Chapter 374 - 370: Externalized Together
Feeling the immense spiritual pressure circulating around him, he recalled the characteristics of the Astral Tribulation. According to past records and retellings, to succeed in the Soul-Pulse Manifestation Tribulation was relatively simple. Each Soul Pulse Ring radiated a powerful spiritual pressure that had to be resisted. After a set period of time, a set time of nine seconds, the Soul Pulse Ring constructed from Manifested Spirit Energy would integrate into the Astral Soul.
Currently, he hasn't officially begun the tribulation. Firstly, he would have to manifest his Soul Idol. These Soul Idols, the amalgamation of his Physical, Mental, Essence, and Soul would be formed by absorbing the ambient Manifested Spirit Energy. Only after they've fully formed in this environment would they then resist the tribulation. This little spiritual pressure might be extreme, capable of crushing any Sky Ruler, but it wasn't even a 1% of the strength the Soul Pulse Ring will release when it truly begins.
This wasn't his tribulation, but the tribulation for his Astral Souls! They must overcome this challenge to determine the strength of their Soul Idols, their truest Spiritual Forms!
Wei Wuyin's eyes brightened. "It's time for you guys to get started. Whether we survive after this or not, what matters is overcoming this obstacle first. Who's first?" As he inquired, he felt the faint thrumming of all his Astral Souls. Instantly, he realized he was under the wrong assumption.
This wasn't an individual tribulation any longer! They were going to face it together!
Normally, his Astral Souls would require him to absorb the Manifested Spirit Energy into his body, refine it into his Astral Souls and slowly mould their forms based on their innate characteristics, but…
「Externalized Art: External Soul of Permanence」
By the power of his Zenith Origin State, he had fashioned and refined his Externalize Method to an extreme, allowing them to take form outside in the most stable manner. Normally, externalizing all four like this would be a vast danger, especially to himself, but he had long since possessed the means to regulate the innate energies within his fleshy body. There was no threat of a sudden explosion via cultivation deviation.
He spread out his arms, with four points in his body brilliantly shining with multicolored light. From his dantian, a white light and a silver light started to brightly glow. The white light was soft, hard, forceful, gentle, explosive, and tranquil! It contained all sorts of contradictory feelings from its brilliance, but it controlled them all in the most perfect manner. Its radiance was divine, brimming with a level of spirituality that could barely be rivaled!
"Ori!" Wei Wuyin shouted within his mind, feeling Ori, his Divine Elemental Astral Soul, start to undulate with a unique power. In a blink of an eye, he extracted itself from his dantian and left. He arrived at his left hand.
As he felt the smooth feeling of the object in his hand, he felt the one-centimeter Astral Soul playfully touch his fingers. It danced with excitement, and from his mind, he could hear Ori's yelps of joy. The spherical orb was extremely beautiful, exceptionally perfect, and seemed to contain a world of endless variation and creativity.
The other light, the silver-colored light, was more direct. Unlike the endless variations, it seemed to exist for the sole reason to slaughter all things by its inconceivably sharp edge. An edge that faced all things fearless without flinching. Be it gods, devils, ghosts, or the heavens, it was defiant to the extreme! With it, one could rule over all creation! With its edge, all things must face its end!
"King!" Wei Wuyin felt the numerous insightful memories of his Big Brother, causing him to subconsciously clench his right hand. When he did, he was shocked to find the King's Astral Core flickering with blazing light that pierced through the gaps of his fist. When he opened his hand, it somehow became a grip for a Saber.
King, his Divine Saber Astral Soul, had projected the exact image of his preferred saber. When he grasped it, he felt his secondary mind slightly tremble. Originally, it was designed as a sword, but it soon took the shape of a saber. It responded to King, causing a saber keen to resound!
Holding Ori in his left and King in his right, he felt incredible!
But it wasn't over!
THUMP! THUMP!! THUMP!!!
The vigorous pound of his heartbeats became increasingly intense as Kratos, his Draconic Void Astral Soul, was slowly awakening. Kratos was a unique cultivation product, similar to the default cultivation of beastmen, it resided within his heart, not his dantian. The heart was the central location of physical energies. It also contained the essence of one's bloodline, and Kratos was the manifestation of those in its most extreme sense!
Wei Wuyin knew that his heart wouldn't be ripped out of his chest, but it certainly felt like it! Slowly, from his chest, a faint scaly head phased through his chest like a ghost of legend. With closed eyes, it swept its tiny head around and pushed forward. It felt extremely strange!
"Kratos!" He called out. Kratos' closed eyes opened slightly. A ray of greyish light erupted and it instantly left Wei Wuyin's chest, floating before his upper torso. He could see a grey-colored Astral Core floating there. It, too, was one-centimeter.
It exuded a vague aura that seemed to be tyrannical yet ever-elusive. Wei Wuyin couldn't make out its form, making him very curious. How did a Draconic Void Astral Soul look?! Or a better question, how did a True Dragon look?! They were existences of myth. If it wasn't for using numerous years of lifeforce to refine it from three drops of its descendants blood essence, he would've never obtained it.
Unfortunately, Kratos was unlike King who projected his image. He could only see faint ripples undulating from its grey surface. But as he peered deeper into the Astral Core, he faintly saw a looming figure swimming within it. He vaguely saw its head and his heart shook. He wasn't certain if it was because he saw Kratos or because Kratos saw him.
After all, Kratos was in many ways his heart.
From his glabella, seven-colored light effused instantly. It exploded outwards like a raging volcano, releasing boundless light. He felt the three other Astral Cores tremble as the light swept them. This was the natural reaction of Astral Souls towards Alchemical Energies! It was tantalizing and nourishing, making it highly desirable!
"Eden!" He felt the light squirm and roots started to appear. It was stretching out from his glabella like hands trying to pull themselves out! Eden was the only Astral Soul that was interconnected with his Sea of Consciousness and Mind's Eye. It stabilized and regulated these two aspects, providing him endless benefits.
As the roots protruded out from his glabella, it soon pulled at the sides of his forehead and slowly caused something to escape! In a blink of an eye, it shot out!
Wei Wuyin felt dizzy. When he regained his sight, he noticed Eden! This Alchemic Eden Astral Soul's image was extraordinarily clear. It was extremely tiny, no bigger than a centimeter, and was the perfect reflection of the Tree of Eden that once stood tall as the Eden Earth Sect's main headquarters!
Despite its incredibly miniaturized state, Wei Wuyin couldn't help but marvel at its exact likeness. It faintly looked like an apple tree with distinct differences. Its trunk was more like a cypress tree often found in swamps, with chaotic roots of varying thickness below. While the crown was larger and had far thicker branches above.
At the edges of these branches were thin streams of vines, and that softly touched the various fruits that seemed to grow on it.
When Wei Wuyin saw those fruits that seemed like a mixture between an apple and mango, he felt melancholic. He had once felt the sentient feelings of the Tree of Eden and even saw its entire life. These fruits had brought it unwanted attention that eventually led to it being worshipped and the cause of endless deaths. It was later imprisoned and domesticated as it grew, wanting to grow so big that it'd reach what it believed to be its mother and father...the solar star and the lunar satellite in the sky.
It just wanted to live at peace away from the hateful things that sought to fight on its behalf, to kill on its assumed will, and enslave it.
His emotions were far too complex and chaotic.
Swish!
Wei Wuyin's eyes widened as he felt a small root rub against his face, wiping away a tear that he hadn't noticed was shed. He looked at Eden's branches and roots that were animatedly moving about. He felt a gentle warmth from its touch. When he looked more at Eden, he felt as if it was smiling and happy.
He couldn't help but smile brightly in return.
After a brief moment, he quickly gathered control of his emotions. With all four Astral Souls externalized, he felt an emptiness within him. This was the first time they had all left him. Like little growing children that had just taken their first steps, they were out on their own expressing their freedom!
Soon, he felt his hands lift as King and Ori left his grasp. Kratos floated alongside Eden. It wasn't long before they gathered together in a straight line at his eye level.
Together, they would face a Soul-Pulse Manifestation Tribulation that wasn't as simple as four times or sixteen times, but the largest tribulation in history of the cultivation world!
Together, they would face anything!
Together, they would face everything!!