Famu instinctively moved away from the crystal.
A Luminous Core: solidified Earth Vein Energy.
When Earth Vein Energy reached a certain concentration, it condensed into a solid. Luminous Core was what humans called solidified Earth Vein crystals, because they were the cores of the Earth Veins, their surfaces giving off an ominous fluorescence that signified radiation. Only in the depths of an Earth Vein could such crystalline matter be born. Ordinary Earth Vein Energy was already a deadly threat to humans; a single glance at something like a Luminous Core would kill them.
Because if a human could see the light a Luminous Core emitted, it meant they were already within range of its Earth Vein radiation.
Take this Luminous Core, for example. It was the size of a bird's egg and looked utterly inconspicuous, but it was immensely heavy, with a terrifying mass measured in tons.
This was danger made manifest.
Famu devoured the Luminous Core. His Furnace Core resonated, and powerful Earth Vein Energy poured out of the Luminous Core.
Like a sleeping volcano awakening within him, powerful pulses spread outward in rings, thundering through Famu's body.
This energy was the culprit behind the Crowned Heron's death. Given the old Crowned Heron's physical condition, there was no way it could have withstood an onslaught of Earth Vein Energy on this scale.
It was so immense that it brought even Famu tearing agony. His muscles curled under the onslaught of the Earth Vein Energy, and the rumbling of his Furnace Core grew steadily faster. By accelerating his blood flow, it dispersed the concentrated energy throughout his body, reducing the strain on him.
But there was no doubt that the Luminous Core also brought Famu an immense power surpassing that of a biological Furnace Core.
The vertebrae of his spine locked into place one by one, from the tip of his tail to his skull. This was Famu's attacking stance. A low rumble echoed through the narrow cavern, reaching its peak as his Furnace Core resonated.
At the same time, the water in the cavern evaporated. Famu pushed his Bloodburn mimicry to its highest level, and the High-Temperature Domain covered the area. Steam rose in wisps and struck the cold rock ceiling above, then turned back into a torrent of scalding rain. But before it could reach Famu's scales, it was evaporated once more by that invisible Domain.
Famu sensed it.
With the aid of this immense energy, his body temperature had reached a level he could never attain through his usual, constant absorption of sunlight. A dark red glow shone along the edges of his scales, and his flesh and blood were transforming into lava, as though the Day of Death he had once devoured were rising again.
The vibrations grew stronger, and Famu tried to apply them to the High-Temperature Domain.
Using this as a foundation, he sought to expand its influence and pry loose the shackles that bound everything, until he could lift his heavy body from the muddy earth.
After sustaining it for a long time.
"Experiment failed," the Scepter said.
The sound of the vibrations vanished, and the High-Temperature Domain filling the cave receded like a tide, sweeping the lingering white mist outward in every direction.
Famu's body temperature returned to normal.
Child of the Earth beat wearily.
With the Luminous Core's energy, Famu had flawlessly unleashed Bloodburn and the High-Temperature Domain, at a level no lower than that of an adult Dead Sun Armor. But even the High-Temperature Domain released by his own Furnace Core could not be covered by Child of the Earth's ability. They were still two fundamentally different things. Famu could not yet release the Day of Death as effortlessly as a Dead Sun Armor, nor did he possess Typhon Muerjia's ability to exert force on external objects.
But attempts were important. Once a direction had been established, there were many things that needed trial and error. Most of the time, even the direction itself was wrong.
Still, this was very important reference data.
"Kether, retrieve the recorded data and run a simulation," Famu said.
"Understood, Your Excellency Jiuxun. I have incorporated your 'Bloodburn' state and High-Temperature Domain into a simulation of the gravitational field experiment," the Scepter replied.
This was the purpose of the super terminal: Famu could record data through real experiments, then import it into the Scepter System for simulation and calculation. At the very least, he could verify how feasible a given direction was.
"Calculating. Estimated time: ten hours. Some energy must be drawn from the Luminous Core."
Designing the dragon transformation blueprint earlier had consumed five hours of the Scepter System's high-energy mode. Together with the time Famu had used it here and there, the energy supplied by the Dead Sun Armor's Furnace Core had been exhausted.
"I'll set up resonance chambers on my spine and set aside the Earth Vein Energy needed for them. You can have the rest."
"Praise your generosity, Your Excellency Jiuxun."
The Scepter fell silent and stopped responding. It devoted itself fully to processing the data, searching for the possibility of Famu creating a gravitational field.
Famu, too, sank into sleep. His Furnace Core rumbled ceaselessly, Earth Vein Energy flowed, and Child of the Earth carved grooves into his spine.
He swayed in a serpentine posture, forming movements like a dance.
The movements engaged the grooves on either side of his spine. The power of Child of the Earth's Furnace Core was amplified by the resonance chambers, then amplified a second time by those dance-like movements.
This was the idea Famu had when he faced the flock of Crowned Herons and released the High-Temperature Domain.
By raising himself upright and swaying his body, he had been resonating with Child of the Earth at a specific frequency. If he had possessed resonance chambers on either side of his spine then, Child of the Earth's influence would have grown even stronger. The Crowned Herons would all have died to his dance.
This was even a supplementary skill.
Using the frequency of his movements to sense vibrations was the ladder to learning and progress.
Famu grew ever more eager to master Muerjia's ability to exert force on external objects.
After pondering for a moment, Famu thought of visiting Xing Rui again. Xing Rui was the child of the Mara River's Muerjia, and she knew far more than others of her kind.
Perhaps he should bring a gift.
The sunlight shining into the cavern shifted and faded away. Five days passed in this manner.
Outwardly, Famu showed no change, but the resonance chambers on either side of his spine had finished evolving in the darkness.
By calling up the Scepter's cross-sectional diagram, he could see symmetrical grooves on the smooth, hard bone surfaces on either side of his spine.
If Famu's spine were likened to a guqin, these grooves were its strings. Pluck them, and they would produce a melody of slaughter.
Famu's carving was perfect, and the Scepter System had long been ready as well.
"Your Excellency Jiuxun, the simulation results are complete."
Inside the laboratory simulated by the Scepter, rows upon rows of data flowed around a core, enveloping it.
"This is the calculation process."
A simulation file appeared on the screen, and the Scepter began explaining it to Famu.
"The probability of evolving the High-Temperature Domain into a gravitational field on the basis of 'Bloodburn' is less than one in ten million."
"That's very high."
Famu leafed through the file and nodded, signaling the Scepter to continue.
"But if Bloodburn is used as an auxiliary, serving as the threshold for triggering the Furnace Core's excited state, and assuming you have mastered the skills and techniques of a Muerjia-level member of the Typhon population, allowing you to apply Child of the Earth's vibrational force to other things, combining these factors gives a one-in-one-hundred-thousand chance of producing a gravitational field."
"Feasible." Famu nodded again. He looked at the approach in the file and adjusted the parameters. "Substitute my current body, and use the resonance chambers on either side of my spine to solve the problem of controlling levitation."
"Substitution complete. Calculating..."
A moment later, the Scepter replied, "Probability corrected. The conclusion is 0.2 percent."
"That's one hundred percent." Famu closed the file and smiled.
In the cavern, Black Typhon awoke.