"Oh yeah!" Elara Stonefield raised a small hand high, clenched tightly into a fist, and cried out in excitement.
At this moment, her childish, innocent nature was fully revealed, impossible to conceal any longer.
It seemed her previous assumptions and deductions were entirely correct: the closed doors and windows had indeed hindered the mysterious little phial's attraction and gathering of those strange white light filaments. Only in a vast, unobstructed open space like this could the phial's ability to attract and gather those white light filaments be maximized, and the strange light cluster it could form would also become larger and brighter.
Although Elara still didn't know where these life-like white light filaments came from, or what practical use this mysterious little phial had after painstakingly absorbing these tiny light specks, she believed she had already taken a significant step closer to finally uncovering all the secrets hidden within this little phial.
Elara felt as if she was about to completely unravel the enormous secret hidden behind this mysterious little phial. This strong premonition and anticipation made her entire mood exceptionally excited and elated.
She kept watch beside the little phial, observing it intently. Only when the eastern sky was about to brighten, and the horizon faintly showed the fish-belly white of dawn, did the strange light cluster, which had been tightly surrounding the little phial and emitting a soft white light, begin to gradually dissipate, bit by bit, eventually disappearing completely. And the mysterious little phial, along with it, returned to its previous calm and ordinary appearance, as if all the strange phenomena before had never occurred.
Throughout this long and wonder-filled night, Elara, on one hand, attentively observed the various peculiar changes happening to the little phial, and on the other, she had to constantly pay attention to the movements around her, fearing that all these strange phenomena caused by herself and the little phial would be accidentally discovered by someone else.
When daylight fully broke and she confirmed that the unusual phenomena had completely subsided, she then bent down and carefully picked up the still-cold little phial from the ground. She examined it carefully and found that, compared to before, there seemed to be no discernible difference. The small, delicate cap was still as tightly and seamlessly sealed over the mouth of the phial; no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't open it.
Elara couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But seeing that it was getting late, she had no choice but to reluctantly and carefully put the mysterious little phial back into the small leather pouch she kept close to her body.
She also had to hurry back to her simple cultivation stone chamber to begin her daily routine of meditation and energy guidance.
For the next several days, at a specific time each night, the mysterious little phial would punctually exhibit the exact same strange phenomenon as before. Countless slender and bright white light filaments, like moths drawn to a flame, would converge from all directions as if summoned by some irresistible, mysterious force, firmly attracted by the little phial. Then, those light filaments would quickly condense into a large number of crystal-clear, tiny light specks, each the size of a grain of rice. These would then, as if possessing life, rush headlong and in waves to be greedily devoured and absorbed by the little phial.
However, just when Elara was beginning to get used to it, thinking that this strange phenomenon would continue day after day on the mysterious little phial, on the night of the eighth day, some completely new and unexpected changes suddenly occurred.
When Elara, as usual, arrived at the secluded observation spot deep in the valley that she had long since chosen, took out the mysterious little phial from her leather pouch, and carefully placed it, the strange phenomenon of the phial absorbing white light specks only lasted for less than a quarter of an hour before abruptly stopping. Then, unexpectedly, the peculiar leaf-like patterns on the surface of the phial, which were originally a deep ink-green, suddenly erupted with a dazzling, emerald-green light. Furthermore, on the smooth, lustrous surface of the phial, several strange, ancient-looking characters or symbols, emitting a faint golden-yellow glow, appeared out of thin air. The structure of these strange characters looked exceptionally smooth and harmonious, their strokes appearing particularly peculiar and ancient, imbued with an indescribable, almost primordial, mysterious charm. They just quietly flickered and roamed on the surface of the phial, ever-changing, full of mysterious attraction.
Of course, this completely different, alternative strange phenomenon only lasted for a brief moment before, like a night-blooming cereus, it all quickly vanished. In the end, only a few slightly raised, dark gold, extremely bizarre character imprints remained on the surface of the little phial, as if everything that had happened before had returned to its starting point, with no further abnormality.
After all the strange and bizarre events that had occurred with this mysterious little phial over the past few days, Elara was no longer as easily startled or flustered by these incredible phenomena as she had been when she first encountered them. She felt that even if something even more peculiar and unbelievable happened to this little phial next, it probably wouldn't astonish or shock her much anymore.
Her mood now had actually become somewhat nonchalant, or perhaps a bit numb. She casually picked up the now calm little phial from the ground, then subconsciously, with a sliver of "what if" hope, tried to twist the cap that had previously been impossible to open. However, to her utter astonishment, this time, the originally incredibly sturdy cap, with just a gentle twist from her, requiring almost no effort at all, came off the body of the phial as easily and smoothly as if it had met its nemesis!
How was this possible! Elara simply couldn't believe her eyes! She stared, dumbfounded, at the light, small cap she had just removed in her hand, her heart filled with incredible shock.
So effortlessly, without even using any special technique, she had solved this huge problem that had troubled her for days and for which she had tried all sorts of methods without success, just like that, so easily, almost inexplicably? This was simply too incredible!
By the time Elara finally recovered from her immense shock and repeatedly confirmed that everything that had just happened was indeed real, that the secret hidden behind the mysterious little phial was now laid bare before her very eyes, she could no longer suppress the surging excitement and curiosity in her heart, which was like an erupting volcano. She eagerly pressed her eyes close to the small, newly opened mouth of the phial, held her breath, and carefully peered inside.
Inside the small, delicate phial, there was only a single droplet of mysterious, crystal-clear, emerald-green liquid, the size of a plump soybean, lying quietly at the bottom. In the faint light within the phial, it rolled slowly, emitting a soft and profound luster, illuminating the entire inner wall of the little phial in a captivating, greenish, mesmerizing color.
"What... is this?" Elara couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had put in so much effort, smashing and studying it, only to end up with such a tiny, seemingly unremarkable, uninteresting little green droplet?
She somewhat dejectedly re-sealed the small cap and then casually stuffed the mysterious little phial back into the small leather pouch she kept close to her body. She turned and walked towards her little wooden hut with a lack of enthusiasm. The irrepressible excitement and thrill from solving the mystery had long since been thrown to the nine heavens, vanishing without a trace.
Although the cap of the mysterious little phial had indeed finally been successfully opened by her, the result truly left her feeling very dissatisfied and disappointed.
Elara secretly decided that in the future, when she had nothing to do and felt bored, she would slowly explore the true secret of this mysterious green droplet. Perhaps, by then, it might even bring her a small, unexpected surprise!
Right now, the most important thing she needed to do was—return to her hut immediately, sleep comfortably and soundly, and thoroughly make up for the sleep she had severely lacked these past few days due to studying the little phial. After all, for the past few days, she had barely gotten a moment of good sleep almost every night because she had to stay up late to observe the strange phenomena of the little phial. This had caused her cultivation efficiency during the day to drop significantly. Coupled with her recent listlessness and lack of energy, it had even attracted some attention and inquiries from Physician Morus, who usually didn't ask much about their cultivation details.
Ever since Elara officially became Physician Morus's inner chamber disciple and successfully broke through the first layer of the nameless incantation, she always felt as if she had suddenly lost all motivation and enthusiasm to continue cultivating this incantation diligently. Moreover, the insignificant effects produced after successfully cultivating this incantation truly made her feel so dissatisfied and disappointed that, no matter what, she could no longer muster any spirit or energy to continue cultivating diligently.
For this reason, Physician Morus had even severely reprimanded her once for her slackness in cultivation. But even so, whenever it was time for meditation and cultivation, she still felt drowsy and listless, unable to muster any spirit at all.
Elara's abnormal situation even made Physician Morus feel somewhat exasperated and helpless. He even began to suspect at one point whether he had truly misjudged and accepted such an unmotivated disciple.
Thinking of this, Elara also felt a bit wronged. She didn't want to be like this either, but she just couldn't control herself; she simply couldn't muster the energy and was completely not in a state for cultivation.
However, what Elara never expected was that on the very next day, after she had been tormented by studying the little phial and had finally decided to get a good night's sleep, when she woke up from her deep slumber, she would once again proactively, and with her whole heart, throw herself back into that almost frenzied, sleep-and-food-sacrificing, arduous cultivation!
And the fundamental reason for such a huge change in her was merely because Physician Morus, seeing her still listless, had casually said to her: "Starting this month, for every layer you successfully advance in cultivating this nameless incantation, the monthly allowance of silver coins I am supposed to give you according to the Outpost's regulations will be doubled on top of the original amount."
Physician Morus had finally seen through Elara's deep desire for money and to improve her family's life. He had found an effective way to completely solve Elara's lack of cultivation motivation from its very root. Just this simple sentence, as if possessing infinite magical power, had once again firmly bound Elara to that invisible chariot that could only move forward through desperate cultivation, making it impossible for her to easily break free.
In the days that followed, Elara, in order to master the next layer of the nameless incantation as quickly as possible and thus obtain that tempting double allowance, once again began that almost self-torturous, desperate cultivation.
Every day, from the faint light of early morning until the sun was high at noon, and then from the sunset in the evening until the dead of night, she would punctually enter her own cultivation stone chamber twice a day for long periods of meditation and energy guidance. She lived an almost ascetic, monotonous, and tedious cultivation life, thoroughly casting all other distracting thoughts and disturbances to the back of her mind.
And Physician Morus, in order to allow her to concentrate more fully on her cultivation and not be disturbed by any external trivial matters, even went so far as to use his influence to temporarily completely seal off the entire Quietstream Valley from the outside world. Even his usual duties of treating illnesses and injuries for Outpost members, which he normally had to handle personally, were changed to be conducted in other places outside Quietstream Valley. As for Elara's daily necessities like food, clothing, and lodging, Physician Morus arranged everything meticulously, not letting her worry about them in the slightest.
Thus, the matter of the mysterious little phial was gradually forgotten by Elara, pushed to the back of her mind, after she threw herself wholeheartedly into frenzied cultivation.
Autumn passed and winter came, cold followed heat, spring passed and summer arrived, the four seasons revolved. Almost in the blink of an eye, four long and arduous years passed like flowing water. And Elara had quietly grown from the ignorant and frail ten-year-old girl of that time into a fourteen-year-old village girl with slightly sun-darkened skin, a silent demeanor, and resolute eyes.
If judging merely by her appearance, she was not much different from other village youths, boys and girls from ordinary farming families who engaged in heavy labor year-round. She appeared just as unremarkable, neither strikingly handsome nor possessing any so-called suave charm.
During these four years, she had spent almost every day shuttling between her cultivation stone chamber and her dwelling, and between her dwelling and the cultivation stone chamber, living a tedious yet regular life. Occasionally, she would go to Physician Morus to learn some profound and abstruse medical arts and pharmacological knowledge, or casually browse through various other interesting books on different subjects in Physician Morus's study, which was filled with all sorts of ancient texts. In this way, this secluded Quietstream Valley became almost the entirety of her world and the focus of her life for these four years. And the nameless incantation she cultivated, under this day-after-day, year-after-year accumulation of hard work, naturally and smoothly reached the third layer.