Re'Kha activated the Water Qi Essence, feeling it emit Water Qi at a steady rate. Activating a Magic Artifact or an Elemental Qi Essence was a simple feat. All one needed to do was will it into activating or deactivating. But, that was only in the case they hadn't been used by anyone else.

In its untainted state, when Re'Kha gazed at the Water Qi Essence, a sort of connection was formed after several breaths in time passed. As she was a Harmoniser, she synchronised with the Water Qi in the Water Qi Essence, using that to establish a connection between them as she inserted her will into it.

After that, all she needed was a thought to activate it. But, just like the Magic Artifacts, she needed to keep the Water Qi Essence in contact when activating or deactivating. There was one difference between them.

An activated Magic Artifact would deactivate the moment it left the user's hands. But, an Elemental Qi Essence would remain in its state—whether activated or deactivated—after it leaves the user's hands. It only needed contact when activating or deactivating.

This was why Re'Kha was just able to activate a Water Qi Essence and leave it alone when she was hiding in the granary—in the Ju Clan's western settlement.

And, suppose a Magic Artifact or Elemental Qi Essence already had an owner before, it would contain his/her will in it. So, to form a connection with them, Re'Kha would have to spend some time to destroy their will and fill it up with her will.

And, the time this process took varied based on her affinity to the element. So, when it was the Water Qi Essence, Re'Kha only needed a couple of breaths in time. Because, in the water element, her affinity to it was one of the highest.

As it was contained in the Ju Clan's western settlement, the one who had placed his/her will in it wouldn't have a talent exceeding hers. This was another reason Magic Artifacts wasn't placed in the hands of Harmonisers with subpar talents.

It was in the fear their opponent could override their will in the Magic Artifact while in conflict and take control of it. That's why, only Harmonisers like Re'Kha or those with elemental affinity close to hers were allowed to wield a Magic Artifact, that too only during times of necessity.

It was also a reason Re'Kha was apprehensive about returning to her Clan. Her Clan had given her a Magic Artifact to use. It was because she was pursuing the Blinded Ghost, a prime target that had terrorised their city, Burkurel City a lot.

And, as she ran into it numerous times, she had been allowed the Magic Artifact. It was also what she had relied on to severely wound the Blinded Ghost every time.

But, the moment things turned south, the Blinded Ghost would just vanish. Fighting against it was also severely annoying as it passed through the buildings and moved without being hindered, and sneak attacked whenever an opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately for her, she had lost her Magic Artifact when her eyes were stolen by the Blinded Ghost.

Now that she had activated the Water Qi Essence, Re'Kha put all the distracting thoughts away, limiting the range of the Water Qi emitted by the Water Qi Essence to an arm's distance around herself.

She took in deep breaths, breathing in the Water Qi that was mixed into the air. The Water Qi flowed into her lungs, got mixed into her blood, and when it flowed to her heart, it was filtered and branched to her Pranic Heart.

From there, it began to flow in her meridians. This was possible because of a connection shared between the Heart and her Pranic Heart. It was a one-way channel and was the mode through which the Elemental Qi of all Harmonisers was replenished as they consumed food.

Since she had a high affinity to the water element, her body wasn't damaged when the Water Qi flowed through her blood. Though, her affinity only allowed that until a certain concentration. It was why she felt suffocated when the concentration of Water Qi in the granary reached the point of natural saturation.

Only a water element Harmoniser who was able to comprehend four units of Water Qi per year naturally would be unaffected in such concentrations and beyond. But, something of that level was a feat of the legends. And, if such a candidate existed, he would be nurtured to take the seat as their Celestial Emperor in the future.

With every ten breaths, Re'Kha replenished a unit worth of Water Qi. From the initial empty state, the Water Qi in her meridians turned into a trickle that flowed, steadily increasing in volume. Soon, Re'Kha had replenished all 12 units of her Water Qi.

If she absorbed any more Water Qi, it would only prove harmful, so she stopped well in advance. She even calculated that she would recover her 12th unit of Water Qi only after breathing in all the Water Qi left around her after deactivating the Water Qi Essence.

It was best to not leave any evidence behind.

"Phew," Re'Kha let out a breath in relief, placing the Water Qi Essence within her storage ring as she entered her excited state, watching her Water Qi return to her Pranic Heart, and flow out as Wind Qi. She then repeated the same to see it get converted into Wood Qi.

Finally, Re'Kha returned to her base state, sensing the Water Qi circulate through her meridians once again. "Alright, there are no problems with this method."

It was a wasteful way to use a Water Qi Essence just to recover her Water Qi. If anyone were to hear it, they would just slap her for being wasteful. But, no one knew it, so Re'Kha was fine. Besides, she had a dozen of them lying in her storage space. And, even if it was kept activated continuously, an Elemental Qi Essence would last at least a decade, if not more.

"Alright, now to check and see if anything is strange with my Pranic Avatar."