A blink later and Zilan was back in the cultivation chamber. However, before he could even heave a sigh of relief, he heard Hihi’s voice.
“Finally, we’re back.”
A red light then flashed out from the mark on his shoulder of the cloud Inheritance palace. The light then charged into his back where his wings were located before disappearing.
“In that space you are allowed to be arrogant but over here……..come, let this Senior teach you some manners.”
Zilan wryly smiled, he was completely helpless when it came to these two. Without even asking him, one had sent him into another dimension of unknown origin for reasons he quite frankly couldn’t understand and the other was simply completely unpredictable in his actions.
The two’s conflict went completely unnoticed by Zilan, in fact he did not even know where they were fighting at. He was expectedly happy for this as even he would be unable to account for the damage this two would cause if they openly rampaged in the physical world.
“Hmph! Next time, think on your actions before you carry them out. I didn’t plead for my life just to end up losing it because of you. Hahaha, you’re a hundred years too early to even think about competing against this genius.” Less than ten breaths later and the red light, Hihi, jubilantly exited from his back.
Zilan needless to say was shocked by this development. For his wings to be able to bring him to Origin, he figured that they must at the very least be stronger than Hihi by multiple levels. But from the outcome of their fight it appears he thought wrong.
Hihi noticed his expression. He sneered in response,
“Over there she may hold the upper hand but in this realm where rules apply there’s nothing she can do to me……for now.” That last part was said in a volume so low that even if Zilan enhanced his already excellent hearing by a thousand-fold, he still would not be able to pick it up.
A shy voice, resembling wind chimes in spring quickly followed up.
“With Master’s nur…turing….Beina can grow stronger.”
Zilan’s eyes immediately widened, something they’ve been doing a lot of lately.
‘So, it’s like that. She’s the type that grows along with their Host or Master. So, the stronger I get, the more powerful she becomes. It looks like the rules Hihi is referring to are the rules of the Universe, only through constant cultivation as well as nurturing can one grow stronger. Origin, that place, doesn’t seem to follow these basic rules.”
It made perfect sense, if a mortal was training their body in order to get in shape or to build it full of muscle, they would require supplements, various healthy foods as well as lots of energy liquids in order to achieve their goal. This same principle applied throughout the Universe, of course the scale varied as did the application depending on the circumstances however, the rule remains constant.
“So, your name is Beina.” Said Zilan, communicating through his thoughts.
“Mm.” The child nodded.
“Why did you take me to that place without notifying me, Beina?” He asked.
“Stop the talking!” Hihi rudely interrupted his questioning. “You can converse anytime. Hurry up and consolidate your cultivation.” He urged.
Zilan wanted to object but after putting a bit of thought into his priorities, he came to the conclusion that Hihi was right.
Thus without wasting any more time he began channelling the power of his upgraded cultivation.
“Boom!”
Blue flames exploded out of his body, covering him completely. He naturally was not harmed by the flames, if anything they felt cool against his skin.
The marks as well as inscriptions on his body quickly began vanishing however, a select few remained. There was at least one inscription/marking on each of his body parts, they radiated a mysterious glow bringing Zilan comfort.
Black liquid was pushed out of his pores by the litre, a sight that shocked even the prepared Hihi. The amount of impurities being washed away was completely abnormal for someone who’d just advanced to the soul-compression stage.
What Hihi didn’t know was that this result came as a combination of two factors. One was the seemingly limitless cultivation method known as the ‘Path of Blood’ and the other was the unfathomable existence known simply as ‘Origin.’
With Origin’s help coupled with the solid foundation laid down by his cultivation method, Zilan’s constitution was sure to be nothing short of breath taking to the people of this plane. If comparing his previous body before soul-compression stage with his current body, then the difference would be as large as the contrast between a pond and a lake.
If before his body couldn’t withstand Rain Drizzle then Zilan was confident he could now freely manipulate it.
He was even bold enough to put his body against a Mid-level attack spirit tool wielded by a soul-compression expert of sufficient skill.
Now, if he were to transform…..Zilan was excited just thinking about the horrifying advantage he would wield.
Just as he was at what he thought was the peak of his excitement, a huge explosion went off in Zilan’s mind, causing him to lose his bearings for a few moments.
After everything settled down though, his lips shuddered and his body trembled.
“HAHAHAHA…”
He laughed unrestrainedly as he gazed at the two ‘presents’ he’d been ‘awarded’ for completing the second stage of the Marks of Tribulation.
One technique was the full shapeshifting skill left behind by the Ancestor of the Flow python. Now, whenever he wished to change his appearance, the use of a pill to do so would not be necessary.
He was happy for this as can be expected but this still did not equal the happiness he felt from the acquiring of the second skill or rather, innate Divine Ability.
“It looks like my eyes are truly blessed.” He laughed. “Another powerful Divine Ability affecting sight and touch lands in my hands.”
The Ability did not have an extremely grand name but nevertheless to the learned its title would be enough to cause them to confuse up as down and down as up.
“The Embodiment, Detection, Manipulation and Understanding of Ki.”
Many, many, many individuals would have heard about Ki and it’s advertised characteristics but an extreme few truly knew what Ki not only was but what it represented.
“I didn’t know the Spring Dragons had this. This will make carrying out my plan much smoother once the time comes.”
“Only the Mistress practices in Ki…..your bloodline is that pure?” whispered Hihi in disbelief.
After opening his presents, the next thing Zilan did was create an inner void. It may sound complicated or difficult but in reality, it was fairly simple.
Beasts who’ve reached the Black core stage were unable to form a void due to the uniqueness of their cultivation method but Zilan, well, he intended as well as crafted himself to be different. He wanted the best of both worlds. All the benefits of a Beast combined with the intellect and craftiness of human culture but at the same time, branching out and creating a completely new, never before travelled, Path.
In the future, with a void the storing of his precious items would not only be a more convenient affair but also safe. Not to mention the other amazing things that a void would allow him to do.
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