Defiance of the Fall

The pain of growing a limb was excruciating , but no more so than many other wounds he had suffered over the past years . It wasn’t enough for him to lose his focus , and he kept picturing how his legs looked . He had known that this situation would happen sooner or later , so he had already memorized every last part of his body , both through scanning himself and by using Spiritual Anchor] .

He remembered every hair , every pore on his body , just so that he would be able to recreate them without any aberration . Soon enough the foot was added , and Zac was hit by a wave of weakness . Unfortunately , it was not the weakness of needing sleep , but rather something much more sinister .

He had once more lost a good chunk of his longevity .

Zac couldn’t be certain , but he guessed that he had lost a few decades reforming his leg , which didn’t feel too dreadful now that he had reached D-grade Race . Still , that was only one of two limbs missing , and he sighed as he turned toward his missing left hand .

Regrowing his left hand wasn’t necessarily needed to get out of this place , and his combat effectiveness wasn’t contingent on having it either . Needing to regrow it was rather a matter of his pathways . He was already disadvantaged as a Mortal , and now with his pathways broken in two places his energy was completely turbid , which made dealing with the Twilight Energy all that much harder .

He also had skill fractals on his Left arm . Luckily , skill fractals were protected by the System , and they would be back as soon as his spirit body recovered . However , he wouldn’t be able to use them until his hand regrew .

The process repeated itself once more , and he barely had enough Creation Energy to complete the process . With him having used his Annihilation Energy on Uona , he was completely tapped out for this hidden ace . He would either have to wait a few months to slowly gather more energy or forcibly open his cage again if he wanted to make use of the two powers of the Remnants .

His limbs were successfully regrown , but he still rested another three hours at the cost of a small hill of Nexus Crystals . Only then did he feel his state stable enough to leave . His crystals would run out before the trial ended , and Zac knew that there was only one way to go . So he steeled himself as he slowly made his way out of the small alcove .

The chains of Love’s Bond] were still firmly embedded in the stone , but Zac still almost found himself dragged further into the depths the moment he was exposed to the torrential waters . But he ignored the pain as he started pulling himself up , moving meter by meter along the rock with the help of his chains .

However , progress was slow as he was climbing against the current . The chains were barely able to rise against the currents , and there were barely any footholds for him to climb using his own hands and legs . Swimming was out of the question as well . The second he let go of the wall , he would instantly be dragged to the depths .

Zac only managed to climb 100 meters or so before he felt himself approaching his limits , and he quickly started to cut another dugout in the wall . A minute later he had created another safe zone , and he blocked the pathway best as he could before started up the costly process of keeping the ambient energy at bay .

This cycle of short climbs and long durations of rest kept going for over ten hours , at which point he once more was ready for another round of soul cultivation . He had made decent progress in this time , climbing over a kilometer along the cliff wall . The strategy worked well enough , but he still worried a bit about his prospects . The waters above him were still utterly pitch black , making him wonder just how far down he had been dragged .

It wasn’t like he couldn’t stomach the cost , but he was burning almost 500 Supreme Nexus Crystals between each climb , and he only had so many of them . The real issue was the mountain he was climbing though ; all his plans were contingent on the mountain he was climbing actually reaching all the way up , but there were no guarantees that actually was the case . If it abruptly ended before he’d climbed to a point where the currents weren’t powerful enough to drag him back to the depths , he'd be screwed .

Two days passed , and Zac was making greater and greater progress as his climbing technique steadily improved . The bad news was that it was all still pitch-black above his head , but the good news was that the energy density was slowly decreasing . He could go a little bit further with each climb , and the rest periods cost a little bit less .

He believed that sooner or later he would reach a depth where he would barely be able to hang on with just his Soul Strengthening Array and Hidden Nodes , perhaps using the occasional crystal to tide him over . That would be the optimal place to hone his soul , easily fulfilling the harsh requirements on cultivation environment .

Who knew , he might even complete the Second Reincarnation in one go thanks to the unique environment of the depths of the Twilight Chasm . If he ever got out of this place , that is .

Chapter 735 : Mountain Formation

The situation was grim , but it wasn’t all bad . Where there was danger , there was also opportunity . Zac's cells suddenly came alive with greed while climbing , and he spotted a secluded cave not far away . He entered it cautiously after switching to his undead form , and he found himself face to face to a flower that had once juicy bulb at the top that reminded Zac of a dumpling .

It emitted an earthy aroma that was extremely enticing , but Zac forcibly ignored the primal hunger as he took out a jade box and harvested the thing . He couldn’t recognize the plant at all , but his best guess was that it was some sort of native Dao Treasure judging by the aura it emitted , one of a far higher quality than the Life-Death Pearls .

It was definitely a treasure valuable enough to match anything a top 500 contestant on the Fate Plucking Ladder would be able to get from the vault , perhaps something even greater . Using it now was too risky considering he had been out of it for twenty days when ingesting the first round of Life-Death Pearls . Even passing out for an hour in this place might prove lethal .

Unfortunately , his grand plan hit a sudden and unexpected turn a day later ; he had reached the peak of the mountain , and he was still far from the surface . In fact , it looked like the mountain had been broken off by the turbulent waters , and it had been turned into a mostly flat plateau a few kilometers across .

Swimming to the surface was still not an option . If anything , the currents were even stronger right at the summit , and Zac was forced to climb down some ways to not risk getting ripped off the mountain . Zac's only option was finding another mountain to climb , but he couldn’t see any from his vantage . Worst-case scenario , he would have to descend the mountain until he found another one it connected to , but that would potentially waste weeks , if it was even possible .

There was one more thing he could do , and Zac spent two days traversing the side of the plateau until he finally spotted another mountain far in the distance .

The problem was the vast chasm between him and the target . Zac mulled on the conundrum while performing another cleansing Soul Strengthening Cycle , after which he started digging a larger-than-normal cave . It took a whole hour before he was finished , at which point he took out a large conic stone .

It came from one of the Spatial Rings of the cultivators he took out just before leaving Greengrove Archipelago , and it would become the sacrifice for this endeavor . He entered the vessel and thoroughly studied it before he loaded the array full of Supreme Nexus Crystals . Zac took a deep breath before he cranked the speed-controlling array to the limit .

The vessel shot out like a bullet from Zac’s makeshift dock , and it hurtled straight toward the taller mountain in the distance . Steering was out of the question since he had completely overtaxed the array far beyond what it could sustain for long .

Ominous groans immediately started to echo through the hull , even with the shields working at max capacity . A Tremendous shudder made Zac lose his footing a moment later as a large section of the hull was ripped clean off . Thankfully , he had made it more than three quarters across the chasm before the ship was ripped apart , and he felt confident he’d be able to swim the last stretch .

However , he had severely underestimated just how strong the currents were , and he found himself rapidly dragged downward as he inched toward the peak . The amount of Miasma he was expelling to propel himself forward would be enough to drown out an army of F-grade warriors , but it wasn't a match to the intractable power that wanted to drag him to the depths .

Zac started to despair that days of effort would be wasted and that he might not even make it across at all , but he was confused to suddenly find the downward pull completely interrupted , allowing him to scramble toward the mountain . But Zac almost completely forgot to keep swimming as he glanced upward to see what was going on .

Something was swimming a few hundred meters over his head , its body stretching on for thousands of meters . Zac couldn’t see exactly what it was , but he could barely discern dark green scales , each one as large as a football field by the looks of it .

What was this thing? And what was it doing in an E-grade trial? This big bastard would make even the dragon he fought look like a little shrimp . He wasn't even sure the mountain he had been climbing had been broken off by the currents any longer . This guy would only need to ram it once to get the work done .

Zac was frozen in fear and hesitation for only a second before he continued swimming toward the mountain , using as much energy as he dared without causing too large a ripple . The creature thankfully seemed completely disinterested in Zac even if he was spotted , and he managed to reach the mountain just in time before the thing passed him by .

In its wake came a tumultuous storm , and Zac barely managed to hold on to the cliff wall . His body was instantly covered in cuts , and he was forced to immediately cut a cubby to start resting again . Meanwhile , the monstrosity was seemingly only passing by the area , and it rounded the mountain Zac climbed before it sunk toward the depths .

He never managed to see its face , but the beast best resembled some sort of overgrown sea snake since it neither had the fins of fish or wings or claws of a dragon . It was just an oversized tube ripping through the chasm , its massive trunk of a body turning the streams completely chaotic .

Zac rested up with his Soul Strengthening manual while keeping watch , but the gargantuan beast never made another appearance . Perhaps it lived even further down in the depths and only made the rounds now and then . Zac even guessed that thing was the true ruler of the Twilight Chasm , even though it hadn't been mentioned in any missive .

It was far beyond any normal beast king , to the point that Zac suspected it might be approaching Monarchy . Why such a thing existed inside the Mystic Realm was beyond Zac , and he could only endeavor to not draw its ire .

Zac soon started climbing again , but he found himself in a predicament after another two weeks . It looked like the section he had found himself in was a cluster of fifty-odd peaks , with the cliff he started on being slightly separated from them . He had managed to swim between these cliffs without sacrificing any more vessels , but it soon became apparent that most of these mountains didn’t reach much further than the original one .

He had discerned what looked to be a much larger cliff or perhaps even the wall of the chasm , far in the distance , but the way there was extremely perilous . Not only was the distance almost four times as great between the closest peak and his earlier jump , but the streams were extremely powerful . He wasn’t confident at all in making it across without the big snake helping out .

And even if he made it across in one piece , it was possible that he would also be dragged to such a depth that his methods to deal with the Twilight Energy wasn’t enough .

Still , what else could he do?

He knew he would have to take the leap sooner or later if he wanted to get out of here , but he didn’t go immediately . The peaks were all drenched in energy , and there were bound to be some treasures here . As long as he could make some sort of breakthrough , he’d increase his chances of survival when making it across . He immediately set out , but it was easier said than done finding anything down here .

For one , it was pitch black , and his other sights could only help him see so far . He spent one day per mountain peak , climbing around as much as he could in search of energy fluctuations or anything else that might indicate a valuable . And suddenly on the sixth day , he found something . It wasn’t a precious metal , nor was it a unique plant hidden in a crevasse . It was a pristine five-meter-long bone that had been lodged in a crack .

Zac guessed it had been brought there by the currents rather than the fact that a beast lived down here since Twilight Energy this dense was no doubt poisonous to normal Beast Kings as well . The bone was still in the middle of an extraordinarily powerful stream , and that was one reason why Zac believed it might be a treasure .

A normal bone even from a D-grade beast would have eventually been ground to dust in a situation like this , but this one seemed to have no issue withstanding the cutting waters .

In fact , it almost looked like the waters were refining it . Zac had his suspicions , but he was currently in his human form so he couldn’t be sure . He was trying to use the intuition gained by Forester’s Constitution] to find herbs , but he swapped over to his Draugr side after some thought as he hid from the stream in a secluded crevasse .

As expected , the moment he trained his abyssal eyes at the bone , he was almost blinded by the immense life-attuned energies it contained . The bone lit up like a beacon in the darkness . It was clear ; the bone was somehow storing a bit of the life-attuned energies of the waters that passed while expelling some of the deathly energies .

Over who knows how many years , the bone had become a Treasure Bone of pure life . Zac wanted to immediately head over and pick it up , but he first had to spend the next hour cracking Miasma Crystals and expelling built-up energy . Only then did he set out , but he was surprised to find that the chains of Love’s Bond] weren’t strong enough to dislodge the thing .

Zac wasn’t deterred though , and he immediately moved to Plan B . The chains of Love’s Bond] slammed into the mountain wall or wrapped around a few outcroppings before he crawled over , securely fastened . Three small pygmies appeared in the waters behind him , but cracks immediately started to spread across their bones .

The skill would only last a few seconds before the surrounding energies ripped the skeletons apart , but that was enough . One barrier after another appeared to slightly divert the powerful current surrounding the bone , making it slightly easier for Zac to climb over . He saw that the bone had essentially fused with the mountain itself , and it was no wonder the chains had been unable to drag the bone over .

But the strength of nature was nothing in front of the power of Zac’s greed , and he ripped it and a section of the mountain straight out of the crack with a herculean tug , and he quickly dragged himself back with the chains just as Profane Exponents] crumbled . The bone entered his Spatial Ring , and Zac wasn’t really surprised when he felt the wave of hunger in his mind .

Verun had woken up inside the ring , and it clearly indicated a desire to consume the mysterious bone . This was exactly what Zac had hoped for when snatching the Treasure Bone , but he didn’t let Verun feed on it just yet . The axe wasn’t really needed to solve his current predicament , but he couldn’t let it absorb the bone right now .

Previously when Verun got something good , it had enclosed itself in large crystals to digest it , and this was no time for that .

Instead , he continued , and he managed to find three extremely impressive materials over the next two weeks . One was a metal that emitted intense energy fluctuations , yet wasn’t listed in any of the precious materials missives . It had to be something extremely rare for that to be the case , and rare items were always good to have .

Neither of his Spirit Tools wanted it , but he might be able to use it to trade for something he did need in the future . After all , the absolute rarest items were rarely possible to buy with Nexus Coins alone , and many warriors preferred straight-up trades of similarly exotic materials .

He also found another one of those odd dumpling-like fruits , this one even slightly larger compared to the first . He still wasn’t certain whether it was a Dao Treasure or something else though . His best bet was showing them to Catheya to see if she knew what they were .

The last ones were stalks of reed-like grass swaying in a secluded spot protected from the more powerful currents . Zac had almost been dragged out to the depths when he gazed upon them since their sway had an extremely potent hallucinogenic effect . It was only thanks to his evolved soul he barely managed to regain his sanity and desperately scramble back to the mountain before he was dragged away .

Harvesting them had been a challenge with him being constantly hypnotized , but the closer he came to them , the more he could sense that they would have an amazing effect on nurturing one’s soul . They were his best find so far , and he planned on simply eating them unless he found something looking more promising to help him out .

However , he suddenly spotted something extremely mysterious , something that smelled of opportunity . Zac was climbing a mountain as usual , when there suddenly was a weird fluctuation in the distance . A whole mountain suddenly flickered into existence before disappearing again in just a few seconds . It was almost like he had seen a mirage , but he could soon confirm it was real .

He wouldn’t have noticed anything if he hadn’t seen the mountain for a brief window , but now that he knew it was there , he could see how the powerful currents swirled around it . It wasn’t phasing in or out of reality , but it was rather shrouded by some unknown method . Zac frowned as he looked around at the mountain peaks , realizing that the hidden mountain was right in the middle of the cluster he was currently exploring .

A Natural Formation?

He immediately dug a cubby and started up another round of soul cultivation , keeping watch over the secret peak . The mountain reappeared twice in a span of ten hours , and it was preceded by a mounting surge of energy each time . There was also a hint of spatial energy in the mix , making Zac wonder if space was sealed , but a weakness appeared every once in a while .

If he wanted to enter the mountain , it would probably have to be in that brief window . Zac had already decided over the past hours ; he would take his chances and enter that place . The soul grass he harvested was nice , but not enough to reach his second Reincarnation . Absorbing them wasn’t sufficient to give him the power to reach the wall of the chasm , he needed to take a risk and check things out in that place .

Zac made his preparations over the next day , ignoring the mountain as it appeared four more times . Soon enough , he shot out in another of his spare vessels , this one having over a hundred talismans plastered to its hull . That was the limit of what he could activate without completely draining himself , and the vessel was lit up like a sun as it pierced through the frantic currents just as the energy of the hidden peak started to surge .

The whole ship shook and started to fall apart as it slammed into an unseen barrier , but Zac was ready . Only a third of the talismans had been defensive ones to deal with the current without the ship crumbling , and the rest simultaneously lit up to create a tremendous explosion , and it was quickly followed by a massive axe cutting through the waters .

It was Arcadia's Judgement] , and not even the terrifying pressure of the ocean could withstand the wooden hand as it ripped open a tear in an unseen shield . Zac knew he couldn't hesitate , and a patch of flowers appeared beneath his feet as he shot forward , passing right by his own attack and forcing himself through the temporary weakness in the natural formation .

He had expected to find the mountain he had seen on the other side , but his eyes widened in terror when he was actually met with a chaotic storm of spatial energies . He didn't even have a chance to orient himself before he found his surroundings twist . Thankfully he hadn't been swallowed by the void , but rather transported to some unknown cave .

The cave was drained , and Zac took a deep breath with wonder as he looked around . The ground was littered with all kinds of things that had most likely been dragged here just like himself , and there was everything from ancient corpses , cultivators and beasts alike , to large chunks of metal and soil .

In fact , the materials here were even more plentiful than all he had gathered himself so far . Unfortunately , there was something odd going on , where the older materials seemed to have been drained somehow , including an identical piece of metal as the one he had found the other day .

As for the culprit for that and him getting dragged here , there was one clear suspect - the flowers .

They were the only thing that seemed to grow in the cave naturally , and they absolutely covered both ceiling and walls . Their alluring aroma was simply amazing , but that was the least impressive thing about them . First of all , the density of Twilight Energy was pitifully low in this place , to the point that Zac wouldn’t even need to use his Soul Strengthening Array to get by here .

There was only one way something like this was possible ; these flowers were continuously swallowing exorbitant amounts of energy , enough to drain the whole area to the point that only a trickle remained . They were even so voracious they somehow dragged materials from the outside to be absorbed .

Then again , it wasn’t certain that these flowers actually swallowed all the energies themselves . Intense spatial fluctuations were coming from this place , making Zac wonder if these flowers had formed some sort of natural formation that sent the Twilight Energy to the void just like they had teleported him and all these materials here .

He walked over to the closest one and inspected it , and he felt like he could discard any theory that the spatial fluctuations came from some other source . The flowers themselves held extremely condensed powers of the space , and miniature cracks actually appeared in space when Zac brushed one of its petals .

The movement increased the fluctuations by another tier , and Zac felt his body waking up , greedily swallowing the energy the flower released . He had no idea what species of flowers he was looking at , and his missive couldn’t help him either . However , he could tell with absolute certainty that whatever these flowers were called , they worked wonders on his constitution .

Zac knew that he had found it . He had found the opportunity to make another breakthrough , and it was one he had been holding back on for a long time now .

It was time to push his bloodline to E-grade .

Chapter 736 : Limitless

Evolving his bloodline was risky considering the chaos he had caused when awakening it the first time , but he didn't have many options if he wanted to get out of here . It was either that or wait in this cave until the trial ended . This place seemed safe enough with the flowers eating all the Twilight Energy , but he refused to just sit around for over two whole years .

Besides , wasn’t this the perfect opportunity? There shouldn’t be a single cultivator able to reach these depths , and he hadn’t even seen any beasts except that monstrous thing . Meanwhile , there were dozens of peaks all around him , many of them no doubt containing extremely valuable treasures he was simply unable to find .

Along with the absurd amount of ambient energy in the Twilight Chasm , he had the perfect stage to breakthrough , no matter how much energy his bloodline demanded .

He needed to make some preparations before taking that step though , and he started setting up a series of arrays in the middle of the cave . It wasn’t the usual illusion and isolation arrays he used when arranging a temporary cultivation cave , but rather protective arrays . Last time he had formed a huge vortex , and he was afraid that he’d drop the mountain above him right on his head if he didn’t think things through .

That’s why he arranged two layers of protection . One offensive array to blast a large hole in the rock above his head in case a section fell toward him , and another to block any errant debris .

He also started digging through the stone with Love’s Bond] having all four of his free chains entrench themselves in spiraled patterns downward to secure him in place . The cave didn't seem connected to the ocean outside , but there were no guarantees that would still be the case that vortex Ogras described appeared again .

After that , Zac wasted no time , and the Cardinal Kernel] appeared in his hands . His cells were already extremely agitated from the flowers around him , and Zac's hands even started shaking from barely constrained hunger as he cut a small wound in his hand and let his blood drip down on the dark-green crystal before he firmly gripped it in his hands .

The Natural Treasure hummed to life as it went from green to red , and Zac soon found a stream of primal energy entering his veins . His heart started to furiously beat like a war drum , and the energy quickly spread through his whole body .

His body greedily sucked more and more energy out from the crystal , causing the air to twist around the heart-shaped treasure . Eventually , it cracked , completely drained by the Void Emperor-bloodline . Zac wasn't satiated at all though , and he felt a familiar state of madness brought on by hunger coming over him .

This time he wasn't completely out of his mind thanks to his strengthened soul , but he still started to greedily chow down on the hundreds of fruits he had found just a few weeks before . Each one of them contained so much energy it would take a normal E-grade cultivator weeks to refine , but the energy had all been absorbed by his cells before the fruits even had reached his stomach .

The more he ate , the more voracious the hunger became . He could feel it . He was still incomplete , and just like last time , the promise of perfection loomed in the distance . He was reaching the tipping point , and he pushed away any final misgivings as he swallowed one fruit after another , madness and desire burning in his eyes .

Something far in the distance cracked , and Zac's vision started to blur . He first tried to fight it , but his mind was swiftly dragged away . The last thing he sensed was tens of thousands of gates appearing in the area , each of them taking everything from their surroundings .

He had once more become the void .

I’m here to help clean up , - Karz said demurely without lifting his gaze from the ground .

Ah! Gar , eh , Karz , is it? - the quartermaster coughed . - Well , chambers 2 , 14 , and 28 will need cleaning today . -

Karz’s heart beat an extra time when hearing he had been assigned to a single-digit chamber , and number two at that . This would be a pretty big haul . Still , he controlled his aura and expression as he walked toward the inner parts of the Alchemy Hall . Thanks to months of building his - reputation’ , he passed straight through the security checks without causing any waves , gaining access to an area that not even Inner Disciples could enter .

The scheduling formation indicated that chambers 14 and 28 would open in an hour or so , while chamber two was more imminent . Karz walked over to the finely decorated waiting hall and sat down in a corner where he wouldn’t be in the way . Even then , his appearance caused some ruffles , and he saw two cultivators looking at him with frowns on their faces .

He recognized one of them to be a Core Disciple of the Alchemy Hall , but the other woman was unknown to him . However , Karz guessed that she had already completed her body tempering and entered the Profound Realm , judging by her aura . She was young as well , making Karz believe she had to be some talent among the Core Disciples .

Who is that? - the woman said with a disgusted tone , and Karz could tell that she wasn’t really trying to hide her voice . - I can smell him even through the medicinal aroma . -

Oh right , you just came back . I don’t know his name , but he’s called Garbage , - the other voice answered . - An elder found him in the garbage heaps last year and took pity on him . I heard he actually has a Heavenly Affinity barely high enough for him to target Inner Discipleship , but there's something wrong with his head . He’s obsessed with refuse , and is more interested in collecting and disposing of it than cultivating . It’s kind of convenient though , so people just let him do his thing . He’s managing the refuse for most core disciples and even some elders . -

Should have left someone like that among the trash , - the first speaker spat as the two walked around a corner . - A lowly person will always stay lowly . -

You’re right . Do you know what a disciple saw when they spied into his courtyard? He actually… - the other cultivator said before the voice got indistinguishable from the distance .

Karz had heard the whole thing , there wasn’t a single ripple in his heart . He knew he was being despised , but what did he care? In fact , it made his goals easier . And if there was one thing he knew to be true in this world , it was that her decree was fundamentally and irrevocably wrong . The only certain thing was change .

However , he couldn’t help but snort at how naïve he was before , back when he still scavenged for scraps a few years ago . Old Vek had talked about the Cultivators as though they were some sort of celestials , full of poise and grace . But coming here he had soon realized the truth .

In some ways , they were even dirtier than the scavengers down at the ground .

Subterfuge , backstabbing , playing little games to mess with each other just to pass the time . They were just mortals who grew increasingly cruel and twisted as their powers grew . They were bound by conventions , fettered by things as honor and reputation as surely as if they were trapped by real feathers .

It wasn't surprising . They didn't understand true desperation , the hunger that pushed you into a fight to the death against another scavenger just for a rotten carcass . They saw him as lowly , and he saw them as foolish . He soon threw that woman out of his mind as he eagerly waited for the door to open .

A dense cloud of medicinal aroma eventually wafted out from the chamber as the thick gates swung open , and his pores opened and greedily swallowed as much as they could without exposing his secret . Following the aroma a young man appeared , wearing an even more exquisite robe compared to the woman before .

His appearance didn’t match his clothes though , as his hair was in disarray as his eyes were completely bloodshot and glazed over . But he still stopped and refocused when he saw Karz sitting outside .

It’s you , - the young man said with surprise when he saw Karz waiting outside .

Karz knew who this was ; Laondio Evrodok . He wasn’t surprised that this man had been allowed to use the second refinement chamber , the second greatest cultivation chamber except for the one the supreme elder used for his experiments . In fact , Karz had heard that Chamber Two had recently been upgraded to even surpass chamber one , all for this man .

If Karz was at the absolute bottom of the totem pole to the point that people actually called him Garbage , then Laondio Evrodok was his polar opposite . The ragged-looking man was actually the greatest genius the sect had ever seen in its four-million-year history , and not by a small degree from what Karz had heard .

He was being personally groomed by both the Sect Leader and the two Supreme Elders , and many hoped he would be the one to move their mountain to even greater heights . His talents were so great that a Herald from the upper realms would descend in a few years to try him out . In a few centuries , he might be a Herald himself , ruling over the mortal realms like a god .

I’m just here to clean , - Karz said .

Here , - Laondio grinned as he took out a vial containing a few pills . - A small thank you . Your service is appreciated , but you cannot forget your own cultivation . -

What’s this? - Karz asked as he looked at the weirdly shaped pills .

My latest recipe . It’s an impurity-cleansing pill! I call them Pure as Laon]! - the man said with pride .

Is it as good as the Turbulent Wind Pill]? - Karz asked , even he slightly excited by the gifts . Those kinds of pills would save him a lot of time .

Well , no , it’s much worse , - Laondio coughed , making Karz’s eyes dim a bit . - But it’s cheap! It costs just a fraction of those exorbitant pills . -

Oh…? - Karz hesitantly said .

Laondio was clearly not satisfied with the lukewarm response . - Think about it! What separates the haves and have-nots in the world right now? -

Resources , - Karz said without hesitation .

Exactly! - Laondio said , his dry eyes lighting up with excitement . - It’s resources! The wealthy cultivators get to eat the greatest Heavenly Treasures and Cultivate closest to the purest Dragon Veins . Meanwhile , those with lower stature are bound to struggle on the road of cultivation . Impurities will accumulate quickly from absorbing the Earthly Qi , and even the greatest geniuses will find their road to cultivation cut short because of providence rather than effort .

This is the first step to even the playing field! A cheap pill to help those with nothing to fall back on break through the chains of fate , to make anyone's potential limitless! - the alchemist explained , and Karz's eyes widened as he felt the air around the young man twist like his conviction was imposing its will on the heavenly laws .

I heard you grew up on the ground? Your body must have absorbed a lot of Earthly Qi while living outside of the protection of the Dragon Veins . This will hopefully help put you back on course , - Laondio continued .

Why are you giving me this? - Karz hesitantly asked .

I heard how much you have helped people around here . This is just a small token of thanks , - Laondio said before he walked away .

The gesture was nice , but ultimately superfluous . Ever since that weird spot in his back had burst open , he had continuously rid himself of the taint . In the beginning , it was to the point that his sweat was a disgusting black ooze , but by now his situation was mostly fine . In fact , he believed that his constitution would have been a lot better compared to even Core Disciples if not for his nightly activities .

Karz scurried into the room , and he looked at the piles of discarded flowers , stems , shells , and other leftovers from Laondio’s alchemy session . He briefly wondered if the young star would be as generous with his pills if he knew that it wasn’t selflessness that drove Karz’s actions , but rather greed .

The rest of the Cultivators on this mountain might see a bunch of worthless scrap in front of them , but Karz saw something even better than the Origin Pills that were distributed every month to Outer Disciples such as himself .

He put all the scraps into his bag of holding before he carefully cleaned the whole room , putting everything back to where it was supposed to belong . He didn’t really care about this part , but he saw it as payment for the valuable materials he collected . An hour later he had spruced up the other two alchemy chambers as well , and he left the inner sections of the Alchemy Hall .

Thank you , young man , - the quartermaster smiled as she furtively looked around . When she saw that no one was looking she handed him a bound parchment . - This is for you . It is the entry-level fire-control technique we teach Inner Disciples . If you master the methods to control the flame , you can become a proper assistant who gets paid by the Sect for your hard work . You could even become an Alchemist if your Heavenly Root allows for it . -

Thank you , - Karz said with surprise as he quickly stowed away the method .

An entry-level technique was not much compared to the top-methods the Sect possessed , but he knew that the Quartermaster had bent the rules a bit in his favor for providing this .

I will work hard to learn this method . -

Don’t worry if you can’t master it , - the Quartermaster smiled . - Alchemy is a grand path , but it ultimately not for everyone . Even if this one doesn’t suit you , I am sure that someone hardworking like you will find another one . -

Thank you , - Karz bowed before he started his trek down from the Alchemy peak .

It was unfortunate . Kind-hearted people like the Quartermaster would never reach the peak in cultivation . Her advancement opportunities would be stolen through back-room deals of less open-hearted cultivators , and she’d be stuck as lower management even if her talent indicated she should rise higher .

But after talking with Laondio , Karz was a bit conflicted . He had considered the ruthless struggle for treasures and methods Heavenly law , but was that really an absolute? Were there no better ways than everyone clawing for every advantage they could get? Or was the young genius simply a dreamer with his head in the clouds after never having encountered any real hardships in his life?

Ultimately , it didn’t matter . Karz was far better off now compared to his years in the trash heaps , but he still didn’t feel much closer to the - glorious life in the sky’ he had dreamed of before . As his power grew , so did his vantage . It even felt like the mountain he was trying to climb to the peak was growing even quicker than he was .

For example , it was only last month he learned of exalted existences called Void Heralds , cultivators who had broken through to unimaginable heights . These kinds of beings didn’t even exist in the sect , or the neighboring clans for that matter . And that was still not the peak from what he’d gathered . Cultivation was really without end .

Karz eventually returned to his secluded domicile . Seeing the sprawling walls would probably confuse any visitor to the sect . What kind of Outer Sect Disciple got such a huge courtyard when space on the mountain was limited , even if it was almost by the foot? However , if they stepped inside , they’d soon understand why a place like this existed .

It almost felt like entering another world when he passed through the gates to his home . The dense Spiritual Energy outside had been slashed by more than three quarters , barely any better than what you’d see down on the tainted grounds . And what little ambient energy remained was oddly tainted for being so close to a Dragon Vein .

So what if the place was big? Any cultivator who lived in a courtyard like this was essentially crippling their cultivation .

Karz didn’t understand the specifics , but an elder had called it a - fault-line’ of the dragon vein . It seemed as though the Dragon Vein used some spots to dump its low-quality energy , just like the sect used the incineration plateaus on the ground to get rid of their trash . But that didn’t matter at all to Karz since he had his own unique methods .

The horribly bad cultivation environment wasn’t the only odd thing about the oversized courtyard . It was another oddity that had raised a lot of brows in the sect , to the point that Karz had earned his unflattering nickname .

Piles and piles of scraps filled almost every empty free spot of the courtyard , creating mounds reaching up to five meters tall . Karz looked around for a bit until he found the right spot . It was a three-meter-tall pile of alchemic dregs that had almost turned to dry ash by this point , and he stowed away the completely drained materials before he released the pile he had collected during the day .

After that , he walked to a certain pile of garbage and lay down on top of it with a contented smile . It was a scene just like this that had completely thrown his reputation into the gutter , but Karz didn’t care . He was sure that even the Sect Master of the Blue Spring Sect would join him if he possessed the same ability as he did .

Nothing happened for a few seconds as he lay there , but soon he felt a hunger from the depths of his body . It grew and grew until it couldn’t be contained by his body any longer . That feeling had to be satiated , and the universe soon gave its answer as thousands and thousands of celestial tendrils rose from the garbage piles .

Like moths to a flame , the tendrils started to worm their way toward him . Most of them came from the recently added piles , while some were reluctantly forced out of the almost-decayed piles that had been there for a few weeks . Some tendrils were even drawn out from the air itself as Spiritual Energy freed itself from the Earthly Taint on its way to Karz .

His body was soon alight with force , the energy surging round and round between his meridians , leaving a little bit behind with every circuit . People thought he was just lazing about while lying in piles of garbage half the day , but he was actually cultivating at a speed that was probably unsurpassed in the Sect .

He and Landio had agreed that the main issue stopping most people from progressing was resources , but truthfully it was not just that . All methods of cultivation seemed to be filled with imperfections , where even the pills made by elders left over 70% of the energies of the Spiritual Herbs inside the discarded dregs .

Karz had no idea how to fix that issue , but his body had shown him the way to make use of that fact . He didn’t know why , but he had quickly realized that others couldn’t see this ability of his . All these beautiful tendrils that danced through the air were only visible to his gaze , a miracle just for him .

He looked at the sky as he silently cultivated with his homemade method . There were all kinds of worlds out there , many far greater than the Hur'Vaz Empire the Blue Spring Sect was part of . Cultivators powerful beyond compare , beasts as large as whole planets , treasures with unimaginable power .

The world was truly limitless . Thankfully , Karz believed he was too .

Chapter 737 : Grand Origins

Zac woke up , and he was immediately beset by an intense hunger as he sat up with a grunt . He pushed down the sense of starvation as he looked around , and he was relieved to see that the situation wasn't too bad . He had been completely consumed by his Bloodline Vision even after having his soul evolve , but his surroundings were still somewhat intact .

Sometime during his breakthrough , the cave had been breached and flooded , but he was still protected from the currents outside . The cave itself had undergone a massive transformation though as all the flowers and the materials they had collected were gone , and the cave itself had grown to over five times in diameter .

It wasn't too bad , and Zac suspected it was thanks to the fact that he had somehow created thousands of small vortices this one rather than one massive one right behind his back . He couldn't be sure , but Zac felt the difference was related to Karz’s ability at the end . However , while Karz had become something like a magnet that extracted pure energy from all kinds of sources , his bloodline had rather proactively gone out on the hunt to swallow them into the void .

It was the second time he had been shown Karz and his unique abilities , and the visions filled him with mixed emotions . He had already suspected it after the first vision , but now it almost felt certain . His mother's clan had somehow gotten their hands on the genes of the Limitless Emperor , and it was that supreme being's bloodline that coursed through his veins .

It was no wonder Leandra had said he carried the Original Sin . He had initially thought it was because his birth had drawn the wrath of the Heavens , but that wasn't necessarily the case . What could be considered Original Sin , if not creating the System itself? Emperor Limitless had to be the biggest sinner in the history of the Multiverse in the eyes of the Technocrats .

Zac didn't know what to think about the situation . He wasn't even sure if he was an actual descendant , or if Karz's bloodline had somehow been extracted and implanted into his body . Zac was pretty certain that he wasn't a pure clone though , partly through clues left behind by Leandra , and partly by the fact that he didn't look like Karz at all .

Karz was definitely human , but looked somewhat of Mediterranean descent , with black wavy hair and an olive complexion . His irises were golden , and his features were truthfully a lot better than Zac's .

The real situation was a bit unclear , but Zac had a decent guess what his mother's Clan had been thinking . It wouldn't be too surprising if the Limitless Emperor would have created some sort of unique access methods to the System , and Leandra might have planned on using his Bloodline like some sort of backdoor .

Add Jeeves hidden by a perfected Duplicity Core , and they had all they needed to sneak the Dao of Technology into the System , perhaps even take control of the System itself . It was no wonder that the System reacted so violently when he was discovered , if Zac's guesses were correct . Hopefully , he would be safe as long as his Bloodline was corrupted , but it was something to keep in mind .

Perhaps he'd only invite punishment again if he uncorrupted the Void Emperor-bloodline .

For now , he could only put the matter of his heritage and Emperor Limitless aside , and instead focus on the gains . And just as he was about to open his status screen to check , he noticed something extremely odd ; the amount of Twilight Energy he was assaulted by was extremely low , to the point that his Hidden Nodes had no problems dealing with it .

That wouldn't have been surprising if the flowers were still there , but the flowers had been absorbed and the cave had been breached . He should be under a furious assault of Twilight Energy already , but he was leisurely sitting in the submerged cave like nothing was wrong . He immediately activated Piercing Gaze] , and even if its quality wasn't as good as Cosmic Gaze] , it immediately exposed an extremely odd phenomenon .

The cave was absolutely drowned in Twilight Energy , but the situation was different within a sphere of two meters around his body . It was like he was enclosed in a small sanctuary , where the density was just a tenth of the energy outside . It wasn't like some void was swallowing the rest of the energy , but rather that it was somehow kept at bay .

Furthermore , he could actually sense a familiar and ancient aura radiating from his body , and Zac could somewhat guess what was going on . His eyes lit up , and he quickly opened his status screen to confirm his suspicions .

Name

Zachary Atwood

Level

114

Class

E-Epic] Edge of Arcadia

Race

D] Human - Void Emperor (Corrupted)

Alignment

Earth] Port Atwood - Planetary Lord

Titles

Born for Carnage , Ultimate Reaper , Luck of the Draw , Giantsbane , Disciple of David , Overpowered , Slayer of Leviathans , Adventurer , Demon Slayer I , Full of Class , Rarified Being , Trailblazer , Child of Dao , The Big 500 , Planetary Aegis , One Against Many , Butcher , Progenitor Noblesse , Duplicity Core , Apex Hunter , Heaven's Chosen , Scion of Dao , Omnidextrous , Eastern Trigram Hunt - 1st , Tyrannic Force , Achievement Hunter , The First Step , Promising Specialist , Tower of Eternity - 8th Floor , Heaven's Triumvirate , Fated , Peak Power , Sovereign-Select , Frontrunner , Apex Progenitor , Pathstrider , Runebinder

Limited Titles

Tower of Eternity Sector All-Star - 14th , Weight of Sin , Equanimity , Heart of Fire , Big Axe Gladiator

Dao

Fragment of the Axe - Peak , Fragment of the Coffin - Peak , Fragment of the Bodhi - Peak

Core

E] Duplicity

Strength

7825 Increase : 105% . Efficiency : 238%]

Dexterity

3502 Increase : 75% . Efficiency : 187%]

Endurance

6823 Increase : 96% . Efficiency : 238%]

Vitality

5790 Increase : 84% . Efficiency : 238%]

Intelligence

1447 Increase : 69% . Efficiency : 187%]

Wisdom

2862 Increase : 76% . Efficiency : 187%]

Luck

455 Increase : 91% . Efficiency : 197%]

Free Points

0

Nexus Coins

D] 938 715

His attributes hadn't changed since the last time he checked , and neither had he gained any Title for evolving his Bloodline . He had heard from Catheya that there was a title for awakening your bloodline while in F-grade , with a greater version available if you awakened before even starting cultivating . Unfortunately , it looked like simply catching up wasn't enough to get the title while in E-grade .

Still , Zac hadn't expected any title , and he was far more interested in his Bloodline Screen .

Bloodline

E - Corrupted] Void Emperor

Talent

Force of the Void - 32% , Void Zone

Bloodline Nodes

E]Void Heart , E] Spiritual Void , E] Purity of the Void

Zac looked at the result with satisfaction . He was already 99% certain after the vision , but he had really managed to evolve his bloodline to E-grade in one go . For now , he wouldn’t need to worry about it for a long while , since gaining a D-grade Bloodline generally wasn’t possible before actually getting there in your cultivation .

Of course , he would still have to nurture his Hidden Nodes to set the foundation that would allow him to quickly upgrade them after becoming a Hegemon .

The most obvious change was the addition of a second Bloodline Talent ; Void Zone] . It sounded like a domain ability , and he figured that it should be this ability that kept the Twilight Energy at bay . It was just like with his first bloodline talent , it was simply on by default until he managed to form a connection with it .

Zac turned his attention inward , trying to glean whether anything else had changed . At first , everything looked the same , but he realized that his pathways had widened a bit . Not only that , but he could feel that his cells somehow were larger even if they were the same size , even though that made no sense .

It was almost like they all were forming small spatial arrays , but for what purpose Zac still didn't know . He sensed his energy reserves , and they didn’t seem any larger now compared to before . So what was the point of millions of small hidden pockets inside his body if they didn’t do anything?

Zac couldn’t think of anything in the vision that resembled what he was looking at either , and he could only put the matter aside for now . He figured that it shouldn’t be something bad , and that the truth would sooner or later show itself . Instead , he tried to figure out exactly how his new Bloodline Talent worked .

There was no drain at all on his Cosmic Energy , and judging by the aura , the talent ran on the Void Energy provided by Force of the Void] . He thought back to the vision of Karz he had just now , and it almost felt like the System or his mother had a sense of humor . In the first vision , Karz showed the ability to endlessly gain affinities through absorption , while he was perpetually stuck at no affinity .

Then Karz gained the ability to freely absorb energy that even more powerful cultivators had no way of extracting , but Zac got the ability to keep energy at bay?

The ability was definitely extremely useful in his current predicament , but its long-term usefulness was not quite as clear . However , Zac had high hopes for it to double as both a Defensive mechanism and a suppression . For example , the Twilight Energy could essentially be considered poison , but he was able to keep it away from him .

Would he be able to do the same if a cultivator drowned the area in a poison mist , keeping himself protected? Would he be able to do it even if it was something more corporeal , like a blade created with Cosmic Energy? Would it be barred from getting close to him , like an ultimate zone of nullification?

There were other things that were unclear , and he curiously took out a Middle-Grade Nexus Crystal and crushed it . A puff of energy spread out in his new domain , but it disappeared in just a few seconds . Furthermore , the amount of Twilight Energy that managed to pass through the void increased by a small amount when the Void Zone] was tainted by Cosmic Energy .

He took out a Supreme Nexus Crystal next and did the same thing . The result was similar , but the effect was more pronounced . It looked like there was a limit to how much energy the Void Zone] could push away or banish , or whatever it was doing . Still , it would be a great tool to add to his repertoire , and it was an ability that essentially was a cheat in this place .

With this , he essentially became infallible in the Twilight Ocean .

He wanted to experiment some more , but he first needed to get the ability under control before he ran out of Void Energy . Over three years had passed since he did this thing last , but he still hadn’t found the slightest clue of any better cultivation method than Bloodline Resonance] . Hopefully , it would work this time around as well .

Zac took out the manual to refresh his memory for a few minutes before he once more started to create a resonance with his second talent as well . The ripples in his body grew more and more intense over the next hour , and even his improved constitution was soon reaching its limits from the endless collisions ravaging his body .

But finally , he felt another connection form , this time to the second bloodline talent . He breathed out in relief before eating a healing pill . The damage was thankfully not too bad , and he started to play around with the talent after resting for just five minutes .

He turned it on and off , and Zac looked on with interest as the Twilight Energy surged and was pushed back , over and over again . It almost looked like waves crashing against the rocks on the shore , though the scene quickly calmed down after he stopped messing around . There was something he wanted to test , and he first swapped over to his Draugr form .

The powerful domain was completely unaffected by the change , keeping the Twilight Energy at bay as he was filled with miasma . He scanned his undead constitution for any changes , but just like his human body , the only change was the odd enlarging of his cells . Using Void Zone] worked the same way as well , allowing him to move on to his next experiment .

Zac tried to activate Profane Exponents] next , but he frowned when he felt some sort of resistance when trying to activate the skill . It looked like even his own body was under the effect of the weird field he emitted , prohibiting him from doing anything . Zac changed his tactic and tried to activate the skill outside the zone as well , but the sensation of great resistance was the same .

The suppression wasn’t absolute though , and as he pushed even further the skeletons appeared behind him , though they looked a bit bleak . A barrier appeared , but it took its sweet time , and it was significantly weakened . Zac dispelled the three pygmies , but they returned just a few seconds later , this time full of power as they radiated that ancient aura of his hidden energy reserve .

Zac’s heart started to beat faster as he quickly understood the implications . What if he was in a melee , and his new domain suddenly swallowed both him and his enemy? A seasoned veteran would immediately force the skill to activate , but he would still be a bit slowed down and restrained . Meanwhile , Zac could actually speed up his skill summon , increasing the gulf even further .

Just how powerful was this ability?

This was a true domain , far surpassing those he used to create a restrictive hellscape inside the cage of Profane Seal] . The only problem was that its radius was a bit too low for it to have too much practical effect since most fights ended without Zac getting within such close proximity of his enemies . However , the skill had just been awakened . Just like how the storage of Force of the Void] grew , so should the radius of Void Zone] .

He could imagine the scene in the future , him locking down kilometers of space in every direction as he unleashed instantaneously conjured skills on his helpless enemies . These two abilities together created an almost unbeatable combination . Of course , this restriction would probably be a lot weaker against higher-leveled enemies , which was a shame since those were the only real enemies of his .

At least it should help him stay alive when swept into a conflict like the one in the Technocrat research base .

He still remembered how he had almost gotten himself killed by the errant energies when The Great Redeemer and The Collector clashed . If he had this Bloodline Talent back then , the wounds he had accumulated would probably not have been so bad . He might even have been able to stay conscious for the impartment of Purity of the Void] .

He kept trying out various things over the next thirty minutes to find any weaknesses of the ability . But it really looked like it was pretty well-rounded .

The biggest difference was whether the energy entering the domain was - owned - or not . If it was ownerless energy like the ambient Twilight Energy , the effect was extremely pronounced . However , even talismans maintained around half of their efficiency when he launched them at himself with the help of his chains .

Skills were even less restrained , and his Spirit Tools weren’t affected at all from entering or exiting the sphere . In other words , it was a pure energy barrier , with no real effect on physical objects . There was some more experimentation to be done , but he was starting to feel a drain on his body ; he was fast running out of Void Energy .

The weird organ appeared in his lap , a stone-like clump over a meter across . It contained powerful energies , but Zac sighed when he sensed that he was unable to extract it at all while Void Zone] was active . He was forced to deactivate the protection , and a surge of Twilight Energy came crashing in on him .

It only lasted for a few seconds before he cracked a Supreme Miasma Crystal as he took out his Soul Strengthening Array . The environment had been ruined after activating his bloodline , and he wasn't planning on staying here any longer . He would just rest up and figure out his next step while completing a full cycle with the array .

Remembering how his bloodline had gobbled up innumerable valuable flowers made him remember the void gates that had spread all across the mountain range , and Zac suddenly thought of something . Was it possible he had gained some Contribution points from awakening his bloodline like this?

Arcaz Black – Contribution : 1 , 244 , 719 Rank : 1 . Value : 150 , 000 (Bounty)]

Zac blankly looked at the ladder for a full minute , completely forgetting to activate the Soul Strengthening Array . He couldn't believe what he was seeing . He had shot up to the first position in one go , overtaking even that crazy vampire with 200 , 000 contribution points to spare . Whatever he had gobbled up during his Bloodline Awakening had been worth as much as twenty Mothertrees .

He was elated at the opportunity to snag a top-tier Limited Title , but the bounty on his head was a stark reminder that the danger his position represented . Everyone would suddenly be gunning for him , especially Uona and that Havarok princeling . Even more troubling , the System definitely wouldn't let him rest easy with his current rank .

No one had felt the sweet sorrow of the System's attention as frequently as he had during the early phase of the integration . The more outstanding you were , the more challenges the System would throw your way . Zac sincerely doubted the System would let him sit down at the bottom of the chasm and cultivate in peace after having taken the first position on the ladder .

A loud crash suddenly startled him awake , and Zac cursed himself for his nigh-prophetic misgivings . A second crash followed the first , and it contained such force that Zac felt like he had been physically punched in his chest even though the source came from the outside .

Zac started to get a sinking feeling as he remembered the broken peak he had climbed the other day , and he grimaced when an enraged roar ripped through the waters with such force that the whole mountain shook . A tremendous aura spread through the area next , and Zac could feel anger so palpable that the water around him almost boiled .

Zac couldn't see the originator of the furious bellow , but he didn't need to . The gargantuan snake had returned , and it was pissed off .

Chapter 738 : King of the Mountain

Various incipient plans for the near future were thrown out the window as the whole mountain once more shook under the weight of the Beast King's wrath . There was no way Zac could stay in the area and work on his cultivation . Even if he wasn’t discovered , he wasn’t certain the mountain would survive the rampage of the enormous snake much longer .

Zac retrieved his chains and made a final cursory scan of the area before he started to move . As expected , everything of value had already been absorbed through his bloodline evolution , not even leaving husks behind . He figured that it wasn’t a complete loss though . All those treasures had to contribute to something when they were swallowed by the void , even if he wasn't exactly sure that that was just yet .

Another roar outside made the waters churn even within the mountain , and Zac looked around for a way to get out of the mountain . He doubted that he gave off any aura from the treasures that had disappeared . But he also doubted that an enraged Beast King , or perhaps even Beast Emperor , would care too much about such minor details . It would simply attack anything that was suspect .

As for fighting the snake , there was simply no way .

The immensity of the beast was just beyond what he could handle , no matter if you talked level or physical size . His stockpiled energy from the remnants was mostly used up after fighting Uona , but even if they weren’t – so what? A full-powered Annihilation Sphere would not even be enough to breach the gargantuan scales the snake was covered in .

A Mark of Creation might create some sort of tumor-like growth , but it was no way one mark was enough to take out something that size . Escape was the only option , preferably all the way to the potential wall he had gleaned in the distance . He would have to pray that his newfound ability would be enough to take him across the vast chasm without getting ripped to shreds .

First thing's first ; he needed to get away from the central mountain since it was just a matter of time before the snake made its way here . After all , Zac had a strong suspicion that it was no longer hidden like before now that he had absorbed all those odd flowers . The snake would definitely investigate if sooner rather than later .

The cave he had been teleported into before had been sealed off from the outside , but his evolution had caused a crack and let the water inside , providing Zac with a convenient route out of this place . It wasn’t a proper pathway though , and Zac had no choice but to activate Abyssal Phase] when the crack turned much too thin to traverse .

Soon enough Zac appeared at the surface of the peak , and he once more reverted into his tangible form as he restrained his aura as much as he could . His body was already starting to fill up with Twilight Energy after having used his intangible form , and he was forced to immediately reactivate his bloodline talent again .

The storm of Twilight Energy that burrowed into his body was instantly rebuffed , giving him a reprieve from the onslaught . Zac sighed as he carefully peered out from the mouth of the crack , and he was thankfully met only with raging currents and distant peaks . No Midgard snake was slithering about outside , though the palpable air of bloodlust still suffused the whole area .

Another roar echoed out from the distance , and Zac guessed that the snake was still laying waste to the outer sector of the cluster of peaks . He was about to set out , but his danger sense suddenly woke up and he immediately shrunk back into the crevasse with wide eyes . It wasn't the snake that suddenly appeared , but he felt a powerful sense spread across the whole area before continuing toward the other peaks .

The snake was on the hunt for real .

It felt like his heart threatening to jump out of his mouth , but he almost cried in relief when felt another crash reverberate through the area . The snake had attacked another peak rather than coming for him . It looked like his Void Zone had managed to obfuscate his presence to at least avoid a cursory scan .

Zac knew this was his chance , and he grit his teeth as he pushed out from the mountain . Void Zone helped with the Twilight Energy , but they didn’t really affect the currents just like Zac had feared . They immediately started dragging him further into the depths while he traversed the chasm between the peaks , and shallow gashes appeared one after another on his body because of the waters .

But it was far preferable to becoming snake food .

Zac hadn’t had time to completely restore his reserves of Void Energy after his experiments , but he sensed it would be enough to keep his new talent active for half an hour at least . He needed to use that time to the fullest to get away from this place while the snake was occupied elsewhere .

He couldn’t follow his old regimen of climbing for a few minutes before resting for an hour . The whole mountain range would be leveled before he got out of harm’s way that way . Soon enough Zac had crossed the chasm to the next mountain , using as little energy as he possibly could . Part of him believed that the immense density of Twilight Energy around him should be enough to obfuscate a small burst of energy coming from his skills , but he wouldn’t take any chances with that monstrosity lurking somewhere close by .

Zac didn't stop and rest like he usually would , and instead popped a healing pill as he started to climb around the peak so that he could swim toward the next one . He was pretty familiar with the area after having looked for treasure for a few weeks , and he knew there were five mountains he would have to cross before reaching the peak closest to the distant mountain .

A roar echoed out again , and Zac was dismayed at how much closer it was this time . Getting subjected to the cry at closer proximity felt like getting hit by a sledgehammer , and Zac could only look on as the waters around him were tainted with ichor squeezed out from his wounds . Still , he didn't as much as grunt or let his aura fluctuate in fear that he would be discovered .

Out of nowhere , a gargantuan shape flashed by , its speed seemingly impossible considering its size . It was like Zac's whole vision had been replaced by impossibly large scales out of nowhere . Zac said a silent prayer as he prepared for the worst , but he was relieved to see the beast ramming straight into a neighboring mountain , causing cracks thousands of meters long to spread across its slopes .

It looked like the Twilight Ocean buckled from the impact before it rushed out in every direction with terrifying force . Zac didn't even have a chance to erect any defenses before the wave crashed into him , almost knocking him clean out then and there . His chains had thankfully managed to keep him fastened to the mountain wall , and he grabbed on with desperation as huge chunks of rocks were ripped away around him .

Suddenly , a weaker screech echoed out as a hundred-meter-long fish with long trailing fins shot out from one of the cracks in the neighboring mountain , its aura clearly eclipsing the Beast King that Zac killed in the Greengrove Archipelago . From the looks of it , it had been in secluded cultivation deep inside the mountain , enjoying the dense Twilight Energy in the area until the snake came knocking .

However , it clearly wasn’t preparing to fight the intruder over having its territory encroached . It pierced the torrential currents as it expended every effort to escape . The far larger beast wouldn’t simply let up though , and its head snaked around with almost impossible speed , snatching the fish up in a ruthless bite .

There was no fight and no struggle , just a much larger predator gobbling up its helpless prey , which only reinforced Zac’s decision to not fight the thing . Killing the Beast King did nothing to alleviate the snake’s anger though , and it released another earthshattering roar after having swallowed the much smaller fish .

Zac was starting to accumulate wounds upon wounds even with Void Zone active , and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take even indirect damage from this beast . He felt incredibly small and helpless , just like when he witnessed the clash between the Hegemons inside the Mystic Realm . Black ichor freely leaked from his nose and ears as the large cracks all over the mountain worsened .

The ocean itself became muddied for a few seconds as innumerable shards of rock fell off the mountains and joined the currents . However , the debris was quickly cleared thanks to the unearthly speed of the waters , and the monstrous beast was once more exposed .

The snake released another snort before it started to slither away , completely crushing the currents that slammed against its scales with enough force to kill a normal Peak E-grade warrior . Zac’s whole body shook from a mix of primal fear and adrenaline overload , but he staunchly held on as he kept utilizing his new bloodline talent to be able to withstand the Twilight Energy .

It really looked like the ability did help a bit against discovery . Of course , it was also possible that he was simply so small and insignificant that the snake didn’t care about him , though he wouldn’t rely on such a flaky theory to survive . He stayed completely still against the mountain wall as he watched the snake move further and further away until it was impossible to discern its head even with Cosmic Gaze] .

It was the first time that Zac had managed to spot the true appearance of the impossibly large creature . It had a long snout like an alligator rather than a traditional snake , and it had the teeth to match . Hundreds and hundreds of jagged fangs covered its enormous maw , each one large enough to be considered a mountain on its own . Eight pitch-black pairs of lifeless orbs sat on the two sides of its head , the smallest pair of eyes as large as barn doors .

Its appearance was terrifying enough , but Zac’s thoughts were more focused on something curious . There was actually a large rune on the beast’s forehead . It wasn’t something that had naturally formed on the beast’s scale , but rather something that had been inscribed by the looks of it . More importantly , it was actually a rune that Zac actually recognized .

It was the insignia of the Twilight Lord .

He had a few theories about how something like that was possible , but now wasn’t the time to worry about the details . Zac didn’t dare wait too long , and he actually swam right under the snake's tail after shoving a stack of talismans into a crack in the rocks behind him . He once more took advantage of the cover against the currents that the enormous animal provided , and he reached the next mountain even before the Beast King had completely left the area .

It quickly became clear what the snake was doing as Zac kept moving further and further away from the heart of the mountain range . Every so often another one of the immense pulses spread out and covered the whole area , and a tremendous shockwave erupted within a minute . Zac estimated that it had exposed and disposed of over twenty Beast Kings over the last hour , one more powerful than the next .

Zac felt a sense of dread upon realizing that the area was nowhere near as desolate as he had initially thought while traveling back and forth in search of treasures . It was just that these beasts all hid within the depths of the mountains , perhaps in fear of the big guy that was now hunting them one by one .

Another pulse rippled through the waters , the force of the ability powerful enough to divert the currents themselves . Zac froze in place as he staunchly endured the feeling of his insides getting shifted by the energy wave . It soon passed , and Zac hurriedly squeezed into a nearby crevasse and cracked two Supreme Miasma Crystals as he took out the Void Beast organ .

Five minutes passed , at which point Zac stopped and activated Void Zone once more , and it was just in time as the gargantuan snake passed by just two mountains away in search of its next victim .

It took over almost two hours , and he had been forced to make four stops , but he finally reached his destination ; the very edge of the mountain range . Less than half of the mountains in the area were still unscathed by this point , and Zac could only attribute the fact that he was still alive to dumb luck .

The snake hadn't attacked anything closer than that fish he saw killed earlier , which was the only reason he hadn't been turned to mush . Of course , if it came to that he could always jump into a current toward the depths of the Twilight Chasm , but that would only be replacing one certain death with another .

There were limits to everything , even his cheat-like methods , and Zac held no delusions that he would be able to freely travel as far down the Chasm as he wished without any ramifications . For now , the plan was still on , and Zac saw his target far in the distance . There was just the issue of the vast gulf of frantic currents in the way .

He knew it would be perilous to cross this distance even with Void Zone , but there wasn’t much he could do about it . The snake was clearly growing more irate by the minute , no doubt because it had failed to recover a single one of the missing treasures . Zac wasn’t some expert in hiding his presence , and he’d be discovered by one of the scans sooner or later as the beast tightened its net . After all , he was occasionally forced to turn off his talent to restore his reserves of Void Energy .

Time was of the essence , but Zac didn't immediately set out . Finally , the scanning pulse came , and Zac waited with bated breath until he heard the distant explosion accompanied by a whimpering cry of some unknown Beast King . This was it - he wouldn't get a better opportunity than this .

Zac immediately shot out taking the leap of faith into the unknown , his senses strained to the maximum to avoid the currents too powerful for him to deal with . It felt like he was in the middle of a hurricane , surrounded by rampaging gales . However , something suddenly changed behind him , prompting him to accidentally get viciously swiped by a large rock that was being dragged down toward the depths .

An outcropping in the neighboring mountain suddenly transformed into a humongous octopus that sped off , cutting through the waters in the same direction as Zac . Each one of its eight 100-meter-long tentacles frantically pushed the beast forward , creating a full-fledged storm in its attempt to escape .

Zac's brow's rose when he realized that the Beast King had been planning the exact same thing as he , both of them speeding away from the area the moment the Beast King was occupied on the other side of the mountain range . The octopus had no doubt spotted Zac considering their close proximity , but both minded their own business in their desperation to escape . Zac considered turning back for a moment , but he was already some ways into the waters . He had to keep going .

Things were going even better compared to when he used his Cosmic Vessels before , and Zac saw a glimpse of hope that his plan would actually work . Void Zone dealt with most of the twilight Energy , and he used Love's Bond] in its shield form like a turtle shell to protect most of his body as he pushed himself forward with the help of his legs .

However , an infuriated roar and a sense of overwhelming doom soon dashed his hopes . He still couldn't see it , but he felt how a towering killing intent had locked onto the area , which meant it was just a matter of time before that terrifying maw would catch up . Zac swore as his abyssal eyes turned toward the Beast King swimming next to him , a flame of fear and fury burning in his chest .

This god damn octopus had blown his cover .

Chapter 739 : Reciprocity

Clearly , Zac wasn’t the only one who held animosity toward the other escapee . The Octopus screeched with a mix of fury and fear , and it made its move before Zac had time to figure out a way to deal with the crisis . It was like space twisted as a tentacle shot toward him , extending far beyond what should be possible . It was just a blink of an eye , but the attack was already upon him .

Zac only had time to readjust his shield and empower it with the Fragment of the Coffin before the vicious swipe slammed into him , throwing him back against the mountain range . Simultaneously , a vast haze of black sludge covered the waters , and it was somehow resistant to the incessant pull of the currents as it hovered in the area like a thick haze .

The fury in Zac’s heart turned into a raging conflagration as he glared in the direction of the Beast King . There was no doubt about it ; the Octopus wanted to use him as a scapegoat while it escaped . But how could Zac give up without a fight? He activated all the talismans he had left in various spots in the mountain range , hoping that a series of explosions would divert the snake's attention .

Meanwhile , a grey pill flew into Zac's mouth as he set off after the tentacled beast , and the effect was immediate . His muscles swelled and torrential amounts of Miasma started coursing through his body . Just like with all berserking pills he had eaten before , this one came with a surging momentum and battle lust as well , though not to the point of full-on-lunacy like the Rageroot Oak seeds .

Still , the goal of escape grew a bit blurred as Zac’s abyssal scanned the area in search of the Octopus , and Love's Bond] changed to its offensive form as forced himself through the obstacle it had left behind . However , the Beast King was in its natural habitat , whereas Zac was not . Even a top-quality Berserking pill wasn't enough to allow him to catch up to the frantic escape of the octopus , especially considering how the weird cloud of ink it left behind felt like sticky goo that impeded his progress .

Even worse , the enormous snake seemed completely uninterested in investigating the cascading series of eruptions from the talismans and it was fast catching up . Zac couldn't be certain , but judging by how rapidly the towering aura in the distance grew more and more distinct , he had less than half a minute before the beast had caught up . The snake should have been on the other side of the mountain range , but the speed the snake exhibited was far exceeding anything that should appear in this trial .

The situation wasn’t looking good , and desperate times called for desperate measures .

A black spike appeared in Zac's hand , and a surge of cursed power immediately coursed through his body as the berserking compound he looted from Faceless #9 activated . It felt like he would explode as the two berserking treasures caused havoc on his body , and his body suddenly disappeared in a puff .

Of course , it wasn't Zac actually exploding , but rather him activating Abyssal Phase] . His mind screamed for speed as he cut through the churning waters , and the additional energy and the battle madness from the berserking pills allowed him to withstand the currents far longer than he would normally .

He didn't care about the damage that was being wrought upon his intangible form , his mind was fast becoming consumed by the hunt , of going ever faster . Suddenly , it was like the already turbid surroundings became even more leaden , almost to the point that time seemed to have stopped altogether . It immediately became easier to navigate around the worst of the currents , and Zac pushed through the restrictive ink and caught up to the fleeing octopus in no time .

It almost looked like it had been frozen in time , but reality quickly caught up when Zac appeared right on top of the octopus' mantle , his eyes burning with madness as Verun's Bite] ripped through the waters . A massive jagged edge appeared in front of the axe as two streams of mental energy empowered by Dao and madness burrowed into the skill fractal of Gorehew] .

The octopus tried to use a tentacle to swipe Zac off from its body , but two chains dug into flesh as the other two moved to intercept . The jagged edge of Zac's offensive skill slammed into the bulbous mantle , and the defensive measures of the octopus proved utterly incapable of forming any significant defense . A water barrier was ripped apart and the thick sinewy flesh was cut right through by the skill empowered by two Peak Dao Fragments .

Eight tentacles spasmodically flailed about in the air as Zac's axe dug into the innards of the beast , but he still didn't get any surge of energy even after swinging his weapon three times in rapid succession . Zac growled in frustration as he saw flesh rapidly regenerate , the Beast King showing its resilient life force . Zac knew this wasn't the time for a protracted battle , and two new streams of Mental Energy entered his shoulder .

A small sphere appeared between his hands , and Zac unhesitantly pushed it into the bleeding wounds before he activated Abyssal Phase] with the help of Force of the Void] once more . He had almost run out of energy after restoring his arm and leg a few weeks back , but he recovered just enough to barely form an extremely weak Mark of Creation by this point .

Zac didn't expect the small outburst of pure creation to actually kill the enormous beast , especially seeing how durable it was . But his eyes lit up when he saw how a series of weird transformations took place inside the mantle . The Beast King's thoughts were no doubt in turmoil with the snake bearing down on them , and wild imagination was like fertilizer for the Mark of Creation .

Between the grievous wounds and the Mark of Creation creating havoc , the Octopus was dead in the water , allowing Zac to activate his movement skill once more to create a commanding lead . However , the energy-dense waters were soon too much for Zac even when filled with energy from the berserking treasures , and he was forced to revert to his normal form . Thankfully , he had managed to create a distance of over two thousand meters by that point , but every hair on his head stood on end as he sensed an extremely powerful consciousness lock onto him .

The thick ink left by the Octopus shuddered and dissipated the next moment as half the horizon was replaced by a maw the size of a mountain . Zac peered into its depths , feeling just as weak as when he had gazed upon the true form of the Collector back then . Thankfully , he only had to gaze at that terrifying scene for an instant before the maw closed around the octopus , turning it into yet another appetizer .

Zac was in no mood to stick around , but his horror only mounted when he realized he was utterly unable to do so . It was like the whole Twilight Chasm had frozen solid . The furious currents were gone , no longer leaving lacerations across his body . It would normally have been a relief , but the terror in Zac's heart only mounted upon finding himself unable to as well . His arms were flailing and he was expelling huge amounts of Miasma to create momentum , but he didn't move an inch from the terrifying head that grew ever closer .

Thankfully , it didn't look like it was intent on ruthlessly gobbling him up like it did the octopus as the snake stopped a few hundred meters away from Zac . His whole vision was blocked out by the huge snout of the beast , and he felt his heart tighten as the sixteen eyes focused on him .

DRAUGR’ a booming voice echoed out in Zac's mind with enough power to make him puke out a mouthful of ichor . - WHERE ARE THE FORMATION FLAGS? RETURN THEM , AND YOU CAN LIVE’ .

If being stared down by a primordial creature wasn't clue enough , Zac knew he was in deep shit the moment he heard it wanted its items back . Most likely , the array flags had been swallowed by the void with the rest of the treasures of the mountain range . His thoughts whirred , and he tried to see if he could lie his way out of this one . It hadn't ever worked so far , but he didn't have a lot of options at the moment .

I am Arcaz Black from the Abyssal Shores . I don’t know what you’re speaking of . I was dragged down here just minutes ago because of some sort of earthquake . Help me reach the surface and the Empire will reward you . You are connected to the Twilight Lord , I’m sure he would appreciate gaining another friend among the Draugr , - Zac said with a bow , trying to mask his fear .

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THEM , THEN YOU CAN JUST DIE , ’ the earthshattering voice echoed out in Zac’s mind as the beast spat out a wave of destruction that rippled toward him .

SAVE ME , AND I’ll PROVIDE ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PATTERN! - Zac roared at the top of his lungs , seeing no option but to turn to the only one who could save him right now .

The Beast King only snorted in response , but it froze as the whole chasm rumbled .

The world of darkness was suddenly illuminated by a golden hue as the sea turned into one of lightning . An aura of vast power , far eclipsing that of the snake , descended , and Zac knew his gambit had succeeded . He wasn’t trying to elicit help from The Twilight lord . He was looking for someone more reliable .

The System itself .

IMPOSSIBLE!’ the snake screeched , its voice filled with shock and dread .

There was no response to the snake’s cry , but a bolt of lightning entered the wave of destruction rippling toward Zac , causing it to unravel halfway between himself and the Beast King .

Zac felt like he had been slapped by an angry god from the impact , and cracking sounds echoed out through his body as dozens of bones shattered in an instant . The force launched him like a rocket through the waters , completely ignoring the snake's restrictions . It was almost like he teleported as he slammed into the mountain wall tens of kilometers in the distance , causing massive cracks to spread out like a spider web for hundreds of meters in each direction .

The world grew blurred as Zac felt yet another set of bones shattering from the collision , but the berserking pills thankfully forcibly stopped him from losing his consciousness . He quickly used two of his healing brands , which at least allowed him to somewhat stabilize his body's gruesome state . The area was still drenched in lightning , and having been thrown away to a greater distance gave Zac a proper vantage of what was going on .

Thousands of golden lightning bolts rained down on the snake , its gargantuan scales cracking one after another from the impact . The area around the oversized beast had turned into a zone of death , and lower beast kings would probably have been turned to ash if they entered . However , Zac couldn’t help but worry when he saw that the snake didn’t actually get ripped apart from the heavenly punishment .

It fought tooth and nail , and a whirlpool consisting of terrifyingly condensed Twilight Energy had sprung up around it , protecting its body as it forcibly tried to endure the tribulation . Not only that , but Zac saw how nine white peaks suddenly rose from the depths , each of them covered in intricate patterns . Together , they cut through the water like it was nothing , forming an immense formation that released waves and waves of power that surrounded the snake in yet another layer of protection .

The thunderstorm raged with greater and greater intensity , but Zac sensed that the amount of tribulation lightning the System had conjured was limited , prompting him to swear in exasperation . How could the endlessly powerful overlord of the Multiverse lose against an oversized snake? A familiar voice suddenly echoed out in his head , and thankfully not the painfully loud roar of the beast .

Reciprocity has been achieved and balance is maintained . Beware the Terminus

How is almost killing me and not even dealing with the beast achieving balance? - Zac spat with incredulity , but there was no response . Zac could feel that the System’s presence was already gone , leaving behind only a single prompt .

Reciprocity (Unique , Limited) : Surrender a glimpse of Chaos . Reward : - (0/1) 598d]

NOTE : Failure to comply will result in loss of 10 levels and one random Dao

Zac’s eyes grew wider and wider as he read the prompt , almost to the point that he forgot the predicament he was in . Losing ten levels wasn’t too bad , but the System was actually threatening one of his Daos , the very core of his Path? That was even worse than when it threatened his skills back in the Mystic Realm , and there was clearly no room for negotiation .

The System really wasn’t holding anything back when it paid up-front .

Unfair as it may be , Zac knew that there was no meaning to railing against the Heavens . He could only suck it up and be happy he got to live another day . It was just like how Catheya described it . He was bound to be a chess piece until he gained the power to control the board himself .

A tremendous clap of thunder refocused Zac’s attention , and he saw how the sea of lightning was condensing , seemingly gathering for one final strike . Meanwhile , the snake’s aura was reaching unprecedented heights as the white mountain peaks below it cracked . The peaks crumbled , but as they fell apart the shards of milky stones formed a tremendously large rune , spanning over ten kilometers across .

Looking at the sigil was like looking at the truth of the ocean itself , and it seemed able to even borrow the unending force of the Twilight Ocean itself as the waters started to churn . The terrifying Beast King was clearly going all out in an effort to withstand the thunder punishment . Win or lose , Zac knew he couldn’t stay around for the result . His body was already teetering on the brink of collapse , and he wasn’t actually that far from the battleground .

Zac looked back and forth in search of a solution , and he saw his chance when he spotted a piece of moss deep within the crack in the mountain wall . The crack had been caused by him slamming into the wall , but for there to be moss , there had to be a tunnel system even before this area was exposed .

No matter if he climbed up or down the mountain wall , he’d still be exposed to the snake . But if he managed to head deep enough into the side of the Twilight Chasm , he might be safe .

He took a steadying breath and activated Abyssal Phase] , and he was immediately beset by the terrifying energies that suffused the area . It wasn’t just the Twilight Energy any longer , but also the thunders of the Heavens themselves that had infiltrated the waters , along with the extremely powerful energy that Zac suspected was part of the snake’s Dao .

There was no time to lose , so Zac immediately shot into the crack , digging deeper and deeper in a frantic effort to put as much solid rock between himself and the cataclysmic clash outside . Suddenly , the seemingly frozen world of Abyssal Phase] cracked as an apocalyptic explosion erupted far in the distance .

Zac was immediately forced out of his intangible form , but he was ready as dozens of Defensive Talismans activated while the pygmy skeleton appeared in an instant , covering him in barriers while a black haze ensconced him to divert falling rocks . The shockwave ripped through the area , throwing Zac into a wall , his defensive barely able to do anything to lessen the impact .

The world turned din , but a pained wail echoed through the mountain and woke him up . Zac had hoped it would be a final roar of defiance before inevitable death , but there was an unmistakable tone of elation hidden within the pained howl . The snake had survived , though it most likely was a pyrrhic victory .

Zac's whole body screamed in protest , but he forcibly activated his movement skill once more , squeezing even further into the tunnel system at the edge of the twilight chasm . Deeper and deeper he went , until he could go no further . He reverted into his physical form and activated his last healing brand before swapping over to his human form . He was running dangerously low on Miasma , and he would rather transform himself than suddenly just fall over .

The transformation took just a few seconds , but Zac felt himself on the precipice of the passing out three times over . But he soon gained his human form , and he arduously set off through the tunnels once more , using Earthstrider] to make his way through the sprawling tunnel system . Using the skill the normal way while having Void Zone] active was impossible , so he could only tap into his rapidly dwindling stores of Void Energy to make do .

He felt a few more shockwaves coming from the direction of the snake as he fled for his life , but they grew more and more indistinct until they couldn’t be heard at all . Zac no longer had any idea just how far into the bedrock of the chasm he had escaped , but he knew that he couldn’t go much further . His vision was already closing in on him , and he looked back and forth until he found a secluded spot .

Zac hadn’t seen any creatures making these tunnels their home just yet , but there should be some considering the walls were covered in valuable herbs and the atmosphere was full of energy . His hands were shaking , but he managed to place down a set of isolation and obfuscation arrays before he fell down on the ground , cradling the Void Beast organ .

He was out of better options . He felt his mind slipping , but he needed to keep the Void Zone] active to not get killed by the ambient energy . The talent had been activated while he was unconscious the last time , and he prayed that it would work out this way . Finally , he let the darkness consume him , and he fell into a deep end dreamless slumber .

It might have been a few minutes , or it might have been a few days , but Zac was suddenly startled awake as a prompt appeared in front of his face . He looked at it with bleary eyes , and a wry smile spread across his face as his mind drifted back to sleep , briefly wondering what kind of reaction people would have upon seeing his name on the top of the ladder .

Chapter 740 : Dark Horse

What the hell! - Qirai screamed , her eyes almost bulging out of her head . - Am I seeing things?! Has this cursed ocean finally driven me insane? -

If it did , then it dragged us all down , - Catheya sighed as she looked at the screen in front of her .

Monthly Contribution Ladder]

1 , 401 , 322 Arcaz Black

1 , 108 , 458 Uona Noz'Valadir

1 , 021 , 453 Ykrodas Havarok

782 , 248 Kataron Rissit

776 , 338 Haldur

703 , 654 Aia Ouro

694 , 332 Dravzur Kuldas

634 , 678 Drogrid Rotheart

598 , 234 Alduz Venarun

578 , 122 Adrokles

…

378 , 346 Iana

Her face was calm , but a storm raged in her heart . Just what had that lunatic done this time? Was it too much to ask for him to stay out of the limelight? No , he had to throw a wrench in the whole trial , getting his name known far and wide . She thought he had learned his lesson after causing all that havoc back in Hollowtongue mountain after they parted , considering he had been quiet for some time .

It turned out he was just amassing momentum for whatever madness he had accomplished . Catheya felt a headache coming on as she tried to figure out what to do from here on out . She might have been able to hide Zac Piker's identity before as no one of importance would care for a random trial-taker , but how could she possibly do that now?

Forget her master , even the officials of the Empire might start asking questions about him , especially when this trial was so out of the norm .

It was almost mindboggling the kind of shockwaves Zac Piker managed to create with his limited power . He had plunged the whole Zecia sector into chaos while still in the F-grade , and her master had actually estimated that he was somehow related to the odd spatial ripples that were the hot gossip back before they left . He didn’t have any proof , but the timing was too coincidental with the appearance of the Stele of Conflict .

Now he had appeared here , and the trial that had been held for tens of millions of years without much issue had somehow become the preamble of a cataclysmic struggle between three empires from the looks of it . He had once more become the eye of the storm of fate , and Catheya had a creeping suspicion he wasn’t done causing trouble .

After all , there was definitely something odd about the location she had found for him . She hadn’t managed to get past the restrictions to enter the heart of the volcano , but her nose told her all she needed to know ; that place was cursed . Yet that man wanted to go there , proving he was up to no good . The question was what she should do .

Stay clear or ride the storm to the end?

Some people know his identity , - Varo said from the side . - His connection to clan Sharva’Zi is known by a few after the events at the Auction . What should we do? -

Catheya glanced at her follower , his sleeve hanging empty after the amputation , before she looked the window for a whole minute . Finally , she made her decision .

We’ll keep the course . Arcaz Black will be coming our way as soon as he's done with whatever he's up to , and I want to have both locations confirmed so that we can send him on his merry way as quickly as possible , - Catheya sighed .

That guy might be powerful , but he is trouble , - Qirai reminded .

The fate of our clan is a weak candle in the wind . If something isn’t done it will be snuffed out before long . The Supreme Elder is barely staving off the madness , and I’m sure there are a few neighbors more than willing to push him into an early grave , - Catheya said . - Arcaz Black is like a beacon of providence , his mere existence can change the wheels of fate . How can we give up on it at this stage? Who knows , whatever he’s doing might even be at the behest of my ancestor . -

Elusive maneuvers? - Varo ventured .

Exactly , - Catheya nodded as she took out a mask that fused with her face .

It felt like maggots burrowed into her flesh , and soon enough her pristine features had been replaced by a much more squarish face . The mask was gone , and anyone who looked into her eyes would no longer see the abyssal orbs , but rather two icy-pale eyes that emitted a freezing cold .

She wasn’t the only one who changed as large scars started to appear across Qirai’s body . Her teeth fell out the next moment as her jaw grew , replaced with sharp fangs . A long rat tail sprung out next , and her right arm grew almost thirty percent compared to the original . Anyone looking at her right now couldn’t possibly think of her as anything but a Corpselord guardian .

As for Varo , he was the last one to worry about . He had not one but three ways to change his appearance , and together they formed a disguise that would fool everyone but the absolute peak scouts .

I hate this form , - Qirai muttered as she scratched her snout .

You look very powerful , - Catheya laughed .

I’ll give that guy a good talking to when he comes back , - Qirai grunted as she started getting used to moving around with a tail .

Will Mr . Black come back and risk getting discovered? - Varo asked from the side . - Waiting out the trial and staying hidden seems more appropriate . -

My intuition tells me he’ll come , - Catheya slowly said . - I think the two spots he’s had us look for are the true reason he entered the Twilight Ocean in the first place . Besides , does that guy seem like someone who would be content with hiding in a cave for another two and a half years? -

Qirai simply snorted in response as Varo slowly nodded in agreement .

What do you want us to do? - Varo asked .

We’ll head toward that temporary settlement we heard about before , - Catheya nodded . - We need to expand our charters since I have no idea where to look from here on out . Besides , we might learn what's actually going on over there . I'm sure that whatever that unlucky star did ruffled some feathers . -

I wonder what those two hotshots are thinking right now , - Qirai snorted as she startled dismantling the array flags of their hideout . - I bet that princeling and crazy bloodsucker are grinding their teeth right now . -

He really knows how to keep life interesting , - Catheya laughed .

Uona threw away the emptied husk of the cultivator she had caught before , a surge of pain and humiliation burning in her heart .

Why wouldn’t they regrow?

No matter how much Blood Essence she gathered , her limbs refused to regenerate no matter how many times she activated her bloodline ability . Even wounds left by Hegemons would slowly regrow , but something was wrong this time around . That ball of destruction the Draugr unleashed , was it truly Oblivion? Something like that shouldn’t be possible to wield by an E-grade warrior .

Did Arcaz Black carry one of those seeds? She had heard about warriors getting infected by those fragments that carried the ancient curse , but this wasn’t how it should work . Those warriors never were in control of the seeds , the seeds were in control of them . Even the powerful could only seal them away , never taking advantage of the energies within .

Was Arcaz Black somehow unique in that sense? Or was it something else?

That ant! Uona grit her teeth as she paced back and forth , her gait only made possible by turning a Blood Servant into a temporary limb . Everything had gone awry because of that encounter . Not only had he stolen her spot , his name sitting on top of her head to remind her of the humiliation . Now , the situation might even affect her family’s plans .

Their nascent branch was finally starting to rise , with two Autarchs holding down the fort at home and at the Eternal Court . With a third one , they could send one to the frontlines , becoming a core contributor to the war against those bald bastards . The amount of resources that would bring to their family would be enough to stabilize their foundation as a High-grade branch , and they would be able to slowly work toward the peak from there .

And now she looked like this . The other Chosen already looked down on her because of her lacking heritage , even though almost half of them had worse foundations than she did . What if she came back looking like this? The walls of her submersible cracked as they were blanketed by Uona’s fury , but she slowly calmed down as she started considering her next step .

Part of her wanted to leave and have Grandpa Nether heal her wounds , but she couldn't face him like this . She had accomplished most of her tasks , but the most important parts were still left undone . The Blood Effigy would need at least another year to grow . Now with Arcaz Black entering the fray . . . This was not over . A Pureblood Draugr like that couldn’t be completely unknown .

Where is the closest settlement? - Uona asked as she turned toward her guide .

Mistress , settlements often spring up around exits , though it is a bit early for that now . However , there should be one settlement a month's travel from our current location called Glory's Rest . It is a mountain that has been turned into a town over millions of years , its features remaining intact between trials , - the blood servant answered with a bow .

Uona nodded in understanding as she slowly tapped her nail against the table . However , she frowned when she saw the blood servant take a hesitant step forward .

What is it? -

Mistress , I might know something of importance , - the blood servant slowly said as it looked at her wound .

Oh? - Uona said , not really caring about what a thrall might consider important .

But she still indicated for the blood servant to speak up . He had helped her immensely over the past month , and without his knowledge , s she might not even have surpassed Ykrodas on the ladder . It wasn't that the princeling was stronger , but he had brought a whole army to help , the coward .

She even did feel a bit bad about refining this Troker into a blood servant . But the regret only lasted for a fleeting second . How else would she be able to bring him to the depths of the Mystic Realm without him succumbing to the atmosphere? She'd take the thrall back to the clan after this was over , and that alone would more than make up for making him an eternal servant to her clan .

That terrifying energy in Mistress' wound . I know of a place in the Twilight Ocean where a similar aura can be sensed , - Troker hesitated .

Is there now? - Uona said , a smile spreading across her face .

Who?! Who the hell is Arcaz Black?! - Ykrodas roared with fury as he smashed a wine glass . - Where did this man come from?! -

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing . He had memorized every single name on the ladder , and this man had not once appeared before .

He is not mentioned in our or the local missives . He’s not even in the whole tournament registry , - Orbot said after scanning his memories . - Either a hidden elite or an outsider with a ticket . Judging by the name , I’d guess undead . -

Ask around . He’s not necessarily unknown even if he’s not in any missives , - Ykrodas frowned . - His points don’t make any sense either . What do you make of it? -

According to my estimates , he’s not a threat to your majesty , - Orbot slowly said . - I think this man has one Middle Branch at best . Perhaps even lower . -

That’s it? He can’t possibly have gained so many points through slaughter , - Ykrodas frowned .

My best guess is he’s encountered some opportunity . Young Master gained 50 , 000 Points from ingesting that constitution-augmenting treasure before , and our enemies have harvested quite a few points by destroying nodes . I think this fellow managed to stumble upon some sort of opportunity that unlocked a large section of the tapestry , - the advisor mused .

Makes sense , - Ykrodas nodded . - He wasn’t even on the ladder before . -

Your majesty is absolutely right . If anything , this is an opportunity for us , - Orbot added . - That Eternal Clan lass is difficult to deal with , but she seems to have encountered some difficulty considering her points have barely grown since the last tally . As for this Arcaz Black , we just need to kill him . With the bounty on his head , your Majesty can reach the top in one go . -

Easier said than done , - Ykrodas sighed . - That person could be hiding anywhere , probably inside the chasm itself . Why would he pop his head out at this juncture? He has a good chance at maintaining his lead all through the trial , and will get the third spot at worst . -

I doubt the Ruthless Heavens would let someone just hide out and claim the rewards , - Orbot said as he slowly tapped the table . - But I do have an idea to move events in our favor . -

What have you cooked up this time? - Ykrodas smiled , his densely inscribed face turning into a fearsome mask .

We , unfortunately , don’t have the means to find him as things stand . But I happened to hear that a certain Core Disciple of the Radiant Temple is touring a region a week’s travel away . Someone who is a member of the Constellation Hall , - Orbot said with a pointed look .

A numerologist? - Ykrodas exclaimed , his eyes lighting up . - That would work . But catching those wily bastards is easier said than done . -

That is absolutely true , - Orbot nodded . - Your Majesty would have to make a move personally on this one I think . -

That’s fine by me . I didn’t know Constellation Hall was mixed up in this mess . No wonder we’ve had so much trouble completing our tasks . -

We’re alone in this struggle , - Orbot nodded with a sigh . - Both the temple and the unliving want the ascension to proceed . The temple even seems to have an agreement with the target . Perhaps he’s planning on joining them for sanctuary after this is over with , taking the mantle of another Grand Deacon . -

They wouldn’t dare , - Ykrodas said with a shake of his head . - It would disrupt the balance . -

An agent then , a rogue Autarch causing chaos among the temple’s enemies , while staying clear of their domains , - Orbot said . - Might be even more useful than a proper member . -

Ykrodas grunted in agreement . That man had caused so much trouble while still a Monarch , and he didn’t seem to have any compunctions about slaughtering the weak . Just how much Havarok blood would flow through the sector if that lunatic had his way?

Completing the task is ultimately more important than my ranking , - Ykrodas said . - How is the progress of the seals? -

Should be just about finished , - Orbot nodded .

Let’s take a look , - Ykrodas said , and the two ventured down into the catacombs beneath the settlement .

Down below a massive hall stretched out , with almost five hundred warriors sitting in orderly lines . Surrounding them were fifty array masters , all of them continuously forming sigils as they chanted in unison . The ground was covered with runes , and new ones joined them every second as they crawled toward the warriors .

The runes then climbed up on the warriors' bodies , joining thousands just like it . Ykrodas knew from experience that the process was extremely painful , but the warriors didn’t as much as move a muscle as they were being engraved . Ykrodas truthfully didn’t know if these people could feel pain any longer . Feel anything , for that matter .

Sacrificial beacons . Not living , not dead , - Orbot said as he looked down at the native deathsworn with a complex gaze .

This is their conviction . Steeled warriors willing to become swords aimed at those who threaten their homeland , - Ykrodas aid , his eyes looking across the hall . - We’d be lucky to have such warriors in our ranks . Have the others send them out the moment the process is finished . Let’s go find that numerologist . -

Alvod looked at the rippling tapestry that stretched across the horizon , a frown marring his face . Why was joy so often marred with sorrow? Had he pushed the boundaries too far , to the point that the Ruthless Heavens finally sent a warning? He knew that meddling with a trial was to mess with the core commandments of the System , and there were bound to be repercussions if he overplayed his hand .

However , his brows slowly relaxed as the tapestry calmed down , the pressure of the Heavens slowly lessening . Left behind was a more complete tapestry , like a stubborn imperfection that had finally been smoothed out . But something had obviously changed , and not for the better .

His eyes turned to one of the three whirlpools far beneath his position , and he could feel how the flow had become far too disorderly to properly make use of . If things stayed like this it would become far more inconvenient to harvest that power when the Heavens truly came crashing down . He sent a mental command to his sentinel , but his brows rose in shock when he couldn’t get a response .

It wasn’t hard to put two and two together . What had Thram done to draw the ire of the System? She should be safe from any restraints , considering she was a native Alvod had raised and nurtured for 30 , 000 years . She also knew better than to mess with the funneling array , especially this close to the fruition of the plans .

Someone must have managed to figure out a way to mess with his array , even when it was placed in the depths of the Twilight Chasm . Anger once more burned in his chest as he pictured the face of the Havarok Emperor . It had to be them . No one else should want to destroy that particular array .

His eyes turned to the chalice , and he grit his teeth as he extracted nine drops , before quickly infusing them into nine flags . The flags flew out in an instant , each taking a specific position in front of the tapestry . Alvod's aura exploded as his world projection emerged , a world of endless tides that crashed against the flags .

As the tide rose and fell , a few small engravings , each looking like something left behind by the birth of the universe itself , were added to the nine flags . It was the Primal Dao being slowly transformed into the core of the array .

Nine drops and a lot of effort would delay him for half a year . Fury smoldered in Alvod's chest , but he didn't let it affect his concentration as he slowly recreated the flags that had been lost . With each crashing of the tides , he felt how his enemies gained another day to complete their schemes . As the tides receded , his eyes turned to the chalice , now looking far more unfilled compared to earlier .

But this was ultimately just another bump in his path . He had survived far worse . Tram should wake up soon enough , and he would get the whole story then . Alvod's scowl eventually started to ease up as the confident smile once more spread across his face .

If anyone knew how to bide their time before exacting overwhelming revenge , it was him .

Chapter 741 : Gathering Strength

Zac eventually woke up from his comatose state , and his eyes feeling like they were full of gravel as every part of his body hurt . He swallowed another Healing Pill with a grimace as he stowed away the Void Beast organ . It looked shriveled like an oversized raisin compared to when he bought it , and Zac guessed that it had lost more than eighty percent of its remaining energy while he was unconscious .

Part of it was probably because of him absorbing some of it while unconscious , but most had most likely been eroded by the extremely dense ambient energy in the tunnels . It was a bit of a blow , but not the end of the world . Some of the energy that entered Void Heart] was always turned into Void Energy . Certainly , it wasn't nearly as efficient as absorbing the energy from the Void Heart , but it was enough as long as he didn't constantly use it .

The tunnels were completely silent , and there were no immediate threats . So Zac didn't immediately set out , instead opting to go over the situation . First of all , he opened his quest screen since he didn't get a proper chance to go over things before .

Reciprocity (Unique , Limited) : Surrender a glimpse of Chaos . Reward : - (0/1) 590d]

NOTE : Failure to comply will result in loss of 10 levels and one random Dao

Eight days .

He had been unconscious eight days after almost becoming a treat for the enormous snake . Even then , his body was in a pretty wretched state . That wasn't to say there hadn't been any gains from the ordeal . First of all , he had gained another huge chunk of Contribution Points , further cementing his lead on the ladder .

He had no idea what the source of the points was though . Just maiming the octopus wasn't enough . Zac's thoughts turned to those mysterious mountains that had risen from the depths of the chasm to assist the enormous snake , and he felt it might be connected to them . They had clearly contained a lot of mysterious energy , and they had in a way been destroyed because of his actions .

Another gain was that he had actually managed to push Abyssal Phase] from middle to high mastery . Being chased by a primordial beast was clearly an effective method to squeeze out one's potential , though Zac definitely wouldn't try something like that again .

With the Void Beast organ being mostly depleted , Zac instead opted to crush a Supreme Nexus Crystal as he started using Surging Vitality] . Progress was slow , and he sighed in regret that he hadn’t upgraded the skill along with class skills back in the Greengrove Archipelago .

The slow recuperation at least gave him some time to reorient himself and plan his next step . The situation was pretty complicated before , and things had only gotten even more convoluted after he managed to mess with the Twilight Lord . With his ladder position being exposed to the world , he was probably not only the target of Uona , but also the other top rankers .

Zac wasn't as worried about them as he was about the Twilight Lord though . It didn't take a genius to realize that the elusive master of the Twilight Harbor was mixed up with the odd events in this trial , and the formation flags that Zac had destroyed might have been integral to his plans . After all , they were not only planted so deep in the chasm that no trial-taker could mess with them , but they even had that terrifying guardian beast .

Not only that , but Zac had been forced into making a deal with the System , and he knew the odds of coming out on top in such an endeavor pretty slim . Certainly , Zac didn’t need some quest to tell him to get the two remnants . He had already planned to do so as soon as he got out of the Twilight Chasm .

But it had only been an opportunity to become stronger before . If it didn't work out , then fine , but now he once more found himself with his back against the wall . Before , it was still possible for him to sneak out through one of the exits if things proved too volatile on the surface , but that was out of the question with the looming punishment .

There was also the issue of the Glimpse of Chaos . While he had planned on snatching the two remnants , he hadn’t planned on using them to conjure another one of those Chaos Patterns . Not only had it messed with his pathways last time , just gazing on it had almost destroyed his soul .

Besides , the scene was extremely attention-grabbing . Last time he’d at least been inside the Tower of Eternity where not even an Autarch could spy on him , but if he unleashed a Chaos Pattern in this place , there was a good chance someone would notice , and possibly even record the events .

There wasn’t much to do about it though , since he simply refused to lose one of his Daos . Seeing as it was a punishment from the System , Zac doubted he’d be able to simply - regrow - the Dao with some treasures in case it was taken from him . The question was how to complete the mission without getting himself killed or his real identity exposed .

Luckily , the System wouldn’t send the repo man for his Dao Fragment just yet . He had almost two years before the time limit , and he was already planning on being long gone from this place by then . It also gave him some wiggle-room to prepare himself for what waited on the surface .

There was no reason to leave the Twilight Chasm just yet . His scheduled rendezvous with Catheya was more than half a year away , and he was better off using that time to empower himself than setting out as is . Forming a Dao Branch was his best option to gain an edge against the top contestants of the trial , but he knew that goal was all but impossible right now .

Just a few months had passed since evolving all three of his Fragments , and he was severely lacking the foundation to immediately push toward a branch . It was one thing if he was planning to fuse his Daos , but this time he was aiming for evolutions . That meant he would have to essentially double his insights in one go .

That didn't mean he was out of options . There was still his soul , and he was thankfully ensconced in the perfect place to improve it . Doing so would bring all kinds of benefits , the most important of which was the ability to better withstand the Remnants . He wasn't too worried if it was just the one set , but he had no idea what would happen when with multiple sets in his body .

The only point of reference he had was the peak E-grade cultivator who caused the downfall of the Eastern Trigram Sect back in the hunt . He had absorbed two Splinters of Oblivion and had subsequently been reduced to an extremely powerful lunatic . In contrast , Anzonil's disciple had been able to withstand the madness for almost a decade after having absorbed one set .

The difference was remarkable , but there were too many variables involved to draw any clear conclusions . But it was clear that the effect of the remnants increased the more of them you swallowed . Anything he could do to better deal with such a situation was of utmost importance . Besides , the stronger his soul became , the better he would be able to utilize his Dao in battle .

His crude Dao Braids were extremely powerful , but it was a crutch that he needed to be in an excitable state like when he fought the Octopus for the braids to form fast enough . Another reincarnation would hopefully shore up that weakness , allowing him to freely use Dao Braids in battle .

Having decided on his course , Zac spent the next five days slowly getting back into shape , mixed with running his Soul Cultivation arrays to stave off the Twilight Energy . Resetting his bones wasn’t too hard with his constitution , but there were quite a bit of the foreign energies stubbornly left in his body after his frantic escape , mostly the Dao from the snake .

The Purity of the Void]-node was working hard at expelling it , but there was simply a difference of level between the two , making progress slow . Still , most of the damage from the two berserking treasures was dealt with while he was unconscious , and he had regained most of his fighting strength by now .

Completely recovering would take a bit longer , but he had already wasted over two weeks . He could technically stay here and cultivate , but it would cost unnecessary resources . Gaining Void Zone] had allowed him to stay further down than he would before , but there was not much of a point doing so . The Twilight Energy was essentially poison even to him , and exposing himself to more than he had to was just foolish , especially now that he had lost his source of Void Energy .

Besides , he was too close for comfort to the area where he had encountered the snake . In a perfect world , he'd want to set off to a completely different section of the Twilight Chasm , but he'd settle for putting a few day's worths of travel between himself and this place , in case it decided to come knocking after recovering .

Before leaving Zac first doused himself in a healthy amount of a grey mixture . It made him look like he had rolled around in a pile of ash , but it was something far more expensive . It was a compound that helped weaken any potential karmic threads , a more potent version of what he had gotten from Catheya back in the Tower of Eternity .

He hadn't planned on using the compound until just before leaving the Twilight Ocean , but an extra application seemed pertinent after meeting the Twilight Lord's guardian . The mixture gradually dried across his body until it looked like pieces of clay that fell off one by one . Only then was he ready to leave the area .

The tunnel system he found himself in was just one confusing maze , and having run through them in a muddled state didn’t make things any better . He simply kept going further into the mountain , away from where he came , occasionally changing paths into one that seemed to lead toward the surface . All the while he kept his Void Zone] going , since traveling without it keeping the Twilight Energy at bay was extremely slow . It forced him to occasionally top up from his already dwindling reserves of Void Energy , but time was of the essence .

The area was just like the tunnels below the Living Pulse . Some of the sections were submerged , whereas others were kept dry thanks to a number of Spiritual Herbs producing gases . And it wasn’t always oxygen as Zac found out . He suddenly stumbled , his vision swimming as he breathed a sweet aroma .

His eyes widened , and he quickly swallowed an Antidote Pill before he dove into the waters of a nearby tunnel .

It was just in time as well as two previously lifeless roots barely missed snatching him up , moving with enough speed to cause small cracks in the air . Missing once wasn’t enough to deter them though , and they dove into the tunnel after Zac . His mind was a bit muddled by the noxious mists , but not even Poison Masters would have as many points in Vitality as he did .

Coupled with his hidden node and the Antidote pill , he was almost instantly back in fighting condition , and Verun’s Bite] ripped through the roots as he made his way back into the poisonous tunnel . The source of the poison became apparent soon enough – there were actually a number of small flowers on the very roots that had tried to snatch him up .

The perpetrator was actually not even in the tunnel itself , and Zac followed a series of increasingly frantic roots hundreds of meters into a nearby tunnel where a massive tangled mess of a plant commanded most of the free space . It was a twenty-meter-tall ball of squirming roots , and it had appendages that stretched into over a dozen pathways .

Zac wasn’t sure if it had planted itself on an intersection , or if it had actually dug the paths itself , but this was no time to worry about that as over fifty poisonous vines and roots shot out toward him . The power of the plant seemed to be equivalent of a bottom-rung Beast King , but Zac wasn’t too worried . He was currently in his human form , and his class was almost tailor-made for this type of enemy .

The large cave was soon filled with another source of verdure ; the spectral forest of Hatchetman’s Spirit] . Zac’s already sharp senses from Forester’s Constitution] were immediately supercharged , and he wove back and forth between the roots as large blades formed like leaves slashed into the frenzied leaves .

It was nature versus nature in a ruthless conquest for supremacy . Even in Zac's weakened state , the roots and vines simply had no way to reach him as Verun’s Bite] wove a tapestry of death around him . However , the poisonous mists were growing increasingly dense , to the point that even he was starting to have trouble dealing with it .

Out of better options , Zac quickly threw out five talismans which erupted into a conflagration of white-hot flames that consumed the whole cave . However , the flames didn’t linger , but rather consumed the whole place before disappearing like a flash . The tangle was pretty much unscathed by the flames , but most of the toxic pollen was gone , incinerated by the offensive talismans .

Zac took the opportunity and started pushing toward the core of the plant . He had already cut enough roots to make a year’s worth of firewood , yet they just kept coming . Just like a Beast King , a plant of this grade contained an immense amount of energy , and it would most likely be able to keep conjuring more roots long after Zac had exhausted himself . He needed to strike at its core .

His finishing skills would probably be able to take the thing out in one quick go , but Zac felt it was a waste . This was a proper D-grade Spiritual Herb , and some part of it was bound to be useful or valuable . Completely shredding the plant was too much of a waste , and Zac instead waded into the depths of the tangle .

A frantic struggle ensued between Zac and the spirit herb . One minute later the roots started to wildly shudder before they lifelessly slumped down on the ground . Zac crawled out of the tangled mess a little bit later , an odd seed-like item in his hand .

It was around thirty centimeters across , and it was once the source of all the roots . There was a large crack across its surface , left after Zac had slammed his axe into it . It had released a lot of the stored energy , but Zac simply found no other way to - kill - the thing . He put the core in a jade box before stowing it away , quickly leaving in case some more powerful beast or plant was attracted by the noise .

Zac kept a slow pace over the next few days , taking the time to clean out the tunnels of anything of value . There was quite a bit of wildlife in the tunnels as well , most various types of insects at the peak of E-grade . He did meet two Beast Kings as well , but he was only forced to fight one , with the other one refusing to leave its nest . The latter one got to live , with the former was cleaved in two by Raptorous Divide] .

He did gain a few thousand contribution points through his efforts , but none of the treasures he found appeared as valuable as the things he had looted on the mountain peaks further down in the depths . Still , he had found quite a few herbs that would most likely raise some eyebrows in Twilight Harbor , many of which weren't even listed in his information missives .

More impressively , he had actually stumbled upon a vast submerged cave where almost four thousand Twilight Plants grew . He unhesitantly harvested every single fruit , increasing his store tenfold . He had already given up on the Fate Plucking-ladder , but these things were still pretty useful even outside of the competition .

The ambient energy in the tunnels was gradually decreasing , but it was still far too powerful to deal with without using Void Zone] while traveling , and the organ was fast running dry . He had initially wanted to travel for a while longer , but it was time to start looking for a good spot to cultivate . As long as he stopped , he would be able to withstand the Twilight Energy easier while stationary , since he could simply crush Nexus Crystals then .

But for some reason , the ambient energy was actually increasing rather than decreasing , even though he kept ascending through the tunnels . The reason soon became apparent as he spotted a crude golden-green crystal embedded in the tunnel wall . He had actually stumbled upon a Twilight Crystal Vein .

Most people would be pretty happy to find money growing out of the walls , but Zac swore in annoyance as he increased his pace , flashing through the tunnels in hopes of making it through the energy-dense area as soon as possible . However , he suddenly stopped after thirty minutes as he spotted something curious ; a small crack in the wall .

The crack itself wasn't very interesting , but it was rather the fact that Twilight Energy was continuously being dragged into the small opening that was interesting . Was the density lower on the other side of this wall? Zac immediately swapped over to his Draugr form , and he activated Abyssal Phase] and shot in . The wall actually hundreds of meters thick , but he shot through it in a second .

He returned to his physical form the moment the area opened up , and his eyes widened when he looked at the brightly illuminated chamber he found himself in . The walls were completely covered in Twilight Crystals , every single one of them of supreme grade and at least as large as a football . There were tens of thousands of them too , a fortune for most E-grade cultivators .

Yet , the ambient energy was far lower in this chamber compared to outside , and it was all because of a massive crystal in the middle of the room . It was as large as Zac was and covered in esoteric markings that seemed to have formed naturally . More importantly , it continuously absorbed the energy that the Supreme Twilight Crystals exuded , causing a rapid drop in the invasive ambient energy .

Zac wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at , he knew two things for sure . First of all , that thing was a treasure , something even greater than the items he had looted on the mountain peaks .

Secondly , he had found the perfect cultivation cave .

Chapter 742 : Mind's Eye

The humongous crystal was like an emperor among its subjects , but it wasn't hard to see that it wasn't actually a Twilight Crystal . It looked more like an oversized tiger's eye gemstone or an agate if anything . He didn't immediately approach , but he first scoured his information packages to find something similar .

Eventually , he found something promising , though he looked up at the man-sized gem with some hesitation . There was a rare gemstone called Mind's Eye Agate] that looked similar and could sometimes appear in energy-dense crystal mines . However , the examples he saw in the missive were no larger than his pinky , and they didn't have the markings of the humongous stone in front of him .

The normal agates were popular additions to jewelry or prayer mats as they emitted a weak aura that could help calm one's mind just like spiritual incense . This thing was obviously doing something similar as well , but on a far greater scale . It gobbled up the ambient energy and in turn exuded an aura that covered half the cave .

Seeing as his danger sense was completely quiet , Zac slowly went inside the field to test its effect . He was instantly filled with a sense of calm and stability , and he could feel how his mental energy was rapidly being restored . It felt like he had crushed a dozen Soul Crystal going by how quickly his mind was recovered , and it was absolutely perfect for his goal , so Zac started to set up array after array to prepare the area .

This chamber would become his cultivation cave for the foreseeable future , and he needed to protect the area . First came the defensive arrays at the heart of the cave , followed by observation arrays keeping watch in miles and miles of tunnels , mainly in the direction of the Chasm and the surface . Finally , he took out some furniture and placed them at the edge of the cave before placing his prayer mat right in front of the marvelous gem .

The final set-up might not be as tailormade for his needs as his cultivation cave back on Earth , but it more than made up for it in the raw energies available . Even with the mutated Mind's Eye Agate] sucking up half of the Twilight Energy , the ambient energy left behind was far higher than anywhere on Earth , including on Port Atwood .

It was actually to the point that his body couldn’t completely deal with it , with more and more Twilight Energy gradually filling his body the moment he deactivated Void Zone] . However , the effect was nowhere near what he was forced to endure while climbing the mountain peaks just a few weeks ago , and cracking a Supreme Nexus Crystal allowed him to be shielded from the ambient energy for almost two minutes .

With Void Heart] constantly absorbing the invasive energies , his stockpile of Void Energy was gradually getting restored as well , though it took almost a day for his reserves to be completely topped off . In either case , he had more than enough crystals to last him up to two years , and he would even be able to recoup the loss by looting the chamber upon exiting .

Seeing as everything was set up , Zac took out the intricate Array Disk and started up his soul cultivation once more . This time he wasn’t just cultivating to protect himself from the environment , so he did everything he could to make the process as efficient as possible . That meant cultivating opposing alignments , with his Draugr side absorbing life , and his human side absorbing death .

Furthermore , he started to empower the cycles with his Daos to increase the effect . A stream of pure Dao entered the small array disk along with the flood of Mental Energy , and Zac instantly felt a sense of weakness . The drain was ten times that of infusing the array before the first reincarnation , and small beads of sweat started to run down his head just as he completed the first circle .

The gains were just as powerful as during the first reincarnation though , and a storm of death entered the black ocean , to the point that his whole Soul Aperture shuddered a bit from the sudden and rapid infusion of Mental Energy . He still wasn’t at his limit , and he infused the second circuit with is Dao as well , followed by the third .

However , Zac wasn’t certain he’d be able to complete all 9 revolutions if he kept going this way , and from the fourth revolution onward , he cultivated the normal way . The hours passed , and by the time the ninth revolution had finished , Zac was barely able to restrain the deathly ocean in his mind . He actually needed to use a decent amount of his mental energy from just keeping his Soul Aperture from going out of control , and he quickly started to cultivate the second set of revolutions to restore balance .

The hours passed as one cycle replaced the previous , and the depths of death were gradually being countered by the peaks of life . The ninth revolution finished and the two opposing concepts reached equilibrium . However , balance didn’t mean harmony . An unprecedented storm erupted in his mind , with the core of his soul being constantly pelted by the raging waves .

Zac grimaced as his vision blurred from a soul-rending pain , but he grit his teeth and endured . It looked like infusing three revolutions from the get-go was overdoing it a bit . Truthfully , he had only managed to push himself that far thanks to the aura of the large gemstone in front of him , but he had faith in the resilience of his soul .

Besides , he had something prepared for a situation like this .

The storm continued for almost an hour , at which point small hairline cracks covered the surface of the pristine core in the heart of his soul . It was rather the effect of overextending oneself than actual wounds , but Zac still ate a soul-mending pill as he took out a stalk of shimmering grass . It came from the small patch he had discovered on the mountain peak the other day , and his soul screamed with hunger as the stalk gave off an enticing aroma .

Zac looked at the 80-centimeter stalk for a second before he shrugged and crammed it into his mouth . Taking a Spiritual Herb like this was wasteful at best , and suicidal at worst . Many herbs contained dangerous and chaotic energies that interfered with the medicinal efficacy you wanted , or even contained poisons that required refinement to get rid of .

However , it wasn’t like Zac had an Alchemist hiding in his sleeves , and his Hidden Nodes were more than able to deal with chaotic energy and poisons alike . Besides , Zac believed that his Danger Sense would warn him if the stalk was actually deadly . Thankfully , the stalk contained such pure energy that it could almost be considered a natural treasure , and Zac soon felt a soothing stream entering his Soul Aperture .

It was like a warm gust from spring swept the gloom of winter away , and a haze of radiant green light spread across the waters of his mind . The radiant sphere at the heart of his soul was like a sun-parched desert , and it greedily swallowed the light , prompting the hairline cracks to rapidly close up as impurities were expelled .

His Soul Core was like an insatiable vortex as more and more energy was absorbed , until things finally calmed down . And Zac had to say , the result was tremendous , with his soul having gained at least 5% strength from one session . Some of it came from the cultivation method itself , whereas a little bit was added by the soothing aura of the Mind's Eye Agate] .

But the star of the show was obviously the unnamed stalk of spiritual grass he had eaten .

It was just a stalk , yet it had improved his soul more than a couple of weeks of running his Soul Strengthening Array would . Zac gave it a thought before he took out another one , but the effect was far worse the second time around . The energy entered his Mental Aperture just the same , but it almost looked like his Soul Core was satiated .

Most of the emerald haze was instead swallowed by Spiritual Void] replenishing the stores he had expended when attacking the Octopus in his frenzy . Zac wanted to just keep going , but there was not much he could do for his soul now that the revolution had finished . There was another thing he could do though , and a massive bone thumped down on the ground , its weight enough to make the whole cavern shudder .

It was the treasure bone that he had found stuck between two rocks the other day , and Verun keened with hunger as Zac took out the axe from his Spatial Ring . A series of incessant roars echoed out in Zac’s mind , and he smiled as he swung the weapon straight into the bone , deeply embedding the edge into the marrow .

A joyful roar followed those filled with hunger , and while Zac couldn’t see anything with naked eyes , he could sense that the Spirit Tool had already started extracting the essence from the bone . As for how long it would take , Zac had no idea . It had taken it weeks to absorb the dragon's blood , and Zac guessed this bone came from some powerful Beast King to survive in the harsh environment of the Twilight Chasm .

Zac followed the transformation as he recuperated from the Soul Strengthening cultivation , occasionally crushing a crystal while occasionally feeding Love’s Bond] a Twilight Fruit . Twelve hours passed , at which point Zac started up his cultivation session again . This turned into a daily routine , and three weeks eventually in this manner .

In those weeks he had made some discoveries . It turned out that the spirit grass was reusable , but only once every five days or so . If he ate them any quicker , he would waste a lot of its efficacy . Meanwhile , the agate was seemingly inexhaustible , constantly releasing its aura . Zac couldn't wait to place that thing in the middle of his cultivation cave back home , perfecting it even further .

The Zac before integration would have been bored out of his mind after just sitting around for weeks on end , but making gradual improvements to one's cultivation was pretty addictive , to the point that Zac doubted he ever would tire of the feeling . Besides , he had something else to look forward to , and it was finally time as crackling sounds suddenly echoed throughout the cave .

Zac curiously walked over after finishing his cultivation session , and he noticed that large cracks covered the surface of the sturdy treasure bone . He gripped the hilt of Verun’s Bite] and he exclaimed in surprise over the weightlessness as he lifted weapon and bone alike .

The treasure bone had weighed as much as a tank before , but Zac guessed that it only weighed something like fifty kilos now that its essence had been completely extracted . A powerful roar echoed out through the cave , and Zac smiled as he took out a couple of bottles . Whole rivers of blood were poured out as Zac uncorked the stoppers , but the Spirit Tool swallowed it all to the last drop .

Some of the blood was collected by himself during the trial , but most of it was actually purchased in Twilight Harbor . Verun’s Bite] wasn’t unique in desiring high-grade blood , and it was useful in everything from cooking to pill making . With the world disks of the Harbor holding whole ecosystems including millions of Beast Kings , there was no lack of supply of blood , to the point it was even cheaper than Beast Cores .

Soon enough a sanguine crystal had been formed , with the beastcrafted axe suspended in the middle . Zac grinned from ear to ear as he carried the large crystal to another spot beneath the agate , in case its aura could help Verun finish its transformation quicker . It had been a while since the axe had evolved last , but that bone alone had been enough to actually push it toward becoming a High E-Grade Spirit Tool .

The evolution probably wouldn’t bring any great increase in power since it wasn’t a fundamental evolution like becoming a D-grade Spirit Tool . But another ability would be unlocked , which might prove useful in the future .

Seeing that his weapon was moving forward , Zac felt it was about time he did the same himself . His body was back to tip-top shape , and the foreign energies were mostly was expelled . There might be some of it lingering in various nooks and crannies of his body , but if it was , then it was too fine for Spiritual Anchor] to spot it .

In either case , he felt ready to finally test something he had been waiting on for so long ; the efficacy of the Stone of Hope] .

He had long been at the precipice of gaining a level since using the pills back in the Hollowtongue Mountains , and he took out a Beast Core with anticipation . A storm of wild energies entered his hand as he started to absorb the stored energies . Void Heart] instantly woke up , each beat of the node creating an intractable suction as more and more energy was dragged inside .

The process continued for ten minutes , at which point the hidden node was satiated . It wouldn’t take long for Void Heart] to refine this type of energy , so Zac quickly stowed away the core as he steadied his mind . Next , the small vial containing the Chainbreaking Pills] appeared in his hand .

Zac quickly swallowed the pill that emitted a pungent odor , and he grimaced as he felt a sickly and murky gunk spread through his body , covering his nodes and pathways in what almost felt like spiritual excrement . However , he did feel that the tightness of the nodes loosening a bit , and it was just in time .

A surge of pure energy was expelled by the hidden node in his heart . Normally , Zac would expel this energy , but this time he immediately seized control of it as he pushed it toward his midriff . The next node was located on the side a bit lower than his navel , and if the explosion was too bad , it would mean a whole lot of intestines getting destroyed .

More importantly , quite a few of his pathways intersected in that area since the cultivator’s core would eventually be placed beneath his navel . A node exploding there would leave him severely weakened for months , which was why it was so important for him that his two prepared methods worked .

The node was already right at the precipice , and the surge of energy was more than enough to blast the node wide open . A sense of trepidation filled his heart as he sensed the familiar signs of the node being about to explode . This kind of pain was something that stayed with you like a mental scar , and he remembered those days in the sickbed back in Port Atwood as clear as day .

However , he suddenly felt reality shift , like he had stepped into a dream . The gems embedded in the walls around him emitted a fuzzy luster , and sounds had become muted as his perception had been turned down . Zac looked down at his hands , worried for a second that the Chainbreaking Pills] had hallucinogenic effects , but he immediately realized what was going on .

It was the Stone of Hope] that hung from its neck .

Previously , the inlaid gemstone in the necklace had been completely inert , but it was currently emitting a strong white light that clearly had a tremendous effect on its surroundings . Zac didn’t have time to enjoy the state he was in though as the changes in his body still kept going .

An explosion erupted , and Zac was beset by a soul-wrenching pain as flesh and ichor flew across the area . However , both the explosion and the subsequent agony were somehow muted , like an eruption taking place underwater . His surroundings suddenly shifted once more as the Stone of Hope] shut itself off , leaving some of the agony behind in that dreamscape it had wrought .

Zac took a shuddering breath as he activated the three healing brands on his back one by one , each one generating a surge of vitality that helped patch up the flesh wound on his side . Physical wounds weren’t really an issue , especially when there was no foreign Dao or other energy causing trouble in the wound . Spiritual wounds were far trickier to deal with though , and Zac quickly turned his sight inward to check up on the aftermath .

It only took a few seconds to realize that the result was even better than he had hoped . The unique treasure had reduced the foundational damage by more than half in one go , which was the difference between being bedridden and just grievously wounded . His pathways were still a mess , but the damage to his foundation wasn’t nearly as bad as before .

The Chainbreaking Pill] and his necklace had worked perfectly together . The pill had weakened the structural walls so that the eruption wasn’t as bad . Normally , bursting a node was like filling a gas canister with too much gas , eventually resulting in a tremendous explosion . With the Chainbreaking Pill] , it was more like a balloon being filled with too much air .

The explosion was still there , but not nearly as dangerous . It was harder to understand what the Stone of Hope] had done when it illuminated the cave with the ethereal light . The most similar experience he could remember was when he fought the Karmic Cultivator back in the Tower of Eternity .

It was almost like the stone had conjured a dream-version of himself , and it was this alternate reality Zac that bore the brunt of the damage . He had no idea what kind of magic or Dao made something like that possible , but he wouldn’t question it as long as it worked . Judging by the state of his body , a few weeks to a month of rest and he should be fine .

He would be hard-pressed to exhibit even a third of his combat strength in his current state , but it was far better than spending months in a sickbed too weak to even lift a finger . With this pace , he might even reach the late stage of E-grade before leaving his seclusion .

Having completed the task , Zac immediately activated his Void Zone] ability , getting a reprieve from the Twilight Energy as his body started to expel the gunk from the Chainbreaking Pill] . A lot of the impurities had actually been expelled the moment his insides were plastered across the floor , but even more remained like a murky film over his pathways .

The thing was perhaps even worse than Catheya explained , a ball of condensed toxins that essentially poisoned you to make it easier to break through . The left-over gunk didn’t really weaken him , but Zac still found that the compounds were extremely hard to remove , even with his Purity of the Void] . It almost felt like his pathways were covered in rust or something , and he understood why no one would use something like this unless absolutely necessary .

Removing these toxins would probably waste more time than they would save for cultivators , and it would probably cost a lot of money as well . Most people would be forced to sit in purification arrays or medicinal baths designed to extract impurities . Even then , it would probably be difficult to remove all the impurities , which would cause all kinds of troubles down the line . Only a desperate mortal would eat something like this .

In either case , Zac had found a method that would at least work during the middle stages of the E-grade . With that , his days turned into a blur with half of it being dedicated to his soul and the other half to expelling toxins and preparing for the next breakthrough .

Soon , days turned to weeks , and weeks turned to months , and Zac almost forgot about all the pressing issues of the outside world .

Chapter 743 : Catching Up

Emily’s brows were furrowed from a mix of worry and hesitation as she hurried toward the Dao Repository . Something was going on , and not just with the emergency meeting the Stargazer had called . Something was different with the atmosphere in Port Atwood since she had returned from the Tower of Eternity .

It wasn’t just the seemingly endless amount of resources that had appeared out of nowhere just before she left . They were sent back by Zac according to Joanna , and it wasn’t out of the norm for him to do things like that . Her own care package had allowed her to even match the performance of Thea Marshall even though her class wasn’t purely combat-oriented .

There were some odd undercurrents , weird glances like some core members of Port Atwood were keeping something from her . Were people already starting to get restless from Zac’s absence? That definitely spelled trouble . After all , it was still a few years until Zac could be expected to return at the earliest .

And she knew that she wasn’t strong enough to protect Zac’s interests on her own in case some people had started to eye the vast fortunes of Port Atwood . No matter if it were those aliens from the lab or the demons , her level 87 cultivation wasn’t enough to stop either of them . If a rebellion really was brewing , they might be in for a rough one .

Thankfully , there were the Valkyries , and Emily smiled when she saw Joanna waiting outside the gates of the Towers of Myriad Dao .

You’re here , - Joanna smiled .

Were you waiting for me? - Emily asked with confusion .

Well , you know how that guy is . Standing on the steps until the meeting starts is preferable to getting berated , - Joanna helplessly shrugged .

He gets nicer if you visit more often , - Emily giggled as the two walked inside , where the conference table was already set up between the towering statues .

Well , we might need his assistance this time around , so please help keep him happy , - Joanna whispered .

Just what’s going on? - Emily asked with a low volume as they entered the halls , a bit surprised to see the old Monkeyman and the gem turtle present as well .

Perhaps she had let her thoughts run wild . If these people were present , the meeting wasn’t related to rebellion from the looks of it . But the group waiting in the Dao Repository still gave some indications that the matter was big . Apart from the two leaders of the Mystic Realm refugees , there were also Ilvere and Janos , along with Mr . Trang , Alyn , and Calrin who looked as confused as she was .

However , none of the various officials of Port Atwood were present , such as the Mayors of the colonies or Adran . Neither were there any leaders of the civic departments , from agriculture to the tax bureau . It was clear ; everyone present was part of or represented the elite fighting force of Port Atwood . For them all to be gathered , there had to be a threat that had appeared out of nowhere .

Was war really brewing?

You’ll find out soon enough , - Joanna sighed when she saw Emily's questioning glance . - We’re still waiting for the final members to arrive . -

Other people? Aren’t everyone here? - Emily asked with confusion as she looked around the room .

Joanna was about to open her mouth , but she stopped herself and shook her head , indicating for Emily to wait a bit . Emily rolled her eyes in response and walked over to mingle with the others .

It had been some time since she saw some of these familiar faces . She had stayed a full 9 months in the Tower of Eternity and immediately entered seclusion in the Dao Chambers of the Atwood Academy upon her return . The building constructed by Kenzie had helped her consolidate her gains and push her second Dao , the Seed of Flow , to Peak Mastery .

She had already managed to evolve her Seed of Spark to Fragment of the Setting Sun , symbolizing the end of summer . Her water-based Dao would eventually form as the foundation for spring as she walked the path of nature . At least that was the plan . Zac had talked about the importance of a path until she feared her ears would fall off , but it still felt like she didn’t resonate with her path like Zac did with his .

Well , whatever . She would figure it out sooner or later , and the more she traveled and experienced the closer she would get to her truth . Her current progress had been enough to gain an Epic class she was happy with – E-Epic] Razor Sun , a class that not only pushed her old shamanic skillset to the next level but also added some devastating offensive capabilities that she had felt herself missing in the Tower of Eternity .

She knew how Zac’s crooked brain worked by now . The more she veered toward a support class to help him out , the less likely he would be to take her along on his adventures . He would just feel he was risking her life for some buffs to himself , taking advantage of her . That was obviously stupid , but men often were .

So she needed to prove her ability to protect herself first , after which she could figure out how to help him . For now , that meant figuring out what the hell was going on here . A series of steps dragged Emily out of her thoughts , and she saw that three people were arriving , each of them emitting an all-too-familiar aura .

The aura of death . Emily’s eyes widened as a scorching halo erupted behind her back , and a fiery lizard two-meter long appeared by her side , a familiar created with Apostle of Autumn] .

It felt like all three of them were a threat to her too , especially the woman in the middle . She wore an elegant black dress so long that it dragged behind her like a wedding dress , with blue details studded here and there . She had long white hair that was tied back with a bejeweled pin , and sported odd tear streaks on her cheeks made Emily's mind shudder .

The most striking were her eyes , two orbs that both commanded attention and forced her to look away . The blue streak that formed a thin pupil seemed to hold a terrifying power that threatened to suffocate Emily’s very soul .

It looked like she was a mourner heading to a funeral , and her companions looked just as odd . To her left walked a woman who was very clearly blind , with two hollow sockets where her eyes should be . However , inside the gaping holes , two small turquoise storms raged , giving the revenant a manic appearance .

She wasn’t as striking as the other woman , but an odd fleshy eye hovered over her shoulder , making Emily glance over at Abby with hesitation . A distant cousin , perhaps? Or more likely , a conjured ability like her own lizard , perhaps there to provide the blind Revenant with the ability of sight .

The craziest part was , Emily recognized this person . It was Leviala , the traitor of the Mystic Realm who had almost gotten them all killed . Emily started to get a sinking feeling as she put two and two together , and her eyes turned to the third person who towered over the other two . It was like he exuded an oppressive darkness , and he wore a large hood that covered most of his features .

However , a white snout stuck out from the shadows of the cowl . Emily didn’t recognize the beastman , but someone else certainly did .

You! Cervantes! - Hekruv Vira shouted with shock as the appearance of the largest newcomer was exposed .

Helo’s reaction was even greater , with dozens of gems across his body erupting with almost blinding radiance as his aura veritably exploded . A massive hammer made from dark-blue steel appeared in his hands , and the whole chamber was suffused in an aura of immense weight . It almost felt like Emily had been transported to the depths of an ocean , with billions of tons of water weighing down on her shoulders .

It would appear you gentlemen knew my predecessor , - the huge werewolf said , removing his cowl before he bowed at the other two beastkin . - However , while I share a body with Cervantes , I am not he . My name is Rhuger Blackwood , captain of the Einherjar . -

Pika Blackwood , captain , - the second revenant said , leaving only the mysterious woman in the middle .

Leviala… - Hekruv Vira sighed as he glanced at Joanna , who clearly wasn’t surprised to see these new arrivals . - So this was your fate . -

What the hell is going on?! - Emily finally cut in as she glared back and forth between Joanna and the undead . - What has Zac done?! -

I think you already understand , - Joanna shrugged . - This was one of Lord Atwood's plans to protect Earth and make use of the unique nature of our planet . -

That rascal , - Sap Trang muttered before he took a deep drag from a pipe and sat down .

He really raised a bunch of Zombies instead of expanding the Academy? Don't we have enough trouble on our hands already? - Emily said with a stomp before she glanced at the revenants . - No offense . -

None taken , - the woman in the middle smiled . - I am Vilari , leader of the Einherjar . If it’s any consolation , we have no connection to the Undead Empire . Zachary Atwood is our progenitor . -

The Einherjar is like the Valkyries , - Joanna nodded . - They are only loyal to Lord Atwood . -

So we have a secret Revenant Army? As general of the forces , I am a bit hurt I wasn't made aware . - Ilvere snorted as he looked the Revenants up and down . - Well , no matter . Our force is so diverse already , what's a few of the unliving? So , why has this meeting been called? If hidden cards like these . . . Einherjar . . . are being brought to the light , it cannot be a small matter . -

The truth would be exposed sooner or later , but we originally had planned on keeping it a secret at least until Lord Atwood returned , - Joanna nodded . - But something has changed , which is why we called this meeting . Please , everyone . Come sit down . -

We fought those zombies for years , and that guy just goes and creates new ones , - Emily muttered , getting an emphatic nod of agreement from Sap Trang , but she still sat down at the table .

Port Atwood has received a quest , and as Lord Atwood is busy searching for opportunities , it has been handed over to me , - Abby said . - This world has been presented with an opportunity , most likely thanks to the young master's impressive performance . An opportunity to sharpen our elites . We have been awarded an incursion . -

Exclamations erupted in the room , with peoples' expressions ranging from excitement to disgust . Emily felt a chaotic jumble of emotions running through her head . She knew that Zac was getting further and further away from them all , to the point that he might eventually discard Port Atwood altogether in search of greater heights . An Incursion meant another round of Origin Dao , quests , titles , and unique treasures .

A way for herself and Port Atwood to keep pace .

But she remembered all-too-well the kind of terror and suffering the integration forced upon an unsuspecting world . She remembered the sense of helplessness of her siblings disappearing into thin air , desperately struggling against an increasingly hostile environment . Of being exposed to the ugliness of mankind when society collapsed . Could she really bring herself to deliver such suffering on others?

Is this normal? - Hekruv Vira asked with a frown . - Our records about newly integrated worlds are limited , but I haven’t heard of such an opportunity being dispensed by the Heavens to such a fresh world . From what I understood , the first century is meant to slowly adapt and nurture the first generation of proper cultivators , at which point the assimilation will take place . -

This is not the standard procedure , but it is not unheard of . Zachary Atwood has accomplished many mindboggling feats . . . Yet his force , - Abby sighed . - You are too weak . -

Too weak? Too weak for what? - Emily frowned .

To survive what’s to come , - Joanna said .

And what is that? - Ilvere asked .

War , - Vilari said . - War is coming . Our master released the madness of war in the Tower of Eternity , and now conflict has come knocking at our door . Lord Atwood is inexorably linked to this struggle . As we are now , we will not be able to assist Lord Atwood , let alone be able to protect our world . We will be swept away by the currents , fodder for our enemies . -

Fear gripped Emily's heart , and she remembered the warning in Zac's letter . He had indeed told her about this , saying that war was coming to the Zecia Sector . However , it was one thing to hear about some diffuse and distant conflict , and another to be presented with a draft notice .

The Einherjar and Valkyries will enter the incursion in full force , - Joanna added . - The world we're invading is not like Earth . It already has cultivators , and the limit of expedition members is level 100 . We expect the opposition to be harsh , far more so than the scattered resistance Earth put up . But it is the only way for us to keep moving forward for the foreseeable future . Opportunities on our planet have grown scarce . -

What about the Demonkin? - Ilvere asked .

Anyone with Port Atwood as Alignment can enter , - Abby answered . - Which excludes some of you . -

Ilvere grimaced a bit , but he slowly nodded . The demon glanced at Janos , who imperceptibly nodded in agreement .

If you'll have us , we are willing to take that step once more . We have been through it once already , and while we got steamrolled , we still possess some unique understanding that might prove useful , - Ilvere said , and Joanna nodded in agreement .

I . . . Cannot , - Sap Trang sighed with a shake of his head . - This old man cannot in good conscience take that step . . . I will stay and guard our home in your stead . Don't worry , nothing will happen with me and Little Bau patrolling the waters . -

I . . . I . . . - Emily stammered , frozen with indecision .

Her thoughts were a jumble , and she couldn't decide what to do . Suddenly , a calming wave soothed her mind , and she looked over as the mysterious revenant had walked over .

Child , no need to fret , - she said as she produced a token and a letter . - Our master has prepared another path for you . It will be dangerous , but it is an opportunity to broaden your horizons and become stronger . -

Zac opened his abyssal eyes as the storm in his Soul Aperture slowly subsided . A smile spread across his face as he had taken yet another step forward in his cultivation . It had taken eight months of arduous work , but he had finally managed to infuse six revolutions of his Life-Death Array with his Dao .

The extra layer had resulted in a soul storm of unprecedented ferocity , but the gains were also demonstrably greater compared to using just five infusions . The storm had generated almost 15% more motes that turned into fertilizer to the core of his soul , which was now almost four times as large compared to when he started to cultivate his soul in earnest .

In fact , the core of his soul wasn’t the only thing that had changed over the past eight months . The oceans themselves kept some of the infused meaning from each revolution , and they teemed with energy by now . In fact , if Zac focused , he could sometimes see vague scripts forming in the waters , markings containing the truths of Life and Death .

They only lasted for an instant , but it was a testament to how much meaning Zac had managed to impart into the oceans . Of course , most of it was thanks to absorbing all that Twilight Energy , setting up an extremely sturdy foundation to cultivate upon . If he had cultivated in his own cave back on earth , it would probably have taken a decade or two to reach this point .

Even his Soul Aperture itself had been considerably strengthened by the constant clashes between life and death , and Zac suspected that his natural resistance to soul attacks had become a lot stronger compared to before . All-in-all , he was in a far better state to deal with the upcoming challenges . Zac was about to continue his Cultivation Session by focusing on expelling some of the toxins in his body , but he froze as he suddenly sensed something .

A presence .

It was weak like a candle in the wind , but it had appeared out of nowhere , right in his temporary cultivation cave . Zac sprung into motion as the coffin took its place on his back while a spare axe appeared in his hand . He had been discovered , and no matter who had managed to find this place , it couldn't possibly be good news .

Well , you’re a weird one . A Draugr cultivating Life touched by the Buddhist Sangha . No wonder you managed to travel this deep into the chasm , - a booming laugh suddenly echoed through Zac’s cave .

Chapter 744 : Uninvited Guest

Zac looked back and forth for the source of the voice , but no matter what method he used , he couldn’t pinpoint the source . The voice belonged to a man , but Zac couldn’t place him at all . The stranger's ability to analyze his situation so easily was extremely disconcerting though , but Zac had thankfully activated the array hiding his Duplicity Core the second he sensed something amiss .

His mind went through all kinds of possibilities . Was it perhaps Ykrodas who had finally managed to track him down? Zac wouldn’t be surprised if the Havarok Princeling had set his sights on him , considering that Ykrodas still hadn’t managed to pass him on the ladder to this day .

But his instincts told him it was someone else . Ykrodas belonged to a proper B-grade force that no doubt possessed all kinds of methods , but it still felt extremely unlikely another E-grade cultivator would be able to track him down to this extremely secluded spot . And even if they knew where he was , could they even reach him? He was in the middle of a Twilight Crystal Mine , and they'd explode from the energy density before getting close .

There was someone else who might possess that ability though . Someone far more dangerous than some E-grade scion .

It wasn’t easy to track you down , - the voice continued . - But I guess it is time to discuss reparations . -

It was him .

There was no hesitation any longer , and Zac immediately took out his most powerful escape talisman and infused it with Miasma . However , it just turned to dust as the surrounding cave shuddered for a bit . The talisman had completely failed , and worry turned to fear upon realizing that the energy in the area had turned extremely turbid and lifeless . He was already infusing energy into Abyssal Phase] , but nothing happened .

Without that skill , Zac couldn't even leave the room . He was stuck .

Who's there?! - Zac shouted , though he already knew the answer .

You know , - the man continued as though he hadn’t noticed anything . - If you had been smart you wouldn’t have answered me when I spoke to you earlier . That way I might not have actually found you . -

What? - Zac blurted with wide eyes , which prompted the man to boisterously laugh again .

I’m just kidding . The Twilight Chasm is my domain . It’s not so easy to elude me . To answer your question , I’ve gone by many identities . My current one is the Twilight Lord , - the voice answered . - It’s quite impressive . Millennia of preparations , thwarted by a Draugr not yet of age . You have no idea the cost of your actions . -

I think there has been a misunderstanding , - Zac slowly said as he grasped for a way out of the situation . - I have no interest in working against you or the Twilight Harbor . I am just looking for opportunities as I pass through this sector . -

Should he try to fight his way out? Zac discarded the idea as soon as it appeared . The walls around him were hundreds of meters thick , and he didn't even have any target to attack . Besides , he had already been discovered once in a forgotten corner of the Mystic Realm , proving that the Twilight Lord had far greater control over this place than Zac previously thought possible .

Not only was the Twilight Lord able to nurture that monstrous snake that had surpassed the limit of what should be permissible in this trial , but he was even able to send his consciousness into the Twilight Chasm . This went against everything he knew about Mystic Realms controlled by the System , and there was only one possibility that he could come up with .

The Twilight Lord was inside the Twilight Ocean .

Nala had already said that the Twilight Lord hadn’t been seen for tens of thousands of years , and he knew that the last C-grade trial took place 20 , 000 years ago . Had he somehow found a way to stay inside the Mystic Realm after it closed at that point? But for what purpose? And more importantly , just how far did the Twilight Lord’s grasp extend?

Even if he was inside the trial somehow , there was no way that the System would let him run amok in a sanctioned E-grade trial . And the Twilight Lord should definitely know what had transpired eight months ago , which hopefully meant he would tread more carefully going forward . After all , only a fool would risk drawing the ire of the Heavens after already having been given a warning .

That was his way to survive this encounter , so he slowly relaxed and stowed away his axe .

Misunderstanding? Just passing through? - The Twilight Lord snorted . - Sometimes you can get swept up in grand events even without intending so , a victim to the torrents of fate . I know that feeling all-too-well . -

Zac suddenly sensed a small surge of energy , and he swirled around as an illusory shape took form at the edge of the cave . The man looked like a human , except his skin had an odd greenish-golden hue . He was almost completely covered in scars as well , and he both had the aura and disposition of a warrior of a thousand battles . He exuded an air of confidence and drive , his eyes seemingly piercing straight through Zac’s soul .

The appearance of the Twilight Lord’s avatar was startling , but Zac was even more shocked that he actually recognized the man . And it wasn’t that he had seen images of the Twilight Lord since arriving to the harbor , but rather from a missive he had bought back in the Zecia sector . The man in front of him looked a bit older and his skin tone was completely different , but the main features were the same .

It was the Eveningtide Asura .

The true appearance of the man behind cataclysmic events back in the Zecia sector wasn’t widely circulated . In fact , none of the information houses in Zecia dared carry much information about him out of fear he’d one day return . The intelligence read more like tales of heroics and bravery rather than proper information missives , and any factual information such as appearance , class , skills , and strength was notably missing .

But Zac had been extremely curious about the Eveningtide Asura since he was almost considered the second coming of him , and their backgrounds were pretty similar . The fact that no one dared to sell intelligence on him through the Mercantile System couldn't stop Zac with his nigh-unlimited access to every corner of the sector .

One of his followers had managed to procure a proper missive from a declining information house that had lost its Mercantile Licence . The way it described the events 980 , 000 years ago was completely different from the public information .

Rather than a heroic lone wolf , the Eveningtide Asura had been described as a ruthless opportunist who skirted the edge of unorthodoxy without ever completely leaving the embrace of the System . He never cared about right and wrong in his pursuit of power , and his hands were already drenched in blood long before the more well-known events where he slaughtered dozens of peak clans upon his return took place .

Both Zac and the man in front of him had come up in the same way , being progenitors of planets integrated into the Zecia sector . However , while Zac had somewhat stumbled onto the path of supremacy , Alvod Jondir had firmly embarked on it through murder . Every threat to his supremacy on his home planet , foreign or native , had been butchered , after which he essentially turned his home planet into a furnace for his own cultivation .

By the time the planet had been assimilated , only a broken F-grade planet remained , with Alvod having extracted the essence of the World Core itself . It was this very ability to absorb the power of the planets themselves that had eventually sparked a manhunt , because not only was it an extremely powerful method to cultivate , but it was also a huge threat to most clans .

What if the Eveningtide Asura appeared on their planet one day , slowly siphoning off the power of the World Core?

So while the man standing in front of Zac appeared like a straightforward warrior with the aura of a hero , he knew that it was just an image hiding a ruthless cultivator that made the Great Redeemer seem as harmless as a baby chick . A cultivator who was also famous for being extremely thorough in his acts of revenge .

Zac felt beads of sweat rolling down his back , but he controlled his aura and facial expression to not give away the fact that he knew the true identity of the man in front of him . Meanwhile , his thoughts were a confused jumble as he simply couldn’t understand what was going on . Most people thought that the Eveningtide Asura was long dead for hundreds of thousands of years after having angered some powerful force , yet he stood right in front of him , seemingly doing just fine .

Was the Eveningtide Asura actually the Twilight Lord , or was he simply pretending? When had the change taken place? Because one thing was for certain ; the current Twilight Lord had reigned for over six hundred thousand years , which made it impossible that Alvod had been him from the start .

Lord Twilight , it's an honor , - Zac said with a bow , working hard to keep his face impassive . - I apologize if my actions inadvertently caused any problems to the trial . My masters will provide recompense for any damage . -

I am pretty certain there is no clan called - Black’ , they have better taste than that . Who are you? Who are your masters , and what interests do they have for this trial? - the man snorted .

Zac hesitated for a moment before he made a decision . He had never managed to trick anyone when lying through his teeth , and he wasn’t so arrogant as to think he could suddenly outsmart an old monster who had lived over a million years . He would need to expose some of his secrets , but leave some things vague .

None whatsoever , - Zac eventually said he displayed his Fragment of the Coffin , complementing the earlier display of the Fragment of the Bodhi . - They are both Autarchs with no interest to this place of the Twilight Harbor . One of them is walking the path of Oblivion , the other the path of Creation . I was sent here to temper myself and… -

Life is not Life . . . Death is not Death… Oblivion and Creation , - Alvod slowly mused , his eyes gleaming . - You are here for the two shards that were absorbed a few eons ago . -

I am supposed to fetch them for my masters . But if they are part of Lord Twilight’s plans , I will stand down , - Zac quickly said .

Alvod looked at Zac in silence for a full minute , though it might as well have been a year as far as Zac was concerned .

You are really an interesting one , and our paths are surprisingly similar . It's almost a shame our conclusions diverged , leading us toward different peaks , - the Eveningtide Asura sighed . - The path you're on . . . is without return . -

Zac was extremely to find out what he meant , but he didn't dare disrupt the man since it actually seemed like he was changing his mind about something . Seeing as he probably came with vengeance on his mind , that could only be good news .

You caused me a great deal of trouble , but perhaps this can become an opportunity to wipe the slate of Karma clean . Those two items are like tumors in this realm , causing a constant disturbance in the composition of Twilight , - Alvod said . - They are empowered by the Twilight Energy as well , and have formed powerful natural formations around them . -

Zac frowned when he heard about them being powered by the Twilight Energy as this was outside his expectations . Then again , he couldn’t be too surprised since they were still here even though they were placed in the middle of the Mystic Realm . If they were easy to get , they would have been snatched up long ago by some greedy trial-taker .

I have come prepared , - Zac lied . - And if there’s anything else I can do to help out… -

Kind of you to offer , brat , - the Eveningtide Asura laughed as a large vat of liquor appeared in his hand . - Actually , there is something you can do for me . As acting Earl of Twilight Harbor , I require assistance . Receive my decree . -

I just said that to be polite!’ Zac screamed in his mind , but he still nodded quickly in agreement . However , his eyes widened as he realized his mistake . A piece of information that he had almost forgotten emerged from the back of his head , and his fears were soon confirmed as a screen appeared in front of him .

Cleansing Waters (Decree) : Follow the tracker and unblock the turbid energy . Reward : Reward based on performance after the end of the Twilight Ascent . (0/729) .

Zac barely had time to read the quest prompt before a small vortex opened up as well . It looked harmless enough , but Zac still didn’t dare step forward until it had dropped off a small box and disappeared .

Careful enough , - the projection snorted as it took a swig . - Well , the foolhardy die sooner or later . But do not worry . If I wanted you dead , you would already have entered the cycle of reincarnation . This is just a simple tracking array to lead the way . -

Lead the way to what? - Zac asked with a frown , having no idea what the quest actually wanted him to do .

People are acting against the Twilight Harbor currently participating in the trial . Their backgrounds are too powerful , so I could only let them enter and try to minimize the damage they caused . Unfortunately , they have proven surprisingly resourceful , forcing me to intervene , - Alvod sighed . - They have managed to undo a lot of good work that has been done to make this ocean flourish , messing with the energy flow of this realm . -

Zac's bullshit radar was reading off the charts , but there was no way he'd expose the Eveningtide Asura's lies . There was no way that this man was doing something out of the good of his heart , and it was probably just a matter of fighting for resources between monarchs . But ultimately , it didn't matter to him . He just needed to survive this ordeal now that he had been roped in .

He had offered to help and then agreed to provide assistance . That was his mistake . It might have been an empty gesture , but it allowed Alvod to generate a quest . Most cultivators weren’t able to do so , but the Twilight Lord was clearly a middle-tier noble holding the rank of Earl .

Someone like Zac who just controlled a single planet was just a Lord , but he suspected that a future quest reward would be him being elevated to a Baron , the next level of the System-run hierarchy . Higher status didn’t increase his combat strength , but it allowed someone to make more use of the System’s features .

This wasn’t a feature that had been added by the Apostates , but rather something related to the original function of the System . It was a training system for the war of the Limitless Empire , and the leaders of the empire were supposed to be able to tap into the System to some degree .

One such ability was to generate quests like Alvod had done right now .

The problem wasn’t the quest itself , but rather the danger it represented . Zac didn’t have any concrete proof , but there were some indications that a connection like this was almost like a Karmic bond . For example , Abby instinctively knew all kinds of things that happened all over Port Atwood thanks to her being connected to the System .

What if the Eveningtide Asura could use this quest to keep track of him?

Zac didn’t let his misgivings show on the surface though , and he reluctantly picked up the array that had appeared .

Oh , not happy? - Alvod snorted , clearly sensing Zac's hesitance .

It’s just that I already have a target on my back… - Zac sighed .

Well , how about this? - the man grinned as a token appeared in his hand . - As long as you destroy over half the jammers , you can exchange this item from my treasury outside . You should know my reputation already . I will not shortchange someone from the junior generation . Not that I can with a sanctioned quest in progress . -

Zac hadn’t seen the token before , but there was one word written on its surface in the script of the multiverse – Vast . It didn’t take long to put two and two together , and his heartbeat sped up upon realizing it was the Perennial Vastness Token .

As for the reputation , Alvod obviously meant his reputation as the Twilight Lord , a man known for taking in a lot of talented wandering cultivators and nurturing them . He did honestly have a pretty good track record in that regard , but that didn’t provide much comfort for Zac who knew the man's true identity .

I’ll do my best , - Zac slowly said . - However , that item is already claimed by the Fate Plucking Ladder . -

It’s my treasury , so I do what I want with it , - Alvod guffawed as the token disappeared . - Those on the outside are growing a bit uppity since I’ve been in seclusion gone for too long , giving out my treasures out left and right . But I’ll show them wha- -

The Twilight Lord suddenly stopped mid-sentence as another presence descended upon the cave . This one was all-too-familiar as well , carrying a sense of indifference in its boundless power .

I guess it’s time to go , - Alvod muttered . - Complete your task and we’ll wipe the slate clean . One month . I want to see results within one month . Otherwise , I might be led to believe you are actually working against me . -

He was gone the next second , and the pressure of the System disappeared a moment later . It was clearly just interested in booting the interloper from the trial rather than conversing with Zac this time around . It left Zac alone in the cave once more , though it didn’t feel nearly as safe and secluded this time around .

Well , shit . -

Chapter 745 : The Last Laugh

The cultivation cave where he had spent the better part of a year no longer felt like a secure sanctuary , like a home that had been burglarized .

Zac knew that he was mostly to blame for getting wrapped up in this mess . Staying in one place for this long was to tempt fate , but the location was simply too good to give up on . He had been making rapid progress , both in levels and in regards to his soul . Over the past three months , he repeatedly considered finally setting out , only to feel the need to keep cultivating a little bit longer .

Now he had been exposed , and the quest screen in front of him loomed over his head like an executioner's axe .

Thankfully , it didn’t look like the Eveningtide Asura had managed to get the whole picture . Zac couldn’t be certain , but Alvod’s control of the Mystic Realm probably wasn’t as great as he tried to let on . Why wait eight months if - the Twilight Chasm was his 'domain’? It was either prohibitively difficult to manifest inside this place as he did , or his senses were blocked out by the System , making discovering Zac difficult .

It was also clear that the System didn’t allow the Twilight Lord to directly alter the events as it descended after just a minute , even though the Eveningtide Asura only appeared as a weak presence . Unfortunately , it was impossible to tell exactly what Alvod had managed to glean in their short encounter . For example , had he activated the array in time? Would Alvod even be able to discover anything as a weak consciousness?

One thing was for sure though , Zac didn’t dare swap between his races in this place any longer . The intruding presence had been booted by the System from the looks of it , but who knew what methods a Monarch possessed . Also , the final threat of the Eveningtide Asura made him afraid to delay much longer .

It was a shame too as he had managed to reach level 120 two weeks ago . If he pushed himself , he might have been able to gain another five before the trial ended . Truthfully , he had hoped to reach level 125 after a year , but progress was rapidly slowing down . He still had more than enough Beast Cores and Chainbreaking Pills] to keep going , but the problem was his hidden node .

Void Heart] could ultimately only purify so much energy , whereas the amount of energy required for each node increased exponentially . For the first two levels , his wounds had been the bottleneck , with the next node being ready to be opened the moment he had recovered . But from level 118 , that changed to an issue of energy supply .

Reaching level 120 had taken three weeks longer than the previous level , and Zac guessed he’d require another two months for the next . It was just like when he got his hands on Nexus Crystals in the beginning . He gained a few levels smoothly in the earlier stages of the F-grade , but soon enough the energy the crystals provided were all but negligible .

He had tried feeding the hidden node all kinds of things , from natural treasure to straight-up going back to absorbing Twilight Energy . Having Void Heart] feast on natural treasures was no doubt the quickest , as it processed and returned that energy far quicker than anything else . Conversely , using Twilight Energy didn’t only take three times as long to refine , but it also left a bunch of unwanted energies behind .

Seeing as he only had so many natural treasures , he had soon enough reverted to only using Beast Cores while keeping the Twilight Energy away by crushing supreme-quality crystals . It was a disappointment , but pushing five levels in eight months as a mortal was a tremendous achievement . Doing the same had taken Galvarion well over a decade , and not even Catheya’s leveling speed was at this level either .

To reach level 125 , Zac might need two to three full years cultivating this way . Of course , he could drastically shorten that time through slaughter , but Zac knew the ship had sailed . He didn’t dare burst up any more nodes now that he was leaving the chasm - he needed his full combat strength going forward .

Getting a new set of skills was impossible , but there was one more thing he could do . Eight months of refining his soul wasn't enough to reach the second reincarnation , but it had still strengthened his soul tremendously . With some help , it should be just enough .

Zac spent the next five hours refilling his mental energy and stabilizing his mind , at which point he took out one of his Fractal Framework Arrays] meant for his undead side . Having spent this long in one place had given Zac ample time to train his proficiency in upgrading skills , with all his ancillary skills being evolved by now , except for Beauty Yrial's Great Transformation Skill] .

Even Cosmic Gaze] had been upgraded to E-grade on his Draugr form , though he still hadn’t managed to improve Piercing Gaze] in his human form to match .

There were , however , two final holdouts on his Draugr side , and leaving before improving the situation might prove lethal . Vanguard of Undeath] still worked decently enough , but Profane Seal] simply wasn't durable enough to deal with the elites of the trial . He had seen how effortlessly Uona had broken through his cage , and there were more examples like Yanub Mettleleaf and the ice mage in the Greengrove Archipelago .

He was about to set out with a massive bounty on his head , and he needed the ability to trap others , making sure his location wasn’t exposed . He needed to upgrade Profane Seal] , even if there was a risk of it being downgraded to a lower-quality skill . However , Zac wasn’t without some confidence .

He placed the Fractal Framework Array] right next to the oversized Mind's Eye Agate] to make sure he could get the most out of the treasure , but Zac wasn’t done there . A small jade box appeared on the ground in front of him , followed by a crystalline vial with a shimmering pill inside .

It was the Dawn Awakening] pill , whereas the box contained one of the two dumpling fruits . He still didn’t know what the item was called or its exact usage , but he had managed to form an educated opinion three months ago . He had been a bit bored and restless , and overcome with curiosity he cut off a small bite from the smaller of the two natural treasures .

It was just a corner of the plant , but the energy had still provided some clues of the treasure’s true nature . It was not a Dao Treasure , at least not as far as he could tell , but it was still something extremely useful .

Zac immediately swallowed the Dawn Awakening] pill , it was like a wave of power swept through his body , transforming it into something else . Suddenly , it felt like he had become a part of the Twilight Ocean , perhaps even an integral part to its infinitely intricate tapestry . He was one with the ocean , and the ocean was one with him .

The feeling was so palpable that he actually stopped himself from crushing another Miasma Crystal when his surroundings were impacted , and the Twilight Energy that swirled around him was no longer hostile to his presence . It didn’t try to force its way into his body until he exploded , instead simply sticking to him like a pet sticking to its owner .

The change was intoxicating , but Zac knew he had bigger fish to fry than to enjoy the absence of the pervasive and crushing pressure of the Twilight Energy . He opened the lid of the jade box , and he stuffed the unblemished dumpling into his mouth , swallowing bit by bit until he had consumed the whole thing , stem and all .

The natural treasure looked like a white ball of rice dough , but it actually contained a juicy pulp that was dark green , tasting a bit like a mix of kiwi and divinity . He had never eaten something as delicious before , though he wasn’t sure if it was another side effect of Dawn Awakening] . The pulp juices were full of the mysterious energy that had tricked him into thinking it was a Dao Treasure , and it perfectly blended with every single inch of his body .