Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three: The Spatial Ring

"Three hours? No! At least four! The restoration of the Interstellar Fortress is at its most energy-intensive stage right now, and I require a massive amount of power. The meager amount you absorb daily is far too little; the duration must be extended." Sophia was clearly dissatisfied with the terms Wei Hua had proposed.

"Fine! Four hours it is!" Wei Hua was anxious to forge the spatial ring he had been dreaming of for so long, and he had no desire to argue or haggle with Sophia. Once he agreed to her terms, his consciousness withdrew from the black hole space and returned to his own mind. He first practiced his cultivation techniques to steady his spirit, then began converting his internal electrical energy into true fire. A cluster of violet flames appeared out of thin air before him, growing steadily larger as he channeled more power, until it reached the size of a basketball. Once the flame stopped growing, the meteorite iron he had placed before him floated silently above it, and the violet fire began to burn. This meteorite, salvaged from the Amazon rainforest, was a peculiar object; it took four or five hours of exposure to his true fire before it began to change.

The iron first turned red, then soft, and finally began to liquefy. As it melted, numerous impurities were incinerated by the true fire and vanished into the air as wisps of smoke. It took Wei Hua over thirty hours to refine the entire soccer-ball-sized chunk of meteorite into liquid, which had by then shrunk to the size of a chicken egg. However, Wei Hua did not stop. With the help of his communicator, he knew that the liquid still contained many impurities. While it was technically ready to be forged into a spatial ring, the quality would be poor. The purer the material, the higher the quality of the ring, so he continued to refine it.

After another dozen hours, the liquid had shrunk to the size of a pigeon’s egg. After carefully examining it with his consciousness, Wei Hua found that it was virtually free of impurities—even low-grade materials had been incinerated by his true fire. The liquid was now a top-tier forging material, and the resulting ring would surely be of exceptional quality. Wei Hua began to use his consciousness to shape the liquid, then inscribed the "Sumeru Spatial Array" into the interior of the ring. He withdrew his true fire, and a beautiful violet spatial ring floated before him.

Wei Hua picked up the ring to examine it closely. It looked unremarkable, but it felt heavy in his hand, weighing at least ten pounds—if an ordinary ring were this heavy, no one would ever wear one. The ring was not truly finished, however, as the Sumeru Spatial Array had not yet been activated. Only after activating it with his consciousness would the process be complete. The arrays used in cultivation require energy—specifically, the cultivator's true essence or consciousness—and the Sumeru Spatial Array was no exception. Since Wei Hua’s consciousness was nearly exhausted, he had to wait for it to recover before he could activate the array.

After two days of rest, Wei Hua’s consciousness was restored. He took the violet ring and poured his consciousness into the inscribed array with all his might. The infusion had to be done in one continuous flow, or the array would be destroyed, rendering the ring useless. Before long, feeling his consciousness nearing depletion, Wei Hua stopped the infusion and tossed the ring into the air. His hands moved rapidly, casting a series of seals onto the violet band, and with a low shout of "Activate!", the ring emitted a strange ripple before falling into his palm.

Wei Hua let out a long breath. The spatial ring was finally forged. It had been far more difficult than creating parts for a nuclear fusion motor, which required neither arrays nor energy infusion. With a spatial ring, the slightest mistake could lead to failure, but luckily, Wei Hua’s luck had held, and he had succeeded on his first attempt. He no longer felt any weight from the ring, and it now shared an inexplicable connection with his consciousness. He could easily project his senses into it, revealing a space of several hundred cubic meters. Overjoyed, Wei Hua began testing it by storing and retrieving various small objects from the basement. The process was simple: he would wrap an object in his consciousness and intend for it to be stored, and the ring would absorb it. To retrieve it, he simply sent his consciousness into the ring, located the item, and willed it to appear.

After playing with it for a while, Wei Hua wore the ring on the pinky of his right hand, detached the nuclear fusion motor connectors from his body, stored the motor in his new ring, and left the basement. Two security guards from the Qiyuan estate were stationed at the door; seeing him emerge, one hurried forward.

"Sir! Do you need anything?"

"No! I am finished with my work. You don't need to stand guard here anymore; go get some rest." With that, he headed toward the main building. Before he reached it, David came out to meet him, having been notified by the guards via intercom.

"Sir! I have prepared hot water for you upstairs so you can take a shower. I have also had the kitchen prepare a meal, which will be ready just as you finish." David said.