Chapter 459: The Poison of Incense

Since he had decided to upgrade the Xuan Gang Hong Chen Barrier, Gao Jie Ming's thoughts immediately became clear.

Simply increasing the storage capacity of Hua Shen Sha and Hong Chen Qi was merely treating symptoms, not the root cause, with limited effect.

To make it truly worthy of his current power level and a reliable asset in future Wizard Wars, he must reinforce it at the material's very essence.

His gaze swept over the mountainous stacks of Shu Sha Jade Vats in the warehouse, then toward the misty stores of incense divine power and Hong Chen Qi nearby, finally settling back on the ever-shifting Xuan Gang Hong Chen Barrier before him.

"Materials…" Gao Jie Ming murmured for a moment, then his eyes suddenly brightened as he realized something.

He gestured, and the black giant priest waiting outside the warehouse immediately stepped forward briskly.

"Over the years, where have you stored the 'impurities' filtered out by the incense divine system?" Gao Jie Ming asked directly.

The black giant priest bowed his head slightly and replied respectfully: "Master, please follow me."

It led Gao Jie Ming away from the main storage area, through corridors crisscrossed with complex energy pipelines, to the entrance of a more secluded warehouse with noticeably tighter security.

The heavy alloy door was inscribed with suppression and sealing talismans, and faint golden networks of incense divine power subtly covered its surface, forming a dual seal.

The black giant priest activated his authority; the door slid open with a low hum.

The interior space was not especially large, but at its center stood an extremely complex multi-layered composite array.

The array glowed with shifting light, emitting a powerful binding field that firmly locked in place a strange entity at its center.

At first glance, the substance resembled incense divine power, glowing a golden hue.

Under the array's intense compression, it had coalesced into a slow, viscous, nearly solid liquid.

Yet its essence was the complete opposite of incense divine power's warmth, sanctity, and orderly nature.

Within this golden liquid, it was as if every pigment had been spilled—swirling with countless twisted, discordant, dazzling color patches.

These patches constantly shifted and merged, radiating a bizarre aura of extreme chaos, madness, malice, and irresistible allure.

Merely gazing at it from afar unsettled the mind, as if countless malicious whispers murmured at the ears.

"This is… the 'impurity,'" Gao Jie Ming stood at the array's edge, staring at the twisted golden liquid, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

According to records in the Great Dao Library, incense divine power is fundamentally a collective entity formed from the "afterglow" of thoughts, inspirations, and mental emissions of sentient beings influenced by the incense divine system.

Faith and ritual ceremonies can effectively increase the yield and concentration of this "afterglow," but are not absolutely necessary.

As a product of sentient minds, it inevitably contains both positive and negative, order and chaos, benevolence and malice.

In the early stages of the incense divine system's development, technology was crude and lacked effective separation and purification methods.

All collected mental afterglow was processed directly into "incense divine power."

The resulting divine power might match in energy strength and functionality, but carried grave hidden dangers.

The most common consequence was long-term use or exposure to this unpurified divine power, which subtly eroded the user's emotions, soul, and even fundamental will through its chaotic impurities.

Mild cases led to drastic personality changes and rampant inner demons; severe cases resulted in complete loss of self, becoming puppets driven by intrusive thoughts or mindless "response machines."

Ancient cultivators called this terrifying aftereffect "incense poison," and spoke of it with dread.

As eras progressed and technology evolved, later cultivators continuously refined the incense divine system.

One of the most important improvements was the addition of a powerful filtration and purification system before producing incense divine power.

This system effectively stripped away intense personal will imprints, extreme emotional fragments, and all harmful negative and chaotic informational impurities from the mental afterglow.

The "dross" filtered out were precisely this golden liquid radiating a bizarre aura—pure, highly concentrated "incense poison!"

As a self-activating defensive magic treasure capable of retaliating against attackers, the strength of the Xuan Gang Hong Chen Barrier's defense and counterattack largely depended on the nature of its core material.

Since it is meant to be used against enemies… the more "toxic," the more "brutal," the harder to prevent or remove, the better the effect!

"Over the years, what is the accumulated production and storage volume of incense poison?" Gao Jie Ming turned to the black giant priest beside him, his tone tinged with anticipation.

The priest immediately pulled up the relevant data, projecting it onto a screen: "Master, since the main framework of the incense divine system stabilized and began operation, the filtration system has run at full efficiency."

"Initial output was low, but as the black giant population expanded and social activities grew more complex, impurity production has risen annually. Current daily output is stable at approximately 3,700 standard units. After array compression and purification, total stored volume is as shown…"

The screen displayed a clear graph and current storage figures.

Seeing the already substantial stockpile and the steadily rising daily output, Gao Jie Ming couldn't help but grin, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

This was highly purified and compressed "incense poison!"

Although black giants' thoughts are relatively simple, their numbers are enormous.

And what lay in this warehouse was the essence of decades of accumulated impurities, negative emotions, and chaotic wills from billions of black giants!

Its toxicity, infectivity, and soul affinity were unquestionably top-tier materials for curses and spiritual contamination attacks!

Perfect for upgrading the Xuan Gang Hong Chen Barrier!

Yet Gao Jie Ming did not let excitement cloud his judgment.

"A fine material… but using it on the Xuan Gang Hong Chen Barrier demands extremely precise refining techniques and a stable carrier structure, or it will harm you before it harms the enemy," he analyzed calmly. "Moreover, incense poison has unique properties—it must fuse perfectly with other materials to maximize its effect and ensure control."

He glanced once more at the twisted, writhing golden toxin within the array, forcibly suppressing the urge to begin immediately.

"Before that…" Gao Jie Ming turned, his gaze fixed toward the laboratory, "I must first complete the modifications to 【Cause-Effect Trace Technique】 and 【Tai Xu Step】."

Eat your meal one bite at a time; walk your path one step at a time.

With the experience of successfully modifying 【Gui Xu Armor】 and a deeper understanding of spiritual energy laws, Gao Jie Ming was confident he could transform these two uniquely structured spells into vital components of his combat system in a shorter time.

Then, with these three core materials—the Hua Shen Sha warehouse, the Hong Chen Qi warehouse, and this pool of incense poison—he would give the Xuan Gang Hong Chen Barrier a complete metamorphosis!

(End of Chapter)