The arm pulled back , and the Primordial put her whole hand into her oversized mouth . Til’Siri shook as she stood rooted in place , sweat pouring down her back as she found the horrifying creature locking eyes with her as she slowly started to chew . A few ghastly crunches were followed by a gulp . Like that , one of the rising stars of the Starbeast Alliance’s swarm had been turned into a snack .
He dared challenge the natural order without understanding his or my strength , - the creature said . - That is unacceptable . -
Til’Siri could only nod , afraid she’d be targeted next .
This System has made you all weak and irresolute , - the Primordial continued . - It gives a veneer of order when the only truth is power . I will not kill you today . But you will replace the schemes in your heart with strength if you wish to follow me . -
Y-yes , - Til’Siri shuddered , knowing her plot had been seen through .
Scheming against this unsealed monster would be impossible . Looking into her eyes put Til’Siri under even greater pressure than meeting her ancestor . Til’Siri should have known better after learning of her origins . About a unique Innate Being who reached the limits of the broken Heaven at the start of the Era . Someone who had slaughtered Supremacies and bathed in their blood .
Someone with the strength and determination to give up her spot at the peak and seal her reincarnation in the river of time , all for a chance to push beyond the limits of the Dao when the Heavens had recovered .
What about the matter? -
The local faction is called the Kan’Tanu . They do not have the means to stabilize the Space Gate forcibly , and they are still organizing their armies , - Til’Siri hurriedly said , feeling she’d been given a new lease on life . - On your command , I’ve petitioned the elders to help . Array Masters will arrive in two months with the required materials . Their preliminary report is that it will take another two months at most to finish the process . -
Good . Today’s universe is too wretched , and the Heavens are spread too thin . I will have to rekindle my memories with blood instead of Dao . Constantly relying on my bloodline is too tiring . -
What does mistress want to do until then? -
We continue into the Million Gates , - the Primordial said . - The cosmos is pointing me toward the first key . -
Til’Siri nodded , trying to quell her jealousy . Born from the Dao in the chaotic cauldron of a nascent era , blessed by the Heavens in a way you’d never see today . Having the Dao whisper its secrets into your ear , pointing you down the correct path .
How were others to compete with a lifeform like this?
43
COSMIC INFUSION
This is the one , - Zac muttered , pushing away the sense of doom as he picked up a withered branch with his free hand .
The Omnitool in his other transformed from its standard rock pick into a scalpel axe . He still lacked six of the seventeen peaks , but he’d found that the tool could already be used for half an hour before it needed to be returned . It was enough for his practice . He could have used the artisanal axes as well , but why bother?
The Omnitool wasn’t just a gadget that could change shape . It was instilled with the essence of Cosmic Forge] and naturally helped control the extraction process when Zac channeled Void Energy through it . Without it , you’d have to work twice as hard for half the result .
One could argue that it would be better practice not to use the assisting tool , but the Omnitool was an integral part of the crafting process . Not using it would be like a blacksmith not using a furnace or an alchemist not using a cauldron . What was the point?
Zac carefully cut the stem open , making sure to infuse the scar with the illusory engravings of Cosmic Infusion] . One by one , esoteric runes spread across the branch in the wake of the incision . They almost looked like natural markings left by nature itself , but they were rather the result of an intricate web of Void Energy .
The once clumsy attempts had become far more precise , mostly thanks to the synthetic experience awarded through the visions . Practicing extraction and infusing over the past two years had felt like picking up an old hobby you’d put aside for years . He wasn’t learning , he was re-learning .
With precision came speed , which was just as important for the success of the extraction . Every second that passed after Zac began the process was a second of entropy where the essence of the branch melted away . The quicker the extraction , the more complete the essence you could use for an infusion . If you took too long , the Dao would become flawed , which was like drinking from a poisoned well .
Soon , Zac had cut a scar along the length of the branch . At that point , it floated into the air , hovering vertically over the workbench . Zac’s left hand formed a claw beneath , while the right continuously moved around . One mote of starlight after another—though it’d be more apt to call it deathlight—appeared on his fingertips and entered the branch .
It had taken months of trial and error to get the ball rolling , but Zac had long since explored the ways Cosmic Infusion] worked and didn’t work in the current era . Unsurprisingly , it didn’t work with either Cosmic Energy or Miasma . He had to solely use his Void Energy to engrave and infuse the innumerable seals that made up the first chapter of Cosmic Forge] .
However , the method did work with his Dao . The method would function without any - Cosmic Truths’ as the First People called it , but Dao did elevate the technique just like how it worked with skills . The extraction became more efficient , as was the infusion . Zac even suspected he could add some of his own comprehension to the process , though he hadn’t reached that point yet . Unfortunately , using Dao only worked when Zac worked with materials of matching attunements . In other words , items crafted for himself would be better than items he crafted for people with different paths .
It wasn’t much of a loss , considering he didn’t have any plans to craft on a large scale . He was content so long as he could improve his gear and create useful tools . It was just a welcome bonus if he also could improve the gear of those close to him .
Finally , a glistening grey liquid , an intangible essence taking the shape of sap , appeared on the bottom of the branch . With other items , the essence would appear in other forms . With each drop that fell , Zac caught it in the air with his prepared claw .
The technique of Cosmic Forge] was simply magical . It was based on an unfathomably deep understanding of the interaction between essence and materia . Truthfully , Zac had some trouble understanding exactly what essence was . But essentially , it was the - magic’ inside Natural Treasures . Whatever allowed them to help cultivators gain attributes , open nodes , or even improve their affinities . Cosmic Forge] took this magic and crammed it into a weapon .
You could liken the essence locked inside a Natural Treasure to a ship moored on a dock with thousands of ropes . Cosmic Infusion] severed those ropes without damaging or changing the ship , until it was completely detached . At that point , the ship would naturally sail away . In the second step , Zac could steer the ship into the recipient item . There , the opposite process would happen . He would create thousands of new ropes and moor the vessel at the new docks .
Of course , the analogy wasn’t 100% exact . The structural integrity and properties of a Natural Treasure were almost completely dependent on the energy and Dao inside . When disconnecting the essence from the Natural Treasure , you also had to keep the material stable until you extracted what you needed . The shallow scars covering his hands were a painful reminder of what would happen if you lost control .
The extraction was difficult on its own , but the actual infusion was another beast altogether . Zac thought it’d be like building a tower , placing another floor atop the foundation he’d just built . Part of that was true , but there was also another dimension to it . Infusing multiple layers of essence into a weapon also felt like packing a suitcase .