Awakening the Imprint
In the abandoned warehouse, Qin Yuan laid down layer upon layer of concealment restrictions.
Divine Power at 3,200 times Gene Level flowed around his fingertips, transforming into strands of golden thread that intertwined across the walls, floor, and ceiling to form an incomparably intricate net of laws. The net could block all outside detection. Even an expert at the True God Level would be unable to spy on what happened within it without alerting him.
Luo Feng sat cross-legged in the center of the warehouse, his eyes shut as he entered a state of deep meditation according to Qin Yuan's instructions.
Qin Yuan sat down across from him, raised his right hand, and gently pressed his index finger against the center of Luo Feng's brow.
"Next, I'll use my divine sense to guide you into the deepest part of your soul," Qin Yuan's voice sounded in Luo Feng's consciousness. "There, you'll see a sealed mass of light. That's the imprint Yuan left behind. Your task is to use your own will to touch that light and awaken it."
"Remember, this process will be extremely painful. The level of Yuan's power is far beyond what you can currently withstand. Even sealed as it is, a trace of its aura leaking out will be enough to make your soul feel as though it's being torn apart. You have to hold on. You can't pass out. If you do, the awakening will fail, and your soul will suffer serious damage."
A firm response came from Luo Feng's consciousness. "Teacher, I can hold on."
Qin Yuan nodded and closed his eyes. His divine sense, like a fine needle, carefully probed into the depths of Luo Feng's soul.
Luo Feng's soul world was a vast expanse of stars. Countless stars dotted the black sky, each representing a memory, an emotion, or an insight of his. At the center of the starry sky floated a golden sphere of light, more brilliant than all the rest. It was Luo Feng's main consciousness.
Qin Yuan's divine sense passed around the main consciousness and continued exploring deeper into the soul.
The deeper he went, the sparser the starlight became, and the surrounding space grew increasingly chaotic. Finally, at the very bottom of the soul, Qin Yuan saw the sealed mass of light.
It was a fist-sized cocoon of light, giving off a faint, hazy gray glow. Countless sealing runes of extreme complexity were engraved on its surface, each containing power far beyond the Universe Master Level. It was a level of power Qin Yuan could not comprehend at all, as though it came from the chaos before the birth of the universe.
Yuan's power.
"Do you see it?" Qin Yuan asked.
A fluctuation came from Luo Feng's consciousness. "I see it... that gray light. It gives me a strange feeling. It makes me feel incredibly close to it, but it also fills me with deep fear."
"You feel close to it because it was part of your soul to begin with. You're afraid because its level of power is far beyond your current understanding," Qin Yuan explained. "Now, touch it with your mind. Don't hesitate, and don't be afraid. Remember, you're its master, not its servant."
Luo Feng's main consciousness slowly descended until it reached the gray cocoon of light.
He hesitated for an instant, then resolutely extended a tendril of thought.
The instant he touched it-
Boom!!!
An indescribably vast power surged out of the cocoon, exploding through Luo Feng's soul world like the Big Bang!
"Argh-!"
Luo Feng let out a howl of pain, his whole body trembling violently. Blood seeped from all seven of his orifices at once, and countless fine cracks appeared across his skin, as though his entire body might shatter at any moment.
That power was too strong. Yuan was a Hunyuan Lord who stood at the very pinnacle of countless Source Worlds. Even a trace of aura leaking from an imprint he had left behind was an unbearable weight for Luo Feng, who was at Stellar Level One.
"Hold on!" Qin Yuan shouted, injecting his Divine Power into Luo Feng to help stabilize his body and soul, which were on the verge of collapse. At the same time, he took a pill radiating a pale blue glow from his system space-the Soul Protection Pill-and shoved it straight into Luo Feng's mouth.
The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth. A cool power surged into Luo Feng's mind, forming a protective membrane around his nearly collapsing soul.
Luo Feng's trembling eased slightly, but he was still in extreme pain.
The sealing runes on the gray cocoon's surface began lighting up one after another, then shattered one by one. Each time a rune broke, an even stronger surge of power poured out. Under the impact of that power, Luo Feng's soul was torn apart and reassembled, then torn apart and reassembled again.
The process continued for a full six hours.
When the final sealing rune shattered, the gray cocoon split open completely, revealing what lay inside.
It was a small, translucent gray crystal. Inside it, endless chaos seemed to churn, and countless worlds seemed to be born and die. It floated quietly in the deepest part of Luo Feng's soul, giving off a vast, ancient, and supremely exalted aura.
Yuan's Imprint had awakened successfully!
Luo Feng's body stopped trembling. The cracks in his skin healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the blood that had flowed from his seven orifices returned to his body. An entirely new power, completely different from what he had before, surged from the depths of his soul and spread throughout his body.
At that moment, his Gene Level began to climb wildly!
Ten times... fifteen times... twenty times... thirty times!
His Gene Level, originally only ten times, had soared straight to thirty times, catalyzed by the awakening of Yuan's Imprint! Although the difference between that and Qin Yuan's 3,200 times was still as vast as the gulf between heaven and earth, for Luo Feng at Stellar Level One, it was already a qualitative leap.
Luo Feng opened his eyes, gasping for breath. A hazy gray light flashed through them, vanishing in an instant.
"How do you feel?" Qin Yuan asked.
Luo Feng lowered his head to look at his hands and clenched them into fists, an expression of disbelief appearing on his face. "I... my power has increased so much. And I think I can 'see' things I couldn't see before."
"What things?"
"The laws." Luo Feng struggled to find the words. "Before, I could only vaguely sense the existence of the Law of Metal and the Law of Wood. But now, I can clearly 'see' them-golden threads are flowing through the air, and green veins are growing across the earth. Not just metal and wood, but water, fire, and earth... even time and space!"
Qin Yuan was startled. After awakening Yuan's Imprint, had Luo Feng actually gained affinity with all the laws outright? That was an ability only a True God possessed!
"Good." Qin Yuan suppressed his shock, remaining calm on the surface. "Next, I'll teach you a cultivation technique. It's called the 'Nine Tribulations Secret Manual.'"