Failed Meditation Technique

Fang Xiu's empty new home now had a little ghost girl, Chen Jin. Whenever she could avoid speaking, she absolutely would not say a word. And if you talked too much and upset her, she would vanish right in front of you and refuse to let you see her.

At eight every morning, she would punctually turn on her treasured radio—the one capable of receiving broadcasts from another world—and sit on the living room sofa hugging it. The bulky radio pressed down on her red dress, looking utterly mismatched with her small, frail frame.

She would turn the volume all the way up, shaking Fang Xiu out of bed upstairs. The broadcast droned on like demonic voices pouring into his ears, and covering his ears was useless. It was far more effective than any alarm Fang Xiu had ever set.

Fang Xiu's recent days of freedom, laziness, and muddleheadedness had come to an end. After all, there was another person in the house now. His laid-back attitude toward life had undergone a major change, and for some reason, he actually felt full of drive.

The Otherworld Broadcast Radio could receive more than just the Merman's Voice channel. By adjusting the frequency, it could also pick up programs about otherworldly cuisine, music, celebrity anecdotes, and horror stories.

But Fang Xiu's favorite was still the eight o'clock morning alchemy lecture, because it was the only radio program through which he could access and learn supernatural knowledge.

"It's starting! It's starting! Master Horace is going to focus on the key points of meditation techniques today!" Fang Xiu rushed downstairs early in the morning and found Chen Jin hugging the radio and listening to the broadcast.

Her beautiful blue eyes looked somewhat mechanical and vacant. She sat there without moving at all, like a real doll or a porcelain figurine.

Chen Jin paid Fang Xiu no attention whatsoever. She was someone who lived in her own world. As long as you did not disturb her or speak to her, she would remain immersed in her own illusory dreams.

Because Fang Xiu had babbled on yesterday and made her angry—apparently because he kept calling her a little ghost girl—she would not even translate the eight o'clock alchemy lecture for him today. No matter what Fang Xiu said, she acted as though she could not see him.

Fang Xiu immediately took out the furniture store catalog he had prepared beforehand. It was a thick volume listing the main products of a large furniture retailer nearby. He opened it and placed it in front of Chen Jin. "Little... Chen Jin, if you translate for me, then whatever you want from this catalog, I'll buy it for you to decorate your room."

Chen Jin could not leave Fang Xiu's home. In fact, she could not remain away from the basement for too long, or she would gradually weaken. So that basement was her room.

Only then did Chen Jin raise her head. In an instant, the thick catalog began flipping rapidly as if swept by the wind.

"Rustle, rustle!"

The pages fluttered before abruptly stopping on a page in the middle. A faint ripple appeared in Chen Jin's gaze. It showed a mirror filled with vintage style and hollowed-out patterns. But after only a short pause, the pages flipped backward again and stopped on the next page.

It displayed furniture in the same vintage style: an entire set, including a grand and luxurious bed, an old-fashioned solid wood bookshelf, a sofa with a dark gold-red mahogany base, and wicker chairs.

After Chen Jin pointed at that page, she said nothing more and lowered her head again.

"Damn, you've got sharp eyes! This whole set isn't cheap!" Fang Xiu looked at the prices. Altogether, it would cost tens of thousands. Still, in order to learn supernatural powers, Fang Xiu gritted his teeth and decided to buy it.

Chen Jin finally began translating the broadcast. Fang Xiu did things differently from yesterday. Yesterday, he had copied the content down in a notebook, but after finishing, he felt like an idiot. Couldn't he just record it directly?

So today, he immediately opened the recorder on his phone. He no longer had to painstakingly spend half an hour taking notes. It was simply perfect.

Today's lecture was indeed about the details of meditation techniques, focusing on the Phantasmal Dream Crystal Meditation Technique mentioned the day before yesterday.

But after Fang Xiu finished listening, he opened his phone and prepared to replay the detailed parts, making sure he would not make any mistakes while meditating. Yet he found nothing but silence on the phone. There was no sound at all, and dragging the progress bar or fast-forwarding did nothing.

"What's going on?" Fang Xiu was dumbfounded. He had clearly been recording with his phone. How could there be no sound at all? Not only was Chen Jin's translation missing, even the broadcast itself was gone.

"The sound isn't transmitted through the air. It acts directly on the brain. Whether it's Chen Jin's voice or the broadcast, the way they transmit sound is through a kind of power I can't understand." Fang Xiu recalled the vague suspicions he had harbored before. Now, they had truly been confirmed.

At that moment, Chen Jin glanced at Fang Xiu. The notebook and pen he had tossed onto the nearby table floated up and began rapidly copying notes in front of her.

Chen Jin herself did not move at all. The notebook kept flipping open, while the pen swiftly wrote down the details of the meditation technique from earlier. Before long, page after page had been filled. Unlike Fang Xiu, who had only noted the key points, she had copied down every single word.

"Amazing. You really are the ultimate brain!" Fang Xiu had not expected her to remember everything. Though she had used traditional Chinese characters, Fang Xiu had no trouble reading them.

"Don't worry. I'll go buy what you want tomorrow and bring it back for you!" Fang Xiu excitedly held the notebook, planning to organize the notes before attempting his first meditation.

Whether this meditation technique from a supernatural otherworld could actually work in this magicless world would be proven tonight.

After the broadcast ended, Chen Jin hugged her beloved radio, which she rarely let out of her hands, and returned to the basement downstairs. Fang Xiu felt that he ought to tidy up the basement properly. At the very least, he should install a television or something, so it would feel livelier.

Burn incense, calm the mind, bathe, sit in meditation...

Fang Xiu sat cross-legged on his bed. Sandalwood incense curled up before him, while he was still wearing that "I Want to Cultivate Immortality" T-shirt.

It was clearly a meditation technique from a strange and fantastical otherworld, yet under Fang Xiu's direction, it somehow carried the distinct flavor of immortal cultivation.

According to the details Fang Xiu had recorded, learning a meditation technique required several conditions. First, one's innate Spiritual Power level had to exceed 0.5 units.

Second, this world had to possess a magic net. Third, one had to have the correct method of guiding Spiritual Power—that is, a meditation technique.

Fang Xiu was not too worried about the first and third conditions. He was, after all, a Dominator of Time and Space. His Spiritual Power level certainly would not be low, and he had mastered a Phantasmal Dream Crystal Meditation Technique.

But the second condition—that this world needed a magic net—made Fang Xiu feel that things were not looking good. He felt that his world probably, maybe, most likely did not have a magic net. Otherwise, why would it be called a magicless world?

"I'll try it first."

Fang Xiu closed his eyes. Having just bathed, his body felt light and comfortable. Breathing in the tranquil scent of incense, he gathered his wandering thoughts and guided his mind inward, beginning to construct a spiritual world and form.

A dazzling, dreamlike crystal of many colors gradually formed within Fang Xiu's conscious mind, growing solid bit by bit. The meditation technique was meant to gather all of Fang Xiu's Spiritual Power, concentrate it into one point, and break through to connect with the magic net.

Yet at this moment, no matter what Fang Xiu did, he could not sense the existence of the so-called magic net. His spirit seemed to drift through an illusory realm, forever unable to find a place to settle.

In his muddled state, Fang Xiu entered a strange condition. He was clearly awake, yet somehow seemed asleep.

Fang Xiu felt a burst of white light suddenly bloom across the world of his consciousness. The dazzling radiance illuminated his entire mind and soul in an instant.

"Tick-tock!"

At that moment, the enormous Silver Clock that filled the entire world fell from the sky.

Fang Xiu had failed to connect to the magic net, and his meditation had failed. But he had never expected that, through sheer chance, he would enter the Clock Space once more.

This time, Fang Xiu had not died, and time had not reversed. He had entered the Clock Space of his own accord.