Boom…!
An intense and ferocious battle erupted inside the Little Black Mirror between Ye Yunfei and the sentient consciousness. They struck blow for blow, attacking each other incessantly. The clash was fierce.
While suppressing and attacking the consciousness, Ye Yunfei continuously retrieved various Soul Power energy resources to replenish his own soul force.
"The consciousness born of this Little Black Mirror is no ordinary one, to be able to fight me to this extent," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"The stronger the intelligence born of an artifact, the more terrifying its power tends to be," Hun Lao remarked.
"That should be the case," Ye Yunfei replied, spurred into greater effort by Hun Lao's words.
"If I can subdue this Little Black Mirror, it will undoubtedly unleash formidable power against enemies in the future. I never expected that Reincarnation Ghost would have collected an artifact with sentient consciousness!" Ye Yunfei was overjoyed.
Half an hour later, the consciousness inside the Little Black Mirror finally began to falter. Ye Yunfei's level of Soul Power was simply too strong, and the Soul Force Martial Arts he had mastered were exceedingly potent.
Moreover, throughout this process, Ye Yunfei continuously replenished his Soul Power resources, leaving him with no need to worry about exhausting his soul force.
Gradually, the consciousness was beaten into retreat, fleeing and darting frantically within the confines of the mirror.
After another half hour, the consciousness was completely overpowered by Ye Yunfei. Five or six types of Soul Force Martial Arts that Ye Yunfei utilized surged forward together, encircling it on all sides.
"Damn you! Let me go at once! You are just a Heavenly God, unworthy of possessing me!" The consciousness still refused to submit, howling defiantly as it desperately resisted.
After another moment, the consciousness finally quieted down. It no longer had the strength to struggle, understanding clearly at last that this human before it could completely suppress it.
"In my prime, you could never have beaten me, but I was gravely injured back then and have never fully recovered to this day," the consciousness retorted, immobilized but still stubborn.
After fully suppressing the consciousness, Ye Yunfei began forcibly branding it with his own mark—imprinting his own Soul Power signature onto it.
Unable to move at all now, the consciousness had no choice but to submit to Ye Yunfei's actions.
Once Ye Yunfei had imprinted his Soul Power signature upon the consciousness, he gained complete control over it. And by controlling the consciousness, he thus also gained control of the artifact itself.
With a hum, the artifact soared up and hovered in front of Ye Yunfei.
At Ye Yunfei's will, the Little Black Mirror immediately shot forth a streak of black radiance that swept across the space ahead, instantly engulfing a vast expanse.
"Indeed, this artifact can devour the Soul Bodies of living beings. I estimate that even if a Heavenly God were here, they wouldn't be able to withstand this Little Black Mirror. The question is, can it also be used against a Sovereign God?" Hun Lao inquired curiously after sensing the aura emanating from the mirror.
"You were injured in the past? What happened exactly?" Ye Yunfei communicated telepathically with the consciousness within the Little Black Mirror and asked aloud.
"That's right, I was indeed injured before. My previous master once took me into an extremely terrifying battle. During that great war, my master sustained grave injuries, and I too was severely damaged. Then, my master and I were separated, and I fell silent until now. I never thought you would become my new master," replied the consciousness.
By now, the consciousness had no choice but to accept Ye Yunfei as its new master. Its life energy was greatly depleted, and it was no match for Ye Yunfei. Further stubborn resistance would only lead to utter destruction, so at the final moment, it surrendered and accepted the fact.
"How long ago was your previous master?" Ye Yunfei inquired curiously.
"I don't know how long ago it was. During that great battle, I suffered severe damage and also lost many of my memories. Those lost memories are very difficult to recover, because I am not truly a complete Soul Body to begin with. Over these years, I drifted in a haze, slumbering within my original form, until you awakened me earlier," the consciousness recalled.
"I see!" Ye Yunfei nodded.
Now that he had refined the consciousness, Ye Yunfei could also perceive that it was indeed somewhat weak and even incomplete.
"So how can you recover quickly?" Ye Yunfei thought for a moment and then asked.
"There are two methods for me to recover quickly. The first method is to seek out suitable artifact-forging materials and fuse them into my original form to repair it. If my body is repaired, then this consciousness of mine will also recover along with it.
The second method is to utilize large quantities of Soul Force Energy cultivation resources to restore this consciousness of mine. The more recovered this consciousness is, the greater the power I can unleash. If my consciousness is restored, I can even cultivate autonomously, absorbing various types of energy and laws from heaven and earth.
But the most fundamental method is still the first: searching for high-grade artifact-forging materials for my original form to absorb and achieve recovery," the consciousness explained after some thought.
"So that's how it is. Good, rest assured that I will definitely find sufficiently high-grade artifact-forging materials in the future to repair your original form. As for Soul Force Energy cultivation resources, I can supply them to you regularly so you can recover continuously," Ye Yunfei nodded upon hearing this.
Having said that, Ye Yunfei immediately retrieved a large quantity of cultivation resources containing Soul Force Energy and fed them into the interior of the Little Black Mirror for the consciousness to refine and absorb. Now that he had refined the mirror, Ye Yunfei could manipulate its every aspect as he wished.
"You seem like a not-so-bad master," the consciousness commented, feeling somewhat pleasantly surprised by the considerable pile of high-quality Soul Force Energy cultivation resources laid out before it.
Immediately, it began refining and absorbing them to start its recovery.
"Excellent. To think I've obtained an artifact possessing sentient consciousness," Ye Yunfei remarked in high spirits, laughing.
"Actually, in ancient times, artifacts possessing sentient consciousness, while considered advanced, were certainly not as rare as they are now—you could occasionally encounter them. Later, for some unknown reason, they gradually became fewer and fewer, to the point where they have practically vanished now. This small mirror is also a leftover from ancient times; it is not an artifact belonging to the current era," Hun Lao stated.
"Could it be that the laws of heaven and earth changed, making artifacts with sentient consciousness unsuitable for the current rules of nature?" Ye Yunfei speculated.
"The reasons are difficult to fathom. Over such a long stretch of history, anything is possible," Hun Lao replied.
"Master, I'm going to go into closed-door cultivation," Hu Miao said, holding the large amount of cultivation resources Ye Yunfei had given her earlier.
These resources mainly consisted of Soul Force Energy types, particularly those soul soups and energy crystals.
"I'm also going into seclusion, to see if I can achieve a breakthrough in my bloodline," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also decided to cultivate.
"I am going into seclusion too. I've obtained another race inheritance from the Reincarnation Ghost; it's time to cultivate it now," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Thus, Ye Yunfei, Hu Miao, and several others all entered closed-door cultivation.