Chapter 105 - And Thus Ends The Separation Arc
(MC POV)
The sky was already dark when I finally found the damn Monster Crystal.
It wasn't easy to find it since the worm was so damn big.
I couldn't even make use of the giant sword since it wasn't good for precision cutting, so I'm forced to use a short sword I had instead and slowly search for that damn crystal.
The only consolation was that the crystal was huge so it was hard to miss it when I finally found it.
Cutting open what seems to be the belly of the worm, I pulled out… Well, more like rolled out, a crystal the size of a small boulder.
Well, for a monster the size of the worm, the crystal's quite small in comparison to be honest.
Now I just need to process this like how Elaria showed me.
I believe the steps were to first break open the rock hard outer layer to expose the softer jelly-like core inside. Elaria claimed that the hard layer were the impurities that could be further processed into other materials but that isn't what I need now.
The softer core would be the crystallization of Pure Elemental Quarks that I needed.
In order to use it to power her machines, Elaria would need to put that jelly core into some kind of purifying extractor that would store the energy in some sort of battery that she can use to power the generators.
The exact procedure to that process is lost to me since we got interrupted at that time.
Fortunately for me, I do not need to purify it into an energy source for my current needs.
Theoretically, I should be able to use myself as a conduit to activate the Technique inscribed on the scroll using the crystallised quarks. This should be possible since I am, or in this body's case, possess the potential to be a Practitioner.
With the flat side of the giant sword, I hammered away at the top layer of the crystal, cracking it in order to expose the thing I needed underneath.
With that done, I laid out the scroll I needed on the ground in preparation to activate it.
Now all I need to do is just to grab this little core and--
My vision went white the moment my hands grasped the core, a huge surge of Pure Elemental Quarks going through my entire body. My body stiffened up and I could no longer control any part of my limbs.
The surge of energy showed no signs of stopping and I feel like I've just eaten enough for four people.
Ok, not good, there were more quarks than I thought… If it goes on at this rate, I'll probably explode.
Thinking fast, I redirected the flow of quarks to where my Cultivation Point would be, perhaps some form of stimulation would cause it to form earlier than normal.
My entire body began to burn painfully, almost as though I was submerged in lava.
Gritting my teeth, I powered through the pain, knowing that it wasn't the worst I've felt in this life.
The quarks slowly gathered into an orb, the pain intensifying the longer I held it there as more and more quarks entered my body from the crystal.
The pain slowly subsided as I gathered all the quarks I could at one place, the burning settling down into more of a sweltering heat.
But just as I thought I managed to tide over the worst of it, another surge of energy washed over me from the crystal, the pain the double of what I felt just now.
I almost lost my focus in keeping the quarks stabilised, just managing to hold on at the last second.
The flow of quarks expanded the orb painfully inside my body, its size tripling in just a short few seconds.
My mind was going full throttle trying to find a way out of this predicament.
Just as I came up with a plan to redirect the flow out into the ground through my feet, I felt the stirring of something familiar deep within me.
A space just fit for the quarks to be stored was formed exactly at where I had directed the flow, apparently I was right that the stimulation will hasten the formation of my Cultivation Point.
The pain subsided again, this time the heat lowering into a comfortable warmth.
Just in case, I kept my focus up and watched over the quarks being absorbed into my newly formed Cultivation Point.
It took a good five minutes before the tide of Elemental Quarks ebbed, the stream turning into a trickle before shutting off completely.
The next half an hour was spent solely on stabilising the newly formed core.
It didn't take me long to realise that it was way bigger than it should be, like three times bigger than what I had normally and it's still growing in size even now.
Could this be a new discovery?
Stimulating prospective Practitioners' Cultivation Point with Pure Elemental Quarks to expand their Cultivation Point's size?
Could normal mortals also become Practitioners through this method?
No… Not anyone could go through that pain I did, especially not normal children at this age. The success rate will be lower than even null point one percent.
Can't deny that this is a groundbreaking discovery though, but you won't catch me starting experiments on people any time soon.
Still… Perhaps I could try to take in another Monster Crystal and see how that goes?
My vision cleared once the Pure Elemental Quarks have been fully absorbed, the area was totally dark now.
I looked down to the crystal, the jelly like core gone without a trace.
I focused my senses back inside me, the familiar and yet also alien feeling of my Cultivation Point resting securely within my body.
Fearing there might be some damage caused by the influx of quarks, I double checked all my meridians and Quark Veins, breathing a sigh of relief when I found them perfectly fine.
The only difference now is the huge Cultivation Point that formed inside me.
After fully stabilizing, it's a good five times bigger than before my body regressed.
Well this opens up a whole new avenue of things I can do, but I'll have to check on that later.
I flexed my fingers, circulating the quarks within me and watching my hands glow with energy quarks sparking off of them.
Yep. I am back.
What's even better is that proficiency in all the Elemental Quarks come from your soul and experience, not your physical skills. This means my Quark strength has returned completely to before I transformed into this child form and I didn't need to start all over from scratch.
Scratch that, it's even stronger now after my Cultivation Point expanded.
Looking towards the dead centipede monster just gives me another idea.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?
Since the Monster Crystals is the result of the crystallization of Pure Elemental Quarks within the monster's body, I am actually able to manipulate the body's quarks to speed up this process.
Placing my hand on one end of the corpse, I did just that.
My senses now tuned to the corpse's remnant Elemental Quarks, I moved those quarks to where I sense the monster's Cultivation Point is.
The area almost crystallised instantly with my manipulation, I didn't even need to search for it since I can sense it this time.
Just a quick slice of an air blade had the giant Crystal rolling out of the cut on its own.
I exposed the jelly core again with a punch and placed my hand in it.
This time there was no surge of quarks since I could control the flow according to my will.
My Cultivation Point immediately set to absorbing all the quarks I directed there, expanding even further until it was about two and a half times bigger.
Now I wonder if this was the way to actually expand a Practitioner's Cultivation Point? If this can work for any Practitioner it will be a really scary prospect.
Practitioners would become stronger easily and non-Practitioners would probably never ever stand a chance against them any longer.
This should stay secret for now.
At least, until I understand more about it. Only then will I decide if I should spread this bit of news or not.
Or… I guess my disciples should be an exception to that.
Anyway, I think I've wasted enough time here, my sisters and disciples must be worried right now…
Oh no... They probably already met by now huh? Especially with that giant beam of light that everyone would probably converge on...
Oh crap…
There's the issue of those busybodies as well, but I don't think they're that big of a problem since the Earthen Plane should be insignificant in their eyes.
And since I've already tried spreading my senses around the area and found no trace of a second transfer which might mean Elaria being sent over, they must have decided that fixing my accidental transfer was more important.
And I should probably get out of here before they come find me. Who knows? They might even be too busy searching for me here they might even forget about Elaria completely.
I stored the sword and the scroll back in my ring, using my own Quarks to activate the teleportation technique.
Since I already have an anchor in the Earthen Plane itself, it wasn't so hard to just send myself back through the Soul Link.
My body glowed a golden colour before my vision turned white again, signalling the transfer was successful.
I hope my sisters haven't given my disciples any weird ideas yet…