I miss them already."
Ashlock hadn't visited Douglas during the Mystic Realm but knew the man had been dumped into a mine. Were these Mudcloaks the natives of that Dragonite Mine?
"Douglas, could you tell me more about the Dragonite Mines and these Mudcloaks?" Ashlock asked, and the man immediately straightened up and gobbled down a Mind Fortress pill.
Douglas leaned on his walking stick with one hand and adjusted the crude gemstone-encrusted stone crown with his other, "I obtained this crown after I helped these small native monsters that were weak but smart and competent with earth Qi techniques kill an invasive species. Since they could not speak my language, I decided to name them Mudcloaks because of the funny black cloaks they wore to hide their bodies that were so thin it was as if they were nothing but skeletons."
"What can the crown do?" Elaine asked while on her tiptoes and inspecting the crown on Douglas's head.
"It allows me to communicate telepathically with the Mudcloaks and rally them to my location," Douglas shrugged, "Not much use out here, though."
"No, hold on," Ashlock brought up his {Dimensional Overlap} menu. Scrolling through, he found the Dragonite Mines Douglas had been in. If Douglas could call them to him, then there was a chance they could bring the Mudcloaks back to Red Vine Peak through a {Dimensional Overlap}.
