Source Essence? Spiritual Enlightenment Qi?

The next three days passed in a tense yet orderly atmosphere at the camp.

Under Captain Rex's command, the engineering team worked tirelessly to stabilize the space passage, with the "Hermes" space anchor generator humming day and night.

The patrol, dressed in rugged clothing camouflaged with some "strange" accessories, patrolled the perimeter of the camp, wary of possible reconnaissance from the direction of the natives.

Zhou Yuxuan also regularly sent back Dynamic from Red Iron City, mainly concerning the various speculations and growing unease caused by the disappearance of the strange creatures.

Everyone knows that a crucial moment, the "Blood Sun," is approaching.

On the third day, just before the "night" was about to end.

All non-essential outdoor activities within the camp have been suspended.

Most of the team members remained in the reinforced barracks or functional modular units, observing the changes in the outside world through surveillance cameras scattered throughout the camp.

Inside the Command Center, core members including Lin Yi, Chen Yu, Andre, Elizabeth were all intently watching the real-time images transmitted back by high-precision observation equipment on the main screen.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the oppressive darkness in the sky soon began to fade slowly, as if the color were being washed away.

However, instead of the expected brightness, a gradually deepening dark red hue appeared.

It was as if an invisible paintbrush was smearing diluted blood across the sky.

The energy particles in the air seemed to become restless, and the monitoring equipment detected that the energy radiation readings in the environment were slowly but steadily rising. A strange sense of oppression could be faintly transmitted even through the thick bulkheads and energy shields.

"The energy radiation level has increased by 15% and continues to climb, with a growing tendency towards chaos and corrosive properties," Xuanji calmly reported the data.

Finally, when the last trace of leaden gray was completely swallowed up, and the entire sky turned into that chilling dark red, the "sun" hanging in the sky seemed to be injected with life, and its core suddenly lit up.

Immediately, the color of the entire "daylight" changed abruptly, turning into a dark red like congealed blood.

Blood Sun hangs high in the sky!

Crimson light instantly bathed the earth, and the entire Pale Forbidden Land seemed to be submerged in a sea of blood.

The rocks, the twisted dead trees, the dried-up riverbed—everything was shrouded in an ominous red veil.

The light seemed to have a viscous texture, and when it shone on you, even through the monitor screen, it gave you the illusion that you were being watched by something unclean.

"Is this the Blood Sun?"

Chen Yu stared at the screen, unconsciously clenching his fist. Under the red light, the fire element within him seemed to stir slightly, as if some violent emotion had been ignited.

Elizabeth felt a chill, not from a drop in temperature, but from a deep, soul-piercing cold and filth. The ice-based rules around her operated autonomously, seemingly resisting this invisible erosion.

Lin Yi, sitting upright in the command chair, maintained an unchanged expression, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Because Lin Yi discovered that with the appearance of the Blood Sun, the Purple Mist Space deep within his Soul Origin, which had always been flowing on its own, became more active than ever before.

The purple mist, which had been slowly swirling like a nebula, suddenly accelerated its rotation.

Lin Yi immediately closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on his body, carefully sensing the changes in the Purple Mist Space.

"This"

In his perception, the rate at which Spiritual Enlightenment Qi was generated within the Purple Mist Space was twice as fast as before!

Double!

This number made Lin Yi's heart skip a beat.

The accumulation of Spiritual Enlightenment Qi is extremely difficult; one strand every day, for so many years, has never changed.

But now, under the illumination of this "Blood Sun," the generation speed can actually double out of thin air?

"Is it because of the light of this Blood Sun? Or is it because of some special energy or rule contained within this light that happens to be the resource needed by the Purple Mist Space, or rather, the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi?"

Lin Yi's mind raced.

However, just as Lin Yi was immersed in this unexpected discovery and pondering whether he should simply try to guide and absorb the Blood Sun energy, Captain Rex's slightly hurried voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Commander Lin Yi! Commander Lin Yi!"

Lin Yi looked up.

The Star Realm Army engineer, known for his calm and rigid demeanor, rushed in with an incredulous expression, even forgetting basic etiquette.

Lin Yi noticed that Rex was tightly gripping a device about the size of his palm.

The device was emitting a low, continuous "beep" sound, which sounded particularly jarring in the relatively quiet command room.

"Captain Rex, what happened?"

Lin Yi suppressed the turmoil in his heart, looked at Rex, and his gaze immediately fell on the device in Lei Ke's hand that was constantly alarming.

He recognized it; it was part of the multi-functional environmental monitoring system standard equipment for the engineering team, mainly used to detect spatial stability, energy flow anomalies, and so on.

Captain Rex rushed to Lin Yi, showing him the screen of the testing device in his hand. His voice was even slightly distorted with excitement. "Commander! Look, the Source Essence testing module, it's beeping! The reading is still rising!"

Source Essence!

Lin Yi was startled and immediately focused his attention.

On the small screen, an icon that was usually grayed out and inactive was now flashing a blinding golden light. Below the icon, a line of clear text read, "[Source Essence Reaction Confirmed]".

There was also a constantly fluctuating reading next to it.

Although faint, it definitely exists!

There was actually Source Essence reaction.

Lin Yi was momentarily stunned.

He was just astonished by the accelerated generation of Spiritual Enlightenment Qi when, a second later, he heard this term, which concerned the rise and fall of a race, being detected in this newly arrived secret realm?

Blood Sun hangs high in the sky, purple mist swirls, spiritual enlightenment accelerates, and Source Essence is detected. Is all of this merely a coincidence?

wrong

Lin Yi suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning, piercing through the walls of the Command Center, as if trying to stare directly at the ominous and mad aura hanging high in the sky.

Blood Sun!

Inside the Command Center, the air seemed to freeze.

The detector in Captain Rex's hand, constantly beeping, displayed the words "[Source Essence Reaction Confirmed]" flashing on its screen. It was like a bright light, suddenly illuminating countless mysteries, but also bringing a deeper fog of confusion.

Lin Yi stared at the fluctuating readings, his thoughts churning.

Source Essence is a strategic resource that even Eternal Divinity regard as a treasure, concerning the rise and fall of a race.

Of the countless secret realms in the universe, perhaps only one in a thousand can give birth to Source Essence.

And they actually encountered it?

Furthermore, this Source Essence sensor, which hadn't sounded earlier or later, suddenly issued an alarm at the very moment the Blood Sun appeared.

Moreover, the Purple Mist Space has also become more active.

This is no coincidence!

A strong desire to explore arose in Lin Yi's heart.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately organize a search party for the Source Essence; it was precisely at times like these that he needed to remain calm.

The existence of the Source Essence signifies an immense opportunity, but it also shrouds this secret realm in mystery, and the risks involved cannot be accurately predicted at this time.

After a moment of silence, Lin Yi slowly asked,

"Captain Rex, is there any way to confirm the approximate direction and distance of the signal source?"

Inspired by Lin Yi, Rex took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then answered while operating the testing device:

"No, we only have the most basic multi-functional Detector with very weak targeted sensing capabilities. Once a signal is detected, a specialist will come to handle it after the two-way communication is established."

"However, spectral analysis shows that the signal from this Source Essence is extremely weak and highly diffuse, as if there are extremely sparse Source Essence reactions all around us, making it difficult to pinpoint the specific source. It seems more like a kind of ambient background radiation? But the instrument did capture its characteristic fluctuations."

Environmental background radiation?

Lin Yi's heart stirred slightly.

Given the appearance of the Blood Sun, does it mean that the Source Essence might be permeated within the "Blood Sun's " light throughout the entire world?

Or perhaps the "Blood Sun" triggered the underlying rules of this secret realm, causing it to reveal its Source Essence nature?

This conjecture is astonishing.

Lin Yi decided to verify it.

"Closely monitor the readings and record all data. No one may leave the camp area without my order."

Lin Yi gave instructions to Rex, then turned his gaze to the main screen, looking at the Blood Sun that had dyed the world crimson.

He pondered for a moment, then made a bold decision.

He needed to experience the light of the Blood Sun firsthand, especially given the unusually active state of the Purple Mist Space.

"Xuanji, temporarily open the sunshade above my location to create a tiny passage. I need to be exposed to a sliver of the Blood Sun sunlight."

"Master, this is too dangerous. According to the information Zhou Yuxuan transmitted, the Blood Sun Light contains extremely strong and frenzied corrosive properties."

Xuanji immediately issued a warning.

"It's alright. I will strictly control the amount of contact. Judging from the information Zhou Yuxuan sent back, this Blood Sun sunlight won't go berserk upon first contact. Only prolonged exposure will produce adverse effects. With my soul strength and control over the rules, I can handle it."

Lin Yi spoke calmly, after all, this was just a clone; if things got really bad, he could just explode it.

The command was executed quickly.

A small sunshade panel on the top of the Command Center automatically moved aside, revealing a tiny, blood-red ray of light that landed precisely on Lin Yi's outstretched fingertip.

The instant that sliver of blood touched the skin.

Lin Yi felt an indescribable restlessness instantly spread along his fingertips.

It was as if countless tiny evil thoughts were trying to crawl into his body, disturb his soul, and stir up various negative emotions such as violence and anger hidden deep within him.

This feeling wasn't strong; he could easily suppress it with his will. But its very existence confirmed the accuracy of Zhou Yuxuan's intelligence.

This Blood Sun sunlight truly contains the power to erode the spirit.

But that's not the point.

The key point is that, almost at the same time, the Purple Mist Space deep within his Soul Origin reacted even more violently.

The purple mist, which had been merely spinning rapidly, now seemed to boil over, displaying an unprecedented greed for the invading Blood Sun energy.

The purple mist swept upwards, enveloping, devouring, and decomposing the blood-red light that carried chaotic and corrosive properties. The entire process was as fast as lightning.

Lin Yi clearly sensed that the moment the purple mist devoured the wisp of Blood Sun energy, the generation speed of Spiritual Enlightenment Qi actually increased slightly but definitely by another small amount, on top of the already doubled speed.

"Just as I thought!"

Lin Yi then immediately removed his finger, allowing Xuanji to restore the sunshade.

Lin Yi sat back down, lost in thought.

This Blood Sun- red sunlight, a deadly poison and a catalyst for madness to ordinary beings, was, for him, or rather, for the Purple Mist Space within his Soul Origin, like a tonic?

It can significantly accelerate the generation of Spiritual Enlightenment Qi!

The Source Essence detector alarmed when the Blood Sun appeared.

A bold conjecture immediately popped into Lin Yi's mind:

Is this Spiritual Enlightenment Qi also related to the Source Essence?

Could it be that my greatest reliance since my rebirth is this mysterious and unpredictable "Spiritual Enlightenment Qi"?

Could it be that its essence is actually some form of "Source Essence"?

Or is it higher-dimensional energy that is homologous to the Source Essence?

This idea is horrifying.

Source Essence —that's a treasure that's crucial for Eternal Divinity to ascend to the Source Law Lord!

If the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi is the Source Essence, or Source Essence close to it, then what is the Purple Mist Space within the Soul Origin?

A Source Essence generator?

In an instant, countless questions welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Lin Yi forced himself to calm down.

Conjecture requires evidence.

He pondered for a while and thought of the core resource for cultivation of the natives of this world that Zhou Yuxuan had mentioned in his intelligence report— Blood Crystal Coin.

According to descriptions in materials such as the "Gazetteer of Heng Kingdom," Blood Crystal Coin are initially processed from a type of open-pit crystal mine. After their energy is absorbed by cultivators, they will fade and become "worthless coins."

These discarded coins will be collected by the authorities and placed in an open-air "coin field." After being exposed to the "Blood Sun" year after year for a long time, they will absorb energy and be transformed back into Blood Crystal Coin containing energy.

This process is very intriguing.

After the energy is absorbed, it needs to be replenished by "Blood Sun"?

And the replenishment time is extremely long?

Furthermore, the humans here, including those at the Star Core level, generally have shorter lifespans, with Star Core level beings living only a little over two hundred years, far shorter than their counterparts in the Main Universe. This is likely related to the "crazy" nature of the energy they absorb, as well as the Blood Crystal Coin themselves.

"Xuanji, contact Zhou Yuxuan and ask him to find a way to send back a batch of Blood Crystal Coin as soon as possible, including unused ones and 'waste coins' that have run out of energy. I need to study them." Lin Yi immediately issued the new order.

He had a premonition that these Blood Crystal Coin might contain the key clues connecting Spiritual Enlightenment Qi, Source Essence, and the rules of this secret realm world.

Upon receiving Lin Yi's order, Zhou Yuxuan, who was in Red Iron City, immediately took action.

He used the Blood Crystal Coin he had to exchange for some worthless currency through the innkeeper.

Then, to avoid attracting attention, he sent out Li Wei, the most astute scout in the squad, to quietly leave Red Iron City at the tail end of "night." With his Star Core level speed and stealth skills, he avoided potential eyes and rushed to the camp at full speed.

The next day, shortly after the daylight returned to the earth, Li Wei had already returned to the camp safely and handed a heavy leather bag to Lin Yi.

The pocket feels warm and slightly heavy to the touch.

Lin Yi opened his pocket, which contained dozens of rhomboid crystals, most of which were dark red with a restrained luster, resembling congealed blood. These were Blood Crystal Coin, brimming with energy.

A small portion is grayish-white and dull; these are the worthless coins after their energy has been depleted.

Lin Yi picked up a dark red Blood Crystal Coin and placed it in his palm.

The touch from his fingertips was slightly cool. He did not directly absorb the energy within, but instead slowly closed his eyes and probed it with an extremely subtle Soul Power, carefully sensing its internal structure and energy properties.

In an instant, a surge of energy, mixed with restlessness and chaos, rushed towards us.

This is similar to the feeling of directly contacting the light of the Blood Sun, but it seems to be constrained by the crystal structure, making it much more peaceful and controllable.

However, its inherent "crazy" nature remains unchanged.

"No wonder cultivators in this world don't live long. Absorbing this kind of energy for a long time is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst. Their souls are constantly being eroded. Living for more than two hundred years is probably only due to their tenacious will and some unknown method of balancing."

Lin Yi thought to himself.

He didn't dwell on this apparent chaotic energy for too long. Instead, he used his Soul Power to carefully peel away the restless outer layers of energy, attempting to delve into its core energy source.

This requires very precise operation, but it is not difficult for Lin Yi.

After about twenty minutes, he peeled away the outer layer of energy, as if he were peeling an onion.

However, just as Lin Yi's senses touched that core glimmer of light, his body jolted violently, and his eyes snapped open.

He sensed it!

Deep within that chaotic energy core, there lies a trace of extremely faint and obscure energy, yet it is of the same origin as the "Spiritual Enlightenment Qi" in the Soul Origin.

Although this trace of energy was so faint that it might be less than one ten-thousandth of a complete Spiritual Enlightenment Qi.

Moreover, it was tightly wrapped and polluted by countless chaotic and negative energy impurities, making it appear messy and indistinct, but the charm it exuded was something that Lin Yi could not mistake.

"Just as I thought."

Lin Yi let out a long breath.

After repeated confirmation, he carefully examined the core of the Blood Crystal Coin with his Soul Power.

That's right!

Although faint and mixed, and with subtle differences, it was indeed the same energy quality as the "Spiritual Enlightenment Qi" generated in his Purple Mist Space.

He then immediately picked up a "waste coin" that had run out of energy and began to sense it.

Sure enough, the inside of this worthless coin was empty. Not only had the chaotic energy disappeared, but even the trace of aura that shared the same origin as the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi had vanished.