C19 Brain Sea Courtyard Upgrade

The world often felt like a mass of dark clouds, with a constant array of unsatisfactory elements casting a gloomy pall over everything. Yang Huang reached out to Ding Yuhuan, who would soon arrive.

Despite the changes in the world, where spiritual energy had undergone a resurgence known as the Spiritual Energy Rejuvenation, modern communication tools like phones remained functional.

Ding Yuhuan was almost always at Yang Huang's beck and call, especially after consuming the Ancient Fruit he had given her, which bound her to servitude.

In contemporary society, she held a Level One status as a member of the Country Organization, a position that served as a temporary umbrella of protection. For Yang Huang, the Country Organization was a resource he could potentially exploit in the future.

However, Ding Yuhuan hadn't checked in with the organization for several days, as she was officially considered deceased in the outside world.

An hour later, in Yang Huang's room, he had two tasks for her.

"People are investigating your actions at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain. I need you to return to your original organization," he instructed. "Upon your return, admit your mistakes without condition and surrender the blood-red sword. Also, reveal your Undying ability to your superiors."

"The second task is to investigate a man named Qi Fusheng, a sickly old man, while you're detained by the organization," Yang Huang continued, his face devoid of emotion as he addressed the red-haired girl before him.

"Alright, I'll do as you've instructed," Ding Yuhuan replied, her gaze fixed on Yang Huang. She felt an inexplicable emotion stirring within her, which she fought to suppress, revealing nothing out of the ordinary before leaving with a curt nod.

Once Ding Yuhuan had departed, Yang Huang secured the door to No.8 Hidden Corpse Hall, eluding any potential followers lurking in the shadows, and slipped into his laboratory through a secret entrance.

Leaving the Hidden Corpse Hall at this juncture was risky, considering members of the Yang family would surely be on his trail, lured by the irresistible temptation of the pill. Even the family elders might succumb to its allure.

His hasty retreat to the laboratory was strategic; he wanted to signal to those in pursuit that he was no longer in the Hidden Corpse Hall and that his whereabouts were a mystery.

Yang Huang sat cross-legged on the laboratory floor, the entirety of the World Artifact Refining Total Manual materializing in his thoughts. His excitement upon acquiring this auxiliary cultivation method was primarily due to the Grand Upper Essence Returning Divine One Qi. This technique wasn't just a simple means to refine Innate Genuine Qi at an accelerated pace; it encompassed a divine ability that was profoundly difficult to grasp with a conventional mindset. Yet, with Yang Huang's current limited strength, only a single divine ability manifested after he completed the introductory cultivation.

This initial divine ability of the Grand Upper Essence Returning Divine One Qi was highly compatible with the art of artifact refining. Named 'Disintegration,' it stood as the sole divine ability Yang Huang could scarcely utilize from the technique. Disintegration had the power to reduce all things to their primordial state, to transform that primordial essence into Qi, and to refine Qi into True Qi.

In that moment, Yang Huang gripped a palm-sized piece of steel, his eyes suddenly gleaming with a pale golden light. Before his eyes, the steel visibly transformed into glistening threads. To an onlooker, the steel resembled a tightly wound ball of yarn being rapidly unraveled. After a slow half-hour, the steel was completely reduced to a heap of golden threads, softly settling to the floor.

These threads were as light as down, and despite their delicate appearance, they were impossible to tear apart. Moreover, they formed an inseparable connection with the Innate Genuine Qi within Yang Huang, ready to be absorbed into his Brain Sea Courtyard for gradual refinement.

Having completed the task, Yang Huang was drenched in sweat, gasping for air with his chest rising and falling dramatically. "My cultivation level is far too modest! I've only managed the first step of decomposing a mundane piece of steel, and already my Innate Genuine Qi is utterly depleted. It appears that for now, this so-called divine ability isn't of much use to me," he muttered, eyeing the threads with a furrowed brow.

Despite his current sentiment, Yang Huang recognized that the Disintegration Divine Ability's lack of utility at present didn't imply it would be useless in the future. Quite the opposite—this divine ability held the potential to be incredibly formidable.

Imagine if Yang Huang, during a confrontation, could instantly transform his opponent's magical treasure into threads connected to himself, and then further decompose it into an Ion Energy Body, Spiritual Force, and Genuine Qi. That would certainly be an act that defies the natural order.

In actual combat, this ability could even disintegrate parts of the opponent's body into threads in an instant.

"At the end of the day, my strength is just too inadequate," Yang Huang concluded, ceasing his contemplation and closing his eyes to rest.

An hour later, having slightly replenished his Genuine Qi, Yang Huang reached for the threads before him once more. As if obeying his command, the threads began to dance and twist in the air upon his touch, eventually reassembling themselves.

The next moment, a gleaming scalpel materialized in Yang Huang's hand. Its blade was terrifyingly sharp, and the small handle seemed unbreakable.

Swoosh!

Yang Huang retrieved a plain steel bar from his Item Storage Talisman. Holding the scalpel, he made a gentle incision on the steel bar, which elicited a trembling sound from the air.

The sturdy steel bar, as if it were freshly made soft tofu, was effortlessly sliced off a small piece without any difficulty.

"This is truly amazing. The same material can yield such a dramatic contrast in effects," Yang Huang marveled, examining the glittering scalpel with curiosity and a touch of delight. Unbeknownst to him, the scalpel in his hand had reached the status of a Beginner Level Magic Treasure.

To refine such an item from ordinary materials in such a brief span of time was beyond the capabilities of most. Even the Almighty with True Fire would need more than a day to craft a Magic Treasure, and that would require the inclusion of rare materials.

Yang Huang had employed the Grand Upper Essence Returning Divine One Qi and the Disintegration Divine Ability in his refining process, taking significant shortcuts—almost to the point of cheating. He had bypassed the numerous complex steps of traditional refining, achieving the same result with the simplest of methods.

"Even without any knowledge of weapon refining, as long as I continue to cultivate the Grand Upper Essence Returning Divine One Qi, I can create a multitude of magic treasures using the simplest materials and techniques. Moreover, with the World Artifact Refining Total Manual at my disposal, my understanding of refining is no less than that of an Artifact Refining Master. This will be immensely beneficial to my future endeavors." Overcoming the fatigue from excessive use of the Brain Sea Courtyard, Yang Huang was eager to further test the capabilities of the scalpel.

At that moment, Yang Huang noticed some changes occurring within his Brain Sea Courtyard. This was a matter of great importance. The Brain Sea Courtyard served as his energy reservoir, essentially his everything. It was his most sacred and inviolable space, intimately tied to his very life.

The Brain Sea Courtyard had undergone a transformation.

Owing to the unique nature of his cultivation technique, Yang Huang had not established his dantian as the foundation for his cultivation. Instead, he had carved out a space within his Brain Region, creating the courtyard. His chosen path was to maximize the potential of the Brain Region.

Following his breakthrough in the Essence Refining Qi Transforming stage, the Brain Sea Courtyard had materialized, yet it was far from complete. It hadn't even taken on a tangible form, remaining a murky, dark space merely three inches across—hardly noteworthy.

As outlined in the Grand Upper Essence Returning Divine One Qi, the initial step in cultivation was to establish the Brain Sea Courtyard, then proceed to construct it.

Much like building a house, a so-called courtyard naturally requires both a court and a yard.

The courtyard was Yang Huang's next cultivation milestone, though it would not be achieved overnight.

At this stage, his task was to construct a cottage using Spiritual Energy within the already opened space of his mind and to give it form. Only then could it begin to resemble a courtyard.

Currently, his Brain Sea Courtyard was empty, utterly devoid of anything. Should he manage to elevate his strength to the level of Three-flower Crown Great Perfection, the Brain Sea Courtyard would reach a preliminary state of completion, allowing him to cultivate spiritual herbs and nurture items within.

After refining the scalpel, construction of a cottage within his Brain Sea Courtyard had surprisingly commenced!

The cottage was only partially built, not even one-tenth complete, but the astonishing fact was that he had merely used steel to refine a Beginner Level Magic Treasure.

"Clearly, materials broken down can directly enhance the Brain Sea Courtyard," Yang Huang realized. He wasn't concerned; he knew that with ongoing artifact refining, the Brain Sea Courtyard would evolve to its ultimate form.

The more formidable the Brain Sea Courtyard became, the greater his strength would grow.

Although refining could enhance the Brain Sea Courtyard, Yang Huang simply didn't have the energy to continue with the process at the moment. He decided to approach the operating table, where he took out two pills given to him by Yang Guozhong and started to examine them with great attention.

He immediately crushed the Marrow Cleansing Pill and discarded it. It was, after all, only a half-finished product. His primary focus was on the milky white pill, which was brimming with extremely dense Spiritual Energy. Consuming this pill could potentially allow him to form his Primordial Spirit and achieve a breakthrough to Qi Refining Deification.

Having identified several components of the pill, Yang Huang's hands moved at a blur, blending hundreds of medicinal herbs from the laboratory into a single test tube. He then nurtured the mixture with his recently replenished Genuine Qi, prompting a miraculous transformation.

The complex solution, upon merging with the Genuine Qi, emitted an odd sound. The multitude of ingredients underwent a uniform transformation, and the liquid's color visibly shifted to milky white.

Simultaneously, Spiritual Energy within a ten-meter radius surged towards the laboratory, infusing itself into the milky white liquid. Given the current state of Earth Spiritual Energy Rejuvenation, the concentration of Spiritual Energy in every bit of space was incredibly high, making the Spiritual Energy within ten cubic meters quite substantial.

"I believe this white pill is likely a Spirit Nurturing Pill, containing at least a hundred cubic meters of Spiritual Energy. The liquid I've concocted can also absorb Spiritual Energy, but its effectiveness is only a tenth of that of the pill," Yang Huang mused, looking at the test tube in his hand. Although he hadn't perfectly replicated the pill, he was content with the outcome.

The successful creation of the milky white liquid was proof that his method was viable. As long as the path was navigable, there was no cause for concern. Any shortcomings could be gradually perfected in the future.