Chapter One Hundred Eleven: Crystal Meditation—Primordial Energy Tempers the Spirit!

"What I'm going to teach you today is called the 'Crystal Meditation'."

On the 99th floor of the Immortal Palace, in the same room as yesterday, Leng Xiran was already waiting when Fang Mu arrived early in the morning. She got straight to the point.

"Crystal... meditation?" Fang Mu's gaze tightened, and he nodded solemnly.

"Meditation is the process of strengthening the power of the mind. And the power of the mind is mental power... It sounds incredibly mystical, but in reality, mental power truly exists."

"It is as real as genetic source energy. It is a power that can be controlled."

"There are many practical examples. For instance, in Gun Fighting, there is a technique called 'Hallucination'... that is a classic method of mental attack."

Leng Xiran spoke calmly. Fang Mu nodded in realization; 'Hallucination' was indeed a peculiar technique in Gun Fighting that could induce visions... So it was actually mental power.

"It's not just Gun Fighters who possess such means. Berserk Blades, Heavy Blades, and Brawlers all have genetic combat techniques that incorporate mental power... However, melee combatants usually use mental power techniques on themselves. It's somewhat similar to the 'Berserker' in fantasy—self-hypnosis to significantly boost strength and speed."

"Gun Fighters are different. A Gun Fighter's mental power is primarily an auxiliary tool. Most intuitively, it makes your reactions faster. In combat, this translates to more accurate marksmanship... just like what I demonstrated yesterday."

"Crystal Meditation is a method to train this mental power."

Leng Xiran's tone was relaxed and casual. Fang Mu listened intently, though he could never have guessed that what she was teaching him now was something most people would never encounter in their entire lives. It was part of the core teachings—and a core that could not be 'genetically seeded'.

Leng Xiran first gave a general overview of the function of mental power, then emphasized its importance, specifically regarding the breakthrough to the Golden Tier. Only when mental power reaches a certain level can one break through to the Golden Tier.

After a detailed explanation, Leng Xiran said casually, "Alright, that’s the gist of it. A thousand words are no substitute for action. Sit cross-legged."

She began to guide Fang Mu. He nodded quickly, took a deep breath, and sat down on the open floor.

"The specific operation of Crystal Meditation is to calm your mind and body, sit cross-legged, and then empty your thoughts. Silently imagine a crystal in your mind—any shape will do. Then, I need you to outline every detail of the crystal clearly... including its shape, edges, reflective surfaces, shadows... everything must be extremely vivid and clear."

"Human thought is highly active and difficult to control—what we call the 'Heart Monkey' and 'Restless Horse'. The heart is a monkey, and the intention is a wild horse. They wander freely, chaotic and noisy. They seem to be under one's control, but in reality, they are not."

"That is why I ask you to imagine a crystal... the crystal itself is not important. The process is. It helps you restrain the 'Heart Monkey' and 'Restless Horse' so that your thoughts do not scatter during the process. Otherwise, the practice is a failure and holds no meaning."

"While holding back the monkey and the horse, shift your cultivation technique's genetic seed to the position of the 'pineal gland'. The seed will operate automatically, so you don't need to divide your attention. Stimulating the pineal gland with source energy accelerates the arousal of mental power. Then, breathe in this rhythm..."

Leng Xiran began to explain the process of Crystal Meditation in detail. It wasn't just meditation; it was paired with a breathing technique to stimulate the pineal gland at a specific frequency. The pineal gland is the core region of the human brain. Some believe that if human consciousness has a physical form, it resides within the pineal gland. Clearly, the mental power Leng Xiran mentioned originated there.

Fang Mu felt a surge of excitement as he listened intently.

Half an hour later, Leng Xiran finally said, "Try it now."

Fang Mu exhaled a long breath and nodded. Her instruction had opened his eyes. He never expected the 'Heart Monkey' and 'Restless Horse' to have such an explanation! Upon deeper reflection, he found it profoundly true. Indeed, one's thoughts seem controlled, but in reality, they are completely beyond one's command. The more you tell yourself not to think of something, the more you think of it.

He closed his eyes, feeling slightly nervous. "Meditate on a crystal, huh?"

The world turned pitch black. Fang Mu exhaled and began to conjure a crystal in his mind. At first, the outline was blurry; he didn't know how big, tall, or shaped it was. But remembering her words, he tried hard to manifest every detail—height, size, thickness... refining it bit by bit.

But as it turned out, meditation was not so easy. Fang Mu tried hard to visualize, but his thoughts kept drifting—would learning this allow him to possess her terrifying marksmanship? He shook his head to banish the thought, then wondered if this meditation was even effective. Thoughts rose and fell like waves! Every time he cleared his mind to focus, a new thought would break his concentration, forcing him to start over. He felt a surge of frustration. He finally understood how terrifying the 'Heart Monkey' and 'Restless Horse' truly were.

"Right, the cultivation technique!" He realized another problem. Other people's cultivation techniques were genetic seeds that automatically coated the pineal gland, but his was self-cultivated. He had to divide his attention to run the technique while meditating.

"Forget it," he thought, "I'll deal with the technique later. First, I must subdue the monkey and the horse!"

...

Half an hour passed. Fang Mu sat on the ground, his expression constantly changing. Subduing the monkey and the horse was far harder than he imagined. Leng Xiran watched him calmly, not rushing. She knew that as a beginner, it was impossible to enter a state of meditation in just half an hour. She only let him try so he would understand the difficulty.

"Alright, let's stop for now. You can practice Crystal Meditation when you go back... the quieter the environment, the easier it is to enter the state. Forcing you to do it here is asking too much."

Fang Mu trembled slightly, exhaled, and opened his eyes, looking at her with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Sister Xiran..." He felt ashamed that after she had spent her morning waiting for him, he was too clumsy to grasp something so simple.

"Meditation isn't easy to master, but if you persist, you will succeed one day... If one day you can enter a meditative state in the middle of a bustling crowd, you will have succeeded. Let's learn something else."

She continued: "Crystal Meditation trains mental power. Once you succeed and develop it, you will naturally know how to use it. Generally, any target within your sight can be instantly locked onto and aimed at... there's not much more to say. Next, I am going to teach you true combat techniques."

Combat techniques? Fang Mu was puzzled. Wasn't a Gun Fighter's combat technique just marksmanship?

"To be precise, it's combat logic. Especially in team cooperation, what a Gun Fighter should do."

When Leng Xiran said this, Fang Mu realized his ignorance. He was a lone-wolf Gun Fighter. He had learned the basics of sniping in integrated education, but that focused on individual capability. What should a Gun Fighter do in a real team?

Leng Xiran taught him that a Gun Fighter is the eyes and ears of a team. In many teams, the Gun Fighter is the soul. Every judgment they make has far-reaching consequences, affecting the success of a mission or even the lives of the members. Excellent judgment is the most important trait of a Gun Fighter, even more than the precision of their marksmanship.

She spoke with a cool, slightly lazy, and captivating tone. She was clearly an elite Gun Fighter—an academic through and through. Her simple yet profound explanations made everything clear to Fang Mu. He realized that his previous 'wild' methods were risky. If he had faced true professional Gun Fighters, he would have been dead ten times over.

Time passed until noon. After a two-hour session, Leng Xiran stood up and stretched, her lithe waist moving gracefully. "Alright, it's getting late. Let's stop here for today."

Fang Mu stood up, full of respect for her. "Thank you, Sister Xiran. You've worked hard."

She glanced at him and smiled. "It's nothing, just things from books. But remember: 'Better to have no books than to believe everything in them.' I gave you many examples, but war is a game of deception. The same scenario with different opponents or different temperaments requires different tactics. Don't copy these rigidly."

"I understand," Fang Mu nodded.

"I know you do. That's all for today. Come back next week." She waved her hand and turned to leave.

"Ah? Next week?" Fang Mu was surprised.

"Do you think I'm a full-time teacher? One morning a week. Next week, I'll check your progress on Crystal Meditation. Work hard."

Watching her beautiful silhouette disappear, Fang Mu let out a long breath. It was true; he was lucky she was willing to teach him at all. She was a Silver-tier Gun Fighter, after all.

"Yes, I've learned enough today to keep me busy," he thought, heading toward the elevator.

...

Back at his home in the Moonlight District that evening, Fang Mu showered and sat cross-legged on his bed. The room was dim, illuminated only by the neon lights of the bustling battlefield city outside.

"Heart Monkey... Restless Horse?" he whispered, taking a deep breath. Crystal Meditation, begin.

He closed his eyes and visualized the crystal again. Initially, it was the same—chaotic thoughts kept intruding. After half an hour, he opened his eyes, panting as if he had been through a fierce battle. He felt frustrated.

"The more anxious I am, the harder it is... Forget it, I'll stop trying to force the meditation for a moment. Let me try using the cultivation technique to stimulate the pineal gland first."

He closed his eyes again, not imagining the crystal, but running his source energy up to his pineal gland. He needed to feel what it was like to have the gland coated in genetic source energy.

As his energy surged, he felt a sudden stiffness, followed by an unprecedented wave of coolness that washed over his entire brain! His mind became clearer than ever before!

Fang Mu's eyes snapped open in astonishment. This was the first time he had used pure source energy to coat the pineal gland. It felt indescribably comfortable—like his entire brain was submerged in pristine, clear water.

"That's it! Crystal Meditation requires the cooperation of source energy, but I was just meditating on the crystal alone... so my previous method was wrong? This is the correct way?"

He closed his eyes, his mind now incredibly sharp. He recalled everything Leng Xiran had taught him. This time, as he visualized the crystal, it appeared in his mind with perfect clarity—the height, edges, reflections, shadows—all of it without the slightest obstruction!

"Did I succeed?"

As he thought this, the crystal blurred. He quickly steadied his heart, and with the pineal gland glowing with a faint cyan light from the energy, his consciousness became like a precise blade under his control. His mind became calm, and not a single stray thought appeared!

He realized that Crystal Meditation wasn't as hard as he thought—as long as the pineal gland was coated in energy, clearing his mind became easy.

Suddenly, he froze. "Wait, what is that?"

Below the crystal in his mental world, a wisp of flame had appeared! He was visualizing the crystal, so why was there a flame? As his focus shifted to the flame, he heard a thunderous boom. His mental world shattered, and a black flame rushed out, smashing the crystal into dust! The flame became the only thing in his mental world.

Fang Mu's brain felt an intense shock, and he went blank. He didn't know that at that moment, black flames flickered in his eyes, and a wisp of flame manifested in the energy coating his pineal gland, diving straight into it!

The pineal gland vibrated and began to emit a holy, golden light. This mysterious power surged into his genetic source energy and spread throughout his body. At that moment, a strange, black chain appeared on his spine, extending throughout his body before quickly fading back into the shadows.

When his consciousness returned, he opened his eyes, feeling something new in his body.

"Mental power?"

He looked at his hands in disbelief. He glanced at the clothes on the bed, and under his gaze, they were lifted by an invisible force, floating in the air...

His jaw dropped. Telekinesis!

This was the power Leng Xiran had mentioned—the standard for possessing mental power! Had he achieved this in a single session? But she said this usually required reaching the Golden Tier!

He lost focus, and the clothes dropped. He closed his eyes to enter Crystal Meditation again, but this time, he saw the black flame instead of the crystal. As he focused on the flame, all chaotic thoughts were incinerated.

A sudden realization struck him: "So that's why this technique is called the 'Source Energy Refining Scripture'! It's a supreme code for dual cultivation of source energy and spirit! And perhaps the spiritual cultivation is even superior to the source energy aspect!"

His eyes shone like suns. He now knew how important mental power was for future evolution. If his cultivation technique was inherently a spiritual cultivation method, then he had nothing to worry about!

He was ecstatic. As he continued to meditate, he found it incredibly easy. He sat like a stone statue in the dark room, his breathing steady, while a faint golden light shimmered at the center of his brow...