Seeing that Huai Shi had made up his mind, Little Cat was quite satisfied. He merely flicked his cigarette ash, and Huai Shi felt something extra in his pocket, while a whisper, almost like an illusion, reached his ear.
"I'll give this to you first as a down payment."
When Huai Shi reached into his pocket, he found that the item that had fallen into it was that fine iron chain. Before he could react, upon contact with his Source Substance, the chain disintegrated, turning into a wisp of Source Substance that burrowed straight into his Soul.
Involuntarily, Huai Shi's body shuddered, and the chair beneath him screeched sharply.
Li Jian Amber and Ansali looked over. Seeing Huai Shi motionless, they assumed he had merely changed his posture. But then, they saw two intense beams of light burst forth from his eyes.
It was as if he had installed two hundred-watt light bulbs behind his eyeballs.
Gleaming!
That was the terrifying luminance emitted by the violent collision of countless particles of Source Substance.
Under Huai Shi's coat, without his initiative, the Stigmata Mountain Ghost stirred to life on its own. From the opening on his chest, a pallid firelight flickered, resembling the glow of subterranean magma.
That was the Alchemy Fire in the furnace!
And in the very center of the flames, what emerged was the exact shape of that fine iron chain.
Upon touching the slender piece of steel, which resembled a pendant's chain, Huai Shi realized it was steel purely converted from Source Substance by some method—its effect identical to his Hand of Confinement!
And its level of completion far surpassed his own by ten, even a hundredfold!
Once it lost Little Cat's suppression and was awakened by Soul Power of the same origin, the iron chain sprang into Huai Shi's Soul as if alive, revealing its true form.
It expanded rapidly.
In the realm of his ephemeral consciousness, a vertical Lock Chain appeared. It had no visible upper or lower end, as if extending to the limits of his perception.
As the Lock Chain continuously magnified, countless intricate structures formed purely from Source Substance unfolded before Huai Shi.
With just a slight movement, the friction between the Lock Chain's countless links created thunderous roars. Sparks, like lightning, filled every direction.
Then, it finally found what resonated with it and contracted abruptly.
All anomalies vanished without a trace.
Like two great rivers merging into one, it seamlessly integrated into Huai Shi's Soul, becoming a part of the Hand of Confinement.
Integrated into... The Sorrow of Index?
Huai Shi didn't have time to consider the astonished expressions of the other two. With a casual grab, The Sorrow of Index shot out from his fingertips. It was no longer the iron thread of old but had transformed into a Lock Chain enveloped in a thin veil of black smoke.
Sparks shot continuously from the tips of the Lock Chain's links. Metal clashed, yet not a single jarring noise was made, as if even sound itself was bound by it.
Huai Shi's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Source Substance he had split off had actually become a genuine Border Relic?