Xie Zhaolin held her breath, baleful qi twining gently around the dark-silver crystal as she carefully lifted it from the spring's eye.
The moment the crystal left the water, the entire stone chamber dimmed. Even the air felt frozen in place. She stared at the crystal hovering above her palm, her brows knitted tight. This yinsha core, fused with the foreign bone, contained enough power to let her break through straight into mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
But reason told her she absolutely couldn't recklessly refine it all at once.
From the passage outside came faint sounds of restless wailing. The yin souls were uneasy.
They didn't dare charge inside only because they feared the aura radiating from the bone, yet it was precisely this mutated yinsha core that had lured them here. If the core's aura suddenly vanished, then even if the bone itself stayed intact, the yin souls would riot immediately, flooding into this space like a tidal wave!
She drew a deep breath and pulled a snow-white jade blade from her storage ring. The blade was thin as a cicada's wing, its edge glinting with faint cold light—this was the Coldjade Blade, made for cutting through spiritual items.
She set the crystal on a flat slab of rock, pressing the Coldjade Blade lightly against its surface.
The instant the edge touched, the crystal quivered violently. Xie Zhaolin instantly activated the Xuanyin Foundation Technique, sending a stream of baleful qi from her palm to lock it in place. At the same time her left hand formed a seal, laying a barrier to block any energy ripples from leaking out.
Narrowing her eyes, she carefully observed the energy flowing across the crystal's surface.
"So that's how it is…" she muttered.
The energy patterns inside slowly revealed themselves to her, like countless silver streams winding through the dark stone. She twisted her wrist and guided the Coldjade Blade along those paths, cutting with meticulous precision. Sparks of silver burst where the edge met crystal, releasing faint sizzling sounds.
Suddenly, a violent crash echoed from outside the passage. The yin souls had sensed the core's change and began hammering at the barrier in a frenzy.
Her hands never paused, but fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She had to control the force exactly right—extract enough energy for her breakthrough, while leaving behind a portion to keep the spirit spring running. Her focus tightened to a razor's edge, every fraction of a cut weighed with care.
Then came a shrill screech from outside, piercing enough to make her heart skip. The yin souls had grown even more agitated.
She didn't dare relax, splitting her focus to monitor their movements while her blade sank deeper into the crystal. When the blade cut about one-third of the way in, the unrest reached its peak. She even heard the barrier shudder under repeated impacts.
"One-third is the limit…" she thought, adjusting without hesitation.
At last, the crystal split cleanly into two—one large main piece that made up two-thirds, and a smaller fragment.
She immediately put the smaller fragment back into the spring.
The instant it touched the water, the boiling spring calmed, silver motes once again forming slowly. The yin souls' cries outside quieted as well, their fury ebbing away into silence.
"Perfect!" Xie Zhaolin let out a long breath of relief.
The balance was struck flawlessly. The smaller fragment would sustain the spring and keep the yin souls at bay, while the larger piece was enough to fuel her breakthrough.
She carefully placed the two-thirds crystal inside a specially made Coldjade Box.
The box was etched with sealing runes that locked away spiritual power. Still, when she held it, biting cold surged through, frosting her arm in an instant.
"It's time to prepare for the breakthrough."
Satisfied, she nodded, then sat cross-legged in the center of the formation, adjusting her state.
The queen bee stood guard by her side, compound eyes scanning the chamber with sharp vigilance. Xie Zhaolin swallowed several Spirit-Nurturing Pills to restore her damaged Primordial Soul.
Two days later, she slowly opened her eyes, a restrained brilliance flashing within.
After two days of breathing and adjustment, her state had reached its peak. Her meridians brimmed with baleful qi, and her sea of consciousness was once again clear and sharp. She glanced around. The three hundred worker bees had already woven a tight perimeter, and twelve Shisha spider puppets stood guard at the passage entrance and corners of the chamber.
Though these defenses meant little against yin souls, they'd at least buy her precious moments to respond.
"Let's begin…" she whispered, retrieving the Coldjade Box from her ring. Frost coated its surface, cold mist leaking from the seams and crystallizing into ice on the floor.
She drew a deep breath, condensed baleful qi at her fingertip, and lifted the lid.
Crack—
The moment the box opened, a chill swept the entire stone chamber like a raging blizzard!
The crystal fragment floated within, glowing faintly silver, waves of strange energy rippling across its surface. Frost bloomed instantly on her lashes, her breath turning into white frost in the air.
She formed seals with both hands, the Xuanyin Foundation Technique surging to its peak. Baleful qi poured from her body, spinning into a cyclone before her.
The cyclone's pull lifted the crystal fragment into its center.
"Refine!"
With a sharp command, the cyclone spun faster. Threads of silver energy drew out of the crystal, merging with her baleful qi. Gradually, a new energy formed—baleful qi tinged with flowing silver light.
Carefully, she guided it into her meridians.
The instant it entered, pain like a thousand steel needles shot through her body. Her meridians felt as if they were being torn apart. This was the price of the Xuanyin Foundation Technique. Every breakthrough demanded torment like being sliced by a thousand blades.
Yet soon, the silver energy's strange restorative power dulled the pain.
To her surprise, when she looked inward, she saw her damaged meridians knitting back together wherever the silver energy passed. Even more shocking, the silver seemed to resonate with her baleful qi, dyeing it faintly with its glow.
As the refinement continued, her dantian swelled with qi. Her calm spiritual sea began to churn, a small vortex forming at its center. This was the crux of Foundation Establishment—the birth of the spiral!
She focused entirely on maintaining balance, letting the vortex compress tighter, creating the pressure for transformation. But then, at the final moment, a sudden change erupted!
The crystal fragment flared violently, the once-docile silver energy turning savage. Her pupils shrank as the silver glow burst free, writhing like a living thing. It broke the cyclone's grip and surged straight toward her dantian in a silver torrent!