“Don’t forget,” Sasoi said.
“I know. Half a day,” Zac promised, glancing at Ogras and Ventus before leaving through a private exit in the sect’s wall.
Liu’An stood by their side, not to mention the powerful perceptions that oversaw Zac’s exodus. As expected, there was no way to cut and run. Zac would really have to go through with his plan if he wanted to bring his companions away from the Joyful Gardens. He let one of his misgivings show as he forged into the golden haze surrounding the sect’s outer wall. Soon enough, Zac reached the domain’s edge. The necessary ingredient waited just outside.
Different from the treasures he’d consumed over the past week, it seemed impossible to build up a resistance to Ultom’s insight. The only thing limiting the pure comprehension was Zac’s foundations. The distilled enlightenment was unable to impart new knowledge. It could only digest what Zac already knew and connect the dots in ways that perfectly aligned with the Cosmos.
Zac had accumulated both personal insights and general knowledge since he last relied on the Lost Plane’s energies. He believed that was enough to trigger another epiphany without the Joyful Garden’s assistance, allowing him to finalize [Void Vajra Sublimation]’s fifth layer. Attaining perfection should give him a final opportunity to investigate the Shackles of Earth and hopefully break the stalemate.
It would have been easier to have his other half visit a dead zone and provide a steady stream of refined insights. Unfortunately, the corrupted zones were nowhere in sight when Zac needed them the most. Esmeralda and his Draugr side were much closer to their destination, and the ambient Imperial Faith was significantly stronger.
Zac briefly stopped outside the memory domain to go through the transmission of shared memories. [Love’s Bond] still hadn’t finished its transformation, but it was smoothly progressing in the right direction. The breastplate was already looking more refined, and hints of esoteric patterns had started to appear on it.
Secondly, they’d finally encountered a wild memory lantern with a hint of the Mercurial Court’s aura. Unfortunately, the connection was tenuous, even weaker than the Elemental’s seal. They didn’t take it, but the discovery had still improved Esmeralda’s mood. There was an additional spring in her steps as they rushed toward the pillar.
He’d been given half a day, so Zac wasn’t in a hurry to gather the corruption and return. He walked through the vibrant forest surrounding the memory domain, looking for clues now that he knew the situation inside. Just as he recalled, the Dao of Life wasn’t exactly like the one filling the Joyful Gardens. The ancient sect’s mark remained only as a shallow addition, like a cheap paint pasted over the region’s true spirituality.
“Where did you go? Our attendants reported that you never appeared. We couldn’t find you anywhere,” Sasoi asked with suspicion when Zac calmly stepped back through the gates.
“I never left the golden curtain. I needed the privacy to perform a secret procedure related to my cultivation,” Zac said, indicating he was unwilling to explain any further.
“Fine…” Sasoi sighed. “The elders just hope there will be no more surprises. The situation is tense enough as is.”
“Everything is ready. I can start whenever,” Zac said. “But I have to say this again. It’s a chance, not a guarantee.”
“We’ll take whatever we can get,” Liu’Er said as she walked over. “Come, we’ve arranged everything on our end.”
Zac sent a short message to Ogras before he was whisked away to the Forest of Unbounded Spirits. The energy grew denser the deeper they delved, as did the number of ethereal critters. From past days’ experiences, a train of innocent spirits would have formed behind him if Zac let his Dao spread out. The effect would be even more exaggerated if the elders did the same. The Garden Spirits were curious about everything, especially so regarding all things Life.
It didn’t take long to reach the forest depths, a region not accessible even to Inner Disciples. And yet, they found a dozen cultivators waiting ahead. Zac only recognized Litheweave among them. The rest were a mix of elders and Core Disciples. Judging by their tight expressions, most of them belonged to the faction that wasn’t too enthralled by Zac’s contributions.
Standing by Litheweave’s side was a ravishing woman clad in a red palatial robe. She barely showed any skin, and her expression wasn’t the least inviting. Just looking at her still made Zac’s blood churn, and he had to enter his Void State to avoid embarrassing himself. Seeing her position, she was likely a Middle Monarch and the pavilion’s Grand Elder.
“So, this is the boy? Well, his talent is acceptable,” she said, her crystalline voice causing tremors in Zac’s mental state.
“Greetings, senior,” Zac said with a bow.
“So, tell us, what is this plan of yours? Why does it require access to the nexus?”
“My plan is the same as before. I will practice my Body Tempering Manual and rely on Life’s resonance to look for the culprit. Doing so next to the nexus has the greatest chance of success.”
“The same thing again?” another elder asked with a scowl. “What’s the point? The nexus needs to remain pure like the spirits.”
The alluring woman nodded in agreement. “We cause harm every time we expose the nexus to the outside, and it’s already been sullied too many times over the past days. What’s different, and what were you up to on the outside?”
“I cannot say exactly what I did. Suffice to say, I’ve prepared to unlock my Cultivation Manual’s true potential, which should drastically increase my sensitivity to Life,” Zac said.
“If you had something that, why did you wait until now?” the red-robed woman asked with steel in her voice. Zac’s Danger Sense was already going off, telling him that her fury wasn’t feigned. And somehow, it made her seem all the more tempting. “I suppose young master saw no reason when the Joyful Garden kept its coffers open. What’s the deaths of a few strangers to you?”
“Your care over these past days is precisely why I’m doing this. I only have one chance to cross that threshold. Even that is mostly thanks to the insights Senior Litheweave imparted,” Zac said, glancing at the forest behind the group of elders. “Frankly, I’d rather not expose myself to that thing again, and what I’m about to do doesn’t come without a cost. I’m willing to give it a try in hopes of balancing the scales and reciprocating your grace.”
Few elders were convinced by Zac’s spiel. Thankfully, Litheweave ended the interrogation with a wave of his hand.
“Enough. This matter has already been discussed. With all of us here, nothing will happen to the nexus. As for everything else, it can wait until the dust has settled,” Litheweave said. “Go ahead. I will accompany you once more.”
“Thank you,” Zac said, bowing at the other elders before heading deeper. Only Litheweave followed him this time, with the others spreading out in different directions.
‘Please don’t blame Lady Maseya for her cold reception,’ Litheweave said in a telepathic message as they continued. ‘Little Alteya was her descendant, only four generations removed. She can’t help but obsess whether things would have ended differently if you had accepted Alteya’s invitation.’
‘I see,’ Zac sighed. ‘I keep wondering myself if there was something else I could have done.’
‘Such is Life’s rise and fall. Your assistance is only necessary because the Joyful Gardens have grown complacent. We’ve forgotten the pain of loss during our generations of peace. Our sorrow shall remind us that joy is a gift that needs to be protected and cherished,’ Litheweave said, looking at Zac with a slight smile. ‘Don’t feel pressured or indebted. Master Atwood isn’t the only one who’s benefitted over the past few days. Your primal Life has been a refreshing breeze through our gardens.’
The mist of Life-attuned energy was almost liquid at that point. And yet, streaks of a golden glow started piercing through the haze. It looked like a setting sun was hiding ahead, one that surprisingly didn’t add a speck of additional spirituality. That meant they’d arrived. Litheweave stopped and pushed away the mist with his aura.
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“I will assist from here. Remember, contain your Life as much as possible. Remember your path and your purpose, or the Unbounded Pastures will pull you in.”
Zac disrobed down to a pair of shorts and expertly applied the medicinal paste. The complex patterns were still necessary to properly draw Life-attuned energy into his body, though the paste’s medicinal effect had become negligible. The requirements for practicing the [Void Vajra Sublimation]’s fifth layer were extremely demanding, both in practice location and resources used.
The Joyful Gardens had supplied what he needed so far, but Zac knew his progress would drastically slow down after he left. His voracious bloodline and the synergistic benefits of [Void Emperor Apotheosis] couldn’t produce the necessary energy out of thin air. Zac sighed, painfully aware why so few accomplished much in terms of Body Tempering on the frontier.
You could force your way through the early stages through grit and self-torture. However, the practice would eventually become a money-burning pit that easily eclipsed the cost of normal cultivation. Furthermore, having a big enough wallet wasn’t enough. You needed a source for the necessary Natural Treasures and holy grounds. Not even the sector’s peak factions would be willing to throw such massive resources on a single cultivator’s side path.
Zac discarded all distracting thoughts. He’d get his hands on the necessary materials one way or another. He always did. Zac discussed his plan, the official one, with Litheweave a few minutes before heading toward the light.
The final perimeter of trees was an invisible threshold. An invisible pressure kept the mist away, exposing a large, cleared field. A large radiant sphere floated in its center. It looked like a twenty-meter ball of molten gold that shifted and rippled from invisible stimulus. It was the Joyful Garden’s nexus, or rather the realmgate leading to the Sixth Garden—the Unbounded Pastures.
Taking another step suddenly and fully exposed Zac to the sphere’s majestic aura. It was boisterous and unfettered, whimsically changing its nature without rhyme and reason. Just as Zac entered, the sphere shed a golden drop. It fell to fall to the ground, triggering a ripple of blinding Life before the drop was absorbed by the earth.
With the ground being nourished by such rich energy, one would have expected the field to be a veritable paradise. And yet, the ground was barren, its soil inferior to what you’d find outside. It was possible that new life struggled to take hold within the realmgate’s sphere of influence, much like a plant withering when subjected to excessive levels of sunlight.
Zac was infinitely more resilient than a sapling, and even he was struggling with the light. The gate’s influence was inescapable. Part of Zac wanted to shed the weight of his responsibilities. The only way to truly appreciate Life was to live in the moment, unburdened by the past and unshackled by the future.
A wooden flute’s calming aria cut through the noise, reminding Zac that unrestrained indulgence would lead to debauchery. A shaky breath brought Zac back into his Void State, this time holding onto it with Litheweave’s assistance. It was enough to keep his head above water, albeit barely. At least it was better than the last time.
Investigating the realmgate was one of the first things Zac tried. Rather than looking for shackles at random locations, Zac figured he’d start at their source. He hoped the corrupted chain would extend from the gate and lead it to its owner. The visit would also let him get a look at the Lower Plane, shedding light on some of his personal questions.
Zac ended up empty-handed and with a mind so addled he had to listen to Mei’Er’s zither for eighteen straight hours to regain his wits. He wasn’t even able to perform a proper sweep before he was forced to back down. Since then, Zac had been reluctant to return. He’d seen his fair share of spatial gates, and the golden sphere clearly wasn’t normal.
The realmgate was actively and intentionally influencing its surroundings, and the Garden Spirits were its little worker bees. The Hollow Court was actively realigning—possibly fusing—the region’s Life-attuned Nexus Vein with the Unbounded Pastures. While the Joyful Gardens’ role remained unclear, Zac had enough information to roughly guess the plan.
The Nexus Vein stretched countless miles into the soil. If realigned, it would act like an anchor, keeping the Garden securely fastened to the Left Imperial Expanse. The plan failed, and it was somehow connected to the murders. Zac prayed he’d figure out why, and not just because it’d award a chunk of Imperial Fate. The alternative would force Zac to do something he’d rather avoid.
Zac conjured [Warbringer Dharma]’s hatchet to stabilize his Heart before stepping into the first stance of the [Void Vajra Sublimation]’s fifth layer. The movement ensconced him in the Void, readying himself for the next step. A gentle stream of refined light poured into Zac’s Soul Aperture the moment he completed the first stance.
Zac’s mind expanded until he was able to take in the Body Tempering Methodin its entirety. A few dozen spots across the complex tapestry stuck out like a sore thumb when illuminated, representing the few remaining imperfections. One by one, they were buffed and smoothed with the help of Ultom’s enlightenment. Throughout, Zac never stopped moving.
An outsider wouldn’t spot any differences compared to the last days, but the streams of Divine Energy and Dao dragged into his body quickly eclipsed Zac’s previous records. Even the golden sphere seemed to beat in tune with his steps. A subtle alteration could have a huge impact, and an inch could be the difference between heaven and earth.
The fifth layer was reborn as it moved toward perfection, and Zac’s understanding of the Shackles of Earth grew deeper. The final imperfection was remedied halfway through his cycle, and Zac’s mind buzzed. He opened his eyes and was greeted by countless shackles. They looked so real that Zac wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d been dragged into the open. The flute’s stable melody proved the scene was limited to his eyes only.
The shackle directly connecting Zac and the realmgate was far thicker than the intermediary bonds he shared with the Garden Spirits. It was also filled with something Zac couldn’t explain. For lack of a better word, it felt like proximity. Despite his current location only being a few miles from his previous performance, Zac felt infinitely closer to the Authority’s source.
The shackle ignoring him provided little comfort. Zac felt as though he was standing directly outside someone’s window. The owner only needed to look his way to spot him.
Careful not to disrupt his practice, Zac focused on another thread. It led out of the field, and Zac could vaguely sense a spirit on the other end. Its appearance and exact position were outside remained unknown. Sensing that much was already better than before, and the huge number of shackles meant his range had greatly increased. And still, the culprit eluded his senses.
Zac inwardly cursed as he transitioned into [Void Vajra Sublimation]’s finishing set of stances. How could the murderer be this good at hiding his trail? Zac still had time to relocate and investigate a few more spots. His gut told him there was no point. Leaving also meant giving up on his fallback plan. Zac’s mind churned as he grasped for better solutions, even burning the last of his stockpiled insights. It only confirmed what Zac already knew.
They’d looked everywhere for another way out. The Sect-protecting array was even sturdier than they feared, to the point it could only have come from the Hollow Courts. Relying on the Nameless Blades to sneak out was also a dead end. That left two options. Give up and pray they’d survive the reckoning when history repeated itself, which seemed increasingly unlikely according to Ventus’s calculations.
The other was to forcibly close the memory domain early. Defeat turned into acceptance, and Zac’s gaze returned to the thick shackle pointing directly toward the realmgate. His steps shifted, and he veered toward golden sphere where his helper waited.
What Zac initially considered a worst-case scenario turned into his fallback plan as the days went by. Pervata Wendimar had proven that the best way to swiftly drain a domain of its Imperial Faith was to attract a powerhouse not slated to appear.
However, there was a chance of being pulled into the ocean if the fish you caught was too big. Calling on the Unbounded Pasture’s Realmlord could very well backfire. The Threaded Hell’s ruler had proven capable of holding back the Fifth Pillar while keeping his memory stable. Zac had no idea what to expect from a Supremacy with such an unstable path of Life, and he wasn’t eager to find out. Zac didn’t even know if he’d get the chance. The maddening whispers were becoming deafening as he drew closer to the realmgate. Stepping inside would be exponentially worse.
A slight sharpness introduced to the flute’s calming melody meant Zac had run out of time. The elders outside had noticed his approach and warned him against going any further. Zac said a silent prayer for his companions as he shot forward. The Joyful Gardens would not be happy about what came next.
“Stop, you lunatic!”
Multiple figures shot into the clearing, urgently trying to bar his path. Thankfully, Zac was close enough to the impressionable nexus that the Grand Elders were unable or unwilling to deploy their full might. Songs and illusions crashed into Zac’s mind as golden barriers rose before him. It was precisely at that moment Zac released his hidden card.
The Void swept through his mind before expanding from his body, creating a ten-meter buffer that silenced Life’s joys and generous offers. [Void Mountain] had already descended to infuse his own body, and [Spiritual Void] provided the Void of Death necessary to complete his Evolutionary Stance. Zac moved like a phantom, narrowly avoiding both hidden and open attempts to capture him.
The group of Peak Hegemons and Monarchs could never have imagined that a Late Hegemon would be able to overcome their combined efforts, and their shock turned into confused horror as Zac passed right through their hastily erected barriers. There was no time for anything else. Zac was already next to the trembling sphere, and he jumped inside without looking back.
[Void Zone] wasn’t enough to isolate Zac from the unchecked Life raging all around him. It overwhelmed his senses and drowned out his thoughts. Zac’s stockpile of Void Energy was swiftly depleting to protect his sanity. Facing such suppression while still on threshold was beyond Zac’s expectation. He hadn’t even entered the Unbounded Pastures yet.
Would he even last long enough to enact his plan when the Sixth Garden was this overbearing? He had to. Wolves were circling outside, so he pushed deeper in search of the actual realmgate. Finding the Shackle of Earth was like being thrown a lifebuoy. It was inert, and the Imperial Faith remained strong, so Zac could only follow it deeper into the madness.
The shackle led him to a large crystal whose surfaces reflected unfamiliar sceneries. Its appearance was surprisingly similar to the fractured dimension he and Ogras had previously fallen into. Zac knew he’d found the right place. The shackle was trembling, and the memory domain was already losing Imperial Faith. Now, he just needed to accelerate the process.
A rank odor stopped Zac in his tracks just as he was about squeeze into the crystal and loudly announce his visit. He followed it to an almost invisible seam in the crystal. Zac face lit up and [Void Mountain]’s destructive seal holding the power to annihilate Dao appeared on his palm.
No wonder this bastard had been so difficult to pin down.