Chapter 720 - 4: Myriad Thoughts Return to One

Su Zhou’s expression twisted, but he played along. "Then you’re my grandpa."

Yara: "Aye."

"Well, are you going to tell me or not?!"

Su Zhou instantly flew into a rage. He shot his hand out, lunging toward the Snake Spirit’s back with the speed of a thunderclap—and then gently stroked the little red snake’s spine.

The texture was smooth, the scales weren’t hard, and it felt a little cool to the touch. It was also extremely supple; petting it was surprisingly stress-relieving.

"Mmm, not bad. Put a little more force into it right there!"

Enjoying Su Zhou’s massage, Yara nodded in satisfaction. After guiding Su Zhou’s kneading for a few minutes, it slowly began to speak. "This Divine Technique, in terms of Desire Power and Curses, will indeed conflict a bit with your original Evil-Devouring Demon Lord—but if you can fully analyze it, its essence can greatly increase your strength."

"Oh?"

Su Zhou’s hands didn’t stop moving. He asked, somewhat puzzled, "How so?"

"The conflict between the two Divine Techniques is simply that they compete for Desire Power. This either prevents Unity of Ten Thousand Thoughts from properly absorbing Heart Power to empower you, or it prevents Evil-Devouring Demon Lord from successfully generating Evil Souls. But look at it from another angle—why do you need Unity of Ten Thousand Thoughts active at all times?"

The Snake Spirit now spoke with great eloquence. It didn’t tell Su Zhou what to do directly, instead guiding him to think for himself. "The original owner of Unity of Ten Thousand Thoughts needed to carry his followers with him to guarantee his enhancements. And while you don’t have followers, you have other things that are far more pure and pay even more attention to you!"

’Things that pay more attention to me...’ Su Zhou repeated the phrase, falling into deep thought. His gaze grew brighter and brighter, the young man’s eyes focusing on the Evil Soul in his hand. "Of course! The Evil Souls!" he exclaimed in a moment of epiphany.

’As products of the powerful enemies I’ve killed—amalgamations of their Curses and Soul Fragments—the Evil Souls have an incredibly close relationship with me. If I were to think of them as fans, they’d be the obsessive anti-fans who stalk and watch me 24/7! And the Wish Souls would be the zealous fans. It’s all the same thing, really.’

Jarred awake by Yara’s hint, Su Zhou’s thoughts now flowed with perfect clarity. ’That’s it! Other people need attention from the outside world, but I’m different. I generate my own traffic, my own fans—I’m self-sufficient! As long as I keep a stock of Evil Souls inside me and don’t devour them, they will naturally supply me with their "attention"!’

’In that case, I can completely shut off Unity of Ten Thousand Thoughts’ absorption of external Heart Power and have it only affect my own Soul Space... Hmm, and this way, the Wisdom Tree Essence Soul will have some new toys to play with. Killing several birds with one stone!’

The more Su Zhou thought about it, the more sense it made. After all, not all Evil Souls were created equal. Eating some provided a significant boost in power, while others were practically useless. Not only did they taste terrible, but the power gained from consuming them was less than what he could get from ten minutes of serious cultivation. Still, since he had already obtained them, it felt like a waste not to eat them.

But now, those useless Evil Souls had a purpose.

Having decided on his future path, Su Zhou didn’t hesitate. He picked up the Evil Soul and swallowed it whole.

It tasted like a draft of murky, bitter wine. An intense spiciness and sourness—the Soul’s unwillingness and impotent rage—erupted like a volcano. The Curse contained within the Evil Soul was so potent that even Su Zhou felt a hint of intoxication. An almost irrepressible desire started at the tip of his tongue, swept through his mouth and esophagus, and then spread throughout his entire body.

’—Watch me, watch me, watch me!’

A torrent of chaotic thoughts flooded his mind, only to be suppressed by Su Zhou with practiced ease.

Then, the more fundamental nature of the Divine Technique manifested, and the young man closed his eyes.

When the heart stirs, thought is born. When thought stirs, emotion is born. When emotion stirs, desire is born. When desire stirs, action is born.

All actions begin with a single thought from a single heart, a single desire from a single emotion. The beings of the Three Realms possess ten thousand hearts and ten thousand thoughts, which can give birth to all phenomena and all divine power.

Thus, in the Unity of Ten Thousand Thoughts, great power is born.

It was not in any language or form; it was a pure enlightenment that Su Zhou swallowed, absorbed into his heart, and transformed into his own power.

After several minutes of silence, Su Zhou opened his eyes.

A dim, blue-violet light swirled in his pupils like a Black Hole, completely absorbing all the ambient aura and Thoughts lingering around him.

For a moment, within a five-kilometer radius, every thought and idea related to Su Zhou trembled slightly. He perceived them all, and they transformed into his power.

In that instant, Su Zhou even had a feeling. ’Within this range, if anyone speaks my name, I’ll be able to sense it and know their location.’

At the same time, as the thoughts converged, his power surged, soared, and skyrocketed. In a single moment, his strength increased by more than thirty percent!

Across the entire Qinxing Academy, every student and professor who knew of Su Zhou and was paying him any mind contributed a portion of power, temporarily boosting his strength by thirty percent in a matter of seconds!

However, after a few seconds, this Anomaly was suppressed. The Spiritual Light, which had been swirling like a vortex in Su Zhou’s eyes, gradually receded back into his vertical pupils. He had now suppressed the power of Unity of Ten Thousand Thoughts within his body so that it would not interfere with his Evil-Devouring Demon Lord technique.

"...Although I still need to analyze it further to truly make this Divine Technique my own power, I have now found the path forward."