Chapter 99: First Vessel of Gore
Around the body, connected from the core to every part of the body, are streams. Invisible to the physical eye, those spiritual streams carry energy from the core around the body. Another reason they were called spiritual was that they weren’t visible even when the body was cut.
And along that whole connection of streams, there were nine that were very crucial in distribution. What the Blood Clan thought of was using those distribution points as gathering points instead. The head, groin, middle point, wrists, knees, and shoulders were the Nine Vessels of Gore.
Baines chose the middle point, where his core resided, to forge his first vessel. The audacious plan was to form a secondary core within his existing one. Easy right? Except it wasn’t.
His body, honed by the mist’s purifying effects, was in a state of deep focus, as if submerged in enlightenment. His core was unlike others was a void where six stars hovered, with half cloaked in decaying air, and half crackling with cutting force.
’Can I just demarcate it?’ he wondered. Since his core was void in the first place, he wouldn’t leak any aura from his core. He acted on it and targeted the streams on the right side of the core, intending to reroute them to the left.
Basically, he was going to remove the streams latching on the right side of his core over to the left side.
However, before then, he had to reconnect them first.
The streams were stubborn, glue-like, clinging to themselves and resisting manipulation. Baines worked meticulously to branch each stream one by one, connecting them to the left side. Hours passed, his concentration unyielding despite the tedious labor. When the final stream was rerouted, a surge of energy roared through him, his aura flaring briefly before stabilizing.
He had filled one side with more energy pathways; of course, his aura would temporarily increase. Afterwards, he used another stream to demarcate the core with the stars and the empty right side.
It took hours for his left core to balance and recognize its new space. He didn’t move one bit and stayed for the whole process.
After that, the right side was finally almost free.