As the numbing effect of the first pill wore off, the excruciating pain returned, and Tyler's skin continued to disintegrate at an alarming rate. With no other options left as he couldn’t move at all, he consumed two more pills in quick succession.
The medicinal effect took hold, and Tyler observed a remarkable cycle between his deteriorating flesh being consumed by the surrounding energies and the healing properties of the restorative Qi within the pills slowly reforming the flesh and skin in real time.
This whole process sent shockwaves of pain throughout his entire body but he focused his mind inward, away from the pain and into the subtle changes happening across his body.
Half an hour passed, and an astonishing transformation occurred.
Unbeknownst to both the Sword King and Tyler, his cultivation was undergoing a shocking change! He was bypassing several steps in the cultivation process, a process which the system offered no path to, but existed nonetheless. It deviated heavily from the commonly known cultivation path.
Typically, the system's guidance led cultivators along a graded progression within the Qi Gathering Stage. Initially, they'd fill their eight major meridians with Qi, advancing to level 8. Then, by sequentially striking all acupoints, they'd elevate to level 9. Ultimately, forcefully channeling their Qi through the five major organs would trigger a transformation, tempering their pathways and propelling them directly into level 10.
These stages constituted the systematic approach to Qi Accumulation.
Subsequently, practitioners would diligently refine their Qi by condensing it through their major organs and incorporating their various attributes into their Qi.
This journey would carry them to level 15. To ascend further, they'd cleanse their blood with Qi, reshape flesh and bones, and invigorate their marrow, attaining level 18. The final stride in the Qi Transformation stage involved rebuilding organs with Qi, placing them on the threshold of level 19.
Achieving a profound understanding of their body, cultivation method, and the world would shift their energy into True Essence, marking them as Sea Formation Experts at level 20.
Progressing beyond this stage, cultivators would transition into what was commonly known as Half-Transcendence, shedding the constraints of their mortal form and allowing for severed arms to be nothing but an easily solvable problem and taking to the skies became child’s play.
With an innate comprehension of essence, organs became obsolete as they were transformed into reservoirs for True Essence, creating an inner sea within their dantian.
Henceforth, they'd meticulously refine their essence through alignment with the world's laws, eventually forming swirling vortexes of True Essence in preparation for Aperture formation.
Tyler's approach stood in stark contrast to the system's indoctrination of the masses. It wasn't as though he was the first to venture down this path; during the system's infancy and among a handful of cultivation prodigies and through miraculous encounters or deadly battles, glimmers of this uncharted territory had been achieved.
However, Tyler’s journey remained completely devoid of the system's influence, destined to diverge significantly from the norm.
With the assault on his body aided by the potent healing pills, he had unknowingly been undergoing what would usually happen at level 17: Skin and Flesh Forging!
Now that wasn’t to say that his acupoints and meridians were completed, he still only had his first acupoint struck within the heart meridian. He had simply skipped ahead to do both things at once.
Usually, the process of reforging skin and flesh was grueling and time consuming and included numerous medicinal baths and a lot of self-inflicted pains on top of being extremely costly.
But right now, Tyler was bombarded by the True Essence of a Soul Shattering cultivator!
In the current cultivation world, a cultivator who had achieved this feat could effortlessly deflect most lower-quality swords and remain impervious to attacks from ordinary mortals.
The different levels of cultivation typically marked a significant increase in both the quantity and quality of power.
As a result, it would be quite astonishing, but not unheard of, to encounter a mortal whose skin and flesh had been directly refined by True Essence. The risk and cost was too high to be worth it as only one in a million would survive.
As the effects of the last two pills started to diminish, Tyler's flesh began to stabilize, no longer undergoing rapid deterioration. However, the process was not yet complete, as his skin still sizzled and continued to erode.
He could also feel a sudden increase in temperature within his body. This fiery sensation spread to his eyes, airways, and ultimately, his lungs, causing them to surge with intense heat. The situation was far from resolved as a severe fever took hold.
Looking at the remaining pills in his hands, Tyler hesitated as he remembered the warning of the Sword King about the two pills with a blue seal and the singular pill with the yellow seal.
Desperate and delirious from the excruciating pain and rising body temperature, Tyler consumed the remaining pills in one go! His body acted on its own to seek pain relief.
A chilling effect quickly spread through him and Tyler's body temperature rapidly dropped to dangerously low levels, well below the normal range for a human body.
The extreme shift in temperature, combined with the exhaustion and pain he had endured due to the mix of being slowly disintegrated by the surrounding True Essence and the healing properties of the previous pills, proved to be too much for him to bear. He succumbed to unconsciousness once more, his body unable to withstand the drastic fluctuations and the immense strain it had been under.
As Tyler's physical body went limp, his soul, at the core of his being, had been awakened for the first time under the barrage of True Essence and the churning pill energy coursing through his veins.
Although he lacked a full understanding of the nature of souls or their existence, he knew that an external force must have played a role in his abrupt leap through time, thrusting him forward 10,000 years.
Suddenly, Tyler’s soul form opened its eyes. He was back on his usually serene little island he meditated at, unable to feel a single part of his physical body as he usually would. Getting up, he took to the skies and traversed the crystalline barrier as if it didn’t exist.
He was currently staring at the void where he had spent 10,000 years!
The pain that had tormented him dissipated, replaced by an overwhelming sense of tranquility. The presence of the Sword King and the library had vanished, leaving Tyler in a state of awe and wonderment.
As he gazed into the boundless void, he realized that he had embarked on a journey beyond the realms of his previous understanding.
While this experience was extraordinary, Tyler’s concern grew about the potential consequences of prolonging his stay in the void as he knew the state his body was in.
His thoughts stirred in apprehension of the consequences if he stayed here too long. In this enigmatic void, Tyler deployed his Divine Sense fully as if second nature and he was witness to a surreal reality the moment he spread his awareness outward.
The surroundings shifted abruptly, leaving the void of space and transporting him back to the more familiar setting of the now destroyed library lodgings.
He was floating above, clearly seeing his motionless body going through a baptism of foreign pill energy and True Essence. Next to him, the Sword King was in a meditative pose, enveloped by the radiant glow of True Essence.
While he glanced at the Sword King he could clearly see a miniature golden Sword King merged with his body. This was the Sword King’s soul! But at this moment he did not have time to spend studying the Sword King or the mysteries of the soul.
Panicked to see his body was in an even worse shape than he thought, a sense of urgency appeared in his mind!
He was still unsure of the nature or meaning of his current out of body experience, but he was certain that with time, he would learn. So without wasting any time, he rushed to his body. In a flash, his soul merged with his physical body once more, allowing the connection between both to become clear and tangible again.
As Tyler consciousness returned, he could feel that at the core of his being, his soul settled in the same metaphorical space whenever he meditated. He could clearly feel himself sitting on a beach surrounded by the calm seas while simultaneously laying in this bed in the library.
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With each passing second, Tyler focused on his connection with his soul and his thoughts deepened. He could sense a heightened resonance, a profound unity between his inner self and his physical self that went beyond a simple cognizance of his body.
It resembled the peculiar sensation he experienced during meditation earlier, where his thoughts were akin to heavenly commandments in his created mindspace. However, this time, the sensation was amplified, intensifying the reality of his thoughts.
It was as if he held the power to command the elements, summon the winds, and shape the very fabric of existence. The realization of his immense potential filled him with a mixture of awe and shock, as he contemplated the extraordinary possibilities that lay within his grasp.
As the True Essence kept bombarding his body, Tyler urgently put aside his ideas of grandeur and started to cultivate the Thundering Winds and Sword Clouds Method in the hopes of alleviating his current situation by providing his body more Qi so it could heal.
Threads of Qi appeared around him but they were overpowered by the True Essence and dissipated before the Qi even merged with his body.
Unwilling to give up, he went looking for the only thing remaining: the energies from the pills inside him!
As he locked on the dense energies, inside his inner world, his soul had also locked on those energies and his paradisiacal landscape suddenly shifted as thunderous winds blew across the skies, forming bright blue and yellow clouds, rumbling with immense power!
Channeling his cultivation and the energy from the pills, Tyler summoned numerous swords made of multi-colored clouds, and with unwavering determination, he thrust them into the acupoints nearest to the injuries.
It felt as though a divine retribution was descending upon him, for the cloud swords moved with incredible speed, producing ear-splitting thunder and appearing almost like streaks of lightning as they slammed into his ethereal form.
BOOOM! RUMBLE!
Acupoint after acupoint was being forced open with each thunderous clap until he had established an even spread across his body, allowing Qi to flow much more efficiently through his injured body.
The clouds still had tons of energy but opening more acupoints would prove dangerous as Tyler observed his body once more. A bloody and almost lifeless Tyler entered his divine sense and he stopped himself.
If it wasn’t for his soul being threatened and taking over his consciousness, he would have long perished, let alone anyone else in his shoes. He was at the very limit of what anyone could handle at his level.
Luckily, after striking open 16 acupoints, Tyler finally felt a huge surge of the remaining restorative Qi within the pills flood his system properly and evenly.
Exhausted, he used his divine sense to examine his body and was relieved to see that the True Essence was no longer destroying his skin.
Regrettably, Tyler's ordeal was far from over. The relentless onslaught of the Sword King's True Essence continued unabated.
Within the confines of his mental sanctuary, the once seemingly impregnable crystalline surface of the miniature world began to exhibit alarming signs of deterioration, marred by the emergence of numerous fractures.
Tyler was left with just one desperate gambit as he assessed the situation, a last-ditch effort to avert the impending cataclysm. His intuition strongly suggested that if the structure crumbled, he would meet his demise along with it.
His only recourse now was to prevent the collision of the True Essence with the fragile sanctuary, for his very survival hung in the balance.
In a state of desperation, the only thing Tyler could come up with was to reform a cloud sword and make it as dense as he could, stuffed with as much Qi as possible and directly clash with the onslaught of True Essence outside of his soul space.
Using almost all the remaining energies within the pills, he formed a singular sword. It was guard-less, with only a solid white grip. The blade was blue on one end, green in the middle and yellow at the top. It extended for exactly 99 centimeters in length, and slivers of white clouds swirled around the hilt.
Knowing he could step outside of his little world and that he wasn’t restrained with the world’s laws here, Tyler’s soul form got up from the island and stepped directly into the skies to grab the sword.
With a sword clutched firmly in hand, he soared into the heavens, resembling an immortal of the sword. His sinewy muscles rippled across his mostly bare physique.
Taking a single resolute step, he breached the protective crystalline barrier surrounding his island sanctuary. In an instant, the onslaught of True Essence assailed him, subjecting him to an agony so excruciating that his very soul recoiled, instinctively shrinking back from the torment.
Regrettably, he had no margin left to offer, observing the increasingly severe fissures spreading.
He ventured into the dark recesses of his memory, a place he had sworn never to revisit.
A place that had once enabled him to rescue a comrade on the battlefield nearly a decade ago.
That same place where he had carried his fallen ally for 15 grueling kilometers, despite sustaining a gunshot wound to his leg and enduring partial paralysis in his left arm due to his own injuries.
Disregarding the consequences to his own life, he stepped forward into that soul wrenching pain and slashed at the continuous waves of oncoming True Essence.
With each slash, minute amounts of the energy was being directed away as the Qi contained within his sword was slowly fading away.
Slash after slash, he grew more and more desperate. After what seemed like an eternity his sword had finally run out of the multicolored Qi and disappeared.
But Tyler wasn’t in a state of mind to know or understand what was happening and he instinctively gathered all of the Qi that remained within his body and reformed another sword. This time, it was completely black.
As he slashed forward with all his might, he expanded the remaining power within his body and True Essence parted like the red sea, causing a slight respite to his pain.
But a deep sense of doom came onto his very soul once more when he looked ahead at the next oncoming wave of True Essence. This was it. He had nothing left in the tank.
Tyler had resigned himself to surrendering it all, prepared to meet his end in this very place. After all, everyone he had known was likely long gone, and he had led a fulfilling life by most standards.
Perhaps this would serve as a fitting conclusion for him.
But, in the last moments before he was swallowed by the ocean of True Essence, he remembered his friend, Normand. He had saved his life from certain death and they had promised each other to live no matter what on that damned battlefield.
A final surge of determination fueled by a promise between two brothers moments before death, Tyler's spirit erupted with an unassailable roar that tore through the very heart of the mountain as he punched forward into the sea of True Essence.
“STOP!”
The resulting shockwaves of soul fluctuations obliterated the encircling sealing formations. The resounding cry resonated with a profound intensity, as if it channeled the unyielding might of his very soul. It became a primal declaration of defiance, challenging the very heavens themselves!
As the Sword King heard this primal cry, he snapped out of his current state, barely finished with his 4th Soul Shattering.
The Sword King took a few seconds to come back to reality as he was perturbed by his sudden loss of control and gleeful at his recent gains, he realized the gravity of the current situation as his divine sense brushed by Tyler beside him.
He was on the brink of death, and not one to be overcome with simple pills. This would require time and a lot of it.
With a wave of his sleeves, more pills appeared and he directly crushed them with his True Essence and fed them directly to Tyler who directly passed out once more, this time however, he wouldn’t awaken for weeks.
On the outside of the library lodgings, the twin sisters who were maintaining the formation both coughed out copious amounts of blood as Tyler’s shout annihilated their formation, causing them immense backlash and even directly knocking out Theressa!
If that was it, it wouldn’t be too bad but what really shocked them was they were fairly certain even the Sword King's divine sense wouldn’t be able to pierce through their formations! Only a full powered attack from a Soul Shattering cultivator could shatter their sealing formations!
The scattered ancient monsters at the Soul Shattering stage of the different sects also sensed the primal roar of an ancient soul and all of them raised their heads in astonishment. The feeble yet ancient aura emanating from that soul sent shivers down their spines, filling them with confusion and curiosity.
The essence of this soul felt distinctly different from anything they had encountered before, evoking a sense of awe and reverence from the unfathomable depth of its age yet its power felt… weak!
This time they wouldn’t care for the warning of Ancestor Fang and directly stepped out of their sects sensing a golden opportunity to devour this ancient weakened soul!
As for Ancestor Fang, before the old monsters of the various sects even stepped a foot outside their respective territories, he miraculously appeared in the skies of Sword King Mountain once more and yelled out.
“Don’t blame me for being ruthless after I took the time to warn everyone!”
Countless hand movements formed various seals as Ancestor Fang used his full cultivation to shield the Sword King Mountain from the upcoming battle. After all, his daughter and recent benefactor were staying on this mountain!
Without wasting a single second, the Sword King emerged from the library as he sent a message to every elder of the sect before joining Ancestor Fang outside. That message clear:
Protect Tyler with their very own lives and to spare no cost to save his life! If anyone dared to hurt a single hair on his head, he’d promised their entire family a life worse than death!
Arriving next to his old friend, the Sword King clasped his hands.
“Many thanks, old Fang! This old man will remember your good will!”
Ancestor Fang’s divine sense caught a glimpse of the Sword King’s cultivation and a smile spread across his face…
“4th Soul Shattering! It seems that mysterious ancestor also had an astounding effect on your cultivation!”
Fueled by an unbridled rage that these old monsters would dare aim their fangs at his benefactor, the Sword King started laughing maniacally as he unleashed his full cultivation! His voice resonated with the power of his tyrannical laws and cultivation method, carrying echoes of the legendary Slaughter Incarnate.
“COME! IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I’VE TASTED BLOOD! SLAUGHTER SWORD, APPEAR!”
In response to the Sword King's powerful cry, the soul of the mountain trembled and resonated with his call. As if in acknowledgement, a colossal blood sword, towering thousands of feet high, materialized in the world, emanating a dense aura of death and scent of blood.
The sheer presence of the sword sent chills down the spines of all who witnessed it, a testament to the Sword King's unparalleled authority within the Veridian Peaks and connection to the ancient power of the holy ground of the Sword Sect.
***
Hovering above the mountain, hidden away from all eyes, a single old woman wearing a dark red robe stood still, pen and paper in hands. Anyone in the know would realize that this was Veridian Peak’s Elder of the Keepers of the Red Dust.
Madame Elaine, a 5th Soul Shattering cultivator.
She would record everything that took place. Its cause, its reason, its conclusion. But she would never get involved in the conflict. That was the way of the Red Dust.