"Nascent Soul? Not bad... 'father'."

John had inherited everything from 'Kai'. His cultivation. His storage rings. His sect.

The one thing he lacked was his memories! He accidentally destroyed the soul while searching it. So he only had fragments.

"Looks like I'll need to do some acting..."

John picked up the corpse of his 'son' and brought it to the mother. She would've went into a rage... but she knew the personality of her man. If he killed the baby... it must've been for a good reason.

Kai didn't simply have one wife. He had many! But John wasn't interested in reproducing. The thing he found annoying was that this body had multiple children.

"I suppose stealing the body comes with its own unique challenges."

John went to his cultivation cave and sorted things.

"I'm rich!"

Kai was a man that had worked his way up from the bottom. His willpower, strength, and resolve were at the very top of this realm.

But compared to John... he might as well be an insect. John's 'willpower' had stepped beyond the level of concepts. In the past, a hundred million years was needed to break through his mental defenses.

That was before he was a origin!

John was a being that could now sleep for millions or billions of years at a time. His consciousness was fundamental. Comparing him to a cultivator that lives for hundreds to thousands of years? It was like comparing a bacteria to a human.

It was like comparing a rock to the sun.

In the past. John had problems with his concept. For example. Merely keeping a connection with his concept required a certain amount of strength.

If he connected to his concept as a baby. His brain would explode.

Origin was different. He had full control over the strength of his consciousness. He could make it as weak or as strong as needed. There was no overflow.

The Origin of Calamity had transcended Emflowcreagen.

It was a step beyond concepts.

John's communication talisman began to vibrate.

He was very happy to have spiritual sense again. It was quite strong as well!

"Are you coming to the geode treasure competition?"

One of Kai's hobbies was watching experts compete in a competition to find treasure in rocks.

"Not this time. I have something important to do."

"It's your son isn't it? Congratulations!"

"He died during birth..."

"I... I apologize for misunderstanding. Sorry for your loss."

John talked with various friends of Kai. None of them seemed to notice anything off about him. But this was talking through a spiritual sense over a communication talisman.

John encountered problems when his eldest son came to see him in person.

----------------------------------------

Li Du's POV:

"Father has killed the baby..."

"This means less competition... I wonder when he plans to pass down his nascent soul cultivation technique."

Du arranged a meeting with his father as usual. The servants brought him to his fathers study. When he went in it was empty.

"Father?"

Weird.

Maybe he was in his cultivation cave. But I had asked to talk with him a few days ago. He doesn't normally mess up time. He is usually so serious about keeping up with us.

I go to my fathers cultivation cave.

I knock.

No response.

I come in and see him meditating. It seems he didn't notice me?

I habitually glance at his eyes. He opens them for a second and something crazy happens.

I find myself in a desert.

"Hello? Father?"

It is so hot. I feel so thirsty.

I figure I can't wait here forever. I begin to walk forward.

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I am a core formation cultivator. A little bit of heat and thirst won't affect me to badly. I can just absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

But...

I find something scary.

My cultivation is gone!

I begin to panic a little bit. Just where have I been sent to? I walk for hours.

Night never arrives. The heat is unbearable.

I then notice something. I see faces... faces everywhere. They make up the sand. It is as if I am not the first to come here.

It is as if millions have came here before. But they have died and became part of this place.

"Am I in hell? Have I died?"

Days go by...

I collapse down on my knee.

Hands begin to reach out of the sand and pull me down.

My life flashes before my eyes.

I see memories that couldn't be true. Things that don't make sense. I see the sect I grew up in in ruins. I see my world destroyed.

It as if a god of calamity has invaded this reality.

I use all the willpower I have. I try to stand up.

"No! I can't die her-"

I then find myself back at my fathers cultivation cave. He is looking at me.

Was that all an illusion?

My father speaks.

"Are you alright?"

----------------------------------------

John was busy focusing on his cultivation and the powers gained from it. That he didn't even realize his eldest son was standing in front of him. He wasn't using his spiritual sense, so he had been caught by surprise.

This should be an impossibility. But John was allowing himself to feel 'human' again. He found it amusing.

He opened his eyes.

"Hmm... this must be Du? Right?"

All of a sudden his son trembles.

"Are you alright?"

John had no idea that his son had experienced hell from merely looking into his eyes.

"I don't feel so good..."

His son looked like he was about to collapse.

John stood up and caught him.

"Weird..."

John had some servants come in and a doctor to figure out what was wrong with his son.

"This...! Absolutely impossible! His spirit strength was tested not too long ago... but it has increased by a ridiculous degree. It seems he suffered some sort of trauma. I've only seen this happen to those that go through spiritual trials. What happened to him?"

John began to think...

"Hmm... I don't remember doing anything in particular."

In that instant. Time froze.

John began to analyze everything that had happened. It was as if he could rewind time and look at all the details.

This was the level of control he had over consciousness.

"I see... I accidentally let out some intent from my origin. Good thing I caught this early on. Otherwise I might accidentally have done this to random people."

John began to weaken his consciousness slightly to avoid any mishaps.

"That should do it."

Time began to flow again.

"I actually tested out a one time use artifact. It was a spiritual trial domain. I wanted to test my son to see if his will was strong enough to carry my legacy. He broke through the trial and passed."

The doctor had a weird look on his face.

"Umm... then why did you call me?"

John's eye twitched slightly...

"Obviously to make sure there were no hidden side effects! Do I have to explain things like you are an infant?"

"Sorry sir. I wasn't thinking straight. It is obvious in hindsight."

John pretended to care.

"So everything is fine with him?"

"He should be fine with some rest. Have him take these pills everyday for a week and he should make a full recovery."

"Excellent."

A week goes by and his son seems fine.

He avoids looking into John's eyes though.

John brings him to his study to talk. The entire time he kept his head down as if he would die if he looked at John.

"Son. I want to hear your experiences in that spiritual trial."

"Was that... a test?"

"Yes. You passed. I will pass on my legacy to you. But I want to know how you passed."

Du began to explain what happened from his perspective.

"How interesting..."

"Son... you can look at me."

Du winced. He then slowly moved his head up. Looking into John's eyes.

Nothing happened.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He then found himself surrounded by an abomination of flesh and bones. Among them were mountains of bones and people with missing limbs. They were screaming and begging for death.

They all stopped screaming at the same time and moved their eyes.

Staring at Du.

"Father? Are you serious?"

"Another spiritual trial!"

Du was surrounded by these people and had his limbs ripped off and he became part of this scene.

Du experienced this hell for a year.

He became numb.

He then found himself at his fathers study.

"Are you alright? Du? Du?"

Du collapsed again.

The doctor was called again.

"Amazing! His spirit strength has increased almost exponentially. It is close to your last recording. Should I test you as well?"

"Maybe later."

Time froze.

"Alright... some of my intent still escaped. But I weakened my consciousness. It seems this Du is special. But I'll need to confirm it again."

"He should be fine. He needs rest. Have him take these as well."

The doctor handed John a bottle of pills.

A week later...

Du was avoiding looking at John entirely.

"Come to my study!"

"Ok..."

John was sitting at his desk.

"Son... you can look at me."

"Father... are you sure?"

"It is disrespectful to avoid eye contact. I am your father."

"Father... Please."

"Do I need to tell you one more time?"

John had weakened his consciousness deeply. He had also tested out looking into the eyes of everyone around him. They had no reaction.

"Father... you promise I won't experience some sort of trial?"

"I promise."

"Swear a dao oath!"

"Du! I am your father!"

Du slowly looked at John's eyes.

Nothing happened.

Du began to cry.

He yelled with happiness

"Nothing ha-!"

He experienced a different type of hell.

He then found himself back in John's study. He collapsed.

John was seriously thinking he found a gem here.

A week later...

"Du! You are becoming paranoid. There is no spiritual trial. I only had one of those artifacts! You are hallucinating."

"Father... I really... I can't do another one. Please."

"Fine. I guess I'll pass my legacy down to your younger brother."

"...Alright."

Du entered another 'trial'.

A week later...

Again...

A week later...

Again...

A week later...

Again...

Du's temperament changed entirely. At first he was traumatized. But then he started to find it 'fun'.

He had been driven insane!

Again! Again! Again! Again!

John wanted to know what would happen if he did this for thousands of years.

After a decade. Du had become nascent soul. When his tribulation came. He easily passed it. John passed on his legacy.

Du's personality had shifted though. He saw patterns in everything. He would randomly laugh and cry. Everyone avoided him. Because when you looked into his eyes you felt something mysterious.

It was a pressure.

John spoke:

"Endless-"

Du interrupted him.

"Pressure makes the diamond!"

John began to laugh like a maniac.

Du did as well.

John couldn't help but think to himself.

"This mortal is interesting..."

The servants outside the door felt shivers run down their backs.

Word had spread that Du and Kai had been acting weirdly. Du had to see a doctor constantly. He also held the world record for spirit power.

It was as if his willpower had become infinite.

Any attempts at measuring it broke the equipment.

John wanted to continue this 'experiment'.

But it was time for the meeting held every five decades.

Kai was part of a council. It was made up of the leaders of every major sect.

It was time for John to play his part.

"I hope it isn't boring..."