Villain Seduces to Rise in Status

It wasn’t that Sesrir hesitated to give away ten years of his life.

But in a Divine inheritance, the final trial would be nearly impossible. There was a sixty to seventy percent chance of losing his life... and they were only two people. What could two people possibly accomplish against such odds?

So he had to agree.

Another reason was... though he didn’t want to admit it — he was genuinely scared of Cale.

If he denied Cale and they somehow both escaped, if by some dead god’s grace Cale survived as well, he would likely kill Sesrir and every person he knew. Sesrir understood Cale well enough to discern this much. This man was fierce, someone who took risks now and left the worrying to his future self. A man who treated consequences as problems for tomorrow’s version of him to solve.

So agreeing with him was the only logical choice.

He too possessed a few lifespan-increasing Gu; which were necessary items for an Emperor Stage cultivator in case of emergencies. But in his case, he only had three or four. Any more would require purchasing at prohibitively high costs. Thank the gods he was part of a mid-level clan. Their reputation helped considerably when buying things in bulk.

Back in the cave, Cale was setting up the array.

He wasn’t simply using the lifespan Gu as-is. The main goal of this array was time itself.

The creator of the inheritance wasn’t a god, he couldn’t possibly sustain the entire realm he’d created by himself forever. In simple terms, the lifespan Gu Cale was using would cause a time paradox, forcing huge amounts of temporal passage into a single concentrated spot, as if making it decay. This would create a hole in space — just for a few seconds. That was all they needed!

’This dragon master of mine sure knows some stuff, huh.’

Floating gracefully above the rugged terrain, Cale began the process of setting up the grand formation.

He summoned a series of glowing green and gold flags, planting them at various locations to create a swirling, vibrant vortex of emerald energy. By integrating his spiritual stones and artifacts, the ambient power in the area surged, weaving a mesmerizing dance of teal and purple light.

With rapid, unpracticed hand seals, Cale activated the array, his voice echoing steadily through the depths. He chanted in an ancient tongue, and a colossal, glowing blue runic circle materialized around him. He seamlessly channeled the power of the Orus purple stone and the mystical lifespan Gu into the array, causing the symbols to flare with blinding, ethereal intensity.

The magical formation expanded rapidly outward as Cale continued his incantation, each word adding layers of complexity to the weave...

’Sigh... this is taxing.’

A massive, translucent energy dome erupted from the runes, shifting from deep crimson to brilliant yellow before settling as an impenetrable shield over the entire area. The dome contracted and compressed, becoming progressively smaller until it formed nothing more than a doorway-sized hole suspended in space.

The grueling process took a devastating toll on his body. After three long hours, shimmering auroras danced above the completed seal, casting ethereal light throughout the cave.

Utterly exhausted, Cale slowly descended from his floating position, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. Staring out at the sprawling, interconnected network of energy he had just established, he murmured softly.

”Get ready to enter...”

Sesrir nodded back, understanding the gravity...

Cale raised his hand, extending two fingers.

”Open!” he shouted.

The cavern air violently distorted and fractured, peeling back reality itself.

A swirling, abyssal corridor of void opened before them — heavy currents of dark energy spilling from the spatial rift, humming with terrifying sounds as they beckoned silently into the boundless unknown.

There was literally a tear in reality itself.

”Quick!” Cale said to Sesrir.

Both of them jumped inside without hesitation;

They didn’t know if it was success or failure, but now that it had happened, if there was even a single percent chance, they would use it.

Both found themselves floating in an endless black void.

Cale’s eyes lit up, showing as the only light source in a place where neither of them could even move their bodies. The void itself was pulling them toward the other end of this corridor, dragging them through the dimensional breach with inexorable force.

’Sigh... I’m using my own lifespan as if some tokens... heh.’

...

In general, anyone’s lifespan could vary, but normally one’s lifespan increased exponentially as they cultivated to higher realms.

Mortal Tier:

Apprentice Stage: 80-100 years

Beginner Stage: 100-120 years

Advance Stage: ~150 years

Master Stage: ~170 years

Grandmaster Stage: ~200 years

Expert Stage: ~300 years (where the huge increase happened)

Apex Stage: ~500 years Emperor Stage: ~500 years (a major threshold between Mortal and Celestial tiers)

After Emperor Stage, one wasn’t exactly a mortal anymore. They could exist as a nascent soul for a few extra years, gaining a chance to revive themselves if circumstances allowed.

Celestial Tier:

Sage Stage: ~1,000 years

Great Sage Stage: ~1,500 years

Boundless Stage: ~3,000 years

Saint Stage: ~5,000 years

Divine Stage; The concept of lifespan didn’t apply much anymore, but they weren’t immortal either. A Divine Stage cultivator could live for roughly 100,000 years with ease.

Primordial Stage: Close to immortal, though still possessing a limited lifespan determined by the individual’s own estimation.

Transcendent Tier: Near-immortal cultivators who could live for 500,000 to 700,000 years.

No transcendent ever recorded in any place Cale had traveled could live more than 800,000 years, so that became the universal estimate.

***

Mortal Tier: One started gathering spiritual energy, sensing it and slowly cultivating it to increase their powers. They formed a proper core that evolved into a golden core — the cultivator’s foundation.

Celestial Tier: The core burst open, giving shape to the cultivator’s soul and increasing their powers by leaps and bounds. With the new soul, the energy they gathered was tens of times higher and purer than before. This was where true power emerged.

Transcendent Tier: A second nascent soul integrated with their own, nearly doubling their entire existence. The cultivator learned to interact with spatial forces and emptiness, moving past ordinary physical limits. They merged their physical body, soul, and inner energy completely into a unified state.

This was the final preparation phase on the mortal plane where power peaked before facing the ultimate test — the heavenly tribulation of supreme power created by the heavenly will itself.