Chapter 18: Sealing

The twenty-fifth day since the cultivation began.

In the desolate cell, under the dim candlelight, the young man knelt with his head pressed against the floor. The woman in green robes looked on with great interest, as if she could discern his every thought.

"I will be going out for a while, so I likely won't be coming back for some time." Song Wanqing raised an eyebrow. "Lift your head."

Junior Brother Bai Ming did not understand why Song Wanqing would say these things at this time, nor did he see the connection between these two matters, but as always, he obeyed her wishes.

Song Wanqing brushed aside the hair on Junior Brother Bai Ming's forehead, revealing skin that was somewhat broken and stained with a few traces of blurred blood.

She bent down, her soft, white hands gently stroking the young man's temples, and kissed his forehead.

A faint, elegant fragrance filled Junior Brother Bai Ming's nostrils, and a gentle sensation, bringing a touch of dampness, was felt on his forehead.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's body did not resist, nor did it move in the slightest; it was as if he had long since lost all fighting spirit and only knew how to obey, like a toy without a mind of its own.

Yet in Song Wanqing's eyes, it was a different scene entirely.

Junior Brother Bai Ming was pitch black all over, save for a glimmer of light in his eyes. Although he appeared indifferent to her actions on the surface, the light in his eyes trembled ever so slightly.

Song Wanqing dropped her hands. "I am going to pause your time for a few days. Rest well during these days."

Junior Brother Bai Ming did not understand the meaning of these words, but there was no need to figure it out anyway.

Starting today, Song Wanqing would be in seclusion. The grand formation on the second floor had already contracted a few days ago, and after waiting for some time, she would begin forming her Golden Core.

"I'm leaving, my Young Master Bai." Song Wanqing waved, as if saying goodbye.

It was almost time; only the final bit remained.

The heavy iron door slammed shut, the flickering candlelight overhead was snuffed out, and the entire secret chamber was plunged into darkness.

Junior Brother Bai Ming reached out, discovering he could not see his exact position, only having a vague sense of it.

"Pause my time? Do you think you are a god?"

The boundless darkness did not move Junior Brother Bai Ming in the slightest; the moment he broke through the seal, he would be able to shatter this endless darkness.

Currently, it could be considered at most the eve of dawn.

Junior Brother Bai Ming constantly reviewed and revised the plan in his mind, engraving every detail into his consciousness.

"Next, it is time to wait."

In this pitch-black darkness capable of swallowing everything, Junior Brother Bai Ming could not perceive the existence of time, nor could he feel the passage of time.

But there was no need to perceive time; when she broke through to form her Golden Core, the surrounding spiritual energy would certainly change drastically. He could simply use that as the starting point for his plan.

After a long wait, Junior Brother Bai Ming tried to mobilize the spiritual energy within his body to touch the seal, striving to break it at the same moment the spiritual energy shifted.

Junior Brother Bai Ming frowned tightly, sensing something was wrong.

His spiritual energy was blocked; it was normal for his spiritual energy to be obstructed since he hadn't broken the seal yet.

But there were three seals in total, two more than before.

What was happening? When exactly did this happen?!

Junior Brother Bai Ming tried hard to recall the memories of today, only then realizing the scene just before it ended.

Could it have been at that moment?

"Damn it, she actually placed two more seals on me at that time."

Since things had come to this, Junior Brother Bai Ming immediately began trying to break the seals, even though he should have waited for the spiritual energy to shift before starting.

But since the situation had taken a turn, he had to react.

Surging spiritual energy poured out from within his body, launching a fierce assault against the three seals.

The three seals remained motionless within his body, seemingly mocking Junior Brother Bai Ming's futility.

"How could this be? These three seals have forcibly separated my spiritual energy, forcing me to break through all of them simultaneously."

Yet, faced with three outlets, Junior Brother Bai Ming's spiritual energy seemed insufficient, especially since there was a faint connection between the three outlets, allowing them to share the pressure.

It was equivalent to Junior Brother Bai Ming needing to break four and a half seals at the same time.

Originally, by utilizing the special function of his spirit root, he could barely manage to break one seal.

But now he was required to break four seals simultaneously with only one-third of his spiritual energy; how could that be possible?

Despair. Helplessness.

In this pitch-black darkness, Junior Brother Bai Ming felt like he was going crazy.

Junior Brother Bai Ming forced himself to pull it together. "No, there is still a chance. The spiritual energy hasn't shifted yet; there is still time."

The spirit root in his abdomen responded to his emotions, devouring the surrounding spiritual energy and pouring it continuously into the three outlets.

Junior Brother Bai Ming gritted his teeth, controlling the spiritual energy to flow toward the three seals and holding it there to prevent it from dissipating.

Spiritual energy gathered within his body bit by bit, moving closer to the amount required for success.

This was an unconventional operation. Normally, Junior Brother Bai Ming could break the seal in one go using the spiritual energy within his body.

But due to the separation caused by the three seals, his spiritual energy proved insufficient, forcing him to absorb spiritual energy from the outside.

He was only at Qi Refining Stage 8, and the maximum amount of spiritual energy he could temporarily contain was limited; if he exceeded it, he might explode and die.

As he absorbed external spiritual energy, the amount of spiritual energy at the outlets grew larger and larger, making it increasingly difficult for Junior Brother Bai Ming to hold it.

The amount of spiritual energy in his body was now more than double what it was at the beginning, and his body was already experiencing intense tearing sensations.

Covered in sweat, Junior Brother Bai Ming treated the despair, resentment, hatred, and various other emotions currently arising as nourishment for his spirit root's growth.

It was still not enough; he needed at least more than triple the spiritual energy.

Under Junior Brother Bai Ming's all-out control, the spiritual energy at the three seals increased bit by bit, and he seemed to see a glimmer of hope for victory.

A slight tremor came from the floor, and a strange light briefly illuminated the entire sky, staining the night with a dazzling color.

The spiritual energy shifted violently, swirling toward the center of the Song family.

The pitch-black prison was also pierced by this dazzling spiritual light, shining so brightly that Junior Brother Bai Ming could not open his eyes, and the massive amount of spiritual energy inside his body made him feel incredibly uncomfortable all over.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's expression was ferocious. "She has started to break through! Damn it, I'm still short of the amount of spiritual energy needed to attempt breaking the seals."

Junior Brother Bai Ming's face looked grim. "The spiritual energy in the secret chamber is starting to decrease; this is truly bad."

"Hold on, you must hold on."

The rate at which spiritual energy increased at the seals slowed down, but under Junior Brother Bai Ming's persistence, it was still increasing bit by bit.

But when it reached a certain limit, the increase in spiritual energy stopped and even became unstable.

Blood spilled from the corner of Junior Brother Bai Ming's mouth, and his brows were furrowed in a chaotic mess. "No, I must hold on. If I fail this time, there will be no next opportunity."

The surrounding spiritual energy changed violently, all converging in one direction. The fact that Junior Brother Bai Ming could still absorb even a little bit was the absolute limit he could achieve by pushing himself beyond his normal state.

If he were to let the spiritual energy within his body disperse, there would be no room for recovery.

Under Junior Brother Bai Ming's intense willpower, the amount of spiritual energy at the seals showed a trend of increasing.

Pfft—

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, a large amount of spiritual energy within Junior Brother Bai Ming's body dissipated, and his body tilted, collapsing onto the floor.

Junior Brother Bai Ming lay on the ground, reaching out with great effort. "No! No! Come back to me, come back quickly!"

But in the end, it was beyond saving. The maximum amount of spiritual energy Junior Brother Bai Ming's body could store had long since reached its limit just moments before; that final bit of increase was merely a sliver of pity from the gods.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's aura was weak and wavering, his entire body covered in various wounds caused by being stretched by the spiritual energy; he looked withered, the spitting image of a beggar.