C7 The Abnormality Had Never Ceased!
Visions of grandeur filled the heavens as a vast ocean materialized in the void. The holy beast Kunpeng alternated forms, at times a colossal fish stirring up towering waves, at others an avian giant, its wings propelling it ninety thousand miles skyward in a single beat. The sight was nothing short of terrifying.
"Old man, you've actually hunted a Kunpeng? That's utterly astounding!" The mouse was horrified, the aura it emitted was too terrifying; with the Void Mist swirling around the Kunpeng, it seemed to shake the very cosmos.
The most delicate thing in the world is air.
It possesses the power to cleave mountains, part seas, and even rend the sun, moon, and stars. Yet, it remains the gentlest of forces, permeating every crevice of the human body.
For this reason, it is harnessed to unlock the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
In the First Heaven of Qi Condensation, one must inhale continuously for ten seconds; reaching the pinnacle of the Ninth Heaven requires ninety seconds of uninterrupted breath. This breath is then used to open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and, ultimately, to break through the Baihui point, achieving the state of One-Mountain.
The journey from One-Mountain to Quintuple-Mountain involves the arduous task of expanding the meridians.
With each increment of growth, the meridians absorb more Qi, eventually giving rise to a mountain, and so the process continues.
This marks the initial phase of the fabled Triple Blossom Crown cultivation system, focusing on the 'mountain' method.
From the First Heaven to the Ninth Heaven, One-Mountain to Quintuple-Mountain, Duke, Supreme, Great Emperor—these are the nine grand realms of the cultivation world. Rumors even speak of elusive Immortals dwelling beyond the Great Emperor.
The mere thought of a drop of the Kunpeng's blood was enough to send the mouse into shock; after all, it belonged to one of the ten great holy beasts, entities bold enough to confront the Great Emperor, among the ten peerless beings of the ancient epoch.
"Nonsense!" Clements exclaimed, "If I had the power to slay a Kunpeng, I'd have ascended to immortality long ago!"
Clements clarified that it was the heartblood of the Old Golden Roc, a most treasured substance, the quintessence of the demon's entire being.
"The blood from the heart of the Golden Roc Ancestor!" The mouse felt as though he was on the verge of a nosebleed.
It's important to understand that Old Golden Roc was born in an era of utter chaos, constantly embroiled in battles amidst a storm of blood and gore. Five hundred thousand years later, he had attained an extraordinary level of cultivation, likely more formidable than that of the eight Lords of the Dao.
A single drop of his heart's blood, the most precious essence of his being, could easily solidify into a Tri-Mountain.
Having lived for several hundred thousand years, Old Golden Roc had almost reached a point of primal reversion. Given a few more centuries, transforming into a Kunpeng might not be out of the question.
Yet, the odds were against him. After all, he was one of the Ten Great Holy Beasts, the Roc, who had the audacity to challenge the Lord of Heaven for a chance at immortality—a truly fearsome being.
Moreover, Old Golden Roc's lifespan was waning. Since the mysterious disappearance of Everett following the Epic Great War, to stave off an ominous fate, he had no choice but to seal himself within the Divine Rock to halt the ebbing of his life force.
Advancing further was an arduous task!
"Epic Great War?" The mouse was astounded. What could have sparked such a monumental conflict?
He was about to inquire when Clements silenced him with a scornful glance.
"When you rise to the rank of duke, all will be made clear," Clements declared dismissively. He then began to channel his divine power, enveloping Old Golden Roc's vital blood in the cauldron before merging it into the mouse's body.
"Ah!"
A harrowing scream tore through the air as the mouse's eyes bulged, bloodshot with fury. His body detonated in an instant, scattering blood and flesh in a gruesome spectacle, with bones shattering into fragments.
"Zopyrus!" Kallisto exclaimed, her face awash with tears.
The pain was unbearable, penetrating deep into the marrow, shredding the soul.
Within the black cauldron, the medicinal liquid had turned pitch black, tainted by the impurities from the mouse's body. A head bobbed amidst the dark potion.
Glistening chunks of flesh floated in the liquid, radiating a dazzling divine luminescence.
These were the remnants of the mouse's shattered form, its resilience on par with the progeny of the mightiest demons.
Clements was not ready to give up. He intended to use the heart blood of the Old Golden Roc to reforge the mouse's physical form, but he never anticipated such an event occurring.
"Am I about to die?" the mouse whispered.
The black cauldron possessed an extraordinary magic. Despite being reduced to just a head, the mouse could still see the outside world.
Kallisto was in tears, her eyes blurred with sorrow, as she tugged at Clements, pleading with him to cease his actions.
Clements's face remained stoic, his fists clenched tight; he disregarded Kallisto's pleas and relentlessly wielded his divine fire to process the heart blood of the Old Golden Roc.
The pain was unbearable, so intense that it bordered on numbness.
"Roar!"
A mighty roar echoed as the Immortal Cauldron seethed. The cauldron brimmed with black medicinal liquid, churning like a tumultuous sea.
Tiny wounds, dense as a spider's web, covered the mouse's head.
Blood gushed forth from the head, now stained with blood, its features no longer discernible.
The heart blood of the Old Golden Roc, returning to its ancestral essence, meandered through the mouse's head. Potent divine power tirelessly mended the wounds, while a fearsome force sought to destroy them with all its might.
Thus, the cycle continued: healing, then destruction; healing, then destruction.
Overwhelmed by the pain, the mouse lost consciousness.
It was like an endlessly long dream; within it, the mouse witnessed much.
He saw a continent of such vastness and splendor that it seemed to mark the pinnacle of the cosmos, teeming with life and prosperity.
Mighty beings emerged in droves, numerous races stood tall, prodigies vied for dominance, and countless Supremes shone like stars in the heavens, their light bathing the cosmos.
The cause of the cataclysm was unknown; the Void Mist shattered, the Chains of Order snapped; mountains crumbled, oceans surged in reverse, and the entire realm fell to ruin.
Across the land, bones piled high as mountains, blood formed rivers; amidst withered vines and old trees, crows cawed, painting a picture of desolation.
The sun had vanished, the world shrouded in gray; it was as though the apocalypse had arrived.
One by one, the powerful beings capable of chasing stars and suns perished, their deaths shrouded in mystery.
The Supremes were stricken with terror, scrambling to escape; yet as they ascended, their entire cultivation dissipated into nothingness.
As though driven by the force of reincarnation, numerous prodigies found their cultivation wiped away, the essence of their physical beings scattered to the winds. In an instant, they were reduced to decrepit, aged timber, and with a thunderous crash, they toppled to the earth, becoming mere dust.
The heavens and earth trembled, the Void Mist shattered, and the Chains of Order snapped as if heralding the birth of a new cosmos.
At last, the entire expanse of land was shrouded in dust, the disappearance of living beings accelerating at an alarming rate.
"The heavens may decree my end, and as a mage, I shall harbor no regrets. Should the heavens seek my family's demise, I will never yield!"
That day, a commanding voice echoed across the continent, brimming with an unyielding authority.
A man, enshrouded in Void Mist, ascended from the earth, his untamed blood-red hair billowing behind him.
As if answering his call, nine others took to the skies, following the man with the blood-red hair, speeding towards the dark, icy reaches of the cosmos.
These ten individuals, cloaked in Void Mist, seemed to compress the universe itself. Their very presence was akin to insurmountable mountains before all other mages, a sight they were fated to only gaze upon from below.
They were encircled by apocalyptic visions of collapsing skies and exploding celestial bodies. These ten beings had the power to cleave the heavens and earth, divine warriors unrivaled across the ages.
They stood upon the pinnacle of the universe, able to survey the vast mortal realm below with eyes as indifferent as eternal frost.
Traversing galaxies and domains, the ten searched in vain for the true cause of the Hallowed Ground's destruction.
Eventually, they reached the Infinite Horizon, a realm of utter desolation, as dark as the abyss, devoid of even the faintest starlight.
"We were wrong," the youth with the blood-red hair finally admitted, his voice tinged with melancholy.
With a resounding boom, the vision shattered, and all was obliterated.
The agony returned, sharp and unrelenting, as the mouse struggled to open its eyes.
Kallisto wept, having collapsed to the ground in despair.
Clements refused to give up, persistently invoking the divine fire.
"I refuse to believe that my disciple could perish in such a place!" Clements gritted his teeth, his face etched with defiance.
"Indeed! How could I, of all creatures, die here!" The mouse murmured, overwhelmed by a flood of memories.
"I've endured this torture for three years. For what purpose? Life has been worse than death. What was it all for?"
"For my parents!" the mouse bellowed, "I must find you and ask you face-to-face why you abandoned me!"
"For my dignity! What I've lost, I will reclaim with my own hands!"
"Out of defiance, I may be lowly and ugly, but I have persevered for fifteen whole years!"
"Fifteen years... a full fifteen years!" The mouse roared, his eyes nearly bursting with fury. "Fifteen years, and not even the heavens could break me. Why should I give up now!"
"If this world rejects me, then it becomes my enemy!" His roar echoed far and wide, laden with profound meaning.
"Boom!"
With a resounding explosion, the black cauldron burst apart under the astonished stares of Clements and Kallisto.
The light that emerged was blinding, outshining the sun by a hundredfold, making it impossible to gaze upon directly.
The piercing white light illuminated the landscape, with strands of divine force wafting through, fragrant and seemingly on the verge of transforming into celestial beings.
As the light faded, a naked youth stood holding a cauldron, his demeanor icy and merciless.
The cauldron glowed a pristine white, its divine brilliance stunning. It was adorned with ancient scenes of exotic tribal sacrifices, depicting flora, fauna, celestial bodies, the Four Fiends and Ten Spirits, all enveloped in the swirling Void Mist. A single wisp of aura emanated from it, enough to make Clements's hair stand on end.
The terror was indescribable, as if he were in the presence of the Lord of Heaven. Merely a wisp of aura was enough to give Clements the sensation of confronting the vast cosmos.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a dull thud resonated as the Immortal Cauldron vibrated. Sensing danger, it retracted all traces of its fearsome aura, and the Void Mist receded into obscurity.
Even the engravings on the cauldron vanished, leaving the entire vessel dull and lusterless, with only its ancient grandeur remaining.
"Damn, what's happening?" Clutching the palm-sized Immortal Cauldron, Ratty was at a loss for words. He flipped it this way and that, desperate to understand the mystery.
"Ah!"
In that instant, a piercing scream rent the air, reverberating across the vast expanse of Thvelond Mount, lingering in the silence that followed.
