Primary Nature—Statue!
All it did was allow the Petrified Geese to perfectly behave as a statue. It remained as still as an inanimate object; visible to the naked eye, and in terms of appearance, looked the same as it did normally—as a Pranic Beast.
The Primary Nature of Statue prevents it from sweating or even breathing. It has a specific set of pores on its skin that only allow air to pass through, using which the air necessary for the blood is obtained and expunged.
Once activated, the Petrified Geese typically maintains it until either a prey comes in the vicinity of it or it runs out of Prana. Once deactivated, it reverts to breathing through its lungs.
And now, Brangara was experiencing the effects of the Nature of Statue even without activating it. Of course, after some minutes of observation, he concluded it as a failure, "Iron Grade Natures aren't potent enough."
The influence generated by them was too weak to affect his Prana. Even the Empyrean Boar King in Sumatra Chronicles was only influenced by fifty Gold Grade Natures of Internal Inertial Gravity, not to mention the Celestial Boar. "If I want such an influence, I'll have to stockpile Gold Grade Natures at the very least."
He wasn't sure at what point the stockpiled Empyrean Tusk Natures began to give the effect of the Major Treasure of Attribute—for the Nature of Internal Inertial Gravity—to the Sumatra Chronicles Boar King, "All Sumatra Chronicles shows is when I appeared with the effect. It has no details as to when the effect took place. Maybe forty Natures were enough. Whether it was more or less, I need to experiment to figure it out."
Honestly speaking, Brangara was interested in obtaining this power. If setting aside fifty slots allowed him to permanently wield the power of a Gold Grade Nature, then he'd happily accept it.
After all, unlike in the case of Astral Chart, the Tangible Natures can live and develop in his Astral World. Meaning, the longer he maintains the state, the stronger he will become, since he'll be accumulating Skills, Prime Skills, and complex techniques related to the usage of the respective Nature.
The Tangible Natures would be developing them in his Astral World.
Moreover, as the Celestial Boar, he was influencing the Tangible Natures in his Astral World. This meant that even if he were to have fifty Gold Grade Natures, he wouldn't lose his mind like in Sumatra Chronicles.
He'll have to meditate from time to time, but that was it. He'll remain in control of himself. After all, the Tangible Natures in his Astral World would become influenced by him over time. Therefore, the influence they unleash on him would be compatible with his being.
Thanks to it, he could go ahead with the plan to accumulate fifty Gold Grade Natures.
It was indeed possible to nurture a Gold Grade Tangible Nature through the Life Stage. Once it hits the 10-Life Stage, there is a small chance it could become a Minor Treasure as a Tangible Nature.
Unfortunately, Brangara didn't have the time to do that. Now that he had full knowledge of Sumatra Chronicles, he understood that all seven Mystic Paths would face him during the Fourth Major Disaster with their endgame build.
Whatever possibility of strength he could attain had to be realistically gained before that. He felt that there would be enough parties threatening to even him.
To elevate a Gold Grade Nature to the level of a Minor Treasure would take him at least a millennium. He would have to constantly consume food to generate enough Prana to nurture it. And if his luck was shitty, the fusion into a Minor Treasure wouldn't happen once the Tangible Nature reached the 10-Life Stage.
When it fails, the Tangible Nature will be destroyed, washing down the drain centuries of effort. As a result, Brangara could simply not afford to permanently gain the power of a Gold Grade Nature.
Hence, his best bet for the time being was to gather around forty to fifty Gold Grade Natures and gain its power passively. There were plenty of powerful Gold Grade Natures that suited his purpose.
But Brangara only had eyes on two: Internal Inertial Gravity and Subtle Terrain Domination.
They were the strongest Gold Grade Natures and were available in large numbers. The Nature from a Beginner Gold Grade Pranic Beast would probably require around sixty or more to influence his Prana enough. That would result in the occupation of too many slots.
Hence, his goal was to attain the effect with as few slots as possible. Only two Natures were suitable for that purpose, as they resulted from Expert Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
A few seconds of thinking later, Brangara made the decision, "Alright, I'll target the Empyrean Snappers."
The reason was simple. Sumatra Chronicles already had details in which a Mammoth Clansman could gain a Secondary Nature. Resha had three Natures.
Brangara knew that those who cultivated Mystic Bone Art had an easier time gaining a second Nature. Obviously, the Empyrean Tusks too would have chosen that path, pressured by the existence of the Celestial Boar.
'Currently, I have no idea where they are.' He frowned, as when he roamed the wilds in the past three years, he was unable to detect any traces of the Mammoth Clan's existence. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
"And even if I find them, if they have two Natures, then I can no longer consume them and gain a Tangible Nature." He muttered with a tone of pity, "They're able to assume human form. It means they figured out the way to obtain the Nature of Cultivator."
He sighed at that, recalling his time during the Second Major Disaster when he chased after Resha. At times, when he barged into a Compartment, a woman or two were already there, who promptly fled into nearby Compartments.
They were most definitely Empyrean Tusks. Brangara understood it even before he confirmed it with Yennda. Hence, he realised that hunting Empyrean Tusks was futile for his purpose, which only left him with one option—the Empyrean Snappers.
'Before they're influenced by the seven Mystic Paths through the butterfly effect and figure out ways to gain a Secondary Nature, let's strike.' Thinking as such, Brangara made the decision, "Once the Wean Selection ends and I finish my preparations, I'll be targeting them."
Currently, the Dralh Sea was being invaded by the Bludders in large numbers. Bludders on one side and Phells on the other. The group of 38 Empyrean Snappers at the Dralh Sea were caught between the two.
The situation hadn't stabilised to date, as the battle had raged for three years. Due to the early arrival of the Major Treasure of Attribute, the water cycle in the region had been disturbed, which broke the balance.
After the balance in the Guna Caves was affected by it, the number of Bludders increased in numbers as their daily invasion into the Dralh Sea increased in success. And now, the place was overrun by them, despite the Cooter Clan taking measures to constantly eradicate large numbers of these spinning balls of bladed doom.
The Cooter Clan had requested help from branches of it situated in other accompanying water bodies. The last time Brangara approached the Dralh Sea, more than forty Empyrean Snappers were battling the Bludders and Phells.
The number might have increased even further to ease up the load faced by the Dralh Sea's Cooter Clan. "It's the best time to target them, since the Empyrean Snappers have been weakened by constant fighting for three years."
"But it's still not easy to face forty-plus Empyrean Snappers at the same time, even for me." Thinking as such, Brangara began to make plans, "I need to accumulate Natures that allow me to consume them all."
"And I need to do it before the remainder of the Cooter Clan hears news about my attack and joins the fight." He made the decision, "My attacks should be swift and relentless."
The Cooter Clan had more than 200 Empyrean Snappers. Brangara didn't know the actual amount, but just based on what he had observed, he managed to detect such a high number of these Deities.
Due to the sheer volume of resources they needed, the Empyrean Snappers established themselves as small groups in various locations. The Cooter Clan already had enmity with Brangara ever since he killed two of their Deities.
But afraid of his power, they restrained themselves, intending to minimise their losses until the day they had a Mystic Grade amongst them. It's why the Cooter Clan didn't dare chase after him relentlessly even when he supposedly killed Wittral.
They were afraid of getting annihilated if they were to face his wrath. "But the moment I kill a large number of Empyrean Snappers, the entirety of the Cooter Clan will ally against me."
"Do I wait until Yarsha builds her strength further? Or do I strike now?" Brangara hesitated for a few minutes before making his choice, "There's already enough enmity between the two of us. Before they birth a Mystic Grade Empyrean Snapper and come after me seriously, it's for the Wean Clan's benefit to weaken them first."
Brangara gathered close to twenty Razor Rat Natures of Shredded Lunge, feeling that they'd remain useful for his purpose. Sneak attacks, strong penetrating power, fleeing, and insane recovery. With that in mind, he decided on his build.
Twenty Razor Rat Natures of Shredded Lunge, twenty Bludder Natures of Eddy Blades, ten Shifting Ant Natures of Drifting Tunnel, and finally, fifty Decaleech Natures of Bloody Affection.
'Maybe I can try growing one Tangible Nature of Decaleech by taking advantage of this opportunity.' Brangara grinned, "For every 10 Empyrean Snappers I consume, my Empyrean Boar King body would grow to maturity. For my current self, I might need around fifteen I think."
"Okay, I'll aim to reach the peak of the 3-Life Stage through this and use the remainder resources from consuming the Empyrean Snappers to grow a Tangible Nature of Bloody Affection into a Minor Treasure."
In human form, Brangara began to sprint in the direction of the Sticky-Slip Plateau. His goal was to consume fifty Decaleeches. Once he accumulated the necessary amount, he'd head into the Guna Caves.
Since the Dralh Sea was adjacent to the Guna Caves, he'd directly jump the Cooter Clan.