Chapter 1,372 – Poised Meadows

Zac’s mind went back to his memory of the Tower of Eternity. At that time, his climb had called forth a mysterious stele engraved with archaic patterns of war. This teardrop appeared to be a similar item. It was most likely a Natal Treasure of the Cosmos, marked by the Dao of Life in its most primal state when the Heavens reformed.

The teardrop’s grade wasn’t anywhere near the level of the stele or [Second Singularity], though. It had kept the sealed-off part of Poised Meadows going for half an Era, causing a significant depreciation in strength. Still, its remaining power was more than enough to sustain the realm for eons more, and it showed signs of recovery. Zac guessed the tear was the link between the real Poised Meadows and this realm, and it could finally draw sustenance from its source again.

Zac was back in his own body moments later, where his companions waited with worried expressions. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Ogras echoed. “You’ve been standing around glassy-eyed for the past hour. You would be a walking circus covered in living equipment if we didn’t keep you safe.”

“An hour?” Zac exclaimed. “It felt like seconds.”

“What did you see? Did you catch a glimpse of the past?” Tavza asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Zac said. “It showed me the source of lifeforce in this place. I’m guessing it’s telling me to go there.”

Whether for himself or the seed nestled in his pocket, the teardrop represented a priceless chance to glimpse the fundamental nature of Life. Siphoning even a sliver of that pure, unadulterated Life would be more beneficial than swallowing any pill, especially when it came to his soul. This was the Life of spiritual awakening, the perfect material to nourish his Evolutionary Soul Core. Doing so would be dangerous, but Zac felt it would be fine so long as he kept his wits about him.

“That’s one lead,” Ogras nodded. “Oh, while we waited, I managed to find a few broken Information Jades by scouring every nook and cranny.”

“They are heavily corroded by this child’s powerful soul,” Tavza interjected.

“Child?”

“The spirits are innocent and childlike. They don’t even seem to interact much with each other,” Tavza nodded. “They just spend their days slowly nurturing their souls, following their instinct. Their souls are very strong and seemingly without limits for expansion.”

“Do you think it’s possible the kid back home came from this place? Or maybe the real Poised Meadow,” Ogras muttered. “The similarities are hard to ignore.”

“It’s possible. I haven’t encountered any similar lifeforms to Mossy elsewhere,” Zac nodded before turning back to Tavza. “Anything helpful in the jades?”

“I need to perform some restoration work and redraw its arrays. It will take a while to extract any information. A week, at the very least, unless I can find more crystals to compare the internal structures.”

“Well, keep us posted,” Zac said and took out the compass.

He compared its signal with his vision and was relieved to see they pointed in roughly the same direction. Provided Ogras’ estimate of a week’s travel was correct, the detour shouldn’t add more than a day. After briefly discussing the matter, they unanimously decided to check it out. Before leaving, Zac took out a handful of Divine Crystals.

“Thank you for your help. I don’t know if eating Natural Treasures from the outside is bad for you, so I’m leaving a few snacks with you instead.”

A vague sense of happiness buffeted Zac’s mind as the crystals sank into the faux-stone floor. Moments later, they were flying toward the next island over. The vast collective consciousness of the open space was an ubiquitous fixture, making it impossible to make a beeline for their destination.

Staying in the open presented another drawback beyond the risk of garnering dangerous attention. The islands were like vacuums absorbing excess life for their cultivation. Without anything competing with their trio for the ownerless energy in the gaps, the forces of life rushed toward them like it had a mind of its own.

That wasn’t to say the islands were safe zones where one could reset and relax. Their second island was much larger than the temple, and it looked like a traditional life-attuned zone with a sprawling jungle covering every inch of its surface. Although, Zac sensed the plants were only partly independent. The forest was like a hive mind. The plants were born from the island’s spirituality and paid rent to stay atop its surface. They were also in charge of defense.

The island hadn’t given off hostility before, but branches began lashing out at them the second they stepped onto land. Even prepared, Zac felt his mind tremble when blocking a particularly powerful swipe. The attack was just like [Fatehew], holding a spiritual component.

“Forcing our way across will squander both time and energy,” Tavza commented while tying a patch of trees in water bindings.

“We’ll have to figure out another route,” Ogras agreed.

Only Zac remained rooted in place, his stare trained on the jungle depths. “Give me a second.”

He shot forth, following the beckoning call of treasure. The bestial armor of [Conformation of Supremacy] appeared on his body, and fractal blades infused with exploding runes shattered the forest’s poised tranquility. Zac showed no mercy as he carved a straight line through the vegetation until he reached an ancient-looking tree hidden by a dense ring of defenders.

A powerful mental shock came from the island’s depths. This time he was prepared, and the attack only made him see double for a moment. Still, there was no point in testing fate, so he felled the unique tree with three swift swings. The whole forest shook when it thumped down on the ground. It was extraordinarily heavy, though not to the point it could stop Zac from dragging it back to the shore.

“I don’t think the general was talking about knuckle diplomacy when he called us ambassadors,” Ogras said with a raised brow. “Or forced seizure of treasures, for that matter.”

“Maintaining a respectful exchange is preferable, but there’s no need to play nice when they make the first move. If these islands want to play rough, they’ll have to be ready for having their things snatched. Like you said, we’re ambassadors representing the empire’s iron fist,” Zac shrugged as he began stripping the tree of its bark with forceful swings.

He could tell the rest of the tree wasn’t worth much. The weight and spiritual fluctuations were all gathered in the bark. Like the Izh’Rak reavers, the tree kept all its spirituality at the surface. Zac wasn’t sure what to do with it yet, but it seemed like a decent material for his Soul Cultivation. It could also be ground and added to the paste he used to draw [Void Vajra Sublimation]’s cultivation runes.

“You’re making an awful lot of sense,” Ogras said, his eyes lighting up. His shadows rushed into the forest in search of other valuables, not stopping for a second on account of Tavza’s silent stare. “What? There’ll be plenty of things for you when we travel through the Hells.”

“I’m starting to realize that it’s not just the winds of fate sending tribulations your way. You two are eager participants in the chaos surrounding you, finding any chance to add your mark to the mix,” Tavza said.

“You only realized that now? Aren’t you supposed to be the clever one?” Ogras scoffed. “Now, help us harvest the loot before the big guy wakes up.”

Tavza exhaled and lightly pointed her finger toward the depths. A stream of abyssal water ran through the thickets, its deathly aura causing the flailing trees to recoil with primal fear. Moments later, a withered stump was dragged back. Hidden behind a shell was an intense aura of life, like the spirituality of a few dozen trees had been crammed into one plant and purified over time.

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It wasn’t as impressive as Zac’s spiritual tree, but it might have turned into a powerful subordinate if left alone for a while longer. Now, it was set aside to become fertilizer for Haro. The Skyrender Vine was still asleep and still growing, and Zac didn’t want the plant’s opportunity to be cut short on account of lacking resources.