Although , there was no rule saying he had to be the one paying the price .
An impossibly vibrant branch with four leaves rippling with Time and Life appeared in his hand , and the first leaf started to wilt as Zac extracted the longevity locked within . Similarly , Oblivion exacted a price of emotions and memories , yet Zac had prepared a spare for that .
This wasn’t a Longevity Treasure like the one his subordinates had found at an auction . It was the lingering pieces of Mossy’s consciousness he’d trapped and sealed . The last emerald motes winked out one after another as Oblivion claimed them for fuel .
Seeing that the process went smoothly , Zac could finally turn to the most important matter . The almost exhausted ambient energy in his Soul Aperture was already halfway replenished , and dense clouds of Life and Death battled for dominion over his soul .
The small nebulous swirls surrounding the two oversized Soul Cores had grown tens of times in size , each shuddering with power as they exerted pressure on the cores . Meanwhile , innumerable explosions went off every second in his mind , each exhausting some of the build-up while pressuring the Soul Cores .
Even without Zac controlling things , the cores had already shrunk 30% in size since the vortices had begun swallowing the liquified energy . Yet it wasn’t enough . Zac could tell his cores had started to harden . He had a few minutes at most , and the cores still needed to be concentrated to a tenth of their current size . Right now , they were far too porous and brittle .
Determination gleamed in Zac’s eyes as he took charge of his Evolutionary and Inexorable Cores . His path had always been a straightforward one , and his solution this time wasn’t any different . The cores hummed as they began to move with increasing velocity .
Right toward each other .
In their wake , two enormous shrouds of Life and Death followed , making up the bulk of the army . Meanwhile , the cores were the vanguard , each containing an insatiable desire for the extermination of the other side . Zac did nothing to quell these impulses—he did the opposite . The Dao Avatar of the Branch of the War Axe released torrential amounts of Dao into the approaching cores and their shrouds while the final stockpile of truth started pouring out from Spiritual Void] .
Life and Death , kindled by Conflict ; a war as old as time itself . An earthshattering shockwave erupted in Zac’s Soul Aperture as two cores collided . A second , just as powerful explosion , followed a moment later as the spiral clouds of opposing elements were forced together . Zac’s vision swam , like his soul had been ripped in half as the two cores were flung back to the opposite edges of his aperture .
Blood poured down Zac’s nose and ears , and cracks covered the surface of the two cores . But it worked . The clash of the cores and the huge shockwave from the shrouds exploding condensed the two cores by almost 50% . Just as importantly , Conflict had been squeezed into them , moving them closer to his path .
The pain in Zac’s mind was almost enough to make him keel over , but he ignored the agony as he swallowed a handful of Soul Mending Pills . The exhausted spiral shrouds had been replenished just seconds later by the nigh-inexhaustible energies from above . Zac was full of reluctance , but he had no choice .
The two cores began moving again , their advance collecting all the energies in the aperture . Another set of shockwaves erupted when the cores clashed . This time , his consciousness slipped and he stabbed himself in the leg to regain clarity . The cores groaned in agony , but they’d shrunk another 20% .
One time after another , Life and Death rallied and fought for supremacy , with Zac’s mind as the battleground . The cores were no longer pure expressions of Life and Death . Now , they teemed with ferocity as Conflict integrated into their depths . Furthermore , their size was just 15% of before . The pressure had elevated them from rough coal into diamonds , their power far beyond his previous stage .
Such improvements came at a cost . Cracks covered every inch of their surfaces , deep scars that threatened to leave lasting damage . The same was true for his Soul Aperture , which was damaged to the point of leaking Mental Energy . He’d also run out of Creation and Oblivion Energy , and he could tell something was happening to the Calamity Mountain .
The mountain had been shaking over the past three minutes , the tremors growing deeper and more ominous by the second . The mysterious presence had also grown more distant , to the point Zac felt himself about to lose the connection altogether . He could tell the energies he’d provided had already been used up . For what , Zac had no idea , and he was running out of time .
One more , - Zac growled with a hoarse voice , his vision red while his mouth tasted like metal .
He’d endured eight collisions , each putting him closer to his goal . Nine was the last and the ultimate—the final battle .
The two cores were forced into battle , becoming missiles on a collision course . They collided , and Zac desperately formed a huge net of Mental Energy around his aperture to minimize the damage . The cores were pushed back , but this time proved different from the previous clashes . Glittering dust was left in their wake , making them appear as comets drifting through space .
The tail was made from pieces of Zac’s soul , but there were also emerald splinters from the Moss Crystal and pieces infected with the lingering will of the Remnants . The cores had been condensed to such a point that some of the impurities had been forced out , such as the pieces of Mossy that he’d failed to integrate into the cores .
His soul was rapidly filled with energy from the vortices , and Zac reached out and crushed the gates leading to his mind . Two new spiral clouds formed , but Zac no longer needed to push the two sides together . Instead , the two cores commandeered one half each of his Soul Aperture , forming two vertical swirls .
The Evolutionary Core was surrounded by a deathly cloud , while the Inexorable Core was ensconced in Life . In the center of his aperture , his Dao Avatar sat in meditation , continuously releasing its Dao of Conflict into the clouds . Eventually , the deathly cloud would turn into an inexorable cloud , and so on .
The clouds slowly spun around the newly formed cores , constantly putting them under a small amount of pressure . These clouds would become the key to continuing through the Nine Reincarnations Manual] . For now , they worked as protection . The pressure the clouds released wasn’t strong enough to damage the cores , but it helped keep them pressed together .
Zac swallowed a series of treasures meant for nurturing and healing souls , and a fresh wind swept through his soul . It was like outside and within had swapped positions . The storm chamber was rendered deathly silent since the streams of energy were released , the complete opposite of the raging war in his mind .
Now , the laws keeping the falling energies at bay were wearing thin , and explosions had resumed farther up the chute . Conversely , a fresh wind from the healing treasures swept through his mind , helping seal the tears in his aperture and cores . His soul finally found peace .
He’d done it . His Soul Aperture was a wreck , and the cores looked like they had been through years of fierce battles . But that was fine . The two cores were incredibly condensed , creating a powerful foundation to continue his cultivation . And while his soul was damaged , it wasn’t to the point he couldn’t use it at all . He should be fine if he didn’t draw more than 30% of their power . Using 30% of his Mental Energy with his two cores was far beyond what he could release during his previous reincarnation .
The explosions drew closer as the tremors grew more powerful . Almost like the whole mountain was about to collapse . Yet Zac sat in place , almost forgetting his fleshy body altogether . He was one with his powerful soul and felt it spread like a domain for hundreds of meters in every direction .