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Chapter 1,291.
🕑 Added 2024-10-16 17:58:10 +0000 UTCZac tried and failed to find any clues on the Earth Child's face. It remained as impenetrable as before, and the boy's aura remained that of a juvenile who had yet to start their cultivation. His weak appearance couldn't erase Zac's feeling of being seen through. The boy had ignored Tam's attempts to communicate in the original timeline, making the situation all the more suspicious.
"Who are you?" Zac asked.
"Also the wrong question," the boy said before looking at the ground.
Zac swore upon seeing the grass around them die in a growing circle. He extended his senses to their limits, finding no threat. A low rumble brought Zac's back attention to the child, just in time to see something break through the soil. The child bent down and pulled the item out like a carrot. Zac accepted the rock, barely able to hide his shock.
It was another Void Treasure.
Specifically, it was a normal rock whose shape was identical to the Holy Relic hidden in his purification space. There was no way it was a coincidence. Zac didn't understand how, but the child knew. Not even Sendor had managed to peer into the Void hiding in the depths of his bloodline.
"How—"
"They said we need to go," the Earth Child answered.
"What now?" Zac muttered under his breath at hearing the child-like voice.
The ancient, gravelly voice was gone. The child had sounded just like any ten-year-old, except for an unnaturally flat cadence. Was the small body shared between two consciousnesses, or was he possessed? Could a high-ranking templar of Fertile Earth be using their holy son as a medium to communicate?
Still holding onto a bellyful of questions, Zac whisked up the kid and began running. Whoever that ancient entity was, their assistance was obviously contingent on helping their spokesperson. He had a few days to get the answers he needed. Twenty minutes later, he felt some weak fluctuations far distance. It was at that time the child spoke up again.
"I'm Roan."
Zac looked over his shoulder. "You can call me Tam. Who said we needed to go?"
When met with silence, Zac held up the Void Treasure replica. "Can you tell me about this?"
"The earth remembers," Roan said before closing his eyes.
The Earth remembers? What in God's name did that mean? Zac made a few more attempts to extract information from the mysterious child, but his words fell on deaf ears. Zac gave up and continued in silence. First, he'd put some distance between himself and their tail.
The first hiccup came upon realizing Tam's body couldn't endure prolonged use of [Skybreaker]. Zac had more than a few flying treasures in his rings, and there were neither Beast Emperors nor dangerous zones in the region. What they lacked in speed compared to his Movement Skill, they made up for in convenience.
A flying treasure would stick out in such a desolate region, but so would a cultivator moving at superhuman speeds. Unfortunately, the further Zac moved from Tam's position, the faster the realm was drained of fuel. Zac gave up on the idea and kept a relaxed pace roughly one hour ahead of Tam. That way, the original timeline could act as a rearguard while Zac didn't exhaust any additional energy.
The forest gave way to an endless farmland a few hours later. Zac saw silhouettes work the fields in the distance and briefly wondered if there were any limits to what the memory realms could replicate. Terea's lantern had conjured an army filled with Beast Emperors and C-grade forest spirits.
This time, he'd almost covered as much ground as his whole archipelago back home. If he was faster or had more time, could he have visited Verdona with its enormous population? Could the realm simulate even greater cities if he found a teleporter?
"I'm hungry."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Zac said.
The mystery surrounding Roan made Zac forget he was a mortal who needed regular food and rest. As luck would have it, Zac kept some low-grade provisions around for these kinds of situations.
"Let's have a quick dinner," Zac said as he threw out an illusion array.
The risk of an ambush was low. There still hadn't been any signs of trouble for either him or Tam. The priestess' diversion seemed to have bought some time. Zac finally saw a human expression on Roan's face when the aroma of a lunchbox spread through the array. His gurgling stomach betrayed his attempts to maintain his sage-like façade.
Zac didn't immediately hand it over. Instead, he took out the replica stone again. "What did you mean before?"
The boy's brows furrowed in displeasure, but he couldn't overcome his basic needs. "The Earth remembers. They saw you dig into the ground and take it."
"They saw me take it? When?"
"Very long ago," Roan squeezed out as he reached for the food.
"Call them over. I need to know what this is."
"I can't. It's not time."
Zac looked at Roan's stubborn expression with defeat. "Fine. One final question. Can they sense it now?"
"No."
"Good. Eat up," Zac said with a smile.
The Holy Child began devouring the food with a grumpy expression. Meanwhile, Zac gathered his thoughts before penning a message. On the other side of the Left Imperial Expanse, Zac retracted his mind from the Chaos Library to take out the note that had appeared in [Purity of the Void].
"How is it?" Esmeralda asked.
"The situation is under control but something unexpected happened," Zac said before sharing the experience of his Human body.
"I guess that's good news?" Esmeralda said. "It's not that the child can see through your secrets. Someone saw you snatch the relic."
"That would mean the memory realms are connected," Zac said. "Our actions in the earlier epochs might affect the later ones."
"Good thing you're getting another identity. Your Terea persona might be a wanted criminal already," Esmeralda snickered. "Welcome to the club."
"Great to be here," Zac said with a roll of his eyes. "Who do you think saw me?"
"Someone might have recorded your escape and spread it among the templars," Esmeralda shrugged. "I'm more curious how the child recognized you. The people on the battlefield should have seen a Wendimar descendant while you're an old veteran now."
"The simplest explanation is often the most likely. The child is telling the truth; the Earth saw me," Zac said. "Do Primal Heavens have Realm Spirits? Could the child be connected to someone like Sendor? Maybe they can see through the disguise?"
"I'm not sure. Lord Sendor is somewhat of an aberration. Realm Spirits aren't supposed to have an active consciousness. They're closer to an inanimate presence like the Heavens," Esmeralda said. "But I guess if it can happen once, it can happen again? It could also be a consciousness created by the Order of Fertile Earth. They could have raised a God of Fertility as part of their missionary work."
"Are Gods something you can just grow like crops?" Zac scoffed.
"That depends on how you define God. If a God is a powerful entity not trapped by the chains of mortality, then sure. Any decent Tool Spirit matches that description. If we're talking an almighty existence lording over all creation, the System is the closest we've come."
"Well, do you have any suggestions?"
"They don't seem hostile, so why not see what they're up to? You can always ditch the kid and run away if things get ugly. Let 'the Earth' deal with the mess. Long-term, we'll have to be careful not to do anything that would get us in trouble with the Mercurial Court," Esmeralda said, looking slightly deflated.
"Disappointed you can't go around robbing every memory domain?" Zac laughed before sending back a crystal that had recorded their conversation.
Back in the past, Zac listened to the response while chewing on a strip of beef jerky. Things had really gotten a lot more convenient since he reopened his purification space. It didn't just allow for communication inside the memories. Its original purpose was very useful in a world full of Earthly Taint.
The Hidden Node had almost finished purifying the [Heavenmend Crystal] he got from Kristvan Wendimar. It was a treasure that would seep into the depths of his Cosmic Core, so Zac figured it couldn't hurt to first remove its impurities.
Two uneventful days came and went. Roan wasn't much of a company, and Zac's trick to extract information didn't work again. Most of Zac's time was spent idly observing the surroundings. They passed over a dozen hamlets and villages, and he'd lost count of the number of farms. Zac also saw the occasional wandering cultivator. Most were older than Zac, yet none of them had stepped into E-grade.
Zac could empathize with why Tam helped his in-name disciple. The local cultivators were prisoners in a sense. The shallows of the Left Imperial Expanse were massive. Even Zac needed more than a month to reach Verdona, where the cultivation environment was only slightly better. It'd take an F-grade cultivator years, even decades, to reach more prosperous regions.
They also had to pass through large swathes of unclaimed wilds filled with beasts. Even if they survived the journey, they would have missed out on the golden years of cultivation. There was no System to provide training opportunities, Teleportation Tokens, or off-world trials. Their Birthplace had already decided their future.
On the third day, there was finally a change. Zac stopped and looked back. "The enemy is closing in."
A flying treasure had caught up with Tam in the original timeline, and six cultivators came pouring out. There was nothing Zac could do for the real Tam. Zac silently experienced the battle raging in his memories. The new party was slightly stronger, but they weren't ready for the wrath of a decorated veteran of the Imperial Army. Tam methodically tore apart the group, displaying equal ruthlessness toward himself and his enemies.
"I'll deal with them. You wait here," Zac said as he put Roan down inside a defensive array. "Don't leave the array. If something happens, squeeze this token and I'll come save you."
Twenty minutes later, Zac silently observed the sky from the shadows of a tree, his aura completely restrained. The forest that looked normal from above had undergone a drastic transformation. Countless vines hid inside the vegetation, waiting for their prey to come within reach. Zac had retracted their auras as much as he could and used a large-scale Illusion Array to improve the effect.
The trap was set, and its intended target appeared right on schedule. The flying treasure was almost as fast as Zac when he used [Skybreaker]. It went from a distant dot to being right before him in seconds. At that point, it was already over. Ten miles of virgin forest exploded as countless vines rushed to the sky. Many were over a dozen meters wide, having completely hollowed out ancient trees to find a hiding spot.
The flying treasure was suddenly surrounded by a squirming sea of green. Zac was already on the move. One step with [Skybreaker] was enough to put himself above the shuttle, blocking their only route of escape. Zac unleashed a stream of blades with [Nature's Edge]. They actually failed to break through the ship's impressive defensive barrier, but the onslaught pushed it further toward the ground.
Zac only had time to see two figures jumping out of the ship before thousands of vines blocked his line of sight. The voracious plants squeezed tighter and tighter, making it look like Zac floated above an unbelievably large pit of snakes. When the frantic movement stopped, Zac deactivated the skill.
Nothing remained of either forest or prey. The largest surviving pieces of the Technocrat vessel were only the size of a finger. The six Transcenders had it even worse. The only thing left behind by the living grindstone was a red haze and scraps of cloth. Zac quickly surveyed the area to confirm the kills before moving on.
The battle that pushed Tam to his limits and cost him an arm had ended in seconds without Zac breaking a sweat.
Zac hadn't made any changes to the skill's core functionality when upgrading it to D-grade. He didn't need to. [Primal Edict] was a perfect skill for large-scale destruction. Zac's main focus had been to make sure the skill took full advantage of a Hegemon's greatest advantage—their vast pool of Cosmic Energy.
[Primal Edict]'s weakness was that it lacked the direct, devastating power of [Arcadia's Judgment] or [Rapturous Beginning]. However, that only applied when using the skill the normal way, like in the middle of a duel. It took some time to reach a critical mass of vines, and any powerful adversary would have similar large-scale abilities to suppress their growth.
The situation was very different if Zac was given enough time to set the stage. [Primal Edict] was a skill that grew deadlier the more energy it was fed, and it had no limits on its expenditure. Channeling the skill for twenty minutes was more than enough to take out the Transcender raiding party. They hadn't managed to destroy even a quarter of the vines before they were overwhelmed.
Unfortunately, the circumstances had to be just right to pull it off. Zac had only managed it a few times during the intersector war. The swarm's growth would almost always be suppressed by thousands of Kan'Tanu fighting back. Of course, permanently occupying that many enemies could shift the direction of a battle, and the skill had saved countless lives on his side.
Conversely, if Zac grew a proper tangle before the battle, the enemy could simply avoid it or blow it up with War Machines. He'd experimented with pre-loading the attack inside World Rings, but his skill didn't work properly inside a separate space. Zac hoped that would change after forming an inner world. He'd nurture [Primal Edict] like a Kan'Tanu Heart Curse and bring it out whenever needed.
The duo resumed their journey, though at an even slower pace because of the original timeline. Roan didn't ask why, and Zac didn't care to elaborate. Days went by without any new Technocrats showing up. The journey felt like a casual stroll through a beautiful picture book, but Zac's anxiety was growing stronger.
The memory was feeling increasingly hollow. It would run out of fuel in a few hours, and Zac still hadn't managed to get any useful information. Eventually, Zac couldn't take it any longer. He'd have to take a chance. Zac put Roan down and took out the real Holy Relic, waving it in front of his face. He hoped that it would bring out the mysterious entity on the other end.
"I'm out of time. You need to explain this, or we'll part ways early."
Roan looked at it before pointing ahead. "We're almost there."
"Where?" Zac said with exasperation. "Verdona is still weeks away!"
Roan only returned a blank stare. Zac reluctantly picked him up again. Thankfully, it turned out the Earth Child was telling the truth. Roan tapped Zac's shoulders fifteen minutes later, declaring it was time. They'd just reached a clearing in the middle of the woods. Beyond making for a decent campsite, it didn't stick out in any way.
"What's so special abo—what the hell!" Zac gasped, his eyes as wide as saucers as he flashed over to the meadow's center.
It was currently lying down and covered in a layer of moss, but there was no mistaking it. It was the very same rock that served as a headstone on the outside. Zac looked around with confusion and horror, realizing he'd made one critical error. He knew that moving inside the memories would change your real position. However, Zac had never asked himself whether you started at the same spot as where you found the lantern.
Had he just spent the better part of a week running back to the storm instead of leaving it far behind? And what did Roan mean by 'its time'?
Four ships appeared on the horizon just as the thought popped into his head. One of the ships radiated a pressure surpassing Hegemony. Either a Half-Step monarch or a Peak Hegemon who'd consumed a powerful berserking treasure. It was obviously not reinforcements who'd arrived.
Zac had his answer. At least Tam Brooks's memory lantern appeared where his journey ended. A battle at this level would be rough for Zac in peak condition. There was no need to wait an hour to figure out what'd happen in the original timeline.
"Creating a pillar that can reach the Heavens is no easy task. Among others, it requires a sturdy foundation," an ancient voice said, piercing through Zac's confusion.
Roan had slipped out of his sling and was currently standing before the grave. He scraped away the moss, and Zac finally felt the same Faith as the bursts that brought him here. No, what bubbled beneath the surface went far beyond what Zac saw on the outside. He felt as though the stone was the only thing stopping a monstrous reservoir from exploding, turning the whole shallows into a golden sea of Imperial Faith.
"Can you imagine the weight of Karma? The weight of consequence? The Left Imperial Expanse cannot bear it alone. We needed help. What better—" A deafening roar drowned out a few of the Earth Child's words. "—Heaven's true foundation?"
"You—" Zac's mind was already a mess, yet it only got worse as he looked up.
The previously clear sky had been replaced by roiling clouds crackling with red fury. The Heavens had descended with a vengeance, and there was no System to curtail its wrath. Zac couldn't believe even Tribulation Clouds were perfectly replicated inside the memories. The first bolt was already gathering strength, and there was no mistaking it.
It was very real, though the Heavens actually seemed confused about whether it should hit Roan or Zac.
"What you took is called a [Fuxi Mountain Gate]," Roan, or rather the ancient entity, continued. "It's a bridge connecting the upper planes to the Void of Dao. Only that most ancient of mountains could endure the weight of our determination. Only the Void Mountain could sustain the Terminus while the Heavens were brought to its knees.
"The bridge coming into your possession can be considered Fate. We recognize the power you used to bring it away. However, balance must be maintained. Now, more so than ever. Overcome this challenge, and we swear on the Fate we serve to unseal it. Without our assistance, the gate shall forever remain shut."
Instincts told Zac to run for the hills, to not get involved with this mess. He should use what little time remained of the scenario to move out of the storm's center. He had less than an hour, but it was better than nothing. He'd be able to cover far more ground here than when pushing through the blistering winds.
His feet didn't listen to reason. The hunger was growing, and madness joined the angry red reflected in Zac's eyes. Bearing Heaven's wrath and slaughtering a Half-Step Monarch in exchange for a bridge leading straight to the Void Mountain?
What a bargain.
Comments
liquid_helix
Boom. Nice!
Lex Luther S
The dao of chaos is the peak. He won't be able to fuse his two daos into chaos until he reaches the peak of autarchy and whatever the next stage of daos a supremacy have. As for the void, once again, it was not forced on zac. The system may have e corrupted his bloodline but it was zacs own choices to delve deeper into his bloodline and what it entails. I see what you're saying with zacs mother and what her family did but he was a baby born for one purpose and that was as a receptacle for the Void Emperor bloodline. To say it was forced isn't right as the whole reason zac was even born was to bear that bloodline and jeeves. If anything, you should be mad at how his mother seems to blame him for something he had no control over.
John
Zac does have a history with secret finisher moves that source power from higher cultivation grades
Alexander
Where does it say what the people of the first era called the heavens?
Edgar Segura
Any theory's now that you know that info?
Edgar Segura
Brother you need to reread this chapter then. The amount of info here in this chapter is insane.
Edgar Segura
The other guy was correct and we do know what they called the heavens. It has multiple names. Both of them. The system is one and the heavens is another. The mountain is the absence of dao.
Edgar Segura
Tfd i wanted to tell you that your description of a soldier/warrior is spot on. Their thoughts, values, dedication to their beliefs and faith is so very accurate. Thank you for this portrayal.
Danny
For sure life and death are part of his path now, I'm just suggesting he could fuse them at some future point into a chaos dao. And we already know fusing separate daos is possible. I think it would be kind of fitting if Zac fully embraced Chaos and Conflict and got out from under this Void stuff. Not that I don't like it, i love it, but IT WAS definitely forced on him by the technocrats and their meddling. Which I do consider to be part of Fate. And would being a Chaos Bloodline progenitor rally be worse than being a descendant of the true void emperor, Karz? Just saying... Whatever direction he goes though I will be happy.
Dro
So if the Void Mountain is the foundation used to support the 'Pillar that can reach the Heavens' it potentially seems like Limitless used Karz/Void Emperor in some way to create the Pillar/Ultum. Also - Esmeralda mentioned that the System is the closest thing there is to a "God" and it's analogous to a ridiculously powerful realm spirit like Sendor. I wonder if Limitless made himself into the system to try to reach the next step in cultivation beyond A-grade/become powerful enough to overcome the Terminus.
Mateo Lopez
I don’t think so. Zac himself has stated his goal is to fuse back into one being at Monarchy. Hell he is constantly reading through the chaos cypher, and at the rate he can integrate insights. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the fruits of his labour fairly soon
bltth26
I believe it will be when he finally fuses creation and oblivion into chaos. Right now his dual nature is perfect for his path. But I think it will be impossible to fuse into one being until he mends the broken peaks
Lex Luther S
I'm guessing it'll be autarchy before he can even think of fusing his two bodies back together. Maybe even supremacy given to fuse his bodies back at that stage would see creation and oblivion come together to form a body of chaos. Hell he might reach a point where combining and separating his bodies becomes a skill, especially once he's reach the pillar of chaos.
Lex Luther S
Zac has already stated that life and death are as much as part of his path as conflict. Besides, he can't have Chaos without creation and oblivion and you can't have creation without life and oblivion without death. Not only that but the void was not forced on zac. It is a part of him just as much as his path before the void was needed to reach hegemony. I see what your saying but zac is well on his way to leaving the control of those like the system with his current path. Fate? It isn't fate but the pillar if chaos itself that demands Zachary Atwoods ascension. The system may have had a hand it forcing zac onto the shard of creation but zac has willingly jumped back into those waters time and again and it's not stopping this far in. And why should it? He had long become an avatar of his two paths. Life and war. War and death. And now war and the void of his daos. To discard life, death and the void is to discard everything he's built up
Danny
Just waiting for the new chap, and was thinking about Zacs long term direction. And it occurred to me out of all Zacs daos and techniques. Chaos and Conflict are the only ones that truly embody who he is. And we know that having a path that aligns with who you are is really important for climbing to the top. Furthermore Void and even Life/Death are things that were forced onto him by fate, if hes ever going to be a defier doesn't he need to reject the path that was laid out for him by these old codgers? I know this is practically heresy to suggest Zac should relinquish the Void, but it might be kind of cool if he turned his void emperor bloodline into a chaos emperor one, probably not likely though considering how deeply the void and his cultivation are intertwined.
Danny
I think he needs to progress his Void Emperor Apotheosis Technique before he can do that thing he did against Kator again. But that might only be a temp fusion/power up. A permanent fusion seems like it should require something more, like merging his daos into a chaos dao, or merging his techniques into chaos based fractals. That could be a long way off though
Justin
Have there been any hints at when he may collapse back into one being instead of a human/draugr side? Does that happen in monarchy or we just don't know?
Hoid
Thank you for the update so relieved to hear you say that. Hope this story never ends!
Stephen Taylor
But a bridge to the void would be surprising as part of a “set” of bridges. Maybe each court has a bridge to the void to balance all the other bridges??
The First Defier
Book 14 is not the final book of the series. For instance, this chapter is part of book 16. It looks that way on Amazon/Goodreads because they only list books that are either released or put on preorder.
Hoid
I couldn’t disagree more the bad ass image of him seeing a calamity bearing down on him but it’s actually him that is gonna go down on them is worth a chapter
Hoid
Yeah I can see that he has enough for that and hope it does. I just looked up book 14 release date as I just got done listening to book 13 and the internet said it comes out December 18th and that it was the final book in the series. Amazon said it good reads said it. I do hope you are right though
Jeff McCulley
He’s not earning Exoerience from kills. He still needs to get through both Late and Peak Hegemony. I think he’s going to refine a bunch of stuff, not sure about Monarchy.
Jeff McCulley
Are you daft? This was a marvelous chapter. Writing isn’t just about “telling you what you need to know”. It’s not an owner’s manual. Some of the dumbest takes on here are exactly like this.
Alexander
No, there is the heavens and the imperial tutor. We technically don't even know if the OG heavens was called "heavens" originally
Jeff McCulley
There are two heavens.
Jeff McCulley
Where did you “find out” that? TFD has said he has enough material for years.
Mike Naka
this strange kid & the lightning together. a coincidence or maybe the kid was the inventor/source of the lightning and that's why the storm can't touch this...mc hammer...lol
Mike Naka
maybe purity of the void will suck both zacs into it as he steps into monarchy in order to make him 1 again?
Mike Naka
great call! didn't salsa say zecia had not fate? next thing we know, iz says he's dead yet zecia survives!
Hoid
I just found out book 14 is supposed to be the final book?!!! Is that for real? This is the 14th book we are reading on patron now so you mean to tell me this amazing series is gonna end with ultom and Zac may or may not be a monarch? What about autark? What about saving his sister from his mom he can’t do that at monarch. What about supremacy and S grade or whatever is beyond A grade. It can’t end here someone please tell me it’s not gonna end here
Mike Naka
here, here! i too like the feel of this arc. Reminds me of the 1st big off world trial when zac got his 1st shard of oblivion. zac & thea got their asses handed to 'em. dang, i think zac was f grade then. i like wandering zac kicking ass, lootin', and cultivating only to meet up for the big finale! the stakes are higher and the lore drops are like points in luck! lol
Mateo Lopez
Oh yea maybe he’ll open a proto-space. Then Zac with kinda have to “rush” to Sanctuary to get the data he needs for his Duplicity core and of course the shield for Kenzie.
Mike Naka
knowing zac, something catastrophic will happen forcing him to take his 1st step into monarchy. lol his inner world will prolly start forming or something, and he'll have leave much his burgeoning realm sooner than expected.
Jeff McCulley
I think what “they” are doing is using the Bridge to stabilize and solidify the Left Imperialism Expanse… …as it rises in what used to be Zecia. Zac just gets the side bennies of getting the bit of the Void Mountain unlocked. Oh…and since all of these carry through, all of the Earth will know that he helped them out, outside the Memory Realm.
Jeff McCulley
I don’t think Zac eats the entire storm. I think it (or what causes it) fuels the Bridge.
Jeff McCulley
He upgraded his VE Bloodline at the Crnturion Lighthouse. I believe the Void Mountain is the only one he has so far, but he had experience dealing with each Dao in the Perennial Vastness when he was completing the quests for his Omnitool. Those are finished.
Michael
I think that makes some sense. We know that authority is something that has to be taken. It’s possible that the Courts sealed off Dao authority in some of the courts to cripple other paths to the terminus until the system could reach maturity. I imagine that the Primo would care quite a bit if some of his authority was taken and stopped him from perfecting the peak of death. Which would be very interesting if Zac ends up absorbing it.
Jeffrey Worrall
I wonder if the Fuxi Mountain Gate - "It's a bridge that connects the Upper Planes to the Void of Dao.." is similar to what the guys who Zac ran from were talking about? "The Daedalian Court. The Buddhists have found clues to the bridge of Karma," Emir said." Maybe just a naming convention or maybe all of the courts have an "bridge" artifact..
Alexander
Does Esmeralda not know that the heavens are manmade as well?
Enthoney
In DoFt’s case, The Eternal (someone from the First Era who could have achieved Eternity by eating the Multiverse) wanted to upgrade the Multiverse to become eternal. So they essentially set up a recycling / refining system as the Cosmic Destiny and 4 Laws to make it possible. Balance is enforced as a law to prevent the Multiverse from losing too much energy before the upgrade happens.
BigOz
I feel like that’s how most the chapters are nowadays. But I still mostly enjoyed it. I understand he’s trying to stretch things out.
Austin Richins
FUCK-YEAH
Silent Consent
Kind of a waste of a chapter honestly, it added nothing that couldn’t have been said in two paragraphs. The whole thing was just a big glowing sign saying it’s a trap but Zack don’t give a shit. Lol
Shivam
Balance is part of the four laws and has been present in every era since the beginning of multiverse from the first era itself. That means balance and other laws were present in the first era which was the era of the eternal , and have been part of every era since then
Jeff McCulley
I know. So?
Shivam
Fuxi is a figure from Chinese mythology
Borbino the great
Ohhh I love that idea his entire inner world would encompass the void by the time he reached the peak wouldn’t that in a way mean Zac is holding up the dao then?
RGrocks
I can see him now sucking up the real void mountain
Mateo Lopez
Hot take? I think Zac might step into Monarchy at the end of at the end of Ultom. Edit: I completely forgot that he still needs to go to Sanctuary. So I think Zac will get very close monarchy by the end of Ultom
NiceTryMate
I thought the faith seal was the only completed seal so far? Might have misread. I thought Zac was sad he didn’t have D grade bloodline during perennial vastness, since he could have gathered materials for more seals from those peak environments. I remember in the bloodline vision, that it was extremely hard to complete seals, and Karz had very few. Among them was a seal from the peak of materia, which makes sense since Karz was from an alchemy faction.
Jeff McCulley
You know, TFD stuck it right there in our faces, and I don’t see anyone who caught it yet. Fuxi Mountain Gate? Yeah, there’s zero way that’s NOT “Fucksy Mountain Gate”. Because Zac.
Jeff McCulley
Psst. Just wait until Friday!
Omiso
There still no clear explanation of what the Void Mountain is but it appears to be a manifestation of the void in the current era. Zac has formed an illusory version of it inside his soul thanks to an epiphany during his duel with Kator. He further strengthen that illusion by following Karz vision and forming 17 seals (one per Main Dao Peak) that was completed during the Steele trials of the Empyrean Chalice, he formed the seal of faith on the last trial. It is strongly related to the bloodline of the Void Emperor and Zac needs to lean how to boost it if he wants to go further in the path of cultivation.
Luke Scheffe
I’m thinking he survived and brings the kid out, then has to manually travel to the city outside the lantern and bring the kid into the memory domain so he can do as promised.
Luke Scheffe
They aren’t any more connected to balance than usual. Balance is one of the four laws and transcends reality and the Dao. All eras are subjected to it the same.
Iron Knight
Guys, wait a minute did any of us really think this would end any other way really? I mean yes, Zac is a good guy but he is also a loot goblin as well.
Michael
I’m loving the direction Ultom is taking so far. Seems like the main focus is going to be Zac finally getting a better understanding of the Void. To me this reads like the LE needed a way to hold up the terminus, and by extension the multiverse when the system drained all the Dao. So they sealed off access to the Void Mountain with Faith and forced it to bear that weight. That would explain why the Dao is weaker, it’s missing its foundation. They sacrificed progress on the Void so they could perfect the Dao, but now Zac can change that. His bloodline gives them a chance to perfect both.
D
What exactly is the void mountain again? I thought it was supposed to be the broken peak
Lex Luther S
Nahhh this kid is insanely strange and I have a feeling he'll keep his end of the bargin, even if it means reaching through time or somehow forcing the memory lantern to remain. He's demanding balance, which is where the tribulation lighting and fighting off the heretics comes into play
Lex Luther S
It makes me wonder about the nature of balance in the other eras. The current era is obsessed with balance because their current era is built upon the dao of order, making the era of order and balance is an absolute necessity in keeping proper order. But what about the previous era? The primordial era built upon the dao of chaos? I really wanna know how the other peaks and balance was affected in such a chaotic era.
Shivam
Balance has always been an integral part of Taoism, from which this story and many other cultivation stories in the genre take inspiration. The symbol of yin-yang that represents taoism is perfect representation of balance between opposing forces.
Omiso
A yes a tribulation while under combat, because that fight with Kator was awesome and now we get an encore. I know every story comes to an end but this Memory Lantern sure seems determined to go out with a bang.
TKO
Greeeeeeeeeed
Porter
What a world this series has created. Balance is what interests me. Why balance must be maintained, across time, but especially now. I think we don't know the full story on that yet. And all that could be possible with direct access to Void Mountain. Are gates reusable? Will Zac need to find more gates, and who will unlock them after these first 2? The nature of the Terminus is so interesting, and its relationship with the Void. So much to think about.
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Rushin Lad
What a bargain indeed
NiceTryMate
Poor Esmeralda, this is probably going to make their track more bumpy! How will Arcaz’ bloodline respond if Zac ends up eating the entire storm? Will it enrage all beast emperors within several days travel? Can’t wait to see
Scott Mingo
Don't eat the gate, Zac! No! Bad Zac! So, Fuxi Mountain Gate + Purity of the Void = Zac gets to use the Void Mountain as his Inner World, taking all bets!
Nic McGuinness
Should Nature's Edge not be Evolutionary Edge?
Other Tan
Heavenly tribulation, a hungry void blood line that needs to be fed, a possible connection between the lower planes (imperial graveyard arc) and the void of dao/void mountain (as neither are the upper planes), some mysterious power that allows Zac to pull treasures/relics out of dreams of the past, and talk of karma. All this, and all I can think of is that since all this happened in the past, perhaps Zac and his Primal Edict are the origins of the Black Heart Sect's heart curse, or that Zac is the origin of the Sangha.
Lucas Gulick
Love Zac, tftc!
Frederik
I fear that this might be a tease and that zac will get kicked out of the memory Domain early with no void mountain related Details for us
Reno
We jumped off the last cliff only to land softly before a much greater cliff. Defiance of the Fall is better than Zac's own heart cultivation technique.
Lex Luther S
Bruhhhh zac is INSANE and I'm all for it🤣🤣🤣 He's about to go all out in a way we can't fathom. Using every tool in the belt, ring, sling and coin purse along with the kitchen sink🤣🤣 and his reward is a bridge directly to the Void mountain which is an INSANE boon. This can drastically speed up zacs comprehension of the voids for his respective daos and it makes me very eager for Fridays chapter. A setup for Primal edict and a few other traps. Zac needs all his attention on the half-step monarch/ Peak D grade leader to win this and that's if Tams body even survives till then if his body already strains this much under zacs energy. Truly can't wait for Friday as not only will we get to see zac munch on some Lightning but also bring the pain in what's to be one of the best fights of the series.
FriendorFo
What. A. BARGAIN.
Jason Hatter
Dayum
Owen Kaz
This week on Bargain Hunters! Stopping alongside a lone grave in the middle of an unending storm...
Andrew
Thank you!
Roast
Yaya
