'Immortal Cultivators?'
'Cocoon of Finality?'
'Humanity won?'
'???'
The Valkyrie and Sugar duo went through the most confusing stage of their life.
Due to the changes in the canon, Durandal never went to the Imaginary Space. She did not meet Shigure Kira and the Sugars who promptly helped her place back the Bubble World to the Imaginary Tree. Since the two did not meet, they remained secluded. They became somewhat oblivious to the recent changes in the outside world.
'If the origin of the Honkai was defeated…'
The long-standing 'danger' faced by the Sugars popped up in her mind.
The Cocoon of Finality is stronger than the Sky People that forced the Sugars to a desperate position. The two civilizations are merely leftovers of what the Honkai had destroyed.
"Can we meet the Herrscher of Finality?"
"I am afraid you cannot. She is preoccupied with something on the Moon."
"I understand…"
Shigure Kira diligently absorbed the information of the past decade.
'Herrscher of Finality… She is the Captain's Daughter.'
A wave of nostalgia washed over her before she went straight to the crucial point.
"Can we know more about the Project Immortal?"
*****
"Late stage…"
Lightning crackled within Mei's five thousand mile radius. The electromagnetic field was greatly affected. Fortunately, she finished this breakthrough in vacuum space.
She opened her eyes and sensed her counterpart.
Five days ago, Shi Tian left a lot of supplies on Kiana. That included the body-restructuring spiritual plants. It allowed Mei's Stigma Persona to have her own body.
Aside from that, those eligible for Golden Core breakthrough received the corresponding set of materials needed to avoid the Heart Mirror Tribulation.
Mei's flight speed surpassed most of her peers. The combination of lightning, Herrscher Authority, and various supernatural powers allowed her to reach the Moon in less than a minute.
The Palace of Selene was restored to its pristine state. Aside from that, there are also several other structures on the Moon's surface. It is overloaded with honkai energy, and as such, was turned into a peak seventh grade spirit vein.
Kiana is currently in the process of accepting the Cocoon's "Embrace". Four Golden Core cultivators are left here to deal with unseen changes.
"Oh… Friend Mei is back."
Ji Xuanyuan gave her a greeting.
"Greetings."
The two started to talk about numerous things. When Ji Xuanyuan learned that Mei is Shi Tian's student, her formality was off the charts. It wasn't until Mei convinced her to drop the formal tone did she do so.
The two turned out to be good friends.
"How are things going with her?"
"She's refusing to come out." Ji Xuanyuan said dejectedly.
Mei shook her head. Her stigma persona devoted herself to cultivation the moment she gained a physical body. She swore not to come out of seclusion until she could single-handedly beat Mei.
Currently, she is staying at one of the residences on the Moon. Ji Xuanyuan kept an eye on her on behalf of Mei.
"It's alright. Things will get better over time. Maybe she will stop being stubborn after winning a fight…"
Mei was consoled for a while before being left alone.
Out of the four Golden Realm cultivators, Sirin is anti-social. Hei Xuanyuan is in seclusion in an attempt to 'surpass' Ji Xuanyuan. Only Ji Xuanyuan and Mei interacted on a daily basis.
"Her frustration is understandable…" She uttered under her breath. "We couldn't help much."
Mei was unable to reach the fourth level of her Tao Heart before the decisive battle began. She could only stay at the sidelines and help others in minor tasks. The rest are left to the mainstays—Sin Mal, Bronya, Fu Hua, Kiana, and Shi Tian. They had the power to affect the overall outcome of the battlefield.
This resulted in Mei's frustration, and by extension, her stigma persona.
"She really is the opposite of me…"
One was peaceful; the other was prideful. How could the arrogant Queen withstand the fact that she was powerless to join the final fight?
This led to her being very motivated in catching up.
"...perhaps she can do a lot more than me."
*****
Darkness.
Endless darkness.
Endless meaningless darkness.
…
"Shit."
I opened my eyes. The Theater of Domination remained normal. I used my spiritual consciousness and arrived at the same conclusion.
However, that dream earlier isn't fake. Both my eyes and spiritual consciousness sensed it.
IX's gaze draws near.
An Aeon's power is so strong it influences the temporal dimension. Even if it is a mere possibility, it will find a way to manifest itself into the present time.
"Fu…"
It appeared so fast I did not have much time to say the temporary farewells with everyone. I had to enter the Theater of Domination and isolate IX's influence inside the imaginary space as soon as possible.
"Strength..."
I looked at my current cultivation. Nothing much changed aside from the complete consolidation of my realm. Such progress would have taken a decade. I did it in five days, all thanks to my cultivation hacks.
Most importantly, my spirit roots underwent a series of changes.
For seven years, I cultivated the [Toushen Manual]. I managed to create a Five Element Yin Spirit Root from scratch and raise it to the middle grade. It has remained stuck at that level since then.
With Origin and the [Heart Intention] level of Blade Mantra 2.0, my understanding and connection to the Imaginary Space is the highest it could be. These two changed me in imperceptible ways—to make me more compatible with manipulating higher dimensions. The same went to the Herrscher of the End's 'body'.
It resulted in the rapid growth of the middle grade Five Elements Yin Spirit Root. Now, it has reached the pinnacle of the middle grade. The moment it enters the threshold of a high grade spirit root, it will begin the fusion with my Five Elements Yang Spirit Root; the transformation into an Ultimate Grade Spirit Roots. It comes with a bonus of a high grade Tao Body.
One high grade Tao Body gave me 2.4 million years of lifespan atop anything else. What more would one more Tao Body bring, much less an Ultimate Grade Spirit Root?
This is the biggest breakthrough I found to fight against IX.
High grade Spirit Root is a ticket to the Void Refinement Realm. It possesses the necessary aspects to become a karma-less being. I can use all of my lifespan to draw its power prematurely, though I find it unnecessary with the Void Refinement Realm mental power inside the stigma space.
Ultimate grade Spirit Root, however, is a ticket to the Dao Integration Realm. It holds the 'key' (i.e., fragment) of a complete Dao Path.
Once its power could be drawn, it can definitely deal with Aeons.
The biggest discovery as of now is the flawed state of this world—of the Imaginary Tree. Aeons stem from the Imaginary Tree. It isn't hard to deduce that these Aeons have flaws, too.
In that case, a genuine Dao Integration Realm expert can crush most Aeons, just as Golden Core Realm cultivators can easily deal with Herrschers.
It is either me or IX. Everything depends on who's faster.
Whoever gets left behind loses.
*****
A/N: Winter break started. I got left out on Amphoreus' story quests for a long while, so I binged them up to now. It's gratifying to see more info about the Aeons and Amphoreus of course. All I can say is, this fic will involve Amphoreus. It will become Tian's breakthrough point to another major realm.
Hint: Think of Tian's Dao position. Think of a certain Aeon running that place. Things that are bound to happen will happen.
PS: I caught up to the story quest like a few hours ago. That includes the videos I chose not to touch until now. I ended up using outdated knowledge to write that chapter. I corrected the mistake in the four Aeons back in chapter 219. It was supposed to be Destruction, Harmony, Nihility, and an unknown one. I'll be filling Remembrance for the unknown one (for now).
PPS: Amphoreus is peak cinema. (Flawed) Story-telling aside, the story itself is very good. It made me binge the remaining Amphoreus chapters in three days straight.