Soulwrest Chapter was an enormous palace built upon one of Anima Court's most powerful Nexus Veins. With its open corridors, countless pavilions, and courtyards, it may as well have been called a provincial city. One of three such settlements and the only one open to outer disciples, it was considered the administrative headquarters of Anima Court.
Of course, being open to the public wasn't without caveats. The chapter's interiors were completely sealed off for normal disciples—for their own protection. The palace was directly connected to the Daynight Dreamer's remnant soul. Its core facilities weren't something that Hegemons could survive, no matter how polished their Souls or sturdy their mental defenses.
Zac kept to the outer corridors, inspecting every single disciple that passed him by. He was draped in the vestments of Anima Court's outer disciples, allowing him to blend in perfectly. With Castain's assistance, settling his official acceptance as a member of Anima Court went without a snag. His disciple token hung from his belt, filled with 14,844 Erudition.
Three days had passed since they were dropped off, and Zac hadn't heard from Castain since. In that time, his heart had only grown heavier. Part of it could be attributed to the items he was carrying in his satchel. Either one held the power to blow up the entire Anima Court to kingdom come, and he would be the first to go. That was a lot of faith to be putting in their containers.
There was also the threat coming from outside. Between the Primo's eye and the [Pasho'Har Bell], his backpack might be the most valuable one in the Multiverse. Not even Supremacies would be walking around with multiple Supreme A-grade treasures in their pockets without good reason. While their auras were perfectly contained, Zac feared the wrong person would catch on. He had enough on his plate as is.
Nevertheless, the main issue was the mission that Castain had saddled Zac with, which had proven more complicated than Castain indicated.
Zac turned a corner, reaching a back alley housing a row of eight small courtyards. Zac took out a token and entered the fifth. Vilari was already waiting inside, silently meditating with the Despair Diamond in her hands. Zac didn't disturb her. He took the opportunity to settle his thoughts and refine the massive amounts of Mental Energy that had poured into him on its own. The day-night cycle inside Soulwrest Chapter was significantly more powerful than the one he'd experienced aboard Castain's vessel.
He also took the opportunity to consume two more attuned Natural Treasures he'd exchanged for. Between Castain's Pseudo C-grade Spiritual Wine and the shockingly dense ambient energies of Soulwrest Watch, his [Nine Reincarnations Manual] had already reached the limit of the fourth layer.
The only thing lacking was the somewhat inferior attunement of his Soul Cores. As such, he'd been taking Natural Treasures whose purpose was to strengthen the attunement of attuned souls. With his Cosmic Core already casting its Dao on the orbiting souls, he was quickly catching up to an acceptable level.
"Anything new?" Zac asked with some hope when Vilari finished her cycle.
"I'm afraid not. By all accounts, Gimuz Astrovil has a stellar reputation," Vilari said.
"He really is a boy scout," Zac sighed.
"Not necessarily. As outsiders, discovering anything of value has proven... difficult," Vilari said. "I can only hypnotize so many Servant Disciples before I'm exposed."
Zac nodded. Information-gathering was indeed a tough nut. Anima Court didn't have the kind of seedy underbelly you'd see in most capitals. There were no underground information merchants to approach. There were some disciples who earned Erudition by collecting intelligence, but not the kind they were looking for.
"Just what is Castain thinking, dropping this mess in our lap?"
Castain had only provided a name and nothing else. When Zac asked for his reason, he hadn't said. When asked if he would be granted immunity for killing someone inside Anima Court, the answer was no. The only clues Castain provided were that Gimuz's problem couldn't be spoken of, and that 'only Zac' could complete this mission. Despite the suboptimal starting point, it didn't take them long to put together a simple dossier on the target.
It turned out, Gimuz was somewhat famous. Zac had expected Castain wanted him to rid the court of some troubling outsider, perhaps a fellow trialtaker. Reality proved otherwise. Gimuz Astrovil was a native of Anima Court. Roughly nine hundred years old, he was currently an Inner Disciple at Peak D-grade.
Being an Inner Disciple wasn't enough to stand out on its own. However, Gimuz possessed an extraordinary talent that made him very popular. Through an unknown constitution, bloodline, or other advantage, he was a highly skilled Healer who could mend damaged souls. Such abilities were naturally in high demand in a place like Anima Court, and he had a very extensive network.
Furthermore, Gimuz was different from most cultivators. He was somewhat of a social butterfly, rarely secluding himself for long stretches of time. He often traveled the vast lands governed by Anima Court, and he voluntarily held classes for Outer and Servant Disciples. His permanent residence was even inside Soulwrest Chapter, despite better accommodations being available to him.
His disposition was gentle and generous. The only thing missing was helping old ladies across the street. It wasn't exactly the kind of enemy Zac usually dealt with.
"I did find something interesting, though," Vilari added. "The Astrovil Family is nothing special today, with less than a hundred true members and one Early Monarch. That wasn't always the case. The Astrovils can be considered nobility of Anima Court, once boasting a Grand Elder and multiple high officials."
"Fallen nobility?" Zac said with a frown.
Vilari nodded. "Gimuz is the hope of the Astrovil Family. They say he's the most talented member since the Grand Elder, and his path is perfectly suited to inherit that elder's heritage. The only reason Gimuz hasn't already stepped into C-grade is that he wants to create a perfect foundation."
"Fallen nobles poised to make a resurgence. His achievements are enough to put him shoulder to shoulder with top-tier Sealbearers," Zac mused. "A golden child made for office."
"There were apparently some disagreements between the Astrovils and Lord Castain's Estruvo Clan. No one I interrogated said it outright, but it appears the Astrovils' rapid decline was more than just a matter of unworthy descendants."
"Outside pressure?" Zac said, and Vilari nodded once more.
"The ones who squeezed out the Astrovils wouldn't want to see their old enemy reclaim their former glory," Zac said. "You're saying this could be a matter of clans protecting their interests?"
"It's just that a single Gimuz shouldn't be able to shake a monolithic faction like the Estruvo," Vilari said.
"Unless all their elders would suddenly up and disappear," Zac muttered.
Castain was chosen as an observer for the trial, cognizant of the Empire's fall and their hope of resurrection. It stood to reason that at least some of the elders in his clan were too, such as the Grand Elder and the Enforcement Hall Hall Master. Considering what he'd learned so far, this might be a suicide mission.
Only those unaware of their current state would have a chance to be resurrected, making the observers effectively Deathsworn. Certainly, if you were strong enough, you should be able to protect yourself against the cosmic backlash. Zac doubted anyone but Supremacies held that kind of power. After all, it was only Supremacies who could reach back in time and perform resurrections, and even that came at a steep cost.
The question was whether Castain was the kind of person who'd target the political competition. It didn't seem like someone so calculative would be given the critical task of ensuring the ritual would succeed. Or did the Estruvo Clan feel they were owed that small concession for the sake of their descendants?
"What do you want to do?" Vilari asked.
"That's a very good question," Zac muttered as he scratched his neck.
Castain never forced him into anything. He provided the basic facts and left the rest up to fate. Was he banking on Zac's greed to finish the job, or was there really more to the situation? Leaving meant giving up on the remaining benefits. Zac had already enjoyed the Spiritual Wine upon provisionally agreeing to the mission.
While the wine didn't hold nearly as much medicinal spirituality as his ancient pill, it left no sequelae and came with no toxins. Not only that, but the wine also benefited his Dao Heart. His Heart Realm had started out at roughly ten meters in diameter. Right now, it was nearly fifteen. One meter had been added after his battle against Jalach. The rest was courtesy of that single cup.
In other words, the strength of his Dao Heart had improved by nearly 50% in one week, from an already impressive level. Unfortunately, Zac could tell that he shouldn't expect such speed going forward. The massive jump in the beginning could be considered a starting-out bonus. Now, the realm had stabilized, and it would need more effort or energy to expand.
Still, the true opportunity in Anima Court was waiting to be claimed. Zac hadn't just spent the past three days subtly asking about Gimuz and Thea. He'd also looked into Castain's suggestions, and they all checked out. If anything, the [Well of Forgetfulness] might be more valuable than Castain made it out to be, to the point many Outer Disciples considered it a holy land.
It was the kind of cultivation ground that could only be used once, and the visit cost a full 12,500 Erudition. The potential benefits more than deserved the cost. Just taking a dip could prove nearly as useful as the ancient pill on its own. If both were used together, the gains would reach incredible levels. The only issue was that the well was a resource exclusive to Inner Disciples.
Learning that, Zac had directly applied to become an Inner Disciple, only to be rejected. Anima Court was different from Mercurial Court, where one's base cultivation was all that mattered. Here, it was one's soul that needed to reach a certain threshold if you wanted to apply early. From what Zac could tell, completing the Fourth Reincarnation wouldn't be enough.
Zac needed to at least reach the limit of the fifth layer to qualify. And to reach that stage in a reasonable timeframe, Zac would have to consume the Ancient Pill inside the [Well of Forgetfulness]. It was a very frustrating catch-22. Predictably, there was a simple solution.
Hall Masters and above could give out permission slips to allow Outer Disciples to visit the [Well of Forgetfulness]. In other words, it was no coincidence that Castain had mentioned his family's strength. It felt like Castain had planned everything to elicit Zac's help.
After he killed Gimuz, the Estruvo Clan would issue a recommendation to the [Well of Forgetfulness]. At least, that was how the mission was presented.
"Things will get very complicated if he's really not a bad guy," Vilari sighed, and Zac wholeheartedly agreed.
Part of the reason they'd investigated Gimuz these past days was for his own conscience. Zac didn't like the idea of becoming a thug for hire, especially when the target was an apparent saint. Though truth be told, Zac wouldn't lose much sleep over killing the projection of a long-dead cultivator. Until the Limitless Empire did the impossible and stepped out of the dream, then all these people were just very lifelike illusions.
The real reason they were looking for dirt was a safety precaution. While inside the memories, all actions had consequences. He was essentially an undercover agent, and his mission was off the books. Zac could potentially deal with Gimuz how he dealt with Emir, but it was very risky. Emir had been essentially powerless while Gimuz was a Peak Hegemon with an extraordinarily powerful Soul.
Zac wasn't sure if he could throw Gimuz into [Fuxi Mountain Gate] at all, let alone without anyone noticing. If things went south, the Estruvo Clan could sweep things under the rug and throw him to the wolves. At that point, Jikasi In'Vela would become a sinner who returned the Empire's gift with malice. And the most likely punishment for killing a fellow disciple was having one's cultivation crippled.
All that was null and void if Gimuz really had a major issue.
Gimuz would become an open target if he'd done something unconscionable to advance his cultivation, or if he were a traitor to the empire. Truthfully, there were some oddities in Gimuz's seemingly spotless record that did raise Zac's suspicions. It appeared that his time spent in seclusion had decreased over the past century, yet his progress had drastically increased.
This phenomenon notably coincided with the arrival of the outsiders. It was possible that he was doing something uncouth with the help of an infiltrator.
"I'll just have to shadow him myself and see what he's up to," Zac said. "Hopefully, I'll notice something these people have missed."
Just as Zac finished his sentence, Vilari's disciple token went off. "Coincidentally, the opportunity just arrived. My servant spotted Gimuz heading for the north gate. It looks like he's about to set off on another walkabout."
"I'm going," Zac said as he got to his feet.
"Do you need me to accompany you?" Vilari asked.
"No. Best you stay far from this mess," Zac said.
"Then I'll see you in a bit," Vilari smiled before closing her eyes, with clear confidence that Zac would figure things out.
Five minutes later, Zac arrived in an alley overlooking the north gate. On the other side was a vast nature reserve called the Wekaia Forest. Crossing it on foot would take Zac over a month, and he would avoid doing so if he could. It was a primal territory full of beasts. There were also at least six unsolvable Memory Roots inside that had created complex and dangerous terrain.
The forest was kept around because it was a very good hunting ground. Outer Disciples could hone themselves in the outer rim while even C-grade True Disciples could find some challenging encounters in its depths. It was toward this untamed expanse that Zac saw his target walk ten minutes later.
'You're sure you're up to this?'Zac asked to make sure.
'It's fine so long as you don't wander too close,'Esmeralda answered from within the shrine. She was currently sitting in the pond with a Spatial Crystal in each hand. 'But it's true that this clone's energy reserves are far worse than my real body. I can't shield you for more than six hours, even with the help of crystals.'
'That's enough. This is just an exploratory mission,'Zac said as he emerged from the alley.
Surrounding him was a spatial fold that rendered him invisible to anyone below C-grade. To further erase his presence, Zac also kept his aura restrained with [Void Mountain] and his aura-erasing equipment. In that moment, he was truly a ghost, and the guardsmen didn't notice him at all as he slipped out of Soulwrest Chapter.
Following Gimuz didn't prove difficult at all. He didn't use any movement skills as he delved deeper into the forest. Any Late Hegemon would be able to keep up. And as it turned out, they did.
'Huh? Interesting,' Esmeralda suddenly exclaimed.
'What is it? Did you notice something?'
'Yes, but not on the target. You're not the only one following him. There are two more,' Esmeralda said, her voice dripping with intrigue. 'Their disguises are not bad. I think it's a powerful talisman.'
'Two more? Assassins?'Zac mused. He looked around to no avail. Whatever means they used to keep themselves hidden was exquisite.
'They feel more like thieves than killers,'Esmeralda said after a while. 'Looks like some people have become suspicious of how he's making such strides in his cultivation. Maybe they think he's discovered something valuable inside the forest.'
'We'll find out soon enough.'
The pursuit continued for nearly two hours, during which absolutely nothing happened. By all accounts, Gimuz was just having a stroll through nature, occasionally stopping to smell the flowers or pat a stone. It looked just like how a cultivator wanting to clear their mind would act, yet Zac's intuition was telling him that something was off with the situation.
Zac repeatedly entered his Void State to clear his head and look at the situation objectively. Only after repeating the process a few times did he notice the issue. They hadn't encountered a single beast or spirit. Zac hadn't been to the forest before, but he knew they should have started to run into some form of wildlife by now. With vast amounts of energy pouring out of the ground, it was impossible to clear out the Wekaia Forest. New creatures kept spontaneously sprouting from the Daynight Dreamer's memories.
Why hadn't he realized it before? Zac shook his head, feeling like it was full of cotton.
'Huh, what's going on? What are they doing?'Esmeralda suddenly exclaimed before Zac could report his discovery.
'What is it?' Zac said. He was already on edge, and Esmeralda's call made him feel like threats lurked in every corner.
'They're splitting off. Are they blind?'
It turned out that both pursuers veered off at the same time. One went east, the other west, while Gimuz was clearly continuing north. Or was he?
Zac flooded his body with Void Energy as he furiously held onto his Void State. As he did, he felt a surge of warmth from his Duplicity Core. The drain was negligible compared to his stores, yet it was quickly increasing. At the same time, the world split in two, in an eerily familiar way.
In both realities, Gimuz was continuing north, though not exactly following the same route. Zac took a few calming breaths before following the one to the left. Doing so proved harder than expected. He felt like he was pushing through solid matter for a moment before the resistance disappeared with a pop.
'What are you doing?'Esmeralda called shortly after, confirming Zac's hunch.
'He's messing with our perception. Trust me, and just focus on keeping the shroud going,' Zac said.
Shortly after, the world split again, creating four new possibilities. Zac pushed through the resistance and followed the true reality. This process kept repeating every thirty seconds. Each time it did, the forest aura subtly shifted. By the time another hour had passed, the environment was unrecognizable. Instead, it had turned into something that absolutely should not exist inside the Anima Court.
He'd stepped into a Buddhist Kingdom.
'No wonder Castain wanted this guy dead.'