Qi Tian could feel that he hadn't truly gained control over Mikita. It was completely different from the way he felt when the souls of his other Star Level crew members were under his control.
Mikita saw him as his savior, and it was as though a seed had taken root in his soul, compelling him to worship Qi Tian devoutly and submit willingly.
"Universal Sanskrit Sound is a little sinister." Qi Tian was surprised by Mikita's reaction.
Qi Tian knew that his Will Enslavement of Mikita had only just planted a seed. If he ordered Mikita to kill himself now, he would certainly resist at once.
But as time passed, this submission would gradually grow into fervor, driving Mikita to risk everything for him, until Qi Tian became the only person who mattered to him.
The Will Secret Technique didn't take effect as immediately as Soul Enslavement, but its final result was even more domineering.
Unlike Soul Enslavement, which made a servant obey their master and never even consider rebelling, once the seed of Will Enslavement had been planted, Mikita would begin to think of Qi Tian's interests.
A Soul Slave treated their master as their king. Their sea of consciousness was infiltrated by their master's soul imprint, suppressing both their will and their comprehension. This made the path to becoming a powerful expert far more difficult.
Will Enslavement was different. Just like Mikita now, even if left alone, as long as Qi Tian's will remained strong and continued to suppress Mikita's, Mikita's state of mind would change.
He would think about how to serve Qi Tian better, search for useful treasures for him, and willingly make sacrifices for him.
If he realized how weak he was, he would work hard to grow stronger so he could become Qi Tian's right-hand man and serve him even better.
Unlike a Soul Slave, who obeyed every order without question and never dared to overstep, Mikita would obey while also thinking for himself about how best to make things easier for Qi Tian.
After confirming that Mikita had completely submitted, Qi Tian asked him to explain his situation.
After hearing Mikita's account, Qi Tian learned that Mikita was at Universe Level 2 and an Outer Member of the Universe Mercenary Alliance.
He currently owned three life planets and had assets worth hundreds of millions of Noah Coins in the Universe First Bank.
He could have been even wealthier, but to explore the unknown secret realm, he had sold off most of his life planets and converted a large amount of his funds into Universe Crystals to activate the coordinate token he had obtained.
Qi Tian watched as Mikita took a stone disk made of rock from his Space Ring. After turning it over in his hands, Qi Tian focused his gaze on its smooth front.
"How did you get this?" Qi Tian looked up and asked.
Mikita's expression stiffened slightly at the question, but he soon answered, "Years ago, I joined an adventuring team. The captain was a Universe Level 3 expert, and the other members were all Universe Level 1 or 2."
"While carrying out a mercenary mission, we found an indigenous altar on a planet. This very stone disk was enshrined on it."
"I was the newest member, so they ordered me to be the first to step onto the altar and take the disk. That was when I received the information stored inside and learned that it was a coordinate token for a secret realm."
"What could be a greater opportunity than a secret realm? The Mercenary Alliance's greatest opportunities are secret realms, places where countless experts have risen to power."
"So, to keep it all for myself, I released a mental toxin as I handed the coordinate token to the captain. I'd spent a fortune buying it from an apothecary."
"Using the toxin, I killed everyone who'd come with me, then escaped with all the valuables they'd been carrying."
Qi Tian's eyebrows twitched slightly. Mikita was a ruthless man.
But for mercenaries who lived on the edge of death, fighting to the death over a treasure was nothing unusual—especially when that treasure was a secret realm.
Following Mikita's explanation, Qi Tian directed his consciousness toward the stone disk that served as the coordinate token. In an instant, a memory appeared in his mind.
"Soul Realm Disk: A token for entering the Soul Secret Realm. Consume a certain amount of energy to open the secret realm's entrance coordinate map. The entrance coordinates refresh every 256 days. Time remaining: 180 days, 11 hours."
Qi Tian's eyes lit up as he took in the memory. He didn't know whether the secret realm had an owner, but that didn't stop it from being another chance to grow stronger—a ticket to an opportunity delivered right into his hands.
However, exploring a secret realm came with risks as well as opportunities. Qi Tian was only a lowly Universe Level expert for now.
After learning that this was the world of Swallowed Star, he had been filled with anticipation for the future, but he wasn't about to go exploring some unknown, dangerous place on a whim.
"Swallowed Star has people with Clone Talent. The Buddha Karma Twin Bodies technique I'm cultivating can just barely be considered one too. But so far, I've only condensed the 'Buddha' Sanskrit character. Condensing the 'Demon' character is still a distant prospect."
"Only after I've condensed both can I use the true Twin Bodies technique and separate the Buddha and Demon bodies."
"Once I have the Buddha and Demon bodies as clones, I'll finally have enough means to protect myself. I can send a clone to explore then."
Qi Tian suppressed his longing for the Soul Secret Realm. His most important task for now was to enter the universe, obtain Human Race Universe Citizen status, and gain access to the fabled Virtual Universe.
He turned to ask Mikita, "According to the star map you have, where's the nearest commercial planet, and how long would it take to get there?"
Hearing Qi Tian's question, Mikita raised his right arm and gave a command to his Auxiliary Optical Computer. "Timas, bring up the Beihua Empire star map."
As soon as he spoke, a holographic display rose from the Auxiliary Optical Computer on Mikita's arm, then unfolded into a three-dimensional coordinate map. A green marker raced across the map before finally settling on a blue planet.
"Buddha Lord, the green marker points to the life planet beneath our feet. We're within the territory of the medium-level civilization, the Beihua Empire."
As he explained, Mikita slid his finger across the star map projected by the Auxiliary Optical Computer, zooming out the map and expanding the area in view.
"More precisely, we're in the Jirong Star System, in the territory of the low-level civilization, the Shaqi Empire."
"The system's ruler is named Jirong. He's a Universe Level 9 expert under the emperor of the Shaqi Empire. But this is a border region. Beyond it lie vast asteroid belts and stretches of vacuum."
"There are only two mineral planets within several thousand light-years. Other than the established mining routes, which see ships coming and going, almost no one sets foot here."
"As for the nearest commercial planet you asked about, it's Jirong Planet, the main planet of the Jirong Star System, about 210,000 light-years away."
Qi Tian watched Mikita move the projected star map and listened to his explanation. He now had a thorough understanding of the planet's situation.
But he wasn't very satisfied with Jirong Planet. As the home planet of a Universe Level 9 expert, it wasn't very advanced commercially.
Qi Tian only planned to make his first contact with the universe, but a planet of that caliber clearly wasn't good enough.
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