Crystal core 4 a litrpg.., p.46
Crystal Core 4: A Litrpg Cultivation Adventure, page 46
I smiled. “Sucks to be considered a mortal, huh?”
He winced. “Point made. I do not know that I can think like you think, but… well, this is not the time for such discussions. I only wanted to urge you to be careful and cautious.”
As Bas-tuon retreated, Jinwae descended from the sky, his robes billowing around him. The Founder remained aloft, several hundred feet in the air and about a quarter mile away. Even at this distance, his presence cast a metaphorical shadow over the proceedings—a constant reminder of the power that could intervene at any moment. I was certain that whatever his Perception was at, he was fully aware of everything that happened beneath him.
Jinwae landed gracefully, his eyes locked on mine. "I had such high hopes for you," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "You could have been the greatest cultivator this realm has ever seen. Instead, you chose to consort with mortals and defied the natural order."
I felt a surge of anger at his words, but I pushed it down, keeping my voice level. "And why should I care what someone who abuses his own daughter thinks? You've failed, Jinwae, both as a father and a leader. Your opinion means nothing to me."
Jinwae's face contorted with rage, but he quickly smoothed his features. "You know nothing of what it means to be a true cultivator. Today, I will show you the error of your ways. Besides, it is Lianhua who has betrayed me and her clan.”
“How do you figure that?” I knew what he was likely to say, but hearing him put words to it all would help me crystalize my will to do what needed to be done.
Rather than answer my question, he asked me one in return. “Is it true that the Yandao and Ninjamae brats are with child?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t 100% certain. They both seemed confident that was the case, but that babe would have to be more than just a few cells or a few hours past conception in order for them to detect it.
“That was all I asked of Lianhua. It is the role of a woman, but even more that of an anchor. She was to bind you to us, so that your desires were our desires. But she failed, despite all her gifts.”
“She hasn’t failed in anything. I would have given her the same as I’ve given her sister-wives, but she chose to climb the martial path a bit further. Aren’t you the least bit proud that she has reached A-rank, at her age?”
He snorted. “It was never a question of whether she was a prodigy. Though I admit that she surprised even me when I saw her progress today. Her foundations are pristine. I take it this has something to do with that odd mana of yours?”
“Her achievements are her own, and I won’t try to claim any credit for it. She is a true Dao partner.”
I saw pride and frustration war on Jinwae’s face, but it was clear that his prejudices won out. “None of that matters. Knowing one’s place in this realm is everything. And for you, that shall be a shallow, unmarked grave.” His tone made it clear that the conversation was over.
We squared off, each taking the measure of the other. I felt Jinwae's power building, his domain beginning to form around us. It was far more potent than any I'd faced before—a swirling vortex of Sky Mana that seemed to bend reality itself. My vision distorted and breathing became difficult, as though the air didn’t want to enter my lungs.
Still, it wasn't nearly as oppressive as the Founder's domain had been in the cathedral. I could still move freely, though I could feel the pressure of his will trying to assert itself over me. As we stood there, poised on the brink of battle, I felt a familiar vibration in the air around me.
My own power was responding to the challenge, pushing against the boundaries of Jinwae's domain. I knew that this fight would be unlike any I'd experienced before. It wasn't just a test of strength or skill, but a clash of wills. This was a battle of fundamentally different views of what it meant to be a cultivator and the protector of this realm.
The tension in the air was palpable, and each second stretched into an eternity as we waited for the signal to begin. In those moments, I thought of Lian, of my wives, and of all the people counting on me. I thought of the oath I'd made to protect this realm, and of the changes I hoped to bring about.
As I stared into Jinwae's eyes, I saw not just an opponent, but a representation of everything I stood against—rigid traditionalism, disregard for those deemed ‘lesser’, the abuse of power. In that moment, I knew that this battle was about more than just personal honor. This was a fight for the future of the realm itself.
My grand intention flared to life within me.
Defy the Heavens, Free the Masses - Immunity to control in this realm; 50% resistance to control in other realms
In that moment, the restraints of the air around me broke, and I streaked forward as my axe materialized in my hands. Jinwae met my charge with fluid grace, his slender longsword singing through the air. Our weapons clashed with a thunderous boom, sending shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
I pressed my attack, each swing of my axe filled with raw power and aggression. Jinwae, in contrast, moved like water. His blade wove intricate patterns as he parried and countered.
As we traded blows, I realized with a start that I was faster and stronger than Jinwae. My enhanced stats had pushed me beyond what I'd thought possible. I saw an opening and took it, my axe slicing across Jinwae's arm, drawing first blood.
Jinwae's eyes widened in shock, but he quickly retaliated. His sword flickered, impossibly fast, and I felt a sting as it grazed my cheek. But the wound was superficial, barely breaking the skin.
"Impossible," Jinwae hissed, his composure slipping. "You can't be this strong unless..." His eyes grew wide with realization. "No, it's not possible. You couldn't have ascended!"
I didn't waste my breath on a response. Instead, I focused on maintaining my offensive. My axe became a blur of motion, each strike aimed to end the fight quickly.
But Jinwae was far from beaten.
With a snarl, he infused his sword with Cutting Mana. The air itself seemed to split as he swung, and I felt my defenses crumble. Realizing the danger, I activated Embrace of the Mother. A silvery armor immediately coated my body. Simultaneously, I ignited Silver Fire Skin, and its flames erupted across my form.
Jinwae's domain flexed, and I watched in dismay as those silver flames were snuffed out. His Cutting Mana-enhanced blade sliced through my protective techniques like they were paper. I barely managed to dodge a strike that would have opened me from shoulder to hip.
I had to focus. I flared my Agility and moved even faster. My strikes landed with even more power.
Jinwae was pushed back. It was comical to see his slender blade block my massive axe head. Such a thing could only be explained with mana and different grades of materials. He was undoubtedly using an A-tier weapon—not that it was saving him.
I pushed forward, and he had no choice but to give way. He leaped into the air on a swirl of Sky Mana to avoid my latest strike, but I followed him.
Shadow Glide
The movement technique pushed up upward at an angle, so that I brought all of my momentum to bear against him. Normally, the technique moved too quickly for those I’d been fighting to follow it. But as I’d already learned with Kupa, that wasn’t the case with A-rankers. Jinwae, even more so than others.
If I had to, I’d guess that he had a base Agility of around 2,500—which could have been considered the peak of A-rank, maybe even slightly higher. But even for him, the speed at which I closed the distance between us left him unprepared and my axe cut deep into one his thighs.
Without healing, he’d definitely lose that leg and was now stuck using his Sky Mana to bear his weight—not that it seemed a huge impediment above the ground. He moved with astounding grace in the air, but I matched him movement for moment. Body Equilibrium, and the benefits of my recent Wind Walker tempering, let me keep up with him—if not with ease, at least reliably.
Changing tactics, Jinwae unleashed a barrage of wind blades. They whistled through the air, each one sharp enough to cut stone. I weaved between them, feeling the sting as a few found their mark and left shallow cuts across my arms and legs.
The vibration in the air around me broke most of them up. With each cut into that air, I felt that vibration increase around me. The very atoms of the physical world hummed with my power. I could feel a breakthrough waiting to happen as my domain formation crept up to 75%.
A miniature tornado formed at Jinwae's command, racing towards me with devastating force. I braced myself, channeling mana to my feet to anchor me in place. The winds buffeted me, threatening to tear me apart, but I stood firm.
Just as I thought I'd weathered the worst, I felt the air being sucked from my lungs. Jinwae's domain was trying to suffocate me, creating a vacuum around my head. My vision blurred as I fought for breath. The air had a mind of its own, and it didn’t want to be in my lungs.
Desperation fueled me. With a roar that was more felt than heard, I pushed out with my aura. The force of it was like a physical blow, shattering Jinwae's domain and driving him back several paces.
As I gulped in precious air, a flicker of uncertainty crossed Jinwae's face. He hadn't expected this level of resistance. But his expression quickly hardened, determination replacing doubt.
We clashed again, our weapons meeting in a shower of sparks. The ground below us cracked and splintered from the force of our exchanges. Each blow carried enough power to level buildings, yet we pressed on, neither willing to yield.
Jinwae's experience showed in his efficiency of movement, his every action was purposeful and precise. But my raw power and speed pushed him to his limits. We were evenly matched—or close enough that it didn’t matter; two titans locked in combat.
Still, I still had a few more tricks I could pull out. Unfortunately, Null Form wasn’t an option. I couldn’t absorb Jinwae or even destroy his soul. It would wound Lian too deeply.
As the battle raged on, I felt something building within me. The constant vibration in the air around me intensified, resonating with my core in a way I'd never experienced before. The very fabric of reality responded to my will, bending and flexing with each pulse of my core.
I began to see the world differently. I wasn’t using an elemental affinity, nor even a concept. Neutrality might be a concept, but that wasn’t what Neutral Mana was. It was more foundational than that. From my power, all the other elements came into being. I sensed the pull of karmic bonds all around me.
This time, though, they weren’t with people. The bonds I sensed were between me and the realm itself. I felt how each molecule and atom bonded together. It was those connections which spoke to me.
Domain Formation: 90%
I felt both larger and more insignificant at the same time. Everything that was bonded together was in a strange balance that I was only just learning about. With that thought, I heard a voice in my head.
“Yes, my son, you are learning. Lean into that feeling. It will guide you where you need to go.”
Jinwae must have sensed the change, too. His attacks became more frenzied, desperation creeping into his normally efficient movements. He unleashed technique after technique, each more devastating than the last. The sky darkened as he created a storm unlike any other I’d ever seen. Even the ground was ripped up as boulders larger than men were sucked by his fury.
I met each threat head-on, my body moving almost on instinct. The pit fiend's combat experience merged with my own abilities, allowing me to anticipate and counter Jinwae's attacks with uncanny precision.
I yearned to end this battle. I wanted fully to experience what I was on the cusp of understanding. Instead, I was stuck dealing with what I now saw as an insignificant man—in the grand scheme of things, that is.
With each exchange, each near miss and landed blow, I felt myself growing stronger. Each moment pushed me closer to some unknown threshold. The vibrations in the air were now a constant hum, a hymn of power that resonated with my very being.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
It was as though a hand of power swept across the battlefield and wiped everything away. I grunted as a domain clamped down on everything. This time, it was much more focused than it had been when spread over the entire cathedral. It bore down on me and Jinwae. The Baku sect head was driven to his knees as the Founder floated down to the ground.
“I’ve seen enough. You are not worthy to bear the name Baku,” he sneered at Jinwae. “You have failed our clan. Know despair.”
Then, he lashed out with his hand like a blade, cutting through the air in front of him. From the tips of his fingers, a spear of air that was so solid it reflected the light shot forward. Without even looking, I knew the target and yet, I was held tight, struggling against the domain of an ascended cultivator. Unable to react, it was with horror that I watched the spear shoot through the air at an unbelievable speed for Lian.
Chapter 49 - Domain
I tried to scream and felt the entire realm ripple around me.
Bonds of Reality Domain formed. Your domain is based upon an understanding of the reality of the bonds which hold all things together which is both different from that of the human realm and more complete. It contains both accuracies and errors. To strengthen your domain, increase your understanding.
All that vibration in the air around me, the thing which I’d been feeling for months now but couldn’t quite understand, suddenly made so much sense. Time felt like it stood still as I sensed the connection between… well, between everything. Even as I did, though, I understood it would be suicidal for me to hang on to this level of awareness. It was going to shred my mind, eventually. I wasn’t enough for it, and as much as I felt I’d expanded in this moment, I also realized just how tiny I was.
As my domain manifested itself, I fell to one knee. All other notifications were ignored as I tried to rise. The spear of air stood still as I moved, but I felt the connections between the molecules in the air, and somehow knew that whatever I did, I would be too slow.
Then, a figure flashed in front of my eyes. Freed from the Founder’s domain by the birth of my domain, Jinwae activated whatever movement technique he’d been saving in reserve and moved quick enough that even my eyes struggled to follow him. With my aura rather than my eyes, I realized the cost he was paying to move so quickly.
His core ruptured as he drew upon more power than he’d ever used in his life.
The Founder’s attack struck him, and the barriers of air he’d reflexively thrown up shattered until the force passed into him and then exploded through his back with an exit wound that included most of his torso. He was dead before he even hit the ground and would have died from the ruptured core either way, but the Founder’s technique was stopped by the wall of stone that surged in front of Valdoc and the rest of my clan.
Lian was unharmed.
I felt a surge of conflicting emotions both my own and those from Lian, but I pushed them aside as the Founder descended. He shook his head contemptuously and spat, “So much for that idiot bringing my clan down. To imagine that the Baku have fallen so far that such as he was allowed to lead, or that promising young women were pampered instead of used to expand the power and influence of the clan.”
An icy fist of fury solidified in my gut.
“Does no one know their duty in this modern era? Well,” the Founder continued, “I shall just have to teach you all. What about you, Hero? Do you know your duty?”
I stood up, feeling the pressure of his domain push against mine. I controlled a sphere expanding out ten feet from my body in every direction, but I couldn’t push beyond that.
He stared at me when I didn’t answer him.
“Interesting. Did you just form that domain? No, don’t bother to answer me. I can tell that you did. It’s rather… distinctive. And apparently the fool wasn’t lying, you truly do have crystal stage mana.”
When he said that, I realized for the first time what I’d been feeling from him. It was a resonance of his crystal stage mana to mine in a realm that was woefully underpowered.
“And what if I do?” I snapped. “You just tried to kill my wife. We have nothing to talk about.”
I felt slightly freer to talk as all my wives and the others backed away. They were on the city walls now, though still able to see us—even from a mile away. I knew it wouldn’t stop the Founder from harming them if I couldn’t bring him down here and now, but it still was nice to know there was a bit of distance between us and them.
“At least you have some backbone. That fool was constantly bowing and scraping to me, calling me Founder this… and Founder that. While I am all the things he thought I was, and likely far more, sycophants are ever so tiresome.”
I listened carefully, using my aura to gain as much insight as I could into this ancient being. I saw dark karmic ties had already formed between him and me. Clearly, his attempt on Lian’s life had affected me.
Sight Beyond Sight didn’t reveal anything about him beyond what I’d already seen. He was clearly well into S-rank. His mana concentration was less than mine, but it was nearly to SS-rank levels. On the other hand, his mana purity was crap compared to mine, but I wasn’t going to win a battle on mana purity alone.
I watched how he moved. And while he was entirely restrained once he landed on the ground, I guessed he was well beyond me in terms of his stats. If the stat expectations continued like they did through all the previous ranks, then it was safe to assume that all of his stats were between 2,500 and 5,000—though it was likely they were on the higher end, since he was not far from reaching SS rank.
“I suppose I do have some backbone. My wives often accuse me of leaping before I look, or of rushing into melee without actually considering my other options first. I must confess, that’s likely true. They know me well.”
“I would slap down even one of my beloved wives if they had spoken to me like that. Well, except for the fact that they have all been dead for more than two thousand years.” His eyes softened for a brief moment. “I doubt I could form that much of an attachment to another mortal now.”
