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Chapter 1,251.
🕑 Added 2024-05-13 18:32:33 +0000 UTCWith Zac creating a safe zone that greatly diminished the purple mist in the immediate surroundings, they got a proper look at the Polaris Vault. It almost looked like they'd been sent to a graveyard rather than a treasury, or a crypt since they were back in a room with proper ceilings and walls.
There were over a dozen pedestals resembling tombstones nearby, with even more hidden by the haze. Around half were protected by barriers identical to the one that appeared around the Yphelion, though these were of significantly greater make. Runes flickering with starlight floated in the shields, incinerating any corruption that came close.
"The nodes differ in size and material, and they're placed seemingly randomly instead of in neat rows," Galau mused. "I think it's a star map."
"Let's go. I can't keep this up forever," Zac grunted with a constipated expression.
"I can't believe you're even alive," Emily said.
Zac wasn't as bad off as he wanted to appear. [Purity of the Void]'s pocket space was cleansing the corruption as quickly as it was provided, showcasing the incredible capacity of his Hidden Nodes after they'd evolved to D-grade. That wasn't to say he wasn't facing some trouble; the significant drain on his Vigor and Void wasn't faked.
Running [Purity of the Void] came with a noticeable drain on the Void Vigor stored in his cells. Either body could provide the energy necessary for his Void Emperor Nodes, but it was a finite resource. Meanwhile, he had to rely on [Immutability of Eoz] and [Adamance of Eoz] to withstand the taint until it entered the purifying space.
His situation would have been much better if [Void Heart] had finished digesting the latest round of tribulation lightning. It could help him replenish the Void Vigor he lost by refining Life- and Death-attuned Natural Treasures, both of which Zac had ample reserves of. Unfortunately, he had to wait another day, at the very least, before it was done.
"Same solution as last time?" Ogras said.
"We don't have any escape treasures this time. We need a way out of here first," Zac said.
"What's that?" Kator interjected.
"We destabilized the breach we found inside the Void Star with spatial bombs," Zac explained. "Destroying the breach in here would stop the inflow, but it's hard to tell how this subspace would be affected."
"It should be extremely reinforced," Galau offered.
"Well, we're not," Kator said.
"We don't have to do anything right now. There doesn't seem to be any Qriz'Ul here, so let's get the lay of the land," Zac said.
Zac inched toward the closest pillar with the storm of tomahawks following in step. Galau had taken out four Array Disks that floated around him, each scanning for various threats. Ogras was doing the same by sending shadow tendrils beyond the limits of their sight. Only Kator remained unoccupied, looking like he was taking a stroll in the park. Then again, he'd be the main combatant in case something happened.
The closest pillar was made from a sparkling mineral, and while its shielding had failed, the Star-attuned material seemed to inherently rebuff the corruption. It was funneling energy into the box atop it, and Zac didn't need Galau to confirm the tomb-like stone was a treasure-nurturing array.
Ogras gingerly extended a tendril after Galau gave the go-ahead. The box turned into dust at the moment of touch, making the group tense up. No trigger traps were sprung, and the demon picked up the five identical crystals that fell out of the box without issue.
"One each?"
"That's fine," Zac said before infusing his will. "Huh? The [Starfall Scripture]? The thing they handed out during orientation?"
"This one is the same," Emily said. "Wait… just how much is stored on here?"
"Amazing… This is the real deal—a top-tier heritage covering multiple aspects. Everything but the top layers are on here. There are even insights from previous masters," Ogras excitedly said.
"There are damaged sections in mine," Kator said.
"Same here," Zac said.
"We might come close to a full version if we fill in the gaps with the others," Galau said. "I don't have anything that can store this much information, though."
"It won't matter," Kator said. "A Supremacy engraved these crystals, and the words hold remnants of their insights. Any copy we make will miss the essence."
"Look at the adjustment exercises before the first layer," Emily said.
"So that's it," Zac nodded after scanning the mentioned section. "That would be enough for orientation."
The adjustment was a mix between Heart Cultivation and energy molding. Many features of today's cultivation didn't exist back in the day. Pathways weren't as intricate, and skill fractals didn't even exist. Cultivators used various methods to mimic the effect, including the introductory technique of the [Starfall Scripture].
It had you channel energy in a specific way while mentally intoning a particular sutra. The effect was your whole body would act like a tuning fork, remolding one's energies to better suit the other techniques in the scripture. It was a temporary version of the benefits one received by practicing traditional cultivation manuals, which meant anyone could use it without any long-term downsides.
Zac guessed that the method had two effects on the corruption. First, the heritage was evidently good at resisting the influence of the Lost Era's Dead Dao. Meanwhile, chanting the scripture was similar to self-hypnosis, which helped reject the mental influence.
"I can't believe this. We just stepped through the door and got handed a top-tier technique," Ogras whispered as he looked at the hundreds of tombs waiting. "If this is a dream, don't wake me up."
"This doesn't look too complicated. Let me try it out," Emily said before closing her eyes.
It took less than a minute before her aura subtly changed, and Zac could see how half the nearby mist was rebuffed. The others quickly followed suit. Even Kator, who utilized Miasma, successfully adjusted his aura. Only Zac remained, repeatedly trying and failing to replicate the effect with either body.
"I guess not," Zac said when the others looked at him with surprise.
"It's easy to forget you're a Mortal," Emily said with a helpless smile. "Well, you won't have to push yourself as hard with us maintaining the scripture."
"Let's keep looking," Zac said.
Zac wasn't particularly disappointed. Using the scripture would mean cutting his insight accumulation in half. And if he could analyze the technique, he might be able to replicate the effect in a way that worked with his restrictions.
The group avoided the closest pedestal as it was protected by a barrier. It was damaged and could likely be overwhelmed, but why take the risk for an unknown reward? The vault was clearly in decent enough condition that they should expect retaliation from a forced extraction. Furthermore, the shields made it impossible to see what, if anything, waited within.
Their caution proved insufficient to avoid disaster. The whole vault trembled as gleaming lights appeared in the mist. Zac barely had time to blink before the starlight had multiplied by the hundreds, forming a wave of stellar wrath that swept the chamber.
The vault was being purified, and they were standing in the middle of it. A skeletal bulwark sprung up around them, empowered by three Earthly Daos. It groaned and creaked, but it held. It was not thanks to Kator's strength. The wave was clearly designed to counter Dead Dao rather than intruders, and the mist was dispersed at a record pace.
It was something else that overwhelmed Kator's defenses the moment they thought themselves safe. A punch of corruption tore a hole in the wall, providing a clear line of sight to the breach. Zac glanced over and almost lost himself in its growing light. He felt so small and helpless before it, like when he faced the coffin in the Threaded Hell.
"Don't look!" Zac screamed as he activated [Profane Exponents] and [Fields of Despair]—skills that could block their view of the breach without implicating the vault or its defenses.
The others quickly followed suit, adding layers upon layers of insulation. Their quick reaction saved their lives, though what made it through the blockade was bad enough. Zac felt like he'd been plunged into the purple pillar he'd accidentally released when getting the second piece of his Flamebearer seal. He was a leaf in the wind, unable to even control his bloodlines properly.
The vault's cleansing procedure hadn't was still running, and Zac could sense how the Stellar Energy was rapidly pulled toward the breach. Then, there was only silence—no purple light and no stars. Their skills collapsed soon after. The Lost Plane's aura had twisted them beyond their breaking point, and holding on would only have damaged the skill fractals.
The chamber was utterly void of any corruption. The breach remained, already fast at work replacing what the stars removed.
"I officially retract my idea to destabilize the tear," Ogras said with lingering fear. "I'm not sure it's even possible. The vault hit it with far harder than we could, and it didn't even budge."
"Something about it is different," Zac agreed.
"We'll be free from corruption for at least half an hour at least," Emily said, taking in the vault. "So there's 168 treasures."
"More like used to be," Ogras said. "Only 103 remain standing. Damn, not even the best ones survived."
There were three tombstones far grander than the others in the middle, each with more than five times as much space around them as the normal ones. The ground was also covered in dense runes around them, proving they were a notch above the rest. It hadn't protected them from the test of time. In fact, it looked like the breach had sprung from one of the tree items, as the purple gash had split one of the pillars right down the middle.
A second central pillar had also collapsed, leaving only one standing. It exuded a silent yet unyielding aura as the lingering stellar energy was being drawn within. Zac suspected the last grand treasure was the source of the cleansing wave, and it was the only reason the whole vault hadn't succumbed long ago. Even the barriers seemed to have regained some of their spirit after the outburst.
"Over there!" Galau pointed to their left, where the chamber's sole door waited.
"We're not leaving just like this," Kator rejected. "We should have ample time before another wave is released."
"Let's do a quick sweep," Zac agreed.
It didn't take long to inspect the unguarded pillars with the corruption gone. Not a single collapsed tombstone held anything of value. Their luck with the still-standing treasure-nurturing pillars was a little better. They discovered two intact items. One was a Natural Treasure that showed markings of a collapsed domain. In other words, it was once at least a C-grade treasure that had degraded enough to be relegated.
Even then, it could be considered a considered Supreme Quality D-grade treasure of inestimable grade. Its use wasn't evident, but the grand spiritual aura it emitted indicated it was an unattuned Soul Treasure. It was far beyond a normal Soul-Strengthening item, too. Galau theorized it was similar to the top treasures in the Limited Exchange. Eating it would transform your soul, providing a boon similar to gaining a constitution.
It was useless to Zac, who already practiced a Soul Strengthening Manual, but it could potentially provide a significant boost to anyone else. The same was true for the reaver in their group, as their unique bodies made most Soul Treasures worthless.
The other item was an incredibly overbearing Body Tempering Manual called [Stellar Dominion], which allowed you to make rapid progress by swallowing stellar flames and later whole stars. Zac suspected it was based on the predecessor of the Foreign Gods. Like the previous manuals, it was missing some sections, and there were only three copies of it. Kator kept one crystal while the rest went to Zac's camp.
In addition, there were six items of more dubious value. There were two pieces of unique equipment, one sword and one War Cauldron. Rather than Spirit Tools, they appeared to be unique creations holding extreme power. They were the kind of treasures a Clan would take out when facing the threat of annihilation.
Such items generally had unique requirements to be activated, and they either had a limited number of uses or extremely long cooldown times—dozens of millennia at the minimum for items at this level. In addition, they found one scroll, two natural treasures, and a singular Information Crystal.
All six treasures appeared intact, which wasn't enough to hide how they'd been utterly twisted by prolonged exposure to the Lost Plane. The Tool Spirits inside the equipment had been turned into mindless monstrosities similar to Qriz'Ul. There was no telling what would happen if they managed to activate the weapons. Most likely, the user would end up dead rather than their enemy.
The other treasures had similar issues. The words on the scroll had been twisted, and Zac almost lost his mind trying to decipher a few runes. It wasn't even possible to guess the original Dao of the Natural Treasures. They might as well have been born in the Lost Plane. Even Zac doubted he could absorb one without going insane.
Zac still held onto the two Natural Treasures. He couldn't use them today, but he might be able to slowly extract insights from them when he no longer had a free supply of tainted mist. Kator ended up taking the cauldron and Emily the Sword. Galau randomly picked the indecipherable crystal, which he wordlessly handed over to Zac.
The crystal was worthless to him but not to Zac. [Purity of the Void] had cleansed his [Foreign Gods] tome without issue, so he hoped it could do the same with the crystal. That way, he'd get another free top-tier technique. He would have taken the scroll, too, if Ogras hadn't indicated he wanted it.
Zac wasn't planning on using any of the manuals they'd found, but advanced and detailed methods like these were great reference material for upgrading his methods. [Stellar Dominion], especially, seemed very suited to his voracious bloodline.
"Are you really planning to leave the rest?" Kator said when Zac turned toward the door. "The best items are still waiting for us, and they shouldn't be corrupted."
"We need to be alive to enjoy them. Crack one open, and the next star wave will target us instead," Zac said as the door slid open to expose a small room. "You're free to stay behind; we're leaving."
"I'm afraid we're not," Galau grimaced as he rushed toward the only console inside. "I knew it. It's fried."
"How long?"
"To fix it?" Galau said. "A day or two to even get it up and running. And there's no guarantee that'll be enough to take us out of here."
"You can!" Emily exclaimed, holding a tome that had been placed on a desk. "This is a guard room. The console is used to let us back to the lobby and open a gate!"
"I guess you have your job cut out for you," Zac said, turning to Emily. "Anything else?"
"There's not much," Emily said as she browsed the book. "It's just a record of people entering, what item they took, and when they left. Wait! Here's something. 'Perfected Lord Peonsi Urma entered. Chosen by the 74th star after 14 minutes and removed the [Loop of Requital]. Left with 8 hours of accrued Beseechment time.'"
"Beseechment time? Chosen?" Zac said, looking back at the protective bubbles spread through the vault.
"It's worth a try if we're going to be stuck here for a few days," Ogras said.
"How would you even get picked?" Emily said.
"We have the [Starfall Scripture], don't we? I guess we'll just practice it in front of them and see if they're suitably impressed. Maybe release our Dao, too?" Ogras said. "There's 68 of them. Do we split up or move together?"
"Might as well stick together. The corruption will reach dangerous levels in less than an hour or so," Zac said.
"Twenty minutes each? That way, we'll have passed through the chamber in a day," Ogras suggested. "Any longer, and we're probably not fated anyhow."
"Sounds good," Zac said, glancing at Kator. "Half will go to me and Galau."
"You must be joking," the reaver scoffed.
"I'm the one keeping us safe and Galau is the one who's getting us out of here. Half is fair."
The reaver relented after a few seconds of pause. "Fine, but the first pick goes to me. And we'll only divide after we've finished."
"That's okay," Zac nodded.
He didn't hold much hope they'd get chosen by any items after his experience in the Pilgrimage of Faith. The only reason he didn't stop the idea was that he didn't feel any threat coming from the pillars. He simply wanted some safeguards in case the arrays malfunctioned and began spitting out treasures left and right.
Galau set about repairing the damaged Teleportation Array while the others sat down before a guarded pillar. Zac didn't mind that he had no scripture to rotate. He had a belly full of insights and some time to spare. Why not use it? He first turned his attention to the Chaos Library left by Be'Zi and A'Zu.
There'd been no time to properly study the repository since getting it, especially not during their hectic days following their battle with the Black Heart Cultists. Upgrading his Branches of Life and Death to Earthly Daos unlocked a wealth of new knowledge, which was incorporated into Zac's knowledge at incredible speed thanks to [Purity of the Void].
He'd already found the answers to a few major issues with his Late D-grade core blueprint after an hour. Another was enough to reach a minimum working schematic, though he'd exhausted most of his refined inspiration by that point. It was for the best. His mind wrung dry after condensing months' worth of study and insights into two hours.
Not a single treasure had responded while Zac kept himself busy, not so much as a ripple. He was the only one making tangible gains as they moved from one treasure to the next in hopes of acceptance.
A loud crash was followed by a blaring alarm as the ambient energy dropped by a few notches. Zac initially feared Galau had messed up, but he popped out of the guard room with a bewildered expression. "It wasn't me. This is coming from the outside!"
"Another wave on the way?" Emily said with false hope.
"No. This is different. It's almost like…" Ogras didn't want to finish his sentence.
He didn't need to. Zac understood exactly what the demon meant.
"It's like the base is under attack."
Comments
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Jeff McCulley
I expect that he’ll clean up after he cleans up the bad guys. Assuming he doesn’t blow up everything, of course.
David Walsh
Disappointed with the lack of loot lately. Since the mission with the army I've been expecting Zac to clean up like a bandit, but he keeps getting very little. Lighthouse, troves and now here. I need Ogras to go full green, its one of my joys in life.
MacMahon Wenzl
You make some fair points
Chris
I'm stoked on that Nautilus idea, can't wait to see what that's all about
Lex Luther S
Zac technically does have a Middle D grade regalia after using some treasures to transform Ossuary bulwark, but its spirit is of the lowest quality. Anyways, very doubtful TFD would throw a treasure like that to zac, especially because I doubt a void regalia can even be forged. After all, only zac can cultivate the void while others barely get anything from it so making one would be a moot point and a chaos regalia is impossible to forge with the Peak of chaos in such dissary. Maybe once zacs a late stage autarch or supremacy he'd be able to use cosmic forge to craft himself such an armor but till then it's just a dream. Or maybe finding one in the walking Nautilus.
Lex Luther S
It wasn't made from those wandering giants but based off them. Likely some supremacy or Autarch took an interest in the way those dead beings cultivated and made a technique based off their findings.
Mike Naka
6/26/24 maybe? same date as the the book release.
MacMahon Wenzl
I was hoping the Chaos heritage would have a regalia for him, but what if a special void regalia left over from the limitless empire is stored in the vault. It could also be a corrupt regalia that only Zac can wear because of his constitution. I've been feeling for my boi since Ogras came back with his own regalia.
MistuhBogan
I think his ambition is way too high to ever bend the knee, and it would displace Ogras. Do you really think he would serve beneath or even adjacent to Ogras? I don't think Zac would ever make anyone else his right hand by this point. Even Vilari and Joanna are beneath him the moment he got back. I just can't see either him being replaced, or Kator being willing to take orders from someone he is so much more talented and powerful than. Not to mention he is just too untrustworthy by this point to be given significant command as he isn't likely to defend the other weaker MC cast with his life the way Zac, Ogras, and all the others do by their nature were Kator to be put in charge of a strike party or something. I don't think he can switch sides to work for Zac in any case. He is bound by creation to the undead empire. I don't think that's as solid a position when it comes to the Draugur as they are born from parents as they are which is unique to them. Kator was made by hand by I assume a lich... and not technically born. I might be mistaken.
M💬
MistuhBogan. I 💯 agree that Kator is too ambitious and that might lead to his eventual downfall, but I will counter with if you are not ambitious how can you attain the dao……. I think 🤔 there has to be a balance and if Kato is going to switch side Zac has to pull a feat greater than his atavism that will shake his primordial bones LOL……..
MistuhBogan
Also I'd just like to add that I mean no disrespect to anyone here. I don't want us to sully the comments section with foul tempers an arguments. We can all have opinions, guesses, and assumptions on how the story will move forward. While also keeping it civil. It might just be me, but it feels like Kators life an death started to get a little warm there. If I'm mistaken just ignore this comment.
MistuhBogan
M. I conceed your point. Every cultivator is essentially doing the same. I don't necessarily disagree with anything you said. My only defense for my position in reading what you wrote would be that it's a matter of ambition. Kator has too much ambition from what I can tell. He won't settle for being second fiddle. He wants to rule, and not to follow.
MistuhBogan
You think he had any other options but to help or die? Also to say I can't assumes I attempted. Every action he takes is for his own immediate benefit. I can only guess he is a favored character for you or something and that's fine. If you want him to live that's just as valid a position. He has made himself useful when his life is on the line. You attribute things he has done that helps in order to further his own goals to the goodness of his heart though. He even said himself, he just wants to be out from the thumb of the old monsters and is using Zac to get that. As for major problems he presents? He isn't capable of it. Zac in the story has yet to ever be walled off from a goal before. He has never been soundly bested from any opportunities. He has lost fights, but he has never been outright beaten to a goal or stopped. I will grant you though that generally annoying, and making things more difficult is about all he is capable of being though. An Zac has killed people for less. There are only two options I can see for Kator. He joins the crew under Zac after some kind of redemption arc like self sacrifice or nearly so (Only after a very sound beating by Zac to bring him down a couple pegs). Second option is he becomes nourishment for Zac's path. I simply said that I would personally rather he die. There is nothing wrong with holding that opinion no?
M💬
If you read some cultivation comics or story most of them use providence has a big factor the more fate you have with heaven the more fortuitous encounters you will encounter. And in Zac’s situation he is clearly a heavens son so anything he touches turns to gold,but the heavens can’t have a weak child so it adds challenges to test and strengthen its chosen.
M💬
I don’t agree with the second part I don’t think Zac’s fortuitous encounter are coincidence but just crazy luck. TFD made it clear with different characters that his providence is just insane even Sendor a pseudo immortal said he has a nasty luck. The way I see Zac is a force of nature that should not exist because he breaks balance. That’s why IZ was saying you can’t keep taking without giving back…… Kator having thought self preservation is not a bad thing every cultivator wants to reach the peak of their dao. If I was in his shoes I will cause some nuisance to save myself….. I think that’s what makes his character interesting. He will do whatever to chase his dao and tbh Zac is also similar in that sense.
Lex Luther S
No, the pope won't get that rune because he's using a backdoor method to force his way to the base and doesn't have a key like zac does. He created a tunnel of solidified space from the sacrificial array and the daughter array he found gave the direction for the anchors to do so, and technically the daughter arrays signal isn't fake because it is connected to the Centurion base, but not a key.
Lex Luther S
The pope wasn't summoning something but using a sacrificial array to create a tunnel of solidified space to get through the spatial storm. Afterall, he only has a direction, not a key like zac. And that's highly unlikely as he would have gotten a direction and not have to use such a complex sacrificial array to brute force an opening through the storm to the base; afterall, "Yrin" said the child that ruined his carefully laid plans is there and has an actual key while he doesn't.
Jeff McCulley
All that to say, “I can’t actually come up with a single point where Kator has been anything worse than annoying”, and “I’m determinedly ignoring his contributions”. Gotcha. Thanks. You could have just said that you don’t like the character, and left it at that. I’ll help this much. He helped when he whacked Zac with his Temporal Dao. Twice. He took on the Half Step Monarch so that Zac could take out the second two. No one else could have done that. He helped cover everyone to get through the transporter. Even right now, next chapter, he helped. And those are just the easy ones, off the top of my head. And you cannot come up with a single instance where Kator has actually done something of his own volition that has hindered the mission. Not a single one. Even the damn mine hasn’t negatively impacted anything. Oh, and in case you didn’t pay attention, he DID kill a bunch of Reaver assassins from another clan who were after Zac, in order to get it in the first place. And if Zac’s people hadn’t killed Kator’s two, it wouldn’t be on a hair trigger. Thanks for replying.
MistuhBogan
Actually look at the situation we are in now for evidence of this: He is in a losing war against another sector of many many people beyond his power to defeat. His PLAN to accomplish the IMPOSSIBLE task of single handedly turning a loss into a win for his sector is to accomplish yet a second IMPOSSIBLE TASK. To accomplish this second IMPOSSIBLE task he accomplished a third IMPOSSIBLE task to break into a place no one else could. Using a set of circumstances that just so happen to be coinciding at the same time (the whole plan with the bell). Oh and just for good measure he does so by achieving something almost no one else who has ever tried has been able to achieve. Which just so happened to give a hegemon the unique chance to use a power beyond his limits to bring low not 1... Not 2.. but 3 Autarchs simultaneously.. yet another impossible task. Zac isn't breaking fate, he is so fated that it's ridiculous. He is the fulcrum of the era itself. He is what all other fates are seemingly balanced on.
MistuhBogan
Major impediment, yes. Not due to any one factor, but for his consistency. You can't really make the argument that his antics have actually helped Zac. Because the continued theme of the story is everything works out to be to Zac's advantage. Bad stuff happens for him.. only for him to fall face first into a hill of treasure for accomplishing something no one else could due to his unique advantages and being just where he needs to with just what he needs to survive it. He gains something, and it just so happens what he gains is exactly what he needed to help him advance a thing that allowed him to advance another thing that allowed him to solve the next impossible task. There are two ways you can look at Zac. One is the way TFD outwardly says he exists within the text. He is able to defy fate, and forge his own path. The second is that his path is so meticulously predestined to the degree it only looks like he is altering fate, and all these things are happening exactly how they are supposed to for him and everyone around him to get him exactly where he is supposed to go. Wherever that may be. I think it's actually the second one rather than the first. Everything he encounters and deals with are way too coincidental. Though maybe that's the limitation of writing such a story to begin with. He always happens to be right where he needs to be both in his cultivation and often in physical space to see a key detail no one else would have otherwise, have just the tools he needs to barely scrape by and exploit the situation, and have just the right mindset to accomplish everything he does. Kator does nothing to help Zac. He is only interested in himself. He is an old monster that isn't old yet. He just happens to help Zac.... Because... Well.. ultimately everything in the story does end up being helpful to him regardless.
Bryce H.
"After twenty years of study, the Starfall Court determined the origin of the corroded realm that had given them birth. It was the fragment of a Stellar Wanderer, one of its three races of Ancient Arcana." We've literally got one pillar causing the breach, while another is cleansing the corruption with stellar energy. Also Zac mentioned the Stellar Dominion technique was likely from the Foreign Gods' predecessor, IE the Stellar Wanderer, which is neat.
Jeffrey Worrall
My assumption is he was basically summoning the rune that Zac and team got right after the threaded hell, he is a lot further away but the power of the signal he sent was much higher. If that isn’t what he is planning then why send out a fake left imperial palace signal?
Patrick Pendergrass
Does anyone know when the next audio book will be released?
Jeff McCulley
Chapter 1,251 Some few thoughts. First, this has been nagging at me. I feel like the name of the facility getting fritzed out when they arrived was significant. What if the name is, say…the Starfall Court? Then Galau observed: “I think it's a star map." I think that’s also going to be significant. This IS a facility of the Starfall Court, after all. 168 Pillars Interestingly, 168/7=24. ?103 remain intact.) “In fact, it looked like the breach had sprung from one of the tree (three) items, as the purple gash had split one of the pillars right down the middle.” So…a treasure caused this, or is perhaps is functioning and facilitating it? “The other item was an incredibly overbearing Body Tempering Manual called [Stellar Dominion], which allowed you to make rapid progress by swallowing stellar flames and later whole stars.” Hi Iz! “There's 68 of them.” What happened to 103? “…while the others sat down before a guarded pillar. Zac didn't mind that he had no scripture to rotate.” So…basically, while the others are trying, Zac essentially stands there twiddling his thumbs. He’s not even trying, Why does this seem like a mistake? A major one? Two things to note about it. First, there are no members of the Starfall Court (Rhuger and Ra’Klid) with them. It would be a crime to blow this place up. Second…I’m very curious as to what would happen if Zac released his full aura here. Either as Void Emperor or Holy Son (or something else) some—or all 108 might—just drop. “A loud crash was followed by a blaring alarm as the ambient energy dropped by a few notches.” "It's like the base is under attack." Correction. Given the apparent distances, it would appear that THIS specific facility is under attack. Annnnd…what if ALL of the energy fails, and all of the barriers fall? And it would seem these five are only going to get involved in the fight if something breaches the building from the outside. Or maybe…the energy level dropped and alarms went off because someone just managed to fire up the network powering a couple hundred cosmic vessels? The same day they get there is WAY too early for the Pope to arrive. Especially since he was supposed to be following in the wake of someone or something else.
Owen Stevens
no one said that the foreign gods had to be created at the same time as the lost plane. In fact, i would imagine that it's actually highly likely that the foreign gods were somewhat resistant to the corrruption or had some other trait that set them apart from other Criz'Ul. a void afinity might help with that, who knows
Jeff McCulley
You seem to be forgetting that the Pope wasn’t coming first. He was summoning someone or something else, and intending to follow in their wake.
Jeff McCulley
That “daughter array” the Pope had might count as an invite.
Jeff McCulley
That would be a really, really fast trip.
Jeff McCulley
Why do you think that the Pope would be under anyone’s “orders”? Also? It would seem odd to me if the Pope arrived the same day Zac did
Jeff McCulley
A “major impediment”? When was that? An annoyance, yes. Perhaps you’ve missed the times that he’s been a major asset? Including here? And that Link has only helped Zac, not hurt. And…Kator paid for it, in a big way, with the Tribulation Lightning. Even now he’s being a Vigor battery, even if Zac didn’t think about it.
Jeff McCulley
You could be right. Except that it appears the Foreign Gods are likely from the same place as the Qriz'Ul—and it would seem odd if the Lost Plane were, coincidentally, the era that just happened to be the one immediately following the First People. Guess we’ll see before too terribly long.
M💬
Thank you for the clarification
Bryce H.
You said it yourself dude. They didn't need to survive the end of an era, just the formation of one. Which they did, by shoving their 229 inheritances through a vortex that their 6 great ancestors made as the last bit of them rode out the end of their civilization with the birth of the Heavens that the Limitless Empire was founded under.
Bryce H.
The previous era was the Primordial Era. That era ended with a cataclysm. The First People were born during this in-between-eras time. This is pre-system and pre-Dao (current Dao) The new Heavens form and its Dao corrupts and kills off the First People who were entities of pure Aether. Emperor Limitless is born and begins constructing the System. The birth of the System resulted in the dark ages. From what I can tell, the current Dao and Heavens are the same as they were pre-System. It's just that the System gained control over the Dao from the Heavens when it came online, and changed the way cultivation worked.
Sirloki
They were not invited and so could have been attacked as soon as they were in range by whatever automated defensive still work
Matthew Hay
No, the First People lived during the time between eras when the dao was recovering from the previous era. Their time ended when the heavens healed and the dao was restored. Then the Limitless Empire came about at the beginning of this era when the dao was freshly formed. This is why it was said the First People didn't leave a true eternal heritage. Their heritage didn't need to withstand the end of an era, only the beginning of one.
M💬
I thought the first people came when the system went haywire during the dark ages if so the limitless empire would have been long gone…. Unless I am missing something
Tyler S.
Probably had to defend from a base attack first, i dont think he would have the shield array Zac & co. had
Tyler S.
No need for heart curse implantation, a public wipping will do
Joey
And he made the bad decision of using a damage sharer with a guy who eats lightning for fun
Bryce H.
I'll say it again. The Foreign Gods are the corrupted lingering wills of the First People! This vault holds 168 of their 229 inheritances that the Limitless Empire managed to locate and store here. Especially the fact that there's 3 big ones on an altar in the center? Just like there were 3 giant, ancient leaders of the First People in that vision Zac had when he got his Cosmic Forge. If I'm wrong, I'll submit to a Kan'Tanu Heat Curse implantation.
Andrew
Thank you!
MistuhBogan
I sure hope Kator dies by the end. I really don't like him, and the plots, and scheming. He has been a major impediment and deserves to go. He is beyond my forgiveness if I'm giving my personal opinion. He has crossed the team too many times an needs the chop. No redemption.
Unlisted Pokémon Hudson
If it does come down to a fight Zac will find some way to bargain out of it or smth
Unlisted Pokémon Hudson
If it is the pope I don’t think the life saving brand will come in use I’m more inclined to think the pope would be under orders to not kill Zac as the heavens were his sponsor and Iz has relations with Zac
Frederik
that was savage
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Joey
Seems like the other guests are about to finally join the party
Lex Luther S
Hmmmmm, interesting. My bet is the pope and crew have finally arrived; with a C grade vessel, reaching the base is easy with the clear path they had from that array. Unfortunately, there's no fighting that sheer cultivation difference; even Kator would be trounced in a flash, let alone the rest of them. The only hope is any life-saving brands kator has as he's gotta have one or two stashed away for the trial or maybe that cauldron. My question is, why would he start attacking the base if it is the Pope. After all, he likely understands better than anyone, what using such a heavy-handed approach would cause and the dangers it could cause to crop up. Truly can't wait for Wednesdays chapter. Also, did this one seem longer than usual? Seems the schedule change is coming I'm clutch already
Kalthandrix
...your poor girlfriend...
Krispy sock
Love me an ealry chap
Robert Gami
Tfd is the fastest man in the west!
