After the guard left, Dai Youheng casually tossed the exquisitely crafted invitation, imbued with imperial grandeur, into a corner of his bed, as though it were nothing more than a worthless scrap of paper.
If he had time, he might go see what Her Highness the Princess had hidden in her gourd. But when would he count as having time? That would depend on his mood and schedule.
For now, nothing mattered more than fully refining the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife and drawing out the gold of life energy within it.
He sat cross-legged on the bed again, stilled his mind, and once more circulated the Golden Vajra Evil-Repelling Body at full strength. Under the technique's influence, his body seemed to become a blazing furnace, continuously refining and devouring the stubborn, ferocious remnants of baleful energy within the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.
The process was slow and arduous, like carving the finest details into a masterpiece, and allowed not the slightest impatience.
An entire day and night passed while he remained in meditation.
Not until the morning of the third day did the ancient green carving knife finally release an exceedingly faint hum, almost like a sigh of relief. The last trace of murky malice vanished completely from its blade, replaced by a restrained, gentle blue-green luster, as though a piece of jade that had slumbered for ten thousand years had finally washed away all its worldly tarnish.
The Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife had been fully refined.
Its nature as the "Fierce Knife" had been utterly devoured by the domineering Golden Vajra Evil-Repelling Body. What remained now was the purest, most boundless gold of life energy!
Without pausing, Dai Youheng immediately guided that oceanic energy, brimming with limitless vitality, into his Sea of Consciousness.
He did not choose to create a second sea