Months went by... then years. Heril kept carrying the unknown man toward the peak of the divine mountain, step by step.
She worked super hard, sweating and almost exhausting herself, but she was rewarded with growing maturity—a transformation like a cocoon opening up to reveal a butterfly.
She faced fierce storms that nearly knocked her over, layers of snow and ice that almost froze her, and a blazing sun that felt like it was roasting her. The physical and mental torture she went through was beyond her imagination. Still, these trials only sped up her growth.
One day, she stopped abruptly and, with a clearer mind, realized something amazing: she was close to the summit. Below her stretched the vast world she had lived in all her years.
The sect, the mountains, and rivers in the distance... everything had vanished. She felt insignificant, like a speck of dust, compared to the vast planet she saw. The mountain peak was still visible, hidden in the highest depths.
Meteors streaked across the sky, creating a scene as beautiful as a painting. Heril was awestruck by the magnificence around her. If she hadn’t undertaken this journey, she would have never had the chance to see anything like this.
All her past struggles seemed worth it, just to witness such a spectacle, and she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
Finally, she glanced over her shoulder at the man on her back, who was still asleep. Throughout the climb—almost dying several times, falling off cliffs—he remained unshaken, as if he didn’t care.
He had his reasons. If she couldn’t handle this seemingly small test, she wouldn’t be worthy of reaching the peak in the future or carrying the burden of great responsibilities. That’s why he let her suffer, hoping her potential would emerge.
Instead of wasting time gazing at the scenery, Heril moved on. At that moment, she felt braver, more resolute, and determined. Body, mind, and heart: everything had evolved through this experience.
A young, slender woman kept carrying an adult man along the winding road. Her shadow seemed long and lonely under the glow of the law orbs high above.
She remembered a phrase she read in a sect book: The path to the peak is walked in solitude. It’s an inner journey where you can only rely on yourself, facing and overcoming your own fears and demons.
***
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
In the sect, after over a decade, everyone had forgotten about the foolish disciple, who many believed had committed suicide by trying to climb the sacred mountain.
However, in the heart of the sect, inside a world sealed by spatial laws, any cultivator entering there now would be in absolute shock.
The world of flames—where not even the most powerful Elder could last more than an hour, a place where hundreds of Divine Inquisitors left their fire laws—was now completely empty.
In the middle of the darkness, only one figure remained: a woman sitting in a lotus position, with long green hair touching the ground and a red dress dirty with dirt.
She slowly opened her eyes. Bluish flames began to burn fiercely in her gaze. Soon, a wide, satisfied smile blossomed on her face.
***
After countless days, Heril finally reached the peak of the mountain. She was still in a deep meditation state while walking, and it took some time for her consciousness to return.
She looked around, finally realizing she had reached the top.
"We made it, sir! We made it!" she exclaimed, emotional, with tears in her eyes, but he didn’t react.
It took a few seconds. Then Heril took a deep breath, calming herself completely, as if it was just another day. Though she was happy, she didn’t let herself get carried away by the emotion. Why? Because this was expected. After so much effort and determination, she knew she deserved to be there.
Now, at the top of the world, she looked down and saw how everything seemed small in comparison. It was an almost surreal sight, something she wouldn’t have dared to dream of at the beginning of her journey. After so many trials, she was finally at the summit.
Looking at the planet below, she completely calmed down.
In the end, despite everything, she was still herself. She thought she had matured; she wasn’t the shy, cowardly girl she used to be. She imagined that if she were cowardly, there wouldn’t be any courageous people left in the world... but her essence was still there.
There was a cave ahead of her, dark as pitch, with no trace of light. Regaining her composure, Heril started walking toward the cave.
Suddenly, she stopped. She felt a chill run down her spine, a deadly sensation. She knew that if she took one more step, something invisible would attack her.
At that moment, a hand emerged from behind her. The man she was carrying finally moved. He touched an invisible barrier in front of him, creating ripples that pulsed through the air. A tattoo on his wrist began to glow, merging with the barrier.
Suddenly, everything in front disappeared. The man pulled back his hand and closed his eyes again, as if nothing had happened.
Heril moved again; that was an ordinary cave, one that could be found anywhere on the planet. The sect disciples would never believe that a cave with such an unimpressive appearance was at the top of the sacred mountain.
She calmed down and looked around until she spotted someone sitting in a corner. Startled, she took a step back.
It was an old man, sitting in a meditative pose. He wore a ragged tunic and had no other adornments.
He was a sturdy figure, an Aberrant humanoid. Yet, just his presence there, sitting, radiated a sense of power, like a great mountain. There was no aura around him. It was possible he had been dead for a long time, considering the dust covering his cloak. However, just imagining him opening his eyes made her feel he could intimidate the world.
"Who’s that?" Heril murmured, stepping closer to get a better look at the old man. She wanted to find out if he was an Elder from the ancient generation that survived the apocalypse. Who knows, he might have left behind a legacy? If she could bring that back to the sect, it would be a huge win.
"!"
The old man opened his eyes suddenly as she approached. The whole cave lit up with his gaze.
"Ah!" She stumbled back, thinking he was dead.
His eyes were like two suns, capable of melting everything around. Heril took a deep breath and stared right at him, something she would never have had the guts to do in the past. Her heart would have faltered, forcing her to fall to her knees.
But her previous experiences had polished her determination. At least now, she could look him straight in the eye.
The old man stood up, and Heril had to take a few steps back, feeling an uncontrollable power emanating from him. Just one of his fingers could annihilate her.
He took a quick look at her, which was more than enough for him to understand everything about her origin, cultivation, and foundation.
However, when he glanced at the man behind her, he needed to focus his vision even more and released a blinding light.
Heril couldn’t handle that pressure. Her legs weakened, almost causing her to fall. A hand touched her shoulder, sending a warm sensation through her body, completely eradicating the pressure.
"Don’t scare the little girl." The cold voice rang out, and suddenly the old man trembled from head to toe. He realized that if he moved even an inch, his life would turn to ashes in an instant.
Finally, she could breathe easily now that the pressure had disappeared.
The old man froze in panic. To the rest of the world, he was an untouchable existence. That’s why he could sense that the man behind Heril was a terrifying being, someone not to be messed with. He was on a much higher level than the old man.
It would be tough to find anyone stronger than him in this world. However, that unknown man was clearly above him. The worst part was that he didn’t know anything about this person.
Suddenly, Alm and Bruno completely turned their attention to the outside world for a moment, analyzing the old man intently.
’He’s definitely one of ours…’ Bruno stated.
Alm replied dryly: ’He’s on the same level as those Divine Inquisitors we killed. Someone from our side also reached this level, but the older they get, the more stubborn and rooted they become in mediocre convictions. Getting him to trust us and restoring his memories will be nearly impossible. Let’s just kill him and put him in the inventory.’
Bruno sighed heavily at that. The old man clearly didn’t feel the connection between them, so consumed and immersed in the life he was living. It was a tough situation, and Alm’s proposal didn’t seem too absurd.
"Take me to the bottom," Bruno said to Heril softly, deciding to ignore the old man for now.
She nodded, completely confident. If he asked her to do something, she would do it, no matter what was said. The old man didn’t stop them; he just watched as the two moved toward the end of the dark cave.
Soon, Heril stopped again. Alm and Bruno widened their eyes when they encountered a gigantic rune pulsating with soul energy and... the Law of Origin.
Immediately, the two connected the dots, remembering information they had received in the past. Mihkriel’s mission was to free the souls from the reincarnation cycle of this place.
They knew that the heavenly laws governed the reincarnations. If the Will of Heaven sent Mihkriel to destroy everything, it meant that the Queen had created a small prison for the souls in this micro-universe.
’Mihkriel said that at the three sacred sites of the empires, there was the foundation of this reincarnation system. He invaded with his power and could easily destroy everything, erupting the foundation that supports it,’ Bruno reflected.
’If the foundation existed in all three locations, this must be the core,’ Alm nodded. ’Destroying everything from the foundation is simple even for us. But we’re in the core... interesting...’
Bruno agreed, getting excited about the possibilities. Suddenly, the unknown man behind Heril twisted, regaining his strength.
"Sir?" She was confused, but soon felt the bonds connecting them breaking. He then placed his feet on the ground.
"Wait here for a bit," he said calmly, smiling slightly. Then he moved on his own toward the rune.
Alm and Bruno approached the rune without difficulty and reached out to touch it. They carefully felt its insides with their tattoos.
There were many Laws of Origin there; they already felt a bit knowledgeable about this law after using it so many times. It didn’t take long for both of them to close their eyes.
’That bitch... she doesn’t know how to use this law, so she just sacrificed infinite souls and shoved everything into that rune,’ Bruno spat, furious, clearly feeling the sacrifice that was used to create that.
’And the soul energy is being used in a unique way, with the Law of Origin just serving as fuel. So...’ Alm reflected coldly, ’If she did this without knowing how to manipulate the Law of Origin, we can do it too, just more efficiently. Maybe adapting it with the array.’
’We’d need a massive amount of the Law of Origin. That’ll be impossible...’ Bruno hesitated, but then added, ’But now we have that right here in front of us. Excellent.’
’The souls were sacrificed a long time ago. Let’s steal this and use their power for something useful,’ Alm added, not caring at all.
Bruno got excited: ’We’ve already become worshipped deities, then gained a universe of our own. Now we might even govern reincarnations? Is the next step to become beyond heaven and earth?’
Alm ignored Bruno’s enthusiasm and focused on what was in front of him. There were two intertwined energies forming a kind of unique configuration. That was perfect; they could use the Law of Origin later; the soul power would revive their allies in the inventory. Liumi alone wouldn’t be able to recover them anytime soon, as they were all still unconscious.
Alm and Bruno realized that formation was just one side of the puzzle. The other two mountains held the others. They memorized each pattern, and then they would study everything.
Now, they obviously couldn’t steal that. So, they just placed a fragment of their souls, along with the Law of Duality of Shadows. At the right moment, they would take everything, from all three places at once.
It took just a few minutes, and then they returned near Heril. When they arrived, she was looking at him nervously. "Are you... okay?"
"I still need a bit; I had to sacrifice myself. Anyway, the trip was quite fruitful. Since you carried me here, you’ll get your just reward on the way back," Bruno said softly before sitting down and ceasing his movements.
Heril rushed to his side and placed him on her back, happily. She felt that this reward was everything she had always hoped for.
"Let’s go back," Bruno said, closing his eyes and falling asleep again.
Heril bowed to the old man before walking towards the entrance.
"Senior!" The old man couldn’t hold back and decided to be humble.
Heril stopped, waiting for a response.
"Senior, I have many dark aspects with my cultivation. Please, guide me," the old man took a deep breath and knelt.
No one on the planet could currently handle such a grand gesture coming from him. But he still assumed the role of a junior. He already felt he was close to death, but he also thought he was one step away from discovering something he had sought his whole life.
Seeing that fearsome figure, he realized he was facing the only chance of his life. Desperate, since his birth, he practiced, fought, studied, and trained to his limits; yet, he had never felt so close to the answer.
Alm and Bruno snorted internally, realizing his intentions. He was indeed close to the answer, but he was so confused that he thought it was something completely different. But in the end, by luck or instinct, he followed the right path.
"The problem is in your head, that’s all," the man opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Please, guide me, Senior," the old man bowed again.
"Alright, I’ll show you the way. This little girl needs a servant, and you seem fit to clean the house," he said calmly, closing his eyes again.
Heril was petrified, catatonic. A servant? This terrifying old man?
The old man trembled from head to toe... but for some unknown reason, he felt that this absurd proposal was something... desirable? He didn’t understand why he felt that way, but he took a deep breath.
"Thank you, Senior," the old man calmed down and made a deep bow.
He ran after Heril. She started taking shaky steps, but feeling the figure who had already closed his eyes and stopped moving, she quickly imagined it was another training session and silently carried him down the mountain.