In the research room of the tower, I find myself in the midst of creating something. It's a staff adorned with different energy crystals at its upper ends. There are numerous energy crystals available on this planet, but the most commonly used ones are the four basic elements: earth, wind, water, and fire. I've decided to make a staff with each type of energy crystal that I have discovered in my grandfather's warehouse. These include earth, water, wind, fire, light, dark, and iron. Each crystal will be incorporated into a separate staff.
The purpose of creating these staffs is to aid in my future research. I want to test and enhance my ability to manipulate different elements. However, before delving into the research, I feel it is necessary to increase my cultivation level. By doing so, I can expand my energy reserve, allowing for more extensive and prolonged research.
To advance my cultivation level, I have chosen to adopt the blank cultivation technique. But before heading to the garden to cultivate, a ring from the crystal card interrupts me, followed by a holographic notification that pops up before me.
"Your order has been confirmed. The buyer is highly satisfied and has given a 60% increase in payment. Your current balance is 235 million EC. The customer has also requested to send an email, which reads as follows:
To the Honourable Mr. Zen,
Thank you for the fantastic staff. I did not expect to receive such a special product. I express my deepest gratitude to you.
Mr. Zen, I apologize for my abruptness. Currently, I am in need of certain trinkets for woodland exploration. If you are interested, please contact me as I would be delighted to establish a business contract with you, honourable Mr. Zen.
From Freddy, Prince of the Bamboo Jade Empire
Email completed. Please send a notification for a replied email."
Upon reading the email and confirming its contents, I can't help but grin once again. 235 million is an enormous amount of money. If I were to take that sum to the capital city of the Purple Valley Empire, I could purchase an estate—a thousand hectares of land complete with a mansion. The possibilities are endless.
I shift my focus back to cultivation as I arrive at the garden. Sitting on the gazebo in a lotus position, I direct my attention solely to my body, disregarding the surroundings. In the next moment, I am able to perceive the movement of energy within me.
At present, my energy circuit is in a very loose state. While normally the energy circuit forms a connected line between each node, mine is slippery and unable to reach the desired state like other energy circuits. However, by following the blank technique, I can utilize the slipperiness and the ease of pure energy manipulation to create what is known as an energy vortex.
Within my dantian, I attempt to move every trace of energy and compress it into a significantly smaller size. Creating the energy vortex is not merely a matter of rotating the energy as fast as possible. It requires the creation of an energy void space, acting as a vacuum room, while the compressed core functions as a gravitational pool. The energy gathered from outside will be drawn into the core, converted into useful energy, and prevented from escaping the body.
Once I finish with my dantian, I move on to the next part—the whirlpool circuit. The book I'm following suggests that by making the energy circuit channels act like whirlpools, they can effectively absorb pure energy from the world. However, I have a different idea. Creating whirlpool energy channels is taxing and consumes a significant amount of energy. Based on my observations, I perceive energy as matter, and the more concentrated it becomes, the stronger its attractive force. Thus, I modify the technique slightly.
I decide to make the energy channels act as air ventilation systems, continuously rotating around the dantian as the center. The twist is that I also create smaller energy channels within the skin, following the path of the blood vessels. By densifying these energy veins, I hope to attract the pure energy surrounding the body, drawing it into the energy vines and then sucking it into the energy ventilation pipe. From there, it will be transferred to the dantian and ultimately converted.
This idea arose from a mistake I made when creating the gauntlet. I accidentally carved too deeply into the metal, resulting in a difference in thickness compared to the other parts and causing the surrounding inscriptions to be damaged. Observing this phenomenon, I immediately returned to the research room and intentionally replicated the mistake, repeatedly observing it for about two hours. Each time the formation broke, the faulty part would glow more intensely than the others, causing the remaining inscriptions to burn. This led me to hypothesize that denser energy has a stronger attractive force.
I also conducted experiments with energy crystals. It was a simple one—I surrounded a higher quality crystal with a lower quality one. After completing the bamboo stick project, I checked the experiment and discovered that the higher quality crystal had increased in density, while the lower one remained empty.
With the confirmation of my hypothesis and the completion of the energy circuit after 7 hours of continuous cultivation, the meridians are now converting energy, the energy channels are effectively channeling the trapped energy, and the veins in my skin are attracting the energy. The beauty of this circuit is that I don't need to actively draw in the surrounding energy. Following the principle of attraction, the energy around me will automatically be sucked in and converted.
Having finished the circuit, I decide to begin the energy manipulation experiment.
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In a dense forest located 7000 kilometers away from Zen's location, a gruesome scene unfolds. A pit filled with dozens of corpses, ranging from the elderly to infants, would be enough to populate an entire village. Amidst the pit stands a tree with red bark and leaves resembling skulls—the Skull Leaf Tree.
If one were to focus closely, they would notice the tree drawing in a dark red smoke from the corpses, feeding on the energy of death. This tree can survive in any biome, but it thrives in areas abundant in dense death energy. For instance, during times of war, the tree would grow in the midst of battle and flourish until the death energy subsides.
If the leaves of this tree were burned, the resulting smoke would induce potent illusions. In its most severe form, exposure to the smoke for as little as five minutes can drive a person insane if the effects cannot be counteracted.
About 50 meters away from the pit, a camp is set up, occupied by three individuals cloaked in black robes.
"Number 31, how is the tree? Is it thriving?" one of the men asks.
"It's thriving, sir. We only need to consistently supply it with corpses. We should be able to harvest the leaves in two days," responds the man known as 31.
"Excellent, excellent. Number 37, how about the safety of the vicinity?" the man inquires, shifting his attention to another member of the group.
"For now, it's secure, sir. However, I cannot guarantee its long-term stability. The death energy is too strong. We need to conceal our activities," replies 37.
"Indeed, the young lord anticipated this. At the very least, ensure that nothing goes wrong in the coming days until the harvested leaves are delivered. We must protect this tree."
All three men nod in silent agreement, understanding the importance of their task.
Lost in his own world of experimentation, Zen suddenly recall an important task at hand.
"Damn, I completely forgot to reply to that prince's email. Well, more money is always a welcome addition," I mutter to myself.
Reaching for the crystal card, I activate it by infusing it with my inner energy. With a focused mind, I transmit my thoughts into the letter and send it off to the Golden Tortoise merchant.
With that done, I turn my attention back to the preparations for my research.