Burning Incense

Buddhism was a traditional religion of the Nine Provinces, but Bai Mo had found no answer in the history books as to how exactly it had come about.

More than five thousand years of upheaval had caused the ancient civilization on this land to forget far too much.

Based only on online speculation and the behavior of certain mages who believed in Buddhism, Buddhism not only had strong ties to the Mind Element, but had also produced quite a few grand masters of the Space Element.

Every Buddhist temple was effectively the Buddhists' private domain. Although they allotted cultivation slots to various parties every year, they emphasized karmic affinity. How much one gained within the temple depended entirely on oneself.

The Jingan Stone Temple was naturally no exception.

The moment Bai Mo stepped over the ancient threshold and entered, he felt his mind relax in comfort.

Before his eyes stood sturdy ginkgo trees, their golden leaves decorating the plain blue bricks beneath his feet. Bamboo of the same hue poked its straight, upright stalks out from behind the courtyard walls.

The entire place was quiet and peaceful.

The Jingan Stone Temple was located in the rear courtyard of Jing'an Temple. It was ancient and elegant, while the front had been renovated into an ordinary Buddhist temple where people could worship Buddha and burn incense.

Bai Mo neither worshipped Buddha nor read Buddhist scriptures, so he could not appreciate the particular beauty of the flowers, grass, stones, and trees in the rear courtyard. He merely felt that the place possessed a unique charm.

Mei Qian and Zhou Tianyuan beside him felt much the same.

"Creak~"

The ancient stone temple doors before them were pushed open. The elderly monk at the entrance stood like an old pine, smiling at them. His eyes were crystal clear, as though they could see through all things in the world.

With his palms pressed together, he said, "Three benefactors, this is the place. Time is precious, so this old monk shall not disturb you further. When the time comes, someone will inform the three of you."

Hearing this, Bai Mo and the other two also clasped their hands before them and returned the gesture.

"Thank you, Master, for leading the way!"

Monk Mingzhi smiled faintly and walked away.

"Let's go in." Mei Qian glanced at Bai Mo and Zhou Tianyuan.

"Mm." The two nodded and looked at the temple doors, beyond which was complete darkness and nothing could be seen.

Then they stepped inside one after another.

The instant Bai Mo crossed the threshold, his eyes lit up. Before him, an ancient and solemn Buddha statue sat atop a high platform.

An Incense Tripod stood before the statue, with a stack of incense in a wooden box beside it.

Not far in front of the tripod was a meditation cushion.

Bai Mo looked around a few times and found that only the Buddha statue, the Incense Tripod, the incense, and the meditation cushion before him were clear.

Everywhere else remained an unseen darkness.

Zhou Tianyuan and Mei Qian, who had entered with him, had already vanished without a trace.

Remembering the spatial fluctuation he had sensed upon entering, a look of understanding flashed through his eyes.

He then fixed his gaze once more on the tiny space before him that he could see clearly.

He carefully swept his gaze across it, but found no wooden fish.

Bai Mo stepped forward to the tripod and took three sticks of incense from the incense box.

He lit them with the candle burning nearby and inserted them into the Incense Tripod before him.

After all, this was an unscientific Magic World. He would rather believe it existed than believe it did not.

Only after doing this did Bai Mo sit cross-legged on the meditation cushion. With a sweep of his hand, he took a wooden fish from the opened space and began to strike it.

He wanted to see just what surprise was waiting for him.

"Tap, tap, tap~"

The calm, clear sound echoed through the silent space. At first, Bai Mo felt nothing unusual, but as he continued striking it, he felt as though something had been tied to his mind, making it grow somewhat heavy.

And within the Mental World that he could not see, silver Stardust slowly revolved at almost the same speed as during his usual meditation and cultivation.

"I heard that the Buddhist sounds of the Jingan Stone Temple can also improve Mental Power. They can even help someone break through their Mental Realm."

The words his homeroom teacher, Su Ning, had said when notifying them of the training assessment more than two months ago surfaced in his mind.

In Bai Mo's view, this should have been the effect of striking the wooden fish.

Thus, his movements did not stop. Enduring the increasingly heavy pressure on his mind, he struck the wooden fish in his hand again and again.

"Tap, tap, tap~"

The steady sound continued without pause, but Bai Mo felt that he could no longer hear it clearly. The invisible pressure grew stronger, and sweat already poured down his forehead like rain.

He even felt as though his own head had become someone else's wooden fish, struck over and over again.

Bai Mo did not know how long he had been striking it—perhaps a day, perhaps half a day.

But he no longer had the strength to continue. His body could no longer withstand the mental pressure, and he instinctively stopped striking.

As the sound of the wooden fish vanished from the space, the mental oppression receded like the tide.

He took out his phone and checked the time. It was six in the evening; they had arrived at eight in the morning.

Once his attention returned to himself, hunger spread from his stomach throughout his body.

Bai Mo took out some bread and water from his storage space. As he filled his stomach, he also rested for a while, letting his tightly strung mind relax.

After finishing what he held, his aimless gaze fell upon the Incense Tripod.

He had lit incense that morning, but it had already burned out.

Bai Mo got up, picked up another three incense sticks, lit them, and replaced the old ones.

The incense had only burned for a short while when its distinctive scent made his exhausted mind feel wonderfully soothed.

It was like taking a hot bath after exercising.

He had been so tired that he could not even meditate, but now he could feel his condition recovering at a considerable pace. This incense could actually alleviate Mental Power fatigue.

"No wonder they can cultivate for so long."

Bai Mo sighed inwardly. Under normal circumstances, if he had to endure that immense pressure, he could only last four or five hours at most. Yet today, he had held on for so long.

Now that he understood the incense's benefits, Bai Mo did not waste any time. He sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, closed his eyes, immersed his mind in his Mental World, and entered meditation.

Very quickly, he discovered that Su Ning had been right. Cultivating here was much faster than outside.

The silver Stardust that had originally rotated at a steady pace now spun rapidly within his Mental World.

It was as though a water pipe had been connected, and his Magic Energy steadily increased without end.

Five hours later, Bai Mo opened his eyes. Thanks to the incense, meditation had not exhausted him; instead, his mental state had recovered. He then picked up the wooden fish once more.

The measured strikes—neither hurried nor slow, neither long nor short, neither light nor heavy—began echoing again.

The familiar sense of oppression surged forth alongside the sound. Bai Mo remained silent and endured it quietly.

His breathing gradually changed from faint to heavy, his body slowly shifted from relaxed to tense, and beads of sweat ran down his cheeks before falling to the ground.

Just as Bai Mo thought he was about to reach his limit again, a crisp sound seemed to ring out in the air, as if something had shattered.

The pressure on his mind, which had been growing so great that he could barely control his own body, suddenly eased somewhat.

It was like desperately holding in your urine while someone whistled beside you. Just when you were about to lose control, you realized you had suddenly become somewhat immune to the whistling and could hold on a little longer.

"I've reached the third realm!"

Bai Mo made the judgment inwardly. He had not been far from the third realm to begin with, so this breakthrough was not particularly surprising.

Mental Power cultivation was difficult. Even though he had considerable talent in this regard, he still agreed with that assessment. Therefore, Bai Mo did not want to miss even a moment of such an opportunity to cultivate Mental Power.

So, even after breaking through to the third realm, he still had no intention of stopping to rest and reward himself.

Since this incense of unknown origin was so useful—

Bai Mo planned to exhaust himself completely again, then light another stick of incense and use meditation to restore his condition.