Chapter 157: The Search
Third... there is no third. The first two alone are enough to consume the time of ninety-nine percent of people, draining their patience to the limit. Those who cannot be worn down are either blessed with supreme talent or possess extraordinary mental fortitude—they are the true elites!
Unfortunately, while everyone here might be considered an elite or a genius in the outside world, this is the Peerless Island. Here, the definition of a genius remains the same, but the standards are infinitely higher!
Therefore, only those who can successfully cross this hurdle are truly worthy of being called geniuses of the Peerless Island!
I digressed. A normal person would cultivate this way, but Zhou Yi has no need for such conventional methods. Although his talent is quite good, he wouldn't dare claim to be a genius on the Peerless Island!
Yet, he possesses something unique that others do not, something that belongs exclusively to him.
"Searching for the space where the spirits of heaven and earth reside?" After understanding the rules of the Cultivation Pagoda, Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes, a memory flashing through his mind regarding the records of the spirits of heaven and earth found in the *Northern Black Water Mantra* he had previously read!
After pondering for a moment, his eyes shifted, a thought stirred, and a curtain of light suddenly materialized before him!
Name: Zhou Yi
Strength: Pseudo-Core Fourth Stage
Dao Cultivation: 1.2 million years
Dharma Power: 129.6 million years
Energy: 230,320
Cell Count: 9,999 (Second Metamorphosis)
Technique: Heavy Mountain Art (Level 1)
"There are still over two hundred thousand energy points... that should be enough!"
Glancing at the data on the attribute panel, with his focus lingering on the energy value, Zhou Yi nodded. With a sudden shift of his intent, the energy points on the attribute panel rapidly plummeted, and consequently, the panel underwent a slight change.
Name: Zhou Yi
Strength: Pseudo-Core Fourth Stage
Dao Cultivation: 1.2 million years
Dharma Power: 129.6 million years
Energy: 130,320
Cell Count: 9,999 (Second Metamorphosis)
Technique: Heavy Mountain Art (Level 1), Northern Black Water Mantra (0/100)
After shedding one hundred thousand energy points, Zhou Yi had successfully added the *Northern Black Water Mantra* technique to his attribute panel. This meant he had now gained a foundational understanding of this technique!
This foundation included a comprehensive grasp of the technique's general principles, cultivation methods, and step-by-step procedures, all imprinted clearly in his mind. What remained was merely following the established path of cultivation!
More importantly, this foundation encompassed a thorough understanding of the two spirits of heaven and earth required for practicing this technique: the Northern Black Water True Essence and the Northern Black Water Earth Fiend!
As the energy points decreased, continuous streams of sudden enlightenment bloomed within Zhou Yi's mind, quickly absorbed and comprehended by him. In practically an instant, he transformed from an illiterate novice into an intellectual scholar!
"This... is truly... never has there been a moment when I felt the immense utility of energy points and the sheer power of this golden finger so profoundly!" Feeling the information that felt as though he had always known it—as if he had merely forgotten it and suddenly remembered it all—Zhou Yi sighed with heartfelt admiration in his heart.
"Hah!" Zhou Yi pressed a hand over his lips, took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, rested for a moment, and then abruptly opened them.
"Next, it is time to get down to business!"
Whether one understands the spirits of heaven and earth or not makes a world of difference in the difficulty of finding the spaces where they reside!
Zhou Yi closed his eyes, relaxing his mind and spirit to the absolute limit. His thoughts radiated outward, forming distinct wave patterns, and he strove to guide them to align with the wave patterns of the spirits of heaven and earth imprinted in his mind!
The spirits of heaven and earth exist within countless realms. Every single spirit of heaven and earth possesses its own unique aura field; this specialized aura field is precisely what distinguishes them from all other spirits of heaven and earth!
Because each space contains only one kind of spirit of heaven and earth, its aura field blankets the entire realm. When this aura field radiates outward and permeates the cosmos, it forms a distinct wave pattern!
Just like their aura fields, the aura field of every spirit of heaven and earth is entirely unique, and the wave patterns they emit are similarly distinct!
Having utilized energy to fully comprehend the *Northern Black Water Mantra*, Zhou Yi naturally gained a complete understanding of the two required spirits of heaven and earth, which included the aura fields they generated and the wave patterns they subsequently radiated!
Two identical wave patterns will naturally attract one another and draw closer of their own accord. By shaping his consciousness into wave patterns and striving to draw near to the wave patterns emitted by the desired spirits of heaven and earth, Zhou Yi intended to rely on this mutual attraction between wave patterns to locate their corresponding spaces!
"This is not it!" While radiating his consciousness and maintaining the constant emission of wave patterns, Zhou Yi meticulously sifted through the countless realms he encountered as his consciousness expanded, receiving the wave patterns they radiated and discerning the spirits of heaven and earth hidden behind them. "This is not it either!"
Operating like a high-speed computer, his mind whirred at top speed, rapidly processing the endless stream of information flooding into his consciousness. Because he now had a target, he no longer needed to painstakingly examine whether every single encounter was the exact spirit of heaven and earth he needed; he only needed to verify whether its radiated wave pattern matched the pattern etched in his memory!
If they did not match, he bypassed them!
If they matched, he would investigate further; if it proved false, he discarded it!
"This is not it!"
"This is not it either!"
"Still not this one!"
Time slipped away drop by drop. Zhou Yi stood motionless on the spot with his eyes closed, operating like a machine as he relentlessly filtered the information surging through his brain.
"What in the world is going on? Why are there so many of these heaven and earth spirits?" As time wore on, though Zhou Yi had yet to lose his patience, the relentless succession of wave patterns emitted by various heaven and earth spirits—each sparking a glimmer of expectation and excitement only to end in disappointment—wore on his nerves.
Different wave patterns represented different spirits of heaven and earth. Since every space represented a unique spirit of heaven and earth with no duplicates, every single wave pattern corresponded to an independent space!
During this period, Zhou Yi had come into contact with countless wave patterns, which meant he had brushed against countless spaces and countless spirits of heaven and earth. This inevitably stirred such tumultuous emotions within him.
One must remember that these were not ordinary cabbages; these were the spirits of heaven and earth, the concentrated essence of the universe itself. Within the Cultivation Pagoda, they carried yet another profound significance: they were independent spaces!
"Such a staggering number of spaces... it is truly unimaginable how the person who built this Cultivation Pagoda managed to forge so many realms!"
Such thoughts echoed in Zhou Yi's mind, yet his actions never faltered. His consciousness turned like interlocking gears, revolving cycle after cycle, relentlessly screening through the countless wave patterns and spaces to unearth the two specific wave patterns and realms stored within his memory!
Amidst this continuous cycle of thinking and searching, time drifted away. Through repeated rounds of hope and rejection, Zhou Yi's body and mind gradually grew numb, carrying out his actions with a mechanical rhythm.
Hum—!
Suddenly, a resonant hum echoed within Zhou Yi's ears, clearing his numbed mind in an instant. He abruptly felt an invisible suction force emanate from the consciousness wave patterns he had formed, pulling his awareness to sway toward a specific direction.
"What is this?"
"Have I found it?"