While I continued making Yellow Seals and Energy Gloves I brainstormed and occasionally researched on my Guider.

Eventually I hit upon something.

Yupow had once told me that Inner Energy fluctuated from the physical world into the spiritual world which is why it was so elusive.

As if it couldn’t make up its mind where to reside.

But if I provided a stable environment with innate spiritual properties would that make it more likely to stay in the Physical Realm and therefore be more likely to condense and accumulate?

There was only one way to find out.

I took out a large pot of clay, and partly filled with the fat from different kinds of animals, and started to boil it until it was in liquid form.

Since I couldn’t use blood, I figured using the fat from animals wasn’t too different of a choice.

It also helped me in getting rid of harvested materials that were hard for me to sell and get rid of.

I grabbed another large container and put it on the side.

I grabbed a large mortar and put it on top of a worktable I had been using.

When searching through my Guider I had come up on one of the many flora I had gathered in the wilderness, and which the Guider had information on.

This one specifically was a fruit and as it turned out it was a very special fruit.

It was called the Spirit Berry and it grew from a bush called the Spirit Berry Bush.

According to the Guider the Bush had mild Spiritual Energy Properties, and was useful for certain mental relaxation recipes.

The Berry itself was specially rich in these spiritual properties, and when consumed it was said to improve mental faculties, relieve stress, heal head injuries, and aid in relieving certain brain diseases.

I had picked so many herbs and fruits that I had neglected to thoroughly check on all their properties, only skimming through some of them.

Hopefully this plant and fruit would aid me in substituting for the Brightplant.

I grabbed a good amount of leaf and branches I had collected from the bush and started to grind them up into a fine substance.

I then grabbed some clay and charcoal I had created from burning Experts Yew and threw them in as well.

I continued grounding and mixing as I continued to throw in ingredients.

Fresh Experts Yew, Beast Bone Powder, and Inner Bronze Powder, were the additional Ingredients I used to make the new Powder Mix.

After doing so, I finished off the mix by grounding a few whole Spirit Berries into it making the powder into more of a dry paste.

I took many of those same berries, and with the assistance of one of Yupows kitchen tools, I blended it into a thick white gray juice, the same color as the Berries.

Before putting the Berry juice into melted fat I poured large amounts of Clay powder, Charcoal powder, Expert Yew powder, and a little Bronze powder, separate from the paste mix, and let it boil for a while.

When I felt enough time had passed, I finally mixed the Berry juice into the fat, along with Paste Mix, and large amounts of Spirit Bush Powder I had Mixed separately.

I didn’t know if I was being Excessive, but I didn't care, I was trying any Idea that I felt improved my chances of being successful.

Before getting to the final phase I had to let the Fat cool down to a temperature that was safe enough for me to stick my hands in.

After the fat cooled I plunged my hands into the warm greasy liquid and proceeded to Inject Inner Energy into it as vigorously as I could.

Almost as quickly as I started to Inject the Inner Energy into the Liquid, the Fat started to bubble and boil.

It seemed the Fat was a lot more reactive to the Inner Energy than the Blood.

To me that was a good sign, but the more the Fat boiled, the hotter the liquid got, and eventually I had to remove my hands from the liquid.

Already I could tell the new process was going to be even more annoying.

After a couple of times of sticking my hands in and out of the fat, I grew tired of the inconvenience, and decided to use my Inner Energy Axe as an Inner Energy delivery medium.

Thankfully the idea worked, as I saw the Fat boil around the Axe as I injected Inner Energy into it.

Eventually the blood did start to glow a dark silver color different from the blood, but more in line with how I knew Inner Energy actually looked.

The results looked promising but it was too early to call the experiment a success.

I waited a day, after which I ripped up a Yellow Seal, and saw the significant accumulation of Inner Energy within the now slushy Fat.

After boiling the Fat again and letting it cool, I further confirmed that the Inner Energy was there to stay, and that the Fat would remain charged for a good while.

For some reason I felt less excited in saying I had created Inner Energy Fat, than I did Blood, but nevertheless I now had one successful foot into my endeavor, to make another method for creating Focus Shards.

I grabbed a piece of Pure Glass and repeated a similar process as before.

I carved grooves into it and slathered fat all over it and applied the paste mix before letting it dry.

After a couple of layers of fat and powder I set the Crystal aside and set another pot on a fire.

I filled the pot with Resin from both the Bleeding Willow Tree and Experts Yew Tree and waited for it to melt into liquid form.

Afterwards I mixed in the Paste and some Berry Juice before letting it cool down.

I then stuck my hand into the Resin and proceeded to Inject Inner Energy into it.

Eventually the Resin started to Glow and slightly boil.

Again another success and proof that Spirit Berry was useful in Infusing Inner Energy into substances.

After successfully creating the new Inner Resin I slathered a layer of it onto the Crystal, as well as a final layer of the paste and fat, and waited for it to dry out before I dunked it into the Liquid Fat.

Immediately I dipped my Axe into the liquid and began to Inject my Inner Energy into it.

I got to the point where I needed to refill my Inner Energy again and I still hadn't seen any reaction from the Crystal.

The fat was boiling from the beginning so that wasn’t a reliable visual cue.

I was starting to get worried, for the blood method when infusing one crystal, I didn’t need to reach a point of energy exhaustion, but this time it was different.

Before dipping my Axe back into the Fat again I ripped up another Yellow Seal and watched as the Inner Energy swirled around in the Fat.

I resumed to continue injecting Energy into the fat this time observing whether the Crystal was absorbing the energy.

To my relief slowly but surely all the Inner Energy within the fat seemed to condense towards the direction of the Crystal.

I persevered in my laborious task, until eventually I saw a sudden flash of bright light within the fat bath, and suddenly vast amounts of Inner Energy swarmed towards the direction of the Crystal, and suddenly the absorption of the energy stopped.

As I continued Injecting Inner Energy into the bath, the concentration of Inner Energy within it got more abundant, until the Fat started to violently boil and steam.

That was my cue that the fat had reached its limit.

I waited for the Fat to cool down and for the energy within the Crystal to consolidate.

Even though I had seen promising signs with my Inner senses, I was still nervous on whether my attempt had resulted in a success.

Eventually I was able to dip my hands into the Fat and finally take the Crystal out.

It was a thing of beauty.

It glowed a hazy silver grey with hints of yellow; it was the new version of the Focus Shard!