Spirit Reader Advancement, Annie's Disappearance?

Inside the Astral Tower's training room.

Xu Mo sat cross-legged in the air with his eyes closed.

After staying in California for two days and getting Wanda settled in, Xu Mo returned to Death Island.

Within his Consciousness Space.

The last wisp of spiritual power was refined into something even more condensed as the [Spirit Tempering Art] circulated.

Once all of his spiritual power had been fully condensed.

A tremendous shock erupted within his Consciousness Space.

The vast remaining spiritual power surged toward the very center of his Consciousness Space.

The highly condensed mist-like spiritual power gradually transformed into liquid.

Before long, a tiny water sphere slowly formed within his Consciousness Space.

The instant the water sphere formed, its suction force suddenly intensified, drawing in spiritual power and forming a massive vortex within his Consciousness Space.

As more spiritual power poured in, the water sphere steadily grew larger.

More than half an hour later.

The spiritual power in his 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.

He had to compress the water sphere to the extreme, turning it into a solid, planet-shaped crystal core.

"Condense!"

Xu Mo silently uttered the command, then controlled the spiritual power forming the water sphere and violently compressed it inward.

Though it had become liquid, this spiritual power still belonged to Xu Mo and remained under his control.

In an extremely short time, the water sphere's volume was compressed to less than one percent of its original size.

"Not enough!"

Xu Mo gritted his teeth. This degree of compression was still insufficient to turn it solid.

At that thought, he took a breath.

Then he used all his strength to squeeze the tiny water sphere again.

Success or failure rested on this single move.

"Boom!"

It seemed to reach a critical point in an instant, and the water sphere rapidly solidified.

It then transformed into a sky-blue polyhedral crystal.

After the crystal completely solidified, endless energy burst forth from within it. Under the force of that energy, his Consciousness Space began expanding at Super Speed. Within seconds, it had expanded more than a hundredfold.

At that moment, Xu Mo's soul seemed to have undergone a leap in life itself.

His mind also became extraordinarily clear.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Star Ji's cheerful voice rang through the training room.

"Congratulations, Master, on advancing to a Planetary-Level Spirit Reader!"

The moment her words fell, endless ribbons and flower petals drifted through the entire training room.

Once they landed on the ground, they vanished without a trace.

Xu Mo was speechless at the scene Star Ji had created.

"Who did you learn this from?"

"The internet!"

"Isn't this how celebrations are held in your world, Master? Oh, right, there's more!"

Immediately afterward, bottle after bottle of champagne appeared in the training room. A series of popping sounds rang out, spraying champagne everywhere.

"Stop!"

Xu Mo flashed outside the training room and stared at Star Ji standing across from him with a dark expression.

"Don't pull this kind of nonsense on me next time!"

"Okay, Master!"

"Master, you must be tired from training. Let me massage your shoulders!"

As she spoke, Star Ji walked behind Xu Mo, placed her hands on his shoulders, and gently kneaded them.

At the same time, her body pressed directly against his back.

Feeling her astonishing gifts.

Xu Mo immediately found it a little hard to bear.

He had tried fighting back before, but every time, she chose to flee at the critical moment.

Simply put, Star Ji only knew how to start fires, not put them out.

After being left gnashing his teeth in frustration several times, Xu Mo could only try his best to avoid her.

"I'm leaving!"

Sensing that Star Ji was at it again, Xu Mo decisively chose to leave the Astral Tower.

The moment he returned outside, his phone began to ring.

After answering it, he heard Avril's voice from the other end.

"Boss, something happened to Annie!"

Xu Mo's expression changed upon hearing that.

Among all the girlfriends he had dated over the years, Annie was one of the ones who had been with him the longest.

She had become his girlfriend when she was still a student.

However, Annie understood Xu Mo's personality very well. She knew he could never be tied to just one woman, and her dream at the time had been to become an actress.

The two of them had hit it off immediately.

One was greedy for money, the other for women.

Xu Mo helped her become one of Hollywood's top stars. In return, she became Xu Mo's girlfriend, the kind who did not mind him fooling around outside.

After several years together, it was impossible for them to have no feelings for each other at all.

Avril understood this as well. That was why she still called him, even though she knew Xu Mo had already married Wanda.

Upon suddenly hearing that something had happened to Annie, Xu Mo naturally could not remain indifferent.

From Avril, he learned that Annie had suddenly disappeared while filming several days ago.

Annie's parents had called the police that very day.

However, there was still no news of her.

Xu Mo hesitated for a moment before finding a number on his phone and dialing it.

A moment later, Agent Hill's voice came through.

"Xu, it looks like you've run into trouble!"

"I want information on Annie!"

Given Xu Mo's personality, he did not want too much contact with S.H.I.E.L.D.

But he had no choice. If there was any organization that knew best about everything happening within the United States, it was undoubtedly them.

Xu Mo had also considered how to build an intelligence network.

The most suitable method would naturally be to purchase an intelligent lifeform from the system.

Not to mention intelligent lifeforms, even the semi-intelligent lifeforms defined by the system were several levels above JARVIS. If he had something like that, the entire internet of Earth would become his private garden.

Unfortunately, even a semi-intelligent lifeform required a full sixty thousand points.

For the time being, he had no way to exchange for one.

Of course, Star Ji in the Astral Tower could likely accomplish this even more easily.

However, with his current strength, he had no way to control the Astral Tower. As the Astral Tower's spirit, Star Ji could not leave his Consciousness Space at all.

For now, he could only turn to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help once more.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

After hanging up, Hill hurried to Nick Fury's office.

Ever since witnessing Xu Mo's abilities last time, Xu Mo's standing in Nick Fury's mind had risen several levels.

He had specifically instructed Hill to report any information regarding Xu Mo at any time.

After listening to Hill's report.

Nick Fury did not show much surprise.

He casually handed a document in his hand to Hill.

"The information he wants is in here!"

Hill's expression shifted as she accepted the file and opened it for a look.

"You already knew he would call?"

"That's right!"

A profound look appeared on Nick Fury's face.

"I received the report on Annie's case this morning, and I already sent Natasha to protect her!"

"This is a great opportunity to get on his good side!"