Boundless Cultivation-Chapter 74 - The Second Key

Alaric had frequented the king at different times of the day, whenever it was convenient for him. He didn’t harbor any ulterior motive, but in doing so, he had discovered an interesting phenomenon.

A few times a week, the king hadn’t entertained him inside his home and even requested him to leave after some time. It turned out that even the ancient powerful being required some rest to recover his energy and sustain this grand illusion.

Alaric had never pushed to stay inside the pyramid when the king was resting somewhere unknown. He could understand that the king wouldn’t appreciate that.

Besides, Anu-Khepra-Ra could catch on to his trick and become suspicious of his goals. But now that Alaric had shown him the first key fragment, he had some leverage.

He noticed the usual signs that indicated the king was preparing to rest and timed his question accordingly. “I want to explore your library now,” said Alaric as he smashed the head of the final skeletal soldier.

Anu-Khepra-Ra possessed a grand library filled with ancient tomes, a treasure trove of knowledge. Of course, most of it was written in some language he didn't understand but there were many translated versions of some texts. Some of which he did understand.

He perused it often, hoping to find some clues regarding the locations of the key fragments and anything that could shed more light on the ancient culture. In his experience, learning about the lore of an ancient civilization could help uncover many secrets that lay hidden in plain sight.

Such as the different symbols and hieroglyphs etched into the ancient walls of this pyramid and buried structures that he had discovered during his mapping of The Howling Expanse.

Of course, this was also an excuse to spend more time inside the inner halls, even while the king rested. If he played all his cards right, it would grant him an opportunity to inspect the inner section when the king retreated into his chamber to sleep.

“Now? Is that really so important at this very moment?” the king cracked his neck. “I need to rest. You can come back later.”

“Oh, you can rest but I cannot waste any more time.” Alaric shook his head. “It could take years for me to map this whole zone and locate the key fragments without proper knowledge.”

When it seemed like the king wouldn’t agree, he started explaining what he had in mind. After discovering the sun temple, he had uncovered a few other structures that had the potential to harbor a key fragment.

Unfortunately, they all proved to be useless — only filled with traps and monsters. The only clues he found were ancient markings and symbols that he had no idea how to decipher.

He could see the king weighing his options in his mind with a somber expression. But he still needed some convincing.

“Aren’t we partners in this?” Alaric feigned a hurt expression. “If you don’t trust me, I’ll just stop bothering you, and you can seek the keys on your own.”

Anu-Khepra-Ra smirked. In the end, he concluded that Alaric wasn’t a risk to his survival and agreed to his request. “Fine. I have nothing to hide. But you will not navigate the inner halls without the presence of my guards,” said the king.

Alaric inwardly chuckled at that statement. Hah..of course, you have nothing to hide. Outwardly, he maintained a cordial expression and nodded.

When the king rested, all of his soldiers became lifeless puppets. It was exactly why he intended to explore the pyramid during that time. He had no idea for how long the king remained dormant but if he wanted to find a way to defeat Anu-Khepra-Ra and locate the key fragments, he had to take that risk.

The king disappeared in fragments of wispy black smoke. He waited for a while before advancing towards the ancient hall of knowledge filled with books to the brim. None of the guards followed him; they stood still and lifeless.

It was a perfect moment to delve deeper inside the pyramid and inspect the sealed chamber, but his intuition told him that the king would test him for a few weeks before letting his guard down.

Unlike other times, the ancient hall of knowledge was completely empty of guards and other personnel. He strode toward a book which he had been reading for a while, picked it up, and resumed reading where he left off. The book was titled - Forgotten Secrets of an Ancient Kingdom.

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***

Six months later - Inside The Heart Chakra Pagoda

Alaric inhaled deeply, focusing on the three subtle energies inside his heart, continuously refining them through the heart chakra.

Three distinct energies - a serene white that answered to his every will, an agitated red that refused to rest, and a lazy black that refused to budge to his will. Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, respectively.

In order to partially awaken his heart chakra, he needed to balance these three energies in a precise ratio, converting the majority into the serene white energy that responded to his every call.

Fortunately, the three energies were properly balanced - almost. Still, he required a catalyst to trigger the partial awakening process. With a last effort of inhalation, he exercised his will to infuse every inch of his heart with a mix of these energies.

His heart absorbed the mixed energy in the proper ratio and subsequently saturated his blood with it with each rhythmic beat, refining his bloodline purity.

After the incident with the Inquisitor, where his bloodline had been challenged, Alaric had extensively focused on balancing the three subtle energies within his heart chakra and accelerating his bloodline purity refinement.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

So far, the Inquisitor had not created any trouble for his family, but he could tell that it was only a matter of time before he came knocking at their doors again. But he trusted his father and Edgar to be prepared when that moment arrived.

And Alaric would be ready to deliver the masked man a nasty surprise. He had already figured out a catalyst that could aid him in partially awakening his heart chakra.

Once all the blood in his body had been imbued with this energy, he concluded his meditation session.

***

Alaric grappled with Edgar, barely holding his stance in an attempt to overpower him. His teacher broke out of the deadlock with ease and drilled a punch in his stomach. Pain exploded in his stomach as he buckled, spitting blood everywhere.

Even with his [Mana Empowerment] skill running and having already channeled a drop of his root chakra, the older man was physically overpowering him. Still, he managed to stand his ground and launch a counterattack by digging his feet into the ground and throwing a vicious uppercut to Edgar’s chin.

When his fist connected, he could feel the painful reverberations ripple across the length of his arms and reach his shoulders. But for the first time, none of the bones in his arms fractured when his fist met Edgar’s body.

The head butler spat blood and raised his arms. “Let’s stop here for today,” he ordered. “I think you are ready.”

Alaric beamed. For the past 6 months, he had been diligently focusing on reforging the five aspects of his body, and the results were now apparent. He activated his [Restorative Flow] skill to recover and pulled up his stat screen to check the progress of his body reforging.

Bone Reforging:

Reforging Progress - 26%Mana Infusion Potency - 25%Blood Reforging:

Reforging Progress - 25%Mana Infusion Potency - 23%Muscles, Tendons, and Ligaments Reforging:

Reforging Progress - 31%Mana Infusion Potency - 30%Skin Reforging:

Reforging Progress - 30%Mana Infusion Potency - 29%Lung Reforging:

Reforging Progress - 28%Mana Infusion Potency - 26%Alaric was delighted to see his progress. Typically, an improvement of over 1% a week was considered good when one focused on reforging a single aspect of their body. This required a cultivator to undergo at least three to four reforging sessions a week.

So, his advancement over five different aspects in just over six months was phenomenal. The reforging pills and rare elixirs he had procured complemented his chakra cultivation quite a bit, allowing him to tremendously accelerate his progress.

Yes, I’m now ready to defeat him.

***

Inside The Howling Expanse

Alaric casually sidestepped and drove his fist into the chest of yet another large desert chameleon, ending its life in a splatter of gore and blood. The mutilated corpses of various monsters lay strewn across the cold sand of the night.

The massive carcass of a giant sandworm with several gaping holes — courtesy of his mana blasts — marked the boundary of an epic fight. His reforged body had already adapted to the sharp, shifting sands of the Howling Expanse.

And, fighting the common monsters of the zone had become much easier. He could even survive the impact of a giant sandworm’s attack due to the resilience of his reforged bones and muscles.

Ever since the sun had descended below the horizon, he had been waiting for the moon to ascend to its peak in the sky. In the meantime, he laid waste to any monsters that dared to approach him.

As the full moon took its spot in the center of the sky, the cracked, lifeless basin stretching before him shimmered and morphed into a vast water body encircled by lush palm trees — The Oasis of the Forgotten Moon. It was the location of the second key fragment.

For the past six months, Alaric had devoured every book he could find inside the hall of knowledge and finally unearthed clues that pointed him to the remaining three key fragments.

Everything was tied to four key themes - Sun, Moon, Life, and Death. He had already discovered the sun temple on his own, but the additional knowledge he extracted from the ancient tomes helped him to connect the rest of the dots.

All the effort and exploration had been worthwhile—he had pinpointed the three remaining locations of the key fragments.

It was particularly difficult to find this oasis since it only revealed itself in the light of the full moon. Alaric was amazed to realize that The Howling Expanse had a dynamic day and night cycle, with certain elements shifting depending on the time.

Such as The Oasis of the Forgotten Moon, which appeared as a barren expanse of cracked earth during daylight hours.

A cold wind brushed against him as he stepped forward. Dark shadows flickered at the edges of his vision. Whispers coiled around him, a chaotic symphony of indecipherable voices and screams. The ground hollowed beneath him — transforming into a gaping black chasm that stretched toward the oasis.

Alaric didn’t stop, seemingly walking over air as he crossed the chasm to reach the oasis. There were no monsters here. The oasis was a place of illusion.

It tested the resolve of wanderers when they lost all hope, offering a brief glimpse of joy before shattering it.

The oasis shimmered and vanished, reappearing to another section of the desert. Alaric didn’t switch direction. He simply closed his eyes and marched forward. His goal was set and he wasn’t going to change it.

The world started spinning, the whispers grew louder, and the cold turned freezing. He heard a huge explosion in the distance - a volcano erupting. But nothing was able to stop him. He had no sense of direction with his eyes closed.

Even using his [Mana Pulse] skill simply revealed a hollow blank. For how long he walked, he had no idea. And then suddenly, he sensed the cold water touch his feet. Opening his eyes, he witnessed the oasis back in its original location.

The illusions that assaulted his senses stopped, but he didn’t let his guard down. That would be a mistake.

A faint glimmer on the still surface of the water caught his attention. Something deep inside was reflecting the light of the moon. A smile spread across his chin.

With a deep inhale, powered by his reforged lungs, Alaric plunged into the large water body. Icy cold invaded his bones, but he pushed on, swimming towards its target. The deeper he went, the more he had to struggle to reach the bottom.

He grabbed the object reflecting the moonlight and kicked off to reach the surface. However, once again, the wicked illusions assaulted his senses. Try as he might, he couldn’t reach the surface which seemed just out of reach.

In fact, the more he swam, the further it seemed to stretch. His limbs began to feel heavy and his chests burned. Alaric swam on.

He managed to withstand the pressure beneath the water’s surface only due to his reforged lungs and muscles, which boosted his stamina and endurance. Beneath the water, none of his skills functioned.

Then, suddenly, he broke through the water's surface and immediately inhaled a deep breath. Hauling himself out of the lake, he scrutinized the object he had retrieved from the depths—a shard of mirror.

Alaric smiled as he swept the mirror shard all around him, checking the reflection within. It was the only way to break through the illusion of this place and see the truth. He stopped when he spotted a reflection of a dry well, leaking an eerie glow.

Oddly enough, no dry well existed within the oasis. However, Alaric marched toward the location of the invisible dry well with confidence. Once he reached the spot, the form of the dry well slowly materialized out of thin air.

Everything else—the water body, the palm trees, the illusions—dissipated. Without hesitation, he peeked inside the dry well.

A deep silver-blue scarab with opal-like wings shimmered under the moonlight. Its body was carved with the phases of the moon, which shifted slightly when observed from different angles. Its eyes, crafted from black onyx, seemed alive and reflected an uncanny intelligence.

Alaric had found the second key fragment.