Chapter 58: Digesting the Harvest? My System is Upgrading!

In a secluded corner, a formation isolated the inside from the outside.

Lin Xuan sat cross-legged, greedily absorbing the power of the elixirs and the thin spiritual energy in the surroundings, much like a long-parched land receiving sweet rain. This battle of the seal had consumed far more than ever before; his Chaos Golden Core was dim, the phantom of his nascent infant was blurry, and his spiritual sense felt as if it had been drained dry, sending waves of stinging pain.

Yet his will was firm. Guarding his spiritual platform, he slowly circulated the "Nine Revolutions Chaos Scripture," guiding the energy to repair his battered body and soul.

One day, two days...

When Lin Xuan opened his eyes again, the divine light within his pupils was restrained. Although his aura had not fully returned to its peak, it was much more stable and profound. The most severe damage had been mended; the rest would require the slow, grinding work of gradual nourishment.

He immediately sank his consciousness into his dantian. The Chaos Golden Core had resumed its rotation, albeit at a slightly slower pace. The Chaos nascent infant remained illusory, but it was a sliver more solid than before. Having experienced such extreme pressure and the baptism of demonic energy, his foundation had instead been polished to be even more solid, and his understanding of the power of Chaos had deepened by a fraction.

"Misfortune and fortune are interdependent; the ancients did not deceive me," Lin Xuan sighed softly.

Next, he solemnly took out the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token (Fragment) that had performed such a great service.

The token was still covered in cracks and felt icy to the touch. But unlike its previous deathly, dim state, the token now seemed to possess a faint "heartbeat" within, an indescribable spirituality flowing slowly. The complex, previously blurry rune on the surface was now incredibly clear, emitting a deep, nether light. Looking closely, the rune seemed to be composed of countless smaller, constantly appearing and disappearing sealing Dao patterns.

He attempted to probe it with his spiritual sense again. This time, although there was still resistance, he was no longer repelled; instead, he received some fragmented yet much clearer information shards.

These pieces of information confirmed his previous guesses.

In its prime, this token was called the "Nether Soul-Suppressing Token." It was not a demonic magic treasure like those of the Nether Sect, but a righteous divine artifact refined by a great power in ancient times, gathering the righteous energy of heaven and earth and the laws of the netherworld specifically to suppress and purify the most evil and wicked things in the world! Its core functions were "Soul Suppression" and "Demon Sealing"!

What it suppressed was not an ordinary demon, but the "Ruins Abyss Demonic Consciousness," which had formed from countless negative emotions and chaotic energy while attempting to erode the origin of this realm during an ancient catastrophe! The Five Elements Demon-Sealing Land was one of the main battlefields of that seal.

As endless years passed, the seal loosened, and the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token was damaged and shattered in that great war, scattering in all directions. What the Nether Sect obtained were merely imitations or fragments that contained a portion of its power but were polluted and twisted by demonic energy, which they used to develop their evil techniques. The piece in Lin Xuan's hand was a relatively core fragment, retaining the orthodox power of "Soul Suppression and Demon Sealing."

"So that's how it is..." Lin Xuan suddenly understood. No wonder the Soul-Suppressing Token was repelled by the power of the Nether Sect and full of hostility toward that demon (the Ruins Abyss Demonic Consciousness). It was the natural nemesis of these evil spirits!

"It's just that this fragment has lost a significant amount of power and is separated from the main body; wanting to fully repair it is as difficult as ascending to heaven." Lin Xuan stroked the cracks on the token, feeling how severely its origin had been damaged. However, having the correct understanding and direction was better than fumbling blindly.

He carefully put away the Soul-Suppressing Token and cast his gaze toward the system panel. In this adventure, he hadn't gained many Slacker Points, but the system energy was already full again due to the recovery of some miscellaneous items from the Nether Sect and his previous accumulations.

【Current System Energy: 100%】

And what surprised him most was a new notification flashing on the panel:

【Ding! Detected that the host successfully participated in and led the resolution of a world-level potential crisis (preventing the Ruins Abyss Demonic Consciousness from breaking the seal), gaining a large amount of hidden permission experience! The system meets the conditions for an upgrade!】

【Do you wish to upgrade the system immediately? The upgrade is estimated to take 12 hours. During the upgrade, basic functions (storage, scanning, disguise) are available; the shop, enhancement, and task modules will be temporarily closed.】

"System upgrade?!" Lin Xuan was shocked, followed by a surge of ecstasy! This was the first upgrade since he obtained the system! What kind of changes would it bring?

"Upgrade immediately!" He confirmed without hesitation.

【Command confirmed! System upgrade started... Countdown: 11:59:59...】

An invisible ripple spread from within his body, as if a dormant core had been activated, beginning a deep-level transformation.

Suppressing the anticipation in his heart, Lin Xuan began to tally his other gains.

First was the Soul-Condensing Meditation Cushion obtained from the cave dwelling of the Five Elements Rogue. He took it out and sat upon it; a cool, pure soul power slowly seeped into his sea of consciousness, nourishing his exhausted soul with significant effect. He estimated that after fully absorbing it, his spiritual sense strength would increase by about fifteen percent, far exceeding expectations.

Next were the three types of Five Elements Essences (Geng Metal Essence, Profound Water Soul, and Wu Earth Marrow). These were precious materials for refining top-tier magic treasures or cultivating great divine abilities, worth a fortune. He had no use for them for the time being, but they could serve as bargaining chips for exchanging important resources in the future, or... he could see if there were new uses after the system upgrade.

Finally, there was the broken spear left behind by the ancient heroic general.

The spear shaft was covered in rust and cracks, the spearhead was long gone, and only half the shaft remained. Yet holding it in his hand, he could feel a remnant of an unyielding, tragic will to protect the common people. This was not a magic treasure, but more like a spiritual symbol.

Lin Xuan was silent for a moment and bowed slightly to the broken spear. These ancient heroes, who fought to their last remnant of soul to protect this realm, were worthy of respect. He solemnly put the broken spear away; perhaps in the future, he could find a suitable resting place for it.

After handling these, his gaze turned back to the system upgrade countdown. There were nearly twelve hours left.

He decided to use this time to restore his spiritual sense with the help of the Soul-Condensing Meditation Cushion while contemplating the information he had just obtained regarding the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token and the Ruins Abyss Demonic Consciousness, and also to sort out his path forward.

His late-stage Golden Core was already stable, and the Chaos nascent infant had also condensed. The next step was to condense a true Nascent Soul and step into the threshold of high-level cultivators.

However, the cultivation of the "Nine Revolutions Chaos Scripture" was unique, and condensing a Nascent Soul was by no means easy. He needed massive amounts of resources, a deeper understanding of the Dao of Chaos, and perhaps... a special opportunity.

"The Heavenly Origin Secret Realm is rich in resources; perhaps I can find the opportunity to condense my Chaos Nascent Soul here," Lin Xuan pondered. The Five Elements Essences were one direction, but Chaos encompassed everything and could by no means be summarized by the five elements.

He thought of that "Eye of the Earth Vein Convergence" and the chaotic power of the five elements... In a sense, wasn't Chaos the combination of order and disorder, birth and annihilation?

A vague idea gradually took shape in his mind.

Time flew by in cultivation and contemplation.

The moment the system upgrade countdown hit zero—

【Ding! System upgrade complete! Current version: 2.0】

【New functional modules are as follows:】

1. Law Analysis: Can consume energy to perform preliminary analysis on law fragments, Dao marks, and origin auras encountered, providing directions for comprehension and suggestions for fusion. (Note: Analyzing high-level laws consumes a massive amount.)

2. Furnace of All Things: Opens a system-affiliated space "Furnace," where various materials with different attributes or even conflicting ones can be deposited. Consuming Slacker Points and energy, there is a certain probability of smelting new materials/energy crystals of higher quality or with special attributes. (Success rate is related to material quality, compatibility, and resources invested.)

3. Fate Concealment (Primary): Can be actively activated to significantly reduce one's presence for a certain period, shielding against some heavenly calculations and causal tracing. Long cooldown.

4. Shop & Enhancement Module Optimization: Unlocks more high-tier item exchange permissions and increases enhancement module efficiency.

Lin Xuan carefully read the descriptions of the new functions, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter!

Law Analysis! This was a timely gift for his contemplation of the Dao of Chaos and understanding the sealing laws of the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token!

Furnace of All Things! This meant he could try to synthesize more precious things from the materials he had on hand that had different attributes and were of no use! For example, those three Five Elements Essences...

Fate Concealment! This was simply an supreme tool for backstabbing... ah no, for acting with stability! Combined with his concealment divine ability, the effect would be doubled!

This system upgrade was undoubtedly a qualitative leap! It greatly enhanced his foundation and potential!

"Great!" Lin Xuan could not hide his excitement. He immediately tried to activate Fate Concealment.

An imperceptible ripple covered his body, and he felt that a certain connection between himself and the outside world had become much thinner, as if he had become an outsider. The effect was significant!

He nodded with satisfaction and then cast his gaze toward the Furnace of All Things. With a thought, a phantom of a tripod furnace, inside which chaotic air currents seemed to be swirling, appeared in his perception.

Without hesitation, he threw the three Five Elements Essences—the Geng Metal Essence, Profound Water Soul, and Wu Earth Marrow—into it.

【Please input smelting resources (Slacker Points/System Energy): _____】

Lin Xuan thought for a moment and input some Slacker Points and 10% of his system energy. He wanted to see the effect first.

【Resource input confirmed! Smelting started... Estimated time: 1 hour.】

After doing all this, Lin Xuan stood up and removed the formation.

The outside world was still dim, but in his eyes, the path ahead was much clearer.

With the system upgrade complete and his trump cards strengthened, it was time to continue exploring this secret realm and look for the opportunity to condense his Chaos Nascent Soul.

And his first target was the place he had passed by earlier, where the energy was violent and chaotic—the Eye of the Earth Vein Convergence!

He wanted to use the environment there to verify his hypothesis and temper his Chaos nascent infant!

With a flash, he turned into a blurry shadow once again, merging into the deep background of the secret realm.

(End of Chapter 58)