Chapter 191 - 189: Astral Tribulation - Elemental Star (2)
The sky vanished. His pupils, irises, and sclera all reflected a single image that overtook his vision: a Nine-Colored Sun. It wasn't simply nine-colored because of its light or just arbitrary. This hunk of mass that seemingly blotted out the starry sky, the clouds, the light, was different than other stars. It was constructed from tangible, animated elements!
On its colorful surface, there were red searing flames that flowed beautifully through the world, emitting scorching heat that felt hotter than everything in existence; There were blue liquid that formed endless tsunamis and monsoons; there were teal-colored wind that formed hurricanes, tornados, and twisters that ravaged without end; there was brown-colored earth that filled the surface, forming mountains and hills; there were silver-colored spikes protruding from the world, reaching as high as the heavens; there were yellow lightning that crackled and erupted with vigorous thunderous sounds from time to time; there was green trees that pierced into the sky and beyond; there were orange and black viscous fluid that scorched all it touched; there was cyan-colored mountains made of ice with endless snow falling.
This was the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation for his Divine Elemental Natal Soul!
Wei Wuyin's heart grew unfathomably calmer, eerily so, as he faced this star that seemed to consume his visual sense. This was because he could see! With his Celestial Eyes, he saw that truth of this tribulation!
It was merely an illusory manifestation that was constructed from the energies of the world it contaminated. It was gathering the energies that perfectly adhered to his Natal Soul, and this energy was undergoing a phenomenally miraculous change, as if it was being refined and evolved into a higher state of existence.
In fact, a smile tugged at his lips. His fear was obliterated and was replaced by surging anticipation. From the beginning, he felt that the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation was a gate that served to hinder cultivators from advancing, but his eyes saw the truth. Within this enhanced energies were the secrets it wished to instill into his Natal Soul, to evoke its transformation, to allow it to create this type of higher energy form!
It wasn't a gate; it was a teacher!
Those who were incapable of handling its lesson simply meant they were unworthy, insufficient to comprehend and reach the next level. Cultivation was difficult. This was the story, the mantra of the cultivation world, and it seemed it was true! It was difficult to truly see, to truly understand.
His elemental qi started to surge around him, various elements manifested around his body as he decided to face this tribulation entirely. All his preparations before were thrown away. With his ability or permanence, he had prepared over the course of three years an ocean's worth of elemental qi that could be sent to protect or defend.
With it, he could have brought thousands of Astral Core Realm cultivators to their deaths, and he felt certain that he could overcome any restrictive, destructive tribulation that came and survive! However, that was not the purpose of this tribulation, of this trial. If he did that, he would be utterly unable to absorb all of these lessons it wished to teach! The secrets of Elemental Energies!
He allowed the qi to thoroughly invigorate his physical body. He withstood the oppressive aura, and awaited its arrival.
His intentions were felt by the Divine Elemental Natal Soul, and it brightened up considerably within his dantian. In its current pseudo-Astral Soul state, it started to spiritedly palpitate causing waves and waves of elemental energies to flow.
Wei Wuyin felt an abrupt sensation of desire and epiphany from the Divine Elemental Natal Soul. "You want to?" He asked with a wisp of disbelief in his eyes. All he felt in response was boundless yelping of desire and want.
"Alright!"
「Externalized Art: External Soul of Permanence」
He had renamed his Externalized Qi Heart Method, narrowing it down to a single artful act as he executed it, giving the Divine Elemental Natal Soul to externalize from his body! For the last three years, he had tried to thoroughly improve this art, and he had succeeded, somewhat! By utilizing the Zenith Mortal State, and the profound power of permanence, he could create a permanent link between it and him, allowing it to externalize for an indeterminate amount of time.
Unfortunately, it still needed one thing!
「Avatar Art: False Mortal God Avatar」
From his robe, a strand of white mist flowed and hurriedly transformed into a perfect doppelganger of his own. It even had its own storage ring that connected to a unit of his Sky Palace, so the moment it formed, it dressed itself in his alchemist robes! Within a blink, the Divine Elemental Natal Soul zipped into the Avatar, forming an imperceptible yet perfect connection with it.
When it opened its eyes, its eyes were without pupils, irises, and its normal sea of water was taken over by illusory and colorful manifestations of the nine elements!
「Avatar Art: False God Elemental Avatar」
The two arts conjoined, becoming one, yet tied entirely to himself. With a thought, the Elemental Avatar looked up above and shot off with billowing wind.
"It's entering the star?" While the star was illusory, it contained the essence of the next realm within. The star seemed to start to undulate, as if it was about to attack, but this wasn't an attack. It was a deliverance of information directly to the Natal Soul! However, it was no longer obstructed by his fleshy body, and was exposing itself entirely as it seemingly vanished within the Mortal Star!
Wei Wuyin saw it enter like a rock entering water. While he knew it was an illusory, the various forces and energies within this illusion was true!
"Ya! Ya! Oooooooooh!!!" - Divine Elemental Natal Soul.
"..." Wei Wuyin's expression darkened as he heard that sound. It sounded like...a moan? While the Divine Elemental Natal Soul was within the Avatar, it was still fully connected to him. Just as he was about to scold the Divine Elemental Natal Soul for playing around, his body stiffened as he looked below.
His eyes bulged slightly as he noticed the considerable tent that formed on his pants.
His expression became unfathomably dark as the various sensations of the Divine Elemental Natal Soul was transmitted. He was just about to sever this specific connection when his eyes glowed with various multicolored lights! These lights were violently combating each other for superiority, melding and breaking away, but they were determined in their intent!
Intent!
Their INTENT!
He felt a wave of elemental truth course through his sea of consciousness, and they contained the basis of each element, like the pieces of a complete puzzle that was oddly cut. This odd cut lacked something so that each puzzle piece could seamlessly fit.
It needed a hand. A hand that could guide each one to each other.
Various memories surfaced of the characters written in the book he obtained from at the Martial King's Dao Pavilion—Elemental Origin Intent - A Guide of Nine into One. This detailed literary manual with these puzzle pieces allowed his hand to move in a profound manner, like a guide that could solve this puzzle!
He knew it wasn't just him completing the puzzle. The Divine Elemental Natal Soul was obtaining the pieces! The multicolored lights were vigorous and relentless in their crushing collisions, but soon...one plus one made one, dropping the total number of remaining strands of light into eight!
Eight into seven! Seven into six! Six into five!
It continued as the pieces of this puzzle were being placed one by one until finally, all the lights vanished as an unfathomably pure white light that seemed to embody all colors in existence emerged!
From within his eyes was an Intent formed from nine basic elemental intents! Elemental Origin Intent! Wei Wuyin felt his heart throb in excitement, and at the last moment, his entire body shivered in orgasmic pleasure!
"Ahh! O.. Oh!... Aghh! AHH!!" The moment the moan was fully left his throat, his sense of self and clarity returned, the excitement dispersing immediately as he regarded his pants that were now soiled. His eyelids twitched, feeling very conflicted at the moment. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Fortunately, when he finished, so did the Divine Elemental Natal Soul as the Mortal Star that was thriving above started to dissipate abruptly, as if it had performed its job. It seemed to be returning to wherever it should.
Taking several deep breaths, he calmed his mind as he ignored everything and explored this new Intent that was circulating within his Sea of Consciousness! According to the manual, the Elemental Origin Intent can merge all elements into elemental origin energy that can exhibit freely any, all, or a mixture of qualities of each element. Furthermore, it can amplify each other in mutual benefit. In this way, his Elemental Origin Fire Qi would be nine-fold stronger than Elemental Fire Qi.
If he wanted, he could allow fire to freeze, ice to scold, earth to solidify with the density of metal, or metal to become as fluid as water. This interchangeable state was exceptional, however, as he explored further, he realized this wasn't supposed to be his limit.
There were missing pieces, and while he could complete the smaller puzzle, he couldn't complete the larger one. 'Heart of the World, World of the Elements Intent? Elemental Heart Intent!' He immediately realized what he was missing.
If water, fire, earth, and wind could be considered basic Elemental Intents, then so could metal, lightning, wood, magma, and ice; however, he lacked advanced Intents for the four elements! He had Steel Metal Intent, Violet Lightning Intent, Life Meadow Wood Intent, Blazing Inferno Magma Intent, and Absolute Zero Ice Intent, but he lacked the appropriate pieces for the other four.
His eyelids twitched for a moment, but he quickly settled down. This wasn't a concern.
Woosh!
His Avatar returned, and immediately dispersed into grey mist as it lost its connection to the Divine Elemental Natal Soul, and in a flash, the Natal Soul returned to his dantian.
It was currently undergoing a transformation! A transformation into becoming an Astral Soul, forming an Astral Core, building a World Sea, and filling it with Astral Force!