Back when Lin Mu had originally birthed his Dao Embryo, he only knew of its name and the basic ability which allowed it to make various forms of earth, like soil, rocks, stones and mud.
Later on, as he learned more about the True Earth Heart, he learned of its Dao Skill. It allowed him to form a Heavy Aura around the Embryo as well as himself, which could extend to a certain extent, slowing down things that came into the range.
Only during the battle with the northern Tribes when he fully activated and used it against cultivators did he realize that there was more to it. His understanding increased even further when he saw the head elder of the Northern tribe use his own earth attribute skill.
It was petrification and would also slow down whoever that was affected by it. The effect of 'slowness' was still there, even though the method was different. Lin Mu pondered on this and increased his comprehension even more.
Until now, when he finally had his breakthrough to the Embryo Growth stage did he comprehend the Dao Skill further. Lin Mu realized that the Heavy Aura was barely him scratching the surface.
It was just the preliminary form of his Dao Skill.
The Full form was actually revealed now, it was the 'Aspect Of Heaviness'.
Lin Mu discovered that with the Dao Skill, he could increase the weight of any object within a five meter range. The increase in weight would depend on the type of object as well as how much energy Lin Mu was willing to put into it.
For objects that were under someone else's control, such as arrays, spirit tools, or even other's bodies, Lin Mu would not be able to affect them fully. But for inanimate and uncontrolled objects he would be able to affect them greatly.
As for the objects that he owned and controlled, he would have the maximum effect on them.
"Let's test it out then…" Lin Mu muttered before getting to work.
He had already tested the basics out on the floor in front of him. The floor was an inanimate object and thus the effect on it was great. But there was still the question of how much the difference in weight really was.
Thus to figure that out, Lin Mu first picked and took out a scale and some metal ingots from his ring. They had been there for a long time and would be perfect for his use now. The ingots were all of various weights, but the ones that were of 1 Kilogram would be perfect for his use.
Lin Mu first placed it on the scale and calibrated it to make sure that it really was 1 kilogram. Then he used the Aspect Of Heaviness on it.
~CLANG~
The pan in which the ingot was kept in directly sank, hitting the bottom of the scale. Then while keeping it active, Lin Mu put ingots of 1 kilogram on the other side of the scale, increasing the weight one by one.
"Hmm… about five kilograms." Lin Mu was surprised.
The Aspect of Heaviness had multiplied the weight of the ingot by about five times. While the increase from one kilogram to five kilograms might not seem, if the initial weight was increased, the multiplying weight would also be greater.
For example, a 500 Kilogram heavy carriage would become 2500 kilograms heavy. This would completely make it unusable. Not to mention, it might just break apart from its own weight.
Lin Mu didn't know what the upper limit of this was, but he was sure he would eventually discover it. After all, if he could increase the range and apply it to a large object like a mountain, he might just be able to make them crumble under its own weight.
Done with the first test, Lin Mu moved on to other types of objects. After testing out different materials Lin Mu confirmed that the effect was the same for all kinds of objects in the same category.
Then came time for Lin Mu to test the objects that he owned himself.
"The short sword will be perfect for this." Lin Mu muttered and took it out.
The short sword floated and came to sit on the pan of the scale. It allowed Lin Mu to see its weight which was about 2.5 kilograms. The short sword had always been light but fast to use.
"Aspect of Heaviness…" Lin Mu applied the Dao Skill on the short sword and saw an increase.
~CLANG~
The pan of the scale hit the bottom instantly and created a rather loud sound.
~DENG~DENG~DENG~
Lin Mu then added weights to the counter pan, getting the current weight of the sword.
"Twenty five kilograms… This is ten times…" Lin Mu was shocked.
It was double the amount of weight increase for the inanimate objects.
'If it's ten times increase for the objects that I own, then it should apply to my own body too, right?' Lin Mu thought and decided to test it out.
He already knew his own body weight from before, but knew he wouldn't be able to test the weight after the Aspect of Heaviness was applied to it. There simply wasn't any equipment he would be able to use to test it.
But so far from his tests, he knew that the effect was absolute. What he needed to test was whether he himself could handle the increase or not.
~huu~
Lin Mu took a deep breath first and focused on himself. His spirit sense was alert and monitoring every inch of his body. After all, the aspect of Heaviness applied to every part equally, so his normal defenses might not be enough to bear it.
After all, his toughness came from his Skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. They were also the ones that prevented any damage from passing into his body. But considering the effect of the Aspect of Heaviness, it wouldn't just apply to them, but also his internal organs.
Having a Xiantian Physique and also being at the fourth level of the Five Treasures Realm, Lin Mu had a tough body and tough organs, but there was still a limit to what the organs might be able to bear without getting damaged.
"HAA!" Lin Mu let out a grunt as the Aspect of Heaviness activated, making him feel the increase almost instantly.
~KACHA~
The ground below him sank and caved in with Lin Mu's body sinking nearly ten meters before stopping.
Just Lin Mu's normal weight was enough to crack and sink the ground with every step, making him nullify it by using his cultivation base as the counter force. It was similar to flying, but the force was just on his body alone.
Lin Mu was lucky that in the Rust Sky world he was still able to use this effect despite the fact that he couldn't fly here. At first, he was confused but then realized that the inability to fly was actually to do with the spirit Qi spread in the air rather than his own body.
Thus he could still use spirit Qi as a counterforce to make his body's weight manageable.
But now that he had used the Aspect of Heaviness, he was no longer maintaining the Counterforce. Or rather, he simply couldn't as the weight had gone beyond the limit that Lin Mu could handle.
"Ugh! This is too much." Lin Mu felt like he was holding a mountain with every inch of his body.
It was different than carrying something heavy as the load from that would only be on his bones, muscles and skin. But right now it was being exerted on every organ, every cell of his body!
Lin Mu couldn't even move a finger, not to mention move at this point.
'I have to stop this!' Lin Mu's spirit sense detected fine tears appearing on his organs, prompting him to deactivate the aspect of Heaviness.
"Haa… HAA… Haaa…" Lin Mu panted with exhaustion as pain filled his body.
He crawled out of the hole he had made with his body and lay on the ground. His face and back were covered with sweat while his eyes were bloodshot. Some vessels had even burst and blood spots could be seen in his eyes.
"Yeah… this is not usable like this…" Lin Mu reckoned.
The danger was far too much. The risks outweighed the gains of using the Dao Skill like this.
Lin Mu had originally thought that he could use the Aspect of Heaviness on his body and use it while attacking. It would greatly increase the force of an attack.
But now he knew that doing that might just hurt himself more. Even his body cultivation wasn't enough to bear such an increase in weight.
'The main issue is with my vessels, organs and other soft tissues of my body. My muscles, bones and skin are fine…' Lin Mu concluded.
"If I've to use it, I need to modulate the range of the effect."
