In the Tianguan Tower, there seemed to be no distinction between day and night. Ming Qi, absorbed in his frantic training, completely forgot the concept of time.
It was a long, thorny road, shed with blood and sweat. Ming Qi teetered on the brink of collapse. Countless times, he almost gave up when faced with the exit, but the perseverance and tenacity in his heart compelled him to persevere.
For an unknown amount of time, he fought tirelessly.
With each level he ascended, the Star God Phantom's combat power increased by one point.
When his exhaustion reached its peak, he would choose to take a brief rest after completing a level of combat to replenish his energy.
Gradually, he even forgot that each level contained a passage that allowed him to exit the Tianguan Tower at any time.
However, as he climbed each arduous level, Ming Qi clearly felt his limits. Although he had already broken through to the sixth level of the Acquired Realm and was showing signs of progressing to the seventh, the battle continued to grow increasingly difficult.
"Is this the seventeenth level? Or the eighteenth?"
At this moment, on one of the floors of the Tianguan Tower, Ming Qi stood there, his face pale, his clothes tattered to shreds. His face was devoid of any color, and his hands, gripping the scarlet spear, trembled uncontrollably.
He felt his legs go numb and numb, ready to collapse at any moment.
"How long did this level take me?"
He felt his head droop, unable to recall the things that had once been so clear and distinct.
He looked up at the massive sacred mountain in the distance, and upon it, two large characters: Sun and Moon.
"The Pleiades star god seems to correspond to the Sun and Moon Divine Mountain in the Great Wilderness. This should be the eighteenth level."
He was truly exhausted, and took this opportunity to quickly sit cross-legged and recuperate.
Achieving the Acupoint Consciousness realm allows for a crystal-clear understanding of the meridians and acupoints throughout the body. Based on this Acupoint Consciousness, one can focus their mind and energy to sever wandering thoughts, thus entering the realm of Inner Vision, directly observing the workings of the body's internal organs and gaining a clearer understanding of the physical state.
To be precise, inner vision involves using the senses of the mind to visualize the desired area within the ocean of consciousness. Ming Qi had also mastered this in his previous life. While this wasn't necessarily the same as inner vision in this world, there were significant similarities.
Now, during a brief rest period, Ming Qi experimented with inner vision.
He closed his eyes, completely ignoring the outside world. He felt as if he were in a quiet stone chamber, surrounded by utter stillness and a pristine purity.
His spiritual consciousness intertwined, his Qi circulated.
In this regard, it could be said that he had completely drawn upon his past life's experience.
After a short while, he was surprised to discover that a faint image of his five internal organs had emerged in his mind!
The emergence of the five internal organs meant that his inner vision had begun to show results, meaning that he had reached the seventh level of acquired inner vision!
Although the images of the five internal organs that appeared in his spiritual consciousness were somewhat blurry, this was sufficient to prove that inner vision in this world was fundamentally consistent with the Qi-refining and health-preserving practices studied by countless experts in his past life.
Having a thorough understanding of this level of inner vision, Ming Qi didn't waste time on the initial stages and directly expanded his spiritual consciousness to every part of his body.
As his spiritual consciousness spread, he discovered that every aspect of his physical body was constantly forming images in his mind, and they gradually became clearer.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, he saw a gray scroll, quietly floating in his spiritual consciousness.
The scroll exuded an endless aura of wildness, imbuing him with a sense of boundless desolation and grandeur.
"This is the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map."
He could finally monitor the movement of the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map in real time, which was a significant breakthrough. He also noticed that, within the grayish haze surrounding the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map, eighteen small points of light of varying colors condensed within. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that these small points of light were actually sword-shaped patterns of varying shapes.
"This must be the sword intent condensed from the power of the Star Gods absorbed from that sacred mountain, though I'm unable to utilize it yet."
In addition, he could also observe the flow of his meridians and even subtly perceive his true weaknesses. This was a major breakthrough.
Understanding his body's true weaknesses would undoubtedly give him an advantage in future battles.
Huh!
He had now truly entered the seventh level of the Acquired Realm. This training had yielded immense rewards, and he didn't expect to be able to complete all twenty-eight floors of the Heavenly Official Pagoda in one go. After this period of meditation and contemplation, his body had recovered considerably.
Standing up and stretching his body, Ming Qi decided to temporarily leave Tianguan Tower. He didn't know how long he had been there, so he had to go out and see what was going on.
A faint light flickered in the exit passage nearby. Ming Qi quickly stepped forward and entered the small teleportation array.
Whoosh!
A flash of white light, and Ming Qi found himself in the open space in front of Tianguan Tower.
The seal on the entrance passage remained intact, as if no one had ever entered.
It was night, the moon and stars were sparse in the sky, and the air was quiet. The summer breeze blew towards him, bringing gusts of warmth.
Ming Qi was filthy, his clothes tattered. He remembered there was a lotus pond in the backyard of his residence, so he quickly ran towards it.
A good cold shower was absolutely necessary.
He quickly ran to the pond and jumped in without a word.
The pool water was slightly warm, yet also somewhat cool. Soaking in it was indescribably refreshing.
Awoo—
At that moment, Ming Qi heard a melodious wolf howl, followed by a dark shadow whooshing to the edge of the pool.
Needless to say, the dire wolf had sensed Ming Qi's presence and sought him out.
At a glance, the dire wolf seemed considerably thinner and bore wounds.
Ming Qi was startled. Could someone be causing trouble for him?
He immediately lost the mood for a cold bath.
A short while later, Ming Qi had changed into clean sect attire and left his residence.
He had no idea how long he had been in the Tianguan Tower. It seemed that Tianqi Academy had been truly restless during this time, with even the dire wolf injured.
Carefully tossing the dire wolf a few Yuan-nourishing Pills, Ming Qi quickly headed towards the attic deep within Tianqi Academy, where Meng Junyi and the others often gathered.
The journey was peaceful, the chirping of insects and the night breeze quieting the place. However, Ming Qi's heart was not quite at peace. He didn't want to see anything happen to Tianqi Academy again. He had already been to Tianguan Tower and gained a lot from it. He had become closely connected to Tianqi Academy, subconsciously, and Tianqi Academy had become his second home.
Soon, the attic appeared ahead, still brightly lit. Seeing the light brought Ming Qi peace of mind.
"Who!"
As Ming Qi approached the attic, a figure leaped out of the shadows and shouted sharply.
The moment the voice came out, Ming Qi recognized it: Tang Qi, a disciple of Tianqi Academy.
"Senior Brother Tang, it's me."
Ming Qi didn't move forward, but stood there.
Tang Qi also recognized Ming Qi's voice and stepped out of the shadows, but the look in his eyes when he looked at Ming Qi was filled with endless surprise.
"You, you're still alive?"
This left Ming Qi perplexed. Did they think he was dead?
As if responding to a sound, the attic door opened, and a figure emerged.
It was a woman, her thin frame looking especially frail under the dim light. Her delicate features were slightly haggard, and her delicate eyes were filled with sorrow. She emerged from the attic, looked up, and suddenly saw Ming Qi. She was speechless with surprise, her mouth slightly open, frozen in place.
"Senior Sister Oona!"
This woman was Oona, known as the most beautiful chef among the Outer Sect.
Seeing the horrified expressions on both of them, Ming Qi knew something seemed to have gone wrong and immediately asked, "Senior Sister Oona, what happened?"
After a moment, Oona let out a long breath and said softly, "Junior Brother Ming, do you know how long you've been in the Tianguan Pagoda?"
"How long?"
Ming Qi had been struggling with this question, and now that it was brought up, he naturally wanted to hear it all.
"Fifty-eight days!"
Whew!
Hearing this number, Ming Qi gasped. He knew that there was no distinction between day and night in the Tianguan Tower, and no concept of time. But he hadn't expected to have stayed there for so long!
Fifty-eight days, two months!
"We all thought you'd died of exhaustion, but we didn't expect you to persevere."
Tang Qi, standing nearby, also expressed deep emotion.
Like Ouna, he had both been inside the Tianguan Tower and knew its horrors.
"Senior Sister Ouna, what happened during this time? I see the dire wolves are injured. Did someone come to provoke us again?"
Knowing he'd been away for so long, Ming Qi felt a surge of unease. Furthermore, there were nine people in Tianqi Academy, and only two had appeared at this moment. Where were the others?
"Come inside and we'll talk."
Ouna turned wordlessly and entered the attic.
Ming Qi and Tang Qi followed suit.
Upon entering the attic, Ming Qi noticed that the scene on this second visit was strikingly similar to his first.
Yue Qinglong, Qiu Ling, and Meng Junyi, all covered in wounds, sat there recuperating, while another young woman named Sang Yue'er was brewing medicinal herbs, the aroma of herbs wafting into the air.
Ming Qi was startled at first, then he realized two people were missing!
"Where are Senior Sister Lin Wan and Senior Brother Tie Mohan?"
Ming Qi asked after taking a look.
Lin Wan was the beautiful girl who had first glanced at Ming Qi and Yue Qinglong's ID badges, while Tie Mohan was one of the male disciples.
"They..."
Ouna hesitated, but tears welled up in her eyes.
"Could it be?"
Ming Qi blurted out a sudden thought, a dark possibility forming in his mind.
"Indeed, two weeks ago, Xuanwu and Qionghua Courts came to challenge them, and Lin Wan and Tie Mohan were brutally murdered..."
Tang Qi's words completely confirmed Ming Qi's suspicions.
Instantly, Ming Qi felt his blood boiling, his face darkening. A thick murderous aura emanated from him uncontrollably, filling the entire attic hall.
"Who is it?"