Eventually , 189 runes of purest Life formed an outline of a being . One grand cycle for the Heavens and one for the Earth . Joined together by the nine minor wheels of Life , one body of divinity perfected . It was still just a hollow pattern , but only half of the dust had entered the Spiritual Flame circle by this point . More refined dust was being pulled in by the second . As long as Zac kept going , something akin to a body would form .
The moment the final rune was perfected , Zac heard a bell in the depths of his mind . Unprecedented clarity was followed by a stream of new information . It wasn’t an epiphany that came from his reinforcing his path . It was like the cultivation method in his mind had unfurled like a flower bud , displaying previously hidden pieces . A grand voice echoed through his mind , filled with power and compassion .
Only by surrendering the self can the one become the Boundless Cosmos . Only through a Heart of Dao can the Boundless Cosmos become the one . Sublimation through rebirth . Reality subject to an eternal will . The path of the immutable Varja . ’
Sublimation through rebirth , ’ Zac thought , the hidden despair in the depths of his heart swept away , replaced by anticipation .
With the hidden chapter of the method unfurled , Zac finally understood what was happening . There was a hidden tribulation at the threshold of the Minor Sublimation—a tribulation of the Heart . The breakthrough would only continue if your Heart was firm enough , even in the face of disaster .
If it failed , your soul would gradually disperse in the clouds . If inside a Buddhist domain , your essence could be reformed into a Dharmic Will , which could be infused into a statue or a Dharmic Treasure . For someone like Zac , it simply meant death .
Zac had no idea why the hidden danger hadn’t shown itself even when he reforged the method with the truth of Ultom , but he wasn’t too disappointed . He could feel how his Dao Heart had made a breakthrough even before his body , reaching a state akin to the Integration Stage of technique . Like a metal , a Dao Heart could only be tempered when put into the fire , whether it was life-and-death encounters or significant setbacks to their cultivation .
If Zac had known he was supposed to disintegrate , he would just have focused on the next step , and his heart wouldn’t have aligned as well with his path . And from the information , Zac could tell the heart was the key to passing the Minor Sublimation . Only when one’s will was powerful enough to alter reality and control the dust could you reforge your body .
This wasn’t a hidden trap of the Sangha but rather a way to increase the rate of success of their practitioners at the expense of the ones lacking Fate . The unexpected pain , the growing sense of unease , and finally , the collapse . It was all there to trigger and temper the practitioner’s Heart . If their Dao Hearts couldn’t withstand the despair of having their body collapse , they wouldn’t be able to finish the second half of the breakthrough in either case .
Heart was the key . What he believed real , was real . What his heart deemed false , was false . Everything was in place .
Of course , he still needed to complete this breakthrough before celebrating . Just understanding the situation didn’t mean he could relax . The avatar made from runes was still hollow , and the burst of information had created waves in his heart .
Some of the runes had already destabilized , while the remaining dust started scattering . Zac reaffirmed his heart , spreading his will through the temple . The process resumed and sped up until nine separate swirls entered the invisible flames simultaneously . Seven entered gates that had appeared on his body from the top of his head down to his groin . The final two entered through the hands of the runes , which formed the closing mudra of the Void Vajra Sublimation] .
As the purified dust entered his body , it was dust no longer . Under the transformations of his heart , veins and bones were forged . Then came organs , each one glistening with Life like a Natural Treasure . Eventually , a golden statue sat within the invisible flames , perfect and fully formed . The dust was expended , the impurities banished .
He was whole .
Zac stood and walked out of the flame , but he didn’t get dressed . Instead , he touched his Spatial Ring , and a small vial appeared in his hand . It was the drops Iz had gifted him after his first breakthrough of the Body Tempering Method . Zac carefully swallowed a single drop then hurried back to the central ring , afraid to lose his current state of mind .
One drop wasn’t his limit , but there were only six drops remaining in the small vial . He needed to save some for his other projects , and he had the time to stabilize his breakthrough inside the Perennial Vastness .
He let himself continue to be annealed in the flames of Life for a while longer while studying the updated Void Vajra Sublimation] . Between the incredible temple that had facilitated such a perfect breakthrough and his elevated state of mind , Zac was in a state of utmost clarity and certainty .
Previously unclear parts of the fourth layer of the Void Vajra Sublimation] were unraveled and fixed , getting closer and closer to a workable method . Only when he heard a soft ding did he slowly open his eyes .
Thirty minutes , like you asked , - Null reminded .
Thank you . - Zac smiled .
He was still some ways from finalizing the fourth layer of the method , but the Keys of Ascension wasn’t the place to finish that work . It was far too expensive and using it for anything but breaking through was a waste of Mana .
Zac looked down at his body . He was still golden and glowing with the lines of Life , but the radiance receded into the depths of his cells with a thought . Normal flesh replaced the golden metallic hue . That didn’t mean his body had lost anything , neither did it mean his Void Vajra Constitution had entered a dormant state .
In a sense , his body couldn’t be fully considered one of flesh anymore . He was moving closer to a Dao Body , something cultivators normally only gained after stepping into Monarchy . By that point , their true being was the world they nurtured inside their body , while their outer body could be considered a projection of themselves .
Still , his body wasn’t entirely flesh either . With a thought , a series of runes appeared across his arms as his skin turned golden . A moment later , the markings were gone . Zac nodded in satisfaction . His heart dictated what was real and what wasn’t . If his heart said his body was flesh and looked human , it would .
Zac felt like his body had become a treasure trove of hidden benefits , and he began unearthing them as he always did—by opening his Status Screen .
Life] Void Vajra Sublimation (Third Layer) : Base Attributes +50 . Vitality +500 . Endurance +250 . Base Attributes +5% , Vitality +5% . Effect of Vitality +10% .
19
COMING HOME
The boost to Zac’s attributes was mostly expected , though the new improvement to Base Attributes was a welcome surprise . The increases didn’t change much for Zac by this point , but you obviously wouldn’t say no to free power . Unfortunately , awakening a constitution didn’t provide a title , just like his Soul Cultivation and Technique hadn’t .
Some gains were benefits on their own . Besides , Zac guessed these specialized forms of cultivation weren’t really part of the System’s training regimen . The System was there to mass-produce warriors through levels and grades . Ultimately , it was still more efficient to push more cultivators with weaker foundations to higher grades on a macro scale . Raising peak existences that could push toward the limits of cultivation was ultimately a matter of chance .