was as mysterious as it was described.

Duncan can firmly attest to this. Initially, Duncan hadn't been very confident that this technique could help him. Even though the description said it could strengthen the soul, Duncan was a bit suspicious about it.

It was only natural. After all, anything that had to do with the soul is not something that could be obtained easily. Furthermore, Duncan's knowledge regarding the soul was truly at the basic level. How can he be sure that his understanding of the technique was right?

To make things worse, his first try with a method mentioned in the technique caused him bone-deep fatigue. Even though the method succeeded, Duncan was hit by the side-effect. So, Duncan wasn't sure there were any more side effects that he needs to be aware of.

In such a situation, it is understandable that Duncan wasn't highly favorable towards this particular technique in his heart. 

But, things turned out to be better this time.

Cultivating was different compared to how Duncan cultivated the martial arts technique. As per the instruction left behind by the inheritance he received, visualization is the core of cultivating .

When Duncan used the method mentioned in to recover his lost soul strand, he used this aspect as well. When he recovered his soul strand, the image he needed to visualize was that of a ball of yarn.

That was a relatively easy thing for Duncan to do. 

But, when he wanted to cultivate , Duncan needed to visualize a completely different image.  The image he needed to visualize would change gradually as Duncan begins to progress in his cultivation of the technique.

Right now, Duncan needed to visualize a lone mountain.

Duncan initially thought that this would be an easy thing. But, when he tried, he found that it was not that simple. The image was indeed that of a lone mountain, but there were several layers hidden in it.

When Duncan first managed to visualize a lone mountain, he thought this mysterious soul art was pretty easy to cultivate. But, things took a turn when he tried to imprint that image on his soul.

The moment Duncan tried to imprint the image on the soul, the image he had visualized shattered. This baffled Duncan. He didn't know what he did wrong for the image to shatter this fast.

As far as he could discern, the image he visualized and the image that was present in his memory were the same. But somehow, the lone mountain he visualized shattered inexplicably.

Duncan was a little confused with this phenomenon for a while. Even after trying a few more times, Duncan couldn't imprint the image on his soul no matter how careful he was.

Initially, he thought this might be a scam. But, having utilized the method mentioned in the technique to recover his lost soul strand, Duncan discarded that notion immediately. He knew deep down that this technique was legit.

So, Duncan's mind turned elsewhere. He began to analyze where things were going wrong and what are the effects that resulted from it. That was when he realized that the tiredness he was feeling had subsided a little.

This caused Duncan to realize that he was on the right path. If that was the case, then there must be something defective in the image he visualized. So, Duncan once more started to comprehend the inherited memory a bit more closely.

This time, he didn't concentrate on the technique as a whole. This time, he only focused on the image of the lone mountain in his memory. After trying hard for a long time, Duncan found a small clue.

While the image he visualized was right, there was no substance to it at all. It was just an image he visualized in a hurry. Compared to it, the image imprinted in his memory felt as if it was a real lone mountain.

The lone mountain in his memory had a presence that was indescribable to Duncan. There was a kind of feeling in it that made Duncan's scalp tingle a bit when he looked closer. He could feel his soul being pressured just looking at it.

This gave Duncan a real clue as to why his mountain image shattered.

The image he visualized was just a shell. Compared to the one in his memory, it had no substance at all. The mountain was weightless like a feather. So, it was only natural that it shattered upon contact.

Even though Duncan didn't know much about soul arts, he knew what imprinting meant. It meant forcibly burning an image somewhere. And here, he was burning it in his soul.

How can something that doesn't have any substance force his soul to imprint? Even though it was done willingly on his behalf, the image must have its own characteristics to imprint itself on his soul.

Having figured out where the problem was, Duncan became a little more relaxed. He understood what he had to do to succeed. He needed to add substance to the image in his mind.

But, saying it is easy, doing it was something else.

*****

"It doesn't work," Duncan shook his head in dejection. "No matter what I try, the image I can visualize is only superficial. How is this different from the ball of yarn I visualized? I didn't even know this stuff when I tried it out the first time. Why did it work then and why doesn't it work now?"

Duncan scratched his head unable to find an answer. It had been a week since he woke up. Since then, he had remained hidden and was cultivating diligently. But, there was nothing to show for it.

This made Duncan feel as if he was stupid. It wasn't a good feeling to endure. If not for the paltry gains he had obtained in the past week, Duncan would have stopped cultivating this technique altogether. He wasn't masochistic to repeatedly suffer defeat and humiliation.

The one thing that Duncan gained during this week was his soul being nourished. The tiredness that came from his soul was gone by now. He could even feel the world around him more clearly.

Duncan knew that this was because of the nourishment his soul received. Typically, Duncan would have been glad about this alone. But, right now, Duncan was very determined to cultivate this technique.

Even if he couldn't fully manage to cultivate this technique, the side effects alone were wonderful enough to make him salivate. What other benefits would he receive if he actually managed to cultivate this technique? Just thinking about it was enough for Duncan to be determined to cultivate it.

But, even though he was willing, Duncan realized that he lacked a crucial aspect when it came to visualizing the lone mountain. Now he was wondering what he could do to change it.

"Ball of yarn. Lonely Mountain. What is the difference? Is it the size? But, the size was relatively irrelevant in my mind. So, it can't be that. Then, what is it? Why can I manage to do one but not the other?" Duncan pondered deeply.

"Ball of yarn… ball of yarn… hmmm… wait, I think I got it," Duncan exclaimed suddenly. "Could it be that simple? I was able to visualize a ball of yarn because I know it pretty well. But, the lonely mountain is different. I have never come into intimate contact with something like that."

"I have handled a ball of yarn in my hands. I know how they feel and how they look. I know what it is made of. When I visualized a ball of yarn, my subconscious was there to provide me with these details. I never noticed it at that time. But, now that I think about it, it was indeed true," Duncan said standing up in excitement.

"Since I know how a ball of yarn feels intimately, I was able to visualize it without any problems. But, as I don't know much about the lonely mountain, the image I visualize comes up as a paper tiger. It has no substance at all," Duncan muttered pacing rapidly. 

"In that case, I need to understand the core of the lonely mountain to form that image. Understanding… it all hinges on it. No wonder. Come to think of it, it is my understanding that made me use the concepts I learned. Looks like understanding the core of things is really important in cultivation," Duncan mumbled coming to a stop.

"Then, as long as I find a lonely mountain and strive to understand its characteristics, I will be able to form this image in my mind. And this is only the entry-level. I wonder what kind of image I will be required to form when I reach higher levels in this technique," Duncan muttered in a daze.

"Right," Duncan shook his head to clear away his dazed state. "I think it is time for me to step out and try to see more of this Grotto Heaven. Didn't the first region I entered have some hills?" 

"Hills are nothing but small mountains. Let me head over there and try to understand their characteristics. Even if I can't visualize a lonely mountain, adding my understanding of the hills will only aid me to have more substance in my image." 

"Furthermore, I can only retrieve the loot I had stashed there. And the meat I have with me is running out as well. Well, it is time to head out," Duncan declared enthusiastically with a bright smile on his face.

*****

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Chapter end