The transformation within Lassim’s heart world was unlike anything he had ever experienced as several changes took place one after the other.
The starlight from his newly formed constellation, tainted with the Leviathan’s azure hue, began to infuse his liquid mana, altering its very nature. The changes were both gradual and intense, every moment stretching as the transformation unfolded within him.
The liquid mana that had once existed like a serene lake surrounding the former soul crystal within his heart world now started to shift and bubble as if heated by an unseen force.
Lassim could feel the pressure building, the liquid beginning to vaporize and rise. It was the very essence of the Spirit Ascension stage—a fundamental shift from liquid to gaseous mana that would elevate his cultivation and transform his body along with it.
Lassim focused on his breathing, grounding himself in meditation as the process continued.
He felt the gaseous mana rising, forming clouds that began to gather over what appeared to be a tiny patch of land that had materialized somehow. It took the place of where there was once only the void and the lake of liquid mana. The ground, while minuscule in size, was as solid as any other patch of land.
It had a dark earthy surface barely covered in the tiniest bits of sprouts of grass on a rough 1 meter in diameter disc shape.
The gaseous clouds grew thicker as more of the liquid mana was converted, swirling above the patch of land and refracting the glowing light from the Leviathan constellation that now illuminated the sky within his heart world.
It was a strange and exhilarating sensation, feeling the mana inside him change states, becoming something far more potent and expansive.
The clouds seemed to breathe in tune of his own breathes, each inhalation drawing them closer, each exhalation spreading them further across his inner world. The exhalations made him realize the inner space itself seemed to be expanding and wasn’t stopping even after it reached double in size.
As the transformation continued, the statue of his [Grand Aegis], the ice dragon he had summoned countless times before, slowly descended from the void above, coming to rest on the tiny patch of land.
Its form was unchanged, still magnificent and proud, but now it seemed more connected to the new environment, as if it belonged there as part of the landscape rather than just hovering in the void formerly above the soul crystal.
Above the clouds, the constellation shone brightly, and Lassim’s attention was drawn upward, beyond the stars.
There, at the highest point of his heart world, was the tear in the void where the starlight connection had formed.
It was a hole, leading somewhere far away beyond his comprehension, and through it, he could feel the faintest pull of an unimaginable force. It was as if the thread of energy from the constellation connected him to something greater, something cosmic.
Not only that, but through the hole, he felt the sewn shut fabric of the threads of space that created the hole and the leaking of space energy into his inner heart world.
It was transforming the void of his internal world into something that matched where the place in the sky his constellation had gone. It was a slow process, like a leaky faucet dripping single drops occasionally, but he definitely felt it.
He could feel the immense changes taking place in his physical body as well. The transformation was not limited to his heart world alone; it was altering him on a fundamental level.
His skin, though it appeared normal to the naked eye, had been toughened by the curse of the Leviathan, becoming more resilient like the skin of a shark.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the strange new texture—smooth to the touch, but incredibly durable and somewhat rough or sharp if rubbed the wrong way. He reckoned it was incredibly hydrodynamic, perfectly adapted for movement in water, though thankfully, it still looked like his normal human skin from before.
The change in his body went beyond just his skin. He felt a newfound lightness, a weightlessness that was completely alien yet exhilarating.
Lassim now understood why Spirit Ascension cultivators found it so easy to fly. His body, infused with the now gaseous mana, had become almost ethereal. He instinctively knew that moving through the air would be as effortless as walking on solid ground.
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As Lassim adjusted to the new sensations in his body, he turned his attention to Mari and Zaphy, who had remained in the changing heart world throughout the transformation.
He could sense a subtle shift in their power, a closeness to their elemental natures that hadn’t been there before.
"[Do either of you feel any changes? You both look basically the same compared to the evolutions last time.]" Lassim asked.
"[I feel... closer to the source of water mana than ever]," Mari said softly, her dragon-koi form shimmering with an inner light.
She had grown slightly larger, her scales gleaming with a deeper azure hue, but the change was more than physical. There was a resonance between her and the water element that was more pronounced, more tangible that radiated from her figure.
"[Same here for lightning mana!]" Zaphy chimed in, her bubbly energy undiminished. "[I feel supercharged! Like I could zap the entire ocean if I wanted to! But I don’t think I’ve changed much otherwise. Big sis Leviathan was so fun, I hope we get to see her again!]"
Despite the slight increase in their sizes and the power they emitted, the changes in Mari and Zaphy were minimal compared to the profound transformation that had occurred in Lassim himself.
However, the tethered bonds he shared with them felt a little wider, but not by a lot. However, their connections were slightly more malleable at first glance, which was reassuring.
They were growing alongside him, becoming even stronger partners in his journey.
Lassim then turned his attention to his halberd, his spirit weapon.
He could feel the difference that had occurred immediately—the weapon felt more lethal, more potent. He noticed that new runes had appeared along the pole of the halberd, where before they had only been etched into the blade.
One of the new runes was the Tidal Rune he had comprehended during his time in the trial. The other runes, however, were unfamiliar to him. Their meanings eluded him, but he could sense their power waiting to be unlocked when he charged it next in battle.
He spent some time focusing on his heart world, getting used to the changes in his body and his environment.
Moving through the air felt like second nature after a few minutes as he tested his ability to fly within the cave system, lifting off the ground effortlessly and soaring above the sprinkling water fountains and stalagmites stalactites.
The connection to his constellation high above in his heart world was ever-present, a source of strength and power that flowed through him like a river of starlight affecting the gaseous clouds that had finally fully converted every last drop of liquid mana.
Finally, when he felt his foundation had firmly settled at the Spirit Ascension stage, Level 1, Lassim decided it was time to return to the sect.
He stood up, his body now fully accustomed to its new state, and activated the remaining bit of mana on the trial token to take him back. The token glowed faintly, its energy nearly spent, and Lassim felt the familiar pull of teleportation as he was whisked away from the underground cave.
The world around him shifted, and he felt able to interact with the threads as he was embraced in their weave but he held back his curiosity in case he messed with the process and ended up somewhere completely foreign.
In the blink of an eye, he found himself back in his room at the sect. Everything was as he had left it—the familiar sight of his bed, the neat rows of books he’d copied from his stays in the library on the shelves, and the soft light filtering in through the window.
Lassim heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that nothing had changed in his absence.
He took a moment to gather his thoughts, reflecting on everything he had experienced during the trial. It felt like a lifetime had passed since he had first entered the Water God’s domain, especially after the vision of the future he experienced, but now, standing here in his room, it all seemed to return to normal.
"I should find out how long it’s been since I left," Lassim muttered to himself.
It was probably about time or well past the time for him to take the disciple advancement assessment, and he wanted to make sure he hadn’t missed anything important.
As he stepped out of his room and into the sect’s courtyard, Lassim immediately noticed that something was off.
There was a strange tension in the air, and as he looked around, he spotted several disciples who were injured. A makeshift medic tent had been set up nearby, with disciples tending to others who had bandages wrapped around various parts of their bodies.
Lassim’s brow furrowed in concern. He approached a disciple who was sitting on a bench with his arm in a sling and asked, "What’s going on here? Why are so many disciples injured?"
The disciple looked up at Lassim, his expression weary. "It’s the Endless Sun Sect. They’ve gone crazy. About a month ago, they started attacking all the lightning disciples across the entire Southern Sect.
No one knows why, but their Sect Master put some kind of reward system in place, and since then, the Sun Sect disciples have been acting like rabid dogs, attacking anyone even remotely affiliated with the Lightning Sect."