Zac was mentally and physically exhausted after madly pushing through the breakthrough. Time waited for no man, so Zac steeled himself as he faced the rumbling sky. Nothing happened beyond the palpable feeling of anger being stronger than before, and a smile spread across Zac's lips as he opened his quest screen.
The First Step of Destiny (Void Road): Form a High-quality Middle D-grade Cosmic Core of the Void Road. Reward: - (0/1) [00:18:46:24] (COMPLETE)
He was wrong. Time does wait for some men. The System was still keeping order, which meant he had some options. Zac sat back down and took out a vial containing a special set of recovery pills. They were called [Cry of Glory], a product of one of the Grand Clans. Their effect was amazing, like a hearty meal and a nourishing pill cocktail wrapped into one. And yet, few would take them unless they were left with no choice.
Normal recovery pills used materials with gentle energy and focused on minimizing Pill Toxins. Any sequelae left behind had to be the easily-removed kind. After all, most warriors were forced to eat such pills every other day. If they left lasting damage, the pills would be useless. Leveling or Dao Pills, in contrast, were used so seldom that most cultivators were willing to accept some stubborn Pill Toxins in return for extra progress.
[Cry of Glory] was the exact opposite of the norm, providing immense recovery at the cost of riddling the body with toxins. Even his D-grade [Purity of the Void] couldn't fully deal with the unique pills. As such, warriors would only use it when staring death in the eye in hopes of unleashing a final cry of glory.
His furious blitz through the Core Formation had already added a significant amount of impurities, and using [Cry of Glory] would only add to the mess. But so what? There was a tribulation right around the corner that would deal with that headache.
Zac groaned in a mix of pain and pleasure as the pills exploded in his stomach, releasing fiery waves that swept through his body. Body and soul were rapidly being invigorated as the medicinal energy burrowed into cells and Soul Cores. No pill could let him return to peak condition in such short order, but [Cry of Glory] was a good start.
The real question was what he should do next. Zac opened his Quest Screen again, his eyes turning to the two other quests marked as complete. He shook his head and closed the screen. This wasn't the time to upgrade his Supreme Pathbound Skills, even if it was part of his original itinerary for the Temporal Chamber. It wasn't like skills were very useful when facing a tribulation, and his limited time was better spent on something else.
It all depended on how high his ambitions were. Danger and opportunity often came hand in hand, and the tribulation did present some unique opportunities. One was the extra round of cleansing lightning. However, the big one was the chance to let his Cosmic Core go through a second round of refinement.
Facing the tribulation was a necessary step when forming your Cosmic Core, where it provided a final round of tempering. Zac remembered how the harrowing experience had further compressed his core and fused some materials that hadn't fully meshed. Zac was overall satisfied with his current result, but that didn't mean it couldn't be improved.
At the same time, his Cosmic Core was currently like a piece of metal rapidly cooling after being taken out of the furnace. The core would have long since solidified if he spent the whole deadline on recovery, running his chances of rebirth. There was also the Temporal backlash to worry about. He had come up with a few theories and ideas over the past weeks, but there were still many questions that remained unanswered.
What kind of tribulation would he face? Would the System restrain it to a reasonable level if the Heavens went out of control? Could he leave the Temporal Chamber without triggering the quest?
Zac scanned his Spatial Ring to confirm what resources had left as greed fought with caution. His eyes landed on a set of talismans, and greed won over. He was already in deep, so he might as well take a gamble on himself. Besides, another 18 hours of rest wouldn't make much difference if the Heavens blasted him with a tribulation far beyond his means.
A large box appeared on the Core Formation Platform. Zac opened it and threw out its contents in every direction. He also turned off the Spatial Batteries and activated a set of arrays. The dozens of engraved crystals he'd thrown began drawing on the ambient energy, and Zac nodded in satisfaction when nothing was supplied to replenish. The effect wasn't big right now, but the Temporal Chamber would be an energy wasteland by the time its one-year isolation ended.
Zac flashed away, taking a steadying breath as he approached the Temporal Chamber's edge. A screen suddenly appeared, forcing his two bodies to a screeching halt.
[WARNING: Reentering Multiversal Timeflow will end limited quest.]
One question answered, at least. Zac shook his head with regret before returning to the platforms. He'd hoped to leave early, giving him a chance to deal with the Temporal backlash before facing the tribulation. That wasn't an option, so he'd just have to pray his theory was correct.
Back at the arrays, Zac took out the [Golden Spark Talisman] and placed it against his belly. It turned into a streak of light that shot into the quantum space. Inside, it caused a huge commotion by igniting the remnant energies surrounding the core. Meanwhile, Zac reactivated the Core Formation Platforms, triggering a huge influx of energy that drained the chamber far quicker than the hollow energy crystals.
His core shook from the sudden mayhem, and Zac felt like he was getting stabbed. The pain was worth it, considering the [Golden Spark Talisman] would let his core stay in a moldable state for half a day. The talisman was normally used for last-minute repairs after detonating the subspace, though the damage it caused usually left you in a worse state than when you started.
Zac would obviously make use of the opportunity to make some alterations. If he didn't, the core would probably be pushed back to Middle Quality. However, the real reason he used the talisman was to deal with his pathways. He'd done what he could over the past sixteen days, but they were still in disarray after the ignition and the constant energy eruptions during the reformation.
The sections around his core were unsurprisingly the most damaged, severely limiting the amount of energy he could draw. If he wanted to benefit from the tribulation, he first needed to ensure he could utilize the added strength from his breakthrough. Disintegrated connectors were redrawn at a rapid pace, sturdier, and more sophisticated than before.
Upgrading the pathways before he'd seen his Cosmic Core's final iteration was to put the cart before the horse. Even disregarding the tribulation, most Cultivators held off on upgrading their pathways for a while. This time, the System wouldn't lend a helping hand and make the first adjustments, and many needed to use their core for a while before figuring out what kind of alterations they needed to perform.
Zac's understanding of his Daos, Class, and Path was more than enough to skip that step. Even if the upcoming lightning bath altered his core like the Tribulation Throne, it wouldn't greatly impact the pathway design.
The Middle D-grade overhaul wasn't as comprehensive as when you first stepped into Hegemony. Still, Zac was far from finished when he stopped after five hours of frantic construction work. The effect of the [Golden Spark Talisman] was running out ahead of schedule, unable to keep Zac's core malleable nearly as long as advertised.
Still, Zac was much more confident as he felt dense rivers of energy course through his bodies. Most of his pathways remained in Early D-grade, but the main circuit had been fully upgraded. Furthermore, all the damaged sections were mended, leaving his energy flow smooth and stable. He'd even taken the opportunity to deal with some of the imperfections in his core, though the damage caused by the [Golden Spark Talisman] canceled out most of his progress.
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It was time to get going.
Zac's two bodies gathered by the exit, each gripping a [Time Devouring Puppet] despite their limited reusability. Zac grabbed the shoulder of his Draugr body and flashed forward, cutting through the curtain of Temporal doldrum and the accumulated wall of frozen energy beyond. The Void shielded their bodies from the temporal difference when passing through the barrier, but it wasn't enough to quell the tearing pain.
A tremendous explosion left Zac's ears ringing, and he was flung into the hidden hallway. The energy vacuum created by the hollow crystals wasn't enough to pull back the immense amounts of leakage that had already left the Temporal Chamber. The force was terrifying, and large cracks spread across the ceiling and floor. Only the emergency hallway was spared, thanks to a coffin blocking the mayhem long enough for the Teleportation Array to whisk him away.
The transfer was nigh-instantaneous. Malevolent red replaced gold and black as Zac appeared within an illusion array in the secluded mountain valley. A deafening crash turned four mountain peaks to dust as the Heavens pursued him into flowing time. Its churning clouds were already so overstuffed with extermination that Zac was given no warning before a pillar of lightning came crashing toward him with blinding speed.
The puppets had already crumbled, unable to withstand the immense Temporal backlash, forcing Zac to bear the full weight of his sins. His tempered bodies fought back with everything they had, yet he found himself dying piece by piece. [Void Zone] could have helped, but Zac kept his bloodline in check while glaring at the incoming tribulation with agonized determination.
He clawed at the sky, using his right hands to conjure huge blades displaying his path. Evolutionary and Inexorable axelights tore through the sky, becoming one just as they met the descending lightning. The valley shook, Dao was exterminated, and the pillar poured into Zac with most of its energy intact.
A familiar agony tore through Zac's body, seeking to extinguish his path and rip back what he'd stolen from the Cosmos. Whether spirit or physical body, they were drowned in a sea of crackling red. Arcs of lightning burrowed into his cells, targeting the golden hurricanes and bottomless ponds. His body was covered in gruesome wounds and angry scars in no time, making Zac look like a crumbling statue as he stood rooted in place from the sensory overload.
Not even Time was spared from Heaven's relentless assault.
Zac's laughter joined the thunderstorm's deafening roars as he was cleared of temporal debt through Heavenly intervention. This was why he'd taken the first bolt head-on after measuring its strength. Tribulation Lightning could purge pretty much anything, and it turned out the Temporal backlash was no different.
It was as though the lightning realized it had been tricked, and it rallied with redoubled vigor as it poured into his quantum space. Facing the tribulation with two bodies had caused the punishment to split, but it fused back into one before descending on his Cosmic Core. His newly formed core shook and crackled as it withstood the punishment with dogged determination.
The pain was like having nerve endings set on fire, spreading across Zac's bodies through his pathways. Zac called on the immense power of his Middle D-grade Core, and the lightning was submerged in a sea of energy that filled his Duplicity Core before pouring into his Pathways. Faced with such an overwhelming resistance, some of the lightning sought other targets to destroy.
Just as the tribulation was about to break into his Soul Aperture, a second sea poured out of the hidden space. Dao joined energy, forming an unbreakable army that began a war of mutual destruction. Wrathful lightning was subdued, diluted, and dispersed, though only after exacting a price of flesh.
This was the normal way to combat Tribulation Lightning when you lacked special methods like [Void Heart] or Technocrat arrays. It was nowhere near as effective, but Zac couldn't blow his best cards on the first bolt. The tribulation destroying the temporal energies was his best-case scenario, and the System was clearly holding back some of Heaven's power. However, the energies gathering above confirmed this would be a tough fight.
A second bolt descended before Zac had fully routed the first, holding as much energy as the final bolt of his previous tribulation. It only took a look for Zac to activate both [Void Zone] and [Void Mountain], and he shrunk the superimposed nullification spheres as much as he could to maximize their effect.
Most Middle Hegemons would be rendered utterly helpless within such a powerful domain of anti-Dao, yet it wasn't nearly enough to deal with Heaven's wrath. It tore into the domain, only losing a fifth of its force as it drew closer. The oversized bolt slammed into Zac's raised palms, and it briefly looked like time had stopped again.
The illusion only lasted a fraction of a second before Zac spewed blood and stumbled to his knees. The lighting continued into his body, noticeably weakened. Despite the mysterious loss of energy, Zac had his Soul Aperture overrun with furious lightning, momentarily surpassing even his quantum space. The Heavens were out for blood, but their target disappeared before they could cause any real damage.
Zac's Soul Cores became the victim of the seething extermination when the tribulation couldn't find its real target. Luckily, the lightning was bound to its purpose, and it continued toward his Cosmic Core before causing permanent damage. Zac thanked the stars he'd deactivated [Void Mountain] before it was too late.
He was shocked at how effective his Bloodline Talent was at dealing with the Tribulation Lightning. He'd activated the external version, and any lightning touching his palms had simply disappeared. Zac would have saved it for the final bolt if he knew how strong it was. The consumption was just as shocking, though, and he'd used up all but a tenth of his [Void Energy] in that short window.
Worse, his actions seemed to have truly pissed off the heavens. The clouds shuddered, forming complex patterns that caused a sharp, throbbing pain in Zac's mind. Meanwhile, a familiar aura appeared in the depths of the storm, one that almost made Zac forget that half a lightning bolt was still rampaging through his core. It was Law, all four of them mixed into one terrifying force.
Had he actually summoned a real Four Desolates Tribulation in Middle Hegemony?
Zac was about to lodge a complaint with the System, praying it would step in again. However, the words died in his throat upon realizing the flicker of Law didn't grow stronger. Few would even notice it without previous experience.
Such a small amount should be within his limits, right? Even if it were the real thing and not an imitation like the Tribulation Throne. He might even have formed some natural resistance because of his rebirth.
Wasn't this what he came for?
Zac panted, his bodies twitching from the remnant lightning while red strings appeared all around him. He'd felt despair the last time he faced a similar scene. This time, there was only determination. He was still an ant before the Heavens, but he was not the same person as before. The System wanted him to prove his Void Road? Then he'd oblige by taking a bite out of the sky.
What little Void Energy Zac had left flooded his body as he fully opened the floodgates, and all lingering arcs outside the quantum space were summarily snuffed out. It was like the Heavens had caught his scent, and the final bolt came without delay. It looked almost the same as the previous one except for a slightly darker hue. However, Zac could vaguely discern illusory runes floating in its center. They flickered like they lacked the energy to fully express their meaning, yet they held far greater horror than the rest of the bolt.
Zac pushed with everything he had, and space shuddered between himself and the incoming lightning bolt. There was a powerful resistance like the Void didn't wish to be dragged into this matter. Zac broke through the opposition, ripping open a vortex fifty meters across just in time to block.
The tribulation lightning seemed equally reluctant to face the nothingness within the large swirl, but Zac didn't give it a chance to avoid a collision. Extermination poured into the beyond until Zac couldn't hold on any longer. Less than a third remained as the bolt continued toward Zac, who finally unsealed the frantically struggling [Void Heart].
The Hidden Node had been forced to witness its favorite food being squandered, and it seemed adamant to take what remained for himself. It thumped with enough force to create actual winds and the remaining, and most of the remaining lightning was swallowed before it could even enter the quantum space.
Zac glanced at the clouds reluctantly parting, confirming the Heavens didn't have a fourth bolt in the chamber before turning his gaze inward. [Void Heart] had gone silent like it always did after overindulging. Lingering lightning still crackled along his newly formed pathways, but the Law Runes were mysteriously gone. Zac frowned until he felt a chill of premonition.
It was at that time a figure suddenly landed before him. It was Joanna, her eyes scanning the surroundings for dangers.
"I'm fine, but it's not over. Give me a minute," Zac said with a hoarse voice before sitting down.
His words became prophetic as he was beset by intense prickling pain, like he'd fallen into a barrel of burning needles. [Void Heart] was holding steady, but the Tribulation Lightning had found another outlet. It clawed its way out of the depths, emerging from Abyssal pools and golden hurricanes. The Void couldn't or wouldn't consume the full wrath of the final bolt, and Zac finally felt the aura of Law return.
But why was it slightly different?