"Hmph!"
With the black cloth on the zombie car lifted, a square object previously covered was revealed.
It was a red cage carved with bizarre runes, and within the cage, a figure with pure white wings was huddled in a corner, head bowed.
If Ye Feng were present, he would be immensely surprised, for the person inside the cage was an angel!
The angel's battle armor was heavily damaged, her entire body covered in bloodstains and bleeding from multiple wounds.
Her hands, feet, and neck were all bound by thorny rune chains, the other ends of which were connected to the red cage.
"Sniff, sniff, sniff!"
The blood flowing from the angel seemed to stimulate Masks 6 and 9. The lights in their eyes flickered as they sniffed forcefully.
"Truly delicious!"
Mask 6 uttered a slightly trembling sound from his throat, and anyone could hear the madness and desire in his voice.
Seeing this, Mask 2 turned his blood-red eyes towards Mask 6. Mask 6, startled, retreated several steps...
"So... Sorry..."
...
As evening approached,
"Hmph!"
After attempting to compress and control arcane energy, Ye Feng made his final attempt and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, looking utterly exhausted.
"Although I know how to do it... actually controlling it is very difficult... Arcane energy becomes unstable when compressed..."
Ye Feng raised his hand, looking at the bleeding wounds on his arms and palms, feeling a bit dejected.
However, he also began to understand why, in the ancient ruins, people above Golden Rank 5 like Tu Yao and Ji Hei rarely had their arcane energy absorbed by the Floating Island when they fought...
They were on an entirely different level from him in terms of controlling arcane energy!
"Indeed!"
Shen Yun Yao walked over and handed Ye Feng a bottle of warm water. "Ye Feng, don't push yourself too hard. You only learned about compressing and controlling arcane energy today, and you've already done very well!"
"Moreover, most people practice controlling arcane energy to enhance their fine manipulation of it. You, however, have been focusing on compression..."
"While it can also train control, the direction seems to have deviated a bit!"
Although she knew her words might make Ye Feng uncomfortable, Shen Yun Yao still said them.
After speaking, Shen Yun Yao's hand flashed with light, and a round white handkerchief attached to a metal frame appeared in her hand.
"Here!"
Shen Yun Yao handed the handkerchief to Ye Feng. "This handkerchief is used by the City of Arcane Arts to practice control over arcane energy!"
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng was quite surprised and immediately sat up to examine it.
"Ye Feng, the handkerchief is specially made. The circular pattern you see now is the most basic. You infuse arcane energy into this fine needle and then use the needle to stitch out the circular pattern on the handkerchief. That's the first step!"
As she spoke, Shen Yun Yao infused arcane energy into the needle and began to move it across the handkerchief.
Soon, the circular pattern on the handkerchief was filled with Shen Yun Yao's water-attribute arcane energy.
"Shhh~ Hmph!~"
Immediately, the circular pattern disappeared and was replaced by a polygonal pattern.
"Ye Feng, every time you successfully embroider a pattern on the handkerchief with arcane energy, the pattern will become more complex..."
"After circles come polygons, then patterns of flowers, birds, and beasts, followed by insects, and then some complex structures, or even three-dimensional ones..."
"Initially, embroidery only requires infusing arcane energy into the fine needle. Later, you'll need to condense arcane energy into very fine threads, thread them through the needle's eye, and then embroider!"
"Because the handkerchief's area is limited, more complex patterns require finer threads, demanding higher control over arcane energy!"
"I can only embroider some polygonal patterns now, and occasionally manage one or two relatively simple birds!"
"According to Uncle Luo Ming, being able to complete the embroidery of flowers, birds, and beasts will allow one to break through to Golden Rank 5!"
Shen Yun Yao explained to Ye Feng quickly.
After listening to Shen Yun Yao, Ye Feng began to embroider on the handkerchief with great curiosity.
"By the way, Ye Feng, the metal circle on the handkerchief is inscribed with a rune array!"
"When embroidering higher-level patterns, it will activate spontaneously, interfering with your arcane energy and increasing the difficulty of embroidery!"
Shen Yun Yao paused and then added.
"This..."
As Shen Yun Yao finished speaking, Ye Feng also stopped embroidering. It wasn't because he had finished; rather, a lotus flower pattern he was attempting was marred by a large black spot when his arcane energy faltered.
"Tired from exercising strenuously all afternoon..."
Looking at the slightly twitching muscles in his arm, Ye Feng muttered.
Then, he turned to Shen Yun Yao, looking puzzled. "Yun Yao, if being able to fully embroider flowers, birds, and beasts allows one to break through to Golden Rank 5, then why are there so many complex embroidery patterns?"
"As arcane energy cultivation progresses, the requirements for controlling it become higher!"
"The more complex the patterns you can embroider on the handkerchief, the greater your future development potential, and the more abundant cultivation resources you will receive!"
Shen Yun Yao replied quickly.
"However... According to Uncle Luo Ming, there seems to be a secret hidden behind this embroidery handkerchief!"
"The City of Arcane Arts... is searching for someone who can embroider the final pattern!"
Shen Yun Yao pondered for a moment before speaking.
"This..."
Ye Feng blinked, looking quite surprised.
"Ye Feng, I'll give you this embroidery handkerchief. Uncle Luo Ming obtained it from the Lord of the City of Arcane Arts back then. I have the final pattern; I'll find an ordinary handkerchief for myself later!"
Seeing Ye Feng about to return the handkerchief, Shen Yun Yao waved her hand.
"Oh, okay!"
Ye Feng didn't refuse. After all, this handkerchief was quite suitable for him to practice his arcane energy control. It wasn't easy for him to acquire such a handkerchief himself.
...
The next day,
After breakfast, the three of them continued their journey.
Ye Feng sat on the roof of the Humvee, a handkerchief in one hand and a fine needle in the other, diligently embroidering a complex, unknown bird.
"Hmph!~"
As he placed the final stitch, Ye Feng let out a slight sigh of relief. "It seems yesterday evening I was indeed too exhausted from overexertion, which is why I couldn't finish the flower pattern!"
Ye Feng was in a remarkably good mood!
Because in less than a morning, he had completed three embroideries on the bumpy Humvee, and each time he managed to reach an unknown bird.
He only failed when it came to the last one, a strange beast with fangs and intricate patterns all over its body.
At this moment, Shen Yun Yao jumped from the passenger seat to the roof of the Humvee.
Upon seeing the handkerchief in Ye Feng's hand, she expressed mild surprise. "Ye Feng, your control over arcane energy is so strong! You're only one monster away from breaking through to Golden Rank 5!"
"Yun Yao, do you know anything about this monster pattern?"
Hearing this, Ye Feng turned to Shen Yun Yao with a questioning gaze.
...