by KSY
Ryan began to advance his Poison Attribute Soul Core soon after. It took him just a few days to attain a breakthrough in his Poison Attribute Soul Core, and successfully advance it to Late Mortal Lord Realm.
Ryan’s strength had also increased exponentially following his breakthrough which would allow him to move around unhindered in Raspite. He was certain that now he could finish off a Late Mortal King Realm Martial Artist with extreme ease and contend with an Early Mortal Emperor Realm Martial Artist, if he used Liquid Spirit Power to power his attacks.
His bodily toughness had increased to a whole new level where even Late Mortal Emperor Realm Martial Artists would be unable to injure him, while the strength of his soul had also increased, so now its strength was equivalent to that of Late Mortal Emperor Realm Martial Artists. The range of his Soul-sense had once again increased, so it now had a range of seventy meters.
Dargar’s toxicity was now comparable to that of an Early Mortal Emperor Realm Poison Being, that had yet to increase its toxicity by devouring Earth Poisons.
The Liquid Spirit Power inside his Poison Attribute Soul Core had become many times purer than before, which would further increase the power of his Poison Attribute attacks.
This meant that Ryan’s Poison Attribute attacks could easily threaten the life of an Early Mortal Emperor Realm being. He could also deal with an Early Mortal Sage Realm being if he were to use Dargar’s Emerald Fog Innate Ability, while Mid Mortal Sage Realm beings would be in Mortal danger if they were to get poisoned by Emerald Fog, but the chances of that happening were quite low, as it wouldn’t be easy for Ryan to poison a Mortal Sage Realm being with his current Cultivation Level. The latter just needed to make sure that it didn’t come in contact with Emerald Fog, whereas a single attack from such a being was sufficient for taking Ryan’s life.
Ryan continued to cultivate Poison Attribute Elemental Laws even after successfully advancing his Poison Attribute Soul Core, but unexpectedly, he was jolted out of his deep Cultivation state by a powerful energy ripple that came from the black side of his Soul World.
Ryan immediately sent his consciousness to the black side of his Soul World. Yama, Earl and Dargar were already looking at the source of disturbance with a serious expression. The source was none other than Death Sword, who was covered in his entirety with Miasma, and the quantity of it was increasing each minute.
Ryan was least bothered about the Miasma spreading inside his Soul World as he was immune to it. If it had been someone else, though, then he or she would have died from even a little bit of it. The runes on Death Sword were also shining with Unholy black light.
“What exactly is happening to Death Sword?” Ryan asked in a concerned manner.
“It is most likely due to him being in the final stages of fusing the Black Pearl with himself. Let’s hope he gains some powerful ability after completely fusing with it,” Yama said with a serious expression, but anyone could sense his excitement from his tone. A smile appeared on Ryan’s face on hearing Yama’s words as he watched Death Sword with great expectation.
The atmosphere around Ryan turned ghastly as his entire body was covered in Miasma. It was a good thing that he was inside the Spatial Cultivation chamber otherwise it would have been tough for him to explain its source. This Miasma could even kill Gods.
After some time the Miasma around him disappeared as if it had never existed and the Miasma around Death Sword also completely disappeared without a trace, and the runes on his blade also stopped shining. Death Sword had reverted to his normal state. Ryan and his Martial Spirits almost vomited blood on seeing this.
“It seems Death Sword failed,” Dargar said with a sigh.
“It’s OK. It is not always that a Life Weapon gains an ability after fusing a Heavenly Treasure with itself,” Yama said with a sigh. Ryan and the others just nodded their heads. They’d known that such an outcome was possible right from the start, and that the chances of that happening were extremely high.
“Don’t over-think,” a deep voice came from Death Sword as he transformed into his Humanoid form. Ryan and his Martial Spirits could now tell that the Death Sword’s condition was way better than before which made them a little happier.
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked and his eyes started to shine brightly, as he could tell from Death Sword’s words that all was not lost.
“I was successful in fusing with the Black Pearl, and that has resulted in the evolution of my Undead rearing space,” Death Sword said with a smile on his face, but the smile made him look like a lunatic.
“Did it gain any new functions?” Ryan asked in an excited manner, and his Martial Spirits were equally excited.
“Yes, it has started producing Netherworld Honey, and it can now accommodate your Soul beings unlike before,” Death Sword said with a loud laugh.
“What is Netherworld Honey?” Ryan asked with an excited look on his face. He had high expectations, as he could tell from Death Sword’s tone that Netherworld Honey was something exceptional. Earl and Dargar also perked up their ears, unlike Yama who had a look of disbelief as he knew exactly what it was.
“Netherworld Honey is a Heavenly Treasure that can only be found in the Divine Universe and its appearance causes a bloodbath each time. All Death Attribute Humanoids go to any lengths to acquire it, as it is an extremely rare Heavenly Treasure but very useful to them, Death Sword started to explain.
“Netherworld Honey has only one use. Generally, the number of equal contracts a Humanoid can form is equal to the number of Elemental Cores or Soul Cores that he or she possesses, but a drop of Netherworld Honey allows a Death Attribute Humanoid to form one more Equal contract than the number of Equal contracts allowed by the Heavenly Laws,” he added in a triumphant manner, as he looked at them intently.
“The Death Attribute Humanoid can only form this extra Equal contract with another Death Attribute being which would increase the affinity of that Humanoid with Death Attribute. So, its significance can be understood,” Death Sword said as he smiled broadly.
“My former master once fought tooth-and-nail for a single drop of Netherworld Honey, but he had to flee in the end to save his life. The competition for that single drop of Netherworld Honey was even more intense than that for Heavenly Death Pearl, because even Ancient Beings had come for it,” Death Sword explained. Anyone could tell how excited he was from his tone.
“So, that means that I can have as many Soul beings as I want?” Ryan asked, but his eyes were shining brightly like a small kid who has just received a new toy from his parents.
Death Attribute beings are rare, but almost all of them are far more terrifying and vicious than the beings of other attributes. Just their appearance causes a big commotion in both the Divine Universe and the Mortal Universe.
The other plus point of having Soul beings is that they are extremely loyal, compared to Undead creatures or any other creature that’s enslaved. If he had a large number of Soul beings, then he would be an unstoppable force on Grandura and even in Divine Universe in the future.
“There is a catch. I can’t produce Netherworld Honey limitlessly. I can only produce one drop every year,” Death Sword said, and his voice dropped a little in enthusiasm compared to before. Ryan and his Martial Spirits could tell the reason, as their enthusiasm had also taken a hit, but nevertheless, they were still extremely happy.
This new ability of Death Sword’s was simply Heaven Defying, even if it did have some limitations.
“How many drops do you have currently?” Ryan asked.
He had heard from his mother that many rare creatures lived in Raspite, so he could try getting a new Soul being. He knew that if he formed an Equal contract inside the Treasure Space, then he would be in a problematic situation and would have a hard time explaining it to others.
Since he was a Dual Martial Spirits holder in the eyes of the world, that meant he could only have two Soul beings at most, and his family and the rest of the clan members already kne
w about Thorn and Caius. He had yet to tell them about Isa for this reason.
“Three,” Death Sword said.
“Well, that is more than enough,” Ryan said and a smile appeared on his face as an idea struck him. He would just tell his family and others about Death Sword if he were to form an Equal contract. He would introduce Death Sword as his Third Martial Spirit to them, and since Death Sword was his Life Weapon they were bound to believe him. He was certain of that.
He had also decided that he would only form an Equal contract with a being inside the Treasure Space, if that being was extremely rare and difficult to find on Grandura.
“We should also rename Undead Rearing Space, since it can now hold your Soul beings,” Dargar suggested.
“Let’s call it Death dimension,” Earl suggested and everyone readily agreed as they liked the sound of that.
“By the way, how is your condition now?” Ryan asked, as he could tell that Death Sword was far more energetic than before.
“I have recovered partially, but it will still take a very long time for me to recover completely,” Death Sword said with a sigh. His condition was not that easy to treat as his soul had received severe damage.
“Don’t worry. I will try to find some more Heavenly Treasures of a similar grade to that Black Pearl for you, so you can quickly recover,” Ryan said with a serious and determined expression.
“Thank you, Master,” Death Sword said with a deep bow, though he knew that it wouldn’t be easy for Ryan, as only Heavenly Treasures that were meant for Gods and beings beyond the existence of Gods could help him. The discovery of the Black Pearl had indeed been a lucky coincidence. He knew that the chance of that happening again was extremely slim.
“No need,” Ryan said, but his expression changed because he’d realized something.
“Death Sword, since Netherworld Honey is extremely coveted stuff, won’t it be problematic if I used it openly,” Ryan asked. Ryan’s question made the excitement of his Martial Spirits decrease by a few notches.
“There’s no need to worry about that. The Netherworld Honey produced by me is completely different from the one found naturally in both color and aura. Even beings from the Divine Universe that have previously seen the other Netherworld Honey would be unable to recognize it. So, Master can relax,” Death Sword said with full confidence.
“What about the Miasma of the Black Pearl? Can you generate that?” Ryan asked with eagerness. If that was possible, then he could wipe out any faction on Grandura with ease.
“I can’t. The Black Pearl only gave me an ability to produce Netherworld honey,” Death Sword said with regret, as he knew that the Black Pearl’s Miasma had far more uses than the Netherworld Honey.
“It’s OK,” Ryan said. He was already more than happy.
“Will you again enter a deep sleep-state?” Earl asked with concern as he sensed that Death Sword was becoming less energetic with each passing moment.
“Yes,” Death Sword said with a sad expression, as he didn’t like the fact that he was of no use to Ryan.
“It’s OK. Your health comes first,” Ryan said in a consoling manner.
“Master, I will be entering a deep sleep-state within moments. So, listen carefully.
“In order to use this new ability of mine, you will just have to think, and my body will release a drop of Netherworld Honey. Mix Netherworld Honey with your blood while initiating an Equal contract,” Death Sword said as he again transformed into his sword form and entered a deep sleep-state, following which Ryan discussed the new ability of Death Sword with his Martial Spirits so they could maximize the gains from it.
“Ryan, I think you should head out otherwise you’ll miss all the fun of the Divine Trials,” Dargar suggested.
“I intend to,” Ryan said. From the start he’d had no intention of wasting any more time in a Closed-door Cultivation session and had intended ending it in the next few days, except that Death Sword had forced him to end it early.
“Let’s first find your fellow group-members. You can go with them to Forest of Tears. I am sure that you will find a lot of rare and powerful Death Attribute creatures there,” Yama suggested. Ryan, Earl and Dargar couldn’t help but smile on hearing this proposal from Yama.
Ryan then exited his Soul World following which he contacted Caius to find out about the situation outside. Caius hadn’t wished to disturb him in the previous two months as he was in a Closed-door Cultivation session, so he’d stopped updating Ryan with the happenings in Sundering Valley.
Caius was elated when he received Ryan’s Mental-message transmission. He quickly informed Ryan about everything that had occurred in the previous two months including the emergence of a large number of Heavenly Treasures in Raspite which shocked Ryan.
The thing that had shocked Ryan even more, was the arrival of Sheldon, Danr and Brian in Heavenly City, as that meant that they had been forgiven by the Main branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan. Ryan was happy for them. He exited his Spatial Cultivation chamber once Caius had updated him about all the happenings outside. He knew that he would have to hurry if he wished to acquire one or two more Heavenly Treasures for himself.
Ryan had a calm expression as he appeared outside his Spatial Cultivation chamber. Everything was same as before: nothing had changed inside the underground cave. Ryan recalled all the ghouls to his Undead pouch and collected all the charms that he had placed on the walls of the cave near its entrance, and then exited the cave. The first thing that he saw after exiting the cave were the carcasses of a number of Poison Attribute creatures. A smile appeared on Ryan’s face upon seeing that.
Ryan then started running at his top speed in the direction of his group-members as Caius had informed him about Raban’s achievements. He knew that he would have a tough time acquiring Heavenly Treasures if he went solo.
His best possible course of action was to quickly reunite with his fellow group-members.
Raban’s group was currently in the Metallic Sheen Mountain Range, just adjacent to Poison Meadow. Raban and the other members of his group were doing last minute preparations for attacking the Metallic Hell Dragon. They had the support of eighteen other groups, who were also preparing to attack the Metallic Hell Dragon just like them.
They would strike the moment their preparations were completed.
In Sundering Valley, everyone’s attention quickly moved to the screen that was focused on Ryan the moment he came out of his Spatial Cultivation chamber. A smile appeared on the faces of Sheldon, Danr and Brian who were quietly hovering up in the sky above Sundering Valley.
Sheldon had recently informed Danr and Brian about him imparting Evil Fire Spirit Martial Skill to Ryan, but they weren’t surprised as they’d been expecting that. The fact that Ryan had already created his own Evil Fire Spirit had shocked them, though, as they knew the time Sheldon had taken to create his own Evil Fire Spirit. Sheldon had spent about five centuries creating his own Martial Spirit, so he was also having a hard time believing Ryan’s words, but he had faith that Ryan he wouldn’t lie to him. Previously, Ryan had sent him a Mental-message transmission informing him about Lachesis. Sheldon, Danr and Brian had come to Sundering Valley just for the sake of seeing Ryan’s Evil Fire Spirit. They wanted to see what kind of Evil Fire Spirit Ryan had created in less than a month of Sheldon imparting the Martial Skill to him.
Ryan’s entire family was standing in the Outer region of Sundering Valley, and just like everyone else, they were looking at the screen showing Ryan. Oscar, Shana, Blake and Cris were also present. Oscar had a silly smile plastered on his face, as he liked to be by the side of his entire family. He also had a tiara made up of flowers on his head. It had been made by his second-youngest granddaughter especially for him. Julia, Emilia and rest of the people from Ryan’s family were standing by his side. Many people were stunned by the transformation in Oscar’s demeanor: they were unable to tell that this was the Oscar from two decades ago.
Cris had been a litt
le apprehensive about coming back, but this time he’d had no choice. Sheena and Alwin apologized to him the moment he returned for not believing him in the past. Sheena had held him in her arms for half a day as if she was scared that he might disappear again, and she released him only after he promised that he would never again run away from home.
Blake, on the other hand, had always wanted to meet the rest of his family members so he was extremely happy after meeting them. Julia and the other women of the house were extra sensitive towards his needs as he was just like an orphan, since his mother had disappeared and his father was dead. As for Shana, Ryan’s family had been unable to recognize her after her return. She no longer looked like a sick person and was extremely energetic. Ryan’s entire family was exceptionally happy. Julia just prayed that these times continued forever.
“Grandfather, is Big Brother going to lose?” a small girl asked. Her name was Reena and she was the one who’d made the floral tiara for Oscar. Reena’s question attracted the attention of the entire family.
“It’s OK even if he loses. He has already gotten himself quite a few priceless Plant Spirits, and some of the Immortal Plant Spirits that he captured can’t be found on Grandura easily,” Oscar replied to her as he gently patted her.
“If those Plants Spirits were brought out of the Treasure Space, then a bloodbath would be guaranteed. Since he has managed to absorb the essences of so many of them, then his insights in Poison Elementals Laws should have increased by leaps and bounds. This alone is sufficient reward,” Oscar went on to say.
Julia and the rest just smiled hearing on his reply. It was clear that Oscar had no intention of unnecessarily burdening Ryan with expectations.
