Coward would likely be the last word you used to describe Dyon, and that was only after exhausting every other word commonly used in languages across the martial plane. So, when his eyes saw a path to a place his divine sense couldn't penetrate, his feet hardly paused for an instant before he moved forward.
Though Dyon could feel that his divine sense's upper limit had been restricted to 100km, in practice, the range was far smaller than this. It was as though the mountain range was filled with numerous barriers even his planet qi couldn't penetrate.
It made Dyon understand why it was that the soul path fell so far out of favor even until his own time.
One would think that since the soul was the basis of something so powerful – wills, intents, daos and even laws – that there would be more emphasis placed on it. Even if it was true that the soul didn't translate to direct strength, it was the foundation that sustained many of the strengths cultivators called their own.
But this world was like a tight slap to that reality. The soul was incredibly fragile here, as though the smallest matter could shatter it. If it wasn't for Dyon's level of soul talent, his mind's eye might have suffered the same kind of backlash a clone of his would face by entering this space.
Still, Dyon wasn't willing to give up on the soul path, though his body was forcibly halting his progression. If it wasn't for his soul, he would be next to useless in this world. Even the weakest tribesman could make a joke out of him. He was heavily reliant on his soul now.
Unfortunately, here was a path before him where his soul refused to work, where even all the belief in the world couldn't help this weak path sustain itself.
Dyon found himself shrouded by darkness as he slowly proceeded forward.
He could feel a fierce tingling on his skin. It wasn't the kind brought about by an uncomfortable or sticky and gross feeling, but rather one felt from a large surge of static electricity. Dyon was almost certain that this was the result of large stores of energy. Energy packed so densely that even his planet qi couldn't find a place for itself.
'What a waste…'
Dyon heart skipped a beat. This place was a holy land for cultivation. No matter how much slower the excessive Primordial Energy made that process, this was an undeniable fact. Yet, these beasts didn't seem to use this energy for that purpose. At the very least, it didn't seem like so.
Seeing a slowly brightening dim light in the distance, Dyon approached it. His hand followed the rough wall to his side, maintaining his balance and guiding his path.
Soon, the light couldn't no longer be described as dim. It was growing intense, a blazing red. And, what Dyon saw when he finally reached, forced his chest to almost collapse in on itself.
Type stones. But, they were unlike anything Dyon had ever seen before. They didn't fall into the holy, bold or light type categories he was used to. Instead, they were a blinding ruby color. They emitted such a heated pressure that Dyon didn't trust his body to take another step forward.
This mountain range… It was as though the type stones hidden deep within the earth were all pushed upward at once. What was once impossible to reach… were all laid bare here.
As a person of the mortal world, Dyon understood the theory of tectonic plates. The issue was that a flat plain of land stretching millions of miles wasn't exactly the appropriate model for such a school of thought. Either way, the underlying principles had to be similar…
Dyon understood why mountain had the greatest and strongest beast populations now… Only mountains could provide access to type stones that were once so deep within the ground that even the beasts couldn't have imagined accessing them before.
These ruby type stones, they represented the wyvern's own personal store, but this was only one location. Could the entire mountain range have these type stones or type stones of a similar caliber hidden throughout?
And, this was only a relatively small mountain range. Even by Earth's standards before it grew explosively in size, it was small. It even appeared in a backwater Region of numbered Tribes. What would a larger, grander mountain range contain?
Dyon took another step forward.
'How would the wyvern even get here? The passage is too narrow for her body…'
Dyon reached the edge of the sea of red light. It really felt as though he had stepped into a mine of rubies, except it felt as though he was standing at the edge of a volcano.
'So type stones can be like this too…'
Dyon wasn't certain because he couldn't be certain. He wasn't sure if this was a fire type stone, or if it was another energy that also gave off an oppressive heat. He couldn't help but think of the words of his master… 'Fire isn't the only thing that can be hot'.
For example, fire implies combustion, which implies the need for oxygen, but there is no oxygen in space. Yet, aren't stars still hot?
This was Dyon dilemma. He simply didn't know or understand what he was facing. It was easy to look at red and feel heat, then assume fire. But doing so might lead him to an early death…
...
"My beautiful daughter is home!" A boisterous laughter filled a grand palace scene.
A handsome, brown skinned man with an oppressive vitality boomed with a voice that shook the whole of Planet Shruti. One wouldn't expect anything less from Saru's father, especially with how doting he usually was.
Saru, however, didn't seem to be in a very good mood.
She had greatly matured. Before, her beauty was artificial. After all, what else could one expect after faking their age? However, the beauty she displayed now was her own…
