"Bother Liang, my injuries are more severe than I thought. I hope you can watch over me—it won’t be long, I promise," Eldris said solemnly.
He implored Liang to stand guard.
"Hah, think nothing of it. Just focus on healing," Liang responded with a reassuring smile and a dismissive wave of his hand.
Days passed, and Eldris remained immersed in deep concentration. The atmosphere around him grew palpable with energy, a tangible force that seemed to gather and surge with each passing moment. As the week neared its end, his aura began to flicker, flickering with increasing intensity.
His expression turned serious, the lines on his face deepening as his determination grew stronger.
Feeling the familiar presence of Liang guarding him, Eldris made the decision to disperse the remaining two hidden arrays he had set up; currently, he needs every bit of energy. Opening his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings and with a wave of his hand, released a burst of energy that dismantled the remaining arrays. The invisible shields dissipated, leaving Eldris vulnerable but determined to proceed with the assimilation.
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Gathering every ounce of his energy, Eldris focused on the Yin Essence inside his dantian. With each breath, he felt it’s energy beginning to merge with his own life force, tendrils of ethereal light intertwining and blending seamlessly.
But just as Eldris reached the precipice of the assimilation, a sudden sharp pain erupted in his chest.
His eyes fluttered open, widened with shock and agony. Blood spilled from his lips as he was propelled backward, the force of impact driving him against the ground.
Confusion and disbelief clouded Eldris’s vision as he looked down at his chest.
There, glistening ominously in the dim light, was a black sword, riddled with menacing engravings. Its blade had pierced his chest, causing the lifeblood to flow freely from the wound.
He raised his head, hoping for an explanation, he was met with Liang’s cold gaze. The once-trusted ally had a grim expression. The betrayal cut deep, mingling with the physical pain already coursing through Eldris’s veins.
"What... why... Liang?" Eldris managed to gasp, his voice laced with pain and confusion. But Liang remained silent, his face impassive, almost unreadable.
Through his weakened voice, Eldris pleaded for answers, his words filled with desperation. "Why... have you done this? I thought... we are..."
A faint chuckle escaped Liang’s lips, sending a shiver down Eldris’s spine. "It’s your fault, Greed is the source of all tribulations."
"Had you abandoned the Yin Essence and escaped with nothing but your life, perhaps your fate would have been different."
Gasping for breath, Eldris mustered the strength to speak his final question, his voice barely a whisper now. "How did... you... find... my location?"
"As I’ve pointed out, it’s your greed that’s to blame. If you had dedicated a moment to meticulously investigate the Yin Essence, you might have unearthed a revelation. Yet, impulsively, you consumed it nearly the instant you arrived."
Liang’s words pierced Eldris’s heart like a dagger. The realization hit him hard, and regret washed over him. His own impatience and desire for power had opened him up to this betrayal.
He wanted to curse himself for his foolishness, for not being more careful and thorough. But he had no more strength left, his life slowly slipping away with each passing second.
And as his last breath left his lips, Eldris surrendered to the shadows, his body and soul lost to the cold embrace of death.
The chaos rune etched on Liang’s forehead glowed with an intense luminosity, casting a dazzling light that illuminated the entire vicinity. In response, the true runes of Eldris, previously dormant within his lifeless body, materialized and swiftly gravitated toward the chaos rune. They merged seamlessly, becoming one with the chaotic energy emanating from Liang.
With a commanding wave of his hand, Liang conjured a torrent of black fire that surged upward, engulfing Eldris’s remains. The flames danced and twisted with a malevolent energy, reducing the body to smoldering ashes. Only two objects remained intact amidst the fiery inferno - Eldris’s space ring, and the Yin Essence, untouched by the flames, floating as if held by an invisible hand, surrounded by a halo of residual dark fire.
With a gaze that pierced the veil of reality, Liang studied the Yin Essence. His void sense, intertwined with his ethereal will, forming a lattice of perception that probed the essence. Every aspect and facet of the essence underwent meticulous scrutiny, ensuring its purity and integrity.
Satisfied with his findings, Liang murmured contemplatively, "The time is ripe for my breakthrough."
With a swift, fluid motion, Liang set multiple arrays into motion, weaving an intricate network of runic patterns around him. The arrays, meticulously aligned and synchronized, hummed with raw power, resonating harmoniously as if preparing for a grand symphony.
Only when every array had been flawlessly constructed did Liang assume a cross-legged position, his eyes gently closing. He delved deep into a profound state of meditation, channeling his will and focus into the depths of his being.
Soon after, his aura began to surge violently, resembling a churning volcano on the brink of eruption. The raw power within Liang swelled and pulsed with an unrestrained force, radiating waves of energy that threatened to shatter the very fabric of reality. The air crackled with a palpable electric intensity as his aura surged with unparalleled strength.
However, amidst the overwhelming power, Liang’s acute sensitivity discerned something. His intuition told him that there was still room for more, that he had yet to reach his pinnacle.
"Indeed, there’s still capacity for further growth," he realized, a sense of profound anticipation washing over him.
Reaching into his space ring, Liang retrieved a jade bottle, its smooth surface cool against his fingertips.
With a delicate flick of his wrist, the bottle’s lid popped open, and three translucent yellow pills materialized. Each pill exuded a faint aura, etched with intricate runes that shimmered with ancient power. These were the Ascendance Transformation Pills, renowned as the most precious and sought-after elixirs in the realm of runic cultivation.
These pills possessed the extraordinary ability to augment the breakthrough process, increasing the chances of ascending to the highly revered Runic Mastery Realm by a significant margin - a staggering ten percent. Such pills were a rarity, as they could only be concocted by alchemists of the sixth grade or higher, their creation requiring a profound mastery of alchemy and runic cultivation.