Defiance of the Fall

Zac stepped out of the Tower of Myriad Dao, his mind a mess. Ralz Calzood had fulfilled her promise by teaching him how to set up a Beseechment Ritual. The [Epiclesis Bell]'s true spirit had fused with and been twisted by the evil entity, but Vilari's captor was forced to take on some of the bell's characteristics. Otherwise, the bell would lose its function, exposing the entity.

Unfortunately, Ralz's warning was right on the money. The original ritual wasn't enough to summon the bell. It would only act as a warning to the entity, exposing Zac's location and intentions. The bell could still be attracted so long as the ritual provided a delectable enough offering to have the entity's instincts overwhelm reason and follow the call.

Human sacrifice.

The bell craved providence, and Ralz knew no other method of offering that than capturing talented cultivators to use their potential as bait. And with fate gathering across the sector, there were promising prey everywhere for the entity to feast on. The offering would have to be significant to draw the entity's attention.

Zac definitely wasn't comfortable doing what Ralz proposed, even if he used Kan'Tanu cultists to power the evil ritual. Even if he did, there were many other roadblocks in the way. The ritual was incredibly complex and required rare, specific materials to work. There was no way he'd manage to set it up alone. Galau could probably do it, but it would take months of preparation.

That left the biggest hurdle—what to do when the bell appeared. Zac could always invite a bunch of Monarchs, relying on their greed upon seeing the bell. He remembered the large cracks covering its surface, with two array patterns already broken. It shouldn't take too much effort to push it over the edge and summon the Heavens.

Which begged the question; what then? How could Zac possibly guarantee Vilari's safety in such a chaotic situation? Ralz felt he was better off leaving the matter alone, leaving Vilari to fend for herself until the trial began. The entity's goal was the inheritance, so the Crown of Despair believed the entity would keep her alive and sane to guarantee access.

Zac wasn't willing to wait that long. Ralz's ideas and suggestions were largely based on guesswork rather than fact. Zac sincerely doubted that the creature was some overwhelmingly powerful being who had crossed the boundless nothingness. If it possessed such strength, then the Beseechment Pavilion wouldn't have been able to take out its main body. People like Karz and Laondio would have to step in.

It seemed far more likely that the entity came from the Lost Plane or a similar hidden realm. Iz had called the corruption "Dead Dao of a previous Heaven," leaking out of a crumbling Eternal Heritage. If it was happening to Ultom, it could happen to the other heritages spread throughout the Multiverse. That would explain Heaven's anger. The entity would be a creature born in a previous Era or formed from its Dao. It could be considered an enemy of the current Dao, just like an invader would.

Zac still didn't know exactly what the deal was with Eternal Heritages. Someone unfathomably powerful had to expend immense effort to let a remnant survive the Dao's collapse. Would these ancient cultivators, who had likely transcended Supremacy, go through all that trouble to give their heritage to some strangers far in the future?

Some might, but Zac felt Eternal Heritages made more sense if you looked at them as Arks designed to cross a stormy sea. The cultivators of the previous Eras weren't willing to go quietly into the night, having all their accomplishments erased along with the Dao.

If that were true, then the heritages might not be unclaimed treasures waiting to be discovered. They were dimensions occupied by immensely powerful beings from a previous era and their descendants. Maybe that was why the Undead Empire still hadn't seized control over the Heart of the Empire. Were its original owners fighting back, leaving the Primo locked in a stalemate?

Perhaps he could find some answers in [Foreign Gods], but more important than the entity's origin was the fact that Ralz's priorities weren't aligned with his. Ralz's similar personality to his mother was possibly fake, but Zac could tell she prioritized the Beseeshment Pavilion's heritage and House Calzood far higher than Vilari's safety.

Truthfully, it was understandable. Many masters were quite callous when it came to their disciples. They provided guidance and materials, but the disciple's life and death were up to themselves. This chasm between high- and low-grade cultivators could be seen everywhere. Generations would come and go in the blink of an eye to those at the top of the pyramid. You only qualified for true impartment and nourishment when you reached a high enough stage.

This harsh reality was doubly true for the masters of the Tower of Myriad Dao. The cultivators who left their inheritances with Brazla did so under duress to solicit his services. It was a transaction, and Ralz Calzood had lived up to her side of the bargain by providing manuals and treasures like Yrial.

Just as Zac was about to step onto the teleporter and return to the Calamity Company, he stopped in thought. Being trapped by the Crown of Despair was another reminder that threats could appear anywhere and anytime. And the mention of invaders from beyond the Terminus made Zac's thoughts turn to the Void Mountain. He hadn't needed to rely on his Bloodline Talent to escape this time, but this was the last time he'd be alone and unmonitored in a while.

Zac hadn't dared infuse [Void Mountain] on himself while aboard the Everfast Monarch's ship, fearing some of it would leak into his human body like what happened with [Void Heart]'s refined energies. However, the strongest man aboard the Cosmic Vessel taking his other half to the floating barracks of the Swenty Sixth was only at Late Hegemony.

Better yet, Zac still possessed the master key to all Creator-made Cosmic Vessels. He never removed that feature on the ships he sold, and no faction and Zecia had discovered the back door access. It was meant as a safeguard for the future. If any of his business partners turned on him, he could take back his goods or even unleash them upon his former allies.

The absolute authority came in handy today, even if Zac doubted anyone had time to bother with him right now. A simple order turned his chamber into a fortress, and all attempts to use the ship's systems to spy on him would return falsified data. Continuing his experiments on his Draugr side wouldn't leave any clues to discover aboard the ship.

Zac returned to his Cultivation Cave and activated his Bloodline Talent, determined not to leave any stone unturned. The illusory mountain returned, and Zac slowly savored the feeling now that he wasn't as pressed for time. The Void Mountain was a part of him now, which ultimately was preferable to having yet another external object lodged in his mind.

The effect of [Void Mountain] on external objects had already been confirmed; pure destruction of spirituality. It was an interesting ability, yet it couldn't be the Void Sigil's only use. Perhaps it wasn't even the intended effect, just something that happened when used on the wrong items.

The mountain was weak and hollow right now, but it had room for growth. At least, Zac assumed it did. His new Bloodline Talent was essentially the same as the one in Karz's vision, though his predecessor formed sigils of the seventeen Dao Peaks. True to form, Zac's corrupted bloodline rather conjured the Void Mountain that propped them up.

Another difference was the permanent presence in Karz's Soul Aperture, compared to Zac needing to actively summon it at the cost of Void Energy. The contrast might be a temporary stopgap. Karz hadn't automatically formed his seals when entering D-grade. The rune representing the Peak of the Grand Materia formed first, thanks to Karz's steady access to matching materials.

Meanwhile, half the sigils remained unformed at the time of the vision despite Karz having been a Hegemon for decades. Zac believed his situation was the same. He could form a permanent Apparition of the Void Mountain as soon as he'd absorbed enough Void Treasures.

Or was he supposed to go the same route as Karz, forming one sigil for each Void Peak, if there even were such a thing?

Zac hoped that wasn't the case, since such an arrangement wasn't suited for him. Karz sought an almost unthinkable path of omniscience by grasping every Dao under the Heavens. Meanwhile, Zac was only cultivating the Peaks of Conflict and Chaos, and he would possibly add their respective Voids down the road.

It was impossible to say which route his bloodline would take by looking at the illusory mountain. However, Zac had a feeling he might have inadvertently altered its trajectory over the past months. He still didn't understand why he'd been sent to the true Void Mountain during his duel with Kator, but it resulted in its apparition taking up residence in his mind.

Then, just minutes before his breakthrough, the Void Mountain fused with his body with the help of the Limitless Emperor and the Tribulation Throne. Maybe that was enough to transform his Bloodline Talent. After all, his apparition looked like an actual mountain, while Karz's sigils more resembled runes or skill fractals.

One thing was for sure. Karz's method of progress was a lot more straightforward. The original Void Emperor could absorb the spirituality of any treasure, and the responding affinity and sigil would improve in tandem. How was Zac supposed to do the same for his Void Mountain? Void Treasures were incredibly scarce, only occasionally appearing in unique environments such as the folds between dimensions.

It was impossible to replicate his feat of repairing [Cosmic Forge]'s Omnitool. He'd only managed to get treasures of all seventeen peaks because of the unique environment inside the Perennial Vastness. He could spend a thousand years on the outside without finding such a wide variety of high-quality Void Treasures.

Wait, high-quality treasures?

Recalling the second half of his vision, where Karz created what he called Millenium Herbs, Zac realized he might not have to look for Void Treasures. Maybe he could make them.

Zac took out an F-grade Void Stone and activated [Void Mountain], trying to replicate Karz's money-making scheme. Nothing happened. The Void Mountain generated streams of energy, but infusing the Void Stone proved impossible. It felt like the energy had become solid matter, refusing to budge or enter the stone. His Bloodline Talent didn't work on Void Treasures? Unwilling to give up, Zac took out a piece of Death-attuned wood.

"What the hell!" Zac swore ten seconds later as he threw the block onto the ground.

It shattered like a piece of coal, just like the first herb he experimented on. The scene only made Zac more annoyed. This time, he'd used an E-grade material attuned to his Dao, hoping that a careful infusion would create a different effect than the wanton destruction. It was no use. The only difference was that the spiritual extinction took more time and energy.

Zac's bloodline corruption felt like a practical joke sometimes. His ancestor had essentially invented an infinite money glitch where he could turn trash into treasure. So why was he instead given the ability to turn treasures into trash?

Sure, having Void Energy raise the spirituality of treasures seemed far-fetched, but couldn't it have turned items into Void Treasures? Like his bloodline was inverted from Karz's, he'd create a Void of Death Treasure. However, there were no signs of the item crossing over from Dao to Void when it became mundane without a shred of spirituality. When no spirituality was left to extinguish, [Void Mountain] switched to eroding physical matter.

Zac frowned at the ruined scraps, wondering if the ability only worked as a weapon. Item conversion seemed hopeless, and Zac couldn't fathom the talent working together with [Cosmic Forge]. [Essence Extraction] required much more finesse than the overbearing destruction of [Void Mountain].

Then again, maybe he was basing his theories on the vision too much. Come to think of it, Zac might not even have to rely on Void Treasures to upgrade [Void Mountain] just because Karz used Dao Treasures for his Dao Sigils. Void Treasures were undeniably the best fuel for his bloodline breakthroughs, but most of the materials that went into the furnace were normal treasures filled with Dao. Whether it was through relying on [Void Heart] to transform the energies or directly absorbing Natural Treasures, he'd find a path forward.

Finally, Zac moved on to the most important matter; testing the Bloodline Talent on himself. Zac drew upon the Void Mountain, relieved to see nothing changed to his human half when the Bloodline Talent integrated with his undead form. Zac felt the abyssal ponds in his cells darken as the shadowy streaks of Void expanded to cover its surface.

The sense of disconnect from the cosmos he'd felt since having his body realigned by the Tribulation Throne amplified, and Zac's eyes glimmered with excitement as he ran over to his museum of failures. He jolted like he'd been zapped by a stun-gun as he pushed into a hidden barrier, yet he actually squeezed through.

The effect wasn't as good as his state mid-breakthrough, and he felt some of the stored Void Energy in his cells being expended. But it worked. He had become the Void, removing the need to rely on skills like [Apex Jungle] to cross through Dao-empowered barriers.

A large mirror thumped onto the ground, confirming what Zac noticed through his Soul Sense. In contrast to Karz's ability, [Void Mountain] didn't leave a sigil on his forehead or transform his appearance. Like the true Void Mountain, it was hidden beneath the surface, supporting the firmament unseen. This effect was so pronounced that the Void Energy coursing through his body had become invisible, removing any hint of its unique calling card.

That gave Zac another idea, and streams of the Branches of the Pale Seal and War Axe flowed through his body along the pathways of his [Thousand Lights Avatar]. There was no resistance and no loss through mutual destruction when Void and Dao intersected. This didn't change when he passed through the barrier again, though Zac noticed the drain on his body's Void Vigor was substantially greater.

Activating skills didn't cause any complications either, proving how marvelous his transformation was. Until now, he was generally forced to choose between Void and Dao, since using abilities like [Void Zone] would restrain his energy as much as his opponent's. This issue was incredibly pronounced when he tried to infuse the Void into his technique.

The Void Energy and his Daos clashed, creating bursts of power while they fought against each other. It resulted in a potent burst of power, but it wasn't a sustainable method of forming a Void-empowered technique. If Zac could figure out how to improve [Void Mountain], where the infusion took the form of Void Life or Void Death, he'd only be missing the [Thousand Axes Avatar].

He'd embody the three pillars of the evolved Evolutionary and Inexorable Stances he'd invented during his duel with Kator without borrowing from a Void Apparition or suffering from energy incompatibility.

Even his [Origin Revolution] and [Extinction Event] would benefit if he could use the Void in this more stable form. He'd seen the power of adding Void Energy when fighting the deathsworn. Zac could already tell [Void Mountain] could easily be used to solve the instability he had to deal with during that battle.

The benefits didn't end there. Using [Void Zone] while infused with [Void Mountain] resulted in a noticeable boost in its nullification strength. Even [Force of the Void] benefitted, though it wasn't as flashy. If anything, it was the opposite. [Void Mountain] helped obscure Void's aura, making it harder for his opponents to expose his secrets when activating skills with Void Energy.

The talent didn't seem strong enough to affect his Hidden Nodes yet, but Zac confirmed the change he'd hoped to see. The resonance with [Spiritual Void] had grown much stronger when infusing his body, and it felt like the node was at the cusp of transforming. Zac tried to push it a bit further while pushing his Branch of the Pale Seal toward it.

The harmonization broke, but Zac almost leaped in joy after seeing a flickering mote of Void of Death appear from [Spiritual Void] before his Dao Branch snuffed it out. The Hidden Node in his Soul Aperture had seen an upgrade after all, providing what he critically lacked: converting Dao to its matching Void.

This ability could become more important than any other aspect of his bloodline, skyrocketing [Spiritual Void]'s importance. Reliable access to the Voids of Life and Death wasn't just a means to temporarily strengthen his remnant-powered skills or buff his stances. It was the key to unleashing his path's full potential for both classes.

Right now, the Branch of the Pale Seal was just an attribute boost to his Human side, with the same being true for his Draugr form and the Branch of the Kalpataru. He was fighting at only two-thirds of his strength, using two Daos out of the three he practiced. If he could do the same thing with Dao and Mental Energy as with his core, he could apply its theories to every aspect of his cultivation.

The sky was the limit.