Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 428: What does being a Sage mean?

’Now I can finally test its effects!’ he thought excitedly.

Before, he knew the Scent had a particular effect on the people close to him, but since he couldn’t control it so precisely, there was no way for him to test it.

Now that he could manipulate it to its will, he could inject the Scent into random people to test its effects.

With more control also came a better perception of it. He could vividly feel the dense amount of the Scent circulating inside the trio’s body.

Raven had accumulated the most of it since she had been with him for the longest, but there seemed to be a limit to how much could be absorbed as Blaze and then Zier wasn’t too behind either.

’Should I cleanse their bodies?’ he pondered for a moment before rejecting the notion.

There could be some unwanted effects if he removed the Scent so suddenly.

But he put it aside for now, first, he needed to get used to the rest of the changes in his body. His growing perception of emotions needed to be adapted to and he also wanted to test where he stood compared to other cultivators.

He knew implicitly that he might have crossed the domain of the Origin cultivators, but by what margin exactly, he needed to figure out.

’Now that I think about it, what exactly comes after the Origin cultivators?’

They understood there existed a Sage Realm but not if it was after the Origin Realm or later down the road. Most people didn’t care to think about it so far in the future unless it was already within their sight.

As of now, there was no one around to answer his questions or for him to test his capabilities. Until Ember came back, he could only wait and adapt himself to his heightened senses.

Even now, the emotions of even the plants and insects were weighing on him as if an ancient god’s eye looking down on a mortal.

As he struggled to ignore the emotions poking at his own walls, he closed his eyes when suddenly he felt it become easier.

Opening his eyes, he saw Jinx sitting in front of him as she curiously looked at him with titled eyes.

"What is it?" he asked her softly.

The way she looked at him made him think something was wrong.

Though true to her personality, she only stared at him for a couple of seconds before walking to his side and resting her head against him.

’Even after all of this, I can’t see through you...’ he seemed to be talking to Jinx telepathically, and strangely enough, she reacted accordingly.

She jerked her head to the other side as if refusing to speak.

But it was evident that she was curious about the recent changes in him. That at least told him that she wasn’t always looking after him or else she would’ve known the changes were because he had absorbed the Mind’s Eye.

’If I still can’t sense her presence... does that mean she’s even more powerful than the current me?’ As the thought surfaced in his mind, it made him aware that he had really been taking this strange cat for granted.

Just then, the scene of Jinx appearing to save him from Old Gu’s subordinate appeared in his mind.

Back then, he couldn’t even react when she dropped down on the blade threatening to sever his head in one quick slash.

And that reminded him of the man he had almost forgotten by now. Old Gu, that man was also a mystery to him back then.

’Would I be able to see through him now?’ he contemplated for a while before giving up.

There were slim chances they would meet in this vast world, and so it was useless to think about that now.

. . .

While Ozul adapted to his enhanced senses and tried to understand his powers on a deeper level, the trio cultivated in peace.

No one dared to disturb their cultivation while Ember was gone. To the Beastkin of the estate, it was almost as if they were invisible.

Since he never left the estate, he also couldn’t test the effects of the Scent.

If he injected the Scent into one of the Beastkin of the estate and Ember learned of it later, they would immediately lose all the trust she had in them..

He had assumed Ember would return quickly, but she took her ample time and didn’t appear for two whole weeks!

In the meantime, he had asked Raven about the cultivation realms beyond the Origin Realm, but their cultivation manuals didn’t mention anything beyond their next step of cultivation.

His boredom was only washed away when one day a knock came at their door and a loud voice filled with excitement called to them, "Master has asked for you, come to her office!"

For a few seconds, Ozul didn’t know what to think about.

’She arrived?’ The words jolted him awake from his laziness.

’But I didn’t sense her presence!’

The fact that he didn’t feel her presence in the estate washed away the sleepiness from his mind as he realized what might have happened.

"So she regained her strength..."

The thought excited him a little before he paused and thought in self-depreciation, ’It seems like it will remain out of control for a while...’

Not only he, but even the trio had realized something wrong with him. He had started to express emotions he normally never would.

He believed it was due to the emotions of his surroundings overwhelming his mind which didn’t distinguish if it was his own emotions or not.

But all of those thoughts were for later as now they needed to go see Ember.

He also needed to find out where he stood against other cultivators and he knew no one better than Ember who could tell him that.

Raven, Blaze, and Zier were also bored out of their wits while locked up in their room for the past two weeks.

They hurried after Ozul as he left the room.

Behind him, the three exchanged glances with each other as they noticed him walking while looking at the ground deep in thought.

As they reached Ember’s office, the oppressive aura surrounding the place could be felt by everyone.

Immediately, they realized the Ember they knew was no more.

To affirm their thoughts, the doors to her office opened on their own, and a voice they knew well entered their ears,

"Enter."

Others didn’t realize, but how could it escape Ozul’s senses that the was only heard by them? Ember hadn’t physically spoken; the voice had just entered their ears by manipulating the Spiritual Essence in the air!

He had seen such applications using Mana in their previous Realm, but it was only possible since Mana worked automatically to adhere to the Mage’s will.

The Spiritual Essence, on the other hand, needed precise control and a strong will for the cultivator to mend it to his desires.

But what Ember did just now was taking it even a step further as the Spiritual Essence she used wasn’t even her own! She merely manipulated the Spiritual Essence in the air!

The revelation simply didn’t sit right with him. It meant that for Ember, there was no limitation to exhausting her reserves. She could simply never run out of the Spiritual Essence since all of it in nature was hers to use.

"Look at you trying to comprehend what a Sage is..." An amused voice of Ember again entered his ears, but this time it was only him.

"So you weren’t lying when you said you were a Sage in the past..." He spoke casually with her, to the astonishment of her attendant.

It received a chuckle from the old lady with dragon-like features. And this time, she was physically laughing.

She waved toward the attendant who respectfully left the room before leaning back on her chair comfortably, "As you all can see, I have recovered my cultivation. Someone had sealed my Mind’s Eye and so I simply needed to find another one.

Thanks to someone, it only took me a few decades to get my hands on one that I could actually use."

"So, what now?" Ozul asked, wondering what was her next plan.

After all, she had been doing everything he knew to obtain the Mind’s Eye; he didn’t really know what else she wanted to do. He needed to figure out her motives before he made further plans as well.

"What now? Hahaha!" Suddenly, like a child giggling for no reason, Ember started laughing, "Hahah..."

It took her a couple of seconds before she calmed down and apologized, "I’m sorry, huu..."

"It’s just been so long and now my revenge is finally within my grasp! Of course, I will get my revenge. But now that I have the power, I don’t feel so rushed anymore. It’s just so funny..."

Comparing her previous cold demeanor and the now smiling old woman sitting before them, Ozul and the other three wondered if they were really the same person.

"But of course!" she spoke in a louder voice, "All of you will be rewarded handsomely and I owe you one, Ozul." She called out his name with a bit more solemnity than before.

"Since you’re being so generous, these three need all the cultivation resources that you can give. Also, I have a few questions..."

Unlike what he had thought, Ember didn’t suddenly turn arrogant after regaining her powers. Quite the opposite, she seemed even more agreeable than before.

She didn’t even bat an eye to the demand for more cultivation resources and instead focused on the part where he had questions. "Ask away," she replied.

"What is the cultivation realm beyond the Origin Realm? And what does being a Sage really mean?"

"Heh..."