Sensing the growing potency of the Thousand-Threaded Spirit Root before him, Lin Tian wasted no time. Without hesitation, he immersed the Spirit Gun into the Pillfire.
As the gun entered the fire, the spiritual essence immediately began to entwine around it. Witnessing this, Lin Tian's eyes widened in astonishment. He had not anticipated that the process would progress so smoothly.
Yet, in the next instant, the essence quivered violently, then shattered explosively. Lin Tian stared in stunned disbelief. Clearly, successfully imbuing an artifact was far more difficult than he had imagined.
At that moment, a realization struck him: when the Mortal Cannon had been imbued, it had absorbed the residual spiritual fluid within. Could it be that the fluid strengthened the connection between essence and artifact, enhancing the likelihood of a successful imbue?
With this in mind, Lin Tian selected another Thousand-Threaded Spirit Root. Extracting its essence, he poured it into a small jade vial, opening the cap to release a dense surge of spiritual energy.
The surrounding energy drew the essence out, which gravitated irresistibly toward the concentrated spiritual field. A visible pull emerged, and the fluid within the vial rapidly diminished, disappearing entirely within moments. Lin Tian, eager and meticulous, immediately prepared the next vial.
One by one, he fed the vials' spiritual fluid into the apparatus, and he could distinctly feel the essence before him strengthening with each infusion.
"Well, let's see just how far you can grow," Lin Tian murmured, producing every remaining vial at once. Simultaneously, he activated the Spirit Purification Device.
As his artifact refinement skills improved, the device's capacity and the concentration of the fluid intensified. The essence, fully absorbed into the apparatus, began to surge with energy, gradually forming the outline of what resembled a fetal shape.
"Could it be… forming a shape?" Lin Tian's eyes widened. He had never witnessed such a phenomenon in the library. Helpless but curious, he continued feeding in his remaining spiritual stones, determined to see the essence's final form.
For two entire days, Lin Tian devoted himself entirely to the purification process. The essence gradually took on a more distinct form, even beginning to resemble him in subtle ways. Finally, as the last of the spiritual stones' energy was consumed, the device powered down.
"Is that all?" a dissatisfied voice suddenly rang out.
Lin Tian turned, utterly dumbfounded, to see the essence before him now capable of human speech.
"You can speak?" he exclaimed, stunned.
"And what did you expect?" the essence replied disdainfully, as if looking upon a naive rustic.
"Spirit energy… I need spirit energy!" it demanded, pouting like a spoiled child.
"All my spiritual stones are gone. There's no pure energy left," Lin Tian replied, exasperated. He had spent over two days cultivating this insatiable little being, only to have it demand more.
"I want spirit energy!" The essence planted its tiny fists on its hips, stamping its 'feet' indignantly.
"Did I nurture you just so you could talk back?" Lin Tian snapped, reaching toward the essence.
In a flash, the essence leapt, evading his hand and landing on the Spirit Gun. The moment it touched the weapon, it vanished, and the gun immediately reacted.
"I want spirit energy!" it roared again.
"None," Lin Tian gritted, lunging for the gun. But before he could reach it, a surge of spiritual energy erupted. Lin Tian's expression darkened, and he ducked just in time. A wave of energy from the gun narrowly swept past his neck.
Had he been even a fraction slower, the Spirit Gun's strike would have hit him directly. At his current cultivation, even surviving such an impact would have left him grievously wounded.
Lin Tian's anger flared. He sent out a series of spirit seals around the gun, forming a defensive barrier. The essence, sensing this, tried to escape, but a sudden surge of radiant light from the ground trapped it firmly.
"Think you can run? Do you really believe you can escape?" Lin Tian's eyes glinted coldly, his displeasure unmistakable.
"Father."
At that moment, the essence, now taking human form, uttered those two words, sending a ripple of shock through Lin Tian.