The black tower loomed majestically. Though it occupied only a tiny fraction of this mysterious region, the terrifying pressure it radiated made it seem like the core of this vast, enigmatic space.
It drew all of Wu Yuan's attention!
"It!" Wu Yuan's consciousness focused on the Black Tower. It felt vast and boundless, filled with a terrifying majesty, yet it also gave Wu Yuan a sense of familiarity and warmth.
It was as if a wanderer had returned to his homeland.
Wu Yuan calmed down.
"The Black Tower is almost exactly the same as the one I encountered in my previous life, at least in appearance!" Wu Yuan couldn't help recalling a few things from his previous life.
As early as the late twenty-first century, the Human Federation had unearthed an ancient civilization site deep beneath Blue Star. It revealed that, at some point in history, a group of terrifying beings, immeasurably powerful and known as those who "supported the heavens and stood upon the earth," had once roamed the world... After countless years, their civilization had been buried, and countless traces erased.
Only one thing remained buried in the center of that mysterious site: a black tower.
Entirely intact!
Later, the Human Federation's life sciences, which had been stuck at an impasse, began to advance by leaps and bounds. The ancient martial arts were revived, and humanity entered a great leap in life after stepping into the Interstellar Era. The limits of life were broken again and again.
One had to understand: back in the twenty-first century, even the strongest humans on Blue Star could lift only a thousand jin.
But by the time Wu Yuan rose to prominence,
every Martial Dao Grandmaster in the Human Federation possessed tremendous strength of tens of thousands of jin!
Wu Yuan had learned all this only after becoming a Grandmaster and entering the highest echelons of the martial arts world. It was classified information within the Federation!
At the same time,
as a Martial Dao Grandmaster, he had been allowed to get close to that tower, which stood over a hundred meters tall, and ultimately try touching it with his own hands.
Nothing unusual happened when he touched it.
Then, several years later, just as Wu Yuan had begun to glimpse a path toward breaking through the limits of the human body... he suddenly traveled through time and space, arriving in the vast and unfathomable Central Land World!
When he first arrived,
Wu Yuan had wondered how he had traveled through time and space.
He didn't believe in notions like "fate," "luck," or "reincarnation." He firmly believed that everything had a cause and an origin, and that his journey through time and space was no exception.
Now,
after taking nine Spirit Condensing Pills in succession and strengthening his spirit to an astonishing degree, his consciousness had sensed the Upper Dantian Palace and seen the Black Tower within it.
Only then had he begun to form a theory!
His arrival in the Central Land World was likely inextricably linked to that mysterious Black Tower.
"This vast, mysterious place must be the Upper Dantian Palace, the dwelling place of the spirit, its source." With a single thought, Wu Yuan could withdraw his consciousness like a receding tide.
With another thought, his consciousness could sense this space and pour fully into it.
"Is the Black Tower inside the Upper Dantian Palace an illusion? Only my consciousness can 'see' it, and I can't touch it for real." Wu Yuan pondered. "It seems a little different from the tower I touched with my own hands."
The Black Tower he had touched had felt majestic, but otherwise had no other peculiar qualities.
But this Black Tower in the Upper Dantian Palace was incomparably warm. It made Wu Yuan feel warm all over, and his consciousness and spirit instinctively didn't want to leave.
"Black Tower!"
Wu Yuan's consciousness gazed at the Black Tower from afar. He felt more and more comfortable, until he instinctively sank into it, leaving only a thread of consciousness to stay alert.
At the same time, wisps of invisible, strange power surged from the Black Tower, causing Wu Yuan's consciousness and spirit to seem to grow stronger.
Strengthening the spirit!
The increase in his spirit was extremely slight, almost imperceptible, but Wu Yuan keenly sensed the change in his consciousness and spirit.
"What's going on?"
"I haven't done anything. I just calmly 'watched' the Black Tower, yet my spirit has unknowingly grown stronger?" Wu Yuan was bewildered. Then a thought came to him. "Could that have been the legendary 'spirit visualization'?"
In both his previous life and the Central Land, there were legends of visualization, and a handful of ancient books and biographies mentioned it.
Certain Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures could strengthen the spirit.
A strong body could also nourish the spirit, causing it to grow.
And then there was the legendary method of visualization!
"Enter the Upper Dantian Palace, where the spirit resides. One may contemplate the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, the countless living beings of the world, the six desires of the mortal realm, and the seven emotions of the human heart... Everything can be visualized! During the process, countless illusions will pull one under. In the end, one may manifest one's true self... This is called the spirit visualization method." Wu Yuan recalled the wealth of cultivation information provided by the Human Federation in his previous life.
The Human Federation had compiled this information from the classics of various martial arts schools and the relics of ancient civilizations. It was very detailed.
But its accuracy had never been verified.
After all, no Martial Dao Grandmaster in the Human Federation had been able to open the Upper Dantian Palace at the time. How could anyone visualize anything?
Or perhaps someone had succeeded, but that would have been the Federation's highest-level secret.
It wasn't something Wu Yuan could have learned about!
"Back then, I suspected the so-called civilization ruins and Black Tower were a hoax, so I didn't give them much thought." Wu Yuan calmly considered the matter. "But now, given the mysterious Black Tower and the possibility that those terrifying beings existed in history... the world the Human Federation occupied wasn't as simple as I'd imagined."
The Central Land World was even more mysterious!
Wu Yuan couldn't help recalling Gao Yu's mention of the Immortal's Ruins. It seemed everything hinted at a great secret behind it all.
"I've never actually seen anyone practice the visualization method, but from what I know, whether one visualizes the 'asuras of hell,' 'a heavenly palace of ascension,' or 'splendid mountains and rivers,' there's no fundamental difference. Each time the spirit grows stronger, even by a hair, one will face countless dangers and sink into them." Wu Yuan thought to himself. "But when I unknowingly visualized the Black Tower, I didn't encounter the slightest danger."
At that moment,
Wu Yuan didn't know whether the information he had about the visualization method was true.
Nor did he know whether he was really visualizing.
"But one thing is certain: when I 'observe' the Black Tower, my spirit really does keep growing stronger." Wu Yuan focused on what mattered.
Everything else was hollow. Only the growth of his spirit was real.
As for the Black Tower in the Upper Dantian Palace?
"Whether it ultimately benefits or harms me, I've only just opened the Upper Dantian Palace. I don't have the power to do anything about it." Wu Yuan was broad-minded. "All I can do now is keep strengthening myself. Only then might I uncover the secrets behind it all in the future..."
"And the fact that 'visualizing the Black Tower' can strengthen my spirit without any harm is a special opportunity!"
The spirit was ethereal, and there were few conventional ways to strengthen it.
Moreover, it had no direct use in martial combat.
But as the spirit grew stronger, one's intelligence and comprehension would improve, and one's thoughts would move faster.
Whether it was controlling one's physical abilities or practicing combat techniques, the results would be twice as great with half the effort!
"Again."
Wu Yuan continued to "visualize" the Black Tower in his Upper Dantian Palace, and his spirit steadily grew stronger.
The gains were small.
But a journey of a thousand miles began with a single step. Tiny advances, accumulated day after day, would eventually amount to a staggering achievement.
Time passed!
As he continued to "visualize," Wu Yuan became completely immersed in it. Gradually, his consciousness began to grow hazy without him realizing it.
Suddenly,
"Hm?" Wu Yuan felt his spirit shudder violently. His consciousness seemed about to scatter, and endless darkness surged toward him, about to pull him into sleep.
Wu Yuan immediately understood that visualizing the Black Tower wasn't without cost. It also made his spirit weary.
Just like tempering the body, he couldn't exceed its limits.
He had to rest.
And the best way to nourish the spirit was... sleep!
...Wu Yuan slept deeply, without dreaming. It felt as if he had closed his eyes and immediately opened them again.
"Whoosh!" Wu Yuan sprang to his feet. He felt refreshed, and his spirit was incomparably stronger than before he had taken the Spirit Condensing Pills.
With a single thought, he could easily sense every part of his surroundings. He didn't have to calm his mind and immerse himself in them as he had before!
With a single thought, he could sense the tiniest details of his bones, muscles, and blood—far beyond ordinary "Internal Vision."
With a single thought, he could also clearly sense the Upper Dantian Palace in his brain!
The Black Tower seemed unchanged, suspended inside. A thin, almost imperceptible stream of blood-colored mist circled its body.
"Visualization." The moment Wu Yuan tried to visualize the Black Tower, his spirit began to ache as if it were about to burst.
That made him understand.
He had to wait until his spirit had fully recovered before attempting to visualize it again.
"The blood-colored mist circling the tower... it seems to be the strange energy that previously merged into every part of my body." Wu Yuan sensed the blood-colored mist and recognized it.
He tried to draw the blood-colored mist toward himself.
But it seemed too thin. It circled the Black Tower, and Wu Yuan didn't have the power to draw it over.
"Is this all the blood-colored mist there is?" Wu Yuan wondered.
He only had a vague understanding of the Black Tower.
As for the mysterious blood-colored mist—how was it produced? What exactly was it used for? Could it have side effects?—he knew nothing at all.
All he could do was wait and see.
"Slowly. I've only just opened my Upper Dantian Palace. Being able to visualize the Black Tower and strengthen my spirit is already an incredible opportunity!" Wu Yuan wasn't in a hurry to figure everything out.
The Upper Dantian Palace concerned the very foundations of life. He couldn't afford to be careless.
"Whoosh." His consciousness withdrew from the Upper Dantian Palace like a receding tide. Wu Yuan's gaze swept over his surroundings, where bright light was streaming in.
The training hall was much brighter.
"How long did I spend visualizing?" Wu Yuan wondered. Suddenly, he noticed his stomach rumbling.
He was hungry!
Clang—the hall doors opened. The sky outside was already bright. The area was quiet and empty, except for Gu Ji, who was still sitting cross-legged in the pavilion.
"Young master." Gu Ji stood and asked softly, "How were the Spirit Condensing Pills?"
"They helped a little." Wu Yuan answered vaguely. "Uncle Ji, what time is it? How long have I been in seclusion?"
"Only helped a little?" Gu Ji sighed inwardly, but said, "You've been in seclusion for six shichen since you first entered the training hall."
Six shichen?
Wu Yuan quickly calculated and realized that he had spent about three shichen visualizing the Black Tower.
"Uncle Ji, I'm a little hungry. I'll go get something to eat first." Wu Yuan said, heading straight for the inner residence.
A maid had already been assigned to bring him food.
For several days in a row, Wu Yuan used Spirit Liquid to practice the Tiger Leopard Bone Refining Technique, doing his best to improve his physical abilities to their current limit.
At the same time, every so often he tried visualizing the Black Tower, checking whether his spirit had fully recovered.
After eight whole days,
Wu Yuan finally confirmed that each visualization took about three shichen, and that he had to wait at least four days before trying again.
As for the blood-colored mist? Wu Yuan still hadn't figured it out.
That day, after leaving the training hall again,
"Uncle Ji, there's no need to delay. We'll set off for Nanmeng Martial Academy tomorrow." Wu Yuan said softly.
Before you continue