Chapter 10: Little Green

On hearing Little Green's warning, Tang Mu couldn't help but shudder with trepidation. He quickly looked around, and only after realizing that there were no approaching beasts did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Little Green!" He asked dazedly. "Is there any use of these dead beasts?"

"Yes," Little Green responded. "These are beasts from a relatively higher dimension. Their flesh contains a lot of origin essences, and some of their vital organs have already formed psionic cores as energy storage centers."

"If you eat their meat, they can allow your body to become stronger. They can also boost your chances of becoming a superpowered metaphysical being or what you call a psionic."

"Eating their meat can help me become stronger!" Tang Mu's eyes lit up on hearing such a statement.

The resources that could strengthen one's body while boosting the chances of becoming a psionic were rare and very hard to come by within the Earth Federation.

Even with money, you might fail to purchase genetic activation elixirs, psionic crystals, or the flesh of metaphysical beasts. That was because the demand for such resources greatly exceeded their supply.

Moreover, there were strict controls associated with such resources. Only government institutions, like the Psionic Society, the top universities, and the Earth Federation Army, among a few others, could touch and handle such rare extraterrestrial resources.

So, you can imagine Tang Mu's surprise after hearing that the corpses of the two beasts before him were such resources.

"How do I transport them back?" Tang Mu asked Little Green.

"Easy!" Little Green's voice sounded in Tang Mu's mind again. "Just touch each of the corpses, and then I will store them in the star orb space. You can retrieve them later to use them as highly nutritious food. Or even better, you can convert them into origin essence and other usable characteristics to strengthen yourself through me. The choice is up to you."

"Origin essence!" Tang Mu's eyes narrowed as he caught onto those keywords. But that didn't stop him from stepping forward and touching the corpse of the giant bird. He saw it disappear into thin air before doing the same with the motionless colossal cobra he had stoned to death.

On seeing the giant snake vanish from the place, he let out another sigh of relief and returned his attention to Little Green, the supposed AI that managed the Star God Pagoda.

"What is origin essence, and what is its use?" He asked while taking care to observe his surroundings. He was still on guard for potential enemies that might attack suddenly.

"Well," Little Green said, "You can think of origin essence as the most purified form of the resources extracted from the beasts or any other enemies you hunt within the dimensions connected to the paintings and murals within the Celestial Gallery."

"The essence includes the purified energy and other elements in the souls, flesh, and psionic cores of the enemies you slay. Since I'm the management system for the Star God Pagoda, it's easy for me to directly extract all these essences for your use as origin essence. Of course, this will cost you at least 20% of the origin essences extracted."

"As for the use of origin essences," Little Green continued, "You can utilize them to strengthen yourself without going through the hustle of eating a whole metaphysical beast."

"In such instances, I'll do most of the work and help you process the essence extracted from the hunted beasts. Then you can directly consume the purified core essences and characteristics to strengthen your body and soul or even to gain mystical abilities."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Tang Mu's eyes lit up when he heard there was such an easy way to strengthen himself quickly. "This place seems to be quite dangerous. I won't survive here for hours with my meager strength. So, let's convert those two beasts into usable resources that I can use to strengthen myself immediately."

"Host! There's something you should know." Little Green immediately said. "Since you have already passed the trial to become an apprentice of the Star God Pagoda, you can choose to leave this place immediately."

"You only need to give the command, and I'll instantly transfer you back to the first platform of the Celestial Gallery. But remember, you won't be able to come to this place and hunt for more resources until the star orb within your body absorbs ample energy to facilitate the same transfer."

"Is that so?" Tang Mu mumbled. "Those two beasts I just encountered... Could they be among the strongest in this jungle?"

"Nope!" Little Green said. "The cobra and eagle you just encountered are merely pseudo-rank-one metaphysical beings. They should be part of the weakest group of predators in this savanna grassland."

"From what I understand, the level one platform mural of the Celestial Gallery is a trial for official rank-one evolutionary beings, like the rank-one psionics from your world. That also implies that fierce beasts and other dangers that can threaten the lives of such official 'rank one' psionics lurk in this grassland."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"In other words," Tang Mu said, "There's a very high chance that I'll lose my life if I continue exploring this savanna grassland as I am now."

"Yes, I fear that is the case," Little Green said. "You'll most likely perish if you meet a beast close in power to a rank one evolutionary being or a horde of weaker beasts similar to the cobra and eagle from before."

"But again, as the old adage goes, wherever there is danger lurks opportunity, and whenever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. The two are inseparable and go together. Accordingly, only by exploring this dangerous grassland will you manage to hunt for rare resources to strengthen yourself and become a dragon among men quickly. It's the simple but undeniable truth."

"I understand!" Tang Mu said and let out a breath.

He swept his gaze around, taking in the tall bushes, the anthills, the expansive savanna grassland, and the mountain towering in the distance. He then thought about how all their hidden nooks and crannies could be home to dangerous creatures stronger than him before looking at his bare feet and get-up that included night clothes.

Finally, after some more pondering, he pushed the greed of immediately exploring the grassland to the deepest recesses of his heart and sighed as if to himself.

"Little Green!"

"Yes!" The artificial intelligence management system replied.

"How long will the orb need to absorb the required energy to bring me back to this place?"

"Twelve days if we're to go by the normal rate," Little Green answered. "But if you wish to quicken the absorption, you can try meditating every night using the Star God Celestial Diagram..."

"The Star God Celestial Diagram!" Tang Mu mumbled in confusion since it was his first time hearing such a name.

"Yes, the Star God Celestial Diagram," Little Green emphasized. "You should already know about meditation and visualization techniques. Right?"

"Yes, I know about them, but not much," Tang Mu replied. "I only know they are exercises to strengthen the body and mind."

"By continuously practicing them, you can improve your body strength and willpower and eventually gain the qualifications to utilize psionic crystals to unlock one of the chakras. Then, after successfully opening the chakra and linking your physical body to your esoteric body, you can become a powerful psionic with superpowers."

"That's true, to some extent," Little Green said. "The Star God Celestial Diagram is a meditation and visualization technique of the highest level, even in the top-most civilizations of the multiverse. By practicing it, you'll be able to open one of your chakras within days while also quickening the absorption of the star essence required for the orb."

"Moreover, if you're diligent and practice every night, the orb will be able to accumulate the energy required to bring you back to this place within seven days."

"Opening one of my chakras within days... Is that even possible?" Tang Mu's eyes widened with shock.

From what he had learned, even elites with ample supply of genetic activation elixirs and psionic crystals would still take up to six months to unlock one of their chakras and become official psionics while practicing the top-level meditation techniques of the Earth Federation.

Of course, the rule didn't apply to naturally awakened geniuses like Xia Na, who were monsters beyond monsters.

Such geniuses couldn't be understood with common sense. They could abruptly shatter their limits and obtain psionic superpowers, even without rigorously practicing meditation techniques and without relying on awakening resources like psionic crystals.

But then again, people with such abnormal psionic talent were few and far between within the Earth Federation.

Tang Mu knew himself well. He was no genius, and even after arduously practicing the standard 'war-at-arms military technique' provided to all high school students within the Earth Federation for about three years, he was yet to touch the threshold of opening his base chakra and becoming a pseudo-rank-one psionic.

That was also why he could barely contain his astonishment when Little Green mentioned that the Star God Celestial Diagram could allow him to unlock one of his chakras and become a true-blue psionic within days.

"Your doubt comes from your ignorance," Little Green said. "But know this. The Star God Celestial Diagram is a top-tier meditation technique, even in the top-most civilizations of the multiverse. Allowing you to open your chakras within days is the least it can do."

"I'll now transfer the Star God Celestial Diagram and related information directly into your mind. There's no need to thank me. Just put in all your efforts to practice it diligently."

The next moment, before Tang Mu could vocalize another word, he felt a sense of dizziness overwhelm him. He resisted the discomfort and focused his mind with all his willpower. That was when he realized that some new information had abruptly appeared in his mindscape.

The information contained a set of breathing exercises and a complicated, yet at the same time, seemingly simple visualization rune diagram that could as well incorporate the true essence of the multiverse.

The rune diagram was so complex and mythical beyond Tang Mu's understanding. And just thinking about its design, even for an instant, he could feel his mental energy draining as if there was no tomorrow.

"Do not try to visualize the Star God Celestial Diagram without performing the associated breathing exercises," Little Green warned. "Also, please remember that you must only practice the Star God Celestial Diagram for not more than three hours a night. Otherwise, if you are not careful and overdo things, you might accidentally become a brain-dead idiot or a corpse."

"I understand. Thank you." Tang Mu said, pushing the information concerning the Star God Celestial Diagram to the back of his mind. "So, by practicing this visualization technique, I'll be able to shorten the absorption time required by the star orb. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's true," Little Green answered. "But host! Please be reminded that there's danger approaching. You better leave here as soon as possible."

"Where is the danger?" Tang Mu shuddered and glanced around. He had been talking to Little Green on a spiritual level. As such, even though they had discussed many things, only a few dozen seconds had passed on the outside.

The bushes around him were still, without any sign of an enemy approaching, and the midday sun of the bizarre dimension was still shining down relentlessly.

Everything seemed fine and normal until Tang Mu's eyes caught a flash of motion from the opposite side.

Holding his breath, he noticed an enormous elongated shadow swiftly skimming through the tall grass. It was speedily and silently parting the bushes while racing towards his position like a bullet.

The imposing might and pressure from the unknown and approaching enemy quickly caused Tang Mu's back to break out in cold sweat. His legs went wobbly, and he struggled to maintain his posture. His face became as deathly white as chalk before he finally collapsed on his butt.

"Little Green!" He summoned all his remaining mental energy and shouted within his mind. "Take me away from here. Quick, take me back to the Celestial Gallery..."

With that said, a starry silver radiance instantly wrapped around Tang Mu, lifting him from the ground. Then, just as swiftly, his tall and thin physique grew more indistinct until it eventually disappeared into thin air. No signs of him remained within the savanna grassland after that.