Chapter 1,363 – The Confusion Will Pass

Zac was eager to get going after spending close to a month buried in the ground, especially after learning one of the Nine Gardens awaited on the other side. Considering the number of layers they needed to cross before reaching the Hollow Court, he might get the chance to experience all the Gardens and Hells in a controlled environment.

The descent should also hold opportunities equivalent to the Mercurial Court’s trials and crossing the Peregrine Ocean. Each layer felt like a treasure chest waiting to be opened. Unfortunately, the mysteries would have to wait a little longer. Between being sealed for weeks and breaking the Undead Empire’s commandments, Tavza needed another day of rest before she was ready to enter a world of Pure Life.

On the other side, Esmeralda still hadn’t returned. Zac was confident he could break out of the treasury but saw no reason to do so. Esmeralda had clearly stowed him away for a reason, and cutting his way out would only add to her troubles. Instead, Zac decided to use the time to start work on his Peak D-grade blueprint.

Zac needed to advance his Earthly Dao of Defiant War before finalizing the design—at the very least—but he could already get some of the work out of the way. That included going over the wealth of information he’d just unlocked in the Chaos Library and making preliminary adjustments to his old blueprint. This would set the stage for when he could gather another helping of Ultom’s enlightenment.

While diverting some of his mental energy to the complex deductions, Zac took out the [Fuxi Mountain Gate] again. He’d previously only scanned it to ensure it was fine. This time, he entered the gate with his human body. The difference was palpable. Now that he’d entered, he could see the demarcation between the flames of Imperial Faith and the Void surrounding the platform had grown much clearer.

It was thanks to the Void having reached sufficient density to form something like an environment, one that could endure Zac’s presence. There was still a slight sense of rejection, which Zac suspected would remain even after the gate was fully repaired. The [Fuxi Mountain Gate] wasn’t designed to be used as a hidden base; rather, it served as a supporting beam for the Fifth Pillar. Having cultivators walking around would damage the Void’s purity, and Zac was only barely an exception.

It would take a while before the growing rejection threw him out, and Zac planned to make the most of his visit. He landed on the broken plateau, realizing it was even larger than he’d thought when observing from above. A few flashes brought him to the arch. Up close, the gate looked like two enormous skyscrapers erected a few miles apart.

Glancing at the towering statue of the Scales of Earth, Zac suddenly remembered how he’d screamed and cursed at anyone who would listen. He’d even called on Karz and Laondio in his desperation. Had the Margrave heard him? Had the other eight Court Masters depicted alongside him? Zac shuddered at the thought. He still drew closer to the gate, albeit the frame opposite the Margrave’s.

At this distance, it was clear that the arch was truly made from high-grade Void Materials far surpassing the crystals he’d bought in the Transformation Docks’ market. The stone didn’t seem repurposed from the heritage of the First People. It differed from both the platform he’d seen in the vision and the sole temple standing atop it.

The leaders of the First People were certainly large enough that their bones could have been carved into the mountain gate, but Zac felt that wasn’t the case. The arch was made during the Era of Order. The Limitless Empire wasn’t necessarily the original builder, but they had at least made the finishing touches.

Where did they get their hands on high-grade pure Void Materials? Who had the ability to modify them? Zac thought back to the Margrave’s statue as it emerged, and how the shift of the scales had inverted Void and Dao. Could this treasure have been built by the Margrave himself?

Shaking his head, Zac focused on one of the scars. The ancient Dao embedded within acted like a festering wound. Zac wouldn’t have been able to get close if the gate hadn’t kept the vast majority of the aura contained. Ensconced in [Void Zone] and ready to escape the [Fuxi Mountain Gate] at the slightest hint of danger, Zac activated [Void Mountain]’s Dao-annihilating rune.

A few seconds later, Zac stepped away with an annoyed frown. His initial assumption had proven correct. Using [Void Mountain] worked for erasing the foreign Dao, and it didn’t damage the gate. However, working didn’t equate to being effective. The hostile energy lodged in the scars was far beyond Zac’s ability to erase in a timely manner. He’d intentionally targeted one of the weakest scars, and that one would take years to whittle down. Fixing up the gate himself at his current level wasn’t feasible.

Disappointed but not surprised, Zac turned to the vast darkness on the other side. He stepped through the arch, shuddering at the intense sense of nothingness waiting on the other end. There were dense, pure streaks of Void Energy flowing along the floating rubble, but most of the vast darkness held neither Cosmic Energy nor Void Energy. It was a true vacuum, though not quite as desolate as what he’d seen beyond the Multiverse’s edge.

Intuition and the [Fuxi Mountain Gate] told Zac that traversing the trail of rubble in search of the true Void Mountain would prove to be a short journey without hope of success. Stopping at the platform’s edge halfway through the gate was already the limit. His connection with the gate was trembling precariously, as if the vacuum beyond could sever it.

Zac felt like he was standing at the edge of the world. Turning around, the golden splendor of sunsetting faith felt distant, as if he’d crossed an invisible threshold. The echoing silence around him was the absence of Heaven and Earth. This wasn’t the protection of the Void Mountain Zac had envisioned, but any tribulation taken here should be weakened. A powerful rejection conveyed it was time to go, and Zac was back in Ogras’s hideout the next second.

“Fifty-two seconds,” Zac mused.

It wasn’t enough to go through the whole Core Formation process, let alone the years needed to create an Inner World. It was, however, just long enough to endure a tribulation. Accounting for unexpected situations, he could at least jump inside for the last one or two bolts where the danger was the greatest.

Zac would rather avoid that scenario if he could, though. It was different to attract the Heavenly Tribulation while staying inside the Void than to escape inside mid-tribulation. In the former scenario, the tribulation clouds should form inside the golden sea of Imperial Faith. In the latter, it seemed more likely that the lightning would follow him through the [Fuxi Mountain Gate], potentially destroying it and cutting off his path back to reality.

There was also the issue of both his bodies needing to enter the hidden realm. Would it even work? If it did, would it double the drain? Still, having the option was better than not having it, and Zac felt he’d taken yet another step toward Peak Hegemony. With that done, Zac turned his attention to his companions.

Zac had already confirmed that Verun and Haro were fine, though they remained in a state of slumber much like Zac’s. He couldn’t sense any lingering traces of Supreme Dao, and their spiritual state was stable—and growing. The reason for their torpor seemed to be overconsumption. Like him, they’d feasted on the bourgeoning spirituality and needed more time to digest it.

Haro, especially, had benefited from the encounter. His central bulb had grown almost by fifty percent, and he emitted traces of the sanctified energy that had kept Zac going through his breakthrough. Giving it some thought, Zac transferred half of his spiritual soil to Haro’s world ring, and the Skyrender Vine’s tendrils subconsciously drew toward it.

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Haro already had the foundations to become a Plant Emperor upon maturity, but that wasn’t enough. He needed more opportunities to excavate and imbue more potential so that he could follow Zac to even greater heights. Lending a helping hand while Haro was still a sapling would provide the most bang for the buck, so hoarding his valuable soil would be counterproductive.

Thankfully, their comatose state didn’t impact Zac’s combat effectiveness too much. Haro couldn’t fight by his side, but Zac could still control some of his vines through [Adaptive Symbiosis]. It was the same with [Verun’s Bite]. Activating Verun’s ability wouldn’t work, but the axe could still be swung just fine. In fact, using them would probably help their digestion of energy and Dao.

Three hours later, a harried-looking Esmeralda finally returned to the vault where she’d deposited Zac’s Draugr half. The toad launched into a tirade before Zac could greet her.

“So there I was, having the best dream. My power was restored, and there were treasures and pickable locks aplenty. Imagine my surprise when it was all ripped away, and I was reduced to a nanny keeping you safe. If that wasn’t bad enough, your rampaging bloodline has stolen so many goodies before I could get to them,” Esmeralda said, and it was clear the last part was the real reason for her anger. “What do you have to say for yourself, you greedy little tadpole?”

“I’m sorry, I sometimes sleep-eat,” Zac said with a wry smile. “Keeping me safe from what? Has Kaltosa Lu already caught up?”

“No sign of the elemental, or any other trial-taker for that matter. We’re under attack by the court itself, no doubt because of your antics,” Esmeralda huffed with annoyance. “The ruins came alive the moment your vortices started rifling through the pantry. I’ve had to move you around while creating distractions—among other things. Thankfully, we can tackle the biggest problem now that you’re up. The window’s about to open, so we need to get going.”

“What window?”

“No time,” Esmeralda said, dragging Zac into her pouch before flashing away.

Zac felt himself moving through a spatial crack, and he was out the next moment. He barely had time to take in the surroundings before a wall of gold appeared right behind them. Esmeralda moved like the wind, narrowly outrunning it. Moving at that speed exposed her location, and Zac’s mind suddenly screamed with danger.

Esmeralda had the situation well in hand. She whizzed through unfamiliar ruins, constantly changing directions while tapping specific spots on the ground. Each tap was like a painted bull’s-eye that diverted the vast perception homing in on their location. Soon enough, the looming danger faded, and Esmeralda stopped long enough to give Zac a better look from his spot in her pouch.