Chapter 6 Wellspring

Chen Fei felt shiver crawl up his spine when he heard Dr Kim's words. He had only just registered with the Holy Fossil Consortium and hadn't even received his first fossil yet but was just offered to lose his humanity at the cost of more power.

A decision like this wasn't made unless he either had a great deal of time to contemplate, or absolutely nothing to lose. The potential gains from cultivating "Boundless" could exceed anything he could get his hands on in a short period of time, and neither would he have to worry about spontaneous combustion due to cultivating multiple Cultivation Methods.

If Kim Baek Hyeon's theory was correct, and the hidden wellsprings of spiritual essence within the body could all be refined, he would have an immense amount of spiritual power to draw from, fixing his problem caused by the Spinosaurus. He would also be able to lay a greater foundation for the future, and increase the chances of him reaching a state higher than a Golden Fossil Knight.

"..... Can you make an educated guess on just how much transformation will occur?", asked Chen Fei.

Dr Kim nodded before taking out the notes he made of Chen Fei earlier. He had no doubt that now that every question had some sort of relevance. Chen Fei's body was still going through puberty and would inevitably go through some physical changes. Just how much would extra would change when cultivating "Boundless" only Dr Kim could possibly know.

"The first thing I can say will affect your physical body will undoubtably be the innate Attribute every Knight possesses. Your body would change in response to the Attribute you awaken, so Attributes with overbearing and extremely strong destructive qualities would most likely affect your body the most. Fire, Lightning, Lava, Storm, Yang or even a very strong Yin Attribute. I suspect these will have the most changes to your physical structure".

"The second thing that will affect your body will be the fossils that you summon and contract. Since their spiritual essence will flow into you and flow out as spiritual power, what species the creature is will most likely affect any physical transformations. If I may, what is the Perennial Fossil the Holy Fossil Consortium gave to you?".

"A Variant Spinosaurus. Earth and Water Attribute".

Dr Kim gave a weak smile.

"Then expect changing into something similar. Perhaps a tail or a massive sail if your unlucky. Claws and osteosclerosis if your are lucky".

Chen Fei nodded rubbing his chin slightly. To say that he wasn't tempted for such a drastic increase in power was a complete understatement. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that this evolution might turn him into some sort of four-eyed, seven armed monster with nine legs, he probably would've accepted on the spot.

However this physical change couldn't be accurately predicted. Even if the transformation could be controlled to some degree, the parts he couldn't control may affect him adversely as well.

"Any chance I'll grow an extra appendage or organ?".

"It's unlikely considering how much it'll change your internals, however the chances are not zero".

Chen Fei let out a deep breath before looking at the vial and book in his hand.

Most Cultivation Methods were broken up into two parts to ensure their secrecy, and to limit the potential leaks of information from organization to organization.

The book was the physical description of the refinement of spiritual essence into spiritual power, and the locations of the wellsprings within the body. Normally, one would move the innate spiritual power within their body towards another wellspring diluting the spiritual essence and gradually converting it into spiritual power.

Most Cultivation Methods only had about 12-15 wellsprings that could be converted, while the higher tier Cultivation Methods had dozens or even several dozens more. Theoretically, with Boundless, Chen Fei could open every single wellspring and convert all the spiritual essence within his body into spiritual power.

The vial on the other hand, was a sort of stimulant, that automatically moved Chen Fei's innate spiritual power along the course that Kim Baek Hyeon's Boundless would move. After about a month the effects of the vial would disipate, and by then Chen Fei should've memorized the flow of power according to the Cultivation Method.

Chen Fei glanced at Dr Kim.

"If I do cultivate this Method, your Method, are you going to tell anyone else about my potential transformations?".

Dr Kim shook his head fervently in denial.

"I am not a member of any Fossil Organization. I do not have to report my findings to the Holy Fossil Consortium. Once my research is complete, I will release my findings to the public, with your name disclosed of course. If the physical affects of Boundless prove negative I'll just have adjust it and retry with another, if another potential Fossil Knight comes along. However, once it is public, people will be able to draw similarities to your power, and Boundless".

Chen Fei let out a deep breath and nodded. He glanced down at the vial of thick red liquid smiled strangely before taking the lid off and winking at Dr Kim.

"Cheers", he said weakly.

Letting the thick, viscous red fluid into his mouth, it disipated the moment it touched Chen Fei's mouth, and was absorbed into his body instantly. Dr Kim just stared at him dumbfoundedly before frantically shouting and Chen Fei.

"You idiot! If you were going to drink it at least tell me first! I need to put the scanners on your body to analyse the changes and spiritual power refinement speed! Christ! Take off your clothes, and put this on your chest, abdomen, forearms and temples. It should take about five minutes to kick in!.... Well, hurry up!".

Chen Fei let out a deep breath as he removed his shirt and pants sitting down on the benchtop, crosslegged with his hands in his lap. This position may not have been the most comfortable, but it was the most suitable to cultivate in universally speaking.

The fifteen year old gradually closed his eyes and slowed his breathing significantly as he focused on the tiny flicker of spiritual power within him. The flame-like wisp shone brightly despite its small size and was in the wellspring located in his heart, surrounded by dozens of other tiny wellsprings of spiritual essence.

He let out a long exhale.

Everything that didn't involve spiritual power or spiritual essence was gradually ignored by Chen Fei, under the influence of the vial he just drunk. Dr Kim said it would move his spiritual power for him for a duration of about a month before disipating and making Chen Fei cultivate using his own abilities.

The heart wellspring that Chen Fei naturally awoken flickered once more, becoming brighter and even larger as time passed by. Considering that Chen Fei only had part of this heart wellspring converted into spiritual power, he still had to refine all of it before moving onto the next wellspring of spiritual essence.

'..... No changes will come for the time being. Not until more wellsprings open....', he thought.

As time passed by the small wisp gradually grew in both size and form. The form of his spiritual essence indicated the Attribute of his spiritual power, forming a small raindrop that looked blue rather than just a clear drop of rain. The tiny raindrop constantly shifted from its gaseous state to its raindrop-like appearance, causing Chen Fei to smile before opening his eyes.

Dr Kim looked at him, his clipboard in one hand and his pen in another.

"Attribute?", he asked.

"Water", responded Chen Fei.

"Any discomfort? Any pain?".

Chen Fei shook his head.

"When cultivating Boundless did any feelings or emotions rise up? Did you feel any sort of sensation, like touch or scent or anything?".

"No nothing like that", Chen Fei replied, "However when I did cultivate Boundless, everything else was blocked out, kinda like everything else just fell away, sight, scent, hearing, touch, taste. Everything. I could only perceive what I was focusing on, I couldn't even hear or see what you were doing".

Kim Baek Hyeon smiled and nodded, putting his clipboard down.

"That's good. Or normal at least. I'm not sure if you're aware, but when relying on the vial for cultivation at the beginning, it is normal for the senses of the body to be dulled slightly and pull your attention solely towards the Cultivation Method. It'll be like that in the beginning, however after the effects of the vial wear off, it'll be harder to concentrate, so memorize the method well".

Chen Fei tilted his head in curiosity.

"Why can't I just use the vial all the time? I can understand that having the senses dulled isn't useful when in the wilderness, but when in the comfort of your own home-".

Dr Kim held up his hand and shook his head negatively.

"Using the vial isn't a good way of cultivating. It is after all a type of synthetic drug. It does use some mutated monster and demonic beast blood while also having some other chemicals that assist cultivation. But just like any other drug, addiction can spawn from continuous use. A Knight has a higher physical resistance of drugs and chemicals however those drugs that use blood from beasts and monsters still have an effect on high-tier Knights. Too much, and an overdose may occur".

Chen Fei showed an understanding expression.

While he didn't feel any particular sensations from the vial, like happiness or euphoria, it wasn't exactly an unplesant experience. He didn't know what the effects of other cultivation drugs were, but he assumed they were much more potent than something like "Boundless".

Dr Kim showed a wide smile before handing Chen Fei a piece of paper with a string of numbers written on it. A business card with Kim Baek Hyeon's email and personal number attached.

"You can contact me using my number here. Contact me the moment your Perennial Fossil arrives and come here to contract it. Otherwise, keep cultivating and refining your spiritual essence. Maybe learn some combat skills or special techniques, just let me know about them before hand so I can get some data, alright?".

Chen Fei nodded giving the doctor a small wave as he walked towards the exit.

A large smile marred his face.