"Gahhhhhhh!"
An agonized cry of pain boomed out loudly, followed by the crunching of bone and tearing of flesh. More agonized cries of pain sounded out for quite some time, before silence returned to a beautiful valley. The valley was vibrant with colorful flowers and verdant trees, while waterfalls in the distance coated the valley with a refreshing mist.
However, that beauty was contrasted by a scene of carnage, as blood, guts, and dismembered humans covered a portion of the valley. Standing within the valley was a lone figure, his skin black as night. His yellow eyes stared at the scene of carnage before him, while blood dribbled off his chin as if he had just eaten something raw and bloody.
"Delicious!" Vargul Plaagoth said as he licked his fingers clean. "Young geniuses truly do taste the best! Especially the females. Their blood is so pure and sweet…To think, this feast is only the beginning. Marvelous…truly marvelous!"
His maniacal laughter filled the valley, but it suddenly stopped.
Snap!
The snapping of a twig filled the otherwise silent valley, causing Vargul Plaagoth to gaze towards the sound. His eyes caught the last glimpse of a human head before it ducked behind a distant boulder, and a wide smile appeared on his face as he sped forward towards the boulder.
"Gahhhh!"
Another cry of pain, higher in pitch than the one before and clearly belonging to a female filled the valley, which was soon after followed by silence once more.
…
Thick fog surrounded John and Laia as they made their way through the land of death. John's guard was raised, but his eyes were slightly unfocused, as if he were deep in thought.
He was recalling his time in the cave after his tribulation, as he entered the palace realm once more. As he had done with all his previous breakthroughs, he absorbed the blood drop from the translucent sphere, and had also touched the chains on the holy gate and sinister gate, increasing the power being released from both.
"Why did you appear during my tribulation?" John called out as he stood before the holy gate, but as expected, had received no answer at all.
"Tch, useless," he clicked his tongue in frustration as he walked away. He studied the next page of the Immortal Asura Body tome after the page had been unlocked, and also the next steps to his Asura Transformation Art which was suitable for his Heaven Tribulation cultivation. The Immortal Asura Body tome also contained information for his next limiter, the Limiter of Healing.
The Limiter of Healing unlocked meridians in his chest and stomach, and used the lingering nourishment of the heavens to infuse his heart with a thick healing energy and change its very constitution, which he was able to replenish by absorbing Qi. This healing energy could be released at a moment's notice, greatly increasing his recovery rate in battle. While it was not on the level of Laia's healing, it was still quite impressive, and would be a great boon to his combat prowess should Laia not be around.
After recalling all that, his mind shifted to other aspects of his cultivation.
'I studied the Celestial Lightning True Jade Origin Piece once more, and I feel like I'm almost ready to break through to the next level. If my guess is correct, the levels correspond with the Dao Comprehension levels, which means I'm almost at the Dao Expert stage when it comes to the Lightning Dao!'
Lilian had explained the Dao comprehension stages to him, and had revealed that the Dao Expert stage was roughly around twenty to twenty five percent comprehension. When one broke through to that realm, their comprehensions would reach a new level in that Dao, almost akin to a dantian breakthrough.
'When that happens, the level of my lightning should raise once again, increasing my combat prowess. That will come soon enough, so in the meantime, my real focus needs to be on strengthening my body.'
His tribulation had revealed that his body had greatly fallen behind what it needed to be.
'My Immortal Asura Body is incredibly strong, and is capable of withstanding my Asura Transformation for quite some time, but it cannot withstand both that and my bloodline ability at the same time. If I am to be able to ensure my safety, I need to be able to use both at the same time without the risk of death. The last time I received any heavenly body nourishment was back in the Ancient Yuan Continent realm, when I consumed that blood red fruit. I've increased it here and there since then, but it's not enough. I need to find more heavenly opportunities to increase my body durability!'
His body had been like a prodigious genius, who started off with heaven defying talent, and then had been starved of nourishment. It had stagnated without constant nourishment, making him fall behind where he needed to be. His bloodline ability and Asura Transformation Art were only getting stronger as his cultivation rose, and so he needed to constantly strengthen his body to withstand the strain they put on him.
"Are you okay?" Laia asked as she noticed John's unfocused demeanor.
"Oh…I'm fine, just thinking about some things," John replied as his mind snapped back into focus. "We should be getting close," he said, changing the subject.
"Mhm," Laia hummed in agreement, as the roars of the mysterious creature were growing louder and louder. John's gaze shifted to Laia, who he inspected for a moment, curious about something. Her cultivation was clearly in the Late Heaven Tribulation Realm, but had started to become hazy and shrouded when he inspected her.
"I can tell your cultivation has reached the Half-Step Dao Transformation Realm," John said to her. "Why didn't you take the Astral Nirvana Pill instead, and break through to the Dao Transformation Realm?" he asked.
"It's not that simple," Laia replied with a light shake of her head. "My two main Dao's, the Dao of Life and Dao of Time, are incredibly hard to gain insight to, even for me. With my innate link to these two Dao's, they must reach a certain comprehension level before I'm able to break through. My comprehensions into these two Dao's are still lacking, and so I cannot break through yet, even with the Astral Nirvana Pills help."
"I see," John replied after a moment of silence. "I suppose your Dao of Life and Time are both a blessing and a curse," he said.
"Yes," Laia replied, mimicking his sentiment of her two Daos.
Roar!
A powerful roar boomed out, shaking the land like an earthquake. John and Laia gazed at each other for a moment, and nodded their heads in unison. They sped forward through the fog, and a hulking silhouette emerged from within, finally becoming clear to them.
"A Rot-Breath Drake!
