Chapter 43: Comprehension of the Mechanism

Although there was only a faint, almost imperceptible connection between him and the Dragon Core, having it and not having it were two completely different matters.

Upon entering meditation, Chen Ming could feel that the Dragon Core held in his arms seemed to have become an external Dantian outside his body.

Although he could not temporarily use the Dragon Core to directly draw soul power from the external heaven and earth, Chen Ming could inject his own soul power into the Dragon Core and retrieve it whenever needed.

And what was the capacity of the Dragon Core?

In Chen Ming's perception, if his soul power at full state were counted as 10 units, this Dragon Core had a capacity of at least 10,000 units. Moreover, as the Dragon Core revived, this capacity should increase even further.

Furthermore, because its inherent attribute possessed extreme vitality and it was fused with such a magical metal as the Gold of Life, this Dragon Core possessed a special function.

The soul power Chen Ming injected into the Dragon Core was rapidly consumed, and after a process of purification and transformation, it turned into pure life force, which then flowed through the skin connected to the Dragon Core and poured into Chen Ming's body.

Chen Ming, who had felt weak due to excessive blood loss, recovered rapidly under this life force. His slightly pale face regained its ruddy color in an instant, and a wave of comfort washed over his entire body, as if his whole physique had become much lighter.

Although he did not examine it closely, Chen Ming could sense that the impurities deposited in his body from long-term use of various medicines were gradually being expelled by the flushing of this life force, and the hidden injuries caused by previous training were also slowly healing.

"What a truly miraculous effect. From now on, having this is equivalent to constantly having an exceptional healing-type soul master by my side."

Chen Ming opened his eyes and stretched comfortably. Although his spiritual power and soul power still had significant gaps, the physical comfort involuntarily lifted his spirits.

Yet, after the initial delight, Chen Ming looked at the Dragon Core in his hand, which seemed to have grown slightly rounder, and a trace of doubt remained in his heart.

"The quality of this life force is extremely high. But why do I always feel that it still falls somewhat short compared to the Nine Heart Begonia..."

In terms of sheer numbers, the life force Chen Ming had just transformed surpassed by an unknown margin what Ye Lengleng had displayed that day. Even so, Chen Ming still failed to sense the existence of a "first-strike priority +1" trait within this life force.

The difference lay in the mechanism, not the numbers.

Just as Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer could smash mountain ranges, and under the technique of ring detonation, unleash a blow comparable to a deity. Yet no matter how Tang Chen exerted his power, it was impossible for him to conjure a sausage using his Clear Sky Hammer.

Previously, Chen Ming had assumed it was due to his own lack of worldly knowledge, and that certain special martial souls naturally carried special mechanism-based abilities. However, after witnessing the entire life of the Azure Jade Dragon, Chen Ming began to feel that what was truly special should be the Nine Heart Begonia martial soul itself.

For the mechanism of the Nine Heart Begonia seemed fundamentally different from that of the Douluo Continent, as if it were the result of a higher version.

"When I have time, I should visit Ye Lengleng more often and take the opportunity to observe the Nine Heart Begonia closely."

"Come to think of it, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda also seems like a pretty good observation subject. A fixed percentage boost that ignores level gaps, soul skills that remain unchanged regardless of the configuration of the soul beast's rings—perhaps the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is also a mechanism monster?"

Chen Ming stroked his chin, his mind racing with countless thoughts.

"What about the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon? The Clear Sky Hammer? The Blue Silver Emperor? The Six-Winged Angel?"

"Are these renowned martial souls numerical monsters or mechanism monsters, or perhaps both?"

"Might the martial souls of those titled Douluo conceal something extraordinary? Do the Sea God's inherited martial soul, the Sea God, and the Spirit Hall's Six-Winged Angel harbor any special secrets?"

"Angel Domain, Sea God Domain, Slaughter Domain, Demon-Breaking Domain, Two-Domain Co-Existence..."

"Invincible Golden Body, Teleportation, Martial Soul Fusion Skills..."

Thinking of this, Chen Ming slapped his thigh, feeling as though he had caught a glimmer of inspiration for his future development.

"Although the Blue Phosphor Serpent martial soul seems to possess neither mechanisms nor numerical superiority, Dugu Bo's Blue Phosphor Serpent Emperor is the pinnacle of the Blue Phosphor Serpent martial soul, which should have a considerable gap compared to Dugu Yan's Blue Phosphor Serpent. I can find a way to observe it up close when the time comes..."

"Wait, speaking of which, could the fact that Dugu Bo's lineage is prone to poisoning themselves be considered a special kind of mechanism? Although it's a negative mechanism, it should count as one to some extent, right?"

"Then let us assume further: are those martial souls that naturally possess domains the manifestation of a mechanism? If one artificially creates a mechanism or utilizes the traits of a martial soul to mimic a mechanism, could one thereby acquire a domain?"

"The burial place of the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King transformed into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Could I possibly use this to peek into the essence of the two former Dragon Kings?"

"Now that I think about it, do immortal herbs also possess mechanisms of their own?"

"Is it precisely because of these mechanisms, which take priority over attribute stacking, that the so-called immortal herbs, domains, and god-tier martial souls have emerged?"

A single moment of enlightenment surpassed ten years of arduous cultivation. Chen Ming's mind gradually grew ecstatic, and his whole being seemed to sink into a special state of transcendence.

Unwittingly, he seemed to have entered a peculiar world where two gaps appeared before his eyes.

Through these gaps, Chen Ming seemed able to perceive various manifestations of the laws of nature. If he so desired, he could reach his consciousness out from the gaps to peer into that world belonging to the laws.

Upon stepping into the first gap, Chen Ming understood the very essence of this aperture.

It was the manifestation of his first soul ring, originating from the five-hundred-year-old Blue Phosphor Seven-Absolute Flower.

If absorbing a soul ring for an ordinary person was like opening a blind box of pre-prepared meals, then Chen Ming's previous method of absorbing soul rings was akin to choosing from a menu of pre-made dishes. Although vastly more precise than eating a blind box, it was still confined within the general framework of pre-prepared food.

Right now, Chen Ming's act of entering this gap was equivalent to sneaking into a hotel's back kitchen.

Although there were no ready-made dishes prepared, he had cooking utensils and ingredients at his disposal right before him. Whether he wished to follow a recipe or combine ingredients wildly and whimsically, the power of choice rested entirely in Chen Ming's hands.

Yet precisely because he had sneaked in through the back door, there was an upper limit even to his arbitrary choices.

Whether it was the cooking utensils, the raw materials, or the finished dishes, Chen Ming could currently only keep them within the kitchen and could not take them away from it. Even if he swallowed them into his stomach, the ingested items would vanish the moment he left the kitchen. Because in essence, these things still did not belong to him.

Moreover, once he crossed a certain baseline and indulged in limitless greed, this thief named Chen Ming might be directly detained inside the kitchen, becoming a part of those cooking utensils or ingredients.

However, compared to the benefits, these potential negative costs were simply too negligible to mention.