Then, suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

A furious downpour, accompanied by howling gales, descended, instantly shrouding the 'Bo Basin in a veil of mist.

It was the dead of night, and visibility had plummeted to near zero.

The dozens of searchlights surrounding the construction site cast pale, hazy beams, but before long, all the lights flickered violently, struck by a blinding surge of electricity; the circuits were obliterated by the immense electromagnetic impact, and every electrical system on site was melted down.

Porphyrius, who moments before had been pleading for mercy, now stood energized, leading a squad of elite Roman warriors as they leaped from the heights. Powerful mental fluctuations rolled around them, gently easing their descent to the ground.

One large and three medium Roman battleships hovered above the site, their electromagnetic shields severing all contact between the construction zone and the outside world.

Following Siren’s instructions, Porphyrius impatiently arrived before the sealed cave entrance. With a few swift strikes, he cleaved a hole several meters wide through the thick lead plates, earth, and cement.

Leaving a squad of Roman warriors to guard the opening, Porphyrius plunged inside, moving with the quickness of a cat smelling blood, taking two steps for every one.

In the frigid, mist-shrouded hall, Gu Xichen had awakened.

The intense cold filling the hall was continuously integrating into his body. The clear demarcation between acupoints, meridians, and the Dantian had vanished. The vortexes in his one hundred and eight acupoints had merged into a single, massive circulation of True Qi.

The nature of this True Qi had become intensely frigid; any external cold air drawn into his body was instantly converted into pure True Qi.

This maximally condensed True Qi saturated his entire frame. With a mere thought, the flow of True Qi accelerated, immediately producing a low whistle as it rushed through his vastly widened meridians.

His blood vessels had also expanded significantly, and their resilience had reached a shocking level.

His heart, now exceptionally strong, beat slowly, but each contraction felt like the explosion of a heavy cannonball, instantly propelling a massive volume of blood into the vessels. Every beat delivered a surge of energy to every part of his body, nourishing every tissue and cell—from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, the faint cyan vessels beneath every patch of skin swelled and contracted with the pulse.

An even greater surprise came from the changes within his internal organs.

His five Zang organs had become incredibly solid, each emitting a faint light corresponding to the five elements.

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Xichen slammed his fist powerfully against the area of his liver. The heavy force penetrated deep within; the previously fragile liver merely contracted slightly, absorbing the blow—a force that would previously have caused Gu Xichen excruciating agony.

Not only had his resistance to external force increased manifold, but as the liver dissolved the kinetic energy of the punch, it also released a thread of extremely faint green mist.

This green mist gently mingled with the blood cells flowing through the liver. The blood, carrying the green mist, traveled to all parts of his body, suffusing him with a vibrant energy. Though incredibly subtle, it was tangible, bringing a sensation of coolness to Gu Xichen’s meridians and eyes, making everything before him seem sharper.

Thrilled, he surged his True Qi, vibrating his five Zang organs. He watched as dim red light continuously jetted from his heart. This faint red light also circulated through his blood vessels, causing a pleasant, tingling sensation throughout his meridians. This subtle warmth integrated into the flowing True Qi, making it slightly more agile; on his tongue, the five primary tastes suddenly burst forth.

Saliva flooded his mouth, continuously flowing down his throat into his abdomen. A gentle, warm energy naturally rose from his belly, penetrating densely up to the Zifu (Spirit Repository), instantly refreshing his spirit.

The spleen expelled a faint yellow airflow. This current mixed with the blood, circulating throughout his body, making his muscles feel light and comfortable, as if submerged in water. The slight soreness lingering from his awakening dissolved rapidly. A faint breeze seemed to swirl in his mouth, the subtle current traveling directly to the Tianling (Crown Aperture), clearing his mind.

The changes in his lungs were particularly wondrous: every alveolus exuded an extremely fine, pale white vapor. These vapors corresponded to the eighty-four thousand pores across his body, causing his body hair to flutter without wind and making his skin incredibly sensitive.

Even a speck of dust falling onto his skin was clearly registered by Gu Xichen.

In his nasal passages, a cool breeze flowed steadily; Gu Xichen could distinctly smell the aroma of the cigars, perfectly sealed in their pure silver tubes in his pocket.

Finally, the kidneys: vast plumes of black mist continuously surged forth. His bones and marrow greedily absorbed this black energy, making the skeletal structure even sturdier than steel and clearer than jade. The black mist flowed into the nerves within his ears, causing them to gently sway back and forth. Faintly, Gu Xichen felt he could hear the sound of dust settling on the ground.

"Envy!" This unprecedented symphony of novel sensations brought a profound richness to Gu Xichen’s emotions, and two streams of hot tears traced paths down his face.

The "Solidification Chapter" of the Hanyuan True Canon was successfully mastered. Not only had Gu Xichen’s True Qi cultivation and physical strength been immensely augmented, but his five primary senses had also been enhanced to a degree never before experienced.

Hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch—the five senses became unbelievably acute. With the five senses firing in unison, Gu Xichen’s emotions swelled with unprecedented excitement.

Kneeling respectfully on the ground, Gu Xichen offered a silent prayer.

"Old man, the Solidification Chapter you never mastered, I have achieved it! You rest assured accompanying Mother over there; don't worry about me!" Taking a deep breath, Gu Xichen clenched his fists tightly.

An unprecedented, raw power erupted from his arms. Every fiber of muscle exploded violently, unleashing a magnitude of strength that even terrified Gu Xichen himself.

Just by clenching his fists, the air in his palms was rapidly compressed, resulting in an audible report—an air blast! He casually threw several punches forward; without employing any True Qi, his fists directly broke the sound barrier, churning up massive white waves of air.

Even a casual strike sent his fist speed easily surpassing Mach 1! Standing up, he formed an arcane hand seal, slowly sliding it from his Dantian upward until it rested on his brow. The faint, five-colored streams of energy issuing from his five Zang organs followed the guidance of the seal, gracefully rising until they formed a thin canopy of cloud that entered his Zifu Sea of Consciousness, carefully merging with Gu Xichen’s soul origin, which had been enhanced thousands of times over.

A muffled thunderclap exploded within the Zifu. Two beams of fierce purple light suddenly shot from his eyes. His powerful soul origin began to churn rapidly, voraciously devouring the five-colored airflow drifting into the Zifu.

However, the five-colored airflow released by the Zang organs was extremely sparse and thin, utterly insufficient to satisfy the soul origin’s demand for consumption.

He remained motionless like this for over ten minutes until the five-colored airflow from the organs was entirely consumed. Only then did a small portion of the previously formless, colorless soul origin acquire a mixed tint of green, white, black, red, and yellow—the colors of the five elements.

This small colored segment of the soul origin, compared to the whole, was as insignificant as a grain of dust beside a massive mountain.