"The seed needs to grow, so the material for the seed can't be too special, or it won't be widely accessible. But it also can't be too simple, or the improvement will be negligible."
The more Gu La thought about it, the more he realized that the eighteen attributes of Pokémon encompassed nearly all conceivable elements.
They were perfect candidates for visualization seeds. After all, these were the eighteen tablets that allowed Arceus to create the world—symbols of immense power and potential.
And aside from a few rare attributes, most could be replicated or mimicked on the Douluo Continent through various means.
Time flew as Gu La's thoughts raced forward. The sun set, stars moved across the sky, and the night sparkled with brilliance.
"Even twenty thousand years later, the Douluo Continent still lacks advanced methods for cultivating spiritual power. Most rely on grinding exercises to enhance their mental strength."
"On the other hand, this shows that spiritual power becomes stronger under pressure. Creating a visualization method could start here."
"But powerful spiritual imprints require strong individuals to leave them behind, and the materials needed to preserve them are extremely precious. This limits their universality."
Gu La shook his head, abandoning this line of thought.
"If I can't borrow power from higher sources, then perhaps I can accelerate the process of spiritual power consumption based on the object of visualization. Through the cycle of consumption and recovery, spiritual power can be refined."
"The specific object of visualization can't be an abstract concept. Without an anchor point, the visualization might collapse midway, leaving the practitioner with a void of belief and potential spiritual damage."
"What if it's a concrete existence…?"
Gu La's eyes gleamed with excitement. "The standard for determining the level of a visualization method will be the rate of spiritual power consumption and recovery within a given time frame."
"One tree does not make a forest. If we use the authority of the Forest Regalia as the seed of the visualization image and bestow blessings akin to the Everlasting Force, could soul masters contribute faith to the Celebi martial soul during cultivation?"
"Similarly, the Groudon martial soul could grant blessings related to earth and fire—not overly powerful, just enough to establish a connection. As soul masters cultivate using the visualization method, they would continuously provide me with faith energy."
"This method is far more subtle than traditional ways of harvesting faith. As long as I don't use this faith, even gods wouldn't be able to identify its owner."
Gu La's eyes flickered as he pondered ways to apply blessings on a large scale.
"The amount of power siphoned by each blessing is minuscule, but if it encompasses all soul masters on the Douluo Continent, the cumulative effect would be enormous—even divine beings couldn't bear the weight."
"…"
Gu La frowned in thought. His authorities were from another world, like rootless floating weeds. He wasn't sure if he could recover the power once it was expended.
"Perhaps I could involve the Plane Spirit. It sleeps all day anyway—why not invest in it? I'll help it ascend."
Deciding to act, Gu La left the academy once again, traversing space repeatedly until he reached a remote wilderness a hundred miles outside Tian Dou City.
He cleared his mind, expanding the grassy field around him. Compressing his ideas about visualization methods and faith energy into a single mental impulse, he waited for the Plane Consciousness to respond.
Under Gu La's relentless mental "harassment," the drowsy Plane Consciousness finally stirred awake.
Who's there?
The Plane Consciousness directed its attention downward, "seeing" Gu La and "remembering" the son it had informally adopted.
Gu La felt a connection to a vast consciousness and promptly transmitted his mental impulse.
The Plane Consciousness was akin to Gaia—it lacked intelligence or thought but could understand knowledge widely recognized by sentient beings within the plane.
As it processed Gu La's thoughts, the plane's fortune surged. It glimpsed a hazy future—a possibility derived from the flow of destiny.
It was vague, impossible to discern specific events clearly.
But the outcome seemed favorable, offering significant benefits to the plane.
Thus, the Plane Consciousness bestowed its grace—helping evolve the visualization method, setting up a primordial contract for faith division, and most importantly, granting its recognition.
This made Gu La not just the Son of Luck of an era but the Child of Nature and spokesperson of Doulu Star.
As long as Gu La didn't leave the planet for extended periods during his lifetime, this identity would never fade.
The stars shifted in the sky, and dew condensed into beads on the grass blades.
Gu La sat cross-legged on a stone slab, hearing the faint whispers of Blue Silver Grass in the distance and sensing the faint pulsations deep within the earth. It was as if the entire Doulu Star awaited his decision.
Suddenly, a muffled rumble echoed from beneath the ground. Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass burst forth, weaving into an emerald throne under the moonlight. They lifted Gu La high above the earth.
Naturally, Gu La chose to accept. The Plane Consciousness lacked thought, so it had no need for faith energy.
Under the primordial contract, Gu La received ninety percent of the faith, needing only to maintain nature and strengthen the plane's essence.
If he wished, Gu La could claim all the faith without issue. However, considering the impact of faith on destiny, he left ten percent for the Plane Consciousness.
With the contract signed, the will of the Plane's essence descended, accompanied by the primordial starlight.
Gu La felt countless roots unfurling deep within his soul. The trajectories of stars and the flows of earth transformed into golden threads, weaving a dazzling star map in his consciousness. It revealed the original pulse of laws and the transformation of elemental birth and death.
This was the Douluo Continent showing him the way to weave fundamental laws, constructing images based on Gu La's transmitted thoughts. The secrets of visualization lay within.
What better visualization object could there be than the embodiment of the plane's fundamental laws?
The young man grimaced at the sheer scale of the task—it was almost like asking a mortal to comprehend the authority of a god. Fortunately, he didn't need full understanding; he only needed to memorize the forms of a few symbolic objects.
"Clone, time to get to work."
Gu La communicated with his Groudon clone, sharing the images he had seen.
Though he didn't need to fully understand, Gu La's strict self-discipline wouldn't allow him to take this lightly.
"You handle the earth and fire laws; I'll take care of wood and water. We'll proceed step by step."
In his consciousness, divine flames blazed like the sun, illuminating the land. A towering sacred tree rose from the earth, nurturing all life. Water vapor flowed formlessly, transforming at will. Metals lay buried deep within the earth, eternal and unchanging. The thick soil witnessed the shifting of oceans and continents, burying everything.
"The five elements, generating and restraining one another, can encompass nearly all martial souls while forming a cycle, much like the circulation of soul power through meridians."
Emerald life energy rose first from his brow, sketching the shadow of a tree on his forehead. Each leaf pulsed with vitality, connecting the practitioner to nature as a whole.
"So that's how it works."
Under the Plane Consciousness's guidance, Gu La completed the first Sacred Tree Visualization Image, greatly advancing his understanding of visualization methods.
Soon, progress came from his clone as well.
The fully evolved Groudon clone quickly analyzed forces similar to its authority. Earth-yellow and crimson patterns appeared on Gu La's forehead, solidifying into a visualization image within his consciousness.
When the first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, eighteen beams of elemental light shot into the sky, intertwining above to form distinct silhouettes.
Countless Blue Silver Grasses simultaneously bloomed with golden buds, engraving this foreign information into the plane's essence.
All soul masters practicing visualization methods could now connect with the visualization images stored in the plane's essence, refining their spiritual power.
They could also create personalized visualization methods based on their martial souls. If recognized by the plane's essence, the corresponding image would be added to its repository.
Moreover, since the foundation of the visualization method was rooted in the Five Elements Visualization Image—and the Five Elements were themselves anchored in the Sacred Tree Visualization Image—everyone shared the same origin. Practicing new visualization methods naturally required contributing a portion of faith energy.
Unless someone discovered a more efficient method of spiritual cultivation, this system would remain unparalleled.
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