John had been traveling with Elliot and Leah for the past month, and had made immense strides regarding his sphere dantian and body cultivation. With their immense power, Elliot and Leah had decided to travel deeper within the Skycleave Forest, and had slain several early Qi Condensation level beasts.
John had been awed by their power and techniques as they fought the beasts, and had even helped serve as a distraction for several of the battles, which helped Elliot and Leah kill the beasts easier. Although he didn't dare attack Qi Condensation level beasts, John was able to use his Five Step Movement Technique to evade them for long enough for Elliot and Leah to land the final blows.
As such, John had requested the blood essence of the Qi Condensation level beasts. Although Elliot and Leah were quite curious as to why John would request the blood essence, they obliged and gave him all he needed. Using this blood essence and the blood essence from the late Mist Creation cultivator that he had killed, John was able to step into the late Mist Creation realm for his body dantian. He even had some beast blood essence left over to be used to continue cultivating.
(Author's Note: from here on out, the mysterious sphere dantian will be called the "Body Dantian" while his own natural dantian will be called his "Essence Dantian".)
'Although I can feel the beast blood essence grow less and less effective in regards to cultivating my body dantian and the Immortal Asura Body, it was still able to push me through to the late Mist Creation realm.'
John sat there and focused on cultivating the Immortal Asura Body technique. He sent the refined Qi from his body dantian towards the rest of his body in accordance with the technique. John could feel his body grow stronger as he nourished it with his Qi.
'Once again, I had no bottleneck regarding my body dantian. It seems like the only thing I will require is sufficient blood essence to cultivate this technique.'
John couldn't help but be shocked at his body dantian and the Immortal Asura Body. Both defied all logic, and gave him endless surprises. The only thing holding his body cultivation back was his lack of blood essence, as well as his ability to control the sinister murmurs that assaulted his mind and soul once his body cultivation exceeded his essence cultivation by too much.
"With how quickly I can cultivate my body dantian, I should almost always have a cultivation level one minor realm higher than my essence cultivation. I really need to learn a body cultivation battle art to take full advantage of my strength."
After cultivating his body dantian and Immortal Asura Body this far, John realized his body was currently his greatest strength. Although his Myriad Annihilation Scythe was powerful and his essence attacks were stronger than most in his realm, it was still comparable to other geniuses in his realm, at least until he started cultivating the Celestial Lightning Script or the Divine Reaping Scythe battle art.
In his fights, John realized that he was relying on his superior physical power to overwhelm his opponents, but he was doing it in the most basic form. By learning a body cultivation battle art, John would be able to take advantage of his greatest strength and explosively increase his combat strength.
While thinking of his cultivation, John was stirred out of his deep thoughts by an approaching Elliot.
'John, I've been talking to Leah and I think this is where we should part.'
John looked up at Elliot and thought about it for a moment before nodding his head.
"I think you're right. The level of beasts this deep into the Skycleave Forest are already a lethal danger for me. I'm only holding you back at this moment."
Elliot had an awkward expression on his face but didn't refute John's thoughts. Leah approached and stared at John for a moment before an item suddenly appeared in her hands. Elliot raised his eyebrows in slight shock at her actions but said nothing.
"John, please take this," Leah handed the item over to John.
John took the item and inspected it. It was a hexagonal badge, pure white in color with a bright blue lightning bolt in the center.
"What is this?" asked John in confusion.
"It's a badge of our sect. If you ever find yourself at our sect, you can use this to get in and find us" responded Leah with a smile on her face.
"What sect would that be?" asked John with a curious expression on his face. Even now, Elliot and Leah hadn't let him know what sect they came from.
Leah thought about it for a moment before looking at Elliot. Elliot stared at Leah in silence for a few moments before nodding his head.
"We're from the Heavenly Lightning Sect."
"Heavenly Lightning Sect? How come I've never heard of it?" asked John in confusion. He was quite familiar with the notable powers for thousands of miles in each direction from his Clan, but had never heard of the Heavenly Lightning Sect.
"We're quite far from here. It's only natural that you haven't heard of the sect" responded Elliot.
John noticed that Elliot hadn't given the exact location and so decided against asking further about the sect. John looked back at the badge and traced the lightning bolt with his fingers. He thought of the Celestial Lightning Script, and how he still needed to start cultivating that.
After a few moments of silence, John put away the badge and smiled towards Elliot and Leah. "If I ever find myself in the area, I promise to visit the both of you."
Over the several weeks of traveling with Elliot and Leah, John had come to consider them as close friends. He was reluctant to part with them, but had no other choice given the circumstances.
"I guess this is where we part ways. Take care."
John said his goodbyes to the two of them before turning around and walking away. Elliot and Leah watched John walk into the distance before they too turned around and ventured deeper into the Skycleave Forest. John turned around once to look at their departing figures before he steeled his eyes and continued on.
"I only have myself to keep me safe from this moment on."
With no talisman, John had to be extra careful on his journey back to the Fenix Clan. He decided the best route was to head straight towards the main road leading from the Dreadel Kingdom to the Fenix Clan. Due to the presence of cultivators, powerful beasts stayed away from the road.
"The road will be my safest bet to get back home. It should be a few days before I reach the road based on my current location."
John spent the next several days walking through the Skycleave forest. Although he had run into many beasts on the way, they were all at the Mist Creation level and so were of no threat to him. Several days later, John finally spotted the road through the thick forest.
'I can finally relax.'
John finally stepped out of the Skycleave Forest and onto the main road. Although the road wasn't extremely busy due to being far away from any major settlement, John could see carriages and people occasionally pass by. John continued on the road towards the Fenix clan, occasionally stopping at towns alongside the road for lodging and food.
Several days later, John was walking on the road when he spotted a group of young boys heading towards him riding beasts. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the robes they were wearing.
"Crimson Valley Sect!"