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The relentless pressure was a constant reminder of the monumental task before her. As Mira stood there, she realized she was not merely combating the weight, she was fighting against two separate forces—the gravity of the world she was on and the additional weight of the Hell of Gravity. It was like being sandwiched between two celestial bodies, their combined gravitational force pulling at her incessantly.
'The pull I feel… it's the gravitational forces acting on me. I'm caught in the middle of two opposing forces. And if I want to withstand this, I need to control that interaction,' Mira thought, the initial spark of an idea starting to kindle in her mind.
She would need to become the equivalent of a celestial body, exerting her own gravitational pull. At the same time, she'd need to create something that could exert an equal amount of pressure on her as the Hell of Gravity but in the opposite direction.
Her brows furrowed as she started to put together a plan. She could sense the Qi all around her, a sea of energy just waiting to be tapped into. Mira was familiar with absorbing Qi into her body, but she'd never tried manipulating it externally. This was new territory.
Taking a deep breath, she reached out, pulling Qi near her. If she was right, she could take the surrounding atmospheric Qi and compress it into a ball of dense energy above her, effectively creating a new source of gravitational force.
However, she knew that she needed an astronomical amount of Qi and control to pull this off.
"This is going to be tricky…" She muttered under her breath.
The Guardian, watching everything with an intrigued expression, offered his input. "Pushing the boundaries, are we, Mira? A bold choice."
She ignored him, immersing herself in the task at hand. Gritting her teeth, she gathered the ambient Qi, collecting it around the outside of her skin, not allowing any inside her body. Slowly, she began trying to manipulate it into the shape of a sphere, but that wasn't possible at first.
Thus, she released some of her own Qi, attempting to mix the two. It was like trying to mold water and oil together, every bit as slippery and elusive.
Maintaining her focus, she started to compress the energy, condensing it into a smaller, denser form. She could feel it resisting, fighting against her intent. It was like trying to squeeze a spring, the energy pushing back with every bit of pressure she applied.
It took an immeasurable amount of concentration and a good deal of time. But eventually, Mira managed to form a ball of Qi, hovering above her. It shimmered with restrained energy, its presence palpable.
"I did it…" She breathed, a small smile playing on her lips.
She could feel the faint gravitational pull of the energy mass, a gentle force tugging at her from above. It was incredibly weak, similar to standing next to a very heavy person, but at least it proved she was on the right track.
"You've created a counterweight, Mira. Impressive." The Guardian's voice echoed, filled with genuine admiration.
With a newfound confidence, Mira continued refining her technique. She needed to make the ball denser, the gravitational pull stronger, and even add some rotational spin to it. But for now, she reveled in her achievement.
But she didn't stop there. She used the oppressive environment to her advantage. The Hell of Gravity became her training ground, strengthening her body and enhancing her endurance and resilience.
In addition to that, as her body adapted to the ever-increasing gravity, so did her Soul and Qi; her [Harmonic Trinity Cultivation Technique] proving its worth here. Just like she wanted, all aspects became stronger at the same time.
As she continued to perfect her technique, her ability to manipulate Qi improved tremendously. She became more adept at controlling the atmospheric Qi and infusing it with her own. Her Qi ball grew denser and heavier, the gravitational pull stronger.
And then came the next challenge - adding rotation.
"Just as the celestial bodies spin in space... My Qi ball also needs to rotate," Mira said to herself, her mind visualizing the spinning celestial bodies.
She tried to impart spin to her Qi ball. Initially, the ball wobbled, the energy within it chaotic and unstable. But Mira remained patient, focusing on creating a steady, smooth rotation.
Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days. Mira continued her relentless practice, her body adapting to the crushing gravity, her mind honing her control over the Qi ball.
One day, she finally managed to create a perfectly spinning, hyper-dense ball of Qi, exerting a gravitational pull equivalent to the Hell of Gravity.
"Finally…" Mira breathed out, a sense of triumph washing over her.
Her body, instead of being crushed by the two gravitational forces, was perfectly suspended between them. The gravitational pull from her Qi ball counterbalanced the weight she was under, creating an equilibrium.
However, there were consequences to her actions…
"You've surpassed my expectations, Mira. I never thought you'd try to do something like this!" the Guardian's voice echoed around her, his words filled with deep respect and admiration.
Her journey in the Hell of Gravity wasn't over, but she had taken a massive leap forward.
'Yeah, I am pretty amazing,' Mira nodded, finally responding to the Guardian's comments making him speechless.
"That's not what I meant! I figured you'd try and strengthen your body as much as possible with the increased gravity. Isn't that basically your motto at this point? To use anything and everything you can to get stronger?"
'Tch.' Mira clicked her tongue in disappointment and annoyance. 'Are you really that stupid, or are you just playing dumb?'
"...Huh?"
'Of course, I can't let this opportunity go to waste! However, this Hell isn't as simple as the others. It's not like I only need to handle pain or absorb some blood. I need to, quite literally, fight gravity.' Mira said but didn't bother explaining any further.
Still, the Guardian understood what she was saying. If she wanted to pass this Hell without dying, she needed to come up with a plan and a solution first. Only after doing that would she be able to utilize this opportunity without having to put her life on the line.
"...I see. So, you are capable of growth, after all." The Guardian marveled, not expecting Mira to account for her own safety. She'd never done something like that before!
Mira snorted coldly, 'Who wants to die under their own weight? How pathetic is that?'
The Guardian couldn't argue with that. Although the gravity was becoming intense quickly, it would still be a disgrace for someone of her talent to die from something like that.
"Then, what are you going to do with that ball of energy? Are you going to leave it there?"
Mira shook her head, 'No. That'd be too dangerous.'
If there was one major problem with her solution to the Hell of Gravity, it was that she was basically sitting next to a portable nuclear reactor. No, by now, it was definitely more potent than any nuke.
If it were to go out of control right now, she could easily take part of the mountain with her. Without her keeping it under control, it might destabilize and cause widespread destruction.
In fact, due to the intensity of the energy ball, Mira could sense multiple Elders hovering around her residence, keeping an eye on everything.
They seemed to understand that she was training and didn't disturb her, but they were on high alert nonetheless.
'I'll probably have the Elders escort me somewhere far away from the Battle Maiden Sect, in a secluded area. That way, even if something does go wrong, I won't destroy everyone and everything.' Mira said after giving it some thought.
She could very well complete the Hell of Gravity right now, but then she'd lose out on the perfect training opportunity.
'Maybe I can even go hunting to replenish the vitality that's constantly depleting.'
The Guardian facepalmed after hearing Mira's thoughts. She truly was a training maniac through and through.
"...Try not to die, alright?"
'No promises,' Mira shrugged before ignoring him once again and looking up into the air, where a few Elders were hiding.
"Elder Sandra, come escort me to a secluded place, far away from here," Mira suddenly called out.
Not even a second later, Elder Sandra appeared before her, drenched in cold sweat, as she glanced at the ball of energy above Mira.
She had so many words, so many profanities that she wanted to spew out, but hearing Mira's bones creak and sweat accumulating around her brows, she held them back. Despite looking fine on the outside, it was clear Mira was using every ounce of strength she had to keep herself afloat.
"...Follow me, you crazy bitch," She couldn't help but curse as she turned around and slowly flew into the distance.
Mira nodded and followed, making sure to keep control over the mass of energy.
While the two flew over the Battle Maiden Sect, Mira looked around and noticed that the Sect had changed quite a bit in just a few days.
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