The origin essence saturated his consciousness, each droplet of primordial energy carrying information density equivalent to entire libraries. His comprehension ability—already Divine-Tier—began its ten-thousand-fold amplification.
Neural pathways that shouldn't exist in biological brains formed spontaneously. His spiritual consciousness, the ethereal component of awareness that cultivators developed, crystallized into structures of impossible complexity. The boundary between mind and soul blurred as both underwent synchronized evolution.
His eyes—physical organs that served as the gateway to consciousness—began changing too.
Golden irises that had always carried rainbow luminescence during active analysis now blazed with light that penetrated dimensional barriers. His pupils dilated and contracted in patterns that defied normal anatomy, adapting to perceive spectrums far beyond visible light.
The eyes are the gateway to the soul, some ancient text had claimed. Vaelor was discovering the literal truth of that statement as his visual organs became something more than biological—they were becoming perceptual tools capable of observing fundamental reality itself.
The process continued for one hour. Then two. Then three.
The spatial crack above him remained open, continuously feeding origin essence into his transformation. The upgrade system—designed to provide this specific enhancement—maintained the connection despite the massive energy expenditure.
Within Vaelor's spiritual sea, changes rippled outward from the center.
His consciousness, floating in that internal ocean of power, had become a miniature sun—blazing with origin essence, radiating transformed awareness that touched every aspect of his being.
His soul, that immortal component that would persist beyond physical death, crystallized from its previous gaseous form into something approaching solid structure. Not rigidly solid—it retained fluid adaptability—but far more real than before. More substantial. More permanent.
His spirit, the vital force animating his existence, underwent purification that removed impurities he hadn't known existed. Every trace of mundane limitation burned away, leaving only purified essence.
And through it all, his comprehension ability multiplied.
10x... 100x... 1,000x... 10,000x... 100,000x...
Knowledge that would have taken years to master became instantly comprehensible. Principles that had seemed complex reduced to elegant simplicity. Connections between disparate concepts revealed themselves as obvious inevitabilities.
The laws of the universe—those fundamental principles governing reality that normally required King-Tier cultivation or higher to even begin perceiving—became visible to his transformed awareness.
Space Law. Time Law. Gravity Law. Elemental Laws. Conceptual Laws. Causality Laws.
They permeated everything, these invisible threads of cosmic regulation, and now Vaelor could see them. More than see—he was passively comprehending them, his amplified consciousness automatically analyzing and integrating the knowledge.
This is...
His fragmented thoughts began reorganizing, the new mental architecture settling into stable configuration.
This is what it means to have Divine Insight amplified ten thousand fold.
I can see truth itself.
Around the four-hour mark, Vaelor's newly enhanced consciousness made a critical observation.
The origin essence pouring into him was intended solely for consciousness, soul, and spirit enhancement. The upgrade system had calculated precisely how much energy was needed for the Divine Insight amplification and was providing exactly that amount.
But origin essence was... well, essence. Pure, undifferentiated cosmic energy from which everything derived.
Including cultivation base advancement.
Vaelor's enhanced comprehension immediately recognized the opportunity. His Eternal Cosmos Cultivation Scripture—a Divine-Grade technique specifically designed to convert any form of energy into cultivation progress—would have no difficulty processing origin essence.
In fact, his racing thoughts calculated, origin essence is the OPTIMAL fuel for the Eternal Cosmos technique. The scripture's entire philosophy centers on treating each cell as a universe. What better energy to fuel those cellular universes than the primordial substance from which actual universes are formed?
The ethical question of hijacking energy meant for his consciousness upgrade flickered briefly through his mind, then evaporated.
The system didn't specify I couldn't use the energy for multiple purposes simultaneously. Just that it would provide enough for the Divine Insight enhancement.
If I can absorb extra for cultivation while the transformation completes... that's just efficient resource utilization.
Decision made, Vaelor's consciousness directed his cultivation technique to activate.
The Eternal Cosmos Cultivation Scripture responded immediately, its complex energy circulation patterns engaging throughout his meridian network. The illusory universes within each of his cells—billions upon billions of microscopic cosmos—began their synchronized absorption.
Origin essence that had been flowing solely toward consciousness/soul/spirit now split, a portion redirecting into his cultivation base.
The effect was immediate and dramatic.
[Foundation Establishment 6th Stage → 7th Stage]
[7th Stage → 8th Stage]
[8th Stage → 9th Stage]
The advancement was smooth, almost effortless. Origin essence was so pure, so fundamentally compatible with cultivation, that his body processed it without the usual resistance or bottlenecks.
The spatial crack above him flickered, the upgrade system detecting the unexpected energy drain.
For a moment, it seemed like the crack might close prematurely—the system recognizing that Vaelor was using transformation energy for unintended purposes.
Then the crack stabilized and actually widened slightly.
The system had made a calculation: completing the Divine Insight upgrade took priority. If Vaelor was hijacking energy for cultivation, the system would simply provide more energy to ensure the original purpose was fulfilled.
Excellent, Vaelor thought with satisfaction, his enhanced mind already planning three steps ahead. Just as I predicted. The system won't allow the upgrade to fail, so it's forced to accommodate my cultivation advancement as a secondary process.
The origin essence flow increased, now feeding both his consciousness transformation AND his cultivation base simultaneously.
[9th Stage → 10th Stage]
[10th Stage → 11th Stage]
[11th Stage → 12th Stage]
The advancement accelerated, each stage requiring progressively more energy but that requirement being easily met by the massive influx of primordial essence.
Within his spiritual sea, visible changes occurred.
The ocean of qi that represented his cultivation base began... transforming. The normal blue-white energy cultivators accumulated was being replaced, or rather transmuted, into something that defied conventional classification.
It looked like liquid starlight—iridescent, multidimensional, containing depth that suggested it existed partially in spaces beyond normal three-dimensional reality.
The illusory universes in his cells pulsed with increasing vitality. With each cultivation stage advancement, they became less illusory and more real. The fundamental cosmic laws governing actual universes began manifesting within these cellular structures.
Miniature stars ignited within some cells. Tiny black holes formed in others. Exotic matter states that shouldn't exist in normal space materialized and stabilized.
His body was literally becoming a container for countless microscopic universes, each one a self-contained cosmos following its own physical laws while remaining part of the unified whole that was Vaelor's physique.
[20th Stage → 21st Stage]
[21st Stage → 22nd Stage]
[22nd Stage → 23rd Stage]