Moon Worshipper hoped to explore the future, and Mo Caihuan's appearance had given him a glimmer of hope. But Mo Caihuan was no longer young, and her lifespan was limited. He decided to help her with Possession, finding her a body with a spiritual root. As long as she cultivated, she could extend her lifespan.
That morning, after Mo Caihuan and Chu Fangfang finished cultivating, they encountered Moon Worshipper as soon as they stepped outside.
"Your Majesty, come with me," Moon Worshipper said.
"What can I do for you, Senior?" Mo Caihuan asked.
"Don't worry. Come with me. I won't harm you," Moon Worshipper said.
Mo Caihuan said helplessly, "Of course you wouldn't harm me, Senior."
Moon Worshipper summoned a Flying Carriage and took Mo Caihuan to a remote mountain range. Spiritual energy was abundant there, the trees were lush, and the scenery was beautiful.
A stone chamber stood at the summit. Moon Worshipper led the way inside.
Once Mo Caihuan entered, she discovered an unconscious woman in black lying peacefully on the floor. Her features were unfamiliar; she was no one Mo Caihuan knew.
"Senior, who is she?"
"She is you," Moon Worshipper said.
"How could she be me?" Mo Caihuan said. "I don't even know her."
"Once you possess her body, won't she be you?" Moon Worshipper said. "With a spiritual root, you can practice a cultivation method and extend your lifespan."
Her brows knitted tightly. Although she had always wanted a spiritual root, this was far too sudden. A Nascent Soul cultivator wanted to help her with Possession? She asked, "Why?"
"There is something I need you to do, but your limited lifespan makes it impossible. So I must extend your lifespan first."
"Who is she?"
"There is a declining Cultivation Family in this mountain range. She is the only one in the family with a spiritual root. Given her family's circumstances, she could at most become a rogue cultivator and would struggle to achieve much. Better to give her to you. She has a thunder spiritual root, a very good one," Moon Worshipper said.
Mo Caihuan cupped her fist. "I'm sorry, Senior, but I must refuse."
"Refuse? Do you know how important a spiritual root is?"
"I know. I dream of obtaining a Spiritual Root," Mo Caihuan said.
"Then why refuse?" Moon Worshipper looked at Mo Caihuan.
"I am deeply grateful that you wish to extend my lifespan, Senior, but may I ask what you want me to do?" Mo Caihuan asked in return.
"I want you to cultivate stellar power, but your lifespan is too short for you to reach great mastery."
Mo Caihuan also knew that her cultivation progressed too slowly. After opening her first mysterious aperture, she had made no further progress. But Possession of someone else did not mean she would be able to cultivate stellar power.
"Senior, stellar power is a Body Tempering art. Having a spiritual root alone doesn't mean you can cultivate it. You must draw in stellar power. Even if I started over, I might not succeed. I truly want a spiritual root, but I am even more worried that I won't be able to fulfill your task." Mo Caihuan feared that Moon Worshipper harbored ulterior motives, so she refused Possession.
Truth be told, she did want Possession, but if that put her under Moon Worshipper's thumb, it would be far too dangerous. He was a Nascent Soul cultivator, after all. This was no laughing matter.
"Even you aren't certain?"
Mo Caihuan said, "Senior, I have actually wanted to draw in stellar power for some time, and I already have a few ideas. I haven't tried them because they're unsafe. If you truly want stellar power, could I ask for your help?"
"You have a way to draw in stellar power?"
"They're only conjectures. I still need your help, Senior."
Moon Worshipper said, "If you really can draw in stellar power, I can certainly help. How would you do it?"
"Please come with me, Senior."
"Very well. Let's go."
"Senior, please take her home first," Mo Caihuan said, looking at the unconscious woman.
"There's no need. She'll wake naturally in another two hours and go home on her own," Moon Worshipper said. "Let's first see how you intend to draw in stellar power."
Mo Caihuan said, "Follow me, Senior."
The two rode the Flying Carriage to the Magic Array Research Institute. The institute had several buildings, and their destination was the Gravity Magic Array Laboratory.
Mo Caihuan intended to use gravity to draw in stellar power. However, the Gravity Magic Array was dangerous and still in the experimental stage, so it could not be put directly into use.
"Use gravity to attract stellar power? Will that work?"
Mo Caihuan did not know. She only remembered that the original story seemed to have done it that way. "This is only a trial. Of course, we aren't just working on formations. We're also conducting experiments to replicate stellar power."
Moon Worshipper was astonished. It really has to be this woman. I took too much upon myself. Although she has no spiritual root, her vision reaches further than that of cultivators. Rashly making decisions for her and entangling her in karma may not be a good thing.
At that thought, he felt even more regret. Such an outstanding person was constrained by her lifespan. What a tragedy! He had to find a way to extend her life. If she could live long enough, the future of the Lower Realm would surely be rewritten.
With that thought, he gathered his wandering attention for the moment and asked, "How do we test it?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to bear the expense, Senior." The first step, of course, was obtaining high-grade spirit stones.
The gravity formation required a great many spirit stones. This was also why the magic array experiments progressed so slowly: they had no money.
"Not a problem."
With spirit stones, things became straightforward. They would activate the formation at night, increase the gravity, and see whether stellar power could be drawn down. If it could, they would also have to worry about it being too powerful and causing the body to explode.
Still, having a Nascent Soul expert participate in the tests would certainly make them safer.
Next came the testing. Moon Worshipper felt as though he had returned to his youth, when he had first encountered cultivation and had cultivated so obsessively that he forgot to eat and sleep.
They went straight to ten times normal gravity. A mortal standing inside would have their bones shattered, but the Nascent Soul cultivator's expression did not change.
Then they examined the stellar power. It could indeed be channeled, but it was extremely dangerous. Encountering it for the first time, Moon Worshipper was startled by its violent force.
He had no cultivation method and did not know where the mysterious apertures were, so he could not cultivate stellar power. He could only let the power rampage through his meridians.
Stronger gravity did indeed attract more stellar power. The next step was to adjust the ratio between gravity and stellar power so that Mo Caihuan could enter and absorb it.
Moon Worshipper also wanted to try again, but he still could not control the violent stellar power. He knew he needed a cultivation method. If he found the Stellar Power Cultivation Method, he would be able to cultivate it. If he could not, he could only rely on Mo Caihuan's experience.
After completing the experiments, Moon Worshipper bid farewell to Mo Caihuan and Wine Butterfly Fairy and returned to Great Jin to seek a cultivation method. Along the way, he would also look for a way to extend Mo Caihuan's life.
Wine Butterfly Fairy also had to take the two juniors back. There was still much to do in managing the Teleportation Gate.
"Little sister, aren't you coming back with us?" Chu Fangfang was reluctant to part with her.
"I am a sovereign. I can't keep running around everywhere. This time, I'll send two young envoys over. Please take good care of them, Sister," Mo Caihuan said. "I'll continue cultivating misty fragrance, so don't worry."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Sister."
After watching them leave, Mo Caihuan could finally resume cultivating her mysterious apertures.
Another three years passed in the blink of an eye. Food Immortal finally refined the Soul-Washing Pill, saved Yan Shuangshuang, and took her as a disciple.
Moon Worshipper never returned after leaving. No one knew where he had gone.
The Mo Kingdom developed steadily, advancing infrastructure construction with the aim of narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas.
Formations also grew increasingly sophisticated. They were no longer limited to converting spiritual energy into kinetic energy, mechanical energy... Instead, researchers attempted to use formations to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy, mechanical energy, chemical energy...
This Electricity-Conversion Magic Array could also be used to weather tribulations. Although it only reduced some of the heavenly tribulation's power, any reduction was welcome.
Cultivation meant accumulating little by little, gathering scraps of fur beneath foxes' legs until they made a coat. No cultivator believed they could find a single Heavenly Tribulation-Resisting Treasure powerful enough on its own. Instead, they found one Tribulation-Reducing Treasure in the east and another in the west, stacking their reductions to increase their chances of surviving the tribulation as much as possible.
Thus, even a tiny reduction mattered. No one understood the hardship of being "one step short" better than cultivators. Sometimes, one extra preparation let them take that step; without it, they could not cross.
Crossing and failing to cross meant two different worlds.
So, although the electricity-based magic array was not powerful, it still fetched the astronomical price of one million at the Great Jin Auction.
Mo Caihuan played a clever little trick. The formations and pills developed by the Mo Kingdom's research institute were no longer sold in the Heavenly South, but sent to Great Jin for auction. She also imported medicinal ingredients from Great Jin that were rare in the Heavenly South and auctioned them in the Heavenly South, profiting from the price difference.