The next day, the cultivation hall deep within the Inner Court was sealed off completely.
Ren sat cross-legged in the hall, his eyes closed.
Cultivating the Rinnegan Replenishing Heaven Technique proved harder than he had expected.
This secret technique did not require vast amounts of chakra, but it demanded a terrifying amount of mind-spirit power.
Every attempt to condense a split-spirit seed felt like peeling a strand of consciousness from his soul, then refining it anew with the reincarnation law.
The slightest mistake could damage the core of his spirit.
Ren did not rush for results.
He first nourished his body with the Great River Qi Refinement Method, then circulated the Heart Sea Spirit Refinement Art, strengthening his spirit little by little.
When he circulated the fifth level of the Heart Sea Spirit Refinement Art, his sea of consciousness resembled a boundless ocean.
Layer after layer of spiritual ripples spread outward.
Yet once the Rinnegan Replenishing Heaven Technique truly activated, that sea of consciousness was still rapidly drained.
On his first attempt, he expended more than half his spiritual power before the split-spirit seed could take shape.
On his second, the seed formed an outline, only to collapse under the scouring force of the reincarnation law.
The third attempt.
The fourth.
Time slipped by.
Half a year later.
Ren's face was slightly pale, and fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
His hands formed the final seal.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, a transparent seed slowly condensed.
The seed was no larger than a grain of rice, yet it contained a complete strand of split-spirit will.
It carried fragments of Ren's memories, his cultivation foundation, and a portion of his spiritual core.
"It worked."
Ren slowly opened his eyes.
The next moment, the Rinnegan Replenishing Heaven Technique went into