**Chapter 81: Creation from Nothing**
Within his dantian, everything returned to calm.
The draining of true essence and mental energy ceased, though more than half had been siphoned, leaving only enough to sustain his basic functions.
Jie Ming, too weak to dwell on it, immediately directed his divine sense inward, meticulously examining his lower dantian.
Where it had once been empty, a tiny space now existed!
This space was pitch-black, appearing vast and profound but actually quite small—roughly two to three hundred cubic units, about the size of a small room.
Visually, it felt like a void that could swallow even light, yet his mental energy could explore it unhindered, encountering no obstacles.
It floated silently, without boundaries or supports, entirely independent of his body and meridians.
Curiously, his true essence deliberately passed through this space during its circulation, as if it were a nexus for his Internal Circulation technique.
Jie Ming instantly understood.This was the true effect of the “Internal Circulation” technique he’d practiced for so long, manifesting at the Foundation Establishment stage!
He had begun cultivating this technique long ago, drawn by the Great Dao Book Pavilion’s description of its ability to “isolate inside from outside, concealing from heaven and earth.”
Back then, he’d used it to mask his cultivator identity, preventing wizards from detecting his mastery of another transcendent system—a precaution for self-preservation.
Over the years, Jie Ming had habitually maintained this Internal Circulation, forming a closed loop of true essence within his body, isolating it from external energy.
Because he’d used it primarily to hide his cultivation, he’d overlooked its true purpose.
Isolating inside from outside was merely a side effect.
The true function of Internal Circulation was to create an internal cave heaven!
Only upon reaching Foundation Establishment, when his power surpassed a certain threshold, did the technique fully manifest.
This miraculous technique, at the moment of his life essence’s leap during Foundation Establishment, had autonomously channeled his power to carve out a small, isolated world within him.
Though this space was currently too small to be considered a true cave heaven, with the growth of his cultivation, it could eventually become a self-sustaining miniature world!
“Marvelous!”
Understanding the truth, Jie Ming couldn’t help but smile.
With a thought, the Foundation Establishment potion in his hand vanished.
In his perception, a drop of softly glowing liquid appeared within the internal space.
“Just when I was worrying about a storage ring, the solution arrives!”
During the academy’s trials, Jie Ming had noticed the issue of storage tools. Concerned about their instability, he’d planned to ask Mentor Clark about acquiring a spatial ring.
But reality hit hard—obtaining a spatial ring was far more difficult than he’d imagined.
Crafting one required a sixth-level wizard skilled in both Alchemy Technique and spatial magic.
Both were highly challenging fields, and those proficient in either were rare; those mastering both were even rarer.
Mentor Clark had the qualifications but specialized in fate and causality, not spatial magic.
In all of Noren Academy, only one wizard was adept in both alchemy and spatial knowledge—a fifth-level wizard incapable of crafting spatial rings.
Clark had suggested Jie Ming use his second-level training protocol privileges to apply through Noren Workshop’s official site, but demand for spatial equipment was high, and even the most available wizard’s schedule was booked ten years out.
With those paths blocked, the only option was to exchange military merits.
Even with official subsidies, the cheapest spatial ring required a thousand low-tier merits or a hundred high-tier merits.
This internal space resolved Jie Ming’s long-standing issue.
It might even advance his runic artifact system further.
Excited, Jie Ming experimented, making objects in the lab disappear and reappear.
But as he reveled in the fun, another change occurred within the dark space.
“Huh?!”
Jie Ming, who had just stored a set of potion-making tools, froze, wrapping his perception around the space in disbelief.
Moments ago, he’d noticed a wisp of spiritual energy appear within the space.
This energy was condensed, pure, and wandered slowly within.
Puzzled, he extracted the wisp.
After examining it, he confirmed it was genuine spiritual energy, usable to enhance his cultivation or replenish his reserves.
But…
“Did I refine spiritual energy just now? Or…”
Jie Ming decisively removed all stored items from the space, sat cross-legged on the floor, and calmly observed the space within.
One hour, two hours…
After four hours another wisp of spiritual energy abruptly appeared in the space under his gaze.
“This…” Jie Ming was even more astonished.
He had an idea but needed to confirm it.
Glancing at the lab, sealed at its highest level for his breakthrough, he stood, grabbed a large metal disc, and skillfully inscribed runes on it, creating an array that completely blocked internal-external energy exchange.
He then retrieved a highly sensitive energy detector, aimed it at the disc, and sat at the array’s center, cross-legged.
Taking a deep breath, Jie Ming slowly released the Internal Circulation he’d maintained for years.
Not only that, he halted his cultivation technique and the nine truth runes in his mental sea.
After waiting four hours, as another wisp of spiritual energy appeared in the space, he drew it into his body and checked the detector’s data.
Though the device’s sensitivity caused fluctuating readings, the overall data showed a slight increase in the disc’s total energy after he absorbed the spiritual energy.
“Interesting… creation from nothing?”