And with this mountain being only half a day’s travel away from the gate , there was a decent chance other guests would have ended up here . Zac would normally not be worried about being targeted . In fact , he would welcome it . However , he aimed to make a breakthrough , not fight and look for treasures this time . And by staying inside the pouch , he’d be able to sneak onto the mountain without being spotted .
The toad set off across the chasm , only stopping to let the side with the Death-attuned star turn toward them . There were no beasts guarding against their arrival , and they landed in a deathly forest without issue . The toad was still wary , glancing to its left and right as it kept running for a few more minutes . Only then did Zac emerge , looking around with interest .
Here , - Zac said , throwing out a Death-attuned Cosmic Crystal . - A small payment . You worked a lot harder than me in the end . -
The toad eagerly snatched it and stuffed it into its mouth , letting out a satisfied croak . In return , it formed a rapid-fire series of signs again , pointing toward the top of the mountain .
You’re telling me something dangerous is living on the peak? - Zac asked , getting an affirmative nod and a series of following signs . - And to not make a lot of noise on the slopes? -
A minute later , the toad ambled away , much more relaxed now that it had reached the drifting mountain before it moved out of reach . Zac thoughtfully watched it disappear among the trees before he swapped to his human form and flashed away in the opposite direction .
There was something off about that beast . Not that it tried to harm him , but rather the opposite . It was a bit stand-offish , but it lacked the thinly veiled brutality he saw in the eyes of the other nomads . It was just too intelligent and didn’t even seem native to the Calamity . Zac had no proof for this , but his instincts told him it wasn’t actually a wild Beast King but a domesticated one .
Whose pet it was and why it appeared here , Zac had no idea .
Zac was curious , but he had bigger fish to fry . He ran through the windswept forest before he found what he was looking for , a tunnel without any end . It wasn’t luck to stumble onto one so quickly—these entrances were all over the place . The drifting mountains of the Calamity were essentially beehives with innumerable tunnels crisscrossing the whole thing . It was more hollow than solid .
Perhaps that was the only way for such a huge mountain to float about freely without getting too heavy . No matter the reason , the thousands of tunnels created a unique situation thanks to the constantly rotating mountain . Powerful gusts full of energy entered the tunnels , constantly dragging more and more into its depths .
Meanwhile , the innards were completely protected from vicious storms , creating an incredible environment . In other words , the real dangers and opportunities waited within . And it was here Zac planned on seizing a cultivation cave to undergo his fourth reincarnation .
24
THREE FATES
The last rat fought against the suffocating chains , but a ruthless swing ended the struggle . Zac panted as he ripped Black Death] out of the Beast King’s head , adding its corpse to the growing pile of carcasses in his Spatial Ring . Zac grimaced as he pushed back his leaking entrails into his gut , applying a paste while expending two healing brands to patch up the wound .
While pondering on the Dao in his cave back home , he’d always longed for adventure among the stars . But you always forget these small details . Adventures were grimy , and you often ended up leaking stuff that shouldn’t leave the confines of your body .
Over the past day , Zac had either ambushed or been ambushed over thirty times , and he was starting to get worn down . The beasts and packs which could make the Calamity Mountain’s prime real estate their homes weren’t messing around . It was no wonder no one guarded the slopes against interlopers . Why bother? The outsiders would die the moment they dared enter the tunnels .
At least he’d made good headway . When Zac entered the mountain , he’d continued straight toward its heart . The two attuned stars were in a locked orbit with the mountain , which meant one side of the mountain teemed with Death while the tunnels on the other side were filled with Life . He needed a little bit of both for his method , so he had to reach the center where the energies converged .
The fact that the pack of rats he’d stumbled onto were Life-attuned proved he was getting close . The pungent smell of blood lingered in the den even after storing the corpses . Predators hoping to find a wounded victor would soon arrive . Despite this , Zac didn’t immediately leave .
He followed the urgings of Verun in his mind until he reached a pile of what he hoped was mud . After pushing it away with the huge edge of Gorehew] , a radiant glimmer lit up the whole area . Zac looked at the thing curiously . It wasn’t a crystal , neither was it some stone or metal . It resembled a piece of dried bark containing incredible amounts of Divine Energy .
A small , dried piece from a C-grade tree , perhaps? Even if it was only a small piece and quite aged , it had once held incredibly lofty Daos of Life . It was definitely a D-grade Natural Treasure , perhaps even a Middle-stage one . The energy it released was to the point the whole cave started to vibrate .
It was the adjacent passage , a wind tunnel full of turbulent Death , that was being instigated by its natural enemy being so close by . Zac urgently stowed the treasure before running away , his hands burning upon touching the bark like a hot coal . Distant , avaricious roars were already echoing through the tunnels .
Zac grinned as he turned into an abyssal wraith , squeezing through a small crack to join the corridor of Miasmic winds . The rats had clearly understood that treasure was beyond what they could hold onto with their strength , so they had isolated its powerful energy emanations with the mud .
But their aggression was their folly . They’d attacked Zac for passing by outside their den , even if he had no intention of messing with them . By the time he fought his way inside , Verun had woken up from within his Spatial Ring , roaring with hunger . It had indicated in no uncertain terms there was something it wanted to eat here .
Since Verun’s Bite] had reached Peak E-grade , it rarely showed any interest in materials . Verun doing so this time strongly indicated the piece of bark would be able to assist its breakthrough into a D-grade Spirit Tool . The only other thing he’d gotten his hands on so far was the mysterious drops Iz had given him after breaking through the first layer of his Void Vajra Sublimation] .
The Tool Spirit wanted to drink those drops , and Zac guessed it could act as a catalyst for elevating its spirit . But it was just a few drops , far from the pile of expensive materials Zac expected he’d need to gather to upgrade his weapon . Finally , he was making some progress , and the fact he could find useful High-grade materials was a promising sign .
Because if there were good things down here , then the upper layers of the Calamity were bound to have amazing treasures for both Alea and Verun . Now , he only needed a mission , preferably a long-term one , taking him back here . That way , he could earn Mana while treasure hunting rather than forking out 250 Mana a day .
In a second , Zac had moved hundreds of meters back and forth through the complicated network of stormy and calm tunnels . He found another slim crack and squeezed through , arriving in a separate set of tunnels . Abyssal Phase] had been his go-to method to avoid dangerous situations and take shortcuts toward the center .
Zac continued for another hour until he found what he’d been looking for : a storm chamber . He’d arrived through a tunnel carrying Death-attuned winds . On the other side , another pathway poured out similar amounts of Life . Unsurprisingly , the chamber where the two energies met was a madhouse with ceaseless explosions like those that had assaulted him on his arrival to the Red Zone .