Tower of Heaven

Alaric and Veradon, Atlas' two masters, taught him without fail. He only intended to spend a few days in Vanatos, but his stay was unintentionally extended to around six months before he found himself ready to return to the Tower.

These six months were filled with nothing but learning and training.

From Alaric, he gained not only help in comprehending the Fist of the Mountain King, but also the manual that would allow him to learn the rest of the calamities on his own if he didn't have time to return to the Neutral Zone.

The Fist of the Mountain King couldn't be said to be completely functional at this moment, but six months was a decent period of time. Atlas could already use a preliminary form of the technique, and as he had seen the power firsthand, he knew it was more than enough.
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On the other hand, with Veradon, Atlas learned how to truly control the essence of vitality.

He made rapid progress in this aspect. Before he went to the 30th Floor, he was still trying to learn how to properly mobilize the power of the Dao of Wood. However, while living as Kade Von Ataraxia, he absorbed the techniques within his memories and gained an unknown proficiency with the Dao.

When Veradon came in and helped him turn those understandings into real comprehension that worked with the Unfettered Saintly Immortal's techniques.

Compared to the eight calamities that he was only just learning, the fruits of his labor in this aspect were quite significant.

As it took place in the Sanctum this time, the scene was less pronounced. Still, it was something great.

The winds were stirred, and a great aura of vitality spread through the Sanctum. The flowers in the garden and the beautiful trees and shrubbery that decorated the area found themselves growing at a rapid pace as they were provided with nutrients they'd never seen before.

In Atlas' dantian, the twin seeds finally sprouted into two different saplings of silver and gold. In the small space between them, there was the root of a vine that connected the two budding trees into one.

That very vine was the manifestation of wood within the dantian. It was no more than a small vine at the moment, but Atlas could already see what it would eventually become.

The dantian now looked like a flat plane of blue above and brown below. It didn't seem like much of a world at all as it didn't have the slightest hint of depth.

But, when the world gained depth and meaning, what would happen to these small saplings and vines?

There was a new aura of vitality in the world along with the hot and cold auras of fire and water. These three auras coalesced and started to slowly drive the world backwards, expanding it and creating the depth it needed.

Only Veradon and Reali, his assistant, watched it happen. Only the Sanctum felt its effects. However, it was monumental for Atlas.

He immediately attempted alchemy again. He simply made any pill he possibly could with the materials on hand, and the results were as he expected.

The mastery of the Dao of Wood he'd gained was enough to use his power like he had a true flame-wood physique. A new aptitude for the art of alchemy was now present within him. Controlling heat and manipulating ingredients felt far easier. Even the manipulation of Will, at least in the sense of alchemy, was made simpler than ever before.

All of these improvements were leading to the same place, his breakthrough to the Law Sea Realm.

However, he didn't yet attack the boundary.

'I can liquify my qi at any time. It is more than ready. However, I cannot break through yet. It is too early.'

He didn't want to risk damaging his foundation for rapid progress. If he'd learned anything from this visit to Vanatos, it was that patience was his most valuable asset.

'Though, I can still make progress.'

Vanatos was the perfect place. Here, Atlas had a sort of status. He could get ingredients and materials at a much cheaper price than he could elsewhere.

Every time he pushed into a new stage of cultivation, his body was automatically improved by that damn treasure's energy. He had become so used to this that he had forgotten to actually progress through the stages of body cultivation.

He didn't want to stay behind on Vanatos for too long, so he couldn't rapidly strengthen his body, but at this stage, wasn't it more than enough to complete Bone Forging?

'In most cases, strong yang energy is necessary to shatter the bones and rebuild them in gold. Because my bones are already once-forged, I need even stronger ingredients.'

Still, he was able to acquire them easily with Adella's help. She had great connections throughout Vanlandi and could find anything if she needed to.

'Golden Sun Herb, Flaming Yang Fruit, a bed of various yang-attributed herbs, and…'

Atlas looked at the vial in his hand. It was an entirely unexpected find.

'The blood of a Flame Dragon.'

Flame Dragons were very different from Azure Dragons. They were a different kind of mythical species despite also being from the draconic family.

Many Flame Dragons could be found in Alfros, but for the blood of one to find itself in Vanatos was incredibly rare.

'With this, I can ignore around ten ingredients I would have needed otherwise. This single vial of blood will do more than all of them combined.'

Atlas prepared the bath in his room and filled it with ingredients. The water turned a strong red color and started boiling before the dragon blood was even introduced, and when it was…

Voom!

The solution spat out a puff of smoke as if to warn Atlas of its potency. He gritted his teeth, looking down at his naked body.

"Haa…"

He could feel his nerves screaming at him to walk away from the bath, but he had no choice but to ignore them and step into it.

Bone Forging was quite an apt name for the process that left no room for doubts. As Atlas submerged himself, his bones were shattered into tiny pieces by the strong pressure of the solution. The equally strong energy flowed into his body, gripped his bones, and forced them back together,

It happened over and over again until the color of Atlas' bones started to change and turn crimson-gold. Severe pain overran his mind, but he didn't budge an inch.

Now, whether it was the pain tolerance of his body or his mind, he was confident in it. Now, even though he felt like screaming in agony, he could keep his mouth shut.

And, as an added bonus, Atlas felt the true force of Astral Energy for the first time.

It was completely different from qi. It moved slowly and couldn't leave his body as if it was trapped inside of his muscles and bones.

However, it carried within it a power that was ready to burst forth at any moment.

'This is the force that is the basis of Cain's power.'

Cain, who spent months and months at the very least chasing Atlas, left a profound impact on him. His strength was something he'd never seen before. He achieved it through this very same energy.

'Good.'

Atlas clenched his fists powerfully as the pain started to feel somewhat soothing.

The potential he saw in this energy…

No, the potential he saw in the combination of Astral Energy and Spiritual Energy was magnificent.

The Bone Forging process took over a day to reach completion.

And once Atlas was past the gateway, he found himself greeted by a realm of infinite possibilities.