Artifact Resonance

The instant the Companion Jade Pendant resonated with the Spirit Devouring Vortex formed by the Spirit Devouring Art, Shen Hao felt the heaven and earth spiritual energy around him being drawn by an invisible giant hand, turning into pale white streams visible to the naked eye as they rushed toward every limb and bone in his body.

A Low-grade Spirit Stone that had originally required half an hour to completely devour was, under the enhancement of Artifact Resonance, transformed in no more than the time it took to burn an incense stick into wisps of incomparably pure spiritual energy, flowing through his meridians and into his Sea of Qi. What delighted Shen Hao even more was that this spiritual energy was three parts denser than when he had relied solely on the jade pendant to devour it before. It was as gentle as Jade Nectar, nourishing his somewhat fragile meridians.

Shen Hao held his breath and focused his mind, examining his dantian internally. Within his Sea of Qi, the fledgling lake of spiritual energy churned without rest. At the center of his dantian, the Spirit Devouring Vortex was like a tireless bottomless pit, madly drawing in the spiritual energy of the outside world. At the vortex's edge, the Companion Jade Pendant floated above it, its azure light shifting endlessly as it purified every bit of mixed spiritual energy drawn in by the vortex before sending it into the Sea of Qi. One devoured, one refined; the cycle repeated, and his cultivation efficiency soared by geometric multiples.

I never expected Artifact Resonance to have such a heaven-defying effect! Shen Hao was ecstatic, nearly unable to stop himself from laughing aloud. Yet he suddenly bit the tip of his tongue, forcibly suppressing that excitement.

He knew all too well how precious these two things were. If the devouring ability of the Spirit Devouring Art were exposed, the sect would surely regard it as heretical, drawing countless covetous eyes and accusations. The secret of the Companion Jade Pendant was even more the foundation of his survival; he absolutely could not let anyone learn of it. Shen Hao hurriedly calmed his mind and reduced his awareness of the outside world to its lowest point. The spiritual energy attraction around him also became subtle, as though he were merely an ordinary disciple quietly practicing breath cultivation. Only then did he throw himself wholeheartedly into cultivation.

Days slipped by amid silent, grueling cultivation, and Shen Hao's cultivation advanced as if he had mounted a rocket, covering a thousand miles in a day. The bottleneck that had originally held him at Early Qi Refining Third Layer was effortlessly broken through under the nourishment of the vast spiritual energy brought by Artifact Resonance. In only twenty days, his cultivation had firmly entered Mid Stage Qi Refining Third Layer. His lake of spiritual energy grew ever fuller, faintly showing signs of touching the barrier of the later stage.

That day, Shen Hao was immersed in the mysterious realm of cultivation when the Spirit Devouring Vortex in his dantian suddenly shuddered without warning. Its rotation abruptly slowed, even showing faint signs of coming to a standstill. At the same time, the azure light of the Companion Jade Pendant dimmed somewhat, no longer flowing with its previous agility.

"Hm?" Shen Hao's heart tightened. He immediately opened his eyes and examined his dantian again. The Spirit Devouring Vortex was still turning with difficulty, but every time it drew in spiritual energy, it carried a sense of sluggish obstruction. Fine, prickling pain also ran through his meridians, as though countless tiny needles were lightly piercing them.

"How could this be?" Shen Hao frowned deeply and carefully inspected every meridian in his body. A moment later, he finally found the crux of the problem—Artifact Resonance had made his cultivation speed too fast over the past several days. Though the torrents of spiritual energy had gradually widened his meridians, they were still far too fragile to withstand the enormous pressure of both operating at once.

"It seems cultivating the Spirit Devouring Art is not simply a matter of raising my cultivation. Tempering the meridians is the top priority." Shen Hao muttered to himself, a trace of helplessness rising in his heart. He took out a cloth bundle from his robes, carefully removed several stalks of Qi Condensing Grass, crushed one, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The spiritual energy within the Qi Condensing Grass was gentle and rich. Once it entered his stomach, it became a warm current that slowly flowed through his limbs and bones, instantly easing the stinging pain in his meridians. But Shen Hao knew perfectly well that this was merely a stopgap measure, treating the symptoms but not the root cause. To solve the problem at its source, he had to find Spiritual Medicine specifically capable of tempering meridians, or a cultivation technique that could refine them.

Shen Hao's gaze gradually became firm, and a destination surfaced in his mind—the sect's Scripture Repository. It held countless cultivation techniques and classics collected by the Ziyang Sect since its founding. From profound immortal cultivation arts to basic body-tempering methods, it had everything one could need. Perhaps he could find a way to temper his meridians there.

"That's right, the Scripture Repository!" Shen Hao made up his mind and hesitated no longer. He stood, dusted off his clothes, tucked the Companion Jade Pendant close against his body, then checked the Storage Pouch at his waist once more. After confirming that he had left nothing behind, he pushed open the door and strode toward the ancient, solemn Scripture Repository deep within the sect.

It was early morning. The rising sun pierced through the clouds, casting ten thousand rays of golden light and gilding the upturned eaves of the Scripture Repository in dazzling gold. From afar, it resembled an Immortal Palace. Shen Hao looked at that towering structure, his steps growing ever steadier. He knew that with this step, perhaps a brand-new door would open upon his path of immortal cultivation.