Ben was literally waiting for the 36 hour mark to get over. Right at the clock, Ben started the introspection. He ate some food & waited for 5–10 minutes & sat under the scorching sun. He started to inspect his own body through his aura. He gave special attention to the meridian pathways. He came Soon he sensed the absorption of aura from the surroundings & from the food. He could see the aura flowing through his body. Ben noticed that a dense cluster of meridians were concentrated on his limbs, especially his hands. So another cluster of meridians were concentrated around his Shamanic script. In all other places, the meridians were almost equally distributed. He also saw the energy core. Ben concentrated on the flow of aura & its interactions.
Then he began to meditate the Jamadagni Bhavana. He was in the endless cosmos, witnessing countless celestial phenomena. He then remembered a philosophical idea he had heard. It stated that the body was a universe, with life in & the universe we see might be the body of a mighty being.
From this spark, an idea for a cultivation technique came up: 'The energy core as the centre of the universe, the aura lights up the organs & tissues through meridians. Through the nourishment of aura, the various body parts are brought to life, thus the body functions.'
With this thought, Ben began to guide aura consciously. At first it was difficult for him to guide the aura to all parts. But slowly but surely, he began to guide it. The aura soon began to flow seamlessly without any obstruction. There was a loop around him. & As the aura began to flow properly the organs began to respond to it. Soon the aura & organs formed a connection & aura began to flow individualistically in each organ. The aura flow around Ben simply disappeared. Only those who constantly actively try to sense, would find energy within him.
He was in this state for a whole day. Mahaansh & Vishok did not disturb him. They thought he was resting. They knew for a fact that, the first time injuring or over exerting meridians was really painful, that too in the absence of a cultivation technique. This would render the flow of aura to become slow and thus the healing process will also be slow. But once the cultivation technique is established things become more easy. While the over exertion and injury to meridians is still a problem, the healing process also becomes easier.
Inside Ben's body, the life force was flowing unobstructed in an orderly manner. It was not forming uniformly, but in different ways through different organs and different tissues. The shamanic script was being nourished along with the limbs, especially his hands. This was because it was one of the especially used organs for attacking. The hidden injuries inside Ben was also being healed. His body also became stronger. The life energy had such healing powers. It was making Ben at least 10% stronger than he was. The meridians also penetrated deeper and deeper, raising the penetration depth to about 93%. This was one of the fastest rises in penetration level in the Gyagar nation itself. While there were wealthy scions and influential people who could increase it using various technologies and pills, this was a natural increase. As such it was unprecedented.
Another peculiar thing that was happening was the stability and concealment of aura. The unobstructed flow of aura created a natural stability that led to the wastage of energy to minimal and thus little to no energy fluctuation were being seen outside. The stability of the flow and the harmonizing effect of the aura were top notch, giving the illusion that Ben must have gotten slightly stronger and that's it.
After about 8-10 hours, Ben opened his eyes. At first, he did not feel any thing. It was almost night time and the sunlight was really dim. Yet he could see perfectly. While a martial knight could technically see better, this was on another level. He could also feel power coursing through him. He could feel it dormant inside him and could be summoned by him any time. After familiarising himself with his change, he went inside, where the other three were sitting.
Vishok: " Hello there sunshine. Finally woke up huh."
Mahaansh: ...
Vishok: (Looking at Mahaansh) What happened to you? Why, are you stuck?
Mahaansh: (Smacking on Vishok's head) Use your senses you fool.
Vishok: (Annoyingly) Don't treat me like your student. (Turning to Ben and looking for a few seconds) What the hell? When? How? Why?
Mahaansh: Congratulations, for achieving resonance and harmony.
Ben: Thanks. Though you two did your part.
Vishok: No, we had nothing to do with your freakish growth!!!
Mahaansh: (Glaring at Vishok and looking back at Ben) Well, this is your achievement. May be we have guided you, but it is ultimately what you achieved.
Ben: Well it was senior Vishok's words which gave me this idea.
Vishok: What did I do?
Ben: You said to focus on the meridian seed and the affinity associated with it.
Mahaansh and Vishok: So?
Ben: Well the affinity of aether lupis is space and as such the cosmos. I remembered hearing about a philosophy where our body itself is a universe and that the universe might be the body of a mighty being.
Vishok: So let me guess, you imagined a universe in your body and the aura was flowing through it.
Ben: Yes.
Mahaansh: So what does the aura do?
Ben: It creates the cosmos and the life in it.
Vishok: Simple yet concrete.
Mahaansh: Indeed. The aura flow within you has improved. If it weren't for this forest we could have sparred.
Ben: Well that is true. I seriously need to find my limits."