Zac's two bodies faced each other in the chamber, each holding a Natural Treasure. They'd sealed themselves off from the world, fully focused on the two streams of truth so pure they seemed like wandering streaks of the Heavens. They poured into Zac's quantum space, triggering pangs of hunger from his Soul Cores.
It was too early, and their truths weren't quite attuned to Zac's path. He'd made some adjustments with [Cosmic Forge], removing the worst offenders in their spiritual tapestry. Nevertheless, his skill remained limited, and he could only improve Peak D-grade materials so much. Luckily, Zac had the perfect filter.
He maintained absolute control, forcing the energies into orbiting bands around his Soul Cores. Bit by bit, he cut off pieces of the energy, fused them with Mental Energy, then ran them through the complex pathways of his Cosmic Core. When they returned, the streaks carried spirituality closer to his path.
It took two days to fully refine the treasures, at which point his Soul Cores looked like polished orbs bursting at the seams with energy. While technically not at the limit of their attunement, they'd transcended the intended scope of the [Nine Reincarnations Manual]'s fourth layer. It was more than enough to take the next step. Zac emerged from the cultivation chamber and found Vilari still seated outside.
"Any news?" Zac asked.
"Not since you secluded yourself. More and more are heading toward the Daynight Nexus."
"Has she returned yet?"
"Not that I know of," Vilari said.
Zac nodded. Including his two-day retreat, a full week had passed since reuniting with Thea. However, she'd only stayed a few days before setting out again. While it was short, Zac couldn't blame her. The trial was in its later stages, and every day counted. She couldn't spend what precious time remained cooped up in their little courtyard.
Even those three days were mostly spent on cultivation. Thea had demanded they spar the moment they returned. Zac was reluctant at first. Thea was far from his level in an all-out brawl. They were simply fighting in different weight classes at this point, and he didn't want their reunion to leave a bad taste in her mouth.
To his surprise, the spars had proven beneficial to Zac, and one bout had turned into nearly twenty. Their spars mainly focused on the application of Dao. While Zac had Thea beat in most aspects, she kept pace with him in this regard. In a way, it had even eclipsed his. Thea's Sword Intent had reached Late Mastery, matching the Late Integration of his Techniques. Furthermore, she'd managed to create a skill that advanced the level of her intent by nearly a whole stage.
That ability had made Zac's face go green with envy. It was probably the most powerful boosting skill he'd ever heard of, and its only drawback was a severe drain on one's mind. Not to mention, its benefits weren't limited to a mid-battle boost. Since the skill was based on her own Dao, it provided a functional blueprint for her advancement on the path of intent.
So long as she could keep upgrading the skill, it would continue to guide her during conception and beyond. Thea had graciously handed over the blueprint, but a look was all Zac needed to confirm that it would be impossible to rework the skill into something that suited him. There were too many aspects that differed from Zac's path, to the point it would be easier to start from scratch. If Zac had the ability to make such a powerful skill on his own, he would already have done so.
As a small consolation, fighting Thea while she used [Seven Day Seal] gave Zac a taste of the peak application of Earthly Daos. It was extremely helpful in visualizing his own path forward and recalling the brief bouts of inspiration he'd experienced mid-battle with Naruk and Antuka's descendant. In those battles, he'd glimpsed a possible future for his stances, but the feeling soon passed.
Nevertheless, Thea decisively left on the third day. They'd squeezed out all the benefits that were to be had from their bouts. More importantly, the court announced that a unique realm called the Daynight Nexus was opening up. While not stated outright, they sensed it was related to the Daynight Dreamer's brief awakening. It was like it had turned in its sleep, exposing new, untapped ground inside its Soul Aperture.
Two Halos remained unignited on the Anima Court's pillar, and at least one of them should be connected to the Daynight Nexus. Thea saw the unfulfilled threads of destiny as her chance to achieve her goal. The first of which was to officially join the Anima Court. The second was to gain access to the Left Imperial Palace.
As Zac theorized, she wanted to strike the Sangha when it mattered the most. She hadn't even uncovered the Buddhist plot in the Anima Court, only realizing their presence in the Anima Court when Zac blew up their hidden domain. Thea's plan hit a snag when the teleporter rejected her, and she'd tried to prove herself worthy in different ways since.
In case it didn't work out, Thea left Zac with a wealth of information on the Buddhist contingent and what she'd gathered about their true purposes here. She even had an in-depth dossier on Sacred Insight, which could save Zac a lot of headaches in case they came to blows.
Zac had promised to trip them up if he could after hearing Thea's account of the true reason behind Zecia's fall, but he still prioritized his cultivation and goals. In that sense, he ultimately agreed with Vilari. The monks were in the wrong, but they succeeded because there were weaknesses to exploit.
The Atwood Empire had outgrown the sector, and staying in those shallow waters would do his faction more harm than good. They were better off cutting the cord early. With the massive amounts of war merit they'd accrued, his people had hopefully relocated his planets already.
Thea also left behind a few items to anonymously give her family members when a worthy descendant appeared. Unsurprisingly, they were all related to the path of swords. She hoped that someone from the Marshall Clan would finish the Sword Emperor inheritance she had to abandon midway.
Vilari had her eyes on the Daynight Nexus, though for a different reason. She simply saw the realm as an opportunity to temper herself. She remained by Zac's side because she was still refining the huge influx of soul power. Judging by the aura she exuded, she was about done. She felt like a bottomless lake, and looking into her eyes made Zac's soul tremble—and that was after Vilari restrained her strength.
She had once more widened the gap between them. By the time she'd fully exhausted the Despair Diamond and the soul of that evil twin, her soul would stand at the very limits of Hegemony. After she advanced to Peak D-grade, she'd have a decent chance of pushing her soul into C-grade early.
"Do you need me to accompany you?" Zac asked. "I don't know anything about Soul Nexuses or communal souls, but I can help you cut down any monsters standing in your way."
After comparing intelligence with Thea, they'd confirmed that the Anima Court's remaining missions should be connected to a high-tier research project of theirs. The Anima Court wanted to create something like a continent-spanning hivemind that connected the souls of all citizens through their Imperial Faith.
Zac didn't think it was to meld their consciousnesses into one. Most races couldn't handle that level of spiritual kinship. People would go mad from sharing the thoughts of billions of individuals. Only species like the Eidolon and certain insectoids were equipped to handle a hivemind. Zac believed it was rather a matter of pooling resources.
He'd seen the immense power that had been harnessed during the worship ceremony at the Transformation Docks. The power their faith had generated vastly exceeded the sum of its parts. The empire wanted to repeat that feat on a much greater scale. It was hard to say what the purpose behind the project was back in the day. Perhaps they needed to gather the Mental Energy of the whole civilization to awaken the Fifth Pillar.
At present, the communal soul would serve a different purpose. A whole civilization stepping out of the dream would garner an unprecedented Heavenly backlash. The communal soul would become a powerful barrier that protected the empire's subjects during the tribulation.
Vilari smiled. "You've done enough. I'm almost done here. You can go about your business without worries."
"I'll head out in a bit. I'll try to come by after I'm done, but the process might take a while."
"I know. We'll see each other on the outside,"
Zac had a simple meal with Vilari before setting off, during which he gave some instructions in case she returned to Earth before he did. With everything else done, he set off to deal with his own matters.
The [Well of Forgetfulness] was located in the depths of the Daynight Dreamer's soul, though not in the direction of the newly opened nexus. Zac had to first teleport into a sealed region before catching a ride on a weird flying spirit. It was lucky he ultimately managed to extract a few thousand Erudition from his Buddhist-killing spree.
The bonus was just enough to cover the cost of another set of Soul-attuning treasures and the cost of transportation. Almost exactly a day later, the flying manta landed before a run-down hamlet. Just standing outside its entrance left Zac's mind distracted. Winds holding the power of amnesia wafted out from its depths.
'Bleh, disgusting!'Esmeralda complained before emerging from the shrine.
"I can't block it at all," Zac said with surprise.
The well's energies were intangible and invisible. They bypassed his protections and effortlessly seeped into the [Shrine of Kanba]. Not only that, like a bloodhound on the scent, the winds soon found his Quantum Space and his Soul Cores. Even his Heart Real was affected. The only thing completely out of the well's grasp was the space of [Purity of the Void].
"I'll stay out here," Esmeralda said. "This clone doesn't have a good resistance against this type of manipulation. I'd be no good to you if I lost my implanted memories."
"Alright, be careful. We're in the Inner Region right now. Everything here is dangerous," Zac warned before heading on in.
The village was made up of roughly one hundred dilapidated shacks. To Zac's surprise, it wasn't uninhabited. He spotted a handful of elders lazing on the stoops or resting inside their houses. It reinforced the impression of the township being a dying village where all the young people had left for greener pastures.
Zac couldn't feel any cultivation from the locals, but every single one of them gave him a palpable sense of danger. There was no way they were as weak as they appeared. Any errant wind of forgetfulness could directly erase the mind of an E-grade cultivator. Then again, the elders didn't quite seem to be all there. Some vacantly stared into the sky; others seemed confused about where they were. All of them ignored Zac, though he still stopped and bowed whenever he passed someone.
It didn't take long to reach his destination. The village only had three streets, and all of them led to an oversized square at its center. The square was empty save for the ancient well standing in its center and an elderly lady peeling apples to its side.
"Greetings, Senior. I'm Jikasi In'Vela. I've received the recommendation from the Estruvo Clan to temper myself inside the well. Here is my—"
"No need. You wouldn't have made it this far without the right credentials," the old grandma said without looking at the badge. "You're free to jump in. You can also stay a while if you want to get used to the environment. There are plenty of empty houses."
"This village..." Zac said, looking back to the streets he came from.
"Old folks who haven't given up. They hope they can forget their mistakes or their shortcomings," the grandma shook her head. "The well isn't a miracle machine. Forgetting such things without giving up something precious? Difficult, too difficult. Now, most of them are addled."
"So it's impossible?"
"Of course not," she laughed. "A few thousand years ago, someone forgot they were stuck at a bottleneck. They broke through and became a Celestial on the spot. The village was filled to the rafters for a while after that."
Zac's eyes widened. A Celestial was the old term for an Autarch. To think that forgetting they were stuck at Divine Monarchy could be enough to break through. It proved that this village wasn't simple. Even in the Outer Courts, one generally needed to use special locations and timings when erecting a ladder to the Heavens.
Such opportunities were rare even for established factions. It was why the Seven Heavens held such a lofty position and why elites from the Undead Empire had rushed to the Twilight Harbor to seize the Eveningtide Asura's opportunity. It made Zac's expectations grow stronger for what was to come.
"I'm short on time, so I plan on heading in directly," Zac said.
The grandma nodded. "Remember, you cannot stay longer than a week, or there's a good chance you'll have to leave something behind. If the well claims the wrong thing, you'll find yourself stuck forever."
Zac had already read up on the well, so he was aware of its intricacies. Luckily, one week should be more than enough to consume the pill and break through. At worst, he'd have to finish the process on land. That shouldn't matter. The Pill Spirit would already be refined at that point, and he would have absorbed more than enough energy after a week's worth of drawing from the well.
"I'm aware, thank you."
"Here, just in case," the old lady said as she held out a small metal ball resembling a quail egg.
"What's this?" Zac asked.
"It'll remind you when the time is up. It'll retain its functionality until the Orange layer."
'So an alarm clock?' Zac mused.
It wasn't unheard of to lose one's sense of time while breaking through. Having it was better than not, and he stuffed the egg into a pocket. Zac wasted no time in approaching the well. He was more than ready after the additional week of preparation bought by blowing up his head. Zac walked over to the well and jumped in.
The well only had a diameter of two meters, yet the moment Zac entered its azure water, it turned into an ocean. He swam back and forth for hundreds of meters and found no wall. The water was extremely opaque as well, to the point he could barely see his own hands. No matter where he ascended, he appeared at the bottom of the well.
An intangible pressure was levied against his mind as he delved deeper, and the corners of his small Heart Realm darkened. Zac stopped to inspect the phenomenon, and his eyes lit up. He continued for a few minutes to confirm his hypothesis. An inch of darkness inside his Heart Realm had grown to the width of a hand. When he reversed direction, the darkness retreated. His Heart Realm was acting as a barometer, conveying how deep he could go without suffering from permanent amnesia.
While convenient, it wasn't an end-all-be-all solution for the [Well of Forgetfulness]. Zac still found his thoughts drifting as he dove deeper into the depths. He still needed to maintain vigilance, which included repeating the pertinent information like a mantra: why he was here, what he needed to be careful of, and the rules governing the well.
If that was all the well had to offer, then most people wouldn't have bothered. The elixir of forgetfulness didn't seep into his body alone. It was accompanied by an extraordinarily pure Mental Energy, free from any lingering sentiments or attunement. It was like the well had washed the Mental Energy in amnesia, thus granting it a new life.
Since it was rootless, it effortlessly fused with Zac's soul, needing no refinement at all. Between the quantities and the ease of absorption, Zac soon had to seal his Soul Cores. Any further, and his souls would trigger an uncontrolled breakthrough. He focused on delving deeper, where the energies would be even more abundant.
A week was neither long nor short, and Zac kept a speedy pace. Even then, it took him nearly an hour before the blue waters turned purple. He'd reached the layer that was generally equated with Peak D-grade. The next layer would be green, which was Zac's target. Rather than Early C-grade, the layer exuded a forgetfulness of Pseudo C-grade.
It was beyond the level of Zac's soul, but Zac had multiple layers of protection against the forgetfulness. Between his Void State, Heart Realm, Warbringer Idols, and the support of his Cosmic Core, Zac believed he was qualified to visit that layer. If not, his Heart Realm would warn him.
There were five more layers in the well, which Zac had no plans of exploring. Those were meant for Monarchs, and even Autarchs would risk losing their sense of self when exploring the mysterious floor of the well. According to rumors, the well led directly to the underworld. Delve too deep, and you'd enter hell with a cleansed soul.
Just the purple layer was putting some pressure on Zac, and he wasn't the only one suffering. He kept all his Spatial Rings and equipment with his Draugr half inside the [Shrine of Kanba], except for a jade box left tucked away in his sleeve. The Ancient Pill was sealed inside, and it had finally recognized the threat to its existence.