It was probably a matter of learning to walk before you could run , where the first chapters set up a solid foundation . It reminded Zac of a documentary he’d seen , explaining how it could take years for a sushi chef apprentice before they were allowed to even touch a sushi knife . First , master how to manipulate - Aether and Truth . - Then you could use that knowledge to forge new creations .
Gaining access to the later chapters wasn’t gated by his cultivation level or finding more inheritances . It was rather dependent on his progress with the method itself . To unlock Cosmic Extraction] , he needed to imbue a piece of equipment with two Cosmic Cycles . Zac had a decent idea of what that meant going by context clues , and the sudden appearance of a blue screen confirmed his suspicion .
Cosmic Forge (Unique , Inheritance) : Infuse a non-mortal item with two Cosmic Cycles . Reward : Cosmic Extraction] . (0/34)
Zac looked at the quest with annoyance . It really wasn’t comfortable having the System all up in his business this way . Still , there wasn’t much to do about it , and he could only focus on the quest . As expected , one Cosmic Cycle was seventeen infusions , one for each Dao Peak .
Neither his visions nor the inheritance fully explained what level an item would reach by being infused seventeen times . But it seemed as though each Cosmic Cycle would upgrade an item by one quality tier . In other words , two cycles would upgrade a Low-quality item to a High-quality one while simultaneously adding an attunement .
That was almost Heaven-defying . Verun’s Bite] appeared in his hand , and he thought back to all the encounters and opportunities that had fed his axe to this point . All that , and the axe still hadn’t quite reached Peak-quality . It wasn’t easy to make an exact estimate , but it was most likely in the upper tiers of a High-quality Tool Spirit . And that was for now .
There were no guarantees it’d retain its quality after evolving to D-grade . If anything , it was expected for a Tool Spirit to be downgraded a level or two when breaking through to a new grade . Like cultivators , Tool Spirits had limits to their potential , and breaking past those barriers required fortuitous encounters . Sometimes , it simply wasn’t possible .
Or so Zac had thought .
Apparently , Cosmic Forge] could subvert fate and continuously upgrade equipment . Certainly , it required skill , raw materials , and there was an element of risk to the process , but there were no such things as an item’s bottleneck . As long as he reached a certain level of proficiency , he would be able to turn almost any item into a Peak-quality treasure . Perhaps he would be able to push them to even greater heights .
Zac could see a new path open up before him as he looked down at his companion . Infuse his Daos to elevate the axe to Peak-quality . Extract the clashing elements from all the random things he’d fed Verun . Fuse the essence of his path into the axe , replacing what was removed . Help Verun shatter the chains of its unimpressive origins . Who knew , Cosmic Forge] might even be the key to helping Alea resurrect .
He took a calming breath , steadying his mental state and heart before his thoughts ran amok . The ability was amazing , but he had to remember it was something created in an era before the Dao by a species that considered Dao poison . There were no guarantees it would work as advertised , even with his unique bloodline .
He definitely wouldn’t dare use the techniques on Verun’s Bite] or Love’s Bond] until he had ample experience under his belt . He would prefer to unlock a few more chapters of Cosmic Forge] to see his options . Still , the gift was almost incomprehensible , and the inheritance was just one of three items left on the table .
There were still two more to go .
39
BEING REMEMBERED
Anticipation radiated through Zac as he picked up the inlaid tome . Unsurprisingly , its pages were filled with the unfamiliar scripts of the First People . Of course , they were no longer unfamiliar , thanks to the seal in his mind .
Solevur opened her eyes and gazed upon an endless void . She was the first of the first , the originator of all . ’
Zac read the first couple of pages . Its contents had nothing to do with Dasorm or his creation . Neither was it a skill or technique . The book was a primer on the First People . Their biology , culture , history , and way of life . Their origin , their feats , and most likely their fall . Zac felt a pang of sorrow and futility upon holding the book . Such a powerful civilization , all but erased by the river of time .
The pain of seeing millions of years of progress get wiped out was palpable . The desperate desire to leave at least a small mark on the cosmos . How many others like them were there? How many cataclysms had there been that erased all but the inheritance of the rarified few who managed to reach beyond the Dao and brush Eternity?
Zac sighed and put the tome away . He’d read it at a later time . Mostly because he was truly interested after seeing the vision and encountering this great fortune , but also because it might provide some contextual information to his newfound wealth of knowledge . Finally , Zac turned to the crystal . It was a bit of a letdown that the tome didn’t contain anything related to cultivation or the Void , but he could tell the crystal wasn’t simple .
Picking it up , dozens of tendrils burrowed into his hand . It was Void Energy , steadily replenishing what he’d lost to nurture the pick hammer . It wasn’t a huge amount though , not even at the level of using a Void Beast Core . However , Zac noted with interest the energy within the crystal didn’t decrease at all .
Zac tried to scan it a few times but couldn’t understand the incredibly complex crystal patterns within . He couldn’t even determine whether it was a Natural Treasure or something crafted . However , he did figure out that it really wasn’t losing energy to provide him with a steady stream of the Void . It was just like the Remnants .
The crystal was either generating Void Energy out of nowhere or absorbing it from another dimension . Zac thoughtfully looked at the thing for a few seconds before releasing some of his Branch of the Kalpataru . The air crackled from exposure to the - poison’ of the new era , but the crystal had a far more interesting reaction .
It shimmered and gained a golden hue that formed a small bubble around it , and the tendrils of Void Energy gained a different flavor . They’d become attuned , but not with Dao . Zac couldn’t be certain , but after practicing the Void Vajra Sublimation] for years , he was quite confident the Void Energy was imbued with the Void of Life .
Releasing the Branch of the Pale Seal produced a similar effect . The crystal acted like a mirror , taking in and inverting the Dao Zac showed . The outside environment wouldn’t even harm it since it continuously exuded Void Energy and Void of Dao that nullified anything that touched it .
Was the thing perhaps a contingency by the First People? They knew the poison would soon cover the cosmos , so they invented a way for the inheritors to connect to the Void . Thanks to his bloodline , Zac didn’t need it for Cosmic Forge] , but it was still an amazing find . He could use it to drastically strengthen the Void of Life and Death in his Cosmic Core . With this as a foundational item , he would increase the speed with which he’d form the core and improve the result . It might even allow his Cosmic Core to generate Void Energy naturally .
Initially , Zac planned on using a mix of the Stone of Celestial Void] and various Void-related items as a base for his core , but this crystal was far superior . It was like a generator that produced both Void and Void of Dao . Conversely , the Stone of Celestial Void] only contained terrifying amounts of Void Energy and Vigor , making it much more suitable for bloodline improvements .
There was no description or name for the crystal , so Zac named it the Void Engine] . The Dao inversion was magical , and it made Zac think of something . He thoughtfully took out the spherical egg he’d picked up from the brazier outside . The egg-like item hummed ominously as he put it closer to the Void Engine] . Zac expected as much and quickly moved it away .