The Bead's Origins

Entering the Universe Bead with his Spiritual Sense this time was effortless. The instant he entered, his Spiritual Sense seemed to naturally take the shape of his body. After testing it, he found it felt exactly like controlling his own body, without the slightest awkwardness. This differed from the usual use of Spiritual Sense. Normally, he could sense and see his surroundings through it, but it was all intangible. Inside the Universe Bead, however, it had formed a tangible human figure. That was rather unexpected.

Chen Mo could not figure out the reason behind it, so he simply accepted it. Turning around, he began examining his surroundings. He discovered that the interior of the Universe Bead covered nearly a thousand mu. White Mist filled the surroundings, faintly glowing and illuminating the space. The sky above was also shrouded in White Mist, while the ground was covered in black soil. The distance between the sky and the earth was roughly several hundred meters. The entire space was flat and open, with only one structure at its very center.

At the center stood a White Jade Stone Platform, shaped like an eight-sided, eight-trigram tower. Each side had thirty-six White Jade Steps, each about fifty centimeters high and a hundred centimeters wide. It looked imposing and immensely awe-inspiring. At the top of the White Jade Stone Platform was an area roughly twenty meters across, and at its center stood a massive Azure Dragon Coiled Pillar White Jade Statue.

A narrow stream nearly a meter wide encircled the White Jade Stone Platform. Its Stream Water was crystal clear, its bed paved with pebbles of varying sizes and colors that gave off a hazy, dreamlike glow beneath the water. It flowed out from one bank of White Mist, split into two streams at the center, circled the White Jade Stone Platform, then followed winding channels back into the White Mist, vanishing to who knew where. The murmuring water churned amid drifting mist.

The coiled dragon jade pillar was over two meters in diameter and nearly ten meters tall. An Azure Dragon wound upward around it, its body appearing and disappearing among the White Cloud. At the very top, its dragon head looked down. Between its Dragon Claws rested a Dragon Pearl, flawless and lustrous, around half a meter in diameter. A faint radiance flickered over the pearl, and mist seemed to swirl within it. Directly beneath the Dragon Pearl was a White Jade Lotus Pond, separated from it by nearly ten meters.

The mist atop the Dragon Pearl gradually condensed into a droplet at its lowest point, which fell with a drip into the White Jade Lotus Pond below. The Lotus Pond was level with the platform and circular, its edges shaped like lotus petals. It was not large, only two meters in diameter and less than a meter deep. It was already full of water, though the water surface remained two palm-widths below the pond's rim.

Upon closer inspection, he found that the Lotus Pond had eight petals, each corresponding to one side of the jade platform. At the center of each petal, two palm-widths below its highest point, was a small hole. These holes connected to the Dragon Heads beneath the stone steps on all eight sides. Faint droplets flowed through the holes, then poured out from the Dragon Heads at the lowest points, falling into the stream around the outermost edge of the White Jade Stone Platform.

The entire White Jade Platform was wreathed in mist, making the coiled dragon seem almost alive.

When Chen Mo's Spiritual Sense approached the place, it felt as though a gentle breeze had brushed across his face. His mind refreshed, and his fatigue instantly disappeared. Even his thoughts seemed to speed up. He immediately realized that the liquid was good stuff.

When Chen Mo's Spiritual Sense sank into the White Jade Platform, he understood everything here. The white jade sphere held by the Azure Dragon was the core of the Universe Bead. The liquid it produced was liquefied Spiritual Energy. Cultivators could drink it to increase their Cultivation Level, but they had to drink according to their cultivation level and could not consume too much. At Chen Mo's current level, one drop during each Internal Circulation was enough.

Ordinary People could not drink this liquid Spiritual Energy, or they risked their bodies exploding. Their bodies could not absorb the Spiritual Energy and would only be burst apart by it. The Spiritual Energy water also had other effects, such as rapidly healing injuries and quickly replenishing exhausted Spiritual Energy inside the body. There were many more functions, and Chen Mo would have to experience them himself.

Since the Spiritual Liquid in the Lotus Pond overflowed into the water pool, it mixed with the stream outside, so the Stream Water also contained Spiritual Energy, though it had been diluted. This Stream Water could be used to water Spiritual Plants, and Ordinary People could drink it as well. It could improve an ordinary person's constitution and more.

There was also the black soil area. Different sections within it could be designated and given different time multipliers. Both the designated areas and time multipliers were set using Restriction Techniques, and this technique was transmitted into Chen Mo's mind as well.

Furthermore, as he refined the Universe Bead, the time regions and time multipliers would also increase. Once the highest stage of refinement was completed, it could reach a time flow of one hundred and ten times.

The land within the space was not fixed either. Each time Chen Mo completed the refinement of one layer of Restriction, it would expand somewhat. In other words, every completed layer of Restriction would enlarge this space. Once all eleven layers of Restriction had been fully refined, this place would become a Small World. As for how much it would expand, there was no information.

As Chen Mo carefully examined the White Jade Stone Platform, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be three plant seeds left in a corner of the steps. They varied in size, and the sight thrilled him. These three seeds came from the Cultivation World. If he could successfully grow them, they certainly would not disappoint him.

He picked up the three seeds with his Spiritual Sense. One appeared to be grain-like, while another was impossible to identify. It was completely snow-white and the size of a pine nut, yet it was not a pine nut. The final seed was round and brown, and he could not identify it either. He could only place them on the White Jade Platform for now and plant them later.

After inspecting the space, Chen Mo considered that although he had entered with his Spiritual Sense just now, his physical body could enter as well. However, in terms of control, entering with his Spiritual Sense was better. Once his Spiritual Sense entered, he was like a deity of this realm, capable of controlling everything within it. If his body entered instead, he could not control it as freely as he could with his Spiritual Sense.

He turned to look at the Storage Bag. This thing was far too conspicuous. It would be fine if he kept it on his person and outsiders could not see it, but what if it was stolen? Besides, he no longer trusted science that much, because he himself was the biggest Science BUG. Earth was so vast—who knew whether there were other cultivators out there? The Storage Bag should be put away, and there was no better place than Inside the Universe Bead.

However, novels seemed to describe spaces as incompatible or mutually repulsive. It would be one thing if the Storage Bag could not enter the Universe Bead, but what if they merged after it went inside?

After thinking it over, he decided to take the risk. After all, leaving the Storage Bag outside was not safe. Muttering a few words asking his Master for forgiveness, he gathered it with a thought. In an instant, the Storage Bag entered the Universe Bead. Fortunately, the two did not merge.

The Storage Bag remained safely inside the Universe Bead. When Chen Mo's Spiritual Sense entered the Universe Bead again, he tried opening the Storage Bag inside, but there was no response. With a flicker of thought, the Storage Bag reappeared in his hand. When his Spiritual Sense entered it, he could once again see the space inside the Storage Bag. It seemed that storage-type items could not be used Inside the Universe Bead.

He then tried storing the White Jade Bead in the Storage Bag, only to find that it was impossible. The Universe Bead could not be placed inside the Storage Bag. Even when he tried putting it in with his hand, the Universe Bead merely floated at the bag's opening. It appeared that high-level spatial items could contain low-level spatial items, but low-level spatial items could not contain high-level ones.

After putting everything he had taken out back into the Storage Bag, he stored it inside the Universe Bead. He had now consolidated Qi Refining Layer One and could begin learning Talismans and formations. However, according to the Transmission Jade Talisman, cultivators should focus primarily on cultivation, with everything else secondary. Otherwise, if they tried to learn and refine everything, they would ultimately end up with nothing. Chen Mo understood this as well. Only wholehearted cultivation was the proper path.

But considering his own circumstances, he decided to first study the Spirit Gathering Array and the Spring Wind and Rain Technique. These two techniques would also be useful later. As the name implied, a formation involved engraving Talismans onto objects to turn them into Formation Bases, then activating the formation through its central control. Based on the number and size of the Formation Bases, the Spirit Gathering Array could draw Spiritual Energy from within a certain area.

The Spring Wind and Rain Technique could be used as a hand seal technique or made into Talismans. Once cast, it could promote plant growth and improve taste. This spell was used for cultivating Spiritual Plants and Medicinal Materials, but there was no record of what effect it would have on ordinary plants.

Chen Mo planned to learn these two first, then study the others after mastering them. There were still many formations, spells, and Talismans to learn. He could only take it slowly.