Jing Qian discovered that this newly formed void was even smaller than the pouch's space, about twenty percent less, not even a full cubic meter.
The only reason he could be sure this void was born from the Sumeru Pattern devouring the pouch was because inside it rested the same three items he had just seen within the pouch.
Though it had cost him a priceless storage treasure, Jing Qian had awakened a brand-new function of the Sumeru Life Pattern!
This void was now embedded within the dimensional space of Sumeru, becoming a unique pocket that only he could access.
He leaned closer to inspect it carefully.
When he reached out to touch the bubble-like void, he was startled to find that, as the master of the Sumeru Pattern, he could enter it without the slightest obstruction!
Slowly, hunched over, he squeezed himself inside the cramped space.
This void was barely a fraction of a cubic meter in volume, just slightly larger than his small, youthful body.
Were it not for the bubble's elastic, shapeless boundaries, which shifted freely with his movements, he might not have been able to fit at all.
Once he managed to crawl fully inside, an unfamiliar yet powerful sense of security welled up in his heart.
In his sea of consciousness, the Sumeru Pattern pulsed quietly, like a beating heart.
It was resonating in harmony with the void around him.
Jing Qian savored the feeling carefully, faintly aware that this was something of great importance to him.
Meanwhile, far away from Hunzhou, in a strange and distant place, a reaction occurred.
On a solitary snow-covered peak stood a towering mountain, crowned with a brightly lit tower.
Inside the second level of that tower rested a massive armillary sphere cast from purple bronze.
When the Sumeru space opened, the armillary sphere quivered ever so slightly in the direction of Hunzhou.
So slight was the tremor that it would have gone unnoticed unless one had been watching without blinking.
Seated in the four cardinal directions around the sphere were four elders clad in official robes.
They were as still as statues until the tremor came.
At that instant, all four opened their eyes.
The elder in the east spoke first:
"Huang Yan, the Armillary Sphere has moved. Go and see if a Cave Heaven has awakened!"
The elder in the south rose silently and departed.
At the same time, after much careful testing, Jing Qian gained a deeper understanding of the newborn void.
First and foremost, it was an exceptional storage treasure!
Its inner space was stable, its shape freely mutable, and it was bound deeply to him; he could use his will to access anything stored within at any time.
This benefit alone made him overjoyed.
But beyond that, the second feature of the void was what truly solved Jing Qian's greatest problem.
Whenever he traveled through dimensional space using the Sumeru Pattern, every second consumed vast amounts of his White Fang Life Essence.
Even with the Fate Stele to quickly replenish his power, he often ran into situations where his mana was utterly drained.
Yet inside this newborn void, he felt as though he had returned home completely at ease.
Here, the rate at which his life essence was consumed plummeted to almost nothing.
This tiny space could serve as his most secure hiding place!
With the power of Sumeru, whenever danger struck, he could instantly slip into the void and preserve his life.
His safety had increased enormously.
This accidental gain had given him a powerful hidden trump card.
And all of it stemmed from the terrifying might of the Sumeru Pattern!
This Golden-Root-rank Life Pattern was like a treasure mine with no end, constantly granting him new surprises.
Seated cross-legged in the cramped space, Jing Qian attuned himself to the unique rhythm of his life resonating with the void.
A sense of peace like never before washed over him.
He knew, from this day forth, no matter how perilous the situation, as long as the Sumeru Pattern endured, this void would remain his steadfast refuge.
Jing Qian settled himself, calmed his mind, and leapt into the Fate Stele space.
The moment he entered, the third benefit of the newborn void revealed itself.
While seated safely inside, he extended his senses outward and found that the void outside remained completely stable.
At last, a major worry was lifted from his heart!
In the past, whenever Jing Qian entered the Fate Stele space, his physical body would lapse into a brief slumber, his most vulnerable moment.
Unless someone stood guard, he was forced to maintain constant awareness of the outside world.
Even so, the risk had always been enormous.
This constant threat was his greatest hidden fear.
But now, with his body hidden safely within the void, he could enter the Stele space without the slightest concern.
Jing Qian looked beyond the safety zone with renewed excitement.
There, beside three humanoid figures, a white jade crab the size of a millstone scuttled back and forth.
It was the very Whitefang-rank crab he had slain, its spirit remnant now appearing within the Stele.
Yet demons were strong in flesh but weak in spirit. This massive beast's manifested soul was pitifully fragile, far weaker than that of a human cultivator of the same level.
Jing Qian, now far stronger than before, raised his hand. Two threads of silk shot forth, latching directly onto the crab's pincers.
The lines spiraled and coiled, binding the crab tighter and tighter, trussing it up from claws to legs.
One glance was enough to show he had learned this binding technique well.
Once it was secured, Jing Qian gave a sharp tug, hauling the crab toward the safe zone until it slapped against the invisible wall with a dull thud.
Without hesitation, he channeled his mana into his right leg and lashed out at the creature's soft underbelly with a savage whip kick.
Bang!
The blow made the crab shriek in pain.
Jing Qian ignored it, mercilessly striking again and again until, before long, the crab's soul was beaten to death.
Its weak spirit collapsed entirely, so feeble that not even the chance of revival remained.
At once, a stream of pure Life Essence and two faint scraps of memory rose like smoke and drifted toward Jing Qian.
Absorbing the Life Essence replenished his exhausted body, returning him to his peak, and at the same time, birthed his third Whitefang Life Pattern.
That part was expected routine, nothing worth remarking.
But those two faint scraps of memory he had never counted on…
And they made his eyes light up with sudden interest.