The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 807: Hidden Calamity (II)

Cain went through several Inter-Sector Teleportations before finally reaching the Collapsing Lightning State.

”¡BOOM!”

Space around him shattered due to the ricochet effect on the fabric of space, and the backlash of the teleportation made his internal organs tremble for a moment, but Cainʼs eyes were sharp as he gazed at the massive mountain in front of him.

”Blade Mountain. It has been a long time since that mission.”

Cain smiled as he remembered those days. It had been less than a decade, but it felt like hundreds of years had passed. After the opening of Blade Mountainʼs Natural Inheritance, the placeʼs energy flow weakened tremendously, and you could barely notice the presence of Wave Champion Beasts now.

Although it had been several years, Cain spent months in this place, where he obtained his Sonic Blade Fusion Technique and began to take his first steps beyond a mere soldier and toward the realm of powerhouses.

That was why he chose it to face the Hidden Calamity.

Cain would be absent for an extended period of time but was not worried. After all, he had already restored order to the Godslayer Humankind Empire and ensured its power and foundation. If they could not endure a few months without him, then the empire would be nothing but a joke and unworthy of being one of the six greater powers of Aether.

A new flash of pain assaulted Cain, making him clench his teeth. He could not endure much longer, so he flashed down, fusing with the earth as he began to dive, going thousands upon thousands of meters underground.

Only after going several hundred kilometers underground did Cain stop, waving his hand and creating an enormous underground cave. He then took out nine Battle Puppets from his space ring and placed them all around the cave.

Cain obtained those Battle Puppets from slayed enemies, and while they could not threaten him, they could face Titans and Gods.

Things did not end there as Cainʼs Space-Time Eye began to glow, and he channeled his Ego Wave, creating all sorts of runic seals around the cave. They would hide his presence, and the only way to see through them would be to deploy an understanding of the Laws of Space superior to Cainʼs.

Although Cain did not have the habit of bragging about his achievements, he knew that when it came to the Law of Space, he might be the greatest master in all of Aether, so he was sure about the cloaking power of the seal.

The Hidden Calamity would leave Cain in a dangerous state, and it would also be hazardous for the people around him. That was why he chose a desolate place, which he found familiar, empty, and where he could not harm anyone.

After ensuring everything was in order, and no one could disturb him, Cain adopted a meditative position on the ground. He closed his eyes, no longer suppressing his Astral Rebirth cultivation, allowing the Hidden Calamity to explode with all its power.

The next second, Cainʼs Astral Rebirth Path of Power burst with strength, but it was not his Astral Wave or physical body that bore the brunt of the Hidden Calamity, but something else.

Cainʼs entire body trembled as his Ego Wave flooded the underground cave. The Hidden Calamity was the Mind Calamity, and what would be destroyed and reconstructed was not his flesh or bones but his Ego Wave, the core manifestation of Cainʼs willpower and self-awareness.

Thanks to the Codex of Infinite Pathways, Cain had learned all he needed about the Mind Calamity. Unlike the True Flesh Calamity and True Bone Calamity, which required massive amounts of vitality, the Mind Calamity did not require an outside force as the world and stars would give you all you needed.

ʼFirst step. Dissolution of the Mind.ʼ

Just as that thought crossed Cainʼs mind, his deepest fears, doubts, and insecurities began to flourish with overwhelming power. As a Master of Order, Cainʼs willpower instinctively attempted to shut those negative emotions down, but he had to stop that process. He needed the dark and negative emotions to flourish with as much power as possible.

The emotions became increasingly potent, and Cain could not help but start to tremble. The Dissolution of the Mind was characterized by intense psychological turmoil, as it forced the cultivator to confront aspects of themselves they may have ignored or suppressed.

Fear began to arise in Cainʼs heart. He dreaded what would happen if the danger looming in the darkness was simply too great and managed to overwhelm Gaia, killing everybody who trusted him.

However, another fear also arose, as he dreaded that remaining in Aether much longer would harm his talent and foundation, breaking his glorious path, which might lead him to resent all the people he stayed to protect.

More and more of those emotions and negative thoughts arose in Cainʼs mind and soul, making the fear, dread, and apprehension reach their zenith and keep growing. It was a torturous process, but it worked as the overwhelming psychological pressure began destabilizing the red force field.

The psychological torment continued for several weeks until finally the pressure and instability became so powerful that they triggered the dissolution of the red force field. Usually, it would only take a few days, but Cainʼs Ego Wave was too massive after devouring all those Godʼs Ego Waves in the Tower of Concepts.

As soon as the Ego Wave dissolution occurred, Cainʼs entire body trembled, and he lost the ability to think.

The Ego Wave was the quintessential manifestation of Cainʼs willpower and personality, the essence of his memories and thoughts. With it dissolved, he could not think, much less control his body.

According to the Codex of Infinite Pathways, this was a critical point in the Mind Tribulation and the most dangerous part. If the cultivatorʼs willpower were not strong enough, they would be unable to advance to the next part, and their Ego Wave would slowly dissipate, leading to their deaths!