Chu Zihang silently backed away to the edge of the clearing. The snow had long since been cleared from the ground, along with the layers of rotting leaves, moss, lichen, and other accumulated matter. An Alchemical Matrix had been inscribed on the frozen earth. Chu Zihang had studied alchemy. Alchemical Matrices generally imposed exacting requirements on their containers and contents; this was his first time seeing soil used as a medium.
But he trusted Lu Mingfei unconditionally.
When he had exchanged greetings with Ye Sheng on the way here, he had asked how Lu Mingfei was doing. Ye Sheng's answer had been laden with meaning.
"Silently recite his name and pray sincerely. He might actually hear you."
Holding the stainless steel cylinder preserved in liquid nitrogen in his bare hands, Lu Mingfei walked to the center of the Alchemical Matrix. The piled-up crates opened automatically, one after another. Precious alchemical materials converged into streams and floated in midair, each moving into its proper position before settling seamlessly into the matrix on the ground.
Chu Zihang could clearly feel a powerful domain activating. When its boundary swept over him, it felt like a spring breeze brushing his face. It was hard to imagine experiencing such vibrant vitality in the bitter cold of the far north.
The Alchemical Matrix was not the centerpiece. Lu Mingfei did not need an Alchemical Matrix to manipulate spiritual power at all. The matrix was merely there to plunder vitality more gently-in other words, to prepare food for the cocooning process.
He raised the stainless steel cylinder, leaned close, and whispered, "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. I grant that your feet shall tread the path of light, never to be devoured by the dragon's shadow."
Some change far more powerful