’This… I’m afraid it’s impossible…’ murmured the Nine Star Tree, in disbelief.
"Hm… my mission was to save you and, at the same time, master this Anima cultivation," Alm and Bruno thought aloud. "These things must be connected. Look at this…"
They opened the inventory for the ancient figure to see. Inside, there were millions of laws created based on this cultivation, as well as countless souls and the Chaos Tree.
’How is this possible? This contains the same principles as what I created? Did you make this?’ he asked, stunned.
"Yes and no. The Yin Chaos Dragon laid the foundation, then that idiot friend of mine over there created something that became the Chaos Tree. I added other things and connected it all… in the end, it turned into something partly similar to what you made," they explained briefly.
The ancient figure stared at the Chaos Tree, completely dazed. That inventory was like the micro-universe he had planned, but much more stable. Plus, the Chaos Tree seemed to control the Law of Chaos perfectly.
The biggest flaw in his cultivation technique had always been the inability to fully control that law due to its unpredictable, chaotic nature. However, this tree seemed to be at one with the Law of Chaos.
Even though they were both called micro-universes, his technique only created something very basic, incomplete, and flawed. At its core, the Law of Chaos allowed the creation of unique Laws and maintained a remnant of the heavens’ will. This inventory, on the other hand, could house souls and even keep living beings for short periods, an evolution of the original method, though far from a true universe.
The micro-universe they were in, created by the Queen, was something real and complete. Only Primordial Light could birth such a structure.
The ancient figure looked at that missionary; he was now a soul radiating a bright and sacred light. He had unified incredible techniques, creating something beyond imagination. Who could achieve something like that?
"At one point, I cultivated using your technique to the letter. But, when I was close to becoming a Divine Inquisitor, I felt something was missing. How does this process work?" they asked quickly, ignoring the other’s amazement.
The figure sighed and explained directly. Anima cultivation was simple in concept, and its goal was to achieve immortality using the Law of Origin as a foundation.
The cultivator should form their own laws. Then, the three runes created by the tree, known as the Tri-Force, would absorb these laws and fuse the soul.
After that, the laws would absorb the Law of Origin, strengthening the cultivator’s soul. The cultivator would need to start over from scratch, reincarnate, reach the peak again, and create new laws—all to fuse their soul again. This process required countless reincarnations and, little by little, opened up the possibility of evolving into a divine soul.
A Divine Inquisitor could only advance from the lower level to the intermediate and greater stages after going through this process several times. So, once everyone reached their peak, the queen would release them, and what she did after that was a mystery.
"Isla was spot-on, creating a similar method… so the only way to naturally reach the immortal realms is by using the Law of Origin to strengthen the soul," Alm and Bruno reflected, now understanding better. "But why don’t immortal cultivators teach this to others? They acted as if they couldn’t speak about it directly."
’It was my own discovery,’ replied the elder Tree. ’When a soul reincarnates and starts from scratch, if it knew everything from birth, it would never reach the immortal level. Knowing everything traps consciousness in the shadows of the past. It’s necessary to restart and live new experiences. I don’t know why, but the evidence suggests that the more diverse the experiences, the greater the chance of breaking the limit. That’s why the rule is never to tell anything directly. Discovering this on one’s own is already a valuable experience.’
Alm and Bruno were intrigued. The Celestial Laws control reincarnations; could this be a mechanism to help everyone achieve immortality? Just a much longer path...
’But that woman changed things. The so-called Divine Inquisitors only have a third of the power they should. The Tri-Force runes should be used together in one person, and the three basic types of laws I created should be cultivated by everyone,’ continued the elder Tree.
Alm and Bruno nodded, the three cultivation methods of the empires corresponded to those three types of laws he had created. The feeling that something was missing came from the need for the Tri-Force for the final advancement in this cultivation.
The Nine Star Tree added, ’From what I could observe, she allows only one of the three laws to be cultivated by each individual. When they reach their peak, each with a different type, they join to form a trio, completing their powers… it makes it three times harder to reach the immortal level.’
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"She’s not short on immortal cultivators, so a lower chance doesn’t make a difference," Alm and Bruno replied. "The complete method was what got her where she is. She altered it to split the power, preventing anyone from matching her. The greatest fear of a dictator is rebellion. She needs to always stay on top, with absolute control."
The ancient figure nodded, sighing. ’I knew of her greed, yet I still welcomed and taught her… all the blame for the harm she caused falls on me…’
"Everyone is responsible for their own choices. You taught many who didn’t follow the same path. You can’t control what others will do; just focus on the present," Alm and Bruno said calmly.
They then thought about the explanation and took something out of their inventory: the three golden boxes.
"These are the Tri-Force runes?"
They spoke and opened the boxes without hesitation. The Nine Star Tree trembled upon feeling the energy from its runes. "Yes, you obtained all three… and you still have millions of laws of the three types…"
"Great, can you unite all the laws into these three runes?" they asked without waiting for a reply as they pulled out the millions of laws they possessed from the inventory.
"One of the goals of your cultivation was to create a divine soul after accumulating an enormous number of laws. I already have this divine soul, along with enough laws," Alm and Bruno said calmly. "My inventory works just like a core. So, technically, I’ll have fully mastered Anima cultivation once I fuse the laws into your three runes, right?"
The elder Tree nodded, confirming. Inside the golden boxes lay everything he needed: the runes and a bit of Qi. If he fused all the laws into these three runes, the maximum power of his cultivation could be unlocked.
"Do it quickly; you’ve got fifteen minutes," Alm and Bruno ordered, and the elder Tree nodded.
As he began merging the laws into the three runes, Alm and Bruno stepped out of that isolated space where the tree’s body resided.
They nodded once more. That entire micro-universe started to tremble.
They were drawing all the chaos law from within that micro-universe into themselves. Naturally, they wouldn’t waste a bit of it; everything would be used to strengthen the chaos tree. If it reached its maximum limit… they had an interesting idea.
An enormous amount of chaos law poured endlessly into their inventory. Mihkriel watched with wide eyes, completely baffled. Before long, the chaos tree seemed to react, drawing in and absorbing all that law.
He could barely collect a bit of this law within his seed, and he’d lost control just trying before. Now, Alm and Bruno were absorbing an endless amount of it like it was nothing. Mihkriel no longer felt inferior... trying to compare was simply ridiculous. He was a mere shadow next to them.
Minutes passed... The Nine-Star Tree completed the fusion. The millions of laws were absorbed and merged into the Tri-Force’s three runes.
He looked at the micro-universe and took a deep breath, realizing all the chaos law had disappeared. Was this missionary insane? What was he planning?
Alm and Bruno glanced into the inventory, satisfied. The inventory was fully loaded, a dense gray filling their view. And their chaos tree… grew and grew until it finally stopped.
The entire inventory, which was the size of a planet, looked small beside the tree now. And yet, it had only absorbed a third of the chaos law stored inside.
"The tree doesn’t seem able to grow any more. The chaos law in its leaves is overflowing; it’s perfect for the next step."
They turned to the Nine-Star Tree and nodded, bringing the three runes into the inventory. Upon sensing the runes, a unique power flowed from them. The mission confirmation screen obviously didn’t appear. How could this count as a rescue? But, undoubtedly, the part about mastering this cultivation was complete.
They checked the time: half an hour had passed. Technically, they still had another thirty minutes, but their plans had shifted.
"It should be enough," they murmured, turning to the Primordial Light.
The Nine-Star Tree watched, curious and in disbelief, as they approached that light. He’d spent more time studying this light than Alm and Bruno had been alive. It was impossible to fully use it. The Queen had only managed to create this micro-universe roughly; she had given up, fearing she might lose something so unique.
But Alm and Bruno were confident. Even though they had similar capabilities to the Queen in the Celestial state, they’d reached this level through a different path.
The tattoos that had brought them to this place now held power that could manipulate everything around. The Queen, on the other hand, still depended on her own understanding to use them.
The Celestial state was temporary and costly to activate. They could only use it now because they had used the Nine Elemental Suns. It was hard to imagine when they’d have this chance again. Still… it was an unparalleled cheat; anything that existed could be used by them.
"Come on..."
They nodded, and the Primordial Light moved in their direction. They’d tested this energy before, sealing that place off from the outside world. They could, in fact, manipulate it. It wasn’t perfect; without true knowledge and practice, it would be a bit rough. But since they could control and stabilize it, it was enough to give it a try.
The inventory rune opened, but they didn’t place the Primordial Light inside. It stopped a few inches from the entrance. Alm and Bruno took a deep breath, and then all the energy of the light began to distort and flow directly into the runes forming the inventory.
At the same time, the chaos tree was activated. Its roots trembled…
*Crack!*
That entire inner world fractured; next, a pure white light covered every inch. The chaos law that previously couldn’t be absorbed quickly accumulated in the chaos tree. Growth resumed.
Alm and Bruno maximized the control of their Celestial state. With their will, that inventory began to fuse perfectly with the Primordial Light.
The Queen had managed to create that micro-universe without the same capabilities as theirs. Therefore, they were confident they could do something even better.
*RUMBLE!*
A sharp, shrill sound echoed from within the inventory, reverberating throughout the micro-universe in a thunderous spread.
The Nine-Star Tree watched, completely stunned… he sensed the stability growing and perceived something beyond his imagination taking shape…
A few minutes later, Alm and Bruno’s Celestial state weakened drastically. They had, at most, five minutes left. But upon opening their eyes and feeling the inventory…
"Holy shit… we did it… our inventory is now, officially, a real universe."