145: Section 145

Faced with Jing Yuan's strange request, the others didn't think much of it.

"Don't go getting lost now."

"I won't, I won't!"

Bai Yuekui glanced back at Jing Yuan, then turned to descend the mountain with the others.

Jing Yuan did the opposite, slowly climbing toward the summit.

From the peak of Dingmao Peak, looking down, all the other mountains seemed small in comparison.

As Jing Yuan climbed, he read the cultivation manuals in his mind while he walked.

According to the manual's description, to cultivate with source energy, one must first reach the Inner Vision Realm.

Insight was an ancient cultivation method with records found in both the Lighthouse and Dragon Bone Village.

The Lighthouse's Guiyuan Heart Method actually incorporated the concepts of Insight heart methods.

When Dragon Bone Village stimulated Willpower, allowing the body to reach the state of selflessness, that was also a form of Insight heart method.

And Jing Yuan had already mastered all of these.

Standing at the summit, gazing at the sky, the mountain range, and the earth, Jing Yuan let his Mental Power release naturally, allowing his mind to quickly enter the "Selfless" state.

As Jing Yuan's thoughts gradually returned to tranquility, the world around him began to change within his perception.

The sky vanished, the mountain range beneath his feet disappeared, and even the entire earth faded away.

Jing Yuan felt as if he had entered a dark, void-like space.

In this void space, he was like a single speck of starlight.

As Jing Yuan perceived this space more deeply, he discovered even smaller specks of starlight within it.

With a thought from Jing Yuan, those smaller specks of starlight were pulled toward him, becoming part of his own light.

Jing Yuan looked around again; there were countless tiny specks of starlight—though small, they were numerous.

Thus, Jing Yuan began to absorb the surrounding starlight, gradually strengthening himself.

In reality, Jing Yuan sat cross-legged on the summit, his body surrounded by a faint, ethereal aura.

The starlight in the darkness was merely an idealized manifestation of source energy cultivation.

As time passed, Jing Yuan opened his eyes.

"source energy cultivation can strengthen my body, and after this round of cultivation, it feels the same as when the system rewards me with increased physical attributes."

"If source energy cultivation only strengthens the body, and every time I devour life source essence to advance, the system rewards me by strengthening my body, then why do I need to cultivate?"

If the result was the same, Jing Yuan preferred the simpler method.

With doubt in his mind, Jing Yuan continued to flip through the second manual: the Spatial Secret Art!

"The system prompted that I gained a Spatial Talent. What exactly is this Spatial Talent?"

This question would likely have to be answered in conjunction with the second manual.

The first chapter of the Spatial Secret Art was also an overview.

Space is the fundamental component of the universe; living beings usually reside within it, only able to perceive spatial dimensions.

However, some talented Ability Users can perceive the essence of space.

For example: spatial fluctuations and spatial distortions.

The Spatial Secret Art utilizes the essence of space to control, dominate, or even create space.

"No wonder..."

Jing Yuan smiled slightly; he had felt something was off for a while now.

Only now did he realize that what he had detected were spatial fluctuations.

After awakening this talent, perceiving spatial fluctuations and distortions became as natural as seeing or hearing is to an ordinary person.

Jing Yuan read on and discovered that mastering the Spatial Secret Art also provided a massive boost to combat power.

By perceiving spatial structures and allowing attacks to travel along them, one could enhance attack penetration.

For a Psychic Master, combining Mental Force with spatial distortion could allow them to indirectly reach the level of spatial control even when their overall strength was low.

Seeing this, Jing Yuan finally understood why the Source Energy Cultivation Method and the Spatial Secret Art were sent as rewards at the same time.

Although Jing Yuan could directly improve his physical attributes through system rewards, if he didn't know how to absorb source energy, he wouldn't know how to use it.

The source energy used to improve his physical attributes was entirely consumed for body modification in that instant, leaving none left over to use.

Only by absorbing and refining it himself would Jing Yuan have usable source energy.

And to perform certain secret arts, source energy was required.

Jing Yuan looked around; the summit was empty, so he simply used his palm as a blade and began to perform the Nine Rivers Blade Technique.

"Second Form, Breaking Waves!"

Jing Yuan struck with a hand-blade, and the snow on the summit instantly split into two paths, with the central "road" extending a hundred meters away.

Jing Yuan performed another move, "Third Form, Backflow!"

This form drew upon the concept of swirling water, manifesting the unpredictable changes of the blade technique.

Jing Yuan had always struggled to grasp the essence of this move when practicing it before.

But now, having awakened his Spatial Talent, he discovered that this move actually contained a trace of the Spatial Secret Art's intent.

When the blade technique swirled, it turned sharply downward in a way that, to an onlooker, seemed to defy the laws of physics.

But if explained using Spatial Secret Arts, it made perfect sense.

Because space itself had changed.

Having realized this, Jing Yuan's Third Form, Backflow, reached great completion instantly.

He used his palm as a blade to perform the technique, continuously executing movements of extremely high maneuverability.

After practicing the blade technique for a while, the sky began to darken, and Jing Yuan prepared to head down the mountain.

Suddenly, an object flew up from the foot of the mountain.

Jing Yuan scanned it with his Mental Force and found it was a locator.

Jing Yuan used his Mental Force to catch it.

The locator began to flash.

To Jing Yuan's shock, the electrical energy in the locator stimulated space, opening a rift in the air.

A slender figure leaped out from this spatial rift, landing directly in Jing Yuan's arms.

"Penny!" Jing Yuan said in surprise, "How did you get up here?"

"They said you were looking at the scenery on the mountain, so I came to see what scenery you were looking at!" Penny said with a smile.

Jing Yuan smiled slightly. "Why did you use this method to come up?"

"Climbing is too much trouble," Penny explained. "Tasia often travels this way too."

She looked at Jing Yuan and asked, "Is the scenery here beautiful?"

"See for yourself." Jing Yuan set Penny down.

Penny sighed, "A world without ecology is actually quite beautiful!"

Jing Yuan nodded; though the scenery before them was beautiful, it was only temporary.

"Oh, right," Penny turned and said, "I heard you awakened your potential. Congratulations!"

Jing Yuan looked at her. "Do you want to know what ability I awakened?"

"What ability?"

Jing Yuan pointed at the locator and said, "Take me back first, and then I'll tell you."

Penny smiled, grabbed Jing Yuan's hand, and then touched the locator.

Jing Yuan watched as Penny's body instantly began to collapse—the collapse started from Penny's arm, gradually spreading to her whole body, and then through their joined hands, it transferred to Jing Yuan.

In an instant, Jing Yuan also entered a Quantum Superposition State!

Whoosh!

Jing Yuan and Penny arrived at the foot of the mountain.

Penny laughed, "You can tell me now."

Jing Yuan looked astonished; entering the quantum state was only a momentary thing, and then he had traversed to the bottom of the mountain and returned to his original form.

But in that split second just now, he seemed to have seen a bizarre world.

To be precise, using the word "seen" wasn't accurate, because in a Quantum Superposition State, his body had already converted into waves.

He must have perceived that world in some special way.

Penny waved her hand in front of Jing Yuan's face and said with some concern, "What's wrong with you?"

Penny had just learned how to take someone along with her while traversing, and she was afraid something had happened to Jing Yuan because of it.