Chapter 1054: Creative Spark—Spell Life
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1054: Creative Spark—Spell Life
As I finished speaking, the First Generation Elder stopped arguing. At this moment, she was even more eager than I was to see this possibility born from my hands.
Giving life to spell effects—what an absurd and outrageous idea!
And yet, the little witch before her had proposed this questionable concept with such "confidence."
Truly, the difference between a genius and a madman was but a single thought.
While the First Generation Elder was lost in these thoughts, I released a spell.
Elemental Spirit's Blessing.
Originally, when this spell was cast, it would randomly summon a spirit of a different element for the blessing based on the surrounding environment.
However, after my "modifications," I had stripped away that randomness. It had become a power in my hands, entirely under my dominion.
This was a personal obsession of mine: any random power with an uncertain outcome was power that did not truly belong to me! As long as I had the ability and the means to change it, I would.
With a surge of flames, the phantom of a Fire Elemental Spirit manifested behind me. It was like a benevolent Mother Goddess shielding her people, warding off harm and curses.
Unsurprisingly, this spell likely originated from "Spirit Magic"—a blessing unique to the elves that had been transformed by the wisdom of witches into a spell's power, to be used by witches.
I manipulated the Elemental Spirit's Blessing, gathering it in front of me.
"What is the next step? Are you going to use the same technique you used to create the plant spirits to replicate that effect within this spell's order?" the First Generation Elder asked, her eyes filled with anticipation as she watched my movements.
"That is indeed the general idea," I nodded.
"But it will be difficult. A spell effect isn't a mass of energy essence suitable for gestation; it's a precise operation constructed through spell frameworks and rune rituals. Perhaps, Xiao Han, you could try a common summoning spell first?" the First Generation Elder suggested.
"In essence, they are all the same, aren't they?" I said with a smile. As long as it was a spell effect, it had nothing to do with life.
Except for the Resurrection Spell, but that was less a spell and more a resurrection technique. It could also be a resurrection ritual, which naturally could be fitted into a spell framework.
However, ordinary spells were nothing like the Resurrection Spell.
Even the closest thing—summoning spells, or the Great Glacial Throne Technique mastered by the Ancient Remnant Ice King—was similar to what I was describing.
But the Ancient Remnant Ice King could achieve that because she personally bore the lives of an entire race!
Life is not created out of thin air; rather, the spell itself is a vessel molded for life.
After all, the Ancient Remnant Ice itself was power incarnate—a miracle unique to them.
"And then? To give it life, you'll need soul essence or materials, right? If every casting requires materials, it will be somewhat impractical. Moreover, materials like soul essence or soul stones aren't things you can just pick up anywhere. If that's the case, the cost-effectiveness of a single cast would be very low."
"That's true," I nodded.
If I were just experimenting a few times to verify the feasibility, I wouldn't mind the cost. But if this were to become a regular method, it would be a bit painful to my wallet.
After all, my soul stones were meant to help me advance to the Transcendent level; I couldn't just squander them like this.
But!
That didn't mean I lacked other means!
The First Generation Elder noticed I didn't argue, yet she didn't see me taking out any soul stones or similar materials to begin the formal attempt, which left her somewhat puzzled.
However, as she watched my operations, that confusion quickly turned into shock!
"What technique is this?"
"This is a new technique derived from Soul Depiction," I explained. "A while ago, many students at the Witch Academy suffered soul essence damage due to certain events. I helped them with soul essence repair, and through that, I used the Soul Depiction technique I mastered to derive a secondary Soul Essence Depiction."
"The original version of Soul Depiction was intended to facilitate the metamorphosis and advancement from soul essence to a full soul. So, after deriving Soul Essence Depiction, I started wondering: what exactly constitutes soul essence?"
Hearing my words, the First Generation Elder trembled!
"Xiao Han, have you figured out what soul essence is composed of?"
"Huh? Of course not! How could I in such a short time? Soul essence is one of the World Three Source Elements. I didn't beat my head against a wall over it," I explained.
I was well aware of the prestige of the World Three Source Elements. Whether it was Transcendent Origin Crystals or World Origin Soil, I had looked into them.
One was an original high-energy crystal that would release terrifying energy radiation if its energy level dropped. I had also studied the process of World Origin Soil transforming into other materials, but I had come up empty-handed there as well.
Soul essence was the same, though I had expanded it with a brand-new concept: Dream State Soul Essence.
"True... I was being foolish..." The First Generation Elder smiled in relief. She had started to deify Xiao Han a bit too much. No matter how much of a genius a child was, they still had to follow basic logic.
"However, even though I haven't explored the detailed composition of soul essence, I've taken this step based on another technique: Mimicry Soul Technique. This technique was a byproduct born from my previous research on soul essence metamorphosis and union, but now it has provided me with a brand-new idea! Using Transcendent energy to construct Mimicry Soul Essence!"
Just as a mimicry soul is not a real soul, Mimicry Soul Essence is naturally not real soul essence.
But it possesses similar properties.
And this gave the spell energy that constitutes a spell a brand-new possibility!
This was the source of the First Generation Elder's shock.
From the Elemental Spirit's Blessing in front of me, without the intervention of any actual soul essence, she felt the traces of "life"!
That was the so-called "Mimicry Soul Essence."
However, this technique was still very immature. At this stage, I tried again and again.
Yet, the First Generation Elder watched my operations with immense patience.
Her focused gaze was entirely filled with curiosity for the unknown and admiration for such a creative spark.
I didn't stop. Through repeated failures and attempts, the Soul Essence Depiction and Mimicry Soul Essence techniques became increasingly proficient in my hands. The First Generation Elder also cast spells around me to ensure that any experimental failures wouldn't cause too much of a disturbance.
Under the influence of the Mimicry Soul Essence technique, the spell effect in front of me was still quite uncoordinated, but compared to before, it was a massive improvement.
"I've barely succeeded!"
With a joyful cry, the Elemental Spirit's Blessing spell effect in front of me took on the characteristics of Mimicry Soul Essence for a split second.
But in the next moment, the incompatibility of the spell effect—dominated by the spell framework and rune ritual—reached its peak. The spell effect was forcibly broken, causing a double backlash of mental power and mana!
Sister Bai stepped forward and pulled me into her arms, shoving a handful of "dog food" down the First Generation Elder's throat in the process...
However, the First Generation Elder didn't seem to mind. She naturally knew what my current condition was.
With a wave of her hand, several materials appeared. She wasn't preparing a potion; she was concocting a Magic Potion!
After all, the ceiling for Magic Potions was much higher than for ordinary potions.
One was a ritual effect harmonized through a Magic Potion ritual, while the other was a liquid prepared based on the medicinal properties of herbs and stones. Under limited conditions, a Magic Potion was naturally more cost-effective.
Moreover, it was just a Magic Potion to soothe a spell backlash; it wouldn't take long.
After the spell backlash, and having rested for a while, the physical impact of the mana backlash was mostly gone.
This was thanks not only to the powerful assistance of my Body Cultivation and Undying traits but also to my body's innate talent for Self-Generated Mana, which gave me a high affinity for mana.
Currently, my main body hadn't constructed Infinite Mana yet. I hadn't had the chance, as the commotion caused by constructing Infinite Mana was far too great and could easily rattle the nerves of other Transcendents.
"Open your mouth, ah~ drink this." In just a short while, the First Generation Elder had finished the Magic Potion, even using a teacup meant for black tea to hold it.
I shook my head, trying to clear the dizziness caused by the mental backlash. The effect was poor; even the Realm Heart Enlightenment from the meditation chapter of the Body Cultivation Secret Classic struggled to quickly disperse this vertigo.
Hearing the First Generation Elder's words, I quickly took the Magic Potion and downed it in one go.
Instantly, a very peculiar taste exploded in my mouth. A clear, mint-like energy surged into my brain, rapidly dispersing my negative effects.
"Phew~ I'm back!"
I let out a long sigh. I even felt that I had more energy now than when I was first trying, ready to continuously organize those hypotheses and ideas.
"Are you feeling better, Xiao Han?"
"Mhm, mhm," I nodded quickly. "It's really amazing. Is this a Magic Potion?"
"Yes, just a minor trick within the art of Magic Potions. Xiao Han, do you plan to continue? I saw that you seemed to have found a new lead at the final moment, right?"
"Exactly! It is a new lead! When casting, the spellbook and the mana should be viewed as a single whole, rather than treating the spell framework and ritual effect as something to be tamed. Therefore, this technique shouldn't be aimed at the spell effect, but should start making changes from the source—from the level of the spellbook!"
As I spoke, I continued to try. This was the brand-new lead I had found at the last second!
Failure?
I had just failed many times. That last one just had more severe consequences; it couldn't dampen my enthusiasm at all.
The First Generation Elder was also very interested in my description. Since the description was still quite vague, she focused more on how I was doing it.
After a few more attempts, I finally succeeded again!
The spell before me transformed into the crudest form of a gestating embryo. Under the Soul Essence Depiction technique, it formed a pale phantom.
The birth and gestation of life are far simpler than life itself realizes.
It is only life that has learned to think that has made life complicated.
Life doesn't need to think, it doesn't need to remember, it doesn't need emotions, and in extreme cases, it doesn't even need the instinct to seek gain and avoid harm.
Since life can exist without them, it can naturally exist with them.
So... can life exist in forms other than souls and soul essence?
Of course... it can!
I had received the answer to this question when I asked the World Consciousness.
Soul essence and life are not entirely synonymous.
And the reason I concluded that the Mimicry Soul Technique couldn't create life was that it couldn't create life as I recognized it.
But the scope of life is far broader than I had anticipated.
At the very least, the Mimicry Soul Technique couldn't mold a life like a human, nor could it mold a life like the Ancient Remnant Ice.
So, what kind of life could it create?
Life that fits a mimicry soul. But that was already an existence beyond my cognition.
By the same logic, if I used a spell as the foundation and Mimicry Soul Essence as the core, could I gestate life?
The answer was yes, but its life form would absolutely be beyond my cognition.
It didn't fit the definition of a pure elemental life. If I had to give it a definition, it would be something like... Spell Life?
It was more fragile than elemental life, but that didn't matter. Spell effects themselves have no life, and I had added the concept of "life" to them. What mattered wasn't its fragility, but its nature as a living thing!
If I had a Fireball Spell in my hand and I gave the fireball effect life, who could imagine being hit with a massive slap by a fireball thrown at them?
When the spell effect rises, the Spell Life is born. The process of casting the spell is the brilliant and dazzling life of that Spell Life!
They would calmly face death as the spell effect annihilated. This concept was like a human dying of old age; looking back, its life was short but had its value.
It was born for me, and it died for me.
The only thing I could do for it was to tell it that its life had value.
Perhaps I didn't even need to, because life also doesn't need to seek value.
Life is imperfect, and I couldn't force my values and cognition onto a Spell Life that existed for only a moment.
I thought of that phrase again: Life will find its own way.
I slowly looked up.
Originally, the face of the "spirit" in the Elemental Spirit's Blessing was blurred, but now it had the distinct traits of life. I shared my first look with it.
What kind of feeling was that?
Through Heart Sense, I felt the joy of life being born. It wasn't sorrowful over its short lifespan because, at the moment of its birth, it had no concept of what death was.
It didn't even fear death. All it had was the initial conviction and instinct of life, obsessing over the essence of the spell.
The Elemental Spirit's Blessing was about protection... It was foreseeable that if I used a Fireball Spell, the moment it was projected would be the start of its life's glory. Upholding its explosive nature, it would bring its life to a perfect conclusion in the most magnificent way possible.
At this moment, I inexplicably thought of the Great Spellbooks... the eternal, non-extinguishing effects of the infinite self-circulating Great Spells.
What would the Spell Lives born from those be like?