Ch. 1301..1310

Chapter 1301 – Reason to Survive

"Oh, lookie here. Look who's come out of his cave to join the family," Meadow said as Gravis walked closer to her and Narcissus.

At the moment, Meadow and Narcissus were staying under the Heavenly Divine Sect. The Core Plant had allowed them to stay here for the time being, but it had also made clear that it wouldn't give up its spot. At some point, the two of them would have to leave.

Of course, Meadow and Narcissus had planned that anyway. Plants on that level didn't need to fight anymore. After all, plants didn't have Will-Auras. The only things they needed were Laws and some combat experience.

There was no reason to fight the Core Plant of the Heavenly Divine Sect over its spot. They could literally go anywhere else.

Surprisingly, Gravis didn't clap back at Meadow. Instead, he only looked at her with concern. "Is everything alright with you two? A lot of our friends have died."

"Aw, look! He's worried about us. How cute," Meadow answered with a ridiculing sneer. "What? You think that I'm some baby that can't handle some death? Death is normal. So what if some people died?"

Gravis also looked at Narcissus, who didn't answer.

When Gravis saw their Law fragments, he realized once again that plants were very different from humans and beasts.

Meadow said she didn't care about the death of so many of their friends.

Was that the truth?

Yes, it was the truth.

Plants were mostly devoid of empathy. Yes, Meadow had enjoyed being around everyone, but that joy had no added feelings of companionship or closeness.

Having someone close to Meadow die wasn't much different from just saying goodbye to a person she had met on a trip. She had enjoyed their company, and they had laughed a lot, but after the person left, she wouldn't drop into grief.

It was just normal.

Hello and goodbye.

Sure, she couldn't have more fun with the dead person anymore, but that wasn't so bad. It sucked to some degree, but it wasn't hard to accept the change.

That also wouldn't change if Narcissus died. Meadow and Narcissus simply stayed together since they were useful to each other. They would both fight together, which meant that they both were safer than if they were alone.

Having children? It was just a fun side-activity.

When they both reached the Peak Divine God Realm, they would also split up. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to stay together after that.

This cold feeling of uncaring apathy would turn away many people, but that was just how plants were.

They loved having fun, but they would never bond with anyone.

It was simply impossible for them.

Gravis knew that, but he still enjoyed being in Meadow's company. He knew that Meadow had no close connection to him from her side, but that wasn't actually important. Gravis had chosen to have her as his friend.

"That's good," Gravis said. "You're at the seventh level of the Divine God Realm now. Seems like you are basically already completely safe in this world since the Heaven's Magnates won't attack you."

"I don't take chances," Narcissus commented evenly.

Silence.

"What are you living for?" Gravis asked after a while.

This question came to Gravis after he saw their Law fragments. Gravis wanted to be alive to feel love, happiness, and freedom. He wanted to see more of the world, and he wanted to spend time with his loved ones. He also wanted to become more powerful.

Yet, for plants, everything was different.

They didn't care about love.

They didn't care about friendship.

They didn't care about freedom as long as it didn't interfere with their survival.

They basically cared about nothing but staying alive.

In Gravis' mind, that seemed pointless and aimless. It was like they were living for literally nothing.

That was why Gravis had asked the question.

"Life," Narcissus answered.

"Life?" Gravis asked.

"Yes, life," Narcissus repeated. "The purpose of life is a circle at its fundamentals. Those who want to survive, survive, and those who don't want to survive don't survive. Therefore, every living being wants to survive. After all, all the ones that didn't care about life aren't alive."

"You are alive because you want to be alive. If you didn't, you would simply disperse into Energy. Friendship, love, power, vanity, all of these things are additional purposes. On the fundamentals, you are simply alive because you want to be alive."

"I am alive because I want to be alive, and I want to be alive because I am alive," Narcissus explained.

The concept was very abstract, but Gravis understood Narcissus' reasoning.

"So, you only want to stay alive because you are already alive?" Gravis asked.

"Correct," Narcissus answered.

"What if you died?" Gravis asked.

"Then I will be dead," Narcissus answered.

"Would that bother you?"

"No," Narcissus answered. "When I am dead, I can't feel. Therefore, I also can't be bothered by anything."

"Then, why stay alive?" Gravis asked. "After all, dying doesn't bother you."

"Because I want to," Narcissus answered.

"That's it?" Gravis asked.

"I don't want to repeat myself needlessly. I explained it enough times to you," Narcissus said before becoming quiet.

Gravis remained silent as he thought about Narcissus' words.

"Is that also true for you, Meadow?" he asked.

"Of course," Meadow answered confidently.

She didn't clarify any further.

'Staying alive because you want to,' Gravis thought. 'It's rather ironic. Plants can't comprehend the Law of Freedom. Yet, their very existence is rooted in the Law of Freedom.'

'Of course, I also want to stay alive because I want to, but I want to stay alive because of many different reasons. I rely on these other reasons to fuel my desire to survive, but plants don't need that.'

'They simply live because they are alive.'

'It's so incredibly simple, yet so incredibly robust and strong. Humans and beasts can lose their desire to stay alive, but plants can't.'

'I wonder, is the ability to choose death also a part of freedom?'

'If I can choose wanting to die, would that mean I have more freedom?'

'Yet, my desire to choose death would come from my other goals vanishing and being destroyed. Would it even be my choice at that point?'

Gravis knew a lot of powerful Laws, and he had gained incredible insights into the truth of the Cosmos.

The plants couldn't comprehend the Laws of Perceived Reality, but their existence is rooted very deeply in them.

In order to stay alive, plants desired control and safety.

Plants avoided danger.

Plants also avoided suppression most of the time since suppression was often accompanied by danger and a lack of control.

And freedom? The very reason for their survival was based on freedom.

The plants were created with all the Laws, just like every other living being.

Yet, they couldn't interact or interface with one of the major categories.

In the end, it all boiled down to one thing.

The plants couldn't interact with the Laws of Perceived Reality because Orthar had designed them that way.

Orthar mainly focused on humans since he had given them a Spirit and a Will-Aura. These two things were important for Orthar's power since he could borrow the Spirits and Will-Auras from his Cosmos and unleash them on the outside.

Initially, beasts were designed as fodder for humans, but throwing away the very talented beasts would also be a waste of resources. The weaker beasts were destined to be fodder for humans, while the truly talented beasts reached the same importance as humans.

And plants were there to support both humans and beasts. Plants were not interested in killing others for tempering, and they only wanted to become more powerful. Then, the plants would create Law Comprehension Life Fruits, which they would exchange.

Without the Core Plants, all the Peak Divine Gods in the Peak Sects would only have half of their Laws. After all, they relied a lot on the Law Comprehension Life Fruits of the Core Plants. Without them, it would become much harder to comprehend level nine Laws.

Orthar took away the plants' ability to comprehend the Laws of Perceived Reality to stop them from searching for more power. A Spirit was also important to comprehending these Laws.

Yet, if they had a Spirit, the plants would need to battle to increase their Will-Aura, which would kill unripe crops for Orthar. At that point, the plants would just join the beasts and humans.

So, it was better to have them as a support to beasts and humans.

Gravis threw one last look at Meadow and Narcissus.

They were level seven Divine Gods now, and they weren't worried about anything anymore.

They didn't need to stay hidden.

If they wanted, they could leave the Heavenly Divine Sect and could go wherever they wanted.

The Cultivation world no longer bothered them.

Narcissus and Meadow had essentially reached their goal.

From now on, they would simply continue living until their longevity ran out.

Meadow and Narcissus had survived, and they had reached the end.

They were on the top of the world now.

Their journey to the top had ended because they had reached it.

Chapter 1302 – Journey's End

"Glad to see you again, Gravis. I always knew that you would get through this," Manuel said with a smile when he saw Gravis.

"Glad to see you're doing well, Manuel," Gravis said with a smile. "So, how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" Manuel asked.

"Being at the top of the world," Gravis answered.

Manuel looked into the distance with a complex expression. "It doesn't feel much different from normal. I think that's mainly because I haven't truly been in this state for long enough. I still feel like I need to become more powerful, and I still feel like I have to increase the power of the Heavenly Divine Sect even more."

"In the past, I always knew that there was an even higher world waiting for me. Because of that, I never truly felt like I was at the peak. But now, there is no higher world. I am in the highest world, and no new world is waiting for me."

"I'm just here, and I basically have no enemies left, at least not until more Peak Divine Gods appear in the world."

"It's weird. It's like something I have been doing for my entire life suddenly vanished."

"In a way, I feel a bit aimless," Manuel explained.

"What's your goal?" Gravis asked.

"A couple million years ago, I would have said that I wanted to become a Heaven's Magnate, but I'm not so sure if I will ever reach that."

"Why are you so certain?" Gravis asked.

Manuel only smiled bitterly. "Gravis, you know that I am a person with a great affinity for control. Logically, I would also want to learn about that one elusive Law I still needed. So, yes, I know about the Law of Freedom, even though you all told me several times that it's a bad idea to look into it."

Gravis also smiled bitterly. "You couldn't help yourself, huh?"

"No, I couldn't," Manuel said with a sigh. "I still don't get the Law of Freedom. Freedom is making your own choices, right? I have the freedom to make any choice I want. I know all the necessary information, and I can choose whatever choice I want."

"So, how is it possible that I can't comprehend freedom? In my perception, I'm about as free as I can be right now."

"Are you?" Gravis asked.

Manuel looked at Gravis with a skeptical expression. "Everyone that's more powerful than me is not interested in going against me. Therefore, I can do whatever I want."

"What about yourself?" Gravis asked.

"Myself?" Manuel asked with confusion.

"Can you do whatever you want? Are you comfortable with every decision you've ever made?" Gravis asked.

"Of course not," Manuel said with a chuckle. "In life, we often have to make decisions we don't like. Otherwise, we can't achieve our goal. If I always did what I wanted, I wouldn't be alive anymore."

"So, you can't do whatever you want," Gravis said.

Manuel groaned. "If you are adamant about splitting hairs, yes, I can't always do what I want."

"So, you're not free," Gravis said.

Manuel frowned when he heard that. "Gravis, I can't just always follow every whim of my emotions. Doing the right thing is sometimes something I don't want to do. You can be selfish and do whatever you want, but at that point, nobody will follow you, and those few people that are still following you will be in constant fear of your emotional whims."

"If I wanted to destroy an enemy Sect, but the Sect is too powerful, I can't just go ahead and attack them just because I want to destroy them. I have to do many small tasks to get to the point where I can destroy them."

"Why not?" Gravis asked.

"Because I would die, Gravis," Manuel said with a flat tone.

Gravis only sighed when he heard Manuel.

Manuel was as perfect as it could be. He treated everyone around him with genuine care, and he never shied away from responsibility. He always acted in a way that would benefit the most people.

Manuel was far more selfless than nearly all other Cultivators. He never tried to enrich himself, and he always gave everything to his people. In his mind, treating his people with sincerity would end up in reciprocating said sincerity.

And he was right. Everyone around Manuel supported him with all their heart and soul. They fully trusted him, and they always helped Manuel.

If Manuel needed something, the people around him would basically fight each other to give these things to Manuel. They just wanted to repay him for everything he had done for them.

Manuel was the perfect leader.

He was also the perfect friend.

Manuel was essentially perfect in every way.

And exactly that was the problem.

Manuel was too smart and too kind.

He was smart enough to always make the perfect decision, and his decisions were always perfectly supported by everyone around him.

Yet, comprehending the Law of Freedom required stupidity, selfishness, and imperfection.

Manuel didn't have these traits.

If it were possible to tell Manuel exactly how to comprehend the Law, there would even be a high chance that Manuel would actively go against that choice.

"If I have to do something like that to comprehend the Law of Freedom, then I don't want the Law of Freedom."

This would be what he would say.

It was actually ironic in a sense.

Back in the lower world, the Cultivators were affected by the temperaments of their Elements. Wind always desired freedom, and Manuel had also desired freedom.

Freedom had been his main goal.

Yet, Manuel was unable to comprehend freedom.

However, that was because Manuel's definition of freedom was off from the Cosmos' definition. In Manuel's mind, freedom meant freedom of choice, but the Cosmos said freedom was doing what one desired.

It was a subtle difference that almost bordered on trying to argue over nothing, but it was imperative.

Manuel had achieved his goal of freedom.

Sadly, he didn't achieve the Cosmos' goal of freedom.

At this moment, Gravis realized that Manuel would never comprehend the Law of Freedom.

Without the intervention of the Opposer or Orthar, Manuel wouldn't be able to comprehend it.

However, Manuel had managed to reach the very top of the world. He would soon become a level nine Divine God, and he had no enmity with the other level nine Divine Gods.

Manuel's journey had also come to an end, just like Meadow's and Narcissus' journeys.

All three of them would stop at the Peak Divine God Realm.

After this short conversation, Gravis dropped the subject, and the two of them only talked for a long while.

Manuel was one of Gravis' closest friends, and he always had been.

The two of them always had so much to talk about when they had time to talk with each other, and it was a joy to be around each other.

Before Gravis left to visit his next friend, he threw one last comment at Manuel.

"Get yourself a girlfriend. You have the time now."

Manuel only smiled bitterly.

After leaving Manuel, Gravis went to Azure.

Azure and Mortis were together, but they weren't talking much. They didn't need to talk.

Being in each other's company was enough.

Azure had also come very far.

Azure was very talented, and thanks to Mortis, she had also comprehended a terrifying number of Laws.

Sadly, Azure didn't want to think too much. She wasn't stupid, but she simply didn't want to bother with all of these small things that made up an entire situation.

She also didn't care about control much since she perceived herself to be free. Why care about control when you are free to do whatever you want?

Yet, in comparison to Manuel, Azure still had a small chance of comprehending the Law of Control, but Gravis didn't talk about that topic.

Gravis obviously wanted to help Azure, but he didn't need to.

Mortis was already helping her.

Gravis and Mortis didn't have much to talk about since they were basically always talking.

The only thing they talked about was Mortis becoming his own being.

They could now do it, but they decided against it for the time being.

They were not in danger anymore, and the ability to share Law Comprehension was too good to give up.

The two of them decided to finish the True Law of the Dead World first. Then, before they became Heaven's Magnates, they would split up.

After talking with Azure for a while, Gravis left again to visit one more person.

"So, about that thing you did back then," Gravis said to the person in front of him.

Arc only awkwardly scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.

Chapter 1303 – That Thing from Back Then

"That thing, huh?" Arc asked with an awkward smile.

Gravis nodded. "You know, when you unveiled me, I was a bit confused for a bit, but I quickly saw through the intentions of your actions."

"In a way, you were right. If I had remained hidden, sooner or later, one of the powerful Sects would notice me. At that point, I might not even know that I was already targeted. A Divine God might have appeared out of nowhere, and when that happened, they would have already sufficiently prepared themselves."

"They would have found out about my family and friends, and they would have made sure that I wouldn't be able to escape. Of course, I also knew that something like this could happen. Yet, I didn't do anything."

"Why? Because I grew complacent. I felt like, no matter what the world would throw at me, I could deal with it. After all, I have been able to deal with it every time it had occurred in the past."

"However, you were right," Gravis said. "Just because I was able to deal with it in the past didn't mean that I would be able to deal with it in the future. If I had continued like this, I might have been suppressed into nothingness."

Gravis released a sigh. "But that doesn't change the fact that you essentially threw me into one of the most dangerous situations of my entire life. Additionally, I have been forced away from my loved ones for three million years. Even my son died during that time."

Arc only looked at Gravis with an uncomfortable smile. "So, what're you going to do now?" he asked.

Gravis looked at Arc for a bit.

"Nothing," Gravis said. "Yes, I missed a huge chunk of my loved ones' lives, but they are still alive, and I can build new memories. Many of them have died, but if I had been noticed, none of them would be as powerful as they are now."

"They might even all be dead," Gravis said with a quiet voice. "If one of the Peak Sects took all my loved ones into custody, I didn't know what I would have done."

"I'm not only living for myself, but I'm also not only living for them. Yes, I would feel incredibly guilty, and this would have been the hardest decision in my life, but…"

"I think I would have still escaped, even if it meant the death of everyone I loved," Gravis said with a pained expression.

"If I gave myself up, I would never have the opportunity to gain true freedom and true power. In essence, I would have sacrificed my life so that everyone else could live for a little longer."

"However, none of them would have ever been allowed to become powerful Divine Gods."

"In essence, if any of that happened, the path of everyone I loved and my own would have been cut off."

"So, if you hadn't interfered, either all of my friends would have died, including my children and Stella, or everyone, including myself, would have died. After all, it's not certain that I could have escaped."

Gravis took a deep breath.

"I don't like to admit it. You went against my freedom, and you forced a decision upon me."

"Yet, you did the right thing," Gravis said. "Thanks to you, I still have Stella, Azure, Manuel, Meadow, Narcissus, Yersi, and Orpheus. Without you, I would be alone or dead."

Gravis looked with a complex expression at Arc. "It's hard to believe that I'm actually thanking someone that suppressed me in a way. Yet, the end result is a positive one, and you have also done this suppression with positive intentions."

"So, thanks, Arc," Gravis said with a smile.

Arc only smiled brightly.

"Does it feel familiar?" he asked.

Surprisingly, Gravis nodded. "I know what you're referring to, and I can tell the difference. I'm not na?ve as you think, Arc."

Arc nodded. "Then, that's good. Seems like I worried over nothing."

Gravis also nodded.

"Oh, one more thing," Arc said. "Keep in mind that your friends are also my friends. So, I didn't only do this for you, but also because of them. I didn't want to see them die."

"Friends?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't even been around them until then."

"Haven't I?" Arc asked with a knowing smile. "I've been around them more than you think. They simply didn't know about it."

"You were?" Gravis asked in surprise.

Arc nodded. "I like disguising myself and interacting with people. Sure, I went from Sect to Sect, but when I got bored, I often came to the small group of your friends."

"Why?" Gravis asked. "Don't tell me it's just because they are my friends. I don't think you are such a person."

"Of course not," Arc said. "There are a couple of qualities that made it very interesting to me to watch them."

"First of all, they are around you, and everything around you tends to undergo overwhelming changes."

"Second, their talents were quite good. Not sure how you managed to do it, but many of them have impressive talents when it comes to Cultivation."

"Lastly, it's their personalities. I told you that I liked to go around and bait people into attacking me. That's mainly because I enjoy taking down hypocrites and arrogant idiots."

"Yet, in the group of your friends, I couldn't find anyone like that. Even more, since they were the leaders, the normal disciples also didn't reflect these qualities. I think all of that was mostly due to Manuel."

Gravis nodded. "Manuel is incredible as a leader."

"He really is," Arc said. "If he were a bit older and more experienced, he could very well rival me. In a way, I also feel a connection with him, but one that's different from our connection."

"We two share the same goal. We want freedom and happiness."

"With Manuel, it's more of a similarity in personalities. In a way, Manuel feels a bit like a younger version of myself. Because of that, I'm interested in seeing him become powerful," Arc explained.

Gravis could see the connection Arc was talking about. Manuel's and Arc's mannerisms were very similar. If they switched bodies, one wouldn't see a difference with only a short glance.

However, after looking closer, one would feel the difference in their auras.

Confidence.

Manuel was confident in a lot of things, but the Law of Freedom was worrying him. Additionally, Manuel was always worried about the people close to him, which made him constantly reevaluate his actions and decisions.

In comparison, Arc had no worries. It was like Arc was accepting everything that came his way. However, that confidence stemmed from the fact that everything that came his way also went his way.

No one but Orthar or the Opposer could rival Arc in terms of controlling the world.

Arc was over ten billion years old.

To put that into perspective, Arc was literally over a thousand times older than Gravis.

This was the same difference in magnitude as the current Gravis when compared to the Gravis that had just gone to the higher world for the first time.

Back then, Gravis had been a weak Immortal.

Now, Gravis was unrivaled below the Heaven's Magnate Realm.

This same difference also applied to Gravis and Arc when talking about their ages.

Arc controlled the world to an impressive degree due to his accumulated knowledge and experience.

Gravis could very well see Arc as a far older version of Manuel.

Arc essentially was what Manuel strived to be.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Gravis asked.

"Not much," Arc answered. "I still feel like I've just arrived in this world. It's like I haven't had the time to really settle in, but I think I will simply just do whatever I want until my longevity runs out."

"You know, due to me being a Heaven, my creator doesn't want me to undergo tribulations. I would just waste one of the Cultivators without gaining much. So, if I ever reach the time for my tribulation, I will essentially just die."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that."

"It's fine," Arc said. "I already knew how everything would go when I accepted coming with you. Additionally, I am banking on you saving my life when it's time."

"I trust that you will be able to change how this Cosmos works. I still have about ten million years left in the Divine God Realm, and then I have another 50 million years in the Heaven's Magnate Realm."

"So, it would be real cool if you could change the world in the next 60 million years. Alright?" Arc said with a smile.

Gravis sighed, but then he chuckled a bit. "I'll try my best."

After that, the two of them only talked about random things. Even now, talking with Arc allowed Gravis to learn a lot of things.

Arc's insights were incredible, no matter what topic the two talked about.

Eventually, the two of them parted again.

After leaving Arc, Gravis went back to Stella.

He had talked to everyone except for Orpheus, but that was only because Gravis didn't have an easy way to contact Orpheus. Back then, Gravis had destroyed all his communication equipment, and Gravis also didn't know where Orpheus was currently.

Gravis could only wait for Orpheus to come to him first.

The entire world should know by now what had happened, and Orpheus should also soon hear about Gravis' whereabouts.

Gravis only hoped Orpheus was well.

Chapter 1304 – The Future

Gravis remained at Stella's side for a long time. They had a lot to catch up on.

Gravis also visited Yersi in Opposer City time and time again. He knew that Yersi probably had it the hardest at the moment, and Gravis did his best to be there for her.

After some years, Yersi finally found something she wanted to do.

Cooking.

Cooking wasn't a very popular profession, but that was mostly because of the limited customer base. After all, when one didn't need food, one wouldn't be very interested in food generally.

Additionally, people with a lot of power had very high standards since they had essentially come into contact with everything.

There was also the problem with the ingredients.

Star Gods wouldn't be interested in some Energy Gathering Beasts.

However, beasts in the Spirit Forming Realm and higher were just as intelligent as humans, making it a bit weird for most people to eat them.

Funnily enough, it was easier for beasts to eat beasts than for humans to eat beasts. Humans never needed to consume beasts to grow more powerful, and they also couldn't.

Only a beast could eat others to become more powerful, while humans couldn't. Humans had to rely on natural treasures or God Stones.

Because of that, only very few humans were actually interested.

Beasts were also not as interested since cooking something felt like a waste of effort. It would also diminish the Energy inside the corpse, and they perceived it as wasteful.

However, Yersi enjoyed it. Taking something and elevating it to greater heights was something she deeply enjoyed.

Originally, she had only been interested in cooking for herself and for Jake, but that had changed when a spoiled child from some random Sect told her that he was interested in trying her cooking.

That child loved her cooking so much that he brought his friends along to try it.

After a while, they had seen eating beasts in such a refined manner as an exotic hobby. The high prices were also not a detriment but an advantage. After all, if it was that expensive, it had to be special, right?

These people were mostly Immortals that had been artificially elevated to their Realm.

They had never fought anyone in their lives.

Yersi enjoyed it when others liked her cooking, and she expanded her repertoire of dishes and ingredients.

Sadly, her initial customers quickly left in outrage and shock shortly after Yersi had opened her restaurant.

Why?

Because human was also on the menu.

Beasts also ate humans, and it was absolutely normal.

Humans accepted that fact without any issues since it was normal, but seeing a human's remains prepared in such a delicate fashion sent shivers down their spines.

It felt unnatural.

Because of that, nearly all humans avoided Yersi's restaurant, leaving only beasts.

Yersi wasn't earning a lot of money with her restaurant, but she didn't mind. It was not a business to her but a hobby.

As a Divine God, she had enough money to keep the restaurant afloat until she died.

It was simply something to kill time.

As for where she got the ingredients from?

She simply bought them.

There was plenty of death in the Cultivation world, and since humans couldn't consume other living beings to increase their power, they always left or destroyed the corpses.

However, after seeing the prices Yersi offered, the humans simply brought the bodies back.

It was good money, after all.

As someone that perceived themselves to be a human, Gravis also felt a small shiver run down his spine when he saw Yersi's work, but he knew that he couldn't complain.

He had consumed enough humans in his life, just in a different way.

However, it still felt weird to see Yersi cooking with her "ingredient".

But in the end, Gravis didn't really care about any of this. He was only happy that Yersi had found something to do.

Yersi had changed quite a bit after what had happened last time. She had always acted like a happy little girl, but now, she mostly smiled. Her laughter had reduced by a lot.

In a way, seeing Yersi like this reminded Gravis of Orpheus.

Orpheus had laughed occasionally, but it had also not truly appeared heartfelt.

It was like Orpheus was imitating being happy.

After knowing what Orpheus had gone through, Gravis could understand.

Orpheus' family had long since died, and he had waited for his death before Gravis convinced him to continue cultivating.

In a way, the current Yersi was similar to the past Orpheus.

It was the demeanor of someone that simply waited for their end.

It hurt Gravis to see her like this, but he also knew that he couldn't do anything about it. Additionally, many things could happen in ten million years.

It was very possible that Yersi would find someone new that brought light to her life.

Speaking of Orpheus, after a couple of years, he had come to visit Gravis, and his visit had shocked Gravis.

Why?

Because Lina was beside him.

Lina, the previous Sect Master of the Eternal Fire Sect.

Gravis had been certain that Orpheus had killed everyone in the Eternal Fire Sect, which was why he was so surprised to see Lina.

Orpheus said with an awkward smile that Lina was the reason why he had avoided looking for Gravis for such a long time. After all, he knew that Gravis would have appeared in the Opposer's home at some point, and Orpheus could go there without attracting suspicion.

Orpheus explained that he had killed everyone, but when he came to Lina, he hesitated.

Orpheus didn't go into detail, but apparently, something about Lina had reminded Orpheus of his dead wife.

When Orpheus had come into contact with Lina in the past, he obviously hadn't been interested in her. He had even wanted to kill her for a long time.

Yet, after Lina had talked to Gravis, she had changed quite a bit, and her mannerisms had become rather similar to Orpheus' dead wife.

Apparently, Lina had had no idea why Orpheus had eradicated the entire Eternal Fire Sect, and she had become even more confused when Orpheus had just left after keeping her alive.

What followed were many years of them meeting each other again and again in awkward situations.

She wanted to kill Orpheus while Orpheus was drawn to her. He wanted to know why Lina felt so similar to his dead wife.

The next years essentially boiled down to one person trying to kill someone that was romantically interested in them.

The atmosphere had been very awkward between them.

Eventually, with Lina fully focusing on her power and Orpheus being so distracted, she had managed to close the gap in power between them.

Orpheus would have won the fight, but he had hesitated too many times, and his heart hadn't been in the fight.

Lina had the opportunity to finally kill Orpheus.

She had to!

He had killed her entire Sect!

But then, Lina comprehended the Law of Freedom.

Why?

Because, deep down, she didn't want to kill Orpheus.

Everything around her told her that she had to do it.

She had essentially forced herself into that decision.

But in the end, she decided against it.

Why?

Because she didn't want to.

That's when they began talking.

And eventually, they ended up together.

Yet, Orpheus had never disappointed Gravis during that time. One of the reasons why he had always stayed close to Lina was because he didn't want her to unveil Gravis' details.

Additionally, he had always kept his reason for destroying the Eternal Fire Sect a secret from her, even when they had been together.

He had only recently unveiled the true reasons for his actions.

From that moment onward, Lina hated Gravis.

However, she knew that Gravis was too powerful for her. There was a chance for her to overcome Orpheus, but she knew that she would never overcome Gravis.

So, eventually, she had given up.

Yet, she still hated Gravis, and she didn't want to come into contact with Gravis ever again.

Gravis was only happy that Orpheus was happy.

Everything had turned out okay, and Orpheus had still done a gigantic favor for Gravis.

It didn't matter whom Orpheus was with. The most important thing was that Orpheus was happy.

And sure enough, Orpheus was laughing way more than in the past.

The two brothers spent a long time together, but Orpheus had to leave before he wanted since his new wife was getting impatient.

After Orpheus left, Gravis also felt more hope for Yersi.

Orpheus managed to overcome everything, and Yersi could do the same thing.

She only needed time.

Then a long time of peace followed.

Gravis spent all his time with everyone around him. These were the last friends he had left, and he enjoyed being around them.

Of course, most of the time, Gravis was with Stella.

And then, 400,000 years later, Mortis contacted Gravis.

Enough time had passed.

It was time for the last push.

Time to focus on the True Law of the Dead World.

Chapter 1305 – True Law of the Dead World

After having spent so much time with Stella, Gravis decided to commit to the last push.

He already knew three of the four main Laws.

He already was a level nine Divine God.

His Will-Aura had already reached the power of a Heaven's Magnate.

There was nothing left but the Law of the Dead World, the easiest main Law.

Of course, Mortis helped Gravis in comprehending the Laws. They would fully focus on the Laws, and they would only occasionally come back to take some breaks.

Gravis went on to finish the Mixed Elemental Laws related to Zero, while Mortis focused on the Pure level nine Elements.

By now, Gravis' comprehension speed had been pushed to the absolute limit.

He had the strongest Spirit available since he was a level nine Divine God.

He had Mortis.

He had Elemental Synchronicity.

And lastly, he knew all the other main Laws, which gave him a terrifying amount of experience when it came to comprehending Laws.

So, how long did the first level eight Law take Gravis to comprehend?

20,000 years.

Just 20,000 years.

How little were 20,000 years?

Most people would need 20,000 years to comprehend a level six Law, but Gravis managed to comprehend a level eight Law in that timeframe.

With a longevity of ten million years, Gravis could theoretically comprehend 500 level eight Laws before his tribulation arrived.

And Gravis only needed 20 more, 18 level eight Mixed Elemental Laws, and the two Temperature Laws.

Now, how long did it take Mortis to comprehend a level nine Law?

Well, level nine Laws were far more complex, but Mortis still managed to move forward at incredible speeds.

Mortis only needed 150,000 years for a level nine Law.

Their speed was terrifyingly fast!

And why?

Because they had worked for this moment for their entire lives.

They had always remained for a very long time in their Realm, always pushing their Battle-Strength to the peak and always comprehending as many Laws as possible before reaching the next Realm.

There were plenty of Ancestral Gods that became Divine Gods at the age of only two to three million.

Yet, they would need a very long time to comprehend all the necessary Laws to reach the Heaven's Magnate Realm, assuming they could comprehend them in the first place.

And now, after always having been on the old side in terms of age, Gravis and Mortis transformed into relative youngsters.

At the age of five million years, most Divine Gods were in the middle Stages. Some of them might have managed to become Elders already, but most of them would just be officials.

And Gravis?

He was a level nine Divine God with more Laws than nearly all the Ancestors.

Gravis and Mortis traveled from Law Comprehension Area to Law Comprehension Area. They didn't want to deal with the owners of the Law Comprehension Areas, so they used the Law of Perceived Reality to hide their existence. They just didn't want to deal with the owners.

It would just be annoying.

In just 60,000 years, Gravis finished all the Mixed Elements involving the Zero Element.

Then, Gravis took another 100,000 years to finish the remaining Mixed Elements involving the Hurricane Element.

Mortis finished the Law of Heavenly Zero during that time.

The two had comprehended nine Laws in only 160,000 years.

It was terrifyingly fast.

However, they wouldn't take a break until they were done.

80,000 years later, Gravis finished the remaining Mixed Elemental Laws involving Ancestral Wood.

In the meantime, Mortis finished the Law of Heavenly Wind.

60,000 years for the Mixed Elemental Laws involving the Stygian element.

40,000 years for the Mixed Elemental Laws involving the Purity Element.

And lastly, 20,000 years for the last Law, the Law of Adamantite Stone.

Simultaneously, Mortis finished the Law of Heavenly Wood.

Gravis finished the True Laws of Heat and Cold quite quickly. Since he already had access to all the other Laws, these two Laws basically came naturally. The time it took him to comprehend them wasn't even worth mentioning.

About 360,000 years.

In just 360,000 years, Gravis had finished all the level eight Laws he was missing.

The huge number of level eight Laws one needed for the True Law of the Dead World had crumbled before Gravis just like that. A nearly insurmountable and time-consuming task for other Divine Gods had been finished by Gravis in just this bit of time.

Comprehending the Laws wasn't hard.

Comprehending them didn't take long.

Comprehending these Laws was easy work for Gravis, almost making him bored while doing it.

It was simply the processing of a lot of simple information.

After they were done, the two of them contacted their friends again to ask if anything had happened.

However, 360,000 years for Divine Gods was basically nothing.

Yersi was still running her restaurant while everyone else was doing whatever they wanted.

Nothing of note had happened during those years.

So, the two of them decided to finish the Laws.

They were only missing five more level nine Laws, four Pure Elemental ones, and the True Law of Temperatures.

120,000 years later, they finished the Laws of Heavenly Darkness and Heavenly Light.

Another 120,000 years later, they finished the Laws of Heavenly Earth and Heavenly Metal.

With that, all of the Elemental Laws were done.

Lastly, the two of them focused on the True Law of Temperatures, which only took them about 50,000 years to comprehend.

And with that, they were done.

650,000 years, an average amount of time for a Divine God to be in seclusion.

650,000 years only represented 6.5% of their longevity.

For comprehending so many Laws, this was basically nothing.

They had the True Law of Matter.

They had the three True Laws of Primordial Force.

They had the True Law of Temperatures.

They had the 36 level eight Laws of Mixed Elements.

They had the nine level nine Laws of Pure Elements.

Everything was done.

Gravis and Mortis closed their eyes, and all their insights converged.

Everything happened naturally.

BOOOOM!

In just a mere moment, they comprehended the True Law of the Dead World!

And now, it was time for the Law of the True World!

Chapter 1306 – True World

Gravis and Mortis concentrated on all of their insights.

Back in the higher world, it had been an impossibility to comprehend the Law of the True World.

Why?

Because comprehending it required some knowledge about the deeper workings of Energy.

Now, as Peak Divine Gods with all the True Laws, Gravis and Mortis easily had this little bit of insight. It wasn't an entire Law all on its own, but just a very advanced principle of Energy.

If one didn't know enough True Laws, one wouldn't be able to extrapolate that principle since one was missing too many points of reference.

But, of course, knowing all the True Laws was more than enough.

Cultivators that didn't know that principle would find an issue in combining everything.

For example, Gravis went from the Law of Perceived Reality to the Law of Sentience to the Law of Sentient Life. Yet, when he tried to combine it with the sheer volume of Energy a dead world can provide, it somehow seemed to crumble apart.

It was like trying to shove an ocean of water through many tiny, complex, and fragile tubes. If not done correctly, the sheer pressure would destroy the tubes.

The same thing was true if one went from the Law of the Dead World to the Law of the Living World to the Law of the Complex Living World. Up to that point, everything would be fine, but if one wanted to expand the tubes with a more complex pattern, the tubes would break apart again.

But that didn't concern Gravis anymore.

All the insights flowed together, and they created one entire image.

The level one Laws flowed into the level two Laws, which flowed into the level three Laws, and so on.

The number of the Laws underwent three repetitions, all with very similar patterns.

That was until one reached the peak.

Like the trunk of a tree, the long, wide, and stable line narrowed into a single point.

It was like a spear.

Hundreds of Laws all combined into one single Law.

All the matter was included, no matter how weak or how powerful.

All primordial forces were combined.

All the Elements were combined.

All the complex principles were combined.

WHOOOOM!

Mortis' body suddenly absorbed a ton of Energy, but before he could absorb enough to reach the Heaven's Magnate Realm, he interrupted the absorption.

The Law of the True World had been created.

With renewed insights, Gravis opened his eyes.

'I can make my own separate space. I can make my own separate time,' Gravis thought.

'I can make my own world!'

As Gravis thought about all the insights he had gained, he realized that he could easily create another higher world if he wanted.

He knew everything.

He knew how to set up a flow of time, a force of gravity, or a network of space.

He could combine all the different Elements to create all the different forms of matter.

Then, Gravis could transform Energy into the most complex forms of life.

Gravis could go to the void between worlds right now and create his own higher world. With enough Energy, he could even create a smaller version of the highest world.

Everything made sense.

Every Cultivator would think that this was the extent to which one's power could grow.

However, due to Gravis' widened horizon, he knew exactly what he couldn't do.

There were two restrictions Gravis couldn't overcome right now.

'First, I can't create a world in the Primordial Chaos. I have control over Energy, but as soon as I would try to gather the Energy to create something, the Primordial Chaos in the surroundings would be thrown out of equilibrium.'

'The Primordial Chaos would be pulled along with the Energy, and it would consume all of it. I wouldn't be able to create anything in there since I can't even defend myself against the other forces.'

'I can only create a world in a place without Primordial Chaos.'

'Second, I can't create anything outside Orthar's system. All my knowledge and abilities lie within Orthar's Cosmos. I can't create new Elements, and I can't create new kinds of space and time. I can slightly alter Orthar's principles, but they will still be Orthar's principles.'

'The Law of the True World represents everything inside Orthar's Cosmos.'

'However, it doesn't include the interaction between the Primordial Chaos and Orthar's Cosmos.'

'Essentially, I can build a castle, but I need ground on which I can build it. Without ground, I can't build it.'

'If I want a castle of my own, I need to learn how to create my own island in the endless ocean of chaos, and that's not something that the Law of the True World can provide.'

"You've come far," Mortis said from the side with an even expression.

"We've come far," Gravis corrected.

"Was it truly us?" Mortis asked.

"Wasn't it?" Gravis asked back.

"I don't think it was," Mortis answered. "I have always been an extra. I followed all your orders, and I did as you said. That we managed to reach this point is all thanks to you."

"You do realize that I would be dead without you, right?" Gravis asked.

"Just because you need an arm to survive doesn't mean that the arm controls the situation," Mortis said.

"You are honestly looking at all of this with way too much cynicism," Gravis said with a snort. "You were the one that supported me when I was afflicted with the Sin Aura. You were the one that controlled the battles when I emulated the mindset of the Avatar of Death."

"You have had plenty of control over both of us. Sure, I might have had more control, but the 99% still need 1% to reach 100%."

"You have a choice in everything," Gravis said. "You believe that your impact is negligible, but for people at our level, these tiny impacts make all the difference. Everyone at our level has come infinitely close to perfection, but no one has reached it."

"Remember, Mortis," Gravis said. "You have a choice in everything. If you believe that a road might lead to an end, you can decide not to walk the road."

When Gravis said these words, the atmosphere between Gravis and Mortis transformed. It was like a hazy air that no one had noticed until now had been broken, creating one infinitely clear picture of the present.

Mortis knew what Gravis meant.

After a bit, Mortis looked away into the distance, a complex expression on his face.

Then, Mortis' expression turned into a hurt one filled with remembrance.

Gravis knew exactly what Mortis was thinking about.

By pulling the veil away from reality, Gravis had left the game.

For just an instant, Gravis and Mortis had looked at each other as their real selves.

Gravis had advised Mortis outside the game.

For a long time, Mortis only looked with a complex expression at the horizon.

Then, his gaze turned to the ground.

"You do not wish to wake up?" Mortis asked.

"Of course I don't," Gravis said with a sigh. "However, do I have a choice?"

Then, Mortis looked at Gravis.

"Then, do I have one?"

Gravis only looked away with discomfort.

A long period of silence passed.

"It's time for us to split apart," Mortis said.

Gravis slowly nodded.

"It is."

Chapter 1307 – Independence

Mortis remained silent as he only closed his eyes. Gravis would have to be the one to sever their connection.

Gravis looked at Mortis and concentrated on his own world.

He felt a resonance come out of Mortis. The resonance was Mortis himself.

Gravis was only focusing on his own world, but currently, his entire world was also Mortis.

This was what he was about to change.

Gravis focused on gathering as much Energy as he could.

WHOOOM!

When Gravis started focusing, Mortis began to absorb Energy in an unending stream. The draw of Energy went across the entire highest world.

Divine Gods all opened their eyes at the same time as they all looked towards the same point in the highest world.

They had seen this draw of Energy twice before in the last five million years.

This was the sign of the birth of a new Heaven's Magnate.

Mortis absorbed an incredible amount of Energy, but before he could absorb enough to attempt a breakthrough into the Heaven's Magnate Realm, the attraction of Energy suddenly stopped.

Gravis closed his eyes as he slowly started to separate his world from Mortis.

It was like Gravis was cutting away tissue from inside another person.

However, at the same time, Gravis was replacing the destroyed tissue with new tissue. It was essentially the same tissue but without the connection with Gravis.

Gravis slowly flew closer to Mortis.

The connection was nearly severed.

Then, Gravis put his hand on Mortis' back.

BANG!

Mortis suddenly exploded into pure Energy and Laws. Usually, doing something like this was impossible, but since Mortis wasn't resisting, it became easy for Gravis.

It wasn't any different from pulling apart the different parts of a sword.

From one whole being, Mortis had been transformed into uncountable pieces of pure principle.

Everything that defined Mortis was now before Gravis, separated into different parts.

And in the middle of all of these parts was a small world.

It was Gravis' Star.

A Divine God's Star took on the shape of a black hole. The black hole symbolized the absorption of principles and Laws to become whole. It would continue to consume until it was full.

However, Gravis' Star was already full and complete.

Because of that, the black hole had transformed into a new shape.

A world.

It was a small, illusory world.

It represented the very principles of a world.

Gravis' world pulled away from Mortis.

Then, Gravis pointed towards Mortis' side.

An unfathomable amount of Energy was pulled out of all the different parts of Mortis. This was the Energy Mortis had absorbed just moments prior.

Gravis had to fully concentrate on creating Mortis' world. Mortis would become his own being, and for that, he needed his own Star.

The Law of Sentient Life was the principle that dictated the creation of a Star. With enough Energy, Gravis could generate as many Stars as he wanted.

As Gravis created Mortis' world, he started to combine it with Mortis' components.

After a couple of minutes, Gravis had intrinsically connected Mortis' world with his being.

After Gravis was done, he released a sigh.

Then, he focused on Mortis.

Gravis took all the different components of Mortis and fused them together. Gravis had essentially pulled Mortis apart into his individual components, changed them slightly, and then put them back together again.

All the principles and Laws that had been Mortis combined again until a new Mortis stood in front of Gravis.

Then, Gravis made Mortis' will move.

Mortis' will moved throughout his being as it took command of everything concerning the being called Mortis.

Finally, for the first time, Mortis, the real being, opened his eyes.

Mortis looked at his own body and then at his world.

At first glance, Mortis' world looked just like any other world.

Yet, only a few people knew that Mortis' world was made entirely out of Heavenly Lightning.

The Heavenly Lightning imitated all the other principles of the world, creating something entirely new.

At its base, it was different from all the other worlds, but in the end, it was the same.

Mortis was using a different base to achieve the same result.

For a long while, Mortis didn't say anything. He simply looked at himself.

"I don't feel any different," Mortis said.

"It isn't very different," Gravis answered. "In my mind, you have always been your own being. The only differences were some minor abilities and the definition of what constitutes a being."

"There are only three differences.

"You can't become intangible anymore."

"You have your own world."

"And our lives are no longer connected."

"That's it," Gravis said.

Mortis looked at his world for a while.

"And we can't fight together anymore."

"Sadly, no," Gravis said. "We also can't control each other anymore since there is no connection between us anymore."

"I am Gravis. You are Mortis."

"That's it."

Mortis wasn't sure how he should feel right now.

On one hand, he had always wanted to become his own being.

Yet, on the other hand, he felt like his connection to Gravis had been severed.

Mortis had lived his entire life connected to Gravis, and now, that connection was gone.

It was very difficult for Mortis to grasp his new situation.

PACK!

Gravis threw something over, and Mortis caught it.

It was a ring.

"We need a communication ring from now on," Gravis said. "After all, we can't communicate with each other over infinite distances anymore."

Mortis looked at the ring.

It was a symbol of duality.

It represented Mortis' independence.

But it also represented Mortis' distance from Gravis.

Then, Mortis felt a request for permission to enter his Spirit Space come from Gravis.

Mortis didn't even think about declining.

In an instant, a mountain of valuable materials was put into Mortis' Spirit Space. "Since we are two separate beings now, it doesn't make any sense for me to hold onto all our wealth. So, each of us gets half."

Mortis only looked at the mountain of wealth before him with a complex expression.

"None of that matters anymore," he said.

"So? It's still the half you deserve," Gravis said. "In the end, it's up to you what you do with your wealth."

Mortis didn't answer as he only looked at the mountain of wealth.

"I'm planning on taking another long break. I can live for a very long time, and I am not in a hurry. If you want, you can become a Heaven's Magnate. It's no longer up to me to decide when we advance."

"It's all up to you now."

SHING!

And then, Gravis teleported away.

He knew that Mortis had mixed feelings, and that was exactly why he was acting like this.

Mortis had to realize that he was his own being now.

After Gravis left, Mortis was left wondering what he should do.

In the end, he decided to visit Azure.

For some reason, it didn't feel right to become a Heaven's Magnate when Gravis hadn't decided to become one yet.

Chapter 1308 – Time Passes

Gravis went back to Stella, and he decided to spend a long time with her and his friends.

Gravis had about 8.5 million years of longevity left in the Divine God Realm, and he wouldn't waste it.

This was his life.

This was the life that he had always wanted to achieve.

It wasn't the perfect iteration of his goal, but it was very close.

He could spend as much time with Stella as he wanted.

He could spend as much time with his friends as he wanted.

He could spend as much time with his family as he wanted.

Gravis' freedom hadn't been this complete before.

However, in the end, it still wasn't complete.

His father was still suffering every day from his own Cosmos.

The survival of his friends still hinged on Orthar's rules.

And in the end, Gravis' longevity also had a limit as long as he remained inside Orthar's Cosmos.

So, even though Gravis had essentially achieved what he had always dreamed of achieving, the finality of his future still hung over him.

Gravis tried to distract himself from his future.

The closer he got, the worse he felt.

This should be a great time for Gravis.

Yet, it wasn't as great as the previous times.

After a million years, Gravis and all his loved ones had forged an unbreakable bond.

Instead of a person that appeared and disappeared, Gravis had become a constant in all their lives.

This was what everyone had wished for.

Life couldn't be any better.

Another million years passed.

Then, another million years.

Gravis felt like he was living in a dream.

It was like all of this wasn't real, and deep inside, Gravis knew that it truly wasn't real.

The future hung over Gravis, and the older he got, the more his vision focused on it.

Yet, everyone else lived their lives to their fullest.

Yersi had found another partner she was interested in. Surprisingly, it was a young Ancestral God.

When they had met, they had argued about Yersi's choice of ingredients, but as the argument progressed, the two of them realized that the other side wasn't actually that ignorant.

In the end, they began talking about other things, and eventually, they ended up together.

The young Ancestral God was still working hard on becoming a Divine God. After all, he wanted to stay with Yersi for her entire life.

Yersi had lived a very long time in Opposer City, and right now, it felt to her like she had always lived here. After all, she had lived here for most of her life by now.

Her past life as a Cultivator felt so distant.

Manuel had continued to focus on becoming a Heaven's Magnate. By now, he knew two level ten Laws, which was very impressive for someone only a bit more than eight million years old.

Manuel had split from the Heavenly Divine Sect, and he created a new Sect.

Meadow came with him.

Meadow became the Core Plant of Manuel's new Sect.

Thanks to his power, Manuel had decided to assume the mantle of Ancestor of the new Sect.

Who was the Sect Master?

Orpheus.

Orpheus had also grown very powerful, and he had comprehended nearly two level ten Laws.

Lina had also joined Manuel's Sect, but she only barely knew a single level ten Law, which was why she had become a Vice-Sect Master.

Manuel had created an entirely new Peak Sect, and he called it the Myriad Sect.

Why not?

They had used that name previously, and Manuel still found it very good.

His Sect wasn't focusing on anything in particular anyway.

There were also a couple of other Sects that were slowly gaining enough power to become Peak Sects.

The Heavenly Divine Sect had the power to suppress all of these Sects, but they didn't want to. After all, they needed enemies and competition to become more powerful. Destroying their future enemies early would literally be damaging themselves.

Azure was still focusing on finishing the Laws of Perceived Reality and the Laws of Emotions.

She knew several Emotional Laws, but not all of the True Emotional Laws. Additionally, she was still missing the Law of Control.

Meanwhile, Stella had already comprehended the Law of the True World. She had already known the Law of Sentience when Gravis had returned, and it hadn't taken her much time to learn the remaining Laws of Perceived Reality.

The Life Laws and the Laws of the Dead World came from Gravis.

Gravis and Stella could become Heaven's Magnates whenever they wanted.

As for Narcissus, nobody knew where he was. He was probably sitting in some isolated location, just living.

He was just living.

That was enough for him.

Arc had also essentially vanished, but Gravis could still contact him whenever he wanted. Arc was simply traveling around the world, doing whatever he wanted.

Being in the highest world was like a vacation for Arc.

Then, another million years passed.

Nothing much had changed during that time. Everyone was essentially still doing the same things.

A lot of time had passed for everyone, but for Gravis, it felt like not much time had passed.

This was the effect of the many Samsaras Gravis had been through and of the finality of his future.

When Gravis realized that he was approaching his ten millionth birthday, he felt like it wasn't real.

Ten million years.

It didn't feel that long.

It felt like, just moments ago, Gravis had the entirety longevity of the Divine God Realm left.

Ten million years.

That was so long!

But now, Gravis had already gone through half of his remaining longevity in the Divine God Realm.

Five of the ten million years had passed.

Gravis looked back at the time he had spent with Stella and everyone else, and he realized that it hadn't been as great as he had always imagined it to be.

And he knew why.

The future was pressing heavily down on his shoulders, and it stopped him from enjoying his current life.

"How much longer are you going to wait?" Stella asked from behind of Gravis with a sigh.

"I still have five million years left," he said.

"And what's the use of these five million years?" Stella asked with concern. "Gravis, we have the deepest connection imaginable. I can feel that you are not happy."

Gravis took a deep breath and released it, but he didn't answer.

"Gravis, you can't wait forever. The sooner you put your worries to rest, the sooner you can begin to live."

"Mortis has already become a Heaven's Magnate over three million years ago. Do you want to let him wait for that long?"

After a while of silence, Gravis turned around and deeply embraced Stella.

Some time later, they parted.

"Fine," Gravis said with a bitter smile. "I'll become a Heaven's Magnate soon."

The two of them spent the last day together, and then Gravis teleported away to become a Heaven's Magnate.

After Gravis left, tears appeared in Stella's eyes.

She didn't know what exactly it was that made Gravis worry this much, but she could feel his emotions.

She could feel all the emotions Gravis felt, and she felt incredibly hurt whenever she felt them.

It felt like Gravis was slowly walking to his death.

Chapter 1309 – Heaven's Magnate

Gravis went to Opposer City. He thought it would be fitting to make his breakthrough to the Heaven's Magnate Realm in the very city he had been born in.

Just like Master Linus, Gravis stopped above the city as he looked at it.

As Gravis looked at the city below him, his entire life flashed through his head.

Back when he had just been a kid, he hadn't even known what Cultivation was. He had also loved watching the Sky Community, although he hadn't been able to visit it.

The people in the Sky Community had appeared like Gods to Gravis back then. They could fly through the air, and they had essentially built an entire city in the sky.

It was wondrous.

Then, when Gravis had returned from the lower world, he had been able to visit the Sky Community. However, he had still been at the bare minimum in terms of power. He could enter the Sky Community, but it definitely wasn't safe for him to be there. After all, there were Nascent Nourishing and even Law Comprehension Cultivators there. They could kill him with only a thought.

Gravis also remembered the time the grass outside Opposer City had nearly killed him. Gravis had only been as powerful as mere grass back then.

Then, when Gravis came back from the middle world, he had been able to actually join the real Opposer City. The Sky Community had become irrelevant to him, and Gravis had created a shop in the actual city.

Sadly, his customer base had been rather small since Gravis was, just like before, only at the minimum when it came to power.

Nearly everyone in the city was more powerful than him.

Gravis also remembered the landlord for his shop. He had never seen him before, but Gravis had always seen him as an insurmountable existence. After all, his landlord had been a God!

Then, when Gravis had come back from the higher world, he had been on that level. Gravis had the ability to buy several buildings and create an entire company. However, there were still many shops and companies that far outranked him in everything.

The biggest merchant companies had powerful Ancestral Gods. These Gods had lived for over a million years!

And on top of that, there were the really big companies, like the Research Institute or the Information Pavilion. These were companies that could even do business with the Peak Sects.

And now?

Now, Gravis was above all of them.

Only the Heaven's Magnates were above him, and that also not for long.

From a mere nobody that couldn't even fight grass, Gravis had reached the very top.

How many lives had ended in tragedy? How many Cultivators had died on their path to power?

The journey had been long, but now, Gravis was at its end.

He'd done it.

After a while, Gravis' gaze turned away from the city, and he looked at the sky.

'What's the point?' he thought bitterly.

'What's the point of thinking about my life when I know fully well how everything is going to end?'

'But Stella is right. I can't enjoy life with my future hanging above my head like a blade. I might as well jump into the blade directly.'

WHOOOM!

Gravis summoned his world behind him, and his world began to wildly absorb Energy from all around the world.

The entire world turned towards Opposer City in shock.

Another one!?

Another Heaven's Magnate!?

However, compared to the time Zero's Essence had become a Heaven's Magnate, the world didn't drown in an ocean of war this time.

The new Peak Sects were still trying to gain their footing in the world, and they didn't want to join any big wars at this moment. The Heavenly Divine Sect also wasn't interested in destroying their future enemies just yet.

The Energy of the entire world was reduced by a whole 20%, and it didn't seem to stop!

Usually, Heaven's Magnates only needed around 10% of the world's Energy. So, why was Gravis absorbing so much more?

Did he need more Energy than other Heaven's Magnates?

No, he didn't.

There were simply too many Heaven's Magnates at the moment.

Together with Mortis, there were 12 Heaven's Magnates currently living.

This was the greatest number of Heaven's Magnates that had ever been alive at one point.

However, that was also more normal than one might think.

Orthar's Cosmos was slowly absorbing more Energy, which meant that the number of living Heaven's Magnates also increased.

Twelve Heaven's Magnates had the same impact on the world as ten Heaven's Magnates many years ago. There was simply more Energy to go around.

However, Gravis would become the thirteenth Heaven's Magnate.

That put a terrifying strain on the world.

In the end, Gravis absorbed 30% of all the Energy in the world.

For every second that passed, Gravis felt more and more powerful.

The sheer difference in Energy between a Peak Divine God and a Heaven's Magnate was terrifying.

The gap was insurmountable.

A couple minutes later, Gravis finished his absorption, and he opened his eyes for the first time as a Heaven's Magnate.

WHOOOOOM!

Gravis' Spirit Sense stretched into infinity.

He saw more and more of the highest world at once, but his mind wasn't under any strain when trying to process that information.

In the end, Gravis' Spirit Sense managed to encompass the entire Core Region of the highest world.

That was a terrifying and unimaginable distance!

However, the Core Regions were still the smallest part of the highest world.

The Core Regions probably weren't even 1% of the entire highest world.

The highest world was just unimaginably massive.

Gravis saw all his friends at once, even Orpheus and Arc.

They were all in the Core Regions, and Gravis' Spirit Sense encompassed all of it.

Eventually, Gravis looked away from his friends and looked toward the people that had appeared around him.

Several Heaven's Magnates had arrived.

When Master Linus had become a Heaven's Magnate, they had all greeted him as their new member. Heavenly Senior, especially, came forward and bridged the gap between the Heaven's Magnates and Master Linus.

However, this time, everyone was silent.

Gravis could see the three old foggies, Zero's Essence, Master Linus, Mortis, the Black Magnate, Happy Springs, Heavenly Senior, End of Light, and Peaceful Serenity. Child of Heaven wasn't directly in the sky, but he was staying in the headquarters of The Heaven Company, which were in Opposer City.

Their reactions?

Varied.

As soon as Gravis had become a Heaven's Magnate, the other Heaven's Magnates immediately realized that Gravis was even more special than they had anticipated.

The three old foggies looked at Gravis like it didn't really matter. They were practically the only ones that didn't care.

Master Linus looked with shock and surprise at Gravis.

Zero's Essence looked with a complicated expression at Gravis. It was like she was happy for him, but there was also something demotivating about the current situation to her.

Mortis looked at Gravis with the same, even look.

The Black Magnate looked with gritted teeth at Gravis.

Happy Springs was surprised but also interested.

Heavenly Senior had a bitter smile on his face.

End of Light looked at Gravis with a serious expression.

Peaceful Serenity looked at Gravis with an expectant glint in her eyes.

Gravis looked back at them, and his eyes fell onto the Heaven's Magnates that hadn't yet comprehended the Law of Energy.

And Gravis was surprised at what he saw.

They felt so unfathomably weak.

Chapter 1310 – Energy and Death

Yes, they felt incredibly weak to Gravis.

Whenever he had seen a Heaven's Magnate in the past, they had exuded unfathomable power.

Yet, when Gravis was on the same level as them, he felt the difference.

These Heaven's Magnates that hadn't comprehended the Law of Energy…

Gravis would be able to beat them in a single strike.

Gravis also quickly realized why that was.

It was Gravis' ability to emulate the mindset of the Avatar of Death.

If it were only the Major Law of Death, Gravis would definitely be more powerful, but the other Heaven's Magnates would at least be able to put up a fight. The two of them would fight for a while. The Heaven's Magnate would accrue nearly unhealable injuries while Gravis would gain an Energy advantage.

If Gravis only knew the Major Law of Death, he would be stronger than all the other Heaven's Magnates that didn't know the Law of Energy, but the fight wouldn't end in an instant. On top of that, if he were to fight two of them, it would become an even playing field.

However, Gravis' ability to emulate the mindset of the Avatar of Death changed everything.

How powerful was that ability?

Well, in that state, Gravis had been able to directly fight people six levels above himself without using any other Laws.

He had essentially managed to increase his combat capabilities by over a thousand times.

Now, with everyone at the same level, this ability showed its true effect.

Every Heaven's Magnates that didn't know the Law of Energy had the same physical power and the same amount of Energy.

Yet, Gravis was the only one that could multiply his powers by such an insane degree.

Gravis only needed to emulate the mindset of the Avatar of Death. Then, he would explode forward with speeds nearly impossible to react to, and he would unleash a strike more powerful than the most powerful strike a Heaven's Magnate could unleash.

It was like a trained warrior going all out against a small child.

The gap in power was so great that it didn't matter what the other person would do.

Orthar's mind could enter the Heaven's Magnate's body, and it wouldn't change a thing. Even someone as unfathomably brilliant and intelligent as Orthar wouldn't be able to resist such an attack with only this much power.

An ant could train for billions of years and comprehend all the wisdom of the ancient war gods, but it still couldn't evade or resist the stomp of a human's foot.

For their entire lives, the Cultivators chased power. Their powers became more and more complex as they gained more experience and more ways to unleash their powers.

Their Form Laws were beyond complex, and they all had incredible attacks that allowed them to perfectly counter any form of attack or defense.

Yet, at the absolute peak, all of that didn't matter.

And the Heaven's Magnate Realm wasn't the absolute peak.

When the Opposer and Orthar clashed, it was also a very simple clash. Orthar unleashed all the power in his world and concentrated it in a concentrated attack to overwhelm the Opposer's defenses.

In turn, the Opposer gathered all his Energy and Death, creating a huge explosion of Brutality.

The clash was very direct, and there wasn't much complexity to it.

It was simplicity.

However, it was simplicity based on comprehending the peak of complexity.

Orthar had created this incredibly intricate and complex Law system, and only when one managed to comprehend everything, would one be able to combine all their insights into a single attack.

It was that attack that decided life or death.

It was like an incredibly advanced weapon. A person only needed to press one button to level an entire country. Pressing one button to do that was also the peak of simplicity.

However, the complexity took place in the background. The concept, creation, development, and building of the weapon were the complex part.

All the complex parts had been perfected into a single weapon that could be unleashed with only one button.

The same thing was true for Heaven Breakers.

The Cosmoses of the most powerful Heaven Breakers had incredibly complex Laws that were incredibly difficult to comprehend. Due to that difficulty, the Cosmoses also needed to be managed in such a way that the residents actually reached that power. After all, a Heaven Breaker needed the beings in their Cosmos to know these things. Otherwise, the Heaven Breakers couldn't borrow their powers.

Creating the Cosmos, creating the Laws, managing it, creating the perfect atmosphere to practice them, and so on and so on.

After managing everything for an unfathomable amount of time, the Heaven Breaker would finally gain the ability to unleash an insane amount of power in only a single attack.

Complexity that transformed into simplicity.

This was the true peak of power.

The Heaven's Magnates were still working on their complexity. Only when they had comprehended the Law of the Cosmos would they be able to slowly work on their simplicity.

But Gravis?

Gravis had already reached that step.

He didn't need Laws.

He only needed Energy and Death.

When Energy and Death touched each other, they vanished from existence.

However, they couldn't just vanish like that. After all, everything had a certain amount of power inside it.

So, when Energy and Death canceled each other out, this destructive power would be unleashed. The Energy and the Death would stop existing, but in exchange, all their saved-up power would be unleashed into the surroundings.

If one only used Energy, it was impossible to reach that power unless one used magnitudes more Energy.

If one only used Death, it was impossible to reach that power unless one used magnitudes more Death.

Only by combining both could one unleash such power.

After feeling the weakness of the other Heaven's Magnates, Gravis realized many things.

He also remembered his own Void Lightning.

'Void Lightning, huh?'

Gravis had believed that his Void Lightning would be able to increase his power by a lot. After all, his Void Lightning allowed Gravis to grant all the Laws the speed of lightning.

Yet, it had turned out to be irrelevant.

Void Lightning was a different form of Energy, but it was still just that, Energy.

It was simply an addition of complexity.

It was only one of the components.

Energy represented all of the life inside Orthar's Cosmos, but the entirety of living existence was but one small part in the grand scheme of things.

Gravis knew the difference between Death and Energy.

Death was destructive chaos. It liked to do whatever it wanted.

In a way, Death was also entropy.

Death desired to be in a flowing state in which it could unleash its power whenever it wanted.

In comparison, Energy was order.

Energy didn't like to change its rules much. When it settled into one state, it generally remained in that state.

Because of that, Energy could be used to create life.

If one tried to use Death to create life, the life might turn into pure Death at any moment.

Because of that, the Sin Monsters also had an Energy component to them.

Death might also change between its normal form and something that resembled life from time to time, but it would never remain in these states.

Death did whatever it wanted.

Gravis had always believed that his Void Lightning was special, but after comprehending all of this, he realized that it actually wasn't anything special.

Void Lightning was simply the basic template Orthar had used to create lightning. Orthar had simply changed the properties of Energy until it acted like lightning. After that, one would only need to add some more attributes, and one had lightning.

Void Lightning was only the blueprint for all forms of lightning.

It wasn't on the same level as Energy and Death.

Energy and Death were two fundamental opposites.

Death was chaos.

Energy was order.

And because of that order, Energy was the very foundation of everything alive.

WHOOOOOM!

The eyes of the Heaven's Magnates opened in terror and shock.

Gravis wasn't really surprised.

The Heaven's Magnates had only seen Energy their entire lives.

Gravis had seen Orthar's blueprint for lightning, Energy, and Death.

Comprehending the properties of something without comparing it to something contrasting was difficult.

Yet, when one had something different to compare it to, it wasn't as hard to comprehend it.

And since Gravis knew Death so well…

It hadn't been very difficult for him to comprehend the Law of Energy.