Shi Yan held his breath, his eyes gleaming, tiny, slender arcs of electricity flickering from his pupils, shining brightly in the gloom of the stone room.
His fingers gently caressed the Blood Pattern Ring, and his consciousness sank inward, the world contained within the ring slowly unfolding in his mind.
His consciousness expanded; the Blood Pattern Ring seemed boundless, empty, and infinitely vast.
Within this strange space, there were three distinct zones: one bone-chillingly cold, one dazzlingly scorching, and one unsettlingly mysterious.
The Profound Ice Cold Flame, the Earth Core Fire, and the Fire Crystal Greatsword were segregated into three sections, bound within the peculiar spatial enclosure of the ring. The Profound Ice Cold Flame was shrouded in swirling, ashen mist, completely suppressing the emission of its frigid energy.
Shi Yan mentally summoned the Profound Ice Cold Flame, yet it remained strangely unresponsive.
However, at the location of the scorching, dazzling light cluster, a miraculous vital fluctuation gradually intensified. Having absorbed the Solar Essence's solar power, the Earth Core Fire was rapidly transforming; its soul was gradually solidifying, slowly developing autonomous awareness.
Focusing his mind on that area, his consciousness pierced through layers of obstruction. Shi Yan found that where the Earth Core Fire resided, the flames soared to the heavens, saturated with astonishing light and heat. If his own body and soul had not also been tempered by solar power, and if his consciousness hadn't carried the searing warmth of that energy, this mere probing of his divine sense might have been incinerated to ashes.
A tightly clustered point of fiery light shimmered within that sea of flames, releasing intense heat, seemingly intent on burning everything clean.
"You, you're back..."
Suddenly, a faint, nascent thought pulsed from the heart of the firelight, quietly transmitting into Shi Yan’s divine sense.
In the dim stone chamber, electricity flashed in Shi Yan’s eyes, and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
This was the Earth Core Fire transmitting a coherent thought for the first time!
This signified that its life form would truly materialize in a very short time, meaning it would soon be able to communicate with him freely, just like the Profound Ice Cold Flame!
"You... you can finally send clear thoughts. That’s good. Don't rush; continue your cultivation. I believe not long from now, we will be able to converse properly," Shi Yan murmured, a faint smile touching his lips as he gently stroked the Blood Pattern Ring, sending his thoughts outward.
"I... I will be quick. It won't take long until I am just like it..."
The Earth Core Fire's message was intermittent, like the broken utterances of a babbling infant, but Shi Yan understood its meaning.
"Good. I look forward to that day." Within the Blood Pattern Ring, the Earth Core Fire’s soul fluctuated violently amidst the towering inferno. Shi Yan’s probing divine sense discovered thin, long streams of fire condensing and intertwining within the heart of the flames, weaving together an obscure and mysterious life-force magnetic field.
These fiery strands, like the nerves of a human brain, had become the origin of the Earth Core Fire’s life.
Upon receiving Shi Yan's thought, the rapidly intertwining life-threads of the Earth Core Fire began to condense and transform at an even faster rate, in some profound and inexplicable manner.
Streams of life-fire danced within the magnetic field like living things, releasing a fiery power that made the soul tremble.
Quietly withdrawing his consciousness, Shi Yan felt a surge of contentment.
Although he couldn't connect with the Profound Ice Cold Flame, the changes in the Earth Core Fire brought him immense joy. Given its current rapid pace of evolution, it was likely that it wouldn't take long before it possessed a complete life form, evolving into a Celestial Flame akin to the Profound Ice Cold Flame.
Once this step was completed, the Earth Core Fire would truly become a Celestial Flame. Absorbing the solar power from the Solar Essence had indeed accelerated its evolution.
In the dim stone chamber, Shi Yan sat cross-legged, his breathing even, contemplating silently.
After a long while, he once again immersed his consciousness into the Blood Pattern Ring to observe the greatsword within.
The broadsword shone brilliantly like fire crystal, myriad grotesque eyes sealed shut upon its blade. Ever since entering the Blood Pattern Ring, the sword seemed to have settled all its sharpness; no special energy fluctuations emanated from it anymore. The mental assault, once capable of shredding souls, had vanished entirely.
Suspended in the Blood Pattern Ring, the greatsword appeared to have become a most ordinary massive blade. Shi Yan examined it with his divine sense for a long time but could find nothing remarkable.
His divine sense could not establish communication, and when he tried to retrieve the greatsword to examine it closely, he found no way to do so.
Although the Blood Pattern Ring was worn on his hand, even now, he could not truly fathom its secrets, nor could he issue any commands to it.
He realized that in his handling of the Blood Pattern Ring, he had always been passive, constantly being led by the nose by the ring itself.
He disliked this feeling, yet he was helpless against it.
A faint glimmer—a flicker of light—appeared in a certain corner of the Blood Pattern Ring. The light was unassuming, nowhere near the intensity of the glow emitted by the greatsword or the Earth Core Fire.
Just as he was about to withdraw his consciousness from the ring, Shi Yan sharply detected the presence of that light, sensing layers of barrier and restrictive force emanating from it.
His divine sense jolted; Shi Yan suddenly recalled that after reaching the Earth Realm, he had yet to attempt breaching the Blood Pattern Ring’s barriers again.
Within the Blood Pattern Ring lay cryptic soul memories; his berserk martial techniques and the Life-and-Death Seal had all originated from it. It seemed that whenever his internal power reached a certain threshold, he would gain some profoundly beneficial special martial technique from the ring. After a moment of contemplation, Shi Yan withdrew his consciousness from the Blood Pattern Ring. In the stone room, he quietly took out a Spirit Returning Pill, swallowed it, and began restoring his essence.
After adjusting his breath for a considerable time, until he felt his vigor, energy, and spirit reached their peak, he suddenly exerted his power.
Rushing essence surged like a broken dam, pouring madly into the Blood Pattern Ring, transforming into an indestructible beam of energy that rushed toward the powerful barrier within the ring at the fastest possible speed.
"Pfft!"
A strange sound echoed from within the Blood Pattern Ring. The barrier, whose defensive power was always precisely calibrated, suddenly shattered another layer.
A tide of memories, converged with various symbols and writings, surged out from behind the barrier, instantly flooding Shi Yan's Sea of Consciousness, becoming indelible imprints on his brain domain.
Strange symbols gathered in his mind, evolving into a peculiar cultivation technique focused on gathering negative emotions: the Five Demons of the Sea of Consciousness!
The Sea of Consciousness churned, and those peculiar symbols slowly drifted above it, causing the Sea of Consciousness to transform.
Simultaneously, Shi Yan’s body trembled slightly, and the negative emotions within all his acupuncture points began to surge out uncontrollably, converging toward the Sea of Consciousness.
The Sea of Consciousness, comprised of divine sense threads, rolled and billowed. The unique symbols from the Blood Pattern Ring began to absorb the power of the divine sense within the Sea of Consciousness to imprint upon Shi Yan’s soul awareness.
Gradually, those symbols and writings morphed into five transparent little figures, each bearing Shi Yan’s exact likeness. Each transparent figure was immersed in the Sea of Consciousness, drawing energy from it; the transparent figures slowly acquired Shi Yan’s life aura, seemingly imbued with a certain life mark.
In the dim stone chamber, Shi Yan’s eyes shone like stars. All manner of negative emotions poured out uncontrollably, flowing rapidly into the five transparent figures. Despair, fear, bloodlust, greed, and resentment—five intense emotional fluctuations—once they entered the Sea of Consciousness, separated, the five emotions parting into five streams, like long threads, each entering a different transparent figure.
Shi Yan sat there, passively enduring all of this.
After Despair, Fear, Bloodlust, Greed, and Resentment were distributed among the five figures, the appearance of these five transparent figures gradually began to change... The one saturated with the emotion of Despair slowly turned dark cyan on its face, scales began to cover its shoulders, and two more sets of arms sprouted from its armpits...
The figure flooded by the negative emotion of Fear sprouted sharp, strange horns on its forehead, and its eyes turned a peculiar silvery-white...
The figure coalesced by the power of Bloodlust had crimson eyes, a ferocious countenance, and slender fangs emerging from its corners...
The figure permeated by Greed had its legs fused together, and a tail slowly drilled out from its lower back...
The figure amassed by the power of Resentment had dark green, chillingly cold eyes, was wrapped in black lines, and its fingernails resembled sharp blades...
All kinds of negative emotions surged out uncontrollably, pouring into the Sea of Consciousness and onto the five figures within it. Following the massive influx of these negative emotions, the five figures subtly transformed, becoming increasingly bizarre, exuding an evil aura that instilled a sense of primal terror in the soul.
Shi Yan was unaware of what was happening, passively accepting it all.
Gradually, he noticed that the five figures immersed in his Sea of Consciousness, despite possessing his life aura, were becoming less and less like him. Strangely, their appearance began to slowly align with the demonic phantom images he had previously condensed using negative energy.
Shi Yan was horrified.
Demon of Despair, Demon of Fear, Demon of Bloodlust, Demon of Greed, Demon of Resentment.
As the five increasingly ferocious and evil-looking figures transformed, streams of thought resonated within his Sea of Consciousness. Those ancient characters flashed across the bodies of the five figures once more, seemingly confirming their unique identities.
Demons condensed from negative emotions!
Shi Yan’s body shuddered violently, a flash of enlightenment crossed his mind. Instantly, all the profound meanings related to the secret of the Five Demons of the Sea of Consciousness began to feed back from the five little demons, pouring back into Shi Yan’s mind, becoming a part of his memory.
In that instant, Shi Yan seemed to know everything about the five little demons, obtaining the method to command them, and understanding their precise purpose!
His eyes blazing, a faint smile played on Shi Yan’s lips as he sat there, silently sensing the spiritual imprints belonging to him upon the five little demons.
Within his acupuncture points, the flow of negative emotions had not ceased; they continued to pour rapidly into the five little demons.
Under the infusion of Despair, Fear, Bloodlust, Greed, and Resentment, the evil aura emanating from the five little demons in the Sea of Consciousness grew heavier, exerting a powerful, soul-shaking deterrence.
"Come out!" With a thought, Shi Yan called out softly.
The five little demons submerged in the Sea of Consciousness vanished in an instant. The next moment, floating behind Shi Yan, were five phantom images of demons, each ten meters high—these were the Great Demons of Despair, Fear, Bloodlust, Greed, and Resentment from his Sea of Consciousness.
PS: Only one chapter today, I’m ashamed. A brother came to visit on such a hot day, nearly killing me. I’ll make up for it tomorrow.