novelraw Chapter 1645 - 1644 - Samsara Dances
Chapter 1645 - 1644 - Samsara Dances
Lind had far better success with the next elixir. It was the Floating Cloud Elixir.
Just as he had experience, Apprentice Tiers had extreme difficulty flying so an elixir to aid in that act was totally normal. Flying could be far more adept in escaping or simply used in any tactical decision.
Artifacts were useful but there was a delay in their infusion to action steps. Even an artifact that had been refined for billions of years could not change that delay.
Personal flight was far more reliable in that regard. An elixir took time to act but a Divine Realm could still fly, it was just a strain to do so. The elixir just lifted that strain given time.
Speed would increase as well as duration.
It was a rather ingenious solution he wished he had thought of but the ingredients were just insane.
The elemental crystals and Divine Qi stones were only from light, air, and water but it took 5 beast cores and 7 herbs to make it work!
Thankfully, they had distinctive names and effects that were familiar to him. He found them in less than a day compared to the 15 years for the first elixir.
The extraction process was similar where he charged the water with a different ratio of his Mystery energy. It was a golden aqua green solution which made him curious about why that happened without either beast core or herb inside it.
He wished he had more time to study such a contrasting result!
Sadly, time was not on his side. Unlike the Eternal Slumber Elixir, the cores only had to be done in a certain order just like the herbs. It was far easier than doing multiple at once!
Still, the actual extractions took time. Each core was roughly a few months at a time to take up another 2 years alone!
The herbs were not as odd as his first attempt but it was no less taxing. He actually had to down his original elixir twice more leaving only a third in the jar once he was done with the final herb.
The condensing of the elixir was actually familiar in its strain. He felt like he was trying to fly like a cultivator! Such a similar real world experience made him realize that Mystery Grade elixirs were so powerful that their effects could be felt as they neared completion!
Why wouldn't the cauldron or some formation contain such an issue? He would need to examine it later as he submitted the newly made elixir for evaluation.
Happily, he got similar good results with his process getting an excellent rating compared to his first elixir.
It had all been much smoother and gave him more confidence.
Yet, all that got tossed out the window as he had the ingredients gathered for the final elixir.
The Roaring Dragon Elixir was for body cultivation. It seemed like a good fit for his attempt but after the first 2 elixirs, he now had a better context of what he was getting into.
Only 2 beast cores and 3 herbs made him nervous and he had been right. The elixir essentially gouged out any possible remaining impurities in the body and transformed the foundation into a powerhouse but the pain was excruciating.
It felt like a beast was hollowing out and rebuilding a body based on the description. The fact it had less ingredients than the Eternal Slumber Elixir seemed good at the time but now he knew the more diversity in ingredients was actually a sign of a simpler extraction process.
Further, the beast cores were from the Scorching Platinum Dragon and the Endless Gravity Tortoise were nearly beyond even him in their feeling to him! Journeyman Tier cores!
They had to be done at the same time and of course they were not happy just being on a shelf together! The herbs were not kind to him either.
Deathly Violet Lotus was a flower that lived up to its name. It could kill with a sniff of its very pretty arrangement!
Death Mystery energy came off of it in waves despite being sealed!
The Undaunted Adamantium Bark came from a tree that was almost a dragon in plant form! Its bark was harder than any ore or material due to the Life Mystery energy laced throughout it! The dark silvery color could not even be scratched by Lind's claws!
The last one seemed innocuous at first but was the most dangerous to Lind's senses.
The Dancing Ginseng was brimming with Samsara Mystery energy. Lind felt like his soul would be pushed to its next life just touching the thing but the more disturbing part was it looked nothing so much as a human shaped root.
The fine fibers made up hair that would not look out of place in an outfit and were sold to children!
It was not conscious, he had made very very sure, but it had been apparently. The actual issue was the Mystery energy. By fusing with it, the sentience and soul were lost to the body.
Why it was called dancing, he had no idea.
Just as expected, the process was a nightmare.
The 2 cores fought tooth and nail not to be extracted. Lind lost nearly a decade! He only had 10 years left after that!
He also had to down the last of his elixir! That was very bad!
He barely kept things going as he started with bark. It was not as bad as he expected but it still took him 2 years of time to crack its hardened shell to extract it.
The Deathly Violet Lotus was actually easy. He was relieved as it was almost happy to shed its body and become part of his elixir.
With 8 years left, he felt confident until he had to process the Dancing Ginseng. The instant he tried to infuse Life and Death Mystery energy, it moved!
It actually tried to escape! The damned thing was suddenly lively and moved so fluidly that its name made sense. There had been zero warning on the recipe but it seemed the name was the warning!
Lind was quick, thankfully and locked it down with a weaving even it could not escape. He dragged it back and then felt bad.
"I am sorry, but I am already committed. I will not waste you, I promise." His words were gentle and the resistance lifted. He spoke of why he was there and what he needed to do. He did not treat it as a thing anymore.
Something odd began to happen as the ginseng tilted its 'head' to look at him before pointing at roughly where his dantian was.
He tilted his head and let his Mysteries all flow outward. The Dancing Ginsing wiggled but Lind dared not let it go yet. He made it swear, as much as a voiceless plant could, not to escape.
It complied and flowed around him. It could fly with such ease?!
Still, it seemed more interested in him. Finally, he saw something shocking. The 2 silvery strands resonated with the ginseng and it seemed to be happy!
Before Lind could realize it, he felt his bottleneck shatter like glass!
[Samsara Dances.] The 2 words thundered in his mind as a storm of energy slammed into his dantian. It was an absurd concept but it made a ridiculous amount of sense to Lind.
He had no idea why it was his but he understood it. The spirit world had been highly instructive on how souls are reborn over and over in so many ways. Direct reincarnation was fairly rare but partial reincarnation was quite common.
Complete erasure was also rare but True Death cut off any hope as well.
Fading was not the same as True Death it seemed and only now that he condensed the final Samsara Mystery did he understand.
Life and Death were 2 extremes but the binding force between them was Samsara. It dedicated the tempo from one to the other and back again. It truly was correct to say Samsara Dances.
Lind also applied his recent knowledge and felt his cultivation practically leap to the peak in a single bound. It was only as he recalled he was in the middle of a trial that he halted the process at a safe point.
He looked down to see that the ginseng was suddenly lifeless again! His new understanding made him grasp what had happened.
Life and Death Mysteries helped its soul fly back to its body but once used up, it became lost again. The song in an empty room cannot be heard.
Lind understood something better at that moment, he need not make it suffer.
His Mysteries were suddenly much more tame to his command as he used all 3 to prepare the ginseng. He gave it thanks and promised to remember its kindness all of his days.
Oddly, the elixir seemed to condense far faster now despite no other changes. Lind was calm until he looked up in fright.
He had 3 days left!
He quickly put his all into the process and with only an incense stick of time left he passed!
Lind looked at the 18 crystal elixir vials and wondered what he would do with them before they suddenly vanished!
The ingredients he had consumed were restored to their original state and back where he took them from!
{Final evaluation: Excellent}
{Reward: Pick 5 beast cores, 10 herbs, 30 crystals, and 100 Divine Qi Stones}
Lind was ecstatic! He suspected the trial was using some higher Mystery Array or other method to restore what he had used but it made far more sense to simply consume until all were gone.
The odds were the trial would have become unusable in time otherwise.
The reward was also wonderful but barely scratched the surface of what was there. He quickly chose all but the final herb. He slowly came back to the shelf and asked a question to the very air.
"Can I set them free?" The Dancing Ginseng was lifeless but he no longer feared it. There was no answer right away but Lind had not really expected one.
The nature of the ginseng made it its own prisoner. He could temporarily restore it to life but that was all. Still, he picked it with the intention of trying.
People are not things and a second chance was a rare thing. He left that trial and moved on to the next