Chapter 50 : Enlightenment! A Shocking event!!!

I sat there calmly, after reading the two books, I was assimilating everything I read while I kept my eyes closed, my mind a whirlwind of thoughts and questions. The concept of the space element was a new one to me, a challenge that I was both excited and nervous to undertake.

"How should I come in contact with the space element?" I murmured to myself, my voice echoing in the quiet room. "And can I even do it at this stage?"

Doubt crept in like a shadow, filling me with uncertainty. Should I have chosen something else from the repository? I thought to myself. But I quickly shook off my doubts. The moment I doubt myself is the moment I lose. There's no point dwelling in the past. I need to focus on what I should do now.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, opening myself to the possibilities. I could feel my qi, the life force that coursed through me, reaching out to the space element.

But to no avail.

I closed my eyes, my mind focused on the space element. I felt my qi reach out, a trembling tendril of energy desperate for contact, yet it found nothing. Frustration built within me, like a storm gathering behind a dam, straining against the barriers I had erected in my mind.

But this barrier was not erected by me, it was nature itself, a veil that separated me from the profound mysteries of the universe. The space element, while intangible and ethereal, was no less integral to the fabric of reality than air, water, or earth.

I tried to connect with space element in the exact way recorded in the jade slip and I can feel that my insight is deep enough to get a hold of it but I can't even touch it let alone control it.

So what was space? It was the stage upon which all of existence played out, a vast and infinite canvas on which the threads of time and energy were woven. It was the field that gave substance to matter, the empty void yet somehow pregnant with potential. It was the medium through which forces such as gravity acted, drawing celestial bodies into their eternal dance.

Gravity, the king of forces, a monarch seated upon a throne of nothingness. It ruled with an absolute sovereignty, its subjects mute marionettes in an endless ballet. Yet, it was also the force I knew the least about.

"Can I contact the the space element through gravity?" I pondered, the question snagging in my thoughts like a thorn. "If gravity can manipulate space, then could understanding the space element allow me to manipulate gravity as well?"

The implications were staggering. I could create forces that could bend space itself, could shift the very fabric of the universe. It would be like commanding the tides of reality, subduing the elements to my will.

But this idea was not practical, not yet. The space element remained elusive, a whispered promise just beyond the edge of my grasp.

"What am I missing?" I asked myself, my thoughts a tangled web of frustration and anticipation. I felt like a miner, digging into the earth, sensing the vein of gold just below but always eluding my pickaxe.

"What creates gravity then, matter?" I think I am getting somewhere.

"I will have to create matter from qi and when there is change in the surrounding space element, I have to resonate with that but how?"

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Then, like the sun peeking from behind storm clouds, an idea bloomed. "My runic formations!"

My research in runic formations. What if I could merge that knowledge with my understanding of the qi pathways? What if I could create a runic formation specifically designed to touch the space element, to resonate with it at just the right time?

My research into creating nodes in various parts of my body hinted that it might be possible. I felt excitement building, a surge of hope, a resurgence of the passion that had driven me to dedicate myself to this study in the first place.

Right now my runic formations use my fire, water and wind concept to create the runes while a weave a formation inside my body and connect it using qi pathways and nodes in various parts of my body.

But that limits my usage of the formations to those elements alone but what if i can create a system of runic formations where I can create any kind of effect and use normal qi as a canvas instead of concepts.

But ofcourse these will naturally be weaker in comparison in their effects and strength than the ones created by concepts by quite a bit for obvious reasons.

"The composition of the formation is not important," I thought, my mind racing through a list of possibilities. "What's vital is that I create a weave of qi that draws the space element into existence right after I resonate with it using runic formations."

I pictured the formation in my mind's eye, each node a portal into the space element, each line a tether to the fabric of reality. The complexity of the weave was daunting, but the prospect of wielding a new elemental power fueled my determination.

"I will not stop until I master this," I declared, my voice echoing through the chamber. My resolve was like a sharpened blade, cutting through the veil that separated me from the space element. With each new step, the chasm narrowed, and I knew that I stood on the brink of a new discovery, a new weapon, a new power.

"The possibilities are so immense," I thought, "it's almost intoxicating." The future was a hall of doors, and I felt I was standing in front of the one that led to the greatest adventure yet.

Despite the daunting task ahead, I felt a thrill of excitement.

I think I should start reading the second book again, I feel like my Runic formation project is about to come to an end after 6 whole years of grueling effort.

Ning Feng might not have noticed this but the moment he started reading the second crystal again, he zoned out and there was qi storm silently brewing in the room but someone else sure did.

............

20 min after Ning feng and Luo Bing entered their seclusion rooms

"Sister Mie!!!" Ning Rong shouted as she looked around in order to find Wang Mie.

A gust of wind from the void, a wisp of something inexplicable, and the two of them were back in the world they knew. In a flash, Ning Rong and Wang Mei had been whisked away from the Freudian nightmare of floating ruins and catapulted into the central chamber of the fourth floor. A sharp contrast to the ruin-bound journey they had just endured, the chamber was sleek and modern, with an illuminated console at its heart and lines vaguely reminiscent of a high-tech secret lair.

Standing before the console, they looked like two battle-weary survivors who had just crawled out of a ravine. Their faces were etched with fatigue, the shadows beneath their eyes betrayed sleepless nights and endless struggles with the hazards of the fourth floor. Visible cuts and bruises danced across their skin, kidnapping their complexions and brandishing them with rugged toughness. The worst of their wounds had been tended to, but the memory of pain lingered in the way they held themselves, in their cramped postures and near-crushed spirits.

At that moment, the omnipresent voice of the dungeon echoed through the chamber, a disembodied monologue designed to cinematically narrate the pair's adventure. "[Congratulations, esteemed visitors!]" the voice boomed, its opulence almost disconcerting. "[You are the second team to complete the test. As a reward for your perseverance and tenacity, you are permitted to choose three rewards from the Akasha Vault. Choose wisely!]"

Wang Mei stepped forward with a not-so-hidden hint of glee, drawing a container from a small compartment in our outfit. Inside it were two crystals, shimmering with an otherworldly light that suggested a wealth of untapped potential. Ning Rong looked on, her eyebrows lifting slightly in curiosity.

"Here," said Wang Mei, holding out the box for Ning Rong to take. "I found these bad boys earlier, but I wasn't sure which would benefit you more."

Ning Rong felt a wave of gratitude mixed with concern wash over her. "Wang Mei, thank you, but I can't accept these — not both, anyway. But you..." Ning Rong paused, contemplating her words.

"You're the one who needs these now, with your mid-level concepts." Wang Mei smirked, her certainty unwavering. "I appreciate your kindness, sister, but this is what's best for the group as a whole. I've seen you fight, and I know that you have a talent for concepts as well. I have faith in my other concepts. And let's face it, you can't just ignore your talent, especially with the current situation — it's supposed to help us tide over challenges here, well most likely."

Ning Rong stared at her, weighing the pros and cons before nodding finally, accepting Wang Mei's advice. "Alright, if that's the course you think we should take, I shall oblige. I promise you I'll make the most of this opportunity."

As they rummaged through the Akasha Vault, the voice of the dungeon echoed once again through the room, a very different tune this time. "[Esteemed visitors and newly anointed victors], prepare yourselves, the time for your second trial is drawing nearer by the second. Your seclusion rooms have been assigned, and you have five minutes to gather your wits and steel yourselves for the impending challenge. [Good luck]!"

.................

"WAIT!!!!!" A holographic dwarf like like elder screamed.

"What is that child trying to do, why do I feel like the heavens are watching, I feel like the whole world is peeking at this location and why is pressure here increasing, wait, this isn't what I think it is right? I am supposed to be the gaurdian here, but who would have thought that someone can invoke heavenly tribulation before nascent soul realm and like this." The dwarf tried to the kick a nine colored crystal which can cause bloody wars in the outside world, but his feet just phased through it.

the dwarf seemed even more annoyed.