txolops Chapter 140: Fluctuations
Chapter 140: Fluctuations
On the newly compacted spiritual soil at the bottom of the ice pit, a small spiritual tent served as his temporary resting place. After a day's hard work, cultivators also needed to rest and recuperate.
"It is still located in the Bitter Sea Ice Domain, still located in the ice pit. The spiritual energy is not even slightly more concentrated than yesterday. Yet, just a layer of spiritual soil brings this unprecedented sense of security."
Sitting cross-legged in the familiar spirit-shrinking tent, the space was still cramped, but the warmth emanating from the spirit soil beneath the tent caused Tong Bingfeng's usually calm Dao heart to fluctuate uncontrollably once again.
Moreover, as time went by, this fluctuation not only did not stop, but it also intensified significantly.
However, Tong Bingfeng, as the master, seemed oblivious to this change. He remained seated cross-legged in the spirit-shrinking tent, circulating the Great Cycle of the Water Spirit Technique, greedily refining and absorbing the spiritual energy within a radius of several feet to replenish the energy consumed in his dantian and meet the basic needs for advancing his cultivation.
The only difference was the faint smile on his face, as if he were in an exceptionally comfortable and captivating state.
At his waist, a seven-colored spirit-gathering pearl was also swaying, with a flash of spiritual light occasionally appearing. During the entire rotation, it gathered spiritual energy from a wider area, gradually forming a faint water-blue light shield around the cultivator.
These light shields were undoubtedly formed by the convergence of unrefined water-attribute magic power until they reached a certain level.
Since obtaining the Seven-Colored Spirit Pearl, a supplementary magical artifact, Tong Bingfeng's daily cultivation efficiency has increased dramatically.
Although he is still at the eighth level of Qi Refining, he has already entered the late stage of the eighth level of Qi Refining and is not far from the ninth level of Qi Refining. This is the real source of his confidence in establishing his cave in the lawless land of the Bitter Sea Ice Domain.
Once he advances to the ninth level of Qi Refining, as long as he doesn't provoke Foundation Establishment cultivators or second-tier demonic beasts, he can protect himself in this icy region.
Once the cave dwelling is completed, the spiritual honey will be sold to the public. Even if it attracts the covetous eyes of some evil cultivators, there will be no threat or fear.
However, Tong Bingfeng's cultivation today was completely different from usual. Even in the latter half of the night, the circulation of the Great Heavenly Cycle did not stop. On the contrary, after each Great Heavenly Cycle was completed, the amount of spiritual energy refined was even greater, and he accepted all the spiritual energy gathered around him without reservation.
As magical power continuously replenished its energy, the dantian began to feel slightly swollen, but it still readily accepted the refined magical power that had been processed and purified within the Great Circulation.
Tong Bingfeng still wore a satisfied smile on his face, and his spiritual consciousness remained active, showing no signs of falling into a coma.
As the moon sets and the sun rises, the golden sunlight once again shines on the ice. Although the warmth does not suppress the low temperature, it does bring a little comfort.
However, the spirit shrinking tent located at the bottom of the great formation was not put away on time as usual. The owner of this half-finished cave dwelling, which had just begun to add spirit soil, was in an unusual state of cultivation.
Under the golden sunlight, traces of water-attribute aquamarine spiritual energy flowing rapidly to replenish the energy could also be seen.
Outside the shrinking tent, worker bees hovered back and forth, seemingly sensing the unease, but limited by their lowly status and weak strength, they dared not venture forward easily.
Several of the larger, longer-lived worker bees flapped their wings, attempting to use their frail bodies to block the constantly flowing water-attribute spiritual energy, slowing its flow as much as possible.
However, such an attempt is destined to be futile. The flow of spiritual energy is inherently formless and intangible. The so-called colors reflected in the air are merely special manifestations of single-attribute spiritual energy exceeding a certain concentration.
Worker bees have low intelligence and mostly act on instinct. After several failed attempts, they return to the hive and inform the queen bee of the changes through pheromones.
Within their limited understanding, the queen bee, as the core of the entire hive, is naturally omnipotent, and pheromones are the only way for the bee colony to communicate.
In the innermost part of the hive, a plump queen bee twisted her body back and forth, trying to find a more comfortable position to lie down.
There are also more than twenty guard bees beside her, who are responsible for defense. In addition to providing defense, they are also responsible for transporting honey to feed the queen bee.
Aside from laying eggs, the queen bee's life is quite peaceful and comfortable.
"Buzz"
But today, the queen bee was destined not to lie down. After receiving the worker bees' pheromones, the queen bee, who was usually unfazed even when Mount Tai collapsed in front of her, suddenly let out a series of sharp cries, which were mixed with obvious fear.
As the core of the entire hive, the queen bee, though naturally constrained and lacking actual combat power, possesses intelligence that is above average among monsters of the same level.
The queen bee has already been imprinted with Tong Bingfeng's spirit, so the two are now in a state of mutual dependence, where one's fate is tied to the other's. If the cultivator's safety is compromised, the queen bee's life will also be in danger.
Therefore, in her anxiety, the queen bee can only urge the bee on by constantly making sharp calls, linking the spiritual bond between the two parties.
Inside the shrinking tent, Tong Bingfeng's smile had vanished under the special reminders from the Queen Bee's spiritual connection. His brows were furrowed, and his temples bulged intermittently, clearly indicating that he was suffering from pain with each of these so-called reminders.
"The Great Circulation of Qi cannot be stopped, and a continuous stream of magical power is being poured into the dantian. The dantian's capacity is basically at its limit. What should we do?"
Under the impact of the spiritual power in his mind, he finally awoke from this strange state, but he had lost control of his physical body, especially the Great Circulation that was in progress, which did not obey the intervention of the cultivator's main body at all.
The dantian area is arguably the most important yet most vulnerable area of a cultivator's body; any substantial damage to it is irreversible.
At this moment, under the blessing of wave after wave of magical power, Tong Bingfeng's dantian was already in a tense state. Although the magical power within could still be integrated and improved, it had already been genuinely refined to the peak level of the eighth level of Qi Refining, and was only one step away from the ninth level of Qi Refining.
"Well, since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Since the Great Circulation can't be stopped, we might as well go all out and break through the bottleneck in one go to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining."
Several attempts ended in failure. A sinister look flashed across Tong Bingfeng's face. Between two evils, he decided to choose the lesser one and make the decision that best suited the current situation.
Although this decision was somewhat hasty and may leave hidden dangers in the future, it is still the only option. As for the hidden dangers, they can be gradually improved and repaired in the future.