Inside the Astral Tower cultivation room.
Xu Mo sat cross-legged in the air with his eyes closed.
After staying in California for two days and settling Wanda in, Xu Mo returned to Death Island.
Inside his Consciousness Space.
As the [Spirit Tempering Art] operated, the final wisps of mental energy were tempered to become even more concentrated.
As all the mental energy finished condensing.
A huge tremor echoed through the Consciousness Space.
Finally, a massive amount of mental energy surged toward the exact center of the Consciousness Space and gathered there.
The highly concentrated mist-like mental energy gradually transformed into a liquid state.
Before long, a miniature sphere of water slowly formed within the Consciousness Space.
The moment the water sphere took shape, the suction force suddenly surged, and the drawn-in mental energy formed a huge whirlpool in the Consciousness Space.
The size of the water sphere also grew larger and larger as more mental energy poured in.
Until more than half an hour later.
The mental energy in the Consciousness Space had been completely absorbed by the water sphere.
Xu Mo knew that what remained was the most crucial step in becoming a Planetary-Level Spirit Reader.
That was to compress the water sphere to the extreme, causing it to form a solid, star-like crystalline core.
"Condense!!"
Xu Mo muttered inwardly, then manipulated the mental energy that formed the water sphere, forcefully contracting it toward the center.
Although turned into a liquid, this mental energy still belonged to Xu Mo and remained under his control.
The volume of the water sphere was compressed to the extreme in an extremely short period, shrinking to less than one percent of its original size.
"Not enough!"
Xu Mo gritted his teeth; the current degree of compression was still insufficient to turn it into a solid.
Thinking of this, he paused to catch his breath.
He unleashed all his power to squeeze the miniature water sphere once again.
Success or failure hinged on this single moment.
"Boom!"
It seemed that at a certain instant, it reached a critical point, and the water sphere rapidly solidified.
Then it transformed into a sky-blue polygonal crystal.
After the crystal completely solidified, endless energy gushed out from within, and the Consciousness Space began expanding rapidly under this energy. In just a few seconds, it expanded to a hundred times its original size.
At this moment, Xu Mo's soul seemed to complete a leap in life.
His brain also became exceptionally clear.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Star Ji's cheerful voice rang out in the cultivation room.
"Congratulations to Master for promoting to a Planetary-Level Spirit Reader!"
The moment her voice trailed off, endless ribbons and confetti fluttered throughout the cultivation room.
These things vanished directly after landing on the ground.
Seeing this spectacle put on by Star Ji, Xu Mo was left completely speechless.
"Who did you learn this from?!"
"The internet, duh!"
"Isn't this what they do during celebrations in your world, Master? Oh, right, there's more!"
Immediately following that, bottles of champagne appeared in the cultivation room, and a series of 'pop!' 'pop!' sounds rang out as champagne was sprayed everywhere inside the cultivation room.
"Stop!"
Xu Mo flashed outside the cultivation room, looking with dark lines all over his face at Star Ji standing opposite him.
"Don't pull this weird stuff on me next time!"
"Understood, Master!"
"Master must be tired from cultivating; let me massage your shoulders!"
As she spoke, Star Ji walked behind Xu Mo, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began gently kneading them.
At the same time, her body pressed directly against Xu Mo's back.
Feeling the other's astonishing natural endowment.
Xu Mo instantly felt somewhat unable to handle it.
He had tried to retaliate before, but every time, the other party chose to run away at a critical moment.
Simply put, Star Ji only knew how to start a fire without knowing how to put it out.
Being left itching with frustration time and time again, Xu Mo could only try his best to avoid her.
"I'm leaving!"
Feeling that Star Ji was pulling this stunt again, Xu Mo decisively chose to leave the Astral Tower.
As soon as he returned outside, his cell phone started ringing.
Pressing the answer button, Avril's voice came from the other end.
"Boss, something has happened to Annie!"
Hearing those words, Xu Mo's expression changed.
Among the girlfriends he had dated over the years, Annie was considered the one who had spent the longest time with him.
She had become his girlfriend back when she was still a student.
However, Annie understood Xu Mo's personality very well, knowing that it was impossible for him to hang himself from a single tree, and her dream at the time was also to become an actress.
The two of them hit it off immediately.
One was greedy for money, and the other was greedy for looks.
Xu Mo helped her become Hollywood's top movie star, and in return, she became Xu Mo's girlfriend, not minding at all that he fooled around outside.
After a few years, it would be impossible to say there wasn't a shred of affection between them.
Avril also understood this, which was why she called him despite knowing that Xu Mo was already married to Wanda.
Hearing the news that something had suddenly happened to her, Xu Mo could not remain indifferent.
According to what Xu Mo learned from Avril, Annie had suddenly gone missing a few days ago while filming.
Annie's parents had already called the police at the time.
However, there was still no news of her to this day.
Xu Mo hesitated for a moment, then found a number on his phone and dialed it out.
A moment later, Agent Hill's voice came through.
"Xu, it seems you've run into trouble!"
"I want to know about Annie!"
Given Xu Mo's personality, he did not want to have too much contact with S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, there was no help for it; if there was any organization that knew everything happening inside the United States like the back of its hand, it naturally had to be them.
Xu Mo had also thought about how he could build an intelligence system.
The most suitable way was naturally to purchase an artificial intelligence from the system.
Not to mention an artificial intelligence, even a semi-intelligent lifeform defined by the system would be several levels higher than JARVIS. If something like that existed, the entire Earth's network would become his back garden.
Unfortunately, even a semi-intelligent lifeform required a full sixty thousand points.
For the time being, he had no way to exchange for it.
Of course, Star Ji in the Astral Tower—he believed accomplishing this would be even simpler.
Yet with his current strength, he had no way to control the Astral Tower, and Star Ji, as the vessel spirit of the Astral Tower, had no way to leave her Consciousness Space at all.
For now, he could only turn to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help once again.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hanging up the phone, Hill hurried into Nick Fury's office.
Ever since she witnessed Xu Mo's abilities last time, Xu Mo's status in Nick Fury's heart had been elevated by several levels.
He had specifically instructed Hill to report any information regarding him at any time.
After listening to Hill's report.
Nick Fury's face did not show much of an unexpected expression.
He casually handed a file in his hand over to Hill.
"The information he wants is recorded right in here!"
With a flicker in her expression, Hill took the document and glanced through it.
"You knew he would call?"
"That's right!"
Nick Fury wore an inscrutable expression on his face.
"I received the report regarding the Annie incident this morning, and I've already sent Natasha to protect her!"
"This is a great opportunity to get on his good side!"
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