I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Ji Tian spent two days reading the book "Basic Theory of Magic" over and over again, five times in total.

On the third day, the book was no longer a book in his mind—it was a tree, a giant tree rooted deep in his soul, with branches reaching the sky.

The main trunk consists of the seven major attributes, magic circuits, and model construction—the three core elements; the branches are countless derivative theories that spread like dragons and snakes; and the leaves are specific incantations and spellcasting techniques, densely packed and covering the sky.

With his eyes closed, he could touch the tree from top to bottom, from root to tip, and engrave every leaf in his mind without missing a single detail.

But he didn't rush to cast the spell.

Because the book repeatedly emphasizes a concept in bold and almost warning tone: the capacity of the magic circuit to withstand damage.

Those are the channels through which magical energy is transmitted within the human body, like blood vessels to blood, or meridians to vital energy. Each person's pathways are innate; their thickness, quantity, and distribution are predetermined from the moment of birth, determining how much magical energy a person can bear and how powerful a spell they can wield.

If a circuit is too narrow, yet a massive amount of magic power is forcibly poured in, the circuit will collapse.

At best, the magic will go out of control and backfire; at worst, it will kill the person on the spot and cause their soul to be scattered.

This is why magicians must begin training from a young age—through long, gentle magical guidance, allowing their pathways to gradually adapt to the erosion of magic, widening inch by inch and reinforcing layer by layer.

Like tempering the body and refining the bones, it cannot be rushed.

Ji Tian was very familiar with this logic.

In his previous life, he had seen too many people who, out of their eagerness for quick success, subjected themselves to heavy lifting, took strong drugs, and used all sorts of extreme methods to destroy their bodies.

The results of it?

Ligament rupture, tendon tear, herniated disc, ascend to the steroid planet.

Those who run the fastest often never reach the finish line.

In this life, he has no intention of repeating the same mistakes.

He finally began on the third day.

That morning, before dawn, Ji Tian sat cross-legged in a corner of the abandoned training ground behind the manor, leaning against a crooked old locust tree.

Several clusters of brightly colored mushrooms grew under the tree, almost eerily so. The air was dry and cold with the chill of late autumn, and the ground was cracked and parched, like a tattered old map.

He closed his eyes.

The meditation experience from the previous life came in handy at this moment.

Empty your mind, calm your consciousness, and transform yourself into a calm lake, without ripples or dust.

At first, there was nothing.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe an incense stick's time, maybe half a day, before that feeling came.

Like a thin veil, it gently brushed across my cheek, so light it was almost imperceptible.

But Ji Tian's senses caught it in that instant, like grasping a ray of light in the darkness.

He steadied himself and continued to concentrate.

Gradually, the "veil" became clearer.

They are everywhere: permeating the air, suspended on the ground, attached to the trunk of the old locust tree, and even floating on the caps of those few mushroom clusters.

Like a very thin layer of fog, it is thick as paste in some places and thin as smoke in others, but it never completely disappears.

The book calls this "magic element".

Ji Tian called it "spiritual energy" in his heart.

The name is not important.

The important thing is that he can sense it now.

At noon, the sun reached its highest point, and its pale light poured down through the gaps in the tree canopy, scattering golden fragments on the ground.

Ji Tian's back was already soaked with sweat, a result of the intense concentration required to maintain his mental focus.

He began trying to guide the magic essence into his body.

This step is hundreds of times more difficult than perception.

The magic element is like a living thing; the more you try to grasp it, the more slippery it becomes, like an eel weaving between the fingers of your spiritual power.

Ji Tian tried again and again, and each time, just as he was about to succeed, the wisp of demonic energy would bounce off the edge of his spiritual power like a startled fish and disappear without a trace.

He stopped and took a deep breath.

Sink your breath to your dantian, and let your mind be as still as water.

Then start over.

This time, he changed his approach.

He began to gently envelop the wisp of demonic essence with his spiritual power, like holding a butterfly, giving it space and time, allowing it to slowly calm down and become tamed.

The whole morning.

He managed to draw a single strand of magic essence, as fine as a hair, to his fingertips.

The wisp of demonic essence lingered on the tip of his index finger for less than two seconds—grayish-white, slightly glowing, like an extremely fine silkworm thread flashing for a moment in the sunlight, or like the most fragile strand of Dao principle in the world.

Then he released his mental energy, letting it dissipate naturally.

Ji Tian opened his eyes and moved his stiff fingers.

Not urgent.

Take it easy.

In the afternoon, he began to try to establish a magical circulation within his body.

Following the method described in the book, use your mental power to guide the magic essence into the magic circuit, allowing it to flow along a specific path.

Starting from the fingertips, it ascends along the inside of the arm, passing through the wrist, forearm, and elbow, turning at the shoulder, passing below the collarbone, and joining the main circulatory pathway in the chest cavity. Then it descends through the abdomen, like a river flowing into the sea, and finally flows out from the other hand.

This is the most basic cyclical path, the first path all magic apprentices take, and the most primitive "circulation of the heavens".

This process is extremely slow, as slow as carving words on a stone slab with a needle.

The magic circuits were thinner than a hair, and Ji Tian could even "see" what they looked like inside his body. They were like a riverbed that had dried up for countless years, narrow and shallow, with tiny cracks all over its walls, as if they would crumble into dust at the slightest touch.

With each inch that Mo Su advanced, he felt a sharp, stabbing pain, dull and aching, as if his muscles were being torn to their limit, or as if his bones were being crushed and rebuilt inch by inch.

"Sigh, it seems I can't avoid needing a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Ji Tian's gaze fell on the clusters of brightly colored mushrooms under the tree—the caps were deep purple with a faint blue glow at the edges, just like the "Inspiration Mushrooms" described in his previous online novels.

"A low-grade first-rank spiritual herb containing trace amounts of spiritual energy, often used as an auxiliary ingredient in the refining of Foundation Establishment Pills. It is poisonous when eaten raw, causing hallucinations in mild cases and sudden death in severe cases. It must be refined with spiritual energy to remove impurities before consumption."

This description automatically popped into his mind.

"But this isn't the cultivation world, so this mushroom might not be an 'Inspiration Mushroom.' It could just be a poisonous mushroom that will kill you if you eat it."

He stared at the clusters of mushrooms and remained silent for a moment.

"The book says that magic circuits need to be widened 'gently' and cannot be rushed. But that's under the premise of having a teacher's guidance and resources to assist you."

"I am the son of a tenant farmer. I have no Foundation Establishment Pills, no Marrow Cleansing Liquid, and I can't even afford a decent bottle of magic potion."

"If you practice step by step, how many loopholes will you be able to open up in ten years?"

He gritted his teeth and grabbed the mushrooms.

Refined in an instant!

"The path to immortality is a struggle against heaven, against earth, and against man. I have cultivated my qi for many years; it is time for me to face death and embrace life!"

He kneaded it into a ball, which became the shape of a pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.

boom!

The potent medicinal power exploded throughout his body, like magma pouring into him, like a flood bursting its banks.

Ji Tian's eyes were bloodshot, and in a daze, he seemed to see—

A blue lotus blooms in the chaos, swaying gracefully, with each petal engraved with runes of the Great Dao.

A young man in white stood atop a mountain, his back to all living beings, leaving behind only the words, "At the end of the immortal path, who stands at the peak?"

A bronze ancient sword fell from the heavens, with four large characters engraved on its blade: "I am the Heavenly Emperor".

Another figure, enveloped in golden light, stood atop auspicious, multicolored clouds, wielding an iron cudgel, and roared at the myriad gods and immortals, "Take this from Old Sun!"

……

"Something's not right." Ji Tian struggled within his hallucination. "This art style is off."

But the figure flashed by, replaced by a majestic Southern Heavenly Gate, behind which stretched an endless road to heaven.

"Hahaha!" Ji Tian laughed loudly, "I see it! The Road to Heaven, the Bridge to Immortality! I've become an immortal!"

"I knew the hardships of the world from a young age..."

Ji Tian paused.

I forgot the beginning.

I forgot about it in the middle.

I forgot what happened after that.

Anyway-

"My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens! Break this barrier!"

Rumble!

He could feel the withered walls of the passageways being instantly breached by a brute force. The medicinal power, mixed with magical essence, surged through his magical passageways like a thousand troops, tearing them apart inch by inch and rebuilding them inch by inch.

The vortex of energy within the dantian was compressed to its limit, and finally shattered!

It was like a star exploding inside my body, like the beginning of chaos, like the creation of heaven and earth!

The blood seemed to be drained and then filled with mercury; the bones seemed to be shattered and then pieced back together.

A wisp of "innate energy" poured in from the top of the head, piercing through the soul like a thunderclap!

His whole body convulsed violently, as if struck by a heavenly tribulation.

Ji Tian was shaken. He gritted his teeth and, seizing the opportunity, began to frantically circulate his Qi throughout his body.

One loop, two loops, three loops...

Evening is approaching.

He finally completed a full cycle.

The magic essence entered from his fingertips, flowing upstream along the magic pathways in his arm, passing through his shoulders, chest, and abdomen, like a lurking dragon circling his body, before finally flowing out from his other hand and returning to the world.

One week.

Ji Tian opened his eyes.

It was already dark.

The sky above turned a deep indigo blue, with a few stars faintly shining, like eyes peering down at the human world from the heavens above.

A fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, and the back of his clothes was already soaked through, clinging to his skin with a slight chill.

My arms were a little sore, but my mental state was surprisingly good—my brain felt as if it had been washed by a clear spring, clear, quiet, and transparent.

He looked down at his hands.

It's still those same hands.

Thin, with distinct joints, and faintly visible bluish veins under the skin.

But something is different.

He closed his eyes and once again sensed the state of his body.

Those once-dry magical pathways now have a faint hint of "moisture," like a riverbed that has been dry for countless years finally welcoming its first rain.

The water has already flowed away.

But the riverbed remembered that feeling.

That feeling of being washed by magic, that feeling of being resurrected from deathly silence.

Pseudo-Foundation Building, Success!

Ji Tian was so exhausted that he felt completely drained, yet he laughed loudly, the sound echoing across the desolate training ground.

"Wow—good! What a fine Foundation Establishment!"

He shouted "Good!" for the first time, his voice loud and clear.

"What a powerful statement about facing death to live!"

The second "good" sound was already trembling.

"Well... well done..."

Before he could finish saying "good" for the third time, his eyelids were already drooping.

In the last moment before his consciousness faded into darkness, he carefully tucked the few remaining mushrooms into his pocket.

"Don't waste it..."

Then he collapsed under the old locust tree and fell into a deep sleep.