Chương 46: Remnants Of The Higher Realms
Two weeks later, Li Ao sat in his room with four silver flashing portraits around him. Each of the portraits were a few meters long; containing in order pictures of a castle in the sky, a barren desert, a realm of undead with bloody auras, and a tall mountain full of dark pagodas.
''Back to selection...''
In two weeks, not only did Li Ao reach thirteenth level of Qi Condensation, he also spent twenty Universal Coins to buy a notebook about Souls.
It was an obvious trend but Li Ao still couldn't understand why such knowledge was cheaper than pills or other consumables. A five-poison-expelling pill, a 7-th grade pill, cost two times more than Rick's Body Tempering guide.
But being an usual cultivator, he didn't question things that benefited him.
He also found out what Spirit was.
Spirit, Soul, and Body made up a being's components.
Body was the flesh, the controlled part, while the Soul was the driver, controlling the Body.
Spirit was the observer. It was the subconscious self that was cultivated by the aware self, soul.
The explanation required some comprehension to understand the relationship.
It also answered the question of why Spiritual Qi Cultivators had such a strong sixth sense. Awareness of the subconscious could always pick up more clues than the aware soul, trapped by the body's limiters.
However, Li Ao wasn't much interested in those concepts for now. Instead, he focused more on how Soul arts worked.
In essence, soul arts involved the domain of mind, psyche, memories, and cultivated the consciousness more than the Spiritual Qi Cultivators. Latter only tempered the soul just enough to not be vulnerable to demons and natural phenomena.
Soul Cultivators? They weaponized it.
Messing with the perception of the opponent, wrecking control of their bodily functions, forcing unwanted memories upon them, or even causing the soul to explode within—almost all of their techniques passed the boundaries of Orthodox practices.
It was a path of cultivation that closely resembled demons' methods. This made Li Ao think of the old gambler that swindled him.
Still, he knew enough to understand how to form a Dark Foundation. So he decided to go with it.
''Of course I will aim for the best—who cares after Ascension?'''
How long would it take him to reach Ascension? Hundred years? Three hundred?
Cultivation required patience first, planning second.
Just because the potential of Violet and Dark foundations were the same, or all his efforts would mean nothing after Ascension didn't make Li Ao flinch about his decision.
Why would he care about that? Being better prepared, or stronger at the moment was more important than thinking about future losses.
In that regard, he shared the same thought as his grandpa.
''A cultivator must live for the moment.''
''But...what do I pick?''
Looking at the four portraits revolving around him, Li Ao frowned.
He skipped the mountain with pagodas and the evil realm. Former was the 'Protect The Sect!' Quest, which was 3-rd grade, and the latter had a difficulty of Fateful.
''What I need is some quick coins to buy a Soul Art.''
The other two were interesting enough.
The desert was a new mission.
*Mission: Immortal Must Survive!(2nd-grade)*
*Mission Type: Protect And Eliminate
*Description: An immortal is about to descend into O'nuch to gain the Heavenly Fate—Protect him, eliminate all threats, and Stop the Demi-God!
*Target world: O'nuch Planet
*Timeline: Real-time progression*
*Time Dilution: 130:1
*Mission Time: Immortal Must be Safe
*Estimated Difficulty: Hell
*Source: Will of The Universe*
*Reward: 5000 Universal Coins/50.000 Spirit Stones(%30 Base Evaluation Reward)
''Immortal must survive? Stop the Demi-God?''
It was another Hell level mission. Not only that, Li Ao could imagine this one to take years as well.
''Time dilution is shorter, too...''
Still, it was long enough. Assessing the added texts with curiosity Li Ao cast a thoughtful look to the other mission.
*Mission: Let Them Sleep(2nd-grade)*
*Mission Type: Raid*
*Progress: 33%*
*Description: One mistake, one million lives. Lay those eternal protectors to rest.*
*Target world: Remnants Of The Higher Realm
*Timeline: Real-time progression*
*Time Dilution: 87:1
*Mission Time: All Must Be Laid To Rest
*Estimated Difficulty: Easy -> Fateful
*Source: Will of The Universe*
*Reward: ???* (Basic Evaluation)
Before he had a chance to be surprised, Li Ao saw the note under the rewards section.
*Note From 3rd-Rank Agent/Karim Shah: The mission is a repeatable quest without any quota. Currently, there are forty-two first-rank, twenty second-rank, and three third-rank agents within the Remnants.*
*The castle has 4 Main Halls, 36 wings, 72 Halls, and 1024 rooms. Depending on your combat power, you will be given a random one to clear. Your rewards will be assigned accordingly.*
''It has to be this one.''
A difficulty assigned for his combat power was the perfect solution to his predicament. This being a second-grade mission, Li Ao didn't doubt the returns would be good.
The average Soul Arts Manuals cost from three hundred to twenty thousand. If possible, he wanted to buy something compatible with his Scarlet Path and Rick's Manual—the duo merged very well, after all.
The Skill Magazines? He wouldn't approach them unless he was desperate...
Also, with this mission being repeatable, as well as being second-grade, he could just retreat at will to ensure his safety.
Deciding so, he informed a servant that he would be in seclusion and covered his room with two layers of illusion formations.
Pressing his hand into the castle's portrait, his figure blurred. A force pressed on him, and Li Ao was no more.
*********
''...dark.''
Li Ao looked in front of him. There was no source of light within the enormous hallway. Even his improved eyesight couldn't see beyond a hundred meters.
Enormous, because neither above nor around he could see a boundary. Only, behind him was a closed gate that seemed to have no top. There were inscriptions of heavenly clouds upon it, as well as a mysterious aura that repelled him from approaching.
With a wave of his hand, he lit a fireball and sent it flying up. The flames ascended ten meters.
Watching the scarlet bounce off the diamond walls, Li Ao's jaw dropped.
The entire hall was around five hundred meters wide. The ceiling, adorning broken formation lines and half-shattered chandeliers, rose three hundred meters in the air. Apart from the few broken marble statues here and there, everything was made of silver-blue diamond.
Touching the nearest wall with his hand, Li Ao felt traces of Qi within them.
''Not just normal diamond...the entire palace is made of this Spiritual Diamond?''
It wasn't any regular one, that Li Ao was sure. He knew three types of Spiritual Diamonds, and this one seemed not only of a higher grade, but also of a different composition.
Covering his hand in Qi, he struck at the wall. A bang echoed, and the tip of his fingers bent backwards, breaking from the middle.
''Ouch!''
Reeling, Li Ao blew air on his hands. He popped a 9-th grade healing pill and straightened his fingers, then turned around to look towards the darkness before him.
''This is one of the halls, then...what is the difficulty?''
Opening the interface, Li Ao clicked on the log and unfurled the blinking parchment.
*Beginning Mission: Let Them Sleep*
*Objective: Lay down the roaming servants 0/25*
*Mission Difficulty Evaluation: Easy*
''Servants?''
''Okay, this thing is getting too much confusing.''
He furled up the scroll and threw it back into the interface. If this mission wasn't from the Will Of The Universe, Li Ao would have considered retreating back here.
After all, the environment told him enough of the danger level here. Including the fluctuating difficulty that could reach Fateful, he had no doubt there could be ghosts here that could kill him in a second.
Casting a deep look at the shut gate, he turned forward.
With a wave of his hand, he equipped both Prismatic Gloves and Silver, then took out Bubbles and put her in a pocket near his chest.
Bubbles half-emerged from there, peeking at him. Her bubbling seemed more curious than afraid of the eerie environment.
''Now now, keep your eyes open.''
Willing the flame forward, Li Ao walked after its scarlet light deeper into the hall.
On the way, he saw many more broken statues. There were no portraits, but in their place were empty, hallowed dents up and down the palace. Long stretches of claw marks, pits, dried blood, remnant bones...
Some of the blood, when he smelled it, made Li Ao's heart pulse rise in fear. Whatever they belonged to could terrify him just by the latent aura of its dried blood.
Some of the bones had engravings on them, while others still shone with a weird yellow light. He stored a few—others were so large they couldn't fit into his spatial ring. He climbed on or around them, and progressed further through the hall.
After the first kilometer, strange sights began to appear. In the broken walls or torn carpets, perhaps even at the ceiling, were revolving whirlpools that swallowed all light.
They made him think of the Black Hole senior dogshit mentioned. However, these had no gravitational pull, and when he focused his Qi on them, Li Ao could sense them leading to some other place.
''Space rifts...what kind of a being can leave a torn space behind?''
Not even Aunt Shu could do so.
Of course, the feat also depended on the stability of the space within the realm. Perhaps, after years of desolation, this place no longer had the support of the World's Will or Heavens.
''Remnants of the Higher Realms...what is this higher realms?''
''What left it in tatters?''
Though he came in with the purpose to gain quick money, Li Ao became more and more intrigued with this place.
On the way, he encountered a few other small bones to collect, and a piece of cloth that seemed high quality enough to preserve.
Going even further, he saw a figure walking in circles.
The woman wore a long skirt alongside a dark shirt. Her hair disheveled, her skin a ghastly green, transparent, she rounded a marble head on the ground and muttered.
His hands ready to cast a seal, Li Ao tiptoed towards the woman.
''...God Of Heaven, Immeasurable Sun, has doth forsaken the people, the realm? God Of Heaven, Immeasurable Sun, has doth forsaken the people, the realm? God Of Heaven, Immeasurable Sun...''
When he reached fifty meters away from her, she stopped.
Body bowed to the ground, her head snapped two hundred degrees to his side. Her hollow eyes inspected his attire, then a sharp glint passed within them.
''God Of Heaven, Immeasurable Sun, has doth forsaken the people, the realm?''
She tilted her head.
Li Ao felt no malice, nor any other intent from her. Only, her aura seemed infinitely close to Foundation Establishment.
With steady steps he came closer and closer, until he was ten meters away. The fireball above him bubbled with the intention to strike at any notice.
Still, she did nothing. After giving him another slight look, her head cranked back with a plop, and she continued circling the statue.
Li Ao glanced at the marble head. It was of a kingly man, with a seven-horned crown on his head, wearing a large curly beard. From his thick neck, one could imagine how big of a body he must have sported.
''...am I supposed to just exorcise her?''
There were two ways to lay down a ghost to rest.
One was using Daoist, Buddhist, or any other kind of magical art to calm down their spirit.
Other was to just beat them to death.
Having none of the former, but creeped out by the servants actions, Li Ao decided to do away with the latter.
The prismatic glove flashed with red—a tick sound echoed, and a fire gem replaced the grid on its surface. A bright scarlet aura enveloped his entire being. With a hand seal, Li Ao pointed at her and a fire lance appeared right between them.
''Bye!''
The lance shot forth like an arrow and pierced her head straight. Flames consumed her still figure.
Halting, not resisting, the ghost cast him another look.
''God Of Heaven, Immeasurable Sun, has doth forsaken the people, the realm?''
Then, bowing her head, she blinked out of existence.
*Exorcised Spirit-Level(13th Level Qi Condensation) Ghost Servant, awarding 120 Universal Coins*
*Objective: Lay down the roaming servants 1/25*
Casting another fireball to light up the surroundings, Li Ao looked down at where she disappeared. There was a pile of ash.
''...what is wrong with this place?''
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