Kaede sat cross-legged on the bed, drenched in sweat, his brows furrowed with tension. His consciousness was inside his body, reverting the Chakra he had refined back to its original components.
Body Energy and Spiritual Energy.
With a Chakra reserve now comparable to a Tailed Beast's, this was no small undertaking. It was easy enough to combine Spiritual Energy and Body Energy, but separating them was no simple matter. Only someone with a powerful soul like his would dare attempt it.
"As the Chakra is broken down, the golden Rune energy is gradually increasing. It seems I was right: refining Chakra was preventing the Rune energy from building up."
At that moment, he could clearly see beams of light shining from the three Runes, forming a triangle. The triangle drew in a ring of strange energy, transforming it into the golden power he called Rune energy. Most of it flowed into his body, while a small portion was absorbed by the five Runes, as if they were growing too.
His body felt warm, and his soul seemed to stretch. He felt as though he were slowly evolving—a sensation he had never experienced while refining Chakra.
"It seems Rune energy is more advanced after all. It benefits a living being's evolution, unlike Chakra, which is power bought at the cost of one's life and lifespan."
He could clearly feel the difference between the two.
And he had stumbled upon another pleasant surprise: the strange energy drawn in by the Runes seemed to be the legendary Natural Energy. Senjutsu Chakra was a fusion of one's own Chakra and Natural Energy. The golden Rune energy in his body, however, was created by a strange formation made from the Runes, which refined Natural Energy into power for his body.
Some of the Rune energy