274: Chapter 274 The Spirituality of the Saint's Relics: Enhancement of Spiritual Attributes

In the deepest recesses of his consciousness, Fang Cheng felt as if he were in an endless ocean.

Surging tides rolled in endlessly from all directions, tightly enveloping him.

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The darkness here was unimaginably deep, resembling the Chaos before the birth of the world, and not a sliver of light could pierce through it.

Even that wisp of burning flame could only maintain a faint yet stubborn light with all its might under the heavy encirclement of this endless darkness.

This was Fang Cheng's "Flame of Spirituality".

Its core was a deep blue, resembling the sea beneath a clear sky, crystal clear and serene, encompassing all things, and hiding unspeakable mysteries.

Upon closer inspection, a faint shimmer was faintly flickering within.

This was the most initial stirring of Mental Energy, symbolizing the most genuine self-awareness deep within Fang Cheng's Soul, and also transformed from the purest obsession.

Although not dazzling, it was as solid as a gem, letting the dark tides impact wave after wave, never wavering in the slightest, always steadfastly guarding its original intent.

Wrapped around its outer periphery was the agile and leaping inner flame.

Within that orange-red glow, extremely bright points of light flew and intertwined with each other.

Every collision could burst forth with brilliant and dazzling sparks.

Thus, the flame possessed a truly perceptible temperature, dispelling the surrounding darkness and chill.

However, amidst the flickering light and shadow of the inner flame, there were also some unusual golden light spots distributed.

Compared to those red light spots, they moved noticeably faster, speeding like shooting stars, and their combustion reaction was even more violent.

Once triggered, the released light would instantly overshadow the surroundings, causing the entire cluster of flames to surge several times in height, becoming increasingly dazzling and eye-catching.

Although these golden light spots were few in number, they contained unimaginable and majestic energy.

It was as if they were essence crystals from some mysterious substance, possessing the special properties of an accelerant, providing the necessary nutrients for the continuous burning of the flame.

Under their influence, the outermost layer with the highest temperature formed a nearly transparent halo, lightly surrounding the entire cluster of flames.

Facing the darkness rushing in like a surging tide, the halo swayed violently, constantly emitting arrow-like rays of light that tore through layers of confusion and penetrated the heavy encirclement.

The flame light struggled to expand outward, forcefully carving out a bright area belonging to Fang Cheng within the darkness.

In this deep and boundless ocean, it was precisely because of the existence of the golden light spots.

The Flame of Spirituality had truly become a veritable lighthouse, blooming with unprecedented brilliant light and illuminating the lost path in the depths of consciousness.

However, the maintenance of this powerful energy was not without cost.

Every violent burst of the golden light spots was frantically consuming the initial energy of the core.

The color of the flame also became exceptionally gorgeous, no longer a pure orange-red, but interwoven with brilliant golden patterns, occasionally bursting with blinding silver light.

For the first time, Fang Cheng "watched" his own Flame of Spirituality so clearly.

Ripples could not help but slightly rise in his heart, stirring his emotions.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this mutation that caused a continuous excessive consumption of Mental Energy, leaving him in a state of mental fatigue all along.

Although he had temporarily replenished the deficit to a certain extent through Meditation practice now,

once it stopped, that fatigue originating from the depths of the Soul would inevitably surface again.

If he wanted to completely eliminate the negative effects, he was afraid he would have to remain in deep Meditation and maintain a state of trance forever.

This was equivalent to treating oneself as firewood for burning, continuously investing mental power until the lamp ran out of oil.

This was obviously impractical.

After all, he was not a pure consciousness body; his Physical Body was still closely connected to the real world, so how could he indulge in Meditation for long?

At this thought, Fang Cheng's mind stirred slightly, gradually extending his consciousness to the surrounding space.

With a 360-degree omnidirectional perspective, he observed the state of his Physical Body at this moment.

However, when his consciousness returned to reality, Fang Cheng was shocked to find that his entire body was shrouded in substantive firelight.

It seemed to echo from afar with the Flame of Spirituality in his consciousness.

The red light vaguely revealed by the pineal gland between his eyebrows spread like ripples, until his entire body emitted a soft and scorching halo.

This was not an illusion generated in past Meditation Cultivation, but a truly existing phenomenon.

Even the concrete floor beneath his buttocks was baked by the high temperature, transmitting a scorching sensation.

Feeling that his clothes were about to catch fire again, Fang Cheng immediately restrained his aura and rapidly cooled down.

As this power penetrated the real world, the space where his body was located was also affected.

The sound of external waves and the calls of seabirds stopped abruptly, and the air inside the entire unfinished house seemed to solidify.

Dust no longer danced in the light and shadow, but floated motionless, as if cast with a body-immobilization spell.

The sunlight penetrating through the window, the moment it touched the flame, actually refracted colorful rainbow-like halos, scattering in all directions.

Under the illumination of this strange light, the originally rough walls and exposed pipes seemed to be draped in a layer of dreamy colorful garments, presenting a texture transcending reality.

The Flame of Spirituality seemed to have opened a hidden door of time and space, and the surrounding space began to ripple visibly to the naked eye.

Ancient and mysterious whispers faintly came from the Void Realm.

Although the content could not be heard clearly, the vicissitudes and weight contained in that voice made Fang Cheng's Soul tremble slightly.

He could clearly feel that his connection with the external world was being reshaped.

Every breath felt like pulling invisible threads, introducing some unknown energy and information into his body.

Fang Cheng gazed at the flame, his pupils reflecting the constantly leaping golden light spots.

Between the intertwined light and shadow, it could be perceived that the flame did not only have a consuming side.

It was like a precision filter, absorbing wisps of information and stray energy from the outside world.

At the same time, through burning, it purified all Impurities that might interfere with itself.

"This feeling..."

A flash of inspiration crossed Fang Cheng's mind, and he suddenly realized.

Wasn't this the Mental Cultivation Technique he had tried before to purify external "distractions and Heart Demons"?

It was just that back then he was in the Memory Palace, whereas now he was simply practicing Meditation.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng immediately summoned the panel.

Pale blue light flickered before his eyes, and prompt messages flashed by one after another.

[ You are absorbing external consciousness, condensing self-awareness, Mental Energy increases by 0.001 ]

[ The degree of your Fusion with a certain spirituality is gradually increasing, Mental Energy increases by 0.001 ]

[ You practice Meditation skill, experience increases + 1 ]

[ You are absorbing external consciousness, condensing self-awareness, Mental Energy increases by 0.001 ]

[ The degree of your Fusion with a certain spirituality is gradually increasing, Mental Energy increases by 0.001 ]

...

Fang Cheng's gaze flickered slightly as he looked at the panel information floating in the air.

Then he closed his eyes, his mind calming down.

The surrounding space rippled like a lake surface brushed by a breeze, seeming to resonate with a dimension hidden in the deep recesses.

When he opened his eyes again and swept his gaze around,

what came into view was no longer the rough unfinished house, but his own bedroom far away on Jiuchang Street in Jiangbei.

The familiar walls, the old desk piled with books—everything was so real it felt within reach.

After a brief trance, Fang Cheng's eyes instantly turned fierce, and tiny flames faintly danced in the depths of his pupils.

He immediately got out of bed, stepped barefoot on the ground, and walked quickly toward the "door" connecting to the outside world.

With a "click", his fingertips gripped the doorknob and gave it a gentle twist.

The tightly closed wooden door made a creaking sound and slowly opened.

Pitch-blackness lay behind the door, as if tightly wrapped by a heavy black curtain.

The scene before him seemed no different from when he last left.

But Fang Cheng keenly perceived that the boundaries of this space had quietly expanded outward, making it appear even emptier.

Moreover, right in the exact center of the darkness, a golden spherical object had unexpectedly appeared.

It floated quietly, its light as faint as a candle flame, yet it seemed to possess the power to pierce through Chaos, faintly illuminating a small patch of space.

Fine light patterns flowed across the surface of the sphere, like some ancient runes slowly swimming.

Sometimes gathering into whirlpools, sometimes scattering like star clusters.

Every time the light patterns flickered, they stirred up a circle of transparent ripples, emitting a slight buzzing sound.

Causing Fang Cheng's consciousness to tremble slightly unconsciously, as if a very close connection existed between the two.

At the same time, a powerful suction force suddenly emerged outside the Memory Palace, pulling everything around it like a black hole.

Those conscious electrical waves attracted by the flame's light formed a vortex, rapidly rotating around the halo.

Under the tug of the invisible force, they were sucked into it one by one, beginning the process of refinement and purification.

Fang Cheng could clearly see the entire purification process.

Those external consciousnesses were distorted and deformed under the scorching of the Flame of Spirituality, and the Impurities evaporated and dissipated like blue smoke.

Ultimately, they transformed into droplets of glowing, pure Mental Energy resembling star fragments.

Part of these energies merged into the Memory Palace, causing its boundaries to expand outward like a rising tide, while another part turned into flowing light and converged into the golden light sphere.

With every energy injection, the light patterns on the surface of the light sphere became clearer, the flowing light increased by a fraction, and the illuminated space expanded outward by an inch.

Accumulating power sufficient to tear apart space, it was about to completely light up the entire Memory Palace shrouded in darkness.

It was like a lighthouse piercing through the fog in a quiet night, or like the sun hidden in the darkness before dawn, waiting for the moment of explosion to reshape this realm of Chaos with light.

Watching this bizarre scene, Fang Cheng's thoughts surged.

The golden light sphere before him was practically identical to the light sphere condensed by the Formation in the Underground Vault of the Lu Family Manor last night.

The only difference was that its volume had drastically shrunk, and its light had become much dimmer.

As if after suffering heavy trauma and severely injuring its Origin Qi, it was dormant in the Memory Palace he had constructed.

Fang Cheng recalled the scene when he punched and shattered the golden bumpa bottle back then.

The pure gold bottle body instantly split apart, and the absorbed vital blood and sealed energy also turned into a bloody mist and scattered away.

Only a streak of golden light burst out from inside, lunging into the center of his eyebrows like an agile snake.

It should have been from that moment on that this mysterious light quietly parasitized deep within his consciousness.

And then in the process of absorbing the bloody rain, it completed a certain level of Fusion with him.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng stepped forward and tentatively reached out to touch the light sphere.

The moment his fingertips touched it, warmth spread along the nerve endings, as if generating an intimate sense of perfect harmony with his own consciousness.

Fang Cheng closed his eyes, carefully feeling the resonance with the golden light sphere, and suddenly understood.

This streak of golden light was actually the spiritual Origin nurtured by the golden bumpa bottle through over two thousand years of nourishment.

They say older objects have more spirituality, let alone a legendary Saints Relic like this.

After the bottle body shattered, it searched for a new vessel and somehow took a fancy to his body.

In other words, he had now practically become the new "bottle body" for the golden bumpa bottle.

Fang Cheng was temporarily unclear whether fusing with the spirituality of the golden bumpa bottle was beneficial or harmful.

Judging from the current situation, the benefits were none other than two points.

First, without deliberately meditating, it could automatically absorb external consciousness, greatly strengthening the purification efficiency of Mental Energy and increasing the growth rate of mental attributes.

Second, utilizing the Mental Energy transformed by this spirituality, it could simultaneously continue to widen the boundaries of the Memory Palace and automatically complete the construction work.

It was like installing an intelligent management center in the consciousness space, greatly reducing the workload and shortening the cultivation time needed to achieve the same effect.

As for the drawbacks, they were also very obvious.

The continuous operation of the golden bumpa bottle's spirituality would aggravate the consumption of Mental Energy, making him more prone to mental exhaustion and forcing him to frequently replenish the deficit and restore his state through Meditation and Cultivation.

While sorting through his thoughts, the golden light sphere gradually returned to peace, its light no longer flashing violently, and the subtle buzzing sound dissipated accordingly.

Fang Cheng's gaze condensed, and he immediately retracted his mind, exiting the Meditation state.

When he opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the real world.

Looking at the scenery of the surrounding unfinished house, the warm sunlight slanted in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a patch of light and shadow on the ground.

Fang Cheng's heart stirred, and he raised his hand to glance at his sports watch.

It was now February 26th, 1:53 PM.

Meaning this Meditation had lasted for about two and a half hours.

Thinking of this, he immediately summoned the panel.

Skill prompt messages emerged like flowing light.

Fang Cheng's gaze fell on the final summary information.

[ Meditation experience + 6 ]

[ Meditation lv1 (168 / 250) ]

[ Congratulations, through unremitting efforts, your Mental Energy has improved, has Breakthrough to 47 points ]

During this Meditation practice, the growth rate of skill experience was obviously slightly faster than before.

Moreover, thanks to absorbing the external consciousness accumulated for a period of time, coupled with the preliminary Fusion of the golden bumpa bottle's spirituality, his mental attributes had also gained an increase of nearly two points, leaping from 45 points to 47 points in one go.

"At least, the benefits are still clearly visible."

Fang Cheng muttered to himself, slowly standing up and stretching his slightly stiff limbs.

If he wanted to thoroughly figure out the situation and weigh the pros and cons, he was afraid he would have to wait until he completely fused with the golden bumpa bottle, or until the Meditation skill welcomed a Breakthrough and reached the Great Master Rank.

His gaze suddenly swept across the panel floating in the air, taking in the progress bars of various skills.

After slight consideration, Fang Cheng made a decision in his heart.

The focus of his training plan for the next period, aside from being placed on the upcoming upgrades for the two skills "Running" and "Boxing",

must also additionally increase Meditation time, focusing on raising the Meditation Rank in order to resolve potential hidden dangers as soon as possible.

While contemplating, his stomach suddenly let out a rumbling "gugu" protest.

Fang Cheng smiled helplessly, temporarily casting various thoughts to the back of his mind.

The most urgent problem to solve currently was to go to a nearby restaurant and have a hearty meal first.

Only by filling his stomach would he have the energy to continue exercising his Physical Body and enhancing his Mental Energy.

In addition, he had to contact an engineering team in the afternoon to come and check out the situation, and see how to properly tidy up this unfinished house.

According to his vision, build it into a secret Cultivation base.

Just as Fang Cheng stepped out the door and prepared to eat, in another corner of the bustling and noisy city,

someone looked extremely shocked after hearing the subordinate's report:

"What did you say? The golden bumpa bottle was shattered with a single punch by someone?!"