He’d used quite a bit of force , and the only proof of his attack was a shallow line on the rocky surface . As expected , anything that could survive inside the Calamity was incredibly sturdy . That also proved just how powerful the previous eruption was . That distant explosion had contained enough force to rip up the ground and launch shrapnel in every direction . It’d be game over if he took one of those to the face .
There was no way he could carve out a cave in this kind of bedrock , and Zac could only start moving in search of a natural shelter . One moment he was climbing . The next , he was running , all while the island kept spinning . Soon , Zac felt like he’d hit the jackpot , spotting the mouth of a cave not far-off . He jumped inside , ready to fight any beast that tried to push him out .
There was none .
Zac breathed in relief , both from the cave being over fifty meters deep and unoccupied by any beast . He set up a series of arrays to hide his presence from the Stormgliders and any other beasts before moving into the depths of the cave . Zac figured he’d be mostly safe even from such powerful eruptions this far into the incredibly hard rock , and he couldn’t feel another one of those blasts building up .
Those kinds of explosions couldn’t be too common even in the Calamity , or it would have been too dangerous even for a Red Zone . Zac grunted as he sat down and soon found the cave started to spin . With an annoyed sigh , Zac opted to suspend himself in the air with Vivi’s help , where he could rotate along with the island .
Outside , the storm kept raging . Distant calls of Stormgliders and other beasts could barely be heard through the incessant roar of the unrelenting storm . Even after the shocking discharge before , the Calamity had plenty of energy to spare . Going back out now would be asking for trouble , Void Vajra Constitution or not .
Zac shook his head as he remembered his thoughts upon reading the reports on the Calamity . He’d thought he’d be like a lost scion finding his way back home , where his unique Duality provided him benefits akin to the Twilight Ocean .
Reality was often a harsh mistress .
22
NOMAD
Zac felt a palpable sense of déjà vu as he observed the golden storm . At least his situation wasn’t quite as bad as when he fell into the Twilight Chasm . For one , he still had all his limbs . Secondly , the environment was quite nice now that he’d gotten out of the wind . It really looked like the storm was self-perpetuating . The wind agitated the Dao , which resulted in deadly eruptions that generated more wind .
The moment he found shelter , the Dao calmed , though still far more agitated than normal . That wasn’t all bad when kept within reason . Zac felt a dense stream of Pure Life enter his wounds , assisting in his recovery . This phenomenon was why the zone was considered worth 250 Mana a day .
It wouldn’t be wrong to call the Calamity a deathtrap , but the few safe spots that appeared were havens even top-tier cultivation chambers had difficulty matching up to . It was a great environment for cultivators to gather the energy needed to form a Life-or-Death-attuned core , and unique treasures were continuously born .
The storm kept raging outside , but Zac didn’t mind after confirming the rest of the Stormgliders were gone . He guessed the huge explosion before might have scared them away . Zac’s constitution was fast at work mending his wounds , and the rich environment even put him in a semi-enlightened state to figure out some improvements to a schematic he’d been working on .
A schematic for a healing skill .
Surging Vitality] had served him well since unlocking the second floor of the Dao Repository years ago , and it had already patched up the wound on his back . However , it ultimately wasn’t a very strong skill . It was a Middle-quality skill without any attunement . The only reason it had worked so well on Zac’s body was because of his high Vitality and his body’s inherent ability to recover . Any skill would have worked great on him .
But Surging Vitality] had too many limitations . For one , it was incredibly inefficient , requiring way more energy compared to most skills . That was probably why it had been designed to run on Kill Energy rather than normal energy reserves from the start . Secondly , infusing the skill with his Branch of Kalpataru only slightly improved the effect . Finally , it only had a 70% match with his pathways , lowering the efficiency even further .
For years , Zac had planned on swapping the skill out with a proper self-made one that meshed better with his class and Daos . He had mostly figured out what he wanted , and his study of blueprints gave him the skill to create it from scratch . But he’d held off , waiting for more pieces to fall into place .
Now , with his constitution evolved and his Dao Branch already at Middle-stage , he had everything he needed to finish the preparatory work . And as long as he didn’t wait too long to form the skill , he’d probably be able to push it to Peak-mastery before even leaving the Perennial Vastness .
The storm’s ferocity rendered the outside impassable even after an hour , but Zac didn’t care . The island had already stopped spinning after the previous blast , and the danger seemed to be waning . Zac understood he’d been caught in a squall the moment he entered the Calamity . Thankfully this level of danger wasn’t a permanent state , at least not everywhere at once . There were ebbs just like the flow he’d just seen .
Eventually , the roar of the wind calmed into a constant groan , and Zac hesitantly peeked out from his cave . The wind was still extremely strong , forcing Zac to hold onto the wall , but the air above was no longer an overwhelming golden haze . Now , smaller clouds flitted about in a vast backdrop of a chaotic dance between Life and Death . It looked like he’d been transported to a world of a thousand drifting suns , where roughly half shone in gold and the other half in black .
Between these stellar objects , incredibly ferocious storms raged , just like the one that had almost dragged him away . At any given time , there were eruptions powerful enough to wound even him grievously . And in the middle of all this chaos , platforms and islands floated about like boats on a raging sea .
Some were only a few thousand meters across , while others were so large that it’d take Zac hours to cross them . What kept them afloat , Zac had no idea . There was a slight upward draft in the whole Calamity , but he doubted that was enough to keep whole islands bobbing about . His gaze turned upward , and he saw the same scene continuing deep into the sky until his vision was blocked by an incredibly chaotic storm mixed of gold and black .
Being a mostly vertical realm , it would only take Zac a few days to cross the whole thing . The goal was to climb higher , where the energy was richer , and the treasures were better . Certainly , the beasts would also be stronger . Getting to the top was easier said than done . There were only a few safe routes through the huge storm in the sky , so you couldn’t just fly straight up .
Things were calmer around Zac now compared to what he saw in the distance . The storm of Life had swept up a lot of the energy , leaving the region relatively calm . Zac stepped out , knowing he had to make his move before it was too late .
Gazing around , he shuddered . He was less than one hundred meters from a sharp edge . And he knew where that led—nowhere . Being a literal hurricane , there was a down just like there was an up . Falling meant trouble if you weren’t careful and lacked the means to right the ship .
Far in the distance , Zac saw the pillar from where he’d arrived , proving he was still on the starting disk . Normally , it wouldn’t have been so easy to spot , but the Perennial Vastness helped out a bit in this confusing place . A huge sigil hovered above the pillar , making it easy to spot even from other islands . Of course , the guides could always point you in the direction of the pillar in case you were lost .