He hadn't expected that this kind of Demonic Artifact would contain such overwhelming resentment in just its Spiritual Resonance.
If not for the Dao-Deriving Mirror, the rush of resentment just now would probably have thrown the Spiritual Power in his body into disorder and out of control.
"Still, I didn't expect Dao Resonance so saturated with Resentment Power to accelerate the Dao-Deriving Mirror's nourishment by so much."
Bai Yi gazed at the Dao-Deriving Mirror, swaying faintly deep in his Sea of Consciousness. The surging Resentment Power had long since turned into clear, pure Spiritual Resonance.
A wondrous Enlightenment Glimmer, brimming with the mysteries of creation, revolved around it, making Bai Yi's heart leap with joy.
The eight pieces of Spirit Ore before had only brought the Dao-Deriving Mirror's nourishment of an Enlightenment Glimmer barely halfway along. He hadn't expected that just one crude, inferior First-Tier Inferior-Grade Demonic Artifact would fill the remaining half outright.
He had to remember that he still had another Hundred-Ghost Banner in his hands, one whose materials and grade both far surpassed the Bone-Eroding Token.
If a single Bone-Eroding Token could do this, could the Hundred-Ghost Banner nourish another Enlightenment Glimmer?
Bai Yi formed a seal with his left hand. His Divine Sense and Spiritual Power formed a thin barrier to protect his Acupoints and Meridians. He'd had enough of taking that kind of hidden hit once.
He reached down and picked up the Hundred-Ghost Banner, split into two pieces on the ground, then connected with the Dao-Deriving Mirror and sent a condensed Qi Vibration into the banner.
The instant the Qi Vibration surged inside, the Hundred-Ghost Banner broke free of his palm. Its flag whipped wildly, and vast, filthy Yin Qi and resentful thoughts turned into one blood-soaked skeleton after another, squeezing out from within and lunging at him with frenzied bites.
"Hmph!"
Bai Yi let out a low snort. The Dao-Deriving Mirror blazed with light, and the faint Spiritual Resonance of the Great Dao shone from his eyes.
With the Dao-Deriving Mirror's enhancement, Bai Yi's Spiritual Power became a radiant Spiritual Resonance that enveloped the blood-red skeletons filling the sky.
Under the radiance, every blood-red skeleton melted away bit by bit like Frost and Snow beneath a scorching sun. Countless illusory, grateful faces remained, looking toward Bai Yi before vanishing from the world.
More than an hour later, the last trace of Resentment Power and Yin Qi was transformed into Spiritual Resonance and absorbed into the Dao-Deriving Mirror.
Deep in Bai Yi's Sea of Consciousness, another wisp of Enlightenment Glimmer condensed, turning into radiance that circled the Dao-Deriving Mirror.
"It really worked?!"
Looking inward at the two wisps of Enlightenment Glimmer circling the Dao-Deriving Mirror in his Sea of Consciousness, Bai Yi clenched his fist, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
He had never expected the Resentment Power inside a Demonic Artifact to turn into a great deal of Spiritual Resonance when refined by the Dao-Deriving Mirror, greatly accelerating both the mirror's nourishment and the formation of Enlightenment Glimmers.
Although he didn't know whether any artifact containing other meanings could enhance the Dao-Deriving Mirror's refinement, or whether it had to be the Resentment Power within Demonic Artifacts,
for him now, those disciples of the Demon Sect Heretics were undoubtedly walking gift packages.
"Whether they're gifts or not doesn't matter."
"The main thing is, Evil Demons and Outer Dao-everyone has a right to put them to death!"
Bai Yi silently repeated the words to himself, his gaze settling on the two Enlightenment Glimmers once more.
His original plan had only been to nourish one Enlightenment Glimmer. Now he'd gained an unexpected bonus.
He used his Personal Terminal to set the Cultivation Room's status to Seclusion, then slowly closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness, approaching one of the Enlightenment Glimmers.
Feeling its radiance, Bai Yi began circulating the Minor Five Elements Art without a second thought.
After the Little Breeze Sword Art reached Dao Resonance Perfection, the greatest gap between him and the geniuses raised from childhood by Lineages and corporations was their cultivation.
The Minor Five Elements Art, a basic cultivation method that the Immortal Alliance had spent tens of thousands of years refining, was what gave him confidence that he could close that gap.
As Bai Yi's consciousness was gradually enveloped by the Enlightenment Glimmer, familiar white mist rose once more, spreading like a celestial realm.
At the center of the mist, the Dao-Deriving Mirror rose slowly, an ancient, austere aura spreading through the white fog.
Under the mirror's radiance, wisps of white smoke gathered from every direction, taking shape at the center of the celestial realm as a blurry, transparent figure.
Within the world of his Sea of Consciousness, a voice echoed like the tolling of a dusk drum and a morning bell, then lingered and circled like the chanting of the Great Dao.
"Heaven and Earth, Five Elements, give birth to and illuminate the world, nurture all things, keep the Dao within the heart. There is no worry over abundance or scarcity; let the heart remain clear and bright..."
"Gold, sharp by nature, yet nothing remains... The waters of Kui Water nourish and moisten the formless..."
The Daoic Sound drifted beside Bai Yi's ears. The world seemed to grow solemn in that instant. As his thoughts sank into Chaos, he opened his eyes once more, his whole body already covered by boundless white radiance from the mirror.
Clouds and mist swirled around him, lending everything a serene and peaceful feeling.
Holding the embryo and containing the pearl, his blurry, translucent body glowed with luminous Spiritual Power that flowed of its own accord through the twelve Meridians.
One breath in, one breath out; one swallow, one release.
Spiritual Power circulated through the Meridians in a great cycle. Clear Qi rose into the Sea of Marrow to gather the spirit, while Turbid Qi descended to the Kidney Palace to gather water.
Spiritual Power flowed unpredictably through his Acupoints: sharp one moment, scorching the next, then surging with vitality. It took on the first outlines of the Five Elements and gathered into the first Qi Vortex in his Qi Sea.
Bai Yi's eyes opened slightly, their light bright. His breathing seemed to cease, and a mouthful of Turbid Qi spilled from his body.
"So this is what the first layer of the Minor Five Elements Art feels like when it reaches perfection!"
His consciousness sank into his body and looked inward at the Qi Vortex. Even Bai Yi, who understood the power of the Enlightenment Glimmer, couldn't help but be moved.
At eight, he had advanced from the Breathing Technique to the Minor Five Elements Art. A year later, he formed his first Qi Vortex, and it had remained with him ever since.
For nearly ten years, he had painstakingly cultivated the Minor Five Elements Art day and night. He'd never expected that even the first layer, which he'd thought perfect, was full of flaws.
Under the Enlightenment Glimmer's insights, the first layer of the Minor Five Elements Art alone improved by nearly ten percent compared to before.
His consciousness sank deeper once more. After a long while, accompanied by a surging feeling of Chaos, a second Qi Vortex formed in the Minor Five Elements Art.
Time passed.
When his Meridians and Acupoints were fully connected and his breath flowed with ease, a third Qi Vortex formed once more in his misty Qi Sea.
The third realm of the Minor Five Elements Art...
Without much disturbance, Bai Yi sank into the experience. Inside his blurry, translucent body, a sea of clouds formed from his Acupoints came into view. The Five Elements Qi Vortices circulated and gathered Qi, while the twelve Meridians, drawn along by the vortices, worked desperately to draw in and circulate Qi Sensation like a drowning person gasping for breath.
Qi Sensation moved of its own accord, and a fourth Qi Vortex appeared.
The sea of clouds surged once more. The Qi Vortex split apart to take the place of his four limbs, and vast Spiritual Power, like a surging river, rushed through his Meridians and straight into the brain at the Sea of Marrow.
His Sea of Consciousness opened up, the Five Elements gathered, and a fifth Qi Vortex condensed.
The Minor Five Elements Art reached perfection.
The mist in his Sea of Consciousness dispersed.
Inside the Cultivation Room, Bai Yi's eyelids trembled. His eyes gradually opened as his consciousness slowly awoke from its enlightenment.
The Minor Five Elements Art at perfection circulated instinctively. In his Qi Sea and Dantian, five Qi Vortices breathed in and out like black holes, refining the Spiritual Qi around them into Spiritual Power that flowed into his Meridians.
"So this is the Minor Five Elements Art at the fifth layer?!"
Bai Yi felt the speed at which his Qi Sea and Dantian drew in and refined Spiritual Qi.
If the Minor Five Elements Art's efficiency before had been one, then now, with the art at perfection, its efficiency had increased by at least tenfold.
"My Spiritual Power also recovers much faster."
"Only one last Enlightenment Glimmer remains."
Looking at the radiance circling beside the Dao-Deriving Mirror, Bai Yi pondered for a few moments.
Unlike the Little Breeze Sword Art and the Minor Five Elements Art, which had years of foundation behind them,
neither the White Rainbow Sword Art nor the Heavy Spirit Scripture he had left could be fully comprehended with just one Enlightenment Glimmer.
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