The official promotion and the title of Artificer of Restoration became Jiang Yi's golden ticket. The successful repair of the Iron-Heart Defense Array—a success secretly fueled by the essence of the chaotic red Qi he had siphoned into his own core—cemented his new, unique reputation. He was now seen not as a cultivator, but as an indispensable spiritual technician, an oddity whose weakness somehow stabilized high-level chaos.
This reputation quickly earned him access to the sect's most restricted areas.
Two days after his breakthrough to the Fifth Stage, he was summoned, not by an Outer Court elder, but by Elder Ling, the Sect's Head Artifact Guardian, to the Inner Court Artifact Vault.
The Vault was buried deep beneath the Inner Mountain, a place of silent, suffocating power. The air was dry and cold, smelling of ancient copper, ozone, and ozone. Jiang Yi felt the oppressive spiritual weight of thousands of failed artifacts—shattered formation relics, rusted celestial swords, and crystallized remnants of immortal ambitions.
Elder Ling, a placid woman in indigo robes who radiated the calm authority of the late Foundation Establishment realm, led him to the heart of the vault.
"Artificer Jiang Yi," she said, her voice echoing in the stone chamber. "Elder Xuan has personally vouched for your sensitivity. Your task here is not restoration, but assessment. We need to know if the core essence of this artifact can be salvaged."
She gestured toward a massive pedestal protected by shimmering, unstable runes. On the pedestal sat a fragment the size of a millstone: the Spatial Array Fragment.
It was breathtakingly dangerous. The fragment was the remnant of an ancient teleportation array that had failed catastrophically centuries ago. It was not powered by stable Qi, but by raw spatial residue—a terrifying mix of fragmented temporal energy and volatile dimensional static. The air around it was constantly warping, blurring the edges of the room.
The spiritual signature it radiated was pure, unpredictable chaos. Any normal Fifth Stage cultivator who approached it would have their spiritual senses violently scrambled, risking instant cultivation deviation.
To Jiang Yi's azure core, however, it smelled like an absolute, unlimited power source.
"The relic cannot be removed, Artificer," Elder Ling warned. "It is sealed in stasis until your assessment. You must approach it and feel the energy. Tell us what can be categorized."
Jiang Yi approached the pedestal, his entire body trembling under the pressure. The Dust Cloak Method was pushed to its maximum limit, making him appear on the verge of fainting—a natural reaction to the overwhelming pressure of the spatial residue.
He placed his hands onto the cool, crystalline surface of the fragment.
The moment he touched it, the chaos surged. The spatial residue was volatile, aggressive, and utterly unlike stable Qi. It fought the Azure Stabilization Method, attempting to tear his spiritual channels apart.
This isn't Qi, Jiang Yi realized. It's raw concept.
He couldn't use the simple Leech Array to drill a siphon. Instead, he had to perform the Restoration Loop in reverse, using the Azure Sphere to categorize the spatial chaos into its base components.
The Azure Sphere's Categorization Process:
Filtration of Static: The sphere first separated the purely lethal, temporal static—the unstable energy that caused dimensional warping—and expelled it harmlessly back into the air (the required "assessment" phase).
Siphon of Essence: It then identified the core spiritual essence—the pure, crystalline spiritual energy that had been used to fuel the Spatial Array—and pulled this essence directly into Jiang Yi's core.
Meng Li's trap was a child's toy; this was a celestial furnace.
Jiang Yi's core began to roar with a hunger he had never known. The pure essence of the spatial array was denser, richer, and more potent than any Qi he had ever scavenged. It slammed into his Fifth Stage core, instantly consolidating its foundation and pushing him toward the threshold of the Sixth Stage.
He held the connection for five agonizing minutes, his face slick with sweat, his body convulsing in carefully controlled, exaggerated spasms of pain—all part of the "Artificer's struggle" performance.
Elder Ling watched with rapt attention. She saw the chaotic swirling of energy around the fragment slowly subside, replaced by a low, consistent hum.
Finally, Jiang Yi ripped his hands away, stumbling backward and falling onto his knees, gasping for air. He pulled the Dust Cloak back down, making his core appear empty.
"Elder Ling," he managed, his voice weak and trembling, "The core… the core essence is salvageable. Highly potent spiritual energy remains, but only about… about thirty percent of the original potential. The rest is lethal, untamable spatial static. I recommend transferring the remnant spiritual essence into a standard High-Grade Stone for stabilization."
Elder Ling nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "Thirty percent. You are certain, Artificer?"
"Yes, Elder," Jiang Yi confirmed, wiping sweat from his brow. The thirty percent he claimed was exactly the amount he had successfully siphoned into his core. The remaining seventy percent of raw potential spatial energy remained locked in the fragment, undisturbed and still dangerous, exactly as the sect would expect. He had stolen the salvageable energy while leaving the dangerous remnants behind.
"Excellent work, Jiang Yi," Elder Ling praised him. She gestured to a nearby Inner Disciple. "Record that the Spatial Array Fragment retained 30% of its core spiritual essence. Have it stabilized immediately."
Just as Jiang Yi turned to leave, victorious and full of power, a cold voice spoke from the shadows of the vault entrance.
"Thirty percent is a good estimate, Artificer."
It was Elder Xuan. He emerged, walking slowly into the chamber, his jade eyes focused entirely on Jiang Yi.
"However," Elder Xuan continued, reaching into his sleeve and producing a small, crystal tablet. "My remote spiritual chronometer indicates the entire stabilization process took precisely five minutes and twenty-seven seconds. And the energy signature of the core essence that was extracted… well, it suggests a much higher quality than simple Fifth Stage cultivation required. It suggests the pure essence of six thousand, five hundred units of top-grade spiritual Qi."
Jiang Yi froze, his heart slamming against his ribs. Elder Xuan knew the exact metric of his theft.
"The energy you stabilized, Jiang Yi, is the amount required for a peak Fifth Stage cultivator to immediately prepare for the Sixth Stage Breakthrough," Elder Xuan said, smiling, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "Coincidentally, that is the exact volume of high-grade spiritual essence lost from the fragment."
The Elder stepped closer, leaning down. "Your categorization ability is truly extraordinary, Artificer. Now, return to the Outer Court. Begin preparations for your Sixth Stage Advancement. Your categorization talent must not be wasted, and I expect rapid results."
Jiang Yi bowed again, his entire posture screaming fear and confusion, while his inner core pulsed with the terrifying realization that he was no longer hiding from Elder Xuan—he was performing for him. He was a rat in a maze designed by a master tactician, and his every move was calculated.
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