Chapter 25: Sound Dao

Lian was now 16 years old, and after the fight against the patriarch, he broke through flawlessly to the Bone Forging realm. He didn't intend to advance to the Meridian Transformation quickly, as a corporeal cultivator must advance with extreme perfection in the later mortal realms.

In the Bone Forging realm, Qi penetrates the bones and tempers them. This makes the bones harder and stronger and allows those in this realm to have higher defensive abilities. The more powerful one's bones, the denser Qi their muscles can withstand.

In the Divine Plane, Zeke realized major flaws in his corporeal cultivation. He researched thousands of methods to reconstruct his unstable bones, muscles, and meridians. It was after meeting Laswen that a new door opened. High Elves possess extremely pure and divine Qi, making them almost immune to poisons.

Zeke considered himself an expert in poisons; he researched the most exotic and powerful poisons in the Divine Plane. After all, he was straightforward and had no sponsors. Poisoning someone stronger was always a safe choice for his survival. With Laswen's help, he created a new method of using poison to strengthen his body once again.

Lian plans to cultivate his bones one by one, engraving runes with the densest Qi possible into each of them. It would take some time, but after some preparations, he realized that battle would be the most efficient method.

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The Blood Slaughter Steppes Formation consisted of nine circular layers that intensely challenged the cultivator's mind and determination. The eighth layer was known as the "Inferno Layer," where the cultivator mentally fought against thousands of spiritual creatures, experiencing years of suffering in their mind.

They would experience an era of bloodshed, with mountains of corpses and battlefields soaked in blood, immersing themselves in slaughter and understanding the true meaning of being a cultivator in this world. Reaching the last layer of the formation meant that the cultivator had discovered their true purpose and reason to fight and live, finding their own answer and personal motivation.

This mysterious power called "heart dao" is born uniquely in each individual, influenced by the laws they practice and their personality. Having a strong heart dao means that even with limited talent or common techniques, it is still possible to reach the pinnacle of cultivation.

In the Divine Plane, some people with abundant resources underestimate the importance of heart dao, relying solely on their sponsorships to reach the peak. However, upon reaching this stage, they realize that they lack a solid foundation in their inner dao. Despite their cultivation being present, they fall far behind other cultivators. A strong heart dao is more valuable than great techniques or treasures.

Months passed, and Lian sat at the center of the formation, dedicated to his cultivation. Suddenly, he felt a fluctuation in the skies. As he focused on the first layers of the formation, he sensed the presence of a familiar figure: his mother. Now she was a mortal and could no longer cultivate. Although entering the first layer of the formation didn't depend on cultivation, an ordinary mortal wouldn't be able to withstand the intense mental stress and would quickly collapse.

Lianna sat with her legs crossed, and eyes closed, completely drenched in sweat. Her furrowed brows revealed the intensity of her pain. However, her spirit and determination didn't waver one bit. The laws of the world tried to help her in every possible way, but she lacked the ability to utilize any assistance offered to her.

In Lianna's mind, images of her newborn son in her arms constantly passed by. Soon, the memories transformed into her son growing up, with a cold and emotionless face, learning to speak and walk. Then, recollections of the day she came home after a grueling battle, bleeding from various places, and her son crying for the first time, embracing her tightly, flooded her mind.

To calm him, she began to sing... A gentle aura of light enveloped her body... Inside the formation, her voice echoed through the corners softly. Her voice was like celestial music, simultaneously graceful and welcoming. It seemed to be a combination of the immortal and mortal. Everyone in the formation heard and felt their minds relax as if they were wrapped in a dream.

The laws of the world vibrated in harmony. Lianna began to merge her body and soul with the Dao, her heart reaching a natural realm, flawless and pure. Lian observed all these changes with seriousness. The sound produced by a person's Dao reflects their heart, and as each individual's experiences and understandings are different, each sound is unique.

His mother possessed a natural talent for the Dao of Sound. In this Dao, he was almost completely ignorant. His superficial knowledge was the result of an encounter with a young girl during his last years in the Divine Plane. She had recently started her cultivation and had already become the top disciple of a sect allied with the one he commanded.

They met by chance in a village before she was recruited, and he noticed that she was a human sovereign, whose celestial Dao shone purely and harmoniously when she sang. For some reason, she developed a strong attachment to him and always wished to see him. Lost in his thoughts and memories, Lian had a revelation.

Cultivators use their understanding of the laws of the world to borrow energy from the celestial Daos. In this way, they employ their divine abilities, but the Qi in their bodies and cores is the fuel for this power. However, Sovereigns don't need to borrow energy from the celestial Daos, as they have absolute control over it.

Sovereigns are extremely difficult to kill. Even if you pulverize their entire body, you won't be able to kill them, as the celestial Dao will gather them back together. To kill them, you need to destroy the body and soul simultaneously.

The manifestation of a Sovereign's Sound Dao causes all the energy of the world to hear the call of their music. This music is a direct connection between the cultivator's body and the celestial Daos, and naturally, the celestial Daos would heal his mother in this process.

This stream of divine music can fill the heavens and the earth and touch people's hearts. It cleanses them, making them forget their desires to kill and fight, while also regenerating and healing their bodies and spirits. This stream can also throw space and time into chaos. It possesses unimaginable destructive potential and is a kind of divine power that transcends the limits of other powers.

Part of this power was used by that girl even before her cultivation. Lian smiled, he had plans to heal his mother in the near future, but he knew that this healing would be achieved through her own effort and determination.

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As the days passed, Lian, now the leader of the Albedo clan, gained almost complete knowledge of the continent and everything that had happened since his death. His initial plans were to stabilize the beginning of his Bone Forging and go to the capital; after all, everything there belonged to him. He knew every detail of the city and knew that the dragon vein underground would be highly nourishing for his cultivation.

Upon awakening, Lian read in the library about the existence of demons on this continent. Initially, he ignored the information, as in other mortal worlds, it was common to call any creature that manifested a trace of black Qi a demon. However, mortals would burst into a mist of blood just by sensing the black aura of a true demon.

This "race" of demons naturally emerges in places bathed in Yin Qi in the Divine Plane. Most life forms and races have their lineages corrupted by black Qi and are transformed into demons. Demons can have infinite appearances and variations of power, depending on the original race that was corrupted.

On the other hand, the power of black Qi, also known as the energy of death, is the most powerful and efficient thing when it comes to killing. The power of black Qi is something sinister and apocalyptic, demanding the lineage and life of those who use it. However, there are only two known races capable of harnessing this Qi without being completely corrupted: the Emperors of all races, the Dragons, and the Elves.

The Elves are pure beings intrinsically connected to the Yin energy of nature. The Yin energy of black Qi is unable to completely overpower the Yin, resulting in a balance. These Elves are known as Dark Elves. The existence of a Dark Willow Tree on this continent and the reports of demons made Lian realize that they must be connected.

Lian now had a rudimentary understanding of the power residing within him and realized he should nourish the small plant present there with this black power. That said, he decided to explore the interior of the central forest, knowing that it was where demons emerged most frequently.

The smaller clans sent their descendants to the capital, where they would be trained to defend humanity from demons, known for their irrational nature and propensity to kill any living being. In two years, the young descendants would gather in the capital, and Lian decided to go with the flow and join them, seeing it as an opportunity for Riria's training.

Before that, he planned to continue training her while exterminating the demons that inhabited the forest. However, during the preparations, something unexpected happened, abruptly changing his plans.