Ren dug with a desperate urgency, their Enhanced Perception guiding their hands. Each scrape of stone against stone, each rustle of dry leaves, was amplified, yet all that mattered was the faint, compelling aura emanating from beneath the rubble. Dust billowed around them, catching in their throat, but the gnawing exhaustion that typically crippled them was held at bay by a surge of adrenaline and a flicker of genuine excitement. The promise of Cultivation Essence, however minuscule, was a powerful motivator.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of clawing and prying, their fingers closed around something solid, heavy, and undeniably man-made. With a final grunt of effort, Ren pulled it free.
It was a chipped alchemical grinding stone, roughly cylindrical, its surface once smooth and polished, now pitted, stained, and marred by a deep, jagged crack that rendered it useless for any alchemist. To the ordinary eye, it was just another piece of trash, destined to crumble into dust. For Ren, who had picked through thousands of similar discards, it was profoundly disappointing. Just a broken stone.
But then, the system's interface flared. The dull, useless stone in Ren's hand suddenly shone with a vibrant, emerald green aura, visible only to them, far brighter and purer than anything they had siphoned before. The aura pulsed, condensed, and then, with a soft, ethereal hum that resonated in Ren's very bones, it was drawn into the stone itself, vanishing. Simultaneously, the grinding stone withered, crumbling into a fine, grey powder that slipped through Ren's fingers, leaving no trace.
[Artifact Salvaged: Chipped Alchemical Grinding Stone (Damaged, Low-Grade)][Quality: Uncommon][Raw Energy Siphon Activated: +0.2 Cultivation Essence (Pure) | +50 SP]
Ren stared at the interface, their mouth agape. The numbers were astronomical compared to their earlier gains. 0.2 Cultivation Essence? Fifty Salvage Points? They looked at their empty, dusty hand, then back at the floating screen. The last 0.001 had felt like a miracle; 0.2 was a lightning strike. This wasn't dust bunny power; this was real power.
A new warmth spread through their core, originating from deep within their spiritual sea—a place Ren hadn't even known existed until moments ago. It was a faint, exhilarating thrum, the first taste of true Cultivation Essence coursing through their nascent spiritual channels. It was invigorating, chasing away the last vestiges of their fatigue, sharpening their mind even further.
This… this isn't just a trick of the light, Ren realized, their heart hammering against their ribs. This is real. I can actually cultivate. This worthless trash… it's my path.
The impossible dream, whispered by the powerful in their distant Sky Palaces, scoffed at by the brash apprentices, and denied to the likes of Ren, was now, undeniably, within reach. The thought sent a thrill, cold and exhilarating, through their veins. The ruined shrine, once a monument to forgotten despair, now felt like the very foundation of their new destiny.