The news that Flying Demon would inherit part of Shandal's individuality was incredible. Even if he had ended up in that cursed situation, the god of the Empire was still an entity that had managed to reach the divine ranks!
The process wouldn't be quick, and Flying Demon had to be careful not to ruin himself. After all, individualities were unique, and cultivators couldn't exchange them as if they were techniques or diagrams.
Also, it was risky to imitate someone else's path.
Existences grew in power because they enhanced themselves as they strived for the higher ranks. Still, that made them specialize on a specific path and absorb only the laws connected with their individualities.
That was the reason why cultivators that had reached a certain level of power couldn't change paths anymore. Their entire existence would have become something too specific to go back to a general form.
However, the offer came from the god of the Empire, a divine entity that was waging war against Heaven and Earth. He was bound to have countless methods in his possession due to his long life.
Dreaming Demon had listened to his explanation too. The fact that Flying Demon had ultimately accepted Shandal's offer meant that she didn't find anything suspicious.
After the two Demons returned, Shandal's will reappeared too and addressed the issue that the cultivators were facing. "Walk with me through the castle. I'll help you with your choice."
Noah and the others stood up, and even the Ghostly Snakes slithered toward the will that had begun to stroll toward one of the corridors.
The group saw the vast collection of powerful and peculiar items that Shandal had seized and stored over the years again. Yet, short descriptions about their nature and effects appeared under them when Noah and the others walked near them.
The invisible barriers that had prevented the group from seizing everything during the first exploration were materializing words to read. There would be even exotic symbols at times that the cultivators could only scan with their mental energy to understand the purpose of certain items.
A few of those treasures didn't have any description but only notes signed by Shandal himself.
"Most of these come from the Immortal Lands," Shandal explained when the group walked past an item without a description. "I didn't manage to discover what they do even after millennia spent studying them. I believe my power is too low or my individuality too different to uncover their effects."
Silence often reined as the group kept on walking in an orderly way through the many halls and corridors of the castle. The rewards were the only thought in the cultivators' minds, and they wouldn't care about anything else until they found something that suited them.
Noah held June's hand as they walked side by side through that massive collection.
The recent fight had brought them even closer to each other, and they were enjoying that relaxing moment. It felt as if June and Noah were a couple that had gone out shopping, with the only difference that they intended to buy powerful relics that could benefit their cultivation.
The two of them exchanged opinions on certain promising items, and the Demons would join their conversations when they knew more about specific topics.
Faith and Daniel remained mostly silent instead, but they would ask for Shandal or the Demon's opinion when they found something interesting.
The browsing took almost half a day, and the group returned in the throne room after Shandal declared that there was nothing else to see in his castle. It was time for them to decide, but that choice wouldn't be an easy one.
It wasn't a matter concerning the variety of those items. Shandal had collected the most powerful and bizarre things through his long life, so the rewards covered most fields of the cultivation journey.
The main issue was that they wouldn't be able to use most of those rewards until they reached the later stages of the sixth rank.
Rank 5 cultivators couldn't just wield a divine inscribed weapon. The sole might of such an item could destroy them.
That made choosing harder since they would pick something that they could only use after they experienced multiple breakthroughs. Such a decision required them to have a clear idea of what they would need far in the future, which wasn't something that they could have right now.
Faith and Daniel were still growing when it came to their individualities. They had just learnt how to adjust their path to escape Heaven and Earth's system, so they didn't have many certainties when it came to their future.
Dreaming Demon needed time to rethink her individuality too, but she was a bit better off compared to her companions. She had already restricted her choice over two items, with both of them beneficial to her peculiar mental energy.
Flying Demon's reward was Shandal's individuality, and the snakes didn't get the chance to choose something. As for June and Noah, they had their issues too.
Differently from her companions, June had a pretty clear idea of what she would become along her paths. Everything in her individuality focused on constants and long battles, so she meant to pick something that could enhance that aspect of her fighting style.
Yet, most of the items there had battle purposes, at least for those in the sixth or divine ranks.
June found it hard to decide something that she could find useful in the future, be she was already skimming all the possible choices in her mind so that she could pick something very close to perfect.
Noah's issue, instead, came from the fact that his higher energy was an important variable that he couldn't ignore.
His existence, battle style, and even attacks would change after he managed to create higher energy. His body was bound to adapt too to that achievement and change form after every breakthrough.
That uncertainty kept him unsure about three items that had different purposes, but that would be useful even when he reached their level of power.
After a day spent meditating and exchanging ideas, all the cultivators had decided what they wanted, except for Noah.
Dreaming Demon had chosen a strange pink liquid with power in the divine ranks. The liquid was also smelly, but it had empowering effects on the mental energy of the cultivators.
Daniel chose an emblem that worked on light, and that could protect him if something unexpected happened. It was a divine item too, which made it a lifesaver in any situation.
Faith used a similar approach to Daniel and just picked something battle-related. She chose a bracelet that would work as a defensive measure but also as a temporary enhancer of her mental faculties.
As for June, she picked a hefty and old tome that described the formation field thoroughly and had even notes of the entities that had invented the methods recorded in it.
On the other hand, Noah was still struggling to choose.