Chapter 654 - 649: Gravity Source Astral Tribulation
Karmic Luck Value: 15,348.2.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Suppressed - 43 Years.
-
The devastated ruins of the Everlore Starfield. The debris from the flat continental earths and planets that had been eviscerated by the Star-Devourer's explosive release of power were floating chaotically about in the Dark Void. Without the shine of a Solar Star, the entire space seemed to have descended into the depths of unfathomable darkness.
Yet it was not empty of life or without light.
"Six years…"
A faint glow was emitted on a large, fragmented landmass of a former planet. Sitting on its solid form, a man with dark-colored hair, dragonic eyes that emitted a silver radiance, and grey-colored hexagonal-scales that radiated heart-shaking presence. He gazed out to the Dark Void. The direction of his sight was a sleeping beast, the Star-Devourer—Tiangou. Her gigantic form and faint signs of rhythmic breathing was a sight to behold.
Since she had consumed the three Solar Stars, she had gone into a hibernation state. There was not a single thing that could move her. She even seemed fixed in space, not floating like others.
Wei Wuyin closed his eyes, concealing its radiance. Since restoring his Bloodline Source after its subsequent exhaustion moving the Four Extreme Continent and its inhabitants through the void, Wei Wuyin has actively used his Dragonification Form to resist the Dark Chill of the Void.
The innate resistance stemmed from his physical energies and its protective membrane that naturally formed. It was similar to an astral ward, preventing all external factors from intruding into his physical body. All Star Beasts possess such means. They were labeled Star Beasts because of their general abilities to traverse throughout the stars, unlike humans, elves, and demons who have yet to reach the Astral Core Realm's Seventh Stage, the Realm World Phase.
When Kratos mentioned that existing in the Dark Void would have no issues, he was skeptical at first, but after discovering that his Void Dragon Form can refine the chaos mana, convert it to life-sustaining materials, like plants do to water and solar light, he was shaken.
He could, in theory, exist perpetually within the Dark Void without any set time-limit or difficulty. Objectively speaking, it felt far more comfortable here than living on an actual planet with a regulated life-sustaining atmosphere and environment. He kept the voidship and thrived in the Dark Void, living without any issue.
As he inspected his cultivation base, he released a very light exhale. The scenes of three years prior were relived in his memory. Ever so faintly, his body trembled.
-
Wei Wuyin was standing on the deck of his voidship, looking out towards the Tiangou that slept like a rock in the Dark Void. There was a peculiar glint within his eyes.
"Bai Lin still requires a little bit more time," an expectant smile formed as he recalled that white-feathered, long-legged, prideful existence that was his partner in the skies for decades. Despite her mischievous nature, she was as reliable and loyal than any individual he'd ever come across.
He missed her.
He missed her so much that at times, it felt cold and desolate without her cries.
For the last three years, he's focused his attention elsewhere, fully restoring his Bloodline Source and pushing his cultivation foundation to its limits for physical, mental, essence, and spiritual energies via ninth-grade alchemical products. Despite the outrageously rapid speed of refinement for his Astral Souls, they still needed more and more time with the greater the grade of product.
He also needed to personally concoct each product. To depressingly add, he realized that the requirements to push his innate energies to their limits were becoming greater and greater. It was even difficult for ninth-grade alchemical products, meant for Realmlords, Timelords, and Starlords to help.
He had to supplement this requirement with quantity, after maxing out in quality. However, he understood. Even before he started to maximize his cultivation, his initial Light Reflection Phase cultivation foundation boasted a thirty-two centimeter-sized Astral Core, for each of his cultivation bases.
This was sixty-four times the average for Gravity Emission Phase cultivators. A full sixty-four times! The size of an Astral Core wasn't an exact determination of quality, so each iota of his astral force was far, far greater than size would reflect. However, that was just the beginning.
After reaching the utmost limit of the Light Reflection Phase's cultivation would allow, the perfect foundation in regards to innate energies, physical, mental, essence, and spiritual, his Astral Cores reached sixty-nine centimeters!
A FULL SIXTY-NINE CENTIMETERS!
By his calculations, this was far too excessive of an increase. After inspecting thoroughly, discussing with his Astral Souls each, he realized that he may have broken the limit of one's Astral Core, startling him outright. However, after calming down, he discovered that was unlikely.
What happened was likely the factors of his four ten-ring Soul Idols, ten-ripple Spatial Resonance, and the four unique Primary Lights elevated his innate energies limit, amplifying the qualities of his astral force to an extreme. After contemplating this possibility, he felt it more and more likely.
To break the rules of cultivation should've been met with some rejection from the world itself. He felt that something very similar to what happened to Su Mei, for whatever reason, would occur. Still, he didn't know why Su Mei experienced what she did. It was still an unanswered conundrum.
When he thought about it, he couldn't help but think that there might be others with better foundations than him. If so, was his current cultivation base perfect? Or limited by resources?
"Perfection. Is there any?" Eden asked, genuinely curious. The others chimed in, with Kratos explicitly stating that he was perfect. King, on the other hand, said nothing was perfect when faced with his edge. In the face of it, everything will be met with an imperfect end. Ori just unintentionally instigated as she questioned King if it could ruin Kratos' perfection.
If it wasn't for Eden, they might have tested this theory in his body.
This development was amusing, but it brought Wei Wuyin to a fork in the road in his thinking. "Did I really have a perfect foundation or the perfect foundation for what I am at this moment, with what my limits allow?"
If he was a Mystic-Rank Alchemist, could he exceed these limits? Would the perfect foundation of his rise in terms of quality? This thought invigorated a want, a seed of an idea. A desire to touch upon that level and see. He considered waiting until he reached that level.
However, his Astral Souls actually disagreed, particularly Eden. They believed that nothing was unchanging, but if they wanted to pursue a greater foundation, they needed to grasp a better strength.
Eden outright felt that he didn't have the means to reach the Mystic-Rank. They weren't alchemical products that he could even touch as he was. When asked why, Eden directly responded that it didn't have the right tools to do so and didn't know when it would. Confused, Wei Wuyin tried to gain a better grasp of this deficiency, but Eden barely understood it.
Unable to figure out why, Wei Wuyin was left with no choice but to continue his steps. He didn't have time to waste, and his foundation had touched upon a ceiling that couldn't be further elevated through any other means. The only option was to challenge the Astral Tribulation for the Gravity Emission Phase—Gravity Source Astral Tribulation.
He understood the principles behind it, comprehending the profundities of gravitational force. He didn't expect it to be difficult. After all, the last two tribulations were incredibly easy. As he grew stronger, so did his means, so did his foundation, and as such, so did the Astral Tribulation. After this, he would have the freedom to race to the Star Core Phase, the Ninth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, consecutively.
After all, the base requirements to surpass these lethal tribulations, he felt he already had them in just astral force, not even considering Intent, Soul Idol Rings, Spatial Resonance, or Primary Light.
It should be super easy, barely an inconvenience in his eyes.
Oh…how wrong he was.
How horribly, terribly wrong he was!
He had never felt so much fear before, even when he was dragged across an entire starfield! Even when he faced the inevitable demise of his starfield!! Even when he faced the Calamity of Hell!!!
It started out simply enough. A simple Gravity Source Astral Tribulation, right? To assail the tribulation and complete it, one has to produce a Gravitational Central Mass, a small object that will later form the foundation of one's Domain Seed. It was a small mass, compressed again and again by external forces originating from the world. It collapsed onwards, crushing the physical body of its challengers. The process could be likened to a planet's formation, with the body and innate energies as the core of the planet.
As long as one can last against the gravitational force engulfing one from every direction, not be squashed into bloody paste, as the Gravitational Central Mass within one's body stabilizes by generating enough mass, then it'll be fine.
Right?
Right?!
RIGHT?!?!
Absolutely fucking not.
His Astral Souls once more tinkered with the limits of the Astral Tribulation once again. They were joyous and excited, increasing the pressure that Wei Wuyin had to be subjected to. With his powerful physical body, he could resist this increased gravitational force. After all, he possessed the physical defenses of a peak Mortal-tier True Dragon…
However, Wei Wuyin was welcomed by a sight he never expected. An event that only happens when the degree of gravity reaches a certain limit. Not only did he feel his body's lifeforce be slowed down in its consumption in an unnatural manner, the rate of which time was affecting his body changed, but his Gravitational Central Mass was absorbing too much gravitational force…
He felt his entire body begin to be squeezed to disastrous levels. It was outright the most painful experience he has ever had!
The area around him started to become extraordinarily bright, not dark. Absolutely, terrifyingly, engulfed with light energies that existed for millions upon millions of miles. It was then that he realized that his Astral Souls, his four Gravitational Central Mass, had merged into one, and was distorting time, drawing in all light, and making movement impossible!
There was a sound resounding, masking Wei Wuyin's will to scream, as his Gravitational Central Mass started to pull in all these astronomical forces, forming a dark circular hole that seemed to have no front or back, surrounded by these compressed light energies circulating around it.
'What the hell is this thing?!' Was all he could think about as he observed the event horizon and singularity within his body.
-
Wei Wuyin shivered as he opened his eyes, three years after that event. Fortunately, he was still alive. Barely.
Kratos and the others referred to the event as a Black Hole, an event that happened when Gravitational Forces reached an extreme. They deliberately elevated the tribulation to transform their segregated Gravitational Central Mass into this Black Hole.
He had a literal Black Hole sitting at the center of his body, but it was only imposing its compression qualities to his astral force and innate energies, making it denser, purer, before spewing out its refined contents intermittently.
They essentially referred to this spewing out event, the change of the Black Hole as the White Hole, when the gravitational forces were removed, including the mass within, allowing things to leave.
For a brief moment, a moment that felt like dozens of years to his perception, they jointly created a Black Hole and he was at its center.
He never, never, never wanted to experience that again.
"Kree!"
A cry resounded.
Wei Wuyin revealed a smile as he looked towards the Tiangou, observing an incoming object covered in golden-scarlet flames.
"You're done messing with the Tiangou, huh?" Wei Wuyin laughed, standing up from the landmass. "Is it time to go?"