The effect was instantaneous.
A violent pressure surged within his mind, a hammer striking against his skull. His breath caught in his throat, but he remained silent. The cultivation array beneath him blazed even brighter in response to this sudden influx of energy. Then something extraordinary occurred.
A tiny crack materialized in front of him.
It wasn't large or dramatic but it was undeniably real. A thin line appeared in the air that bent and twisted as though reality itself had been scratched open.
From this narrow fracture emerged a tangled cluster of veins, delicate yet terrifying, glowing with a blinding crimson light that pulsed as if alive before drifting toward him.
Sage did not flinch.
The twisted crimson veins shot toward him and burrowed into his body without resistance. The sensation wasn't sharp; it felt invasive, like something replacing what already existed within him.
