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Yellow Level Grade D?
Pagoda Visualization Method?
Song Cheng's heart blossomed with joy, yet he was also simultaneously perplexed.
Is this world really the same as the world of "Endless Hell"?
If it were, then why hadn't he ever heard of the "Pagoda Visualization Method" skill, and in the world of "Endless Hell", players followed a leveling system, capped at 60, yet now there was a mention of a "Yellow Level Grade D".
A few thoughts passed through his mind, and he shook his head, ceasing his musings to quickly add the "1" Remaining Point to the "Pagoda Visualization Method".
A feeling of deep meditation washed over him, and his heart felt a hint of serenity, but there was no qualitative change.
'Can only wait until night.
It'll be tough on the owner again.'
Song Cheng got up, grabbing a hardwood stick and began to knock and hit with it.
Each knock caused pale ripples to spread in his ink-like pitch-black world – that was the diffusion of sound.
New white sketches would replace the previous impressions, as if he was continually hitting "refresh" on an "computer screen" that served as the space's name.
After a few knocks, Song Cheng sat under the eaves and took up an ax to chop firewood.
A stick of incense later, he had split six logs, feeling somewhat breathless. After resting for a brief time, he went to wash clothes.
The recent snow melt saved him the trouble of going out to fetch water or buy it.
He took the soapberries harvested this autumn and began to scrub the limited number of clothes.
In the basin were the clothes Tong Jia had placed. If they needed washing at the river outside, she would go by herself; if left in the house, that meant they were clothes Song Cheng could wash.
As he washed, Song Cheng suddenly felt a piece of smooth satin.
A wave of emotion inexplicably surged in his heart.
This was the owner's silk pouch...
In the past, he never had the chance to wash this, but now it was clear that the owner no longer avoided him in any way.
Indeed, with everything they had done and the owner giving her first time to him, what else was there to avoid?
...
...
Night fell.
The freshly dried quilts still carried the scent of frost and snow, and wrapped tightly within were two people moving in harmony.
In the pitch-black world, the pale figures were naturally ashen.
But the nasal hums, and the warmth of being close, made the ashen world colorful.
After a long time...
The owner, who could be described as "fierce women" on a normal day, laid soft in the blind youth's arms, lifting her finger to tap his forehead and spoke with tired laughter, "Good man, you really know how to treat your wife tenderly."
Song Cheng was also panting; the quality of his body was simply too poor.
The owner, sensing his state, held him gently and said, "Finish quicker next time."
Song Cheng said, "I won't be worn to death."
The owner giggled lightly, "Stubborn."
Song Cheng disagreed.
After a long time...
Song Cheng was panting heavily; he was exhausted.
"Has anything happened in the village these past few days?"
"Nothing in the village, but something did happen outside."
"What happened?"
"Well, with the snow starting to melt, the road from the village to the county town is barely passable.
Normally, the rice seller from the county town should have come, but he didn't.
Earlier this evening, I went outside and heard that the rice seller seems to have encountered bandits."
"Bandits?"
Song Cheng suddenly felt a chill.
Setting aside other considerations, if bandits entered the village and reached Rejuvenation Hall, both he and Tong Jia would definitely be unable to hold them off.
Even if they were armed, his strength was only at 1, and Tong Jia's was merely 2.
By that time, he would be doomed for sure, and Tong Jia might end up being taken to their stronghold – the outcome... was imaginable.
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Tong Jia felt the tension in his body and said, "Don't worry, there are some young lads in the village, with sickles and harrows in hand, thieves wouldn't dare to enter the village easily.
Besides, the village chief has been on alert, and people have already started organizing night watch shifts from tonight.
Each household in the village is providing food for the Night Watchmen, so there are still quite a few people rushing to guard."
As she spoke, she added, "Even if they really enter the village, the old lady here will grab a sickle to protect you."
Song Cheng said without words, "Old lady... East owner, when did you... "
He felt the cheek resting on his shoulder getting a bit hot as he finished speaking.
Immediately after, Tong Jia playfully hit him and said with righteous indignation, "Isn't a woman who can take care of you better than a woman who needs your care?"
...
...
The next day, dawn...
A line of information flashed out.
[You have spent a happy night with Tong Jia, gaining 6 Remaining Points].
A happy night?
Song Cheng thought about it and realized that last night was indeed different from before.
Without hesitation, he added all 6 points to the "Pagoda Visualization Method."
The progress of the "Pagoda Visualization Method" swiftly advanced from Uninitiated (1/2) to Entry Level, then rose to Minor Accomplishment (1/8).
A mysterious sensation welled up in his heart.
Extra experiences flashed through his mind and transformed every inch of his body.
That day, his absentminded exhaustion inadvertently turned into meditation.
Calming his mind and focusing, he discarded all trivial thoughts, as if sitting in an empty void of nothingness.
In that void, a pagoda slowly rose.
The pagoda was nine stories high, much like the Ninefold Pagoda that stood between the green hills and white waters before he crossed over.
He climbed the pagoda, step by step, ascending the stairs, with worldly concerns dropping away and his mood becoming increasingly relaxed.
As he stepped onto the first tier, he reached Entry Level in the "Pagoda Visualization Method."
Continuing to ascend the stairs to the top of the pagoda, he felt his entire body in a state of utmost strangeness, as if his physical form had disappeared, leaving... only the sphere of thought at the top of the pagoda.
From atop the Ninefold Pagoda, he looked out at the outside world; everything was blurred.
During the day, all he could see was a vast ocean of brilliance, like a furnace of hell, with magma churning and tides as quicksilver, knowing... that if he jumped out of the pagoda, it would mean certain death.
At night, the brilliance faded, and the obscure scenery clarified; for the first time in his ink-painted world, colors emerged.
The tiles were black, the walls were white, but they were not the pure black and white of a blind man's world; they were hues with more texture.
The earth was yellow, the evergreens were green. Under the moonlight, mountains and rivers were bathed in light... everything was colored.
He saw those colors clearly and felt the calm outside, rejoicing in his heart.
On a clear and sunny night, he leapt from the top of the pagoda, experiencing a feeling as if he were transcending and transforming. Looking down, he saw his own body sitting cross-legged in the same spot.
It was a fine-looking husk of a body that seemed to have lost its strength—its head drooping, hands going limp, body tilting sideward, as if it had suddenly died abruptly.
At the same time, a sharp coldness assaulted him.
Subconsciously, he slipped back into his own body, and only then... did it feel like returning from an "icy river" to a "warm kang" (traditional heated bed).
But this "warm kang" wasn't warm enough; he was still cold.
Cold from the inside out.
Clearly, the "warmth" his body could provide was far too little.
Therefore, it took him a long time to come to his senses.
And when he leaped from the Ninefold Pagoda, the "Pagoda Visualization Method" reached Minor Accomplishment.
Song Cheng opened his eyes.
The reason for this process... he understood.
The "Pagoda Visualization Method" was a Yellow Level, Grade D skill, but he was just an ordinary person who had not practiced any Cultivation Techniques.
Simply put, it meant "trying to use the power of a realm that he hadn't reached."
'Cultivation Technique.'
Song Cheng clenched his fist.
He needed a Cultivation Technique.