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The creation known as the Sacred Guiding spirit ring was the remarkable result of the Saint Necromancer Electrolux modifying the internal structure of a spirit ring. He developed this by studying Kong Mingan's early theory on spirit ring plasticity and combining it with the core principles of the Sacred Guiding Spirit Furnace.
The main goal was to build a stable spirit power vortex inside the spirit ring and make it permanent, which gave the ring two very special effects.
The first effect was a fully automatic cultivation process. The ring could constantly pull in the surrounding energy from the world, known as Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, and turn it into spirit power for the user.
This meant the owner's spirit power would grow all on its own until they hit a breakthrough point, or what many call a Bottleneck. For someone like Kong Mingan, who was always busy and didn't have much time to sit down and cultivate, this was like having a perfect cheat code for getting stronger.
The second effect was even more impressive and built upon the first. As most people in this world know, the advantage of being a Spell Cultivator is the ability to fire off a fast barrage of Spirit Abilities. However, attacking like that uses up a massive amount of spirit power very quickly. To fix this problem, Electrolux came up with a clever idea.
He wanted to use the spirit ring as a storage device for energy. By using the energy stored inside the spirit ring itself to power the Spirit Abilities, the Spirit Master wouldn't have to use their own internal spirit power at all.
This allowed a Spell Cultivator to use their abilities much more freely without worrying about running out of steam. Even so, if a person kept attacking at a high intensity without any breaks, even a spirit ring with self-recovery might not be able to keep up.
This is where the Sacred Guiding spirit ring really shined. It boosted the ring's ability to recover energy so much that it could refill itself almost as fast as it was used. This solved the huge energy drain problem that usually plagued the Spell Cultivator system. In short, the Spell Cultivator path was now even more powerful than before.
After learning so much about the Spirit Master system of the Douluo World through his research, the Saint Necromancer Electrolux began making even more progress. Lately, he had been looking into a technique called spirit ring fusion.
He wanted to see if he could merge multiple spirit rings together to increase their lifespan and power. His ultimate goal was to break the normal limits of what a spirit ring could hold, hoping to one day create a set of nine spirit rings that were each a million years old. It was clear that Elder Yi was still as brilliant and ambitious as ever.
On the other hand, Kong Mingan had a different idea that showed a lot of promise. However, he couldn't test his theory yet. He had to wait until the Snow Empress's Origin was fully recovered and she finally obtained a real spirit ring. For now, he calmed his mind and focused on refining the details of his Elementalization technique while thinking about what he should choose for his second spirit ring.
His main goal hadn't changed at all. He wanted to find Spirit Beasts with very rare powers, specifically those that could control time or destiny. If he couldn't find those, he had two other special targets in mind: the Mirror Shadow Beast and the Silver Essence Beast.
The Mirror Shadow Beast had an ability called Mirror Image Replication, and the Silver Essence Beast had an ability called Imprint. Both were incredibly useful. Kong Mingan believed that if he could get these abilities, he could master almost every type of elemental energy without needing to hunt down a different spirit ring for every single element.
To get started, he had already sent out teams to search the Star Dou Great Forest and the Ice-Sealed Forest. One team was looking for a thirty-five-thousand-year-old Silver Essence Beast that he knew should exist, while the other was searching for a Mirror Shadow Beast, though he wasn't sure if that species was extinct yet. He wasn't too worried about the search. Based on his usual luck, things tended to go his way whenever he needed something important.
Kong Mingan closed his eyes and tried to focus on his Elementalization research again, but he suddenly felt something strange and frowned. He didn't waste any time. With one hand, he called upon the power of the Divine Examination of Destruction in his palm. With the other, he waved his arm and opened a gray, misty portal beside him.
As the door opened, he felt that something was definitely wrong. A look of confusion crossed his face. He kept his divine power active just in case he needed backup and turned his attention toward the edge of the Bi Lin Seven Absolute Flower Poison Array.
Standing right there, just outside the poisonous mist, was a young man. He had a very ordinary face, but his eyes looked dark and gloomy. This young man was none other than Tang San. He was standing at the edge of the array, and his clothes were so torn and dirty that he looked like a beggar. At that moment, Tang San's expression shifted, and he felt a sudden, powerful urge to scream at the sky.
It had been two months. For two long months, he had been struggling. The Clear Sky Sect was located in the Tianhun Empire, which wasn't actually that far from the Sunset Forest. If everything had gone normally, Tang San should have been able to walk here in about two weeks. Instead, it took him two months of pure misery.
First, the Clear Sky Sect suddenly went into a total lockdown. The gates were guarded so heavily that he couldn't find a way to leave. Then, a massive fight broke out inside the sect. Two powerful Elders started battling so fiercely that they actually destroyed two mountain peaks. Unfortunately, one of those peaks was the Disciple Peak where Tang San was staying. He had been in his room planning his escape when the mountain started collapsing.
Tang San was buried under the rubble. His bones were crushed, and his internal organs were badly injured. If he hadn't used the last bit of his Divine Sense to shield himself from a falling boulder, he would have died right then and there.
Luckily, the disaster actually gave him a chance to leave. He was sent down the mountain to get medical treatment. Using his remaining divine power, he managed to heal his broken body in a little over a month. As soon as he was well enough, he headed straight for the Sunset Forest.
But his bad luck was only beginning. On his very first day on the road, he ran into two bandits who were at the Spirit Emperor level. They beat him up and took every bit of money and supplies he had. The next day, he tried to enter a city to find a place to stay, but the innkeeper kicked him out because he couldn't pay. When Tang San tried to argue, the innkeeper's son, who was a Spirit King, threw him into the street and broke his leg.
With nowhere to go, Tang San tried to sleep in a dark corner of an alley. A group of beggars came over and told him he was stealing their spot. When he refused to move and showed off his Spirit to scare them away, they waited until he fell asleep. They threw a whole basket of rotten eggs at him and ran away laughing while he sat there, smelling terrible and feeling helpless.
On the sixth day, Tang San's leg had healed a bit, and he continued his journey, swearing he would get revenge one day. He washed his clothes in a stream and kept moving, only to get jumped by bandits again. Since he had no money to give them, they beat him even harder than the first ones, breaking his leg again and leaving him in the dirt like a stray dog.
Over the next few weeks, the cycle just kept repeating. He got his leg broken by city guards because he couldn't pay a toll. He got his hand broken for trying to steal food because he was starving. One night, while sleeping in the woods, he was chased by a wild Spirit Beast and accidentally ran into a campsite. The people there thought he was an assassin and three Spirit Ancestors teamed up to beat him.
Tang San stood outside the poison array, thinking about everything that had happened. His face twisted with anger. Ever since he left the Clear Sky Sect, he had been beaten up nearly every single day. Even though he hadn't died, it felt like the entire world was trying to ruin his life. Nothing went right.
However, as he looked at the poison array, he felt a sense of relief. He believed his suffering was finally over. He thought to himself that as soon as he showed his divine power and told everyone who he was, the Immortal Herbs inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would naturally belong to him.
He didn't hesitate. He took a step forward and released a small spark of his Sea God divine power. A blue and gold light rippled out from him, heading toward the center of the forest.
Tang San stood tall with his hands behind his back, looking calm and superior as he waited for the herbs to react to his presence. He waited for a few breaths. Then a few minutes. Then half an hour passed. His calm face started to slip. Something was very wrong. He looked around in confusion and wondered where his Immortal Herbs were.