He stood still but was surprised to discover that he was standing on an expansive and broad ground paved with stone slabs, with a dazzling canopy of stars and the dark veil of night above, giving off a feeling of a mysterious and misty illusion realm.
Lin Mo didn't rush to ascend to the second level but instead sat cross-legged right where he was, breathing calmly and feeling the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy surrounding him, as if he were soaking in warm water. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.
For a master of Arrays like him, easily breaking through the Array here and lifting that spatial pressure was a simple task.
However, Lin Mo found that after a long period of operation, the Array had developed some defects, and these defects had significantly weakened the power of the whole Array.
"Why not repair this defective Array?" Lin Mo pondered.
Lin Mo had previously considered setting up such an Array for Yingzi to use for cultivation, but due to the lack of a medium, he had to temporarily abandon the idea. It was like Drawing Talismans, where simple Magic like Fireball, Wind Blade, and so on could be drawn on ordinary talisman paper.
But more advanced Arrays required special materials as a medium.
With this in mind, Lin Mo decided not to hurry to the second level and instead busied himself with filling in the defects in some Arrays.
Everyone outside the tower, although unable to see, could feel that Lin Mo was lingering on the First Level and had not progressed. About half an hour had passed. "What's going on? Can't he even reach the second level?" Cheng Ying furrowed her brows and said.
It wasn't just Cheng Ying; the other elders also showed puzzled looks on their faces.
"This guy really is just a hollow shell, unable to even reach the second level," Wang Chengpeng said with a look of disdain on his face.
Xiao Haiyang shook his head, clearly disappointed in Lin Mo. If that's all the skill he had, even if he did become the Sect Leader of Star Sect, Xiao Haiyang would not accept it.
"All right, there's probably nothing more to see; I'm going to train," Xiao Haiyang said, turning and walking towards the direction of the back mountains.
"Is Master involved with something?" Lu Xing asked with a frown and a hint of suspicion.
Ever since the Jiuxian Immortal had departed on his crane, passing the position of Sect Leader to Lin Mo, Lu Xing had become Lin Mo's 'apprentice.'
"Master must be up to something; otherwise, with his strength, there wouldn't be any problem reaching the top of the tower," Yingzi muttered, biting her lip lightly.
Inside the tower.
Lin Mo indeed did not know how much time had passed; night had fallen outside, and only after the disciples and elders had left did he finally finish repairing the entire Array.
"Finally done."
A hint of joy appeared on Lin Mo's face, and he felt a pressure on the First Level that was more than tenfold stronger. Although it didn't affect him much, any ordinary person would find it extremely difficult to take even a simple step here.
It was time to continue upward. Lin Mo rushed up to the Fifth Level in one go. It was then that he felt as if his body was soaking in water. Although he could still move freely, actions like lifting his arms were clearly hindered.
But this level of pressure was far from enough for Lin Mo. He dashed forward again, ascending to the Sixth Level, Seventh Level, Eighth Level, Ninth Level, and finally stopped at the Tenth Floor.
At this level, the pressure had significantly increased, to about fifty times that of the original pressure of the Tenth Floor.
"This should be a good starting point."
Saying this, Lin Mo clenched his fists and began practicing his Fist Skill. Throwing a punch, surprisingly, it didn't produce the sound of a roaring wind, clearly due to the pressure in this place, which had compressed both speed and strength considerably.
But this was exactly what Lin Mo had hoped for, as he needed the pressure to cultivate his physique and even awaken his body's latent potential. After all, he had ingested many Elixirs, and their potential had not been fully tapped. If unlocked, his body's strength would reach a new plateau.
As Lin Mo practiced his Fist Skill, sweat began to bead and his body's energy was almost fully stimulated. Yet even so, it didn't cause much of a stir, just as he had hoped. Otherwise, if he truly exerted all his strength, who knew what might happen.
By the time it was light outside, Lin Mo had already reached the Twelfth Floor. In this level, the omnipresent sense of pressure was even more evident; it was as if an ordinary person was shackled with weights, making movement extremely difficult.
"He's on the Twelfth Floor?"
"No way, even Elder Cheng Ying could only stay on the Tenth Floor for a short while."
The next day, when a disciple discovered that Lin Mo had already entered the Twelfth Floor, the news spread throughout the entire Star Sect.
Many disciples were no longer practicing their cultivation techniques and ran over to watch.
Even Elders Cheng Ying, Dong Xiangyun, and Qiu Xingjian were startled, and when they truly realized that Lin Mo's presence had reached the Fourteenth Floor of the Starry Sky Tower, their faces all betrayed a look of surprise.
In the past, even the so-called genius Sect Leader only made it to the Fourteenth Floor.
"Haha, Sect Leader really didn't misjudge," Elder Dong's face showed delight as he laughed heartily.
Xiao Xing, supporting her, also slightly parted her cherry lips in disbelief.
"How, how could he possibly reach the Fourteenth Floor, he must be cheating," Wang Pengcheng complained, unconvinced.
But his words sounded desperately weak—who could resist the pressure inside the Starry Sky Tower with any magic treasure?
Xiao Haiyang took a deep breath, his palms tightly clenched, his fingernails digging into the flesh of his palms, bringing a twinge of pain.
The youth they had mocked just yesterday had now broken the 'record.'
Shocking everyone, Xiao Haiyang, as the top of the younger generation in the Star Palace, how could he not feel uncomfortable?
Suddenly, Xiao Haiyang turned and walked towards the back mountain. Wang Pengcheng came to his senses and called out, "Brother Xiao..."
"When he gets to the Fourteenth Floor, he should be coming down, right?" Elder Cheng Ying said slowly, still in disbelief.
"The pressure on the Fourteenth Floor is unimaginable; if he doesn't come down, his body might be crushed by the pressure," Qiu Xingjian said.
But as the two spoke, Lin Mo's presence had already reached the Fifteenth Floor.
Everyone was shocked again; the scene fell into a deathly silence.
"The master will never let anyone down." Yingzi's little face showed pride.
Indeed, Lin Mo would not give up such a training opportunity easily, although the pressure he felt when reaching the Fourteenth Floor was very uncomfortable.
Lin Mo bit his white teeth, his eyes holding a resilience hard to imagine in ordinary people, his pupils shining with a stubborn light.
But upon reaching the Fifteenth Floor, Lin Mo had just stepped in, and the sudden pressure turned his clothes to dust, the blood vessels under his skin clearly visible, and his bones were being crushed by the invisible pressure, making a crunching sound.
Now, he felt like he was carrying the weight of tens of thousands of pounds on his body, every muscle seemed to be crushed by the pressure from all directions.
However, Lin Mo didn't care about these, his gaze still unchanged, he began practicing his fist skill, although his movements were now much slower and more sluggish.
Time passed, and it was only when his movements and speed returned to normal that he stepped into the Fourteenth Floor.
The moment he entered the Fourteenth Floor, his muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs began to rupture, his body covered in blood as if he were a bloody man.
"I absolutely cannot give up..."
Pain showed on Lin Mo's face as he forced himself to bite down on his teeth, slowly swinging his fists.
Green energy began to emanate from within his body, continuously repairing the split muscles and ruptured blood vessels. This was the effect of the Yang Wood Divine Skill he cultivated, which could constantly heal bodily injuries.
In this cycle of repair and destruction, Lin Mo felt as if thousands of knives were slicing open his body, a pain that even the most determined could hardly bear.
Outside the Star Sect, several dark shadows swept over like night owls.
They soon stopped at the entrance of the Star Sect's array.
"Hehe, it seems their protective array is getting weaker; it's just as the ancestor speculated."
(Exciting continuation tomorrow; also to note, don't say the protagonist has been written weakly. Now, it's about immortal cultivation and cultivation sects. Although it's on Earth, they're considered to have transcended Earth. There will be new planning for realms, with Martial God and others being part of martial arts. For immortal cultivation, there's Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, and so forth. Earth will see more cultivation techniques and characters.)