### Chapter 54: The Bracelet Holds a World
Lin Yi stared at the bracelet in his hand, his mind swirling with memories. This unassuming circle of stone had changed everything—granting him the *Five Spirits Body Tempering Technique*, catapulting his cultivation, and now… hinting at even greater secrets. He'd nearly shattered it once, dismissing it as a worthless trinket. Now, he couldn't help but chuckle at his own blindness.
If not for his mastery of Iron Sand Palm—years of honing his inner strength—he'd never have activated it that first time, never have survived the overwhelming surge of power that knocked him unconscious. But now, with Fifth Level Qi Refinement and the *Five Spirits Technique* coursing through his meridians, he felt ready to uncover its mysteries.
Tomorrow, he'd move to Elder Guan's quarters. A Foundation Establishment cultivator's scrutiny would be relentless; he dared not study the bracelet under such eyes. Tonight was his only chance.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yi channeled his inner strength into the bracelet. Not spiritual energy—*inner strength*, the raw power of his tempered body. This time, he maintained control, feeding it steadily, cautiously.
The bracelet hummed, warmth spreading across his palm. To his astonishment, it slithered onto his wrist like a living thing, then… *faded*. One moment it glinted in the candlelight, the next it was gone, leaving only a faint tingle on his skin.
Lin Yi gaped at his empty wrist. "It can hide itself?" he whispered, grinning. This was perfect—no one would ever suspect he carried such a treasure.
Emboldened, he poured more inner strength into the bracelet.
*Crack!*
The bracelet reappeared with a jolt, exploding into a burst of five-colored light—red, blue, green, yellow, white—swirling like a miniature cyclone.
Then, *boom*.
Lin Yi's head spun. When the dizziness cleared, he stood in a world unlike any he'd ever seen.
He was on a smooth stone slab, surrounded by churning mists—five-colored, just like the bracelet's light. The air hummed with energy, thick and sweet, like nothing he'd felt in the sect or the market. Even his own body seemed veiled in the mist, as if he were part of the world itself.
"Where am I?" Lin Yi's voice trembled. Panic clawed at him—this was no illusion. The mist felt tangible, cool against his skin, alive with power.
Then it clicked. The five colors. The bracelet's light. The way he'd vanished the moment he'd poured inner strength into it.
"This… is inside the bracelet," he breathed.
A spatial artifact. A *world* contained within a stone circle. Lin Yi's heart raced. Such treasures were legendary—spoken of in ancient texts, hoarded by sect leaders and rogue cultivators alike. To think he'd stumbled upon one by accident…
He stepped off the stone slab, the mist swirling around his ankles. It parted slightly, revealing more of the same—endless mist, stretching as far as he could see. No trees, no mountains, no signs of life. Just color and energy.
"What's the point of a world with nothing in it?" he muttered, kicking at the mist. It reformed instantly, as if mocking him.
Then he froze. The mist—*it reeked of spiritual energy*. Pure, unadulterated, and *dense*. He'd never sensed anything like it—not in the core disciple quarters, not in the sect's most sacred groves. This was the stuff of cultivation dreams.
"Five colors… five elements," he realized. The mist wasn't just pretty—it was concentrated *metal, wood, water, fire, and earth* spiritual energy, the building blocks of all life.
A wild idea struck him. He sat cross-legged, closing his eyes, and began cycling the *Five Spirits Body Tempering Technique*—focusing on the third transformation, Meridian Refinement.
The mist erupted.
It surged toward him, drawn by the technique like iron to a magnet. The five-colored energy flooded his meridians, searing away impurities, stretching and strengthening the pathways for spiritual energy. But unlike previous sessions, there was no pain—only a warm, tingling sensation, as if the mist itself were healing and fortifying him.
Lin Yi gasped. This was *fast*. In the outside world, refining meridians took months of grueling work, often leaving him bloodied and exhausted. Here? It was effortless. He could feel his progress skyrocketing—from seventy percent mastery of Meridian Refinement to seventy-five… eighty…
"Unbelievable," he murmured, grinning. With this, he'd master the third transformation in days, not months. And who knew what lay beyond that? The *Five Spirits Technique* had nine transformations—what would the bracelet's world do for the rest?
He lost track of time,沉浸在 cultivation. When he finally opened his eyes, the mist around him had thinned slightly, and his meridians hummed with newfound power. Eighty percent mastery. He could've stayed longer, pushed for more, but a niggling thought intruded: *Elder Guan*.
"I need to go back," he said, focusing on the memory of his cottage, of the sunlight filtering through the window, of Pan Yu's steady breathing outside.
The world spun.
Lin Yi stumbled, blinking rapidly. He was back in his cottage, the morning sun blazing through the windows. The bracelet was gone from his wrist, but he could still feel its warmth, the faint tingle of mist in his meridians.
He checked the sun's position—high in the sky, nearly noon.
"Crap!" he yelped, leaping to his feet. He'd overslept. Elder Guan would skin him alive for being late to his first day as a core disciple.
He burst out the door, ignoring Pan Yu's startled "Senior Brother!" as he sprinted up the mountain path. Wind whipped his hair, and his lungs burned, but he couldn't stop.
Behind him, the bracelet's warmth pulsed softly against his skin—a secret smile, a promise of power yet to be unlocked.
*Later*, he thought, grinning despite his panic. *There's always later.*
For now, he had a master to impress—and a whole new world of cultivation to conquer.