Chapter 463: Black Crystal Stone
Now, this wasn’t the kind of annoying and tangled irritation that leaves you pulling your hair out; instead, it left the mind in a state of ethereal peace.
It was as if all the fog had lifted with the wind, and he finally found clarity in his heart.
Adding another reason to his list of why he wanted to get stronger.
Thus, Yun Zhonghe decided it was time to stop worrying. He pulled out all the treasures he had collected from his trip to the treasure vault.
The “Nirvana” sword technique manual, a complete set of treasures from the Exquisite Transcendence sword array, and that mysterious black crystal stone whose purpose remained a complete mystery.
He studied each item in detail.
Being an adept sword cultivator himself, Yun Zhonghe quickly mastered the Exquisite Transcendence sword array’s treasures, grasping their essence and using them with ease.
However, the “Nirvana” sword technique took Yun Zhonghe a “not short” amount of time to comprehend.
It wasn’t that the manual was hard to understand; on the contrary, the principles were crystal clear, and the techniques were exquisite. It was just that these techniques piqued Yun Zhonghe’s interest so much that he lost track of time diving deep into them.
This Nirvana sword technique was particularly intriguing. It could gather scattered sword qi and create rebirth through nirvana.
In battle, a swordsman repeatedly needed to convert their spiritual energy into sword qi to attack the enemy. During exchanges, both sides’ powers clash, and most sword qi would be neutralized or obliterated.
If an attack misses, you have to brew more sword qi and re-execute your techniques.
What made the Nirvana sword technique so mysterious was its ability to recombine the sword qi scattered on the battlefield during previous clashes, generating a powerful offensive without any energy consumption.
It was an exceptionally practical combat technique.
Yun Zhonghe found significant value in this skill, so he began to practice it in his yard.
As expected, with Yun Zhonghe’s extraordinary understanding, he mastered this sword technique in less than an hour.
“Although the power of the sword qi gathered through nirvana is slightly diminished compared to its original form, it’s definitely a technique that saves on spiritual energy.”
Moreover, Yun Zhonghe felt there was still room for deeper development of the technique, though it required a high level of proficiency.
Having mastered the sword technique, he planned to pass it on to Lin Zhongyu later; it would surely benefit her.
With both the sword technique and the treasures fully explored, all that remained was…
“That black crystal stone!”
Yun Zhonghe returned home, placed the black crystal stone on the table, and studied it carefully.
He had no idea what it was, as this type of item never appeared in the original game. After fiddling with it for a while, he still couldn’t figure out its use.
“How strange, my spiritual energy can’t penetrate it at all. This black crystal stone has an incredibly strong spiritual energy insulation.”
Yun Zhonghe muttered to himself, furrowing his brows. He gently shook the crystal, and it seemed to contain a liquid akin to mercury, swirling inside with his movements.
The sound of the liquid flowing became incredibly clear in the quiet room, almost as if it had some mysterious rhythm.
As he watched the fluid churn, Yun Zhonghe felt a response from his spiritual energy, sending ripples through him.
“Should I probe it with my spiritual energy?”
Taking a deep breath, he focused his mind and attempted to push his spiritual energy into the black crystal stone.
A delicate thread of spiritual energy extended from the depths of his sea of consciousness, slowly reaching out to touch the black crystal stone. Initially, the surface seemed impermeable to spiritual energy, but in front of his spiritual probe, it was practically defenseless, allowing his spiritual energy to slip right in with little resistance.
Looks like Yun Zhonghe found the right way to use it?
As the spiritual energy penetrated, an overwhelming force began to emanate from within.
It was like angry waves crashing in a storm, or the very earth splitting apart, engulfing his entire perceptive world in an instant.
Though he only extended a thin tendril of spiritual energy, Yun Zhonghe felt his sea of consciousness vibrating painfully, his head throbbing.
His spiritual energy was anything but weak, boasting a strength comparable to the Concentration Stage, and yet this mere piece of stone was inducing such pain in his sea of consciousness? It was utterly baffling.
Yun Zhonghe frowned, realizing he needed to pull back his spiritual energy; otherwise, it might get damaged.
However, just when he was ready to retract his spiritual thread…
He felt something inside the black crystal stone tightly lock onto his spiritual energy, preventing any escape!
Not only that, but something began to flow backward, moving along his spiritual thread and seeping towards him.
Yun Zhonghe was horrified.
He watched as the mercury-like substance within the black crystal stone surged into his sea of consciousness.
Desperate, he attempted to sever the connection with the black crystal stone to prevent that unknown liquid from invading further into his sea of consciousness.
But that substance began to numb his sea of consciousness, the sensation rapidly spreading, rendering his spiritual energy sluggish and hard to control, making it impossible to disconnect.
Suddenly, the entire liquid from the black crystal stone surged through Yun Zhonghe’s numbed spiritual pathways, violently flooding into his sea of consciousness.
“Ugh!”
In the next instant, an unprecedented wave of pain exploded in his head, instantly consuming all his senses. Following that, the world plunged into darkness, and he lost consciousness.
……
“Young Master…”
“Young Master!”
“Wake up, Young Master!”
In the midst of chaos, Yun Zhonghe thought he heard distant, fuzzy voices calling his name over and over again.
As his awareness gradually sharpened, those calls became clearer until he fully opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Tao Jiu’er’s worried face.
“Jiu’er? What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t want to see me.”
Yun Zhonghe rubbed his eyes, staring at Tao Jiu’er’s face, which was slightly pink from worry.
Earlier, after that incident, Tao Jiu’er had been extremely shy and had even kicked him out!
Seeing Yun Zhonghe seemed fine, Tao Jiu’er sighed in relief. However, his words made her expression flicker, and she shot him a teasing glare, “Silly, how could I not want to see you?”
She was still a bit conflicted and hesitant. Despite accidentally exposing her feelings, she couldn’t contain herself and ultimately chose to come meet Yun Zhonghe.
But little did she know, as soon as she entered, she found him collapsed at home, with Chen Leling beside him looking extremely worried.
Initially, she worried Yun Zhonghe hadn’t recovered from his injuries, afraid he might have lost his memory again, but it appeared his memories were intact.
“Sorry, I must’ve overdone my training.”
Yun Zhonghe rubbed his head, glancing at the now-empty black crystal stone on the table but couldn’t recall what had happened before.
It felt like his fainting was somehow connected to that black crystal stone.
“Yun Zhonghe, are you… okay?”
At that moment, Chen Leling’s worried gaze landed on him, still not completely reassured.
Yun Zhonghe smiled, “I’m fine, feeling pretty good.”
He got up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
Yep, feeling good, nothing out of place.
Seeing Yun Zhonghe truly looked alright, Tao Jiu’er breathed a sigh of relief but still scolded, “Young Master, you just got better and are already pushing yourself like this… What if you do something reckless again?”
“Eh?”
Suddenly, Yun Zhonghe wrapped his arms around her.
“Ah!” That embrace made Tao Jiu’er exclaim, her face instantly turning crimson.
Yun Zhonghe buried his face in her shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent deeply.
Tao Jiu’er: “Ehh… eh eh eh eh?!”
Yun Zhonghe had suddenly gotten so bold!
