Crystal city was still lively after the selection. Some of the people from other villages and towns decided to stay and wait for news from the Royal City.
It has already been two days when the news that someone was abducted right after the selection has spread.
The owner of the inn said that two masked men suddenly entered the building and burst opened the door of the room where a young man was staying on the second floor.
The young man was last seen being carried on the shoulder of one of the masked men who hurriedly left the building.
When Roland heard about this, he had a bad premonition. He went to the inn and spoke to the owner and asked him to describe the young man who rented the room.
When the owner described the man, Roland was able to confirm that it was Migo who was captured by those men. Just a day after arriving in Crystal City, someone has targeted him, and no one knows what they did to him.
There were some rumors that it was Tochi Gimo who plotted against him because of an incident that happened at the free market the night prior.
People did not dare to talk about this openly because he was from the Gimo Clan.
Inside one of the courtyards in the Gimo Clan, an elder of the Gimo Clan has confronted Tochi regarding the rumor of abducting a young man.
"No, I didn't." Tochi denied the allegation. "I have already forgotten about him until I heard the rumors."
The elder was looking at him intently.
"I admit that I have met him at the free market, and he embarrassed me. I just punched him and left." He continued. "But I never thought of doing anything against him after that. I was busy with the selection."
The elder didn't fully believe him and let him go. He was sure that Tochi was involved with this incident. He planned to raise this to the clan leader once he is back.
Tochi walked out of the courtyard and smiled to himself.
--
In the cave, the orb-like item continued to hover above Migo's body and flash colorful lights. Migo's body was still on the ground but his broken bones have been fixed and wounds were all healed. It was as if he was just sleeping and no one tortured him to death.
The evidence of that can still be seen as he was covered in his dried blood and torn clothing.
All of a sudden, the orb-like item stopped emitting lights and turned into a ball of light and rushed into his body.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
'I'm alive.' He excitedly said to himself.
When he tried to move, he noticed that his hands and legs were still bound with rope. He increased the strength on his hands and legs and was able to break it.
He was surprised as he should not have the strength to do so.
When he checked his body, he did not have any wounds at all. Even his scars were gone. He can feel that he became stronger and full of vitality.
'Did I become a cultivator?'
He was pondering about it when suddenly he heard the mysterious voice.
"In death you find life." It said. "Your broken body has been reconstructed to make it suitable for cultivation."
He was surprised when it answered his question.
"How… How is this possible?" He asked. "How can you talk to me when I'm awake?"
He heard the mysterious voice sighed before it answered him. "The Sacred Temple of the Celestial Gods is in your consciousness. Of course, I can talk to you."
"So, you are talking to me through my consciousness?" He confirmed.
"That is right. The Sacred Temple of the Celestial Gods has chosen you to be its new owner. As the guardian of the sacred temple, I can communicate with you this way." It answered.
He stood up. "What is the Sacred Temple of the Celestial Gods?"
"It's not yet time to learn about the Sacred Temple of the Celestial Gods." It said. "But I can say that you are very lucky that you have been chosen as its new owner.
Although I am the guardian of the sacred temple, I don't know a lot of things about it. But as you grow strong, you will be able to uncover the mystery behind it."
He started walking and looking for the exit of the cave.
"Do you have a name?" He asked.
"It has already been so long that I introduced my name to someone." It said. "Just call me Gādian."
"Did I really die?" He wanted to confirm.
"You did." It answered. "But it was not really an actual death because the Celestial Orb protected you. You were just in a pseudo-death state. If the Celestial Orb didn't protect you, you will definitely not be talking to me right now."
"The Celestial Orb?" He asked.
"Yes, the Celestial Orb. It is the foundation of the Sacred Temple." Gādian answered him. "It reconstructed your body. You now have a special body, a Celestial God body. But you are too weak at this time to awaken it."
He felt so excited to know that his body has been changed to a Celestial God body. Although he did not understand what it can do now, he was sure that he was no longer an ordinary person but a cultivator.
"You are currently an ordinary High-Level Mortal Body cultivator." He continued.
"High-Level Mortal Body layer?" He was surprised that he was already at the peak of the body layer of the Mortal Realm. "But why did you say it is ordinary?"
"Do I really have to explain everything?" Gādian asked.
"Building a solid foundation is very important to improve your talent and unleash your potential for future breakthroughs. The body layer is the start of everyone's cultivation journey. This is when cultivators open the channel of their meridian allowing the essence of the earth to cleanse their body and temper their organs.
There is a total of twelve meridian channels in the body that needs to be opened at this layer. Once you have successfully opened the Kokyū, Kekkyū, Seikatsu, and Kiyomeru channels using the essence of the earth, you break through to the low level of the body layer. When the Shinmaku, Firuta, Daichō, and Shōka channels are opened, you break through to the middle level. To break through to the high level of the body layer, you must successfully open the Shōchō, Bōkō, Toripurubānā, and Tan'nō channels."
"How did I successfully open these channels?" He asked.
"The light orbs in the sacred temple that entered your body are the pure essence of the earth infused with the power of the different elements. When they entered your body, they stimulated your energy and started the reconstruction process of your body. When the reconstruction was done, the energy was used to temper your body, and opened all these channels at the same time. This resulted in the pain you have experienced." Gādian explained.
"By doing this, you will have a chance to uncover and open the hidden channels in your meridian. The Chishiki, Shiryoku, Chōkaku, Nioi, Chokkan, and Shisō channels will only appear if all your primary channels were opened at the same time. Imagine having more channels opened in your meridian than the other cultivators. You will have better control of your body functions, faster thought processing, and better intuition.
When you completely opened all your primary channels and the hidden channels, that is when you can successfully breakthrough to the Celestial Body layer. The Celestial Body layer is very critical to awakening your special body in the future."
"Does it mean I will have to cultivate differently from other cultivators?" Migo can't help asking.
"Unless you want to be the same as them," Gādian said. "If you want to be stronger, then you will have a different road to take. You will practice the Celestial Body Cultivation Technique moving forward. This is the best cultivation technique for someone like you."
"It's a pity that I don't have a Celestial Body." He sighed and shook his head.
"Why is that?" He curiously asked.
"Celestial Body is a kind of special body that you can only acquire before you start cultivation." He answered. "It requires one to cast their mortal body by dying. The pseudo-death state is very difficult to come upon. You will also need to use the essence of the earth infused with the power of the different elements to temper and modify your body.
It is extremely painful especially that all your cells are constantly being destroyed and recreated during the process using the essence of the earth and power of the different elements. The power of the different elements gives the essence of the earth its different colors.
These were the light orbs you have seen inside the sacred temple. After your body is recreated, the rampaging energy in your body will forcefully open all the twelve primary channels in your meridian at the same time.
Once this is completed, your body will completely change into a Celestial Body which you can only fully awaken as your strength grow.
You are the third person I know that has a Celestial Body."
Migo listened attentively to what Gādian was saying.
"The Celestial Orb tried to change your body to a Celestial Body before your pseudo death." He added. "It was the first time you visited the sacred temple. But because you have yet to cast your mortal body by dying, it was not successful. You should have noticed that something has changed."
He remembered what happened during the selection and how his consciousness improved. He was able to watch the battles and felt the traces of the divine energy used.
After a while he found himself at the entrance of the cave. The cave was deeply hidden behind big rocks, large trees, and many bushes. No one will notice it unless they really look for it.
"I am finally out." He said. He was inside a forest which is most likely outside Crystal City. "I have to go back to the city."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Gādian disagreed. "Although you have successfully become a cultivator, you are not strong enough to protect your life yet. What do you think will happen if those two men and their young cultivator see you?"
He realized that Gādian was right. Should they see him in the city, there's a high possibility of them plotting against him again. Remembering what happened, he only felt deep hatred towards them.
"What do you think I should do?" He asked.
"You must focus in increasing your strength by opening the hidden channels in your meridian." He answered. "Once you successfully breakthrough to the Celestial Body layer, you have to use the Celestial Orb to create an embryo for your martial spirit. The Celestial Orb will become the foundation of your martial spirit allowing you to increase your strength."
Gādian was right. Increasing his strength was something he needs to prioritize.
"I've been here for a long time now." Gādian continued. "I remember a place that is suitable for you to increase your strength given your cultivation."
"Where is it?" He was surprised when he mentioned it. "It was far from here, so we better start traveling now. We will travel through the forest as part of your training. Fighting beasts will help you stabilize your cultivation and be familiar with your new strength."
Migo nodded and started his journey.
'I'll remember you, Tochi Gimo.' He said to himself. 'I'll be back someday and destroy you.'
When they passed by a river, he washed his body to get rid of the dry blood. He also washed his torn robe to get rid of the blood and dirt on it.
After that he continued his travel through the forest. The forest is a dangerous place as it can be already be considered part of the wilderness that connects to the Beast Domain. However, during his travel, it became his new home and battlefield.