Over the next few years within the time field, Varcain continued to send whatever arcane concepts he could acquire from the UNI-Market and various premium networks, doing so in periodic batches that arrived after long delays caused by the distortion between internal and external time. Each delivery came with a brief message from the elder, sometimes apologetic for the meagre selection, other times excited about a particularly rare find.
These concepts came in different formats depending on their origin. The ones obtained from the UNI-Market were often packaged as traditional knowledge scrolls, physical objects wrapped in preservation formations, their surfaces inscribed with shimmering runes that pulsed faintly with contained wisdom. Those sourced from premium networks arrived in digitalized formats, compressed data nodes that required Adrian to connect with his UNI-OS to access their contents.
The distinction between the two was significant. Knowledge books or scrolls allowed the knowledge to be directly sent into the user's mind, even if only for a fleeting moment. During that brief window, the user could actively perceive, analyze, and internalize the truths of the concept in a way that was far more efficient than conventional learning.
In contrast, digital formats required Adrian to process the information manually, reading and understanding it line by line, which was considerably slower and less intuitive. The knowledge presented itself as text, diagrams, and theoretical frameworks that demanded conscious effort to parse and integrate.
Naturally, knowledge scrolls were far superior. However, most premium networks only provided digitalized formats, and even when knowledge book or scroll-based options were available, they often came with long delivery delays or required physical travel to distant galaxies to obtain them. Beyond that, the supply itself was inconsistent. Arcane concepts were not freely circulated commodities; most sects deliberately restricted access to prevent others from forming divine concepts using their knowledge.
Adrian learned this reality through Varcain's increasingly detailed reports. The elder explained how certain concepts like Space, Time, Gravity, and Shadow were tightly controlled by the sects who had built their foundations upon them. Even purchasing basic comprehension required sect membership or exorbitant prices that discouraged casual acquisition.
So the overall supply was inconsistent, with stock fluctuating unpredictably. The concepts offered for sale were rarely exceptional. Most were considered mundane by the standards of Rule Stage cultivators. Over the years, Adrian accumulated concepts such as Ash, Friction, Mist, Density, Tremor, Adhesion, and Crystal.
Occasionally, more intriguing concepts appeared, such as the complete Advanced Galactic truths of Boundary, Continuity, Isolation, and Silence. These had been Varcain's proudest acquisitions, concepts that touched on fundamental aspects of reality's structure. The elder had paid substantial sums for them, his messages practically vibrating with excitement at having secured such treasures.
"Elder Adrian," one such message had read, "I've managed to acquire the Boundary concept from a collapsing minor sect liquidating their archives."
For most cultivators, dedicating time to comprehending concepts like Adhesion or Crystal at the Advanced Galactic Level would have been seen as a waste of effort, as divine concepts derived from such foundations often resulted in low-tier outcomes.
However, Adrian did not discriminate. To him, every concept held value, regardless of its perceived strength or utility. He approached each one with equal focus, steadily integrating them into his understanding. Each scroll received the same careful attention, each digital format the same thorough analysis.
With every concept he comprehended, the changes within him became more pronounced. Each truth that settled into his Source Seed caused it to grow denser, heavier, and more refined, as though it were being compressed into an increasingly pure state. The white-grey radiance of the seed deepened, carrying a weight that felt both intangible and absolute.
Four years later, Adrian sat once again within a cultivation chamber, holding a knowledge scroll containing the truths of the arcane concept of Silence. The scroll was beautiful, its surface etched with runes that seemed to absorb sound itself. Even the ambient noise of the formation's energy flow faded slightly in its presence.
As he activated it and allowed the knowledge to flow into his mind, the familiar sensation returned. It did not feel like learning something new. Instead, it felt like remembering something long forgotten, as though the knowledge had always existed within him or his source, waiting to be rediscovered.
With the completion of this concept, Adrian had now comprehended more than eighty arcane concepts at the Advanced Galactic level.
As the final fragments of the Silence concept settled into his consciousness, his Source Seed pulsed once more, stronger than before. This was something that kept happening as he comprehended more concepts. But this time, however, the transformation did not remain confined to the seed itself.
Adrian's eyes snapped open.
He felt a shift within his body, subtle at first, but rapidly intensifying.
His veins began to change.
"What..." Adrian breathed, looking down at his hands.
This was not entirely unfamiliar. Back in the Milky Way Galaxy, a similar transformation had occurred, but it had been limited to the veins in his hands. He remembered the sensation, the way his circulation had improved, allowing him to channel mana and essence with greater efficiency.
Now, the change spread far beyond that.
The veins in his arms glowed faintly as they transformed into channels of pure Source essence, allowing mana and other forms of energy to circulate with unprecedented efficiency. Adrian watched, transfixed, as the transformation crawled up his forearms, past his elbows, reaching his shoulders. The biological structures that had carried blood and mana dissolved and reformed into something fundamentally different, conduits of refined Source essence that pulsed with white-grey light.
The sensation was not painful. Instead, it felt like awakening, like his body was finally becoming what it had always been meant to be.
The transformation continued, spreading from his shoulders to his legs. The veins there followed the same pattern, no longer composed of ordinary biological structures but instead becoming conduits of refined Source essence. Adrian felt his stance shift slightly as the change reached his thighs, his calves, even the small vessels in his feet.
From there, the change extended to his abdomen, chest, and heart, then upward through his neck and into his head.
Finally, even the intricate network of veins connected to his brain underwent the same transformation. This was the most intense part. Adrian's vision whited out briefly as his consciousness flickered, his mind adjusting to the sudden influx of perfectly refined energy flowing through his neural pathways.
By the time it was complete, every vein in Adrian's body had become a Source vein, forming a unified system that allowed energy to flow with a smoothness and speed that surpassed anything he had previously experienced.
Adrian stood slowly, testing his limbs. Movement felt effortless. His perception had sharpened beyond anything he'd experienced outside of Source Form. Even without activating any techniques, he could sense the cultivation chamber around him with perfect clarity, every formation line, every ambient mana current, every minute fluctuation in reality itself.
Then his Source Seed pulsed again, this time with overwhelming intensity.
A flood of knowledge surged into his mind without warning, overwhelming his consciousness with its intensity. Adrian's body trembled, and he fell back into a seated posture, his thoughts momentarily scattered under the weight of the incoming information. The knowledge was vast, structured, and purposeful, yet it arrived all at once, forcing him to stabilize himself before he could begin to process it.
Minutes crawled past. Perhaps hours. Time lost meaning as Adrian wrestled with the influx, gradually imposing order on the chaos flooding his mind. He sorted, categorized, absorbed. Slowly, incrementally, the storm began to settle into something comprehensible.
When clarity finally returned, Adrian remained seated on the floor, his back against the chamber wall. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the controlled temperature.
"Crown of the Source…" The words emerged as barely more than a whisper.
He closed his eyes, diving deeper into what he'd received. The knowledge organized itself with precision now that the initial shock had passed. Structures emerged, patterns formed, and understanding bloomed.
This wasn't merely information. It was a complete technique, fully formed, as if someone had spent eons perfecting every detail before imprinting it directly into his consciousness.
A willforce technique.
Adrian opened his eyes, staring at nothing. His mind struggled to reconcile what he'd just learned with everything he thought he knew about cultivation. Willforce had always been treated as something immutable, something that grew only through experience, suffering, and the accumulation of countless lifetimes. It was consciousness itself exerting pressure on reality, shaped by the weight of one's existence.
The idea that it could be manipulated through a structured technique had never even crossed his mind. Not once. Not in all his years of cultivation, not in his research through premium networks, not in conversations with any elder or the sect leader.
Yet the mechanics of the [Crown of the Source] were unmistakable. They defied his understanding entirely, yet simultaneously made perfect sense in ways he couldn't quite articulate.
Adrian pushed himself upright, legs still unsteady. He moved to the center of the chamber, where ambient mana flowed most smoothly, and sat cross-legged. His hands rested on his knees as he focused inward, examining the technique piece by piece.
The foundation of this technique was establishing a connection. A bridge between himself and another individual. Simple in concept, yet the execution revealed layers of complexity that made his head spin.
Both parties needed genuine willingness. Not forced agreement, not reluctant acceptance, but true willingness born from trust. The technique would sense even the slightest trace of malice, the barest hint of resistance or doubt. If either party harbored true ill intent, if either felt genuine reluctance beneath surface agreement, the connection would fail instantly.
Adrian understood immediately why such safeguards existed. Without them, this technique would become the ultimate tool of tyranny, and also the benefits of the connection would be used by someone who carried ill intent. With these safeguards, one can identify if the other party bore ill intent and avoid those individuals.
Finally, if the connection succeeded…
Adrian's breath steadied as he traced the implications. Through this link, he would receive a minuscule portion of the other person's willforce. Not stolen, not drained, but freely given through the connection itself. The amount from a single individual was minuscule, almost negligible in isolation. Perhaps equivalent to a few days of natural growth.
Yet when considered on a large scale… Thousands of connections. Tens of thousands, each contributing their small portion, will accumulate into something far greater than the sum of its parts. His willforce capacity could grow beyond anything achievable through conventional means, reaching levels that would otherwise require millions or billions of years to attain naturally.
And the exchange was not one-sided.
His focus shifted to the other half of the technique, the gift granted to those who formed connections with him. They would receive something equally profound, perhaps even more valuable than what they gave: a miniature Source Seed.
Recognition flashed through Adrian's mind. Aerin. The moment his Source had transferred essence into her as an infant, creating that tiny seed within her body. He'd questioned it then, uncertain what it meant or what consequences might follow.
Now he understood completely.
The miniature Source Seed granted no direct access to the Source itself. Those who possessed it couldn't store arcane concepts within chambers like Adrian could. They couldn't form and reform divine concepts at will, couldn't wield Source essence, couldn't command reality with absolute authority. The miniature seed offered none of those abilities.
Instead, its effect was far more subtle, yet equally profound in its own way.
It accelerated comprehension. Dramatically, fundamentally, permanently.
Just as Adrian himself experienced an unnatural ease in understanding arcane truths, anyone possessing this miniature seed would gain a similar advantage. Not identical to his own ability, but comparable in its impact. Their minds would grasp concepts faster, perceive deeper meanings, connect disparate truths with intuitive clarity. Learning would become effortless where others struggled. Breakthroughs would arrive naturally where others stagnated for centuries.
Aerin had demonstrated this from childhood. She had even reached Advanced Galactic comprehension of the arcane concepts needed for Crimson Vital Dominion within a month, something that should have taken decades or longer.
Adrian always guessed it could be due to the miniature Source Seed, and now he can confirm it. The miniature Source Seed had been working within her all along, quietly enhancing her natural abilities without drawing attention.
Beyond that acceleration, it offered nothing else. No shortcuts to power, no instant breakthroughs, no divine authority. Those who possessed it would still follow the natural path of cultivation. They would form their arcane essence seeds through comprehension and effort. They would merge those seeds into rule cores if they chose to create divine concepts. They would grow according to universal laws that governed all cultivators, facing the same challenges, the same barriers, the same risks.
Most importantly, the miniature Source Seed remained undetectable to nearly all forms of perception. Even cultivators at the Peak Rule Stage would likely overlook it entirely, mistaking its effects for natural talent or fortunate comprehension. Most recipients wouldn't even be aware of its existence within them, attributing their enhanced learning to personal ability rather than external influence.
Yet even with these limitations, Adrian could see its true potential with perfect clarity.
He'd watched Aerin grow from infancy. He'd seen firsthand how such a subtle advantage could shape an entire path, transforming a bright child into an exceptional cultivator.
If this ability could be extended to many… Their future would change completely.
No longer would they be limited by the slow, grinding pace of conventional cultivation. No longer would only the most talented among them achieve greatness whilst others languished at lower stages. With the miniature Source Seed enhancing their comprehension, even ordinary cultivators could reach heights previously reserved for prodigies.
And for Adrian himself…
He exhaled slowly, centering his thoughts. The implications were even greater from his perspective. While each individual contribution of willforce was small, barely noticeable in isolation, the cumulative effect of thousands would be substantial. Millions would be transformative. Over time, his willforce capacity could reach levels that would otherwise require countless lifetimes to achieve through natural growth alone.
The technique scaled infinitely. There was no theoretical limit to how many connections he could form, no cap on how much willforce he could accumulate through this method. As his people grew stronger, as more joined, as the network expanded across worlds and galaxies…
His power would grow alongside theirs. Not separate from them, not at their expense, but through genuine mutual benefit.
This was more than just a technique.
Adrian rose to his feet, movements smooth despite the lingering tremors from earlier. He paced the chamber slowly, hands clasped behind his back as his mind raced through possibilities.
This was a path. A complete cultivation system that aligned perfectly with his core ideal.
The Origin Path. He'd always sought to ascend alongside his people, refusing to leave them behind in pursuit of personal power. It was the very reason he'd rejected the Void Sect's offer when the Guardian Spirit had presented it. Even after entering the universe, after witnessing the vast advantages those great sects possessed, the resources they commanded, the knowledge they hoarded, he'd never once regretted that decision.
He'd chosen to stand with his people. To grow alongside them rather than abandon them for personal gain. To find a way forward that didn't require sacrificing those who trusted him.
And now, the [Crown of the Source] offered him exactly that. A method to make his vision real, to transform an impossible ideal into a concrete reality.
Adrian stopped pacing, standing in the chamber's center. White-grey light pulsed faintly within his veins, barely visible through his skin.
He'd only hoped that increasing his Source's purity would somehow enhance his willforce. That had been his goal when he'd asked Varcain to acquire every available arcane concept. A desperate attempt to find some advantage before facing the Everlasting Pill Sect and their inevitable allies.
Instead, he'd been granted something far beyond that modest ambition. An entirely new category of power. Proof that willforce techniques existed, that consciousness itself could be shaped and strengthened through structured methods rather than only through the accumulation of experience.
"If this exists…" Adrian murmured, voice carrying in the silent chamber. "Then others must exist as well."
The logical conclusion formed immediately. This couldn't be unique. The [Crown of the Source] was too refined, too purposeful, too complete to be the only technique of its kind. Somewhere in the vast universe, other cultivators could have developed similar willforce techniques.
Perhaps not identical to the [Crown of the Source], but different methods, different approaches, ways that cultivators could use to attack others or just to strengthen their willforce beyond natural limits.
This realization brought a new perspective to things he'd previously struggled to understand.
Adrian recalled the forum post about the Thorn Twins of the Celestial Thorn Sect. Two Astral Stage beings who'd annihilated an entire upper minor sect within minutes. Millions of disciples slaughtered, including the sect leader and multiple Peak Rule Stage elders. The post had described their assault as effortless, as if they'd simply waved their hands and erased existence itself.
At the time, Adrian had questioned how such a feat was possible. Even at Astral Stage, even with two divine concepts merged into an Astral Core, the numbers should have mattered. Multi-domain suppression should have worked, forcing the twins to fight through waves of cultivators whilst their authority fragmented under constant pressure. It should have been a grinding battle, costly and prolonged.
Instead, it had been a massacre that was completed in seconds. Now, a possible explanation emerged with crystalline clarity.
If those beings possessed willforce techniques, methods capable of directly attacking consciousness or overwhelming the willforce of others, then their opponents would have been reduced to little more than mortals before the battle even began. Unable to wield authority, unable to maintain their divine domains, unable to resist as their minds collapsed under pressure they couldn't comprehend.
Without willforce, authority couldn't be wielded. Without authority, even the strongest divine concept became meaningless. A Peak Rule Stage cultivator with shattered willforce was nothing more than a slightly durable mortal, waiting to be erased.
In that context, the Thorn Twins' overwhelming victory was no longer incomprehensible. It made perfect sense.
Adrian's jaw tightened. The universe was far deeper than he'd imagined. Layers upon layers of hidden knowledge, techniques passed down through ancient lineages, methods that transformed cultivation from a simple contest of mana and authority into something far more complex.
Despite everything he'd achieved, despite the power he now wielded, despite mastering over eighty arcane concepts and forming dozens of divine concepts, he was still only beginning to understand the deeper truths of existence.
Compared to the vast, incomprehensible expanse of the universe's true depths, compared to beings who'd cultivated for billions of years and mastered techniques he couldn't even imagine…
He was still nothing more than a speck of dust.
The thought should have been humbling. Crushing, even. A reminder of his insignificance in the face of cosmic scale.
Instead, Adrian smiled.
Because unlike before, when he'd felt helpless against forces beyond his control, when he'd struggled to find any path forward that didn't require abandoning his ideals…
Now he had a direction. A method. A way to grow stronger whilst bringing his people with him, rather than leaving them behind to chase power alone.
The [Crown of the Source] wasn't just a technique. It was proof that his chosen path was possible. That the Origin Path wasn't merely a dream, but something that could be made real through dedication and understanding.
Adrian opened his UNI-OS, checking the time. Nearly five years had passed within the time formation since he'd begun comprehending the arcane concepts Varcain had acquired.
He had decades more time within this accelerated space. Decades to refine his understanding of the [Crown of the Source], to test its limits, to determine how best to implement it across his people.
And when he finally emerged, when the Everlasting Pill Sect came with their armies and their Peak Rule Stage cultivators and their hired mercenaries…
They would face something they couldn't comprehend. Something beyond their experience, their knowledge, their ability to counter.
They would face the Origin Path made manifest.