Ch. 1141..1150

Chapter 1141 - 1141 – New Ascender For the next couple of years, Gravis spent some of his time with Stella, but he had also realized that he had to become more powerful.

Right now, Gravis was incredibly powerful, but he still wasn't strong enough to jump six levels for any future tempering. Even more, his Will-Aura was already incredibly powerful, and his next tempering opponent would probably be against a level nine Star God eventually.

Level nine Star Gods would have several level seven Laws, and they might even have more than Gravis would have.

This was bad, obviously. After all, Gravis needed a severe Law advantage to win against someone like that.

Therefore, Gravis and Mortis had quickly focused on comprehending Laws.

Mortis was still interested in finding a partner, but he didn't want to deal with that right now. This entire thing with Joyce had soured his mood.

Because of that, Gravis and Mortis concentrated on comprehending the remaining level six Elements. Luckily, Law Comprehension Areas for level six Laws were not very rare, and the Myriad Sect had all of them.

So, Gravis and Mortis had spent most of their time finishing these Laws.

In the first 50,000 years before the war against the Eternal Fire Sect back then, Mortis had finished three level six Elements.

Blaze, Zero, Ancestral Wood.

With Gravis helping Mortis now, their speed doubled.

In just 20,000 years, they managed to comprehend the Laws of Stygian and Purity.

After that, it became even faster. Gravis managed to finish the Law of Adamantite, which was the level six Law equivalent to metal.

Meanwhile, Mortis had comprehended the Law of Hurricane, which was the level six Law equivalent to wind.

Only the Law of Stone was left, which was the level six Law equivalent to earth.

While Mortis was focusing on the Law of Stone, Gravis got contacted by his father.

After listening to his father's message, Gravis smiled brightly and informed the Myriad Sect that he would be gone for a bit.

Gravis kept the reason for his departure a secret since he wanted it to be a surprise.

Gravis quickly flew over to a nearby city and paid several God Stones for a teleportation.

Gravis felt the spatial displacement, but he had gotten used to them by now.

He had arrived in a city at nearly the other side of the Core Regions of the highest worlds. If he were to travel to this place without a Teleportation Formation Array, Gravis would need to travel for thousands of years.

The distances were simply ridiculous.

After arriving in the city, Gravis quickly checked the entire city with his Spirit Sense, and he immediately found what he was looking for.

In the middle of the city was a gigantic hall, surrounded by many representatives of different Sects.

This was an Ascension Hall, and normally, these representatives would walk forward and offer the Ascenders an invitation to their Sects.

Ascenders had a high chance of becoming Star Gods, and the Sects were very interested in getting these new members.

Smaller Sects led by Star Gods, Sects led by other Peak Immortal Emperors, and even some Sects led by an Ancestral God had representatives in this area.

The power of these Sects would intimidate any Ascender, but they couldn't count for much in the Core Regions of the highest world.

There were still the Sects with several Ancestral Gods, like the Eternal Fire Sect, above them.

There were also Sects led by Divine Gods above those.

And above those were the Peak Sects.

The highest three ranks only very rarely had representatives from their Sects waiting in these Ascension Halls. After all, why would they want to invest so much money and time into training Immortal Emperors?

Sects on the level of the Eternal Fire Sect were only interested in Star Gods, and the Sects above the Eternal Fire Sect were only interested in Ancestral Gods.

These small Sects could teach these Ascenders, and the trained people from these small Sects would just enter the more powerful Sects anyway.

The powerful Sects didn't need to put any resources into raising the power of Ascenders. After all, they would just come on their own when they were powerful enough.

Because of all of that, the strongest Sect present only had three Ancestral Gods at the beginning of their Realm.

Usually, the atmosphere in this Ascension Hall was cold, distant, and professional. The Sects would simply make their offers and explain their mindsets. The Ascender would then get to choose which Sect they wanted to join.

However, this time, the atmosphere was very different.

The representatives were almost aggressive with each other.

Some of them had even started shouting and denouncing each other.

Yet, not all of them were acting this way.

The representatives of the Peak Immortal Emperor Sects had stepped back and looked to the side. Obviously, they didn't want to get involved.

The representatives of the Sects with Star Gods stood at the back, but they still silently gave their offers to the new Ascender.

They had to get this Ascender!

Lastly, the Sects being led by Ancestral Gods were nearly fighting each other for this new Ascender.

Getting this Ascender was getting a Star God, and not only that, but the Ascender also had the ability to strengthen the entire Sect and earn them a ton of money.

This Ascender was incredibly powerful, would help the entire Sect, and would earn them a lot of money.

These were the most sought-after Ascenders out of all of them.

The Ascender had the appearance of an 18-year-old girl with green hair. Beautiful flowers could be seen in her hair, and her appearance was absolutely stunning.

She almost looked like a goddess.

It was like she was representing nature itself!

The reason why everyone wanted her in their Sect was that she was a plant.

Plants at the level of Star Gods were exceedingly rare, and being able to get one for one's Sect was an incredible blessing.

As a plant, she would easily reach the Star God Realm.

As a plant, she could condense Law Comprehension Life Fruits, which could then be given to outstanding disciples.

However, her fruits could also be sold for an incredible amount of money.

This was why these powerful Sects were fighting over her so much.

Right now, the new Ascender simply looked around the hall with an aloof expression. She seemingly ignored all of these people as she inspected the highest world.

'So, these are humans, huh?' she thought as she inspected all the different humans in the city.

She had never seen a human before.

She had expected that her first contact with humans would end with enmity. After all, she was a beast, and they were humans.

There had to be some animosity between them, right?

Yet, surprisingly, all these people promised her infinite riches and incredible privileges just so that she would decide to join their Sect.

She was a bit disappointed by that development.

As everyone continued arguing, Gravis stepped into the hall.

The arguing representatives immediately stopped as they glared at the new arrival. They could handle the present representatives, but they wouldn't allow someone they didn't know to vie for the Ascender's attention.

The hall fell silent, and the Ascender looked at the new person.

For some reason, she found this new person familiar. Yet, she had never seen this person before.

Gravis only smirked.

"Ah, shit. It's the thick flower girl. It's a wonder that you managed to get this powerful with your shitty, toxic mouth," Gravis said with a smirk.

The room became even quieter as the representatives looked with shock at the new arrival.

What did that guy just say?

The Ascender looked with shock at Gravis, and her eyebrows furrowed. "I think such a limp-dicked pussy like you is just jealous that you can't get hard enough to even impress a dandelion. How about you swallow the shit that comes out of your mouth and go puke in a corner?"

The representatives became even more shocked.

This beautiful, proud, elegant girl had just uttered such obscene words.

Even more, her voice had a kind of resonance with nature, which made her voice sound peaceful and tranquil.

Gravis snorted. "You're just mad because you are stuck with this girl-body instead of the muscular, powerful body you showed me back then. Bet you feel like a weak little maiden whenever you battle with someone. Do you also dramatically fall back with grace when you get hit?"

The gears in the Ascender's mind finally clicked.

Then, she smirked.

"Fuck you, Gravis," Meadow said with delight.

Chapter 1142 - 1142 – Explanation From The Eternal Fire Sect

The representatives were stunned by the interaction, but they quickly realized something.

Those two knew each other.

This wasn't common, but it happened from time to time. After all, many powerful members of other Sects were made up of Ascenders that had been in the highest world for a while. Old and new Ascenders could have known each other.

Even more, the new Ascender was a plant, which gave the previous Ascender way more time to become more powerful due to a plant's inherent longevity.

The representatives quickly threw a look at each other.

They didn't want the new Ascender to join any other Sect, but they wanted her to join a completely unknown Sect even less.

The representatives in the hall, at least, had several treaties on how to manage this whole affair. In comparison, this new guy was completely unrelated to them.

"You are not allowed to be here," one of the representatives to Gravis. "Unaffiliated Sects are not allowed to vie for new Ascenders."

"Vie for new Ascenders?" Gravis asked with a snort. "I just insulted your new Ascender, and you call that vying for her?"

The Star Gods narrowed their eyes.

"But fine," Gravis said. "I'll leave."

Then, Gravis left the hall again.

The Star Gods weren't very happy with that. Those two had obviously known each other, and Gravis' appearance alone had already thrown a wrench into their plans.

The representatives quickly talked to each other to find a solution. They exchanged many words, but since all of them had been said via voice transmission, not even a second had passed before they reached a consensus.

One of the representatives walked to Meadow. "How would you like to join us?" he asked.

Meadow only looked at him neutrally.

However, while the representative was talking, he activated some peculiar Laws.

These representatives had powerful skills when it came to manipulation and persuasion. This guy, in particular, knew several level six Laws related to the Spirit and mind.

He was the best in this field out of everyone present, and he had promised the other Sects a lot of money for this Ascender.

The others had accepted since this was better than seeing this new Ascender go to none of their Sects. At least, with this, they would get something out of this situation.

Meadow's mind became foggy, and she immediately found this guy to her liking.

"Sure," she answered absentmindedly.

The other representatives grinned when they saw her agree.

"Wonderful! Then would you-"

The guy suddenly stopped talking.

Why?

Because Meadow had vanished!

There were no fluctuations of the Space Laws or Darkness Laws.

She had simply stopped existing.

The representatives were shocked and quickly searched for her in the surrounding million kilometers, but they couldn't find her.

"What's going on!?" one of them asked in shock. "She's only a Peak Immortal Emperor! She can't hide in front of us!"

"I don't know!" Another guy shouted back with annoyance.

"It must have been that other guy!" a third representative shouted with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, it must be! That guy was a Star God just like us. He probably used some kind of powerful Law to take her away! I remembered his robes and his emblem! I'll immediately contact my superiors and tell them what happened. We won't stand for some unknown person to interfere in our business!"

The other representatives also nodded. They had several treaties, and they wouldn't accept some unknown Sect to claim someone that belonged to them!

So, how had Meadow vanished?

Obviously, it was the Law of Perceived Reality.

Meadow had simply left together with Gravis while Gravis made it appear like she was still in the hall. Gravis gave Meadow some money and sent her away via the Teleportation Formation Array. Then, Gravis left himself, which was why his illusion had suddenly dissipated. After all, Gravis was too far away now.

The representative from the Sect, which Meadow was supposed to belong to, quickly contacted a Vice-Sect Master.

Initially, the Vice-Sect Master only frowned.

Yes, other Sects weren't supposed to steal their Ascenders, but this matter wasn't so important that he had to be informed. He was an Ancestral God, and he had more important things to worry about.

Yet, when he heard that the new Ascender was a plant, his eyes narrowed.

This was too important!

One plant could create several other Star Gods with their fruits!

The Vice-Sect Master informed the Sect Master, and the Sect Master sent the Vice-Sect Master to gather information on the Sect that took Meadow away.

The Vice-Sect Master visited the Information Pavilion and asked about the identity of the Sect behind Gravis. They remembered his getup and emblem, which meant that they could easily find out which Sect they belonged to.

They were also quite certain that Gravis' Sect couldn't be very powerful. After all, they hadn't heard of that Sect before, which meant that they were probably not very relevant.

The Information Pavilion kept the identities of Gravis and his friends secret, but the Myriad Sect didn't fall under that restriction.

The Myriad Sect was a public organization, and the Information Pavilion had no issues with unveiling information about Sects.

Of course, information about Sects was also way more expensive than information about individuals.

Sects generally weren't very interested in information about individuals, but they were very interested in information about other Sects. There was also far more information that one could have about a Sect than about only one individual.

Information about individuals was more of private relevance.

Information about Sects was more of organizational and professional relevance.

A singular person wouldn't be willing to fork over a ridiculous amount of money for information, but a Sect had way more money to spare.

So, after paying a couple million God Stones, the Vice-Sect Master got his information.

Myriad Sect.

When the Vice-Sect Master saw the power of the Myriad Sect, he only frowned.

About 20 Star Gods.

That was above-average for a Sect with an Ancestral God as their leader.

However, his own Sect had around double the number of Star Gods, and they also had several Ancestral Gods.

But then, the first issue raised its ugly head.

Ancestor: level five Ancestral God.

That was a huge issue!

That Ancestor alone could decimate all their Ancestral Gods!

Then came the second issue.

Subsidiary Sect of the Eternal Fire Sect.

The Vice-Sect Master didn't know the Myriad Sect, but he knew the Eternal Fire Sect.

The Eternal Fire Sect was no joke, and it was even a bit more powerful than their own superior Sect. Their own superior Sect was at the same level as the Eternal Fire Sect, and they could even attempt to fight the Eternal Fire Sect, but there were two issues.

First of all, the war would have a higher chance of them losing rather than winning.

Second, the Eternal Fire Sect was on the other side of the Core Regions.

One would think that with the presence of Teleportation Formation Arrays, distance wouldn't be a huge factor in Sect warfare, but that was a wrong assumption.

Every Sect had scouts and informants in any close cities.

So, if any Sect transported their forces via Teleportation Formation Array, those scouts would relay the information to the Sect and warn them.

Something like this couldn't be hidden.

Even if one put the entire army into a Life Ring, the fluctuations of the Teleportation Formation Array would be far more powerful than if it were only one person teleporting over.

This meant that if they wanted to catch the Myriad Sect or the Eternal Fire Sect by surprise, they would need to fly on their own.

Ancestral Gods would still take over a hundred years to travel over such a vast distance.

At that point, all the intelligence they had gathered of the enemy Sect would have long since become irrelevant, making attacks riskier than usual.

These two things made war with the Eternal Fire Sect very difficult.

The Vice-Sect Master informed his Sect Master, who also quickly frowned.

Eventually, the Sect Master reported what had transpired to an Elder of his superior Sect.

The Elder looked at the information and decided to inform his own Vice-Sect Master.

Eventually, it was decided that their Sect would demand an explanation from the Eternal Fire Sect.

The Eternal Fire Sect had stretched their hands into their territory, and they wouldn't stand for that!

Eventually, the explanation from the Eternal Fire Sect arrived.

It essentially boiled down to this phrase:

"Not our problem that your representatives are that weak. If Ascenders are so important to you, get an Ancestral God to overlook the Ascension Hall. Don't annoy us with such irrelevant stuff!"

It was essentially a giant middle finger.

Chapter 1143 - 1143 – Plant War

On the way to the Myriad Sect, Gravis explained as much as he could about the highest world and the Myriad Sect.

Eventually, they reached the Myriad Sect, and Meadow was immediately surprised by what she saw.

There were so many Peak Immortal Emperors!

She knew that there would be many, but not that many!

There were millions upon millions!

Meadow had already gone through several worlds, and she knew how it felt to be at the bottom of the power scale again, but this was ridiculous!

There were millions of beings in her Realm!

Every single of them had gone through at least one world where they had been the strongest ones at one point in time. All of these millions of Peak Immortal Emperors represented a person that had once been the strongest in the world.

There was not a single person that was not considered outstanding in their previous higher world.

But here, in the highest world, they were only normal.

"Shit. I didn't expect there to be so many," Meadow said absentmindedly.

Gravis only smiled. "Impressive, isn't it?" Gravis asked. "The highest world is absolutely gigantic, and there are so incredibly many Peak Immortal Emperors. The ones you can currently see are not even a millionth of the entire world. Crazy, isn't it?"

Not even a millionth.

Meadow slowly realized that this world was different from all the previous ones she had been to. Sure, in her higher world, there had also been over a billion Immortals, but there was a difference between a billion and a trillion.

It was the same difference between one and one thousand.

"Even more, the sheer size of the world is so much bigger than its inhabitants that nearly all of the world is just empty wilderness," Gravis explained. "You would think that with so many Cultivators, you would constantly meet new faces, but you actually don't. You only meet others when you specifically search for them."

Meadow snorted. "I get it. I'm not stupid," she said with a huff. "You don't have to talk up the highest world just so you feel better about your mediocre achievements."

Gravis snorted when he heard that. "I'm just showing you how weak and insignificant your bitch-ass is in this world. You're swimming in the ocean now, you freshwater guppy."

"You smell more like a fish than I do," Meadow countered. "Oh, right, I forgot. You were a shitty electric eel once."

Gravis continued bantering with Meadow, and he quickly fell into nostalgia.

Back when Gravis had met Meadow, he had only been a Nascent Nourishing Cultivator or beast, depending on the viewpoint. Gravis had only wanted to comprehend some Composition Laws for Plants. Because of that, Ferris had led Gravis to the Bulwark, where he met Meadow.

Back then, Meadow had only appeared like a normal Ultimate, but that had quickly changed when she had unveiled her true power.

"By the way, how did your fight with Heaven go?" Meadow asked as she remembered how she and Gravis had parted ways. "You're still alive, so I expect that you whopped its ass."

Gravis' expression transformed into an awkward smile.

"Yeah, about that," Gravis said. "He kind of had the Law of the Dead World as his Avatar, and he also knew the Major Law of the Elements."

Meadow furrowed her brows. "What's the Law of the Dead World?" she asked.

For a second, Gravis was taken aback, but then he remembered that the Law of the Dead World was actually a very rare Law. Only very few people in the higher world knew it, and when Gravis was referring to the Law of the Dead World, he was talking about the minor variant. The Major Law of the Dead World basically didn't exist in higher worlds.

Exar had been a huge exception.

And then, Meadow suddenly snorted.

"How did you actually fall for that?" Meadow asked with an arrogant smirk. "You think I don't know what some stupid Law of the Dead World is? I'm a flower, and in comparison to humans, I can't live under a rock."

SHING!

A small, illusory world appeared beside Meadow.

This was her Avatar, and it was made of the Major Law of the Dead World!

Gravis hadn't inspected Meadow's personality and memories since she was his friend. So, he was quite surprised when he realized that Meadow knew the Major Law of the Dead World.

In short, she was at least as powerful as Exar had been when he ascended.

After a while, Gravis realized that it actually wasn't that surprising.

Exar had been about 500,000 years in his higher world.

Meadow had been way over a million years in her higher world.

Meadow was probably even more powerful than Exar had been back then.

Of course, the current Exar was not someone Meadow could fight against.

"That's really impressive, Meadow," Gravis said with a smile. "Are all plants this powerful?"

Meadow snorted. "Are you a country bumpkin or just a stupid child?" Meadow asked. "You see one outstanding plant, and you immediately believe that all of them are that powerful? Bitch, I'm the most powerful!"

Surprisingly, Gravis only smirked.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he said.

"Oh, please," Meadow said. "You saw how crazy everyone got when they realized that I was neither beast nor human. Sure, there could be some more powerful plant Peak Immortal Emperors out there, but they might as well not exist since we won't ever meet them."

Gravis' smirk only widened.

"Why don't you settle down in the Myriad Sect and extend your roots? You might find a neighbor."

"A neighbor, huh?" Meadow said with an arrogant smirk. "So, there's some random dude currently sitting in my throne. How very nice of you to give me a subordinate as a present."

"I wonder who will be subordinate," Gravis said with a snicker.

Meadow narrowed her eyes at Gravis and landed in the Myriad Sect. No one paid any attention to her. After all, she was just one more Peak Immortal Emperor amongst millions.

Meadow's human body vanished as she transformed into a flower, which quickly vanished into the earth.

Meadow was expanding her root network, and she was claiming the Myriad Sect as her own.

And then, she touched another root.

Meadow realized that this had to be the other root, so she immediately pushed it to the side.

CRRR!

The other root was violently pushed to the side as Meadow took her place with a smirk.

SHING!

Meadow gritted her metaphorical teeth as her root was suddenly severed from her body. The other root had returned, and it had used the Space Laws to cut off her root.

"Oh, you wanna play rough, eh?" she transmitted to the other plant.

"Who are you?" the other plant asked, his voice deep and powerful.

"The rightful owner of the chair you're currently sitting on!"

Meadow started an offensive as she severed several roots of the opponent, pushing him back.

"Oh? It's been quite a while since another plant dared to attack me," the other plant said with power.

And then, war broke out.

Below the Myriad Sect, an ocean of roots was fighting each other. This was how plants usually battled each other. Controlling so many roots was like controlling an army, and the one who could control their troops better would win.

Millions of roots attacked each other violently.

Yet, above the Sect, no Immortal Emperor noticed the battle.

Everything happened underground.

Gravis only watched the battle with a smirk.

'Wonder if Narcissus can handle Meadow.'

Chapter 1144 - 1144 – Plant Life

The battle was violent. The roots constantly clashed at each other, and they were continually severed. When one root was severed, the opponent absorbed the root to gain more Life Energy, which would result in the production of even more roots.

Meadow's domain slowly extended, pushing Narcissus back.

After a couple of minutes of violent fighting, 50% of the underground now belonged to Meadow.

"Get off my seat!" Meadow transmitted aggressively. "That's mine!"

However, Narcissus' answer was different from what Meadow had expected.

"Alright, we can have a fair battle now," Narcissus answered.

And then, Narcissus actually began trying.

As soon as Narcissus got serious, Meadow felt herself be overwhelmed.

They were both only fighting with some basic Laws, which made their Laws about equal. They were also only fighting with their Realms, physical power, and concentration.

This was not a battle to the death but a battle for supremacy.

One could see this as the equivalent of arm-wrestling for plants. A human could simply get their other hand and punch the opponent in the face, but that would feel like a loss to the person punching.

They would feel like they had lost in a battle of honor.

Meadow was overwhelmed with all the roots of her opponent.

Her opponent was using his roots with absolutely unreal finesse. It was like every single root was its own living being, which had gone through thousands of temperings on their path to power.

In just a minute, Meadow's territory was reduced to 20% of its previous size.

"Do you have any idea with how many other plants I have battled in my life?" Narcissus asked. "I lived in a thick forest filled with powerful plants, and the plants were even more numerous than all the beasts in the world."

"In comparison, I can tell that you've had it easy," Narcissus added. "You probably haven't fought many plants in your life. Your control over your roots is subpar and simple."

Meadow immediately became frustrated when she heard Narcissus' words.

However, Narcissus was right.

Meadow had spent a lot of her time in Styr's Tribe, and there hadn't been many relevant plants in there. Then, when Styr and the others had left, Meadow had already become one of the most powerful beings in the higher world, making all forms of war with other plants meaningless.

In short, Meadow was very inexperienced when it came to plant warfare.

Meanwhile, Narcissus had become truly powerful amongst a dense forest.

He was the strongest plant in the strongest higher world.

Meadow couldn't fight Narcissus on his own terms.

"Go on," Narcissus said. "You can unleash your actual Laws. I don't mind."

Meadow snorted.

BOOOM!

Then, Meadow summoned her Avatar and actually used its powers to battle with Narcissus.

This was already no longer the plant-version of arm-wrestling but a real battle.

Meadow had conceded the arm-wrestling match and switched over to a brawl.

Meadow's roots became vastly more powerful as nearly all her Laws became a full level more powerful.

In an instant, Meadow's roots severed an ocean's worth of Narcissus' roots.

Yet, new roots quickly replaced them, and they all attacked Meadow's roots again.

Meadow's roots were vastly more powerful, but Narcissus' roots were more numerous, and they were moving with incredible finesse.

A good comparison would be a group of mortal humans fighting a gigantic monster. The humans couldn't win individually, but with their teamwork and tactics, they managed to bring down the monster.

A stalemate occurred when both of them owned 50% of the territory.

By now, Meadow's territory was too large. Since she covered a bigger territory now, she also had to control more roots. This weakened her offensive, exposing plenty of weaknesses in her defense.

Narcissus always took advantage of these weaknesses and extended his roots further into Meadow's territory, which required her to use a ton of Energy to quickly take care of them.

The battle raged on for over an hour.

By now, Gravis' friends had joined him in watching.

Ferris immediately shouted in excitement as he saw Meadow, greeting her with pure ecstasy.

"Go eat your own barf, mutt! I'm busy!" Meadow shouted back when Ferris greeted her.

Ferris didn't mind Meadow's words.

He was only happy that Meadow was back.

Ferris liked Meadow.

Meanwhile, Azure looked at the war with surprise.

Meadow had always been an incredibly powerful hegemon in her eyes, and her power obviously hadn't dropped.

After all, Meadow even knew the Major Law of the Dead World. If Meadow reached the Star God Realm, Azure wouldn't be able to fight her.

This showed how powerful Meadow was.

However, Azure was shocked that Narcissus was even more powerful.

She had heard of Narcissus, and she knew that he was powerful, but she had always believed Meadow to be more powerful.

Yet, Meadow didn't even have a fighting chance against Narcissus.

Meadow was already fighting with her full power, including her Avatar.

In comparison, Narcissus didn't even use his Avatar.

Narcissus was essentially fighting with only one arm!

"Running out of Energy soon?" Narcissus asked Meadow in a bored tone.

"Are you?" Meadow countered with an exhausted voice.

"Of course not," Narcissus answered. "I haven't even used my Avatar yet."

"Then use it! I acknowledge that your control is superior to mine, but I won't accept that you're so superior to me that you don't even need to use your Avatar to win!" Meadow shouted.

Meadow already knew that she had lost. Now, she only wanted to lose with dignity.

It seemed like the person sitting in her seat was too fat for her to push away.

"Fine," Narcissus answered.

SHING!

A green Avatar appeared. It shone in a gentle light, and one could feel a boundless force of life coming from it.

"The Major Law of Life!" Meadow said with shock.

As soon as Narcissus summoned his Avatar, the number of roots increased by ten times, and he shot all of them forward in one wave.

Narcissus didn't even control them.

Meadow's roots took out an army of roots, absorbing their Life Energy, but the enemy roots were endless!

It was like a million rats were jumping on a single tiger.

Plants had an incredible amount of Life Energy, and with the Major Law of Life, that advantage became even more ridiculous.

Meadow unleashed a wave of explosions, but the roots just kept coming!

In the end, the roots encircled Meadow's core and squeezed.

Meadow had lost.

Gravis wondered what would happen. After all, he wasn't very experienced in the ways of plants.

Meanwhile, Azure sighed.

"If Sary were still here, she would be so excited for Meadow," Azure said.

Gravis was taken aback by Azure's words.

Excited?

Why?

Azure saw Gravis' expression and only gestured to the war. "Look."

"Your control is lacking, but the power of your Avatar is commendable," Narcissus commented. "If we were actually fighting in our human forms, you would even have a slight chance of winning."

"Do you really need to show your superiority with words after already winning? How fragile is your ego? Is your name program?" Meadow shot back.

"You're a rebellious one, huh?" Narcissus commented calmly. "I'm not a fan of rebellious mates, but we have time to change that."

Gravis' eyes widened when he heard that.

Mates?

"Just do it! You won, so go ahead!" Meadow shouted back with annoyance.

She sounded like she didn't want to go through with it, but Gravis could see that she was actually very attracted to Narcissus.

It seemed like Narcissus' power had convinced Meadow deep inside.

Narcissus squeezed Meadow's core, and a couple of flowers popped out of it.

Then, Narcissus' roots carefully entered the flowers and retrieved the valuable pollen.

After that, Narcissus moved upwards and transformed into his tree-form in the middle of the Myriad Sect.

The members of the Myriad Sect were surprised by the sudden appearance of a tree, and they looked over.

Some of Narcissus' roots came out of the ground and put Meadow's pollen into his own flowers.

CRRR!

In a matter of seconds, millions of fruits appeared on Narcissus.

When Meadow saw that, her mind froze.

Meadow could only produce 10,000 of these fruits at once in this manner.

Meanwhile, Narcissus made millions.

The sheer power of Narcissus' Life Energy was ridiculous.

And well, one had to know that Life Energy was the most attractive thing to plants.

Narcissus' body shook, and the fruits all shot into the distance.

As soon as they left the vicinity of the Myriad Sect's buildings, they exploded into a shower of seeds.

Every fruit had a thousand seeds, which meant that billions of seeds were raining down on the surrounding thousands of kilometers of the Myriad Sect.

It was a beautiful spectacle that resembled fireworks a little bit.

The seeds buried deeply into the ground, and the spectacle had ended.

Gravis looked with surprise at Azure.

Azure only smiled.

"We will have a thick forest around our Sect in the future," she said.

Chapter 1145 - 1145 – Mortis’ Struggles

Gravis hadn't expected that things would turn out this way. He had just expected Narcissus and Meadow to get to know each other more. After all, they were fellow plants.

He hadn't expected that they would just directly mate and have children.

Most of the humans in the Myriad Sect were confused, but the beasts explained to the humans what had happened.

After that, the humans nodded in understanding.

So it was just sex.

Okay.

Narcissus let Meadow go again, and her roots slowly moved around in the underground.

"If you're hogging the entire seat, let me at least sit on your lap," she said in a quiet voice with a bit of annoyance.

Gravis was surprised when he heard Meadow's voice.

Was this still the Meadow he knew?

She almost sounded like an innocent maiden that talked cutely to her boyfriend.

Meadow's roots slowly curled around Narcissus' roots, and in the end, both of them shared the underground of the Myriad Sect. The territories weren't split 50/50, but the two of them shared the space.

Narcissus didn't answer Meadow, and he only kept his roots steady so that she could curl around him.

He was full-on acting like the typical, strong, stoic boyfriend.

"Give them some time for themselves," Azure said to Gravis and Manuel. "We can put the plan into motion when Meadow's settled in."

Manuel nodded with a peaceful smile. "To think that we would get our own forest full of plants that can Cultivate. In the future, these plants will help us immensely. We can lead them to our Law Comprehension Areas, and they will eventually be willing to trade for their fruits."

Gravis nodded. "This is a very good thing for everyone. Meadow and Narcissus benefit, and we benefit."

When Mortis had seen Meadow and Narcissus interact with each other, he involuntarily got reminded of his time with Joyce.

Why?

Because Meadow and Narcissus had also battled each other, but they had eventually also gotten together.

The initial fight had been exciting and burning hot, but the time after that was tranquil and peaceful.

The two of them were only with each other and didn't talk much.

It seemed like they simply enjoyed each other's company now.

One would think that this would wake bad memories inside Mortis regarding Joyce. Yet, ironically, the opposite was true.

After seeing how a similar relationship to his own had ended in happiness, Mortis knew that Joyce hadn't been the correct person for him.

Mortis had been attracted to Joyce, but it had only been a physical attraction. Due to her actions, Mortis had emotionally distanced himself from Joyce.

Yet, Mortis only wanted to sigh.

He had seen how happy Gravis was with Stella.

He had seen how happy Yersi was with Jake.

And now, he had even seen how happy Meadow was with Narcissus.

Why couldn't he have something like that?

Eventually, Mortis just silently left. He didn't want to be around anyone right now.

Gravis had noticed when Mortis left, and he could also only sigh. Gravis knew Mortis very well, and he could take a pretty good guess at what Mortis was currently feeling and thinking.

'Give it time, Mortis,' Gravis thought. 'You'll also eventually have a partner.'

Mortis teleported into the distance and stopped above a big cliff overlooking a forest.

No Cultivator was around here, and Mortis had all the time to think about his life.

He longed for something more, but he just didn't know how to approach it.

Mortis spent some time alone, but his alone-time was cut short just a couple of minutes later.

SHING!

Someone arrived behind Mortis.

The other person walked to the place beside Mortis and looked at him with a bit of confusion.

Mortis didn't engage the new person.

"I don't get you," Azure said.

"What don't you get?" Mortis asked, not looking at Azure.

"You are basically made of Gravis, right?" Azure asked.

"Yes, so?" Mortis answered.

"What makes it so hard for you to achieve what you humans desire that much?" Azure asked. "Gravis did it. Why can't you?"

"You don't understand because you're not a human," Mortis answered evenly, not looking at her.

"I know," Azure answered. "That's why I'm asking. I genuinely don't get it, and I want to understand more."

Mortis was reminded of when "he" had met Azure back then.

As a beast, Azure didn't have these romantic feelings that humans had. Even her children were unimportant to her.

Mortis cared deeply for his three children.

Yes, Mortis still saw Aris, Cera, and Yersi as his children. After all, he and Gravis had been the same person back then. Mortis had also watched how the three of them became adults.

However, Mortis had kept himself away from them.

He didn't want his three kids to be confused about who their father was.

In Mortis' mind, Gravis was a better father anyway.

In Mortis' mind, Mortis was only a cruel and selfish person that only chased power. He wasn't cut out to be a father, boyfriend, husband, or whatever.

He was a power-hungry guy that only chased the higher Realms.

He could never be as good of a father or husband as Gravis.

For that reason, it was better for Gravis to take care of his children.

So, even though Mortis desired to have a connection with his three children, he kept himself out of their life. He had decided to only watch them from a distance.

However, as a beast, Azure wasn't like that.

Azure didn't care about her children. Whenever Azure saw Aris, for example, there was not a shred of emotion to be seen in her Laws.

She genuinely didn't see the three of them any different from the other members of the Myriad Sect.

They were simply companions of the same Sect to her.

One might think that Azure was cold-hearted, but it just couldn't be helped. She was a pure beast, and she simply didn't feel these emotions.

This was a natural difference between beasts and humans.

Azure had always wrestled with these feelings after having come into contact with Gravis. Seeing how Gravis had cared so much about their children, Azure had become confused.

How could someone care so much about their offspring? Was there something she was missing?

However, when Azure had gone through Samsara, she had realized that her worries were unfounded.

She simply didn't have these feelings, and she didn't need to regret not having them.

Yet, Azure was still interested in how humans perceived relationships. It intrigued her how humans could feel things she couldn't feel.

This was also why she had come to Mortis.

"Why don't you just search for someone you find attractive and grab them?" Azure asked.

"That's considered sexual assault for humans, and we aren't fans of that," Mortis answered. "Love is something like giving more to the other person. You could call it a selfless alliance, where both sides want to help the other side almost even more than their own."

"And what stops one side from taking advantage of the other?" Azure asked.

"Nothing," Mortis answered. "That's the reason why love is so difficult. You can only have this kind of relationship when both sides are willing to give their everything to the other side."

Azure looked into the distance in thought.

"And what stops you from finding someone like that?" she asked.

Chapter 1146 - 1146 – Experiment "There is no one that elicits these kinds of feelings from me," Mortis answered. "I see so many different Cultivators, but they all look the same to me. They are either strangers, friends, enemies, or whatever. There is no difference."

"So, do humans need some kind of connection with a stranger for love to exist in the future?" Azure asked. She was genuinely curious about all of this.

Mortis' brows furrowed. "No, not really."

"Then why does that have to exist for you to try?" Azure asked.

For the first time, Mortis didn't answer immediately.

Why didn't he just get to know more people?

Was it really necessary that his spark had to exist for a relationship to blossom?

Obviously not.

There were plenty of mortals and Cultivators that got together with people after just being friends for years on end.

There had been no romantic attraction between them in the beginning, but they had eventually ended together.

For some reason, a kind of pressure appeared in Mortis' insides.

'Is it because of my past?' he thought. 'I've felt how Gravis have felt for so long. I've felt these intense bursts of warmth and love inside myself so many times.'

Mortis looked into the distance. 'Is it because I fear disappointment? Do I fear that my eventual love won't be as vibrant as the love Gravis feels for Stella?'

A moment of silence passed.

'And then, this entire thing with Joyce happened, which confirmed my fear. I was attracted to Joyce, but I never felt anything remotely as intense as what Gravis felt for Stella back then.'

'And then, Joyce died, and I felt like my ability to love died with her.'

Mortis glanced over at Azure, who only looked into the distance with a thoughtful expression.

'I think I fear disappointment,' Mortis thought. 'It might be possible that I'm afraid of losing my hope. I can dream about how great love is and how it makes me feel, but I'm afraid that my imagination is off.'

Another moment of silence.

'If even love turns out to be a disappointment, what else is there left but greyness in my life?'

'If love doesn't live up to my expectations, what reason do I even have left to live?'

"Azure, why do you cultivate?" Mortis asked.

Azure was surprised by the question. How did Mortis even come up with that question?

"Why do I cultivate?" Azure asked.

Mortis nodded.

Azure remained silent.

"I don't know," she said after several seconds. "Honestly, I haven't really thought about it. Living just feels natural to me, and it's like something I just have to do."

"Is there something in your life that you don't want to lose, no matter what?" Mortis asked.

Azure remained silent for a bit longer as her expression became uncomfortable.

"Not really," Azure answered with an unsure voice.

"Then, why do you keep fighting? Why do you keep comprehending Laws? Why do you go through the fear and pain of tempering yourself?" Mortis asked absentmindedly.

"Every Cultivator would rather do anything else. No Cultivator goes out and tempers themselves just for fun. We all do it out of necessity since we want to become more powerful. And why do we want to become more powerful? Because we don't want to die."

"And why don't we want to die? Because we have something in our life that we don't want to lose. We don't want to feel the pain of a loved one dying. We want to spend more time with our loved ones. We want to see what tomorrow brings."

"Yet, when you have nothing you care about, what is even the point of surviving?" Mortis asked, looking at Azure. "From what you've said, you sound like you don't have anything you want to live for. So, why live?"

Azure remained silent.

Azure remained silent for several minutes.

During that time, Mortis regretted his question.

Mortis had only asked some things he was curious about, but he realized that his words might have had an unintended effect on Azure.

These thoughts were normal to Mortis. He was thinking these thoughts every single day.

Yet, in comparison, Azure had never even asked herself that question.

"You don't have to answer, and you also don't need to question yourself regarding this topic," Mortis added. "You obviously have something to live for. Otherwise, you wouldn't have had the willpower to get through so much fighting and death."

"No, you were right," Azure said, her expression showing an internal struggle. "What do I actually live for? Why do I live?"

"You're a beast, Azure," Mortis added. "Heaven made you to become powerful. You're not a human, and you don't need to have the feelings we humans have. For you, power might have a vastly stronger appeal than for us. Becoming more powerful might feel way more fulfilling than for us humans."

"Don't try to invalidate your reasons for living by comparing them to humans. You're not a human, and you already accepted that, right? Why search for something unimportant to you?" Mortis added.

By now, Mortis had regretted asking his earlier question. Azure seemed to genuinely struggle right now.

"No, that's not the case," Azure said as she looked at Mortis with confusion and nervousness. "I know what you're trying to do right now, but your worry is misplaced."

Mortis raised an eyebrow.

"I am simply overwhelmed by something I have never felt before," Azure said. "That's why it was so difficult for me to answer."

"What do you feel?" Mortis asked.

"It's a kind of emptiness," Azure said. "It's like a black hole that sucks out all the drive in my being, and it feels like it's consuming my insides."

Mortis' expression became uncomfortable, and he felt guilty beyond compare.

This was a feeling he was very familiar with.

"Hey, listen-"

"Give me a second," Azure interrupted Mortis. "Keep in mind that I'm not some mortal. I'm a Star God, and I've gone through worse. You don't need to fix me or anything. I can deal with this stuff well on my own."

Mortis looked at Azure skeptically. After all, he knew how overwhelming this feeling was.

Azure noticed Mortis' expression, but she didn't try to convince Mortis immediately. Instead, she wanted to tell him what she was thinking about.

"I never felt this feeling before, right?" Azure asked. "I've never had an issue with life, and I felt satisfied with simply becoming more powerful. However, as soon as you brought my attention to the purpose of life, I suddenly felt this feeling I never felt before."

"I'm certain that I wouldn't have felt anything like this in the past. I haven't felt anything even remotely like this, not even a weaker version. It's completely new."

"We beasts get a Spirit when we become Star Gods, right?" Azure asked. "So, when we get a Spirit, does it also mean that our emotional concepts become more human-like?"

Mortis also fell into thought when Azure said that.

Could she be right?

Right now, Mortis couldn't be sure.

But then, Azure added something.

"What about beasts that managed to become Heaven's Magnates?" Azure asked. "You said you know a Heaven's Magnate that's a beast."

"What about it?" Mortis asked.

"Well, to become a Heaven's Magnate, you need to know all the four main Laws, and one main Law always stumped me. I always tried to think of a way to comprehend it, but I never came up with one. You know why? Because it seemed simply impossible for beasts."

"I'm talking about the Law of Empathy," Azure said.

Mortis' eyes widened.

Right!

How would a beast even go about comprehending the Law of Empathy?

Mortis knew what it took to comprehend the Law of Empathy since he knew it, and he was sure that a beast couldn't feel the amount of empathy required to comprehend that Law.

It would be impossible for a beast.

So, how had the Black Magnate become a Heaven's Magnate if it's impossible for a beast to feel like a human?

"So, you think that you can now feel love like humans?" Mortis asked in surprise.

"I don't know," Azure said. "I think so, but I can't be sure without testing."

Then, she looked at Mortis.

"Want to try?" she asked.

Mortis froze.

That…

Mortis only looked at Azure. "Could you be a bit more specific?" Mortis asked.

"Try to see if we could love each other," Azure added. "If it doesn't work, we can just stop. After all, even if I can't feel it, I know a bit about how it works, and I know that it would hurt you if I couldn't reciprocate. So, we can just try, right? If it works, we can both experience love, and if it doesn't, we can just break up."

Mortis scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I don't know," he said.

"Why are you hesitating?" Azure asked, genuinely confused. "I see no downside, only upsides. We will come out with more knowledge, no matter how it goes."

Then, Azure remembered something.

"Oh, is it because I'm not attractive to you?" Azure asked, genuinely confused.

Mortis looked at Azure.

Attractive?

Azure had beautiful blue hair, and her eyes were clear like the ocean.

"No, that's not it," Mortis said.

"Then what? Is my mindset not to your liking?" Azure asked.

Mindset?

Azure was very honest and careful. Even when she hadn't felt anything like love before, she had been mindful of the people who did.

Additionally, Azure had an air of superiority on her, but not the bad kind. She simply appeared like a powerful and outstanding woman. It wasn't mindless pride but confidence.

Lastly, Azure was very direct and always voiced her thoughts.

As for her beast body?

Mortis got reminded of Yersi and Jake.

Jake wasn't attracted to a beast body, but he had still been entranced with Yersi. Back then, Mortis had seen no issue with it. It wasn't like Yersi's true body was a beast. No, she simply had two bodies. None of the two bodies were true or false. Additionally, almost all beasts lived in their human form due to the greater connection with the Laws. Even more, humans had hands that could use weapons.

In a sense, the only things that differentiated a human from a beast were their abilities and origin.

Everything else was the same.

"No, that's also not it," Mortis added.

"Then what?" Azure asked. "I don't get it. Is it that spark you talked about earlier? But then, you said that the spark isn't necessary. What's the harm in trying?"

Mortis' mind was overwhelmed at the moment.

He couldn't find a reason to reject Azure since all her words were logically sound.

However, Mortis still felt hesitant.

'Is that stubbornness?' Mortis thought. 'I can't find a logical counterargument, but I still don't want to concede the argument.'

'If I can't find any arguments, doesn't that mean that I'm incorrect?'

Mortis looked at Azure.

'She's actually right. What's the harm in trying? It can't really get worse than it currently is.'

For some reason, Mortis became very nervous.

"I mean, if you're fine with it. We can see if it works," Mortis said.

Azure smiled with excitement. "Great!"

Ten seconds of awkward silence.

"So, how do we try?" Azure asked in confusion.

Mortis smiled awkwardly and sat down.

Then, he patted the place beside him.

"Let's just try sitting beside each other and talk."

Azure became interested and sat down beside Mortis.

"What do we talk about?" Azure asked after some seconds.

"Anything," Mortis said.

Chapter 1147 - 1147 – Plants

After a couple of days, the Myriad Sect decided that it was time to give Meadow her present.

Everything had already been prepared.

In the last couple of days, Meadow had heard about everything that had happened. Most of the things were interesting to her but hearing about Sary's death made Meadow melancholic.

However, Sary's death wasn't in vain, and she would give one last present to Meadow.

"We've gathered all our dead companions as well as their enemies in the underground mausoleum," Manuel explained to Meadow. "Their bodies, minds, and Spirits have vanished, but their Laws have been isolated by a Formation Array."

"Over the long years, all the Energy in the mausoleum vanished, but the Laws were left behind. As plants, you can absorb all the Laws in the mausoleum, which will increase your own strength by several magnitudes."

"We originally had asked Narcissus to absorb these Laws, but he said that he already knew many of them, and if he decided to siphon out the remaining Laws, many Laws would go to waste."

Manuel looked at Meadow with a smile. "But with you here, we no longer need to wait. Now, you two can absorb these Laws together."

"You bought me dinner? You shouldn't have," Meadow said sarcastically. "Tell me what you want in exchange. I'm pretty sure that you're not buying me dinner just to get in on all this action I can provide."

Manuel only smiled awkwardly. He hadn't been in contact with Meadow before, and her manner of speech was a little unusual. "We also have bought a very expensive Formation Array to keep plants hidden from prying eyes. Even Ancestral Gods can't see through that Formation Array. Honestly, you can't imagine how expensive it was."

"And now you are even protecting me from the mean delinquents on the outside. Aw, you're so kind," Meadow said in a mocking tone. "Whatever can this innocent maiden do for you?"

"I would like you to guarantee the survival of our weaker disciples in eventual wars in the future," Manuel said.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Meadow asked.

"Simple. Whenever one of the disciples is about to die, you simply extend your roots and pull them out of the fight, leaving the enemy to someone else."

Silence.

"Why?" Meadow asked. "Aren't you humans all about Will-Auras? Wouldn't something like that damage your Will-Auras or whatever?"

"You haven't been in contact with humans before," Manuel added. "So, it's only logical that you don't know some things. Your logic would be sound when we are talking about battles between individuals, but it's different when Sects are warring with each other."

"We are always in danger in the wars, and everyone knows that our goal is not to temper ourselves but to win. Everyone knows that someone will try to save us during the fights."

"Of course, knowing that you can be saved makes the growth of a Will-Aura weaker since you wouldn't feel like you would certainly die as soon as you lose. The certainty of death would be replaced with a chance."

"However, this allows us to intervene in fights without damaging the Will-Auras of our disciples. Of course, in exchange, the Will-Auras won't grow as much as when we wouldn't save them. It's a risk and reward thing. On an individual basis, it's high risk, high reward, and in Sect warfare, it's low risk, low reward."

"You only run into trouble with Will-Auras when you try to make it low risk, high reward, but we're obviously not doing that."

Silence.

"That's it?" Meadow asked. "You only want me to protect some disciples?"

Manuel nodded. "That's it."

"You don't want me to make any Law Comprehension Life Fruits or anything else?"

"No," Manuel answered. "Narcissus will do that, but in turn, he won't protect our disciples in a war."

After a moment of deliberation, Meadow agreed. "You've got yourself a deal," she answered.

"Glad to hear," Manuel answered.

Meadow had essentially gotten something incredible for nothing. Plants had the ability to slowly consume others to learn more about their Laws, and Meadow was about to extend her roots into a room full of many different Laws.

She would probably comprehend several level six Laws thanks to that room.

And what did she have to do in return?

Work a little bit every once in a while.

In comparison, Narcissus had it harder. Creating Law Comprehension Life Fruits ate at one's Realm, and the process of infusing the pure Laws into the fruits used up a lot of concentration. On top of that, one needed a vast amount of Life Energy to create them.

However, in return, plants could trade these Law Comprehension Life Fruits for other things. Law Comprehension Life Fruits were worth a lot of money, and because of that, a plant had a method to make a lot of money very quickly just by being a plant.

One had to remember that plants were not beasts.

Yes, plants were often talked about in the same manner as beasts, but they were inherently different.

Beasts would eventually become very similar to humans, but the same things were not true for plants.

A plant would not receive a Spirit when it became a Star God. A plant wouldn't undergo any major transformations.

It would essentially remain the same.

Even more, it was basically impossible for plants to reach the Heaven's Magnate Realm. Plants had no issue with eventually comprehending the Law of the Dead World and the Law of Life, but the Law of Emotions and Law of Perceived Reality would be very difficult for a plant to comprehend.

But in exchange, a plant received other advantages.

First of all, the plant didn't need to temper itself. It only needed lots of Energy, Life Energy, access to Laws, and time.

Second of all, plants automatically comprehended Laws with time. Comprehending Laws in this way was more of a random thing, and most of the Laws wouldn't even be that useful in combat, but it was a way to comprehend more Laws. If the plant wanted other Laws, it had to seek out Law Comprehension Areas or consume other living things that knew these Laws.

Third, plants had ten times the longevity of all other lifeforms.

Meadow would soon become a Star God, and when that happened, she would be able to live for ten million more years. In comparison, other Star Gods only had one million years.

Due to that, even though plants couldn't become Heaven's Magnates, a Divine God plant would still be able to live longer than a Heaven's Magnate.

Now, the question was, why did Orthar create plants in such a way?

Plants were created in such a way to help other lifeforms become more powerful, faster. These Law Comprehension Life Fruits would accelerate the Law Comprehension of other Cultivators, allowing them to become more powerful in less time, which would give Orthar more Energy.

So, with all of this explained, one could see how Meadow had it easier than Narcissus in that exchange.

Narcissus had to concentrate on creating fruits, while Meadow could just do nothing for most of the time.

Plants didn't need to travel the world, meet other people, talk to others, or all these things humans and beasts desired.

They were content with just staying in a place that felt comfortable and simply living.

And right now, Meadow was essentially in the most comfortable place in the world.

Chapter 1148 - 1148 – Love Narcissus and Meadow eventually extended their roots into the mausoleum, and they quickly started to absorb all the Laws inside the mausoleum.

Of course, since they didn't want to waste anything, the absorption would take a long time, over 50,000 years in fact, but by the end of it, they would have both comprehended many Laws. They might even be able to comprehend over ten level six Laws each, which was ridiculously fast.

Gravis alone needed about 20,000 years for a level six Law, and with Mortis' help, it would become two level six Laws. In 50,000 years, they would only be able to comprehend five level six Laws.

Yet, Meadow and Narcissus would comprehend over double that amount during that timeframe, which was ridiculous. After all, Gravis was already very fast when it came to comprehending Laws.

So, the Myriad Sect went back to its peaceful and isolated state. Right now, all the disciples were focused on comprehending Laws and increasing their Realm. They had gone through a lot of tempering, and they had to make use of that past tempering to increase their actual power.

However, just a couple of years after all of this, a humongous surprise shook the Sect.

Their Commander had gotten into a relationship with Mortis.

When Gravis heard that Mortis and Azure were now together, he had been unable to think for nearly a minute.

Azure hadn't even been on Gravis' radar for an eventual partner for Mortis.

Yet, as Gravis continued thinking about this new development, he realized that it actually shouldn't be that surprising.

Azure was very similar to Mortis in many ways. Both of them didn't talk much, and both of them also kept a certain distance from others. It was like both of them were uncomfortable with getting close to others.

However, this discomfort wasn't because of malice or derision but because of a fear of committing mistakes when talking to others. Mortis thought of himself as an unfeeling, cold villain that only cared about himself. Meanwhile, Azure was uncertain of how humans processed their emotions, and she didn't want to accidentally step on someone's toes.

One could say that both of them were overly careful, for one reason or another.

Gravis actually had no problem with that development.

Gravis genuinely held no romantic feelings towards Azure, and he didn't get jealous just because he had three kids with her. As far as Azure was concerned, she didn't even have any children. That also didn't change just because she had suddenly gotten human emotions. The entire matter with her three children had been so far in the past that there was not really any regret.

There was also no resentment between the parties. Back then, Azure's three children also hadn't cared about their mother. They had been beasts in a beast world, and they hadn't cared about their mother because of that.

So, eventually, the chance of developing any familial love had passed.

Now, they were only companions in the same Sect.

How had all of this happened?

Well, when Azure and Mortis had overcome the initial awkwardness of their new situation, they had simply started talking about their shared past.

Azure mostly talked about how the beasts in her middle world had seen the world and why they were acting in the way they were acting. In comparison, Mortis was explaining to her how humans would have acted and why they acted this way.

Their conversation branched out into many different topics, including warfare, Cultivation mindset, personalities, and many other things.

Before they knew it, they had been talking animatedly for over a year.

During that time, they had become so used to each other that the presence of the other didn't even feel strange anymore.

Even though they had talked for only a year, which was nothing in comparison to their long lives, they felt like they had talked for thousands of years.

It felt so incredibly normal to be in each other's presence.

After a while, the distance between them had reduced, and they even started to touch the other person when they got sidetracked.

Then, one day, Azure simply put her legs on Mortis' legs, which surprised him. Azure simply said that it felt more comfortable this way.

Mortis had realized that something had changed. Therefore, he stood up and said that it didn't work out between them and that he would leave.

Azure was shocked for a moment.

And then, Mortis unveiled that he had only said that to show Azure that she had changed. Mortis had asked Azure how she had felt when Mortis had said these words.

Azure had been silent for a while, but eventually, she had said that it had pained her, which was a very alien feeling to her.

She had never cared about anyone else in such a way.

Then, Mortis sat back down again and told her that this was attraction.

After that, Mortis explained to Azure thoroughly how attraction worked and how it would eventually develop into love.

When Azure heard that, she could finally confirm that she was different now.

She could love.

Was this a good or bad change?

Honestly, she wasn't sure, but for the moment, she liked how she felt.

So, Azure went in closer to Mortis since Mortis had said that physical closeness would help in developing more love.

Azure was doing her best to feel love since she wanted to know how it felt, and she followed Mortis' advice.

Eventually, the two of them began to kiss and hug each other, and after a quiet moment, Mortis' mind began shivering.

Azure noticed and asked what was up.

Mortis answered that he was fearful of what would happen from now on. He stood at the threshold of love, and he was afraid that what he would experience behind the door wouldn't live up to his imagination.

Mortis had always appeared stoic and strong to Azure, and seeing this new side of his had surprised her.

Yet, something inside of Azure pulled her even closer to Mortis after seeing that side of his.

After a year of mostly silence and closeness, the two of them took the last step and united.

Azure was feeling as great as never before, and she finally experienced what love was.

And it was beautiful.

After their first time, Mortis had still been unsure, but when he saw the smiling Azure laying beside him, his doubts vanished.

This was the thing he had been missing.

This was the thing that Joyce had never been able to give him.

Right now, Azure was an open book to Mortis, and Mortis knew that she cared about him deeply. Sure, Mortis knew that one reason why Azure had chosen him was that she just wanted to experience love for the first time and that he was at the right place at the right time.

However, Mortis had also been attractive to Azure. Azure wasn't stupid, and she knew that if it turned out that she could feel love, she wouldn't want to be stuck with a person she didn't like.

One should never forget that Azure was nearly 400,000 years old. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Eventually, the two of them talked openly with each other, and both of them said that they were happy that the other one had chosen them.

They both almost felt themselves undeserving of the other person, but the other person always assured them that they were.

The feelings he had felt from Gravis back then had returned.

This was love.

And this time, it was Mortis' love, not Gravis' love.

For the first time, Mortis was genuinely happy to be alive.

Chapter 1149 - 1149 – Power Surge More time passed.

15,000 years after Mortis got together with Azure, Gravis managed to finish the Law of Stone. It had taken longer than expected since he didn't have Mortis' help during all of this.

Mortis was spending nearly all of his time with Azure, which was a good thing in Gravis' mind. Gravis knew how it felt to be in love, and he wasn't angry with Mortis. After all, Gravis had also spent a lot of time with Stella back then while Mortis was comprehending more Laws.

This was the first time that Mortis didn't focus on power, which showed that Mortis finally had found something that he found more important.

Mortis finally found happiness.

From what it looked like, Azure and Mortis were a perfect couple, and they were constantly with each other.

Mortis had even once come to Gravis and had thanked him sincerely for giving him the chance to experience life again. The old Mortis had decided to sacrifice himself for Gravis, but the new Mortis couldn't imagine sacrificing himself for anything.

Gravis only smiled brightly and told Mortis that there was nothing to be thanked for.

After Gravis had comprehended the Law of Stone, he had also directly finished the level seven Law of Pure Elements, which allowed Gravis' Law of the Dead World to use the Pure Elements instead of the Mixed Elements.

For Gravis, this didn't make a difference. The Mixed Elements could be pushed to the power of a level seven Law, and they would only have trouble in becoming more powerful after that. For example, Stella had the Law of the Dead World as her Avatar, which gave it the power of a level eight Law. However, the Mixed Elements could only be pushed to the power of a level 7.5 Law.

Meanwhile, if Stella had the level seven Law of Pure Elements, the Elements could be pushed to the power of a level eight Law, and they could even be strengthened further to the power of a level 8.5 Law. Of course, there wasn't actually a way to push these Elements any further without the True Law of the Dead World or the Major Law of the True World.

It had taken a while, but Gravis had finally finished the level seven Law of the Pure Elements.

The next Law Gravis was focused on was the level seven Law of Temperatures, which also required the level six Laws of Heat and Cold.

Sadly, the Myriad Sect only had access to a Law Comprehension Area for the level six Law of Heat. Gravis would need to go somewhere else for the level six Law of Cold.

Comprehending the level six Law of Heat only took Gravis 10,000 years, which was incredibly fast for a level six Law. This was one of the reasons why Gravis had focused on the level seven Law of Pure Elements. Nearly everything physical was derived from the Elements in some way, and knowing everything about the Elements would make it far easier to comprehend related Laws.

Gravis inquired about the level six Law of Cold, and he got some great news.

Narcissus knew the level six Law of Cold, and he could simply give Gravis some Law Comprehension Life Fruits. Payment wasn't necessary since Gravis was essentially the backer and spiritual pillar for the Myriad Sect.

So, Gravis comprehended the level six Law of Cold in just a couple of centuries.

After that, Gravis isolated himself and concentrated on comprehending the level seven Law of Temperatures. He didn't need a Law Comprehension Area to comprehend that Law. He only needed to combine the Law of Cold and Heat.

Of course, it still took a long time, and if Gravis hadn't already known so many level seven Laws, he would have even needed to temper himself.

Comprehending a level seven Law was far more difficult and time-consuming than comprehending a level six Law.

In total, Gravis spent around 40,000 years comprehending the level seven Law of Temperatures.

And before he knew it, the 100,000 years of peace were about to come to an end.

As promised, Gravis left the Myriad Sect and went on his way, and Mortis followed him.

Mortis had spent enough time with Azure, and Mortis knew that he also had to work on his own path to power. He had already started to feel guilty for leaving Gravis alone in comprehending Laws.

This time, Gravis and Mortis wouldn't protect the Myriad Sect secretly.

If the Myriad Sect lost any war, they would be at the total mercy of their opponents.

Of course, Gravis did all of this to allow the Myriad Sect to rise. Under his constant protection, the Myriad Sect couldn't truly undergo tempering. They had to take real risks and face real dangers to grow.

Naturally, another reason why Gravis left was that the Myriad Sect had undergone a huge transformation.

By now, the Myriad Sect had over 40 Star Gods and over ten million Peak Immortal Emperors.

The Peak Immortal Emperors could delay many level one Star Gods, and the actual Star Gods of the Myriad Sect were outstanding.

Even more, the Myriad Sect had three very outstanding Star Gods.

The first one was Manuel, who had finally managed to comprehend a level seven Form Law without any help from the Law of Emotions. If Manuel added the Law of Emotions, the Form Law would be able to unleash the power of a level eight Law.

Manuel's Form Law was even more powerful than Gravis' Form Law at this moment.

Manuel could jump two levels in the Star God Realm, which was insane. One had to remember that Realm jumps in the Star God Realm were very different from Realm jumps in the earlier Realms.

The second outstanding Star God was Stella. Stella had been with Gravis, which meant that she had also already benefited from all of his Laws.

Stella could now use the Major Law of the Dead World to augment the level six Pure Elements and the Law of Temperatures.

This meant that Stella had access to nine Elements with the power of level eight Laws.

Together with Stella's powerful Will-Aura, she was now able to jump three levels, which was a level that only the most powerful geniuses of the Peak Sects could achieve.

Stella now fully counted as one of the Star Gods with the most powerful Battle-Strength.

The third outstanding Star God was Azure.

One had to remember that it wasn't only Gravis that knew the Law of Empathy. Mortis also knew it, and his time with Azure had transformed her.

Azure had comprehended nearly all of the Laws that Stella knew, and she now also had access to the Law of the Dead World together with the level seven Laws of Temperatures and Pure Elements.

Sadly, Azure's newly condensed Will-Aura was only a bit above average, which only allowed her to fight someone two levels above herself.

These three were the most powerful Star Gods in the Myriad Sect. They were so powerful that even Peak Sects would specifically send someone to scout them if they knew that these three existed.

Of course, one also couldn't forget Exar, Narcissus, Broad Walker, and Meadow. The four of them could fight one level above themselves, which was also incredible.

Lastly, the Myriad Sect had also accepted two new members, and they were very familiar to the Elders.

One of them was a new level one Star God, and the other one was a Peak Immortal Emperor.

When those two joined, the Elders welcomed them with open arms. Gravis was also there to welcome them with pride.

They were Jake and Yersi.

Jake had become a Star God, and Yersi had become a Peak Immortal Emperor.

Gravis had been in the highest world for nearly 200,000 years now, which was about 40% of his entire life. When he had come back from the higher world, Yersi had still been an Immortal, but that had changed.

Yersi had comprehended a couple of level six Laws by now, and she had been only missing one more to create a level seven Law.

The Law that she was missing was the level six Law of Time. After comprehending it, Yersi could create the Law of Primordial Force.

Gravis happily helped Yersi in comprehending this Law by giving her a trip through Samsara.

And then, Yersi had also become a Star God.

For the first time, Yersi and her husband were on the same level of power, and they also joined all their friends and family.

Yersi and Jake were now truly a part of Gravis' group of friends and family.

Chapter 1150 - 1150 – Money Problems… Again After leaving the Myriad Sect, Gravis focused on his next goal. The level six Laws were basically done, except for the Life Laws. However, since the Life Laws wouldn't be that useful to Gravis, he decided to leave them for way later. He would only focus on them when he was concentrating on the True main Laws.

So, Gravis focused on the level seven Laws, and the first level seven Laws he focused on were the three Laws of Pure Materials.

Gravis had been putting off comprehending these Laws for two reasons.

First of all, Gravis wanted to comprehend the Laws of the Elements before attempting the Material Laws. Comprehending the Elemental Laws first would make it far easier for Gravis to comprehend the Material Laws. After all, the Materials were all created by the Elements.

Second, comprehending the Material Laws was an annoying hassle. There were no Law Comprehension Areas for the level seven Material Laws. Gravis needed to essentially gather all the pure materials of the world, which wasn't easy. There were pure materials on the level of Ancestral Gods, and if Gravis wanted to create them, he would need to spend an incredible amount of Energy.

On top of that, he would have to go to all the different kinds of territories and climates to condense them, and even then, creating these materials depended on luck. Since Gravis didn't know the Law of the Materials yet, he couldn't consciously create them.

This was why Gravis only focused on comprehending these Laws now. The True Law of Hard Pure Materials was especially important to him. Without that Law, Gravis couldn't even attempt to fight someone five or six levels above himself. His sabers would just break into pieces on the first clash with the enemy.

Gravis had asked Jake about a way to comprehend the three level seven Laws of Pure Materials since Jake had been working in the Smart Cultivator for a long time.

Jake said that there was a way to quickly comprehend these Laws without any long-term consequences to Gravis' comprehension ability, but it was ridiculously expensive.

There were no Virtualization Arrays for the True Laws of Pure Materials, but there were material sets.

As the name suggested, Material sets were sets of all the available materials. These materials had been created and gathered from all over the world, and the sets were specifically made for people to comprehend the True Material Laws.

Of course, the price for tons upon tons of materials was ridiculously high.

Jake had told Gravis that he would need to pay one billion God Stones per set.

When Gravis had heard the price, he took a deep breath through his teeth. The entire Myriad Sect only had a bit over one billion God Stones, and Gravis would never ask them for so much money.

Gravis realized that he needed three billion God Stones to comprehend the three level seven Laws of Pure Materials.

If Gravis joined The Heaven Company with his new power, he would only make around 15,000 Contribution Points per century. That corresponded to 150,000 God Stones per century.

If Gravis became a level four Star God, he would earn about 250,000 God Stones per century.

How long would it take Gravis to earn three billion God Stones when he earned 250,000 God Stones per century?

About 1.2 million years!

That was a long time!

No wonder all the forgers that knew the level seven Law of Hard Pure Materials asked for so much money!

Comprehending that Law had taken the forgers an incredible investment, and they knew that there weren't many public forgers with that Law. Most of them were inside Sects, and they only forged for their Sect members.

However, the investment had been worth it. Forgers that knew the True Hard Pure Material Law were making a ridiculous amount of money.

Gravis could also make that much money, but he had to comprehend the necessary Laws first.

Gravis realized that joining The Heaven Company for these three Laws wasn't an option. Other Star Gods might be willing to invest so much time, but Gravis wasn't willing. He wanted to comprehend it faster.

But he needed money.

So, Gravis went to the most experienced person regarding earning money in the world.

His mother.

Gravis visited his parents quite frequently, so he didn't feel awkward about asking for some advice. If Gravis visited rarely, he would only feel like an unthankful person that only visited them when he needed something. Luckily, Gravis wasn't such a person.

"So, you want to earn money, huh?" Gravis' mother asked with a smirk. "You came to the right person."

"I know, mom," Gravis said with a smile. "When it comes to earning money, you're the best."

Gravis' mother nodded several times with a proud smile. "So, how much do you need?"

"Three billion God Stones," Gravis said.

"Three billion God Stones?" Gravis' mother asked as she fell into thought.

Three billion God Stones was way more than any Star God needed, which surprised her. Even the Virtualization Arrays wouldn't need that much money.

But then, she remembered something, and everything clicked. "You want the three material sets, right?" she asked with a smirk.

Gravis smiled bitterly. "Yep. You guessed correctly."

Gravis' mother nodded with a smirk. "For starters, you should focus on earning one billion God Stones. That's enough to buy the set for hard pure materials, and after knowing that, you can easily earn the remainder yourself."

"Okay, but one billion is still a lot," Gravis said.

"It is," she replied. "You know the Major Law of the Dead World, which allows you to theoretically earn a lot of money via forging. Yet, there is an issue."

"The market for World Weapons in the Star God Realm is big, but people that have the kind of money to buy World Weapons also have the kind of money to buy World Weapons made out of hard pure materials."

"In short, basically no one will buy World Weapons from you since you don't know the True Hard Pure Material Law."

Gravis nodded. "I was thinking about earning money with Samsara."

Gravis' mother knew about Samsara. After hearing about Gravis' suggestion, she surprisingly didn't immediately agree. "The potential for earning money with Samsara is incredible. You can teach someone the Major Law of Time and increase their Will-Aura during the process. There is nearly no supply for that but an incredible demand. Theoretically, you could earn far more money this way than with World Weapons."

"But?" Gravis asked, knowing that a but would come.

"But security is an issue," she continued explaining. "Having some danger isn't a problem, but the danger must be explainable. Without being able to read someone's Law fragments, you can't determine their chances of surviving Samsara. If you can't read their Law fragments, it will only be a matter of time until you kill someone important."

"Samsara has a unique kind of danger to it. Geniuses, who are respected by everyone, might not survive Samsara, while some random weakling will survive it just fine. This will push doubt on your abilities. Not only will you make a lot of enemies, but after a couple uses of Samsara, no one will buy it anymore due to the unstable nature of its associated danger."

"So, to counteract that, you can only use it on Peak Immortal Emperors since you can read their Law fragments. Yet, there aren't that many Peak Immortal Emperors with a lot of money. You could theoretically reduce the price for undergoing Samsara, but that would mean that you would also need to undergo many more Samsaras. I know that you have some resistance to the effect of Samsara but are you fine with undergoing hundreds?" she asked.

Gravis shook his head. "No. Helping my friends undergo Samsara has already exhausted me back then. Even more, every Samsara makes my perception of time accelerate. It's like 100,000 years are only 10,000 years, even though 100,000 years already represent about a quarter of my life. My perception of time is already as fast as someone who's millions of years old."

Gravis' mother nodded. "That's the problem. You can't undergo too many. It may seem like you don't pay a manufacturing cost for Samsara, but that's only when you look at the money. You pay a manufacturing cost in the form of your own wellbeing, which is something I obviously don't support."

Gravis sighed. "So, Samsara is a no-go?" he asked.

She nodded. "I wouldn't want you to put yourself through that."

"Then, what else is there?" Gravis asked.

"Tell me about your Laws and abilities. I'm sure we can find something."

Gravis nodded and proceeded to tell his mother about his Laws.

For most of the time, she only looked neutrally at Gravis, but when Gravis came to a certain Law, she immediately interrupted him.

"What was that?" she asked in surprise. "Repeat that!"

"The True Law of Suffering," Gravis repeated.

When Gravis saw his mother's eyes, he could swear he saw an image of God Stones reflected in them.