118. Once a Cheat, Will Always be a Cheat

On a yard in front of a two-storey wooden house, two women holding basket are having a conversation. The house looks like regular cabin from afar but elegance of its simplistic design makes one feel welcome and relaxed.

(Since you’re new, let me remind that regardless of what you see, you must remember to keep your thoughts to yourself. Our task is to deliver rations and after the task, we saw nothing and we know nothing except for delivering the rations. I don’t like to see a member of our kitchen punished by working in the mines instead of cooking.)

(I understand, Mistress.)

The older woman gently knocked on the front door.

“We’ve come to deliver meal. Pardon our intrusion.”

There are layers of protective formation around the house and each layer would signify when food should be expected to be delivered but seeing that every layer has been temporarily disabled, the maid construed it that they can freely enter as defined in their guidebook.

Upon entering the room, the two women noticed a young boy on meditative position at the center. The two ignored the boy’s presence and walked silently towards a table near the window then carefully placed and arranged the contents of their basket on the table.

After a minute, the two stepped outside leaving along a full set of meal on the table.

The boy meditating at the center is Clay and when he felt the two maids are now waiting outside, he opened his eyes and walked towards the table to eat his breakfast.

Today is his sixth day occupying this heavenly spot and unlike his first day, he did not rush eating his meal and instead feel the taste of each and every bite of such delicious and out of this world cooking. He knew that tomorrow when his privilege expires, he will join the regular recruits and eat common food. He still cannot believe how core disciples are treated with such a huge difference when compared to what he had observed on the dormitories where the common recruits live.

After almost forty five minutes meal, Clay went back to his meditative position and waited another fifteen minutes for the two maids to clean up before finally leaving.

“Finally they’re gone.”

Clay stood and stretched his body before stepping outside. He pretended to take a breather when in fact, a pentagram has already formed in his eyes as he moved his eyes sideways and carefully observed if there is anyone around.

After confirming he is alone, he stepped inside the house and walked underneath the stairs and pulled up the cover of a secret underground tunnel.

Six days ago on the first hour when he was left alone, he took advantage of the pills given to him to open up his meridians. Having learned from his past mistakes, he only opened the corresponding meridians for his level with the exception of Qi pathways to his eyes and regained his cheat which is the ability to see someone else’s soul and the flow of Qi.

On the same day, he concentrated hoping to finally have a view of his soul but he disappointed that he can only see a dark void within him and not his soul. The only difference is that, there is no longer a Soul Seal at the entrance of his Soul Sea.

The absence of Soul Seal within his consciousness is one of two biggest proofs that he really had indeed traversed into another universe. Unless Lord Lao lied about that Soul Seal being able to last five reincarnation cycles.

Clay wanted to celebrate but he suddenly remembered the killing intent of the young teenage boy previously occupying his “spot”. From his experience on killing intent and although it is not that refined, his instinct would tell him the level malice one has and if this person will come after him. It is true he felt it from a youngster on his late adolescent stage, the intent he felt was from someone who has killed before and treats life like a random grass.

Clay activated his Qi to protect himself as he walk through an underground tunnel. Originally, he was only at the first stage of Qi Condensation and whenever he tries to breakthrough to the second level, he would feel the tearing of his meridians which is an indication that his body is not yet prepared. But thanks to the nutritious meals provided to him during the past few days, his body has been reinforced and helping him achieve the third layer.

When he initially reached the first layer, Clay was surprised black goo substance escaped the pores of his skin. Although it was not as much when he broke through to Mid Qi Condensation back at Gar Wahger planet, it still formed a disgusting paste-like substance around his body.

He ran to the bathroom and washed himself. While he was relaxing on a hot tub, he was thinking on how to pacify that youngster who he inadvertently offended.

At that time, while he was thinking if kneeling and asking for forgiveness would work, he noticed that the hot water emitted from the faucet was not ordinary. The water seemed like Spiritual Qi had been forcefully dissolved infused with it.

Clay has similar experience with this kind of water so he activated his Godly Eyes. It was then that he discovered about the underground entrance.

He followed the narrow passage and after two minutes, he arrived at an underground lake, the source of hot bath for the residence.

Clay was speechless upon discovering the source of hot water. It is a Human Class Essence Flame under Fauna Category and it looks like a Geocentric White Lotus.

During his past life, he was searching for suitable Essence Flames he could gift his nephew and he came across different images of Essence Flames and he does not know what cultivators of this world call it but it certainly resembles Geocentric White Lotus from his past life.

Clay wandered around the tunnels and discovered two additional underground lakes with similar set up.

He was originally planning on apologizing later to that teenage youngster when he goes out but upon discovering the Essence Flames, he changed his plans and achieve Dao Powers through his cheat.

Clay went outside and did not take long to capture small coneys with fully formed beast cores and extracted their circulation circuits and created Psuedo Spiritual Veins and planted them near the Essence Flame.

Clay remembered what Lord Lao said that his creations would draw power outside this universe however if he had indeed traversed to a universe with an ability to maintain and regulate the balance of its primordial energies, then there should be no issues this time. If there is still an adverse impact, then he can discover that maybe later when he get stronger and pursue knowledge like Lord Lao.

Clay activated his Godly Eyes and smiled as he observed the Essence Flame floating on the lake. It was submerge the first time he saw it but he continuously fed it with the mysterious energy produced by his Pseudo Veins that it became livelier. For the past six days, he had been in a cycle of creating Psuedo spiritual Veins and destroying them when it transforms into a True Spiritual Vein. If his strength is not limited, he would like to keep feeding the Essence Flame more of that mysterious energy.

Comparing to the Blue Qi that formed within the Soul Space dimension of this Essence Flame from the Lievrem Flower he nurtured in the past, Clay estimates and has a feeling that it should be as large as Lord Lao’s Powers. He does not know how it got so large but he suspects that it is attributed on the difference of laws. However counting the number of rabbits which got sacrificed, it should be around 51. He only hopes no one discovers that the rabbits within the mountain became extinct as it would take for them to repopulate.

Clay activated his aura and formed five Qi Projections and formed them into sharp knives. Similar to a clueless Lievrem Flower, the Geocentric White Lotus cannot detect an incoming threat. Sharp knifes floated around it and when they were in position, Clay simultaneously pierced the weak spots of the power then separated the bulb containing the Essence Flame.

With a stroke of his fingers, Clay placed seals around the flame which is already on its preservation state. Clay grabbed the floating Essence Flame and planted the replacement flower he took from the other lake before returning inside the wooden house.

He cannot be happier as he stared the weakened Essence Flame on his palm. He just hopes he is not making a mistake this time once he integrates with the flame. During his past life, the large Dao Power he had seen on the Soul Space Dimension s Lord Lao, then followed by the red lizards who abducted him which he estimates is around two meter radius, then Re’y who had less than a meter.

Clay’s heart is racing just by thinking about the scale at which his powers will be magnified once he absorbs Dao Powers as large as Lord Lao.

After calming himself, Clay placed the Essence Flame near his dantian and began the absorption process.