Chapter 244: Sea of Consciousness, A New Path
The inner voice in the form of Elton suddenly appeared within Elton's sea of consciousness with an extremely tired and weary expression as it grimaced in pain. Even then its arrogant demeanor could not be hidden.
"As usual it's me cleaning up after you because of your unsatisfactory comprehension and cultivation speed. I can give you a pass this time since this legacy treasure is of great importance to us both. Hehehe do not disappoint me." The inner voice said with great arrogance before fading away into a deep slumber.
What it did not know was that Elton had already noticed it and was not as deeply immersed into cultivating and analyzing the legacy treasure as it expected him to be. At least not for the time being.
A spirit embodiment of Elton suddenly appeared within this space with astonishment before an expression of calm took over.
"Thank you for saving my friends and loved ones." He muttered in a quiet voice as he gave a small bow of gratitude.
"On the other hand, this place is… What is this?" Elton continued to look around as he gradually adapted to it. Feeling a sudden urge, he began to utilize his celestial sense to examine the space in detail.
"...Sea of consciousness? Is this mine?" He muttered with a dazed expression.
At that moment, as if reaching a realization, he felt himself become one with the space as a mighty power he had never felt before surged through him.
"What?! This is… It was the other me that created this place without me even noticing!" A huge headache suddenly crashed down upon Elton, leaving him paralyzed and unable to think properly.
After what seemed like a long and agonizing period, Elton finally regained himself. His inner world transformed in an instant. A small palm-sized white star floated at the center with everything revolving around it. Eight smaller vibrant glowing spheres that resembled meteors orbited around the star in a slow motion. A ninth smaller one could be seen just outside of the orbit, barely forming as it gathered energy.
Elton walked toward the star, studying it with an entranced expression. His expression suddenly darkened as if something alarming had dawned on him.
"The other me was definitely planning to corrupt me and overtake me at some point once I ascended into the Mortal Shedding Realm. Judging from this maybe when I reached the middle stages. But… Hahaha… It's funny how things worked out. Thanks to its arrogance and the fact that it could not see the true depth of my heart and spirit after meeting Master Bluesonics, I have actually found a new cultivation path."
Elton took a deep breath as he concentrated with his celestial sense on the star before him. A roaring power erupted throughout his body as he smiled.
Dark clouds surrounded the entire landscape with white electrical currents coursing through them.
Pillars of flames moved like dragons, weaving through the skies while encircling the cloud sea.
A giant majestic gold and blue tree appeared in the distance, towering throughout the heavens. A powerful lifeforce surged as pure nature embraced the space.
Majestic magical runes painted the domain as far as the eye could see, deep and magnificent.
A bloody aura filled with immense vitality surged as giant stakes covered in inscriptions sprouted from the cloud-filled world of lightning.
A deep blue sword aura congealed into existence like millions of tiny stars across the sky. A powerful cutting force spread from them as if they were executioners of a sovereign's will.
And finally, there was a vague concept hiding within him that he was only beginning to understand. His thoughts drifted toward the ninth meridian that still eluded him. As he pondered, something suddenly clicked within his mind.
"...A ruler? A king? The power of… a conqueror?"
A flood of information suddenly exploded through his mind as he clutched his head in pain. Something attempted to take control of him before he gritted his teeth in defiance. The entire domain shook as the ninth tiny meteor around the white star ruptured into nothing. After a while it began to reform into something new.
"Haaa… Haaa… So that's it. I accidentally discovered the catalyst that damned inner voice was waiting to use on me, but because it is in deep slumber and I found this place by chance I managed to stop it in time. On top of that I have discovered my own path. What conqueror's meridian? From this point on my ninth meridian will be my Liberation Meridian!!"
A massive surge of power stormed throughout Elton's sea of consciousness as a mighty will expanded the world around him. His celestial sense was enveloped in a conqueror's aura filled with thoughts of liberation and overwhelming might. He laughed with triumphant joy.
"Hahaha!!! I have done it! Master, I have already begun walking the path of freeing myself from this world's forcefully imposed limits. Breaking into the Mortal Shedding Realm? No need to rely on the natural path. I have already broken through completely, but to the world I have not. I will use this as training while hiding my true state from that other me."
Elton's declarations rang boldly as he laughed while restoring his sea of consciousness back to its previous form. In the end the true battle was against himself.
…
In various locations across five of the lower continents, peak experts above the Master Realm suddenly looked toward the skies in astonishment as if they sensed something incredible. It was vague, and even after scouring the fate realm they could not decipher it.
Within the Bright Brilliant Blade Sect, Master Bluesonics stared into the distant skies with shock on his face. He stroked his chin as his thoughts raced.
"That boy actually did it? And far earlier than expected. Hahaha I can barely see into his fate now which is a huge relief. I expected him to need to reach at least the Master Realm, but realistically the Grandmaster Realm, before stepping outside this world's fate laws. Excellent."
Master Bluesonics laughed with a joyful smile of celebration.
At that moment the blue ghostly entity appeared before him with a deadpan expression. "Master, could that surge have something to do with you? Was that perhaps… the successor?"
Master Bluesonics turned his gaze toward the entity with a smile. "Hahaha you are right on time. Just the person I wanted to see. There has been a massive change in my initial plans thanks to a joyous occasion that no longer requires your aid. We will move on to something far better before the next step."
"Oh? In that case I will comply with your wishes, Master." The blue entity said with a short bow.