Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

[Haaaaaaaah!]

I roared as the ritual finished. Apart from finishing absorbing the Celestial Metal, I also stopped glowing as my body gradually cooled down. There was no explosion, no outside damage, and I felt fantastic on top of it. My body was brimming with energy.

I looked at my hands and they appeared just the same as ever. There were no visible changes, so I conjured a blade and slit my wrist.

Dense crimson blood sprayed out for just a moment and then stopped as the wound already healed itself. The deep red liquid had a silvery shimmer which, under the effects of magic, heated up and became smoother. It flowed easier and faster, and I could feel it moving through my veins.

It was kind of distracting, so I toned down that sensation. The speed with which my Qi ran didn’t change, but I could move much more of it at once. I had Meridians for my Qi to flow through, and the blood vessels as well. Two lanes for the price of one… Or something like that.

Anyway, it was cool, especially since Qi shouldn’t be able to use veins for transport anymore after reaching the Golden Core. Or, at least that’s what I thought.

[No wonder Dragons are so strong…] I murmured. It seemed to me like those creatures had some useful adaptations to magic. Much better than normal humans, that’s for sure.

Next up I checked my bones. With the Celestial Metal completely absorbed into my body, I guessed that’s where it went. Starlight Jade Bones. And I was right.

As I pulled the flesh into my skeleton, a magical sight came to light. The completely black bone was speckled with countless sparkling diamonds and threads of gold. As I looked at my bony, sparkling hands, I felt like a skeleton ornamented with jewels and precious metals, or like a galaxy in the sky. I couldn’t help but laugh.

I squeezed my hand and closed my eyes, spreading out my senses. The Qi around me was thin and it was getting thinner the deeper into the earth I went. I understood why there were no creatures so deep underground. I would also avoid this hellish place if I was them. The only reason I was even able to survive so deep was that I was immune to heat and I didn’t need to breathe.

The air down there was toxic. It was saturated with sulphuric fumes and would burn your throat and lungs if inhaled. Only those in the Spirit Realm could survive such an environment.

Anyway, I focused and pulled the Qi around me closer. A small vortex formed around me, sucking it in. I quickly devoured it, refined it, and then compressed it into Spirit Qi. The amount was so pitiful! Almost instantly the area around me became devoid of Qi, so I had to move to recover. My energy stores felt nearly empty, especially after going through another round of Starlight Jade Bones tempering.

As I went through the tunnels, twisting and turning, walking towards the upper levels, all the Qi around me would disappear. I just kept devouring as much as I could, yet it never seemed like it was enough. The void in my body refused to diminish.

[Ugh… What is this? How much Qi can I hold onto now? It’s like I’m a bottomless pit.]

Even after many hours, after I came back to the main cavern, I barely just recovered a fraction of my power. The long winding path I took was completely devoid of Qi, yet I was still hungry for more.

“Brother! You are back! What happened?” Magnus ran to greet me.

[Hey… I’m not 100% sure myself. It seemed like my body went through some changes...]

“No kidding! You feel different now.” The man nodded seriously.

[Different, how?]

Magnus cocked his head to the side. “I’m not sure, to be honest. Just… different.”

Well, that’s helpful.

I shook my head and went to sit down. I nodded to the rest of my team as they gave me curious glances, signaling I was fine.

Closing my eyes again, I began to meditate. As we were close to the spring of Pure Spirit Water, I began pulling on some of the Qi from the galaxy spiral as well. As my core was bathed in more energy, the feeling of wholeness returned, and as Qi filled my bones and blood, I felt invincible.

Obviously just meditating wasn’t enough to recover that fast. I also took handfuls of Spirit Stones and drained their energy completely, as fast as I could. I was like a man dying of thirst in the desert after finding an oasis.

Hours later, I was almost full. By then it was already my time to stand guard, and so I had to stop. I passively recovered the rest of the way during that time, and when it was time for Torin to take my place, I found a quiet corner and sat down, resuming my test.

I took a pile of empty Stones and began filling them up one by one, making sure I wasted as little Qi as possible. As minutes went by and turned into hours, my surprise grew. In total I filled up 155 Spirit Stones, and by then my energy stores were only about half empty!

[Holy shit…] I whispered as I stared at the pile of Spirit Stones. That was insane. I more than doubled my capacity again with that little reckless tempering technique.

The guy who came up with the Starlight-Tempered Jade Bones technique really was a genius. It was a shame he died before he could perfect it. However, even the early iteration was already incredible. It was hard to gain these kinds of advantages and the technique was probably one of the most valuable ones I possessed.

[Just one more secret to hide, haha.]

All jokes aside, I decided it was best to keep the consequences of my actions a secret for a while longer. At least until I reached the middle of the Spirit Realm. It was unfortunate that I used up all the energy from the Pure Spirit Water, but I had a feeling that my body had improved once again. As I crossed the threshold into the Spirit Realm, the Body Cultivation techniques could be used again.

Physical improvements could be made even in the absence of new Cultivation resources, so I focused once more on changing my cells into pure energy. It was a long road, but I had time to spare.

So much time had passed. The five-year anniversary of my rebirth came and went while I Cultivated in the darkness, and it was time I spoke with my dear friend again.

[Greetings, young Master Gale.]

“Gerald, you are here. Welcome.” He returned the greeting and gestured for me to follow. “Don’t mind the honorifics, we are friends here.”

[Sure… Did the plan go well?] I gave him a meaningful glance.

“Yes. It took some time but the vote was successful, especially after hearing of your achievements. The old men required some convincing, but they relented in the end. Everything has been prepared.”

[Thank you. I’m in your debt.]

“Haha, don’t mention it. All those manuals more than made up for it. Simply borrowing our testing chamber is nothing much. Here…” He handed over a small leather-bound book, which I took immediately.

[Spirit Body Cultivation.] I read the title out loud. That was what I needed. After asking for help, Gale was able to get me the manual I so desperately needed. After reading it I realized what a proper technique looked like. What I was doing, converting only a few thousand cells at a time, was ridiculous.

This new manual was what I would use to properly convert my body and climb the ranks of the Spirt Realm. But before I began, I had to test my body to see where I was at so I could more accurately build upon the foundation I already established.

That’s why I had to borrow the testing chamber from the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan. It cost me a bit, but it wasn’t too bad. As long as I could pay with knowledge, all was well.

“Here we are.” Gale said. In front of us was a plain pagoda, with stone walls and a wooden roof. It was a few stories high, but what I was looking for was underground.

“Stay close.”

I did as he said and followed after him as we stepped into the courtyard. A weird shimmer went through my body, some kind of Formation, no doubt, but nothing happened afterward. We continued on the path and entered the pagoda where an old man rested on a chair.

He and Gale exchanged silent nods, and a hole opened in the solid ground, revealing stairs.

As we descended, I felt like we stepped into another world. All my senses were cut off at once, and everything went silent. As we came to the end of the stairs, a small room revealed itself, with a screen, dials, levers, and buttons. It was like a command room, just much more magic in nature.

The wall, opposite the entrance, had another doorway.

“There we are. Just step inside and try to relax. I’ll do the rest.” Gale said and gestured at the door.

[Well… I’ll see you in a bit.] I smiled and stepped through.

The inside was relatively small. Like a prison isolation cell, just much taller and covered in a web of inscriptions. I stopped in the middle and waited. My mind was clear and relaxed as I waited, and I didn’t have to wait for long.

The inscriptions, arrays, and Formations lit up one by one, and soon a swirl of light formed, touching my skin and body. Wherever it passed, I felt like a thousand needles stabbing through my skin. It wasn’t too bad. Mildly annoying, but that was about it.

It continued for about a minute, after which the light retracted and disappeared. I waited a while longer and then, figuring it was probably over, stepped outside. As I did so, I saw Gale turn away from the screen, hands still on the controls, and looking at me as if he had just seen a ghost.