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Immortal Freeloader 167
🕑 Added 2024-10-19 03:51:00 +0000 UTCIt wasn’t the first time the source of Providence talked with me, but it didn’t get any less unsettling. It was one thing for such an entity that might be termed as some kind of god to exist, but another thing entirely for it to speak and ask for assistance, however limited.
The special treatment might have been welcome even with the size of the requests … but this time, it came with an unwelcome addition.
A great burst of power in the form of Providence, with three different targets. The first target was the giant tree. While it didn’t make it grow wildly, the transformation that it was going through was very distinct, both visually, and in terms of the presence it had as a spiritual pillar.
The second target was a bit more dubious. It hit the spirit vein, making it grow and transform in a way that was difficult to identify. The Qi output spiked sharply, threatening to shatter the formation through sheer weight … at least, until the Dao Gate behind the protection started to devour the energy.
Another situation that I had no idea whether it was good or bad, as it had never actually taken in Qi before, but I wasn’t in a position to address that.
Not when I was trying to deal with the last part of the trio.
Me.
I clenched my fists, trying to suppress the newfound strength that resonated with me, pure, intense … and utterly inconvenient; enough that I wondered if the power behind the providence was actually trying to sabotage me.
It was a decision that I wrote off equally quickly. The way the power filled my body wasn’t actually harmful. The same power, delivered offensively, would have been enough to evaporate me in a second. The power was clearly trying to help me.
I had no doubt that, if I was trying to break through the same primitive brute force way the ancient martial artists I had read in the records, I would have appreciated the help greatly. It would have raised my chances from a single-digit percentage to half and half. Unfortunately, in my situation, it meant that it was actually reducing my chances of success while also ruining my timetable.
“What an inconvenient assistance,” I muttered even as I looked down, which felt like the direction that the power had come from. The depths of the ground. I didn’t know if it was true, but I had no problem admonishing the force, knowing that the intellect behind the power wouldn’t understand.
I didn’t know if the intellect behind the power was some kind of simple, primal force that lacked complicated human understanding, or if there was some kind of barrier that prevented smooth communication; but either way, it was clear that the power lacked the ability to track my movements.
With a groan, I channeled the boundless pure essence that filled my body, turning that into the connection with the giant tree. Luckily, while there was some pain, it was a mere pale shadow compared to what I had experienced earlier.
As much as I wanted to curse the inconvenience of the ‘divine help’ I did not. I didn’t have the luxury. I needed to focus on my breakthrough. And, focus I did. I used the power to enhance the connection between me and the tree, which gave me the first glimpse of the new realm.
It was intense.
It wasn’t the idea of power. That, I had through connecting with the System. Combined with formations, alchemy, and other tricks, I had more power than I could imagine a few months ago, when I was merely an injured athlete.
But, that power always felt distant. It was like I was using a gun to attack a distant target. It was storing, powerful, and deadly, but it had nothing to do with the sheer visceral feeling of being in a fistfight. As the connection grew, so did the deep understanding…
The tree in front of me seemed to acknowledge this change, its leaves rustling as if it were in applause.
Connecting with the spiritual pillar was supposed to be the hardest part of the process, but I found that it went smoother than I realized, nothing like the chaotic touch-and-go experience of Elsana. But, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise. Unlike her, who had been dealing with the confusing ancient volcano, I had not only invented the martial arts that fed the tree, but also handled every step of its rapid growth.
Of course, just because the process was safer and faster than I expected, it didn’t mean that it was actually easy. As a cool, foreign expression spread into my body, I had to control every second of the process to avoid the dangerous side effects.
I would have loved the opportunity to slow the process down, but without it, I had no chance but the channel the flow of energy to my body, starting with bones and moving outward. With every second, my body changed, and so did my essence.
Even as I went through those steps, I was going through many core moves of the art, channeling the essence appropriately as my transformation continued. The change was … impressive. Every palm, every punch, embodied the conception of the very forest itself; alive and strong, cycling between nurturing and deadly.
I took a deep breath, trying to understand the transition. The process was less abstract than I expected. As my internal essence aligned with the primal forces of nature, I could feel the tree to be a part of me.
I would have loved to stop here. Unfortunately, the power from the ground continued to flow, targeting me, the tree, and the spirit vein. It meant, I needed to continue advancing my martial cultivation … a process that I was actually blind to. Even with the ancient writings from the Burning Ice sect, I didn’t have a true understanding of how to improve my cultivation once I reached the Spirit Infusion realm, which seemed to be the limit of martial cultivation.
“Let’s try something unconventional,” I muttered as I focused on the newly formed connection between me and the giant tree, and used it as a transfer channel to harmlessly get rid of the power. The tree devoured the power greedily, not restricted by its biology like I was.
It was an intense focus, so, until it was too late, I didn’t notice the way its roots wrapped around the spirit vein, not until the Qi that was radiating suddenly dropped. I looked at it in fear, which abated somewhat when I examined the phenomenon and realized that the roots weren’t actually damaging the spirit vein.
“A beautiful phenomenon. Too bad I don’t have the time to examine it,” I muttered even as I channeled the last bit of excess power, and focused on stabilizing my martial cultivation. I had to, as at the horizon, the ship continued to appear.
The same one I had encountered, which was obvious due to the giant gap in its structure due to volcanic attack, showing signs of a hasty repair.
I ignored the threat as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Not only I could feel the giant tree, but indirectly, I could feel the presence of many enclaves I created, each linked to me through providence and martial essence, empowering me further.
In the state of unity, I focused inward, trying to quickly understand the nature of the energy, one that was needed to create my own attacks. It was another thing that Burning Ice records had been lacking, but I didn’t worry about that.
Unlike them, I had a huge library of Qi cultivation attacks that surpassed Perfection, giving me a deep and accurate understanding of concepts that the ancient martial artists couldn’t even imagine. And, while the martial essence and Qi were very different, it wasn’t different enough to make those attacks completely unusable.
“Can I?” I suddenly muttered as I tested a few attacks, only to realize something fascinating. With the Spirit Infusion Essence powering the attacks, they looked showy and impressive like Qi cultivation attacks.
I repeated the attack, this time wrapping it with a layer of Qi, and smiled.
The trick wasn’t perfect, but the attack still looked like it somehow belonged to a Qi cultivator. And, with that, it might be possible to actually hide my roots.
Yes, the cultivators would treat the sudden appearance of a master like an abomination, but not as much as the sudden appearance of an ancient martial artist who also cultivated.
I smiled as I patted the tree, feeling its growing life. “And, if the trick fails, you will certainly work better as a surprise attack, right,” I muttered as I talked with a tree that couldn’t understand me.
I was ready to greet the unwelcome cultivators.
Comments
Joe
168?
Logan White
Thanks for the chapters.
