Chapter 102: The Soul-Sealing Tower

"Tsk, tsk. You have to admit, City Lord Naba really went to great lengths for this meditation chamber," Bai remarked once more.

"How so?" Lan Tian asked, puzzled.

"Look at the central cultivation area of the chamber. Do you see those transparent cubic crystals? Those are energy crystals issued by the Yuanlan Empire's authorities. They are formed from high-concentration cosmic energy that has undergone special precipitation over millions of years. They are similar to the jade of your Earth, and they are incredibly expensive. Within the Yuanlan Empire, any newly discovered energy crystal vein is immediately nationalized; only the government is permitted to mine them. Private mining is a capital offense if discovered!" Bai explained. "Judging by the quality of these crystals, while they are only the lowest grade—first-tier energy crystals—they are more than enough for your breakthrough."

"In fact, I suspect City Lord Naba prepared these for his own cultivation. It just so happens to be your gain. When you cultivate, you can draw upon the high-concentration cosmic energy within them at will. Well... use as much as you like. It doesn't matter; a mere breakthrough to the Star-Shining level will likely consume, at most, one-tenth of the cosmic energy contained in a single first-tier crystal."

"It's that magical? Cosmic energy can form mineral veins?" Lan Tian exclaimed in surprise.

"Look at you, acting like a country bumpkin. It’s a good thing you didn't say that earlier, or you would have exposed yourself immediately!" Bai said with disdain.

"Heh, I've just never heard of it before," Lan Tian replied with a smile, long since accustomed to Bai's snide remarks.

"Fine, enough chatter. Hurry up and break through. With an abundance of cosmic energy and your Azure Blood Divine Body, I imagine your Star-Shining rank will be truly astonishing!" Bai said encouragingly.

"I'd like to break through, but you still need to pass on the cultivation technique for the Star-Shining level to me..." Lan Tian felt a headache coming on. He then asked, "Also, what do you mean my Star-Shining rank will be 'astonishing'? It sounds like you're saying the breakthrough is different for everyone?"

"It’s not exactly 'different,' but there are subtle variations. However, the Star-Shining level is the first major hurdle on the path of cultivation. When you break through, it’s possible to roughly gauge a person's potential and aptitude," Bai explained, before transmitting the cultivation technique of the Battle God to Lan Tian.

With Lan Tian's current mental strength, he easily received the technique Bai transmitted. To his surprise, however, the technique had no name.

According to Bai, this technique was acquired by the Battle God Mang Feng during his early adventures in a cosmic secret realm. Although it was nameless, he found its effects to be extraordinary after he began practicing it.

It could even be said that this nameless technique was the turning point in Mang Feng's life. Without it, the Battle God might have remained an obscure, ordinary practitioner to this day. One can only imagine how precious this nameless technique was.

"Hmm... absorb cosmic energy into the body, use a secret method to condense and compress it, form a 'pole point' within the body, and through the explosion of this pole point, create an initial universe inside oneself. Is this what the Star-Shining level is?" Lan Tian muttered to himself as he contemplated the nameless technique. "Bai... are you sure this isn't a suicide technique? After that 'pole point' explodes, I suspect I’ll be blown to bits along with it..."

"You'll see when the time comes; the pole point explosion won't hurt you," Bai said with a mysterious smile. He continued, "Actually, the breakthrough process for every realm is much the same; everyone breaks through this way. The cultivation technique only acts as an aid, allowing you to complete the breakthrough more efficiently and safely. In this regard, this nameless technique isn't significantly different from normal ones. Although it is more efficient, it's not to an absurd degree. After all, breaking through a cultivation realm relies primarily on an individual's aptitude and accumulation."

"In truth, the real value of this nameless technique doesn't lie in the cultivation method, but in the secret arts!"

"Secret arts?" Lan Tian asked, puzzled.

"Yes, secret arts! The several secret arts recorded in the nameless technique are extremely powerful and point directly to the origin! Even my master, the Battle God, only managed to comprehend a small portion of them, yet even so, he rarely had an equal among those of the same level!" Bai nodded. "Don't worry about the other secret arts for now. I suggest that once you reach the Star-Shining level, you immediately begin comprehending the 'Soul-Suppressing Pagoda.' Although this secret art is extremely difficult and profound, I believe that with your aptitude, you should be able to fully master it."

Hearing this, Lan Tian organized the memories in his mind and began to investigate the "Soul-Suppressing Pagoda."

The "Soul-Suppressing Pagoda" was a mental secret art. By practicing it, one could interweave their mental strength within the soul sea to form a nine-story pagoda. Each level increased significantly strengthened the practitioner's mental power while simultaneously enhancing both offensive and defensive mental capabilities.

The core of the secret art was that with each level gained, a "Soul-Suppressing Seed" could be produced. Each seed could enslave a soul. A soul slave would prioritize their master's interests above all else and unconditionally obey any command, provided that the target was in a state of being unable to resist or having been rendered incapable of resistance when the seed was planted.

"This secret art..." After finishing the description of the "Soul-Suppressing Pagoda," Lan Tian pondered for a moment. "It can weave a nine-story soul pagoda with mental strength, and each level greatly enhances mental power and defensive capabilities—that's quite good. But this 'Soul-Suppressing Seed' seems like a waste."

"Mental strength can already be used for mental control. If the opponent is weaker than me, they naturally cannot resist and will be controlled. If the opponent is stronger, I obviously cannot control them. In that case, what is the point of this seed?"

"No, no, no. You haven't grasped the true value of the Soul-Suppressing Seed!" Bai shook his head repeatedly. "The real value lies in the fact that... there are no restrictions!"

"Do you know what 'no restrictions' means? Standard mental control can only be used on those with weaker mental strength than your own. Once the opponent's mental strength exceeds yours, even if you control them briefly while they are in a weakened state, they can immediately turn the mental control back on you once they recover their strength!"

"But the Soul-Suppressing Seed is different. No matter what method you use, as long as you can manage to plant the seed in their soul while they are weakened, no matter how high their cultivation level—even if they are a legendary Immortal Deity—they will become your soul slave!"

"You probably don't have a concept of what an Immortal Deity is. In the entire Yuanlan Empire, across eight star domains, nearly a million star systems, and trillions of planets, not a single Immortal Deity has ever been born!"

"Yet, even such an existence, once you successfully plant the seed in their soul, would immediately become your most loyal slave!"