Chapter 448 - 421: Jade Bead Restoration Complete

Chapter 448: Chapter 421: Jade Bead Restoration Complete

Deep beneath Mozhou, at the core of a Spirit Vein.

Spiritual Qi, so dense it was almost liquid, surged through the underground cavern. Li Yuan sat on a stone platform in the very center of the Spirit Vein, the Earth Vein Resonance affix from the Earth Core Crystal Root silently operating within him. In this position, his efficiency at absorbing Spiritual Power was boosted by a full thirty percent. His Golden Core spun steadily in his Dantian, devouring massive amounts of Spiritual Qi and converting it into exceptionally pure Spiritual Power.

Before him, the Profound Nether Jade Bead floated in mid-air.

The first and second stages of repair had already fully restored the Jade Bead’s shallow and middle layers. Now, only a few critical cavities remained in its deepest core.

Li Yuan took out a portion of Homogeneous Crystal Stone remnants, ground into an extremely fine powder, and mixed in the last of his Netherworld Moss after mashing it. The unique frequency of the Netherworld Moss, attuned to the Profound Nether Sect’s system, was the only key to opening the barrier to the Jade Bead’s deeper layers.

The mixture formed a dark gray slurry. Using his refined Golden Core Stage Divine Sense as a guide, Li Yuan infused the slurry with the abundant energy from the Spirit Vein, guiding it to slowly seep into the surface of the Jade Bead.

As Spiritual Power was continuously infused, the slurry moved like a living thing, following the already repaired mid-layer circuits downward until it precisely reached the largest cavity near the bead’s core.

The cavity’s interior still contained the chaotic aura from the array’s overload centuries ago. Li Yuan showed no impatience, using the homogeneous Spiritual Mechanism to gradually consume and neutralize this chaotic aura before filling the space with the dark gray mending medium.

The supply of Spiritual Power from the Earth Vein Resonance was astounding. Even though this deep-level repair consumed Spiritual Power like a water pump, his True Essence showed no signs of depletion.

Time passed in silence.

The largest cavity in the deep layer began to close at a rate visible to the naked eye. Catalyzed by the energy of the Spirit Vein, the mending medium rapidly solidified, fusing perfectly with the Jade Bead’s original material.

The instant the final fissure was filled, a crisp hum echoed through the stone chamber.

The last few broken circuits near the bead’s core were finally reconnected. The entire Jade Bead shuddered violently. The fine cracks that had covered its surface vanished in an instant, melting away from bottom to top as if erased by some unseen force.

Its milky-white luster re-emerged, radiant and translucent.

Li Yuan extended his Divine Sense into it and clearly saw that the twelve main circuits and thirty-six branch lines within were now completely connected, like perfectly functioning blood vessels in a human body. A vast amount of Spiritual Power surged through the circuits, achieving a fully independent, self-sustaining loop.

The Jade Bead was fully repaired.

The instant the loop closed, an ancient seal deep within the bead’s core came undone.

The final set of sealed information, like a torrent from a burst dam, surged along his probing Divine Sense and crashed into his sea of consciousness.

The volume of information was immense. If not for the fortitude of his Golden Core Stage Spiritual Barrier, the impact would have been enough to give an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator a splitting headache. Li Yuan steadied his mind, took in the entire payload, and imprinted the information within him.

The core content consisted of two items.

The first was a complete and detailed map of the Sunken Abyss Crypt’s outer hall.

This was no incomplete sketch like the previous ones, but a panoramic architectural diagram of stunning precision. It clearly marked all the halls, passages, and hidden side-chambers of the outer hall. More importantly, the sealed areas, which were filled with Tier Three Top Grade Restrictions and Killing Arrays, were all marked on the map with extremely conspicuous Array Pattern symbols.

The second item was the method for opening the inner hall.

It was unexpectedly simple, yet demanding to the extreme.

It was different from opening the outer hall.

There was no need for a specific Array key or a complex sacrificial ritual. Opening the inner hall required only one condition to be met: two Late-stage Golden Core cultivators had to simultaneously infuse their Spiritual Power into the Array Hub of the inner hall’s stone gate.

The demanding part lay in the nature of the two cultivators’ power.

One had to be a pure Spirit Cultivator who practiced a righteous Cultivation Technique, possessing only the purest Spiritual Power.

The other had to be a pure Demon Cultivator who practiced a Demon Sect technique, possessing only the purest Demonic Qi.

One of spirit, one of demon. The moment their powers converged, the resulting clash would break the inner hall’s final seal.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and slowly let out a long breath.

With the Jade Bead fully repaired, its complete properties as a High-Tier Magical Artifact were finally unlocked. He reached out, his fingertip touching the milky-white surface of the bead.

A panel appeared before his eyes right on cue.

[Equippable Item Detected: Profound Nether Jade Bead (Complete)]

[Equipment Affix Preview: Break-Rank Tempering (Purple). Effect: Consume a grade of your Golden Core Nascent Soul to advance one minor realm within your current major realm. Each use lowers your Golden Core Nascent Soul grade by one. After the first use, the Golden Core Nascent Soul grade can be re-condensed and restored, and the upper limit of your essence, qi, and spirit will increase by ten percent.]

[Permanent Acquisition Condition: Use Break-Rank Tempering once, or reach the Nascent Soul Stage in your Cultivation.]

A purple affix.

Li Yuan’s gaze lingered for a moment on the line of small, purple text.

The effect was incredibly powerful, but the cost was equally severe.

To trade a Golden Core Grade for a breakthrough to the next minor realm. In a life-or-death situation or when facing an insurmountable bottleneck, this affix was a heaven-defying, fate-changing ability. It could allow an Early-stage Golden Core cultivator to instantly erupt with the combat power of a Mid-stage one, or even leap across the realm boundary itself.

But each use would lower the Golden Core Grade by one. Top Grade would fall to Middle Grade, and Middle Grade to Low Grade.

A Golden Core’s Grade determined a Cultivator’s future potential and the current potency of their True Essence. A drop in grade meant a damaged foundation, something that was almost impossible to fully recover from.

And yet, this affix’s effect allowed the grade to be re-condensed after the first use.

’And since I’m planning to shatter my Core anyway, I have no need to re-condense it.’

Li Yuan assessed his current state.

His current realm was Early-stage Golden Core, and his Demon Qi Golden Core was Middle Grade. If he used Break-Rank Tempering now, he would instantly jump to Mid-stage Golden Core, but his Golden Core Grade would fall to Low Grade.

He was already more than halfway to the Mid-stage Golden Core. ’Theoretically, it would be more efficient to use it when I’m already at the Mid Stage.’

Li Yuan carefully placed the Profound Nether Jade Bead deep inside his storage bag.

Sitting on the stone platform, Li Yuan began to analyze the information he had just acquired.

The requirement for the convergence of one spirit’s and one demon’s power to open the inner hall fully revealed the underlying logic behind the Profound Nether Sect Master’s ancient path of Spirit-Demon Unity.

The entire Sunken Abyss Crypt, from the Array foundations on its periphery to the design of the inner hall’s seal, was built around the extreme philosophy of dual spirit-demon cultivation. That Sect Master of the Profound Nether Sect not only practiced this type of Cultivation Technique himself but had even engraved this philosophy into the very lifeblood of the Sect’s heritage.

This also created a starkly realistic strategic situation.

This requirement for entry all but guaranteed that no single faction could claim the Sunken Abyss Crypt for itself.

The orthodox Sects lacked pure Demon Cultivators, and the Demon Dao Sects likewise lacked pure Spirit Cultivators. As for the Abyss Sect, even if they held knowledge of the old ways, they would be hard-pressed to find one of each—a Spirit Cultivator and a Demon Cultivator—at the Late-stage Golden Core.

’But just because others can’t do it, doesn’t mean I don’t have room to maneuver.’

’I just need to shatter my Core and start over, condensing a perfect-grade Spiritual Power Golden Core.’

’Then I would have both incomparably pure Spiritual Power and exceptionally pure Demonic Qi within my body.’

’Perhaps I could open this crypt all by myself.’

Li Yuan stood up and dusted himself off.

He stepped into the Teleportation Array. Amid a faint spatial ripple, his figure vanished from deep beneath the earth.