"However, before I do that, I need to channel this rampaging energy," Mira muttered as she closed her eyes and immediately began cultivating.
The whole reason she left the war early was that she had too much energy in her body and couldn't contain it any longer. Her Core was overflowing with Qi, and so it all piled up in her meridians.
Thankfully, she had meridians that were a combination of a World Tree Seed and Chaotic Silk, or else she would've blown up by now. No, she wouldn't have been able even to gather this much energy before she exploded!
Just like the last time she broke through, the Qi surged into her soul, splitting off to the World Core, Nascent Soul, and her scythe before spilling out into the rest of her soul.
As this happened, her Nascent Soul perched atop the ice hill, opened its eyes, and immediately got to work. It stood up and stared into the darkness, her scythe grasped tightly within its hands.
Its empty eyes shined for a moment as it lifted the scythe and cleaved out a chunk of darkness, which just got reabsorbed into the rest, making the process slightly more difficult.
Mira's brows scrunched up, and she unknowingly bit her lip, trying to hold in the pain. However, she refused to make a sound!
'Ugh. It gets worse and worse every time I do this. It literally feels like I'm ripping out chunks of my soul with every slash.' At this point, Mira started to worry about the pain she'd feel when she reached the 8th Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.
'...I'll save that for later.' She didn't want to think about that right now.
The Nascent Soul's scythe continued its relentless arc, cleaving through the shroud of darkness. With each swing, Mira's anguish intensified, crimson tears rolling down her cheeks in an attempt to suppress the pain.
After who knows how long of this torture and having excavated a portion of the tangible darkness, the Nascent Soul gracefully descended from the icy hill.
Extending its hand towards the hill, it summoned forth a torrent of Ice Qi with the help of the World Core onto the ice, augmenting the hill's dimensions into something bigger and stronger.
As if in response, the Earth beneath Mira's feet quivered and the molten magma surged, fortifying itself to withstand the weight of the majestic frozen peak.
Afterward, the Nascent Soul hopped back atop the hill and began excavating more of the darkness with Mira's scythe.
From what she could see after that one session was that the raindrops had gotten larger, and occasionally, she'd see a bolt of light. The cyclone also seemed to have gotten worse.
'I guess this time it's Yin Lightning…' Mira thought indifferently. She still wasn't sure what all this meant, after all.
The Nascent Soul kept excavating darkness for hours and increasing the size of the ice hill until it reached a breaking point.
Just like she thought, the Wind Cyclone increased in size and became deadlier. The water drops were denser, smashing on the ice hill like tiny meteorites. However, this time, Yin Lightning shot across her soul, traveling from droplet to droplet, before crashing onto the Nascent Soul's head and dispersing across the ice.
Now, the Nascent Soul was facing 3 tribulations at all times: Meteor-like water droplets, a Cyclone, and Yin Lightning. Subsequently, the pain Mira experienced intensified.
'...I really fucking hate these breakthroughs,' Mira gritted her teeth through the pain but didn't stop the breakthrough.
*Kacha!*
Like the sound of glass shattering, Mira broke through to the 4th Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm!
Her Qi surged through her body and soul, increasing in quality and quantity. Her Nascent Soul looked to be about 8 years old, her scythe was more powerful, and everything in her soul had become more robust.
However, that was just the beginning! There was still an exorbitant amount of energy inside her body.
'I knew this would happen… I just wish it wasn't.' Mira grunted in annoyance and made a mental note to herself that she should be more aware of the time and place when committing slaughters.
'Haaa…' She sighed, mentally preparing herself for what's to come. 'First, I'll stabilize my Realm.'
Tons of excess Qi flowed through the World Core in her Soul and began patching up all the cracks in her foundation, which was mostly her Nascent Soul, Scythe, and Ice Hill.
Mira had to use a massive amount of Qi to do this, and she only stopped when she felt she couldn't solidify her Realm anymore. Generally, doing this was frowned upon as it would take her extra time to get used to her strength, but she didn't have much of a choice.
'Huuu…Let's start the breakthrough process again.' Mira took a deep breath and commanded her Nascent Soul to continue chopping up the darkness.
It stood up, ready to follow through, only to stop and tilt its head. A question mark seemed to form above its head as it stared upward as if to say, 'Are you serious?'
Mira's lips twitched, but she didn't feel like arguing with herself, so she yelled, 'Just do your damn job!'
The Nascent Soul shrugged and casually slashed at the now-thickened darkness!
'Ack!' Mira almost grunted aloud, but she held on, cursing the Nascent Soul 10 different times in her mind.
As her Nascent Soul began the relentless excavation once again, Mira steeled herself for the amplified pain that she was about to endure. She felt as if her soul was being scraped raw, but she pressed on, letting the scythe cut through the darkness like a hot knife through butter with the abundant amount of Qi backing her up.
More and more darkness was shed, and as she progressed, the tempest in her soul realm began to mutate. The Wind Cyclone began spinning in opposite directions, causing a violent friction between the two opposing winds.
This collision sparked a new tribulation, Yin Fire, born from the clash of two powerful energies. Now the spectacle of Water, Yin Lightning, Yin Fire, and Wind took form in the world within her.
Mira's soul realm transformed into an intense spectacle of elements as the Yin Fire ignited and danced wildly amidst the rain, cyclone, and lightning. It was a frightening scene, the icy hill, now almost an icy mountain, getting pelted by elemental chaos, while the Yin Fire lent an ethereal glow to the landscape, casting flickering shadows on the ground.
The relentless attacks from the new formation brought Mira to the edge of her endurance. Her consciousness flickered, but she refused to yield, feeding her determination into the relentless excavations of her Nascent Soul.
Driven by her will, the Nascent Soul did not hesitate and continued its unyielding task, carving through the darkness, uncaring of the elemental storm that raged around it.
Every step in the process felt like an eternity to Mira as the piercing pain, coupled with the tribulation's intensity, grew stronger. Still, she soldiered on, the agony becoming a bizarre form of motivation for her. She knew that each jolt of pain was a step closer to her goal.
With a final swing of the scythe, the Nascent Soul cleaved through the last shroud of darkness for this section. An explosive surge of Qi erupted from her core and meridians, flowing in waves throughout her body and soul.
Crack!
Just like the sound of a monumental glacier breaking apart, the sound reverberated in her inner world, signaling her breakthrough to the 5th Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.
Her Qi once again surged, its quality and quantity growing tremendously. Her Nascent Soul matured further, appearing as a 10-year-old now, and her scythe glowed with newfound power. Everything in her soul realm, from the expanded icy hill to the tempestuous elemental storm, had grown stronger and more pronounced.
Mira collapsed on the ground with labored breaths, a small, triumphant smile of relief spreading. She had done it. She had successfully stepped into the 5th Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.
But this breakthrough was just the beginning, and she couldn't stop now. There was still a vast amount of energy rampaging within her. Mira took a deep breath, knowing she had yet another battle to fight.
Stabilizing her realm was her priority now. Once again, she directed the excess Qi through her World Core to mend the cracks that had appeared in her soul realm during the tumultuous breakthrough.
Each patch she applied to her realm was like a balm to her tormented soul, bringing her a momentary respite from the pain. Mira continued this process until she felt that she could not solidify her realm any further.
Exhausted and determined, Mira prepared herself for the next, and probably, most difficult phase of her cultivation journey.
"Let's get this shit over with. I want to go check on Dominique after I'm done," She muttered, not wanting to go through any more breakthroughs today.
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