"It is not the number of palaces that measures an individual's power, but the complexities therein."
"A mind palace is the physical manifestation of an individual's understandings of his or her own powers. The higher the comprehension abilities and the more time spent designing the palace, the more complicated it will be."
"Throughout history, there have been many individuals that have reached the apex with just a single mind palace. These people were the true geniuses of their eras with no one to stand against them."
"The most notable was the first Human Ancient. Hundreds of billions of years ago he was one of the first waves of humans to reach the apex and created a path to the sanctuary for all of mankind here on the Beast World."
"Before that, humans were considered to be just one of the many lesser races that weren't suitable for cultivation resources. There were ridiculed at every turn and treated as simple slaves."
"But through hard work and perseverance, the first Human Ancient along with other notable human warriors led humanity's last warriors to fight against the armies of the void and darkness."
"A battle of an indescribable scale and proportion unfolded, through the result of which they managed to seal the void gates, giving humanity much needed time to stand up on its own two feet."
"Today, the accomplishments of these once great warriors have been lost in the annals of time. They laid down their lives for humanity's sake, asking for nothing in return. But it is only a matter of time before another such battle takes place."
"The armies of abyss once again increase in numbers, digging deep into the flesh of the beings of light. They corrupt your companions with empty promises of wealth and power."
"You must always remember the enemy behind your enemy, for there is always a bigger sky somewhere in this vast universe…."
Rather than just a simple guide to cultivation, the book contained hundreds of stories as well. Some of the humans, while some of the other beings that allied with humans and stood against the tyranny of darkness.
The humans weren't the humans from earth as Hao Xuan thought they were, but all physically similar beings with arms and two legs were called humans.
The overlying theme was the same though. Human empires being brought down from inside out due to an outside influence, much like what was happening right now in Mei.
The last few pages contained the actual information regarding the opening of Mind palaces and the use of energy.
According to it, the number of Mind Palaces was still important. It added a multiplicative effect to a cultivators power. Whereas the complexity of the Mind palace boosted the base power significantly.
For a truly sturdy foundation, one must have both quality and quantity.
Once the last meridian was opened, the mind palace could start to take shape. The cultivator was to imagine a location or an object important to them. Imagine its outlines and then slowly fill it up with the power from your meridians.
Of course, the more complex the palace was, the more energy it would consume to manifest it and bring it to life.
The process was long and arduous and could take weeks.
Hao Xuan went over all the information till it was late into the night. Around 5 a.m, just before the sun rose, his watch vibrated. It was First calling back.
"Ninth brother! What's up?"
His voice came from the other side. Even though Hao Xuan wasn't able to see him, it was obvious how exhausted he was because of the tone of his voice.
"I'm on my way to meet you brother. I'm at the periphery of a swamp and the token is pointing straight inside. Are you in there or should I just go around it?"
If at all possible, he would love to avoid going through a place filled with dangers hidden at every corner.
"You're here already?!"
First sounded quite surprised.
"Yup."
"Alright, stay where you are, I'll send one of my subordinates to pick you up. He should be there in a few hours."
*Click*
Without even waiting for Hao Xuan to reply, First hung up.
With nothing else to do, Hao Xuan put down a few rocks outside the boundary of the portable camp so whoever was coming would be able to see the "landmark", and then went to sleep.
He was woken up around 11 a.m from a loud noise. He checked outside and saw a large bird-like beast standing above the landmark. After washing up and changing into a new set of clothes, he recalled the camp and "appeared" in front of the creature.
It didn't look surprised as if it knew where he was from the start.
Hao Xuan looked up and down the beast curiously. It looked like a hybrid of a type of monkey and a bird. Its human-like face was extremely off-putting. Thick feathery wings adorned its entire back.
Hao Xuan didn't want to be presumptuous, thinking that this beast was his ride and not the subordinate First was talking about.
"H-Hello," he awkwardly waved at the creature.
The beast looked back at him with a straight face but made no other movements. Its meter long eyes blinking repeatedly.
"Did First brother send you??"
"….."
Still no response.
He moved closer to inspect the creature but it recoiled its body, shaking free an object from its fur.
"Ouch, what the hell are you doing?"
A voice came from behind the beast, exactly where the "object" had fallen. A man decked in armor from head to toe walked out while rubbing his back. He had a small stubble around his face. Age-wise he looked the same as First, only much more easy-going in nature.
He gave the beast a dirty look before looking in front.
He saw Hao Xuan and quickly straightened up, giving a standard military salute.
"Ah! Ninth captain! My name is Du Xun, I was sent by the First captain to bring you to him!"
Hao Xuan nodded back with a wry smile, waving his hand dismissively.
"Relax relax. Is this your ride?"
He pointed at the beast with his chin.
"Yes. I just got him a few months ago so he doesn't listen to me completely yet. Please," he gestured towards the beasts back.
Hao Xuan jumped up and landed on its back. It didn't have much of a reaction to his presence and continued looking around with a straight face.
Hao Xuan was rubbing the fur on the beasts back which felt extremely smooth when he saw something from the corner of his eye.
Du Xun floated up from the ground and landed on the beasts head in one smooth motion.
'Profound realm!'
Hao Xuan was surprised, to say the least. This normal-looking person was at a general level?!
With a soft pat, Du Xun gave the order, "Let's go!" and the beast's wings slowly expanded to over 5 times the size of its body, which was about 15 meters tall itself.
With just a couple of flaps of its massive wings, it shot up into the air like a bullet. Hao Xuan almost lost his balance and went tumbling down.
He was holding on for dear life.
