Chapter 23: He is one of my kind!

The hyperbaric oxygen chamber was delivered to the warehouse entrance, where a large crowd of workers had gathered, peering curiously at the object.

"What did the boss buy?"

"No idea, looks like some kind of high-tech gadget."

"This thing must be expensive, right?"

It was currently lunchtime, so the workers were all gathered there to watch.

Not far away, Lin Wei approached with several researchers. When she saw the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, she froze in surprise.

"A hyperbaric oxygen chamber!"

With her expertise, she recognized it instantly.

She hadn't expected Chen Feng to actually go out and get one; she had only offered it as a suggestion back then.

"Professor Lin, why did Professor Chen buy this? Does he have some kind of hypoxia-related illness?" one researcher asked in confusion.

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers were generally used for medical purposes. Chen Feng was so young, and he didn't look like he was suffering from any illness.

Lin Wei spoke up

"He isn't sick. He bought it to attempt to absorb gamma rays and radiation. Professor Chen is a researcher who dares to take bold risks; you all should learn from him."

"Huh?" The researchers were completely bewildered. How could a piece of medical equipment like a hyperbaric oxygen chamber be related to radiation?

Lin Wei looked at the chamber, her eyes filled with anticipation. She truly hoped Chen Feng was using it to absorb radiation. In scientific research, one had to dare to make breakthroughs from angles that others wouldn't even dare to imagine.

This way of thinking appealed greatly to her; she felt that she and Chen Feng were of the same kind. Lin Wei was obsessed with scientific research, and continuous innovation was her ultimate goal. Although she had joined the Dragon Institute of Science, the people there were too rigid and cautious; if they felt something might not work, they wouldn't even bother trying. This was exactly why she had proactively applied to work here at Xingfeng Mining—because she saw innovation in the Yan Yang Iron.

"Come on, let's go back! Get back to work."

Lin Wei led the researchers away, intending to approach Chen Feng in a while to inquire about his experimental results. If Chen Feng truly used the hyperbaric chamber to rapidly absorb radiation, whether the outcome was good or bad, it would undoubtedly be a brand-new breakthrough.

Chen Feng had no idea that a female research fanatic had already identified him as a kindred spirit.

At that moment, he was driving a forklift to move the hyperbaric oxygen chamber into the warehouse. The thing was simply too large to fit inside the warehouse room, so he had to bring the scroll out of the room first. Although the scroll was small, Chen Feng had discovered that even objects larger than the scroll would be shrunk once they touched the water-like ripples on its surface.

Soon, Chen Feng entered the warehouse alone with the forklift. He closed the warehouse doors and then took out the scroll, hanging it on the warehouse wall. Operating the forklift, he slowly moved the hyperbaric oxygen chamber in front of the scroll.

A ripple, like water, appeared, and the massive chamber vanished in an instant. The scroll also returned to a state of calm.

Chen Feng immediately jumped off the forklift, put the scroll away, and hung it back inside the warehouse room. Then, he entered the world within the scroll.

Upon entering the scroll world, Chen Feng nearly collided with the hyperbaric oxygen chamber in front of him. Fortunately, his secret chamber was large enough that accommodating the chamber was no problem.

Chen Feng did not begin cultivating immediately. Instead, he walked out of the secret chamber to find Wang Hu. He told Wang Hu that he was going into seclusion and instructed him to have men guard the entrance of the abandoned mine shaft, ensuring no one entered. Hearing that Chen Feng was entering seclusion, Wang Hu immediately called over a dozen men to stand guard with him at the entrance.

Returning to the secret chamber, Chen Feng connected the hyperbaric oxygen chamber to a generator and started it. The indicator lights lit up, displaying adjustable values for oxygen concentration and atmospheric pressure.

"Let's try adjusting it to the maximum first."

Chen Feng wasn't worried about anything going wrong; the chamber had its own control buttons, allowing him to abort the process at any time if he felt unwell. He adjusted the oxygen content to fifty percent—the maximum setting. Once set, he entered the chamber.

He sat cross-legged and began using the methods from the *Qi Induction Technique* to absorb the spiritual energy from heaven and earth. In just an instant, a surge of spiritual energy, several times greater than before, flooded into his body.

Chen Feng was instantly excited. "It actually works!"

Not daring to delay, he hurriedly guided the massive torrent of spiritual energy through his body. As the vast amount of energy entered him, Chen Feng felt something slowly manifesting within his body. This was the first time he had sensed the emergence of a Spiritual Aperture; it was located at the position of his dantian, appearing as a dull, grayish-black void without a hint of luster.

According to the *Qi Induction Technique*, when the Spiritual Aperture emits light, it signifies the first step into cultivation: the first level of Qi Refining. This realm allows the Spiritual Aperture to store spiritual energy, enabling the practitioner to utilize small amounts of it.

Chen Feng continued his cultivation, intending to activate the Spiritual Aperture directly to reach the first level of Qi Refining.

Time passed slowly. Three hours went by. Chen Feng had completely lost all sense of time; in this state of cultivation, his entire consciousness was focused on guiding the spiritual energy into the aperture. At this moment, most of the grayness in the aperture had vanished, but it still required more energy to produce light.

Another five hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the sky outside had already begun to brighten. Just then, the Spiritual Aperture within Chen Feng's body suddenly erupted with light.

The aperture radiated brilliance like a dazzling star, even accompanied by a faint layer of purple light. Chen Feng was surprised. According to the descriptions in the *Qi Induction Technique*, the activation of a Spiritual Aperture should produce a pale blue light, yet his was this color. He wondered if he had made a mistake somewhere.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, an explosion rang in his ears.

The hyperbaric oxygen chamber was instantly blown into pieces.

Chen Feng opened his eyes and looked around warily. The nearly one-ton chamber had been reduced to shards scattered across the floor. Everything in the room—furniture, appliances, and more—was destroyed, as if crushed by some immense force.

"This..."

Chen Feng was stunned. He hadn't noticed anyone else appearing; he was alone in the secret chamber. What surprised him most was that even though the explosion had occurred at the very center of the chamber where he was located, he was completely unharmed.

Chen Feng stood up and looked at his body. He was completely naked; his clothes were long gone. His skin had become somewhat translucent compared to before, and upon closer inspection, it possessed a faint, ethereal glow.

"Such a massive change just from the first level of Qi Refining?"

Chen Feng was incredibly shocked. He felt his five senses had been elevated to a new height; he could even see tiny specks of dust falling through the air. He could even hear Wang Hu's voice calling from outside the abandoned mine shaft. The sound felt as if it were right next to his ear.

"Sect Leader, are you alright?!"

"Sect Leader!"

The calls from outside continued to come. Without time to examine the changes in his body in detail, Chen Feng quickly put on some clothes and walked out of the secret chamber.