"This bead is called the Spirit Crystal Marrow."
A hint of pride flashed across the Imperial Daughter's face. "It is the Empire's latest research achievement."
"Over a century ago, we discovered demon cores inside certain strange beasts that cultivators could absorb and use for cultivation."
"The flesh-and-blood power of strange beasts actually generates spiritual energy crystals within their bodies. Although the spiritual energy's purity was very low, this phenomenon nonetheless caught the attention of the previous emperor."
"After more than a century of unremitting research, we gained preliminary mastery over the technology of synthetic spiritual energy. Although it requires vast quantities of flesh and blood as feed, the spiritual energy crystals we cultivate possess a purity very close to superior spirit stones from the Xuanhuang Realm."
Hearing this, Xu Bai could not help but show a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Scrutinizing the Spirit Crystal Marrow before him, he nodded slowly. "Impressive. With such methods, given enough time, it might not be impossible for you to transform this world into a pocket world suitable for cultivators to inhabit. But if this is all it does, it still won't help the overall situation much. Setting aside our Myriad Realms Association, any respectable faction in the Xuanhuang Realm doesn't lack spirit stones," Xu Bai said with a touch of regret.
The Imperial Daughter seemed to have expected Xu Bai's reaction. "I am naturally aware of that. If the Spirit Crystal Marrow only served to provide spiritual energy, I wouldn't have placed its importance right after the Track Determiner."
"In truth, the primary function of the Spirit Crystal Marrow is to transfer the various abilities belonging to strange beasts onto humans, completely free of side effects."
A flash of red light appeared, and an orb swirling with what looked like flames materialized in the palm of her hand.
"This Spirit Crystal Marrow was manufactured using a strange beast called the Blazing Flame Tiger as raw material. Why not test its effects first?" The Imperial Daughter handed over the red orb, speaking with absolute confidence.
*Inheriting a demon beast's divine ability?* In an instant, Xu Bai thought of the wondrous treasure Dongfang Yao had once mentioned. The effect was similar, except that treasure awakened ancient bloodline abilities latent within one's own body.
Grasping the red Spirit Crystal Marrow in his palm, Xu Bai applied a slight bit of force.
Like a glass marble, it shattered instantly. In that split second, countless crimson flames, like streaking fire dragons, surged along Xu Bai's arm and burrowed into his body.
"Roar!"
Before his eyes, a violent demon tiger forged of flame seemed to appear, letting out a furious, unwilling roar.
Xu Bai gave a cold snort, and the illusion shattered in an instant.
A stream of heat circulated once through his body before finally disappearing into the center of his brow.
Xu Bai closed his eyes to comprehend it. A moment later, a wisp of red flame appeared in his palm.
It flickered incessantly, scorching the surrounding air into shimmering distortion.
Xu Bai's expression turned grave.
Because this flame did not mobilize any spiritual power or divine ability. Instead, it was like breathing—an instinct of the physical body.
It could be unleashed with a single thought.
Following Xu Bai's intent, the flame morphed into different shapes.
And as he continually manipulated the flame, stream after stream of memories regarding how to wield this fiery power surfaced in his mind.
Seeing that Xu Bai could master an ability originally belonging to a strange beast so proficiently upon absorbing a Spirit Crystal Marrow for the very first time, the Imperial Daughter also appeared profoundly astonished.
Fearing Xu Bai might misunderstand, she hastily added, "In reality, inheriting the power of strange beasts through a Spirit Crystal Marrow does not carry a hundred-percent success rate. Aside from being tied to an individual's aptitude and natural talent, it also depends to some degree on the strength of the ability."
"According to our research, the more potent and rare an ability is, the harder it is for a human to grasp. And if one fails during the inheritance process, the probability of succeeding on the next attempt drops drastically."
"There is also a limit to the number of special abilities an individual cultivator can inherit. The more abilities one has already mastered, the slimmer the chances of inheriting a new one."
...
The Imperial Daughter explained the rules governing the use of the Spirit Crystal Marrow in detail.
Xu Bai, however, cut straight to the core of the matter. "How difficult is it to manufacture a Spirit Crystal Marrow? How many strange beasts are needed to produce one?"
The Imperial Daughter's ceaseless flow of words abruptly halted.
A blush crept onto her face, and she said somewhat sheepishly, "It takes the flesh and blood of nearly a thousand strange beasts to manufacture a single Spirit Crystal Marrow. However, the Empire's breeding techniques are already quite mature. Provided there are sufficient resources, there is no need to worry about Spirit Crystal Marrow production."
Xu Bai nodded slightly. "This can indeed count as a decent bargaining chip. The power of a strange beast is essentially equivalent to a weakened version of a divine ability. In life-and-death combat, catching an opponent off guard with it would yield miraculous results."
"Aside from this? Are there any other pleasant surprises?" Xu Bai asked again.
A look of hesitation instantly appeared on the Imperial Daughter's face.
Only after a good while did she speak slowly. "This technique has yet to mature..."
"No matter. The Association values potential. If it truly holds boundless promise, we will never be stingy with our support," Xu Bai assured her.
The Imperial Daughter did not respond immediately. Instead, she turned her head, casting her gaze toward Xiao Qing outside the Imperial Treasury.
Seeing Xiao Qing nod in silent consent, she took a deep breath and led Xu Bai to the deepest part of the treasury.
Here stood a massive metal furnace.
Engraved upon the furnace were thousands upon thousands of different strange beasts, lifelike and vivid.
Though no blazing fire could be seen roasting it, the furnace's temperature seemed exceedingly high.
Even from a distance, with Xu Bai's current strength, he could actually feel faint wisps of scorching heat.
*Bang! Bang!*
Violent crashing sounds echoed from within the furnace from time to time.
Listening closely, one could even faintly hear the interwoven wails of countless strange beasts.
It was thoroughly chilling.
The Imperial Daughter seemed deeply wary of this furnace, keeping even farther away from it than Xu Bai.
She explained in a hushed voice, "This object is called the Myriad Phenomena Furnace."
"Its origin lies in a hypothesis—or rather, a fact."
"At the dawn of antiquity, all demon beasts and strange beasts under heaven once belonged to a single body."
"That was the origin of all demon beasts, containing unimaginable power."
"Over countless years, incalculable numbers of individuals separated from its divine form."
"If so, could we not do the reverse? Smelt the world's strange beasts back into..."
"...that original, primordial entity?"
An inscrutable light shone in the Imperial Daughter's eyes.
"Even if we cannot know every single demon beast that has ever existed in the world, by gathering enough species, crafting a slightly weaker fusion..."
"...should still be achievable."
"In fact, ten years ago, we briefly fused together a terrifying demon beast."
"The might it exuded seemed even more terrifying than the Nine-Headed Bird beneath our feet. Everyone present at the time, even Saint Teachers Qing and Hong, was frightened to the point of immobility."
"Unfortunately, it could not survive for long before dissolving away on its own."
Chapter 751