Black Sphere
In the Soul Space, Gu Ding stood in front of the bronze door, the black chains that had previously bound the door had all been removed.
Gu Ding reached out, and the bronze door creaked open automatically.
This time, there was no blinding white light. Behind the door, there was only a Black Sphere about the size of a thumb, suspended in mid-air. Countless tiny, almost invisible lines were imprinted on the Black Sphere, appearing not to be engraved, but rather to be naturally formed.
Gu Ding knew at a glance that this thing was definitely not simple, because with his current level of Dao pattern mastery, he couldn't understand a single detail of the patterns on the sphere.
"I'm becoming increasingly curious about your background," the Sea Emperor's voice entered Gu Ding's Soul Space directly. Since Gu Ding ascended to godhood, he could now see what was inside Gu Ding's Soul Space. Previously, the large door had blocked his view, preventing him from probing its contents. Now that Gu Ding had opened the door, he finally saw the Black Sphere. Seeing the Dao patterns on the surface of the Black Sphere, he was deeply shocked.
"My database now includes data on basic and primary Dao patterns. Although data on intermediate Dao patterns is not yet available, it should be far less powerful than the Dao patterns on this Black Sphere. The innate Dao patterns on this Black Sphere are at least at the level of advanced Dao patterns."
"It's truly unimaginable what kind of powerful being could leave something like this inside your body. Judging from the Dao patterns alone, this thing's value is definitely above that of a Heavenly Divine Artifact."
Upon seeing this object, a memory surfaced in Gu Ding's mind. It was a fragment of the Inheritance Memory he had obtained from the Black Iron Gate. He stood there, quietly digesting that memory. He finally understood the origin of the small black sphere before him.
Taking a step forward, Gu Ding extended his palm. Black divine energy emanated from his palm. The small black sphere, as if sensing something alive, appeared above Gu Ding 'Gu Ding palm without any warning, its blood-red tentacles extending out and piercing directly into his hand.
The Sea Emperor was somewhat horrified by what he saw, but he knew that Gu Ding must have his reasons for doing so, and he didn't try to stop him. He simply watched as the Black Sphere burrowed from his palm into Gu Ding's body, then crawled its way up until it finally entered his heart.
With several abnormal heartbeats, the divine source within Gu Ding's body surged wildly into him, only to be completely swallowed up and drained away without a trace.
Gu Ding remained completely calm. He took out a handful of Source Energy Crystal from his Storage Space and began frantically devouring them using his Devouring the Heavens and Swallowing the Earth power. His heart also expanded at a unique frequency, continuously absorbing the divine source transformed from the divine power.
In this way, more than thirty days passed, Gu Ding had used up more than ten thousand Source Energy Crystal in his Storage Space. Even the two remaining Explosion Bodhi were used up by Gu Ding before the abnormal throbbing of his heart finally stopped.
Seeing that Gu Ding's breathing had calmed down, the Sea Emperor couldn't help but ask, "Gu Ding, what exactly is that Black Sphere?"
This was the first time Sea Emperor had encountered something he didn't understand and needed to ask Gu Ding for advice. If it were anyone else, he might have felt embarrassed, but since he was so familiar with Gu Ding, he didn't feel ashamed at all.
"I only got a general idea: this thing is a plant seed, and it comes from a very powerful plane, requiring a large amount of divine energy to irrigate it. Right now, this seed is only in its embryonic stage. If it enters the juvenile stage, it can assist me in defense and attack, and it should also have other special abilities." Gu Ding's information wasn't clear, but he knew it would be beneficial to him. That's why he directly followed the instructions in his memory and planted the seed into his body.
"In other words, it's something similar to Spirit Plant, only perhaps more powerful." Hearing Gu Ding's description, the Sea Emperor roughly understood what the Black Sphere was. However, after searching the database, he couldn't find any similar plant seeds. The only explanation was that his current access level wasn't high enough.
"You could call them Spirit Plant." Gu Ding nodded. He remembered buying Spirit Plant for Liliath before, but they didn't use them and just kept them as potted plants in the spaceship.
"Since it's a plant seed, the Dao patterns on it couldn't have been engraved later; they must be innate Dao patterns. If a seed has such powerful innate Dao patterns, this Spirit Plant will definitely be incredibly powerful when it matures." The Sea Emperor couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. He always had an extremely strong interest in the unknown.
"I just don't know how long it will take for it to reach maturity..." Gu Ding was also somewhat worried. His divine source was simply not enough for a single seed to absorb, and he had to consume a lot of external energy to feed it. He didn't know how much divine source it would need to consume to reach maturity.
"It's alright, heal slowly." The Sea Emperor was very optimistic about this.
After the seed was taken out, the bronze gate also disappeared automatically, just like the Black Iron Gate disappeared last time, leaving no trace, as if it had never existed at all.
Consciousness returned to his physical body, Gu Ding slowly opened his eyes.
"After more than thirty days of continuous consumption and replenishment, your divine source strength has broken through again, from the original seven-star Peak-rank God to the level of One-Star Half-Step True God." The Sea Emperor finally brought good news.
"It's time to come out of seclusion. Those people outside must have been waiting for me to come out, right?" Gu Ding knew without even thinking what the situation was like outside.
"If I were you, I would definitely go to the First Level of the Cultivation Tower after leaving the Time Acceleration Cabin, leisurely eat some snacks, drink some beverages, and do some other pastimes, dragging them out for ten or fifteen days." As the Sea Emperor spoke, he projected an image of a Golden Armor Order Keeper sitting at the entrance of the Cultivation Tower. Behind the Golden Armor Order Keeper, there were two Silver Armor Order Keeper standing with their arms crossed.
These three were clearly waiting for Gu Ding to come out.
Seeing this, Gu Ding smiled wryly, "What a grand display, even the Golden Armor Order Keeper have been dispatched. Do they really think that after one period of seclusion, my strength is enough to contend with those reserve Order Keeper?"
"It's probably for safety reasons, but it also shows that the warden really didn't underestimate you." The Sea Emperor also knew that although Gu Ding's current strength was comparable to Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God, those reserve Order Keeper were all Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God in cultivation, and as for Combat Strength, they were already at the True God level. They were completely beyond what Gu Ding could contend with at his current stage.
"Let's go out. There's no point in stalling any longer. Guys with military backgrounds like them won't leave until I show up. Besides, my time is limited; it's a three-year deadline, and every day I delay is one day less." Gu Ding said, standing up abruptly, brushing off imaginary dust, and walking out of the training room... (To be continued~^~)