Seven days, in the eternally silent land of Shikkotsu Forest, felt like only an instant.
Tianyi sat cross-legged on the Slug Sage's back, his eyes closed, his breathing long and steady.
A thin layer of pale green mucus covered his body. It was a special substance secreted by the Slug Sage, serving as a medium to help him perceive natural energy.
Over the past seven days, aside from eating when necessary, he had not moved at all. Even his heartbeat had slowed to fewer than ten beats per minute.
His body had entered a state of half-hibernation, with all his focus concentrated on one thing—perceiving natural energy.
Natural energy was everywhere: in the air, in the lake water, in the Slug Sage's tentacles, and in the spaces between his own breaths.
But it was violent, chaotic, and difficult to tame. It was not as docile as chakra, nor as controllable as spiritual energy.
It had a will of its own, a temper of its own. When he wanted it to enter his body, it stubbornly refused.
When he wanted it to merge with his chakra, it stubbornly went berserk.
Tianyi's chakra pathways had been battered by natural energy again and again over these days, like a dam scoured by floodwaters, teetering on the verge of collapse every time.
He failed countless times. Each time, the moment natural energy entered his body, it began to run wild, rampaging through his meridians and tearing at his chakra pathways.
The pain was like being cut by a thousand blades. Then, he would use the Byakugan to observe the state within his body and use Magnet Release's precise control to sort through that violent energy bit by bit.
Like a beast tamer trying to subdue a ferocious, untamable wild beast, if once did not