76: Chapter 76 The Crystallization of the Five Elements

A soft light shone from a larger Stone Chamber ahead.

That ancient fluctuation of Spiritual Qi came from there, and it was frighteningly pure.

"System, scan."

[Scanning...]

[Stone Chamber ahead: approximately fifteen meters long and wide, five meters high.]

[Central floating object: high-concentration Five Elements Energy source detected, preliminarily identified as "Five Elements Origin Crystal".]

[Ground: engraved with a complex Formation Diagram, with five grooves at the edge corresponding to Five Elements symbols.]

[Threat assessment: Formation Diagram defense mechanism detected, currently dormant when not triggered.]

[Suggestion: approach with caution, analyze the Formation Diagram structure first.]

Lin Muchen stepped out from the corner and entered the Stone Chamber.

The Stone Chamber was empty; aside from that glowing thing in the center, there was nothing else.

He stopped ten meters away from the crystal.

He could see it clearly now.

A fist-sized crystal was suspended in mid-air, a little over a meter off the ground.

The crystal was multicolored, with red, yellow, green, white, and blue slowly circulating inside as if it were alive.

The Spiritual Qi it emitted was absurdly pure.

Lin Muchen took a breath and felt the five nodes in his Dantian tremble simultaneously.

"Good stuff."

He licked his lips.

He looked down at the ground.

Directly beneath the crystal, a circular Formation Diagram about three meters in diameter was engraved.

The lines were as complex as a spider's web.

At the edge of the Formation Diagram were five grooves in the shapes of flames, mountains, trees, swords, and water droplets.

"Five Elements symbols."

Lin Muchen squatted down to take a closer look.

Beside the grooves, a line of small characters was engraved; the handwriting was ancient but legible.

"Mutual generation is the order; reversal triggers the Formation."

"Mutual generation is the order..."

Lin Muchen ran through it in his mind.

Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.

"Does it mean I have to inject Spiritual Qi into the grooves according to the order of the Five Elements' mutual generation?"

[Analysis correct.]

[The Formation Diagram is a defensive trigger mechanism.]

[If Spiritual Qi is injected in the wrong order or in reverse, the defense mechanism will be activated with unknown consequences.]

[Correct order: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood.]

"Understood."

Lin Muchen stood up and walked to the groove representing "Fire".

He extended a finger and pressed it against the groove.

The Fire Element node in his Dantian stirred.

A stream of pure Fire Element Spiritual Qi flowed along his finger into the groove.

Hum.

The groove lit up with a red light.

Next was the "Earth" groove.

A yellow light lit up.

The "Metal" groove lit up with white light.

The "Water" groove lit up with blue light.

The "Wood" groove lit up with green light.

All five grooves were lit.

The entire Formation Diagram burst into a soft multicolored glow, and those complex lines seemed to come alive, flowing slowly.

Then, the light receded.

In the center of the Formation Diagram, the suspended Five Elements Origin Crystal slowly descended and landed right in the middle.

The Seal of the defense mechanism was deactivated.

"Done."

Lin Muchen walked over and reached out to pick up the crystal.

The crystal felt warm and smooth in his hand.

In the next second, a sudden change occurred.

With a crack, the crystal shattered.

It didn't actually shatter; it transformed into five streaks of light.

Red, yellow, green, white, and blue.

The five streaks of light, as if living beings, whooshed into Lin Muchen's palm and rushed through his Meridians toward his Dantian.

"Holy crap!"

Lin Muchen was startled, but he felt no malice.

He quickly performed an Internal observation of his Dantian.

The five streaks of light charged into his Dantian, heading straight for the five nodes.

The Fire Attribute Node absorbed the red light, instantly expanding and deepening in color.

The Earth Attribute Node absorbed the yellow light, becoming heavier and more solid.

The Wood Attribute Node absorbed the green light, bursting with vitality.

The Metal Element Node absorbed the white light, its sharp aura skyrocketing.

The water element node absorbed the blue light, its circulation speed increasing.

All five nodes vibrated simultaneously.

The slowly rotating Five Elements Cycle accelerated with a boom.

Its rotation speed was more than thirty percent faster than before.

The speed at which the pure energy generated by the cycle provided Feedback Efficiency to Lin Muchen's Physical Body also jumped significantly.

[Five Elements Origin energy injection detected.]

[Five Elements Cycle has entered the "Minor Achievement" stage.]

[Feedback Efficiency increased: 9.6% → 10.2%.]

[Unlocked new ability: Five Elements Body Protection Aura.]

[Ability description: Can mobilize Five Elements Cycle energy to form a layer of Protective Aura on the body's surface, significantly increasing defense and providing extra resistance against Five Elements attribute attacks.]

"Awesome!"

Lin Muchen felt every pore in his body open up.

That pure energy surged through his Meridians, and his cultivation level rose visibly.

"This was a huge profit."

He clenched his fist and could feel a faint five-colored halo on the surface of his skin, which vanished in a flash.

That was the Five Elements Body Protection Aura, which could be activated with a single thought.

[Reminder: The Stone Chamber is starting to vibrate.]

Rumble—

The ground beneath his feet really began to shake.

Lin Muchen looked up and saw the wall at the back of the Stone Chamber cracking open.

The sound of stones grinding together was piercing.

A new passage slowly appeared in the wall.

The passage was pitch black, but the sound of flowing water could be faintly heard.

"There's more?"

Lin Muchen was delighted.

This Secret Realm is a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

He wasn't in a hurry to go in.

He sat down cross-legged first.

"System, help me consolidate my new Realm and analyze the passage ahead while you're at it."

[Received.]

[Starting to guide Five Elements Energy to stabilize the cycle.]

[Scanning the passage ahead...]

[The passage is about fifty meters long, ending in an Underground River area with extremely high water Spiritual Qi concentration.]

[No life signatures detected, no Formation fluctuations detected.]

[Safety Rank: medium-high.]

[Be mindful of the underwater environment.]

Lin Muchen closed his eyes and operated his Cultivation Technique.

In his Dantian, the accelerated Five Elements Cycle slowly stabilized.

The Feedback Efficiency stabilized at 10.2%.

It was 0.6 percentage points higher than before.

Don't look down on a small number; this is a permanent increase.

Over time, the difference would be massive.

Ten minutes later.

Lin Muchen opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Realm consolidation complete.

He stood up and stretched his limbs.

He walked to the entrance of the new passage.

It was indeed dark inside, but he could hear the clear sound of flowing water, and the air was heavy with moisture.

"Let's go take a look."

Lin Muchen stepped into the passage.

The passage was very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass.

He walked for about thirty meters.

A light appeared ahead.

It wasn't the glow of stones, but the reflection of water.

At the end of the passage was a massive underground cavern.

In the center of the cavern was a wide Underground River; the water shimmered with a faint blue light, though it was unclear what was glowing.

On the opposite bank, a stone platform could be vaguely seen.

Something seemed to be placed on the stone platform.

Lin Muchen narrowed his eyes.

"System, zoom in."

[Zooming in.]

[Stone platform on the opposite bank: approximately two meters long and one meter wide.]

[Items on the stone platform: a Jade Box and a Scroll.]

[Seal fluctuations detected on the Jade Box; the Scroll is made of special material, suspected to be beast hide or ancient silk.]

[Risk assessment: Underground River depth unknown, water flow speed medium, possible underwater organisms.]

[Suggestion: probe the river conditions first.]

Lin Muchen squatted by the river and touched the water.

It was ice-cold.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi in the water was frighteningly high.

"This water... seems to be a spiritual spring?"

[Analysis: The river water contains pure water attribute Spiritual Qi and can be classified as an "Underground Spiritual Spring".]

[Long-term soaking or drinking provides great benefits to water attribute Cultivators.]

[Warning: Faint life reactions detected underwater; not Yao Beasts, suspected to be... spirit bodies?]

"Spirit bodies?"

Lin Muchen frowned.

He stared at the blue water for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a ripple spread across the surface.

A translucent, light blue little thing popped out of the water.

It looked like a small fish but had no eyes, and its entire body was composed of pure water Spiritual Qi.

It circled Lin Muchen's finger once and then plopped back into the water.

[Confirmed: Water Spirit Body.]

[Naturally condensed from extremely pure water Spiritual Qi, non-aggressive, prefers pure water environments.]

[The water Spiritual Qi concentration here is close to the core area of a Condensing Liquid Stage Water Attribute Spiritual Vein.]

Lin Muchen's eyes lit up.

"This place is a treasure trove."

He looked at the Jade Box and Scroll on the opposite bank.

"I need to get over there."

"How should I cross?"

[Try the new ability "Five Elements Body Protection Aura" to strengthen Physical Body defense and temperature resistance, then swim across directly.]

"Alright, let's test the new skill."

Lin Muchen had a thought.

The Five Elements Cycle in his Dantian accelerated.

Red, yellow, green, white, and blue light surged from his body, forming a thin, circulating light shield on the surface of his body.

Five Elements Body Protection Aura.

Once the shield formed, the surrounding chill was instantly blocked out.

"Impressive."

Lin Muchen grinned and jumped directly into the river.

The water was freezing, but the light shield held steady.

He swam toward the opposite bank.

halfway through the swim.

Dozens of light blue Water Spirit Bodies suddenly emerged from the water, curiously circling him.

These little things had no malice; they were just purely curious.

Lin Muchen ignored them and continued swimming.

He swam across the thirty-meter-wide river in just a few strokes.

He climbed onto the bank.

He walked up to the stone platform.

On the stone platform lay a palm-sized Jade Box and a rolled-up beast-hide Scroll.

The surface of the Jade Box was engraved with Seal runes, shimmering with a faint light.

The Scroll looked very old, its edges worn.

"Which one to open first?"

Lin Muchen thought for a moment and reached for the Scroll.

He slowly unrolled it.

The beast hide was covered in dense ancient text.

The first line of the opening:

"I, Shuiyunzi, passed away here. I leave behind two Legacies, awaiting one destined."