Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 1459: Cultivation Idiot

Structures surrounded by darkness whizzed past as the flying vessel shuttled through space. The Peak C-grade Revenant clearly wasnʼt straining himself, yet they were moving dozens of times faster than Zac using [Skybreaker] at its limits. The Revenant even graciously cordoned off a section of his boat, somehow filling it with normal Cosmic Energy, making the journey through the miasmic atmosphere more comfortable.

It didnʼt matter much to Zac, but for Jikasi, it would have been a lifesaving grace. Zac couldnʼt help but lament the mentalistʼs bad luck. If heʼd managed to hold on just for a few more seconds, the Revenant would probably have been able to save him. Then again, Jikasiʼs ending couldnʼt truly be chalked up to bad luck.

”You have been marked,” the Revenant suddenly said.

”Iʼve been what?” Zac tensed as his mind went through his laundry list of usual suspects.

It turned out that the answer wasnʼt the Empyrean Flame, the Primo, or even the Limitless Emperor himself. Zac looked on with confused alarm as the Revenant performed a grabbing motion. Only then did Zac see streams of dust separating from his body. Most of it came from his hair and around his neck, though most of his clothes had gathered some of it. It turned out that it wasnʼt some karmic mark the Revenant had noticed, rather an actual mark left on Jikasi InʼVela.

”Soul-disrupting compound,” the Revenant commented, giving Zac an inscrutable look. ”It has been applied over a long time. Some has inevitably been absorbed already.”

”Thank you, I had no idea,” Zac said and bowed, though inwardly not overly surprised.

Zac had already noticed a few suspicious points in Jikasiʼs scattered memories, and the invisible dust covering his body was the final nail in the coffin. He recalled many scenes when Bhutosi, the loving but untalented elder brother, had affectionately patted Jikasiʼs shoulders or ruffled his hair. Only at his final moments had Jikasi realized something was amiss.

Jikasi InʼVela was, simply put, a cultivation idiot. Some would say the same about Zac, yet his and Jikasiʼs circumstances were drastically different. While Zac had caution and suspicion carved into his bones after countless life-and-death encounters, Jikasi was a greenhouse flower. He possessed a unique constitution and had displayed remarkable talent since the day he was born.

The InʼVela Clan had poured vast resources into Jikasiʼs cultivation, and Jikasiʼs personality was perfectly suited for long bouts of secluded cultivation. This combination resulted in the young scion having an overwhelmingly powerful soul but almost no real-world experience by the time he received an invitation from the Anima Court.
Finally realizing this issue, the elders of the clan decided to give Jikasi some practical experience by having him travel with his worldly elder brother. That was the beginning of Jikasiʼs downfall. Zac wasnʼt sure if Bhutosi knew exactly what kind of danger lurked in the nurturing sands, but he definitely knew something was wrong.

Everything Buthosi said after reaching the hidden spatial pocket was designed to elicit a sense of urgency and goad Jikasi into action. Jikasi had already been inundated with the disrupting poison for who knows how long, and the results spoke for themselves.

Jikasiʼs mental state had been wrong throughout their search of the Methele ruins. Heʼd been agitated, impatient, and impulsive—an almost unthinkable condition for a Mentalist cultivating the Dao of Emotions. From what Zac understood of Jikasi from inherited memory snippets, he was actually quite a cautious homebody.

The idea that someone like that would jump into an unfamiliar sand pit emanating dangerous, soul-sealing fluctuations was unthinkable. If Jikasi were in his normal state, he would have decisively given up on the pill after exhausting the safe options for recovering it. Why Buthosi decided to ruin his brother, who held the potential to push clan InʼVela to further heights, was impossible to say. There could be all kinds of reasons, and they didnʼt need to be logical.

”Must have been tired of living in his little brotherʼs shadow,” Zac muttered with a shake of his head.

Jikasiʼs pitiful end was a valuable lesson. Like Buthosi said, danger could come from any direction, and overwhelming strength wasnʼt the only method to kill across grades. Buthosi had played his Late D-grade brother to death while only being a Peak E-grade cultivator himself.

It took Zac half an hour to thoroughly rout any lingering traces of toxic compounds or mind poison from the pill nurturing bed. He had no choice; he was currently inhabiting Jikasiʼs body, and Zac was afraid the compounds would be transported back to his real body if they werenʼt dealt with before the vision ended. By that time, they might be ingrained enough that removing them with only his bloodline would be impossible.

Half an hour of flight was enough time to cover as much distance as his return journey from the Rapture Observatory. Nevertheless, Zac could barely spot a difference in the overarching flows that governed Ninth Hell. Only part of it could be explained by the realm being in a pristine state inside the memory lantern.

The real reason was that the artificial realm was vastly larger in the past than the withered state Zac had visited in the present. It might even house proper worlds or continents like most of the real Hells and Gardens, though Zac hadnʼt seen any sign of such a thing thus far. Judging by the number of palaces theyʼd passed, there had to be millions living inside Ninth Hell without it.

The Revenant had shown no interest in the settlements or Zac after getting him cleaned up. The Monarch vacantly stared into the emptiness of space, his thoughts unknown. Perhaps he was trying to draw insights from the realmʼs unique spirituality. Zac could see why. It held Supreme Truths of death that could be cultivated all the way to the peak. Comprehending its path might also qualify a follower for further nurturing by the Primo himself.

The memory was still holding on, slowly leaking Imperial Faith like a punctured balloon. With nothing else to do, he joined his guide in observing Ninth Hellʼs Apocalyptic Death. Seeing the stable truths proved to be an incredibly valuable contrast to the decaying death heʼd endured over the past month.

The real beneficiary wasnʼt his Dao of Sealed Death. His path already had its direction, which only tangentially bordered Ninth Hellʼs. What truly benefited was his understanding of Fuxiʼs [Grand Unity Canon], which was the lynchpin that joined the death of the Primoʼs right eye with the truths of previous Eras, then fastened the amalgamation to the Fifth Pillar.

It was like Zac had been observing the tattered remains of an instruction manual during his earlier studies, and now he was laying his eyes on the real deal. Hours passed, and the dozens of illusory runes inside his mindʼs eye grew increasingly solid. Zac soon forgot about everything else. Heʼd even entered his Void State to discard any unnecessary thoughts or emotions because Fuxiʼs runes were at the precipice of transforming into... something. Zac didnʼt know exactly what yet, but he sensed it would make his temporary mastery of Fuxiʼs methods permanent.

Suddenly, the barrier that had seemed impossibly distant during his weeks of meditation before Fuxiʼs stature appeared right in front of him. Zac seized the moment and crashed right through it. Countless isolated ideas fused into a coherent whole, and forty-seven runes turned into forty-nine. Just as a fiftieth was about to appear, the whole arrangement instead fused into a singular rune vastly more complex than the sum of its parts.

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Just as Zac was about to delve deeper into its tantalizing mysteries, an intractable force pulled him out of his own mind. Zac was shocked to find a different world outside. While Ninth Hell looked the same, it was only on the surface. Death had been reduced to something else, something primal that approached the theoretical concept of a Grand Unity Energy.

Perhaps it was more accurate to say it was elevated. Not only that, but the memory lanternʼs decay had stalled. It was kept stable in a manner much more mysterious than how Roan directly infused Tam Brooksʼ memories with a surge of supplementary faith. It was like the timelines had once more unified to minimize the drain, which should be impossible considering that the real Jikasi had died an hour ago.

The Revenant standing at the vesselʼs aft remained ignorant of the tremendous transformation that had taken place. He calmly gazed into the horizon while propelling the flying vessel forward. The Monarch was also unaware of the man who had appeared before Zac. Clad in clean but simple robes, he exuded the presence of a mortal scholar.

”Delve too deep into the truth, and only the truth will remain. A scholar needs to hone not only their erudition but also their temperament,” the man gently warned.

”Greetings, my Lord!” Zacʼs head was a mess, knowing that heʼd found himself face-to-face with yet another top-tier figure.

There were no runes covering the manʼs robes, and the sudden arrival lacked the unfathomable aura of Fuxiʼs statue. Nonetheless, Zacʼs inability to register Fuxiʼs features was an unmistakable clue. He was standing before the real deal, Fuxi in the flesh.

”Impressive, to have taken the first step toward unity at such a young age. Itʼs heartening to see that the Dao remains strong in the distant future,” Fuxi said, and Zac could somehow tell there was a smile on the sageʼs obscured face.

As far as being exposed as a visitor from the future, Zac remained nonplussed. Whether it was Grand Dream, Roan, or Threaded Hellʼs Realmlord, theyʼd seen through him with a glance.

”Child, how did you embark on the Path of Unity?”

”I found a statue depicting Lord Fuxi erected in Fuxi Halls. I studied the runes covering its robes to reach my current comprehension,” Zac truthfully said, not bothering to hold onto Jikasiʼs identity.

”Fuxi Halls? They even erected a statue after my departure? How ostentatious,” Fuxi lightly laughed.

”Your departure?” Zac said in confusion. After all, the man was standing right before him in the middle of Ninth Hell.

”A world wrought by my hand will naturally carry my essence. Part of me will forever exist in its fabric, and sending my consciousness here through the universeʼs innate instinct for convergence is not difficult,” Fuxi patiently explained.

ʼSpeak for yourself,ʼ Zac said in his heart.

Sensing someoneʼs breakthrough on the other side of the cosmos and creating an avatar at their position was an unfathomable feat, even with mitigating circumstances. Zac had already conferred with Esmeralda about the limits of Supremacies. If it were this easy for them to intercept someone, then Zac would be utterly hopeless upon leaving the trail.

Thankfully, it seemed as though this particular Supremacy was of the benevolent kind, much like Grand Dream.

”Us meeting under these circumstances can be considered fate. The fact that you have achieved this much on your own proves your affinity for unity. I can sense the effect of convergence on you at this very moment,” Fuxi mused as he looked Zac up and down. Zac strongly felt that he was not seeing Jikasiʼs constitution but rather Zacʼs real situation. It was like he was facing Lord Sendor once more.

ʼConvergence?ʼ Zac mused.

It didnʼt seem like he was referring to the mysterious rune heʼd just formed inside his mindʼs eye. Could Fuxi be referring to [Void Emperor Apotheosis]? It was indeed based on the concept of unity, harmonizing the within to draw from the outside. Zac wasnʼt about to ask. Amiable or not, Fuxi was ultimately an ancient Supremacy with inscrutable goals of his own.

”The transmission of knowledge is a pillar of progress. Let me be a guiding light illuminating your road, so that you may form another link in the chain of prosperity.”

Zac wasnʼt given the opportunity to reject the Supremacyʼs offer as Fuxiʼs face was no longer fully obscured. Zac could suddenly see a vertical eye where his forehead should be. Rather than a proper eye, it seemed like a gateway into the cosmos. It was a deep, mysterious blue that shimmered with countless stars.

Soon enough, the eye was all that Zac could see. It filled Zacʼs perception, then his being, pushing away the Flying Vessel, Ninth Hell, and even the veneer of Imperial Faith that kept the memory operating. The next moment, a vast spiral galaxy with an uncountable number of stars stretched before him. In its center was a blindingly bright pillar emitting a majesty Zac dared not face.

Zac distractedly noted heʼd lost connection with Jikasiʼs body, appearing in this space solely in a spiritual state. The realization was pushed to the back of his mind when Zac inspected a random star at the galaxyʼs edge. For some reason, Zac could perfectly capture its silver sheen and the seven unique planets surrounding it.

Before he knew it, Zacʼs vision had split into two. One still beheld the silver star; the other faced a shimmering ball of light surrounded by seven crystal pillars. Each pillar was covered in runes and held more information than a thousand inheritance crystals inside his Towers of Myriad Daos. It was a whole library coalesced into an ethereal form.

Zac intuitively knew that he could seize all that stored knowledge if he reached out and grabbed the ball of light. Just focusing on it for a moment left Zac with a slight headache and confusing snippets of unfamiliar information. The experience was very similar to Yrialʼs Dao Impartation. Except, instead of displaying his Daos in the form of digestible parcels of truth, Fuxi had somehow laid bare the whole cosmos for him.

Zac retracted his mind before greed overtook him, but he couldnʼt help but glance at another star closer to the galaxyʼs center. His vision doubled once more. One eye beheld a solar system with three giant planets in identical orbits. The planets, in turn, were orbited by exactly 251 moons each. There was a perfect symmetry in how they moved.

In his other vision, Zac saw a second, much stronger ball of enlightenment surrounded by three towering oaks. The leaves on their 251 branches were covered in the same scripts as the crystal pillars and Fuxiʼs statue. Zac checked a few more stars to confirm a hunch. As heʼd suspected, the knowledge was at a higher tier the closer to the galaxyʼs center.

By the time he approached the innermost quarter, the stars held knowledge surpassing his Chaos Library. Zac didnʼt dare delve any closer as doing so would damage his mind. His consciousness was already reeling as he retracted his vision, both from the knowledge that had seeped into his mind through osmosis and from the implication of the millions of stars in the galaxy.

Was this the foundation of an ancient sage?

It was simply terrifying. Zac knew almost nothing about the Confucian Paths, but he suspected that a mortal could generate enough Literary Intent to effortlessly slay an Autarch if they possessed this much knowledge. It almost seemed impossible for a single being to reach this level of mastery, even if they spent millions of years doing nothing but studying.

Zac arduously entered his Void State to center himself and curtail his overwhelming feelings of inferiority and desire. The insights surpassed Ultomʼs enlightenment in some sense, seeing as they didnʼt depend on Zacʼs previous comprehension. Part of Zac wanted to wantonly devour whole swathes of the galaxy until he was stuffed, creating an unsurpassed foundation of knowledge among Hegemons.

A bigger part of him knew it was utterly impossible. Much like Yrialʼs Dao Impartation, what was on display far surpassed Zacʼs ability to digest. Just the single star surrounded by the trio of identical planets held more insights than he could bear. Zac could only nibble at a small corner or two, and he needed to pick the parts that he actually needed.

Zac only hesitated a second before communicating his needs to the universe, and dozens of stars shimmered with greater vigor. Zac went over his options before focusing on a specific star. It wasnʼt the star closest to the galaxyʼs center, but its composition made Zac certain it was the optimal choice. It only had two planets in orbit. One was gold, the other black, making the solar system look a lot like his current Quantum Space.

There was still a big question mark lingering in Zacʼs mind. Why was Fuxi doing this? Was it a scheme, like when Three Virtues gifted him a tampered version of the [Boundless Vajra Sublimation]? Was it another step in the Limitless Empireʼs ongoing efforts to bind him to their chariot, or was Fuxi playing a game of his own?

Still, that would have to wait. Zac pounced on the star with the ferocity of a starving beast. A vast sea of knowledge inundated him, and vague ideas were rapidly turning into coherent schemas. Zac held on for dear life as he felt his consciousness slipping. Just as he could hold on no longer, a voice echoed in his mind.

“I only gifted Miss Theomore half of my [Grand Unity Mantra]. I can sense that the other half has already been unearthed in your time. Seek it out and pass the test, and this Unity Library will be yours.”