Molting the Mortal Coil

He’d broken free of the endless cycle of life and death that the enemy had forced him into, yet it wasn’t without cost. The enemy was essentially in control of his Spiritual Sea, and that was only a step away from controlling his mind. If that flame giant knew what it was doing, it could even lead to Sage’s body being possessed. He’d basically given up control to the invader and his consciousness had retreated into his body. It was like he’d just given up the bridge of his ship. Without a good reason, it was truly a foolish move.

Thankfully, Sage had a good reason.

The only route he saw out of this situation was to advance! He had to get stronger or die. Someone else may not have a way out, but Sage had his Inner World. With access to a whole planet as support and with an assortment of Heavenly Materials to help him, there was no way he was going to let a gang leader from a distant planet stop him. Who cares if the gang had tens of thousands of members, the people of this world were complete amateurs with their abilities. Even the most pathetic heritage from his home world put this place to shame. With a whole library of techniques available to him, there was no way he couldn’t find a way out!

Moving swiftly through his body, Sage’s consciousness moved through his body on a direct route to his dantian. On the way he bumped into the raging energies that were now freely rampaging through his body. He was not looking forward to seeing how unusual his body looked now. The mutated bodies of the flares were mostly just exaggerations of their normal bodies, different parts taking on the wrong size or shape they normally should have. Yet, with Sage’s body he had so many different creatures incorporated into him that there was no telling just how he would be transformed or mutated after so much exposure to that wild energy.

There was just so much of the mutating energy that Sage started to grow worried that it would do more than just twist his body. It might just poison him to death. Just like Xuelong and his four companions that had been here before him. Now that he thought about it, how did Xuelong get back in time? Did he survive two years while poisoned like that? Was there some method to go back early? Why wasn’t he told about this?

He cursed at the Thundercloud Sect’s neglect in this regard, but then focused upon the energy flowing through his body. It had originated from the Flares he’d used Blood Refining on, but it had only gotten worse with exposure to the planet’s atmosphere. Wait a second. The atmosphere and the mutation energy have a sort of similarity to them.

He’d been on the way to the Inner World to research a method to breakthrough when he suddenly stumbled upon inspiration. The Poison Law that he understood started to react and he felt his perception widening. Mastery of Laws was not something that could simply be written down and passed on to another person. It wasn’t something that could be explained with words. If it was as simple as that, then it wouldn’t be so difficult for people to advance after forming a core. If it was merely a matter of finding a qualified teacher there would be more than a handful of Nascent Soul Cultivators in every province. Simply learning about how fire reacted with different objects or materials, or the different hardness and mass of types of stone and sand would not turn into an understanding of the Laws.

Such knowledge wasn’t a Law in itself, but it did forge a sort of path that led to understanding a Law. The laws were more of a feeling or instinct, an innate knowledge of something’s essence, not it’s outwardly observable characteristics. You couldn’t just know about a flame to tap into a Fire Law, you had to actually know the flame. Feel the flame. Form a relationship with it. See the unseen. Feel the intangible.

It was all quite mysterious and impossible to understand without experiencing it.

Without the outside world to distract him, and with the impetus of certain doom urging him on, Sage found a tiny thread of similarity between the mutational energy and the Poison Law that he had comprehended so far. In order to become a Nascent Soul, a Cultivator had to attain mastery of a law to the 4th degree. Sage was currently in the 8th stage of the 5th rank, level 58. His control over the Major Law of Poison had reached the 3rd degree, the stage needed for level 57. He’d advanced his understanding enough to advance a whole stage in his cultivation, but it was still far from reaching the ninth stage let alone becoming a Peak Core Formation Cultivator. Yet, to escape his current predicament, he felt his only path was advancing to become a Nascent Soul!

He’d been prepared to start studying furiously and yet he’d stumbled onto a treasure before even reaching the library. Grabbing hold of that tiny thread of similarity, he held it close and cherished the feeling it gave him. Nurturing the connection with the unknown that beckoned to him. If he didn’t seize this opportunity there was no telling when he might find one again. Even without the threat of imminent death hovering over his head, such a spark of insight was rare and he fought to put it properly to use.

Sage felt his consciousness starting to fade. It was happening slowly, but it was happening. If that fire giant burned away everything in his Spiritual Sea, Sage’s consciousness would be greatly weakened. His body would no longer belong to him anymore and he’d be little more than a stray soul hitching a ride. His memories and thoughts would diminish and he’d be much like the ghost’s he’d seen haunting houses in movies.

With such high stakes, he gripped tightly to that thread of feeling. He pushed himself to the limit, clutching to it tightly, trying to hasten the resonance he felt with that small thread. It was like he was trying to hasten a relationship by holding hands with the Law. Wanting to build a deeper rapport as quickly as possible. It was a risky move, since it wasn’t impossible for a Law to be incompatible with a Cultivator, nor was it even guaranteed that that thread of similarity he’d found could lead to his growth.

Sage suddenly felt a sort of smug will. It came from that thread of energy he’d been trying to connect with and with it came a feeling of acceptance. He felt the energy resonate not only within him, but out into the outside world. While he couldn’t go out to take a look, he felt it was no simple thing.

A new Law!

Just as he’d made the new connection and stepped through the threshold of understanding, his body started to break through. To progress in his cultivation he needed to forge a deeper understanding of the world. Without resonating with the energy of a Law he would no longer be able to progress. The ‘golden core’ of a Core Formation Cultivator provided essentially unlimited energy, but it still had limitations. In order to reach the next level, the energy of the universe had to be used. The power of the heavens and earth had to be tapped.

With this new source of inspiration, Sage stepped into the door of a new law and his previously stagnant cultivation broke free of its bounds and started to ascend like a rocket. He shot through two levels in only a few minutes and found himself on the verge of breaking through to the 6th rank!

Oh no, if I break through, how will I get back home!?