Chapter 1717 - Annihilation
"Go away and don't disturb my cultivation." Xiaoxiao sank back into her own world, not feeling like bothering with him.
"Why are you constantly here at the Imperius Ruins? Are you an introvert or something?" Tianming asked.
"Why else but cultivating? Not to mention, the rest of you are all coupled up. I don't want to be the third wheel for any of you."
"You're not that young anymore. You should go find one."
"I..." she looked at him as her gaze dimmed, "I don't need one. I'm happy with how things are now. I'm not used to the way you all live. Being single is pleasant."
"Suit yourself. Tell me if you change your mind, I'll run a search for you. You can even have a harem if you want."
"Just leave..." she said, looking at him and feeling her rage rising.
"Make sure to take breaks. Don't ruin that body of yours. While you're still fine now, when your age starts to show, you'll wrinkle, lose your hair, your skin will yellow...." It sounded like concern at the start, only for it to devolve into nonsense.
Xiaoxiao ignored him and didn't bother to send him off, continuing to gain insight from the caeli imperius. But after he left, she wasn't able to get in the mood. Standing up, she patted her clothes down. "Maybe I'll go take in some sights."
She would check out the discourse about Tianming, the one who was bringing them glory. As his number-one believer, she had a mission to shape the conversation.
After some time, Tianming went to Refined Residences for his soul to get nourished.
"Something's odd about you!" Mu Ziyan said, circling him and looking him up and down.
"What's odd?" Tianming asked.
"Have you been doing naughty stuff? Young people really need restraint, you know. Your divine soul feels a little feeble, and you're even covered in the scent of cosmetics," Mu Ziyan said with a seductive smile. The reason she could even notice that was that anything that happened in the wondersky realm still had an effect on the caelum and vita.
"Sheesh, you even expect me to replenish what you blasted into those girls.... Do I owe you that much?" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, there's a limit to being direct, you know."
"Then why didn't you try to be less direct when you were up to those shenanigans?" Despite her comments, she didn't lose the slightest bit of care and focus. Their soul cultivation remained as effective as ever.
"Aaaaagh!" Every time it was over, she would end up pale and put a hand on her hips like she was going to collapse from being sucked dry. On the other hand, Tianming was rejuvenated. He always teased her a bit ruthlessly before leaving, much to her ire. Right after leaving, he also made sure to clear out the violet fog in his vita. That routine repeated for two months or so as Tianming completely ignored the Astraldome, focusing his entire attention on cultivation, especially that of his soul. Finally, he managed to attain a third regal soul thanks to Mu Ziyan's efforts.
With that, his vita would be even tougher. The vita homunculus in his sea of consciousness looked like it had solid form and was now far more resistant against soul attacks. Even without the Soul Tower, it wouldn't easily crumble. The extra soul power could also be applied to his attacks. The change in his soul caused his Trisoul Prime to manifest a new change as well. The bane texts on his vita, caelum, and terra reformed and split up more, covering them along with his totems. Now his mind was far clearer than before, from his thoughts to his comprehension abilities.
"I need to rest for quite a while before arranging new cultivation assignments for you," Mu Ziyan said.
"There's more?" Tianming groaned.
"What? You don't wanna do it? Even when I'm the one doing most of the work?"
"By no means. I just wanted you to be able to take a good rest."
"Is your concern genuine?"
"You can return it if it isn’t."
"Well, at least you aren’t a heartless bastard." She gave him a side-eye. "However, if you want to become someone on the level of a peak sovereign, you can't lag behind in terms of your soul. Being able to make up for this huge flaw of yours is really meaningful to me. Even if you rise far beyond where I can see one day, don't forget what Big Sister did for you, alright? Make sure to leave a spot in your harem for me."
"Harem?!"
"What, think I'm too old? Call it what you want, but what we did was still dual cultivation, you know. You know what they say, married for a day, indebted for a century."
"It wasn't just a day...."
"You're a naughty one," she shyly said.
Tianming knew that something was going to happen as her gaze turned spicier and spicier. Even though his lower body wanted to stay, his upper body kept his rationality and suppressed it.
"Fool, Big Sis was only messing with you. You're young and fresh, but not my type," she said.
"Phew." He breathed a sigh of relief.
"A return to nothingness?" The seventh strike was the biggest problem he had to face since picking up the sword. And that was just the basic strike, not the fused one.
"Then again, a hard move to comprehend means that it alone might be on par with the six strikes fused together." It would no doubt be another huge boost to his arsenal. For the sake of returning to Orderia, he was making his preparations and growing stronger. Yet this move had stumped him for the half year or so he was working on it. The details were too complex and it required a really high level of sword intent. Not being able to master the Saintdragon Annihilation meant not being able to make progress. He only managed to make a small breakthrough after he gained his third regal soul, which brought him even closer to the laws of the universe. His divine soul seemed able to project out into the space around him and resonate, as if it was touching the world, allowing him to better understand the concept of void return.
Annihilation referred to returning to the void, or emptiness, which also represented the space between everything that living things could traverse. To living beings, the nothingness of the void was also everything. While Feiling had the talent of detecting the powers of space, Tianming didn't. And while Infinitum Spatium, one of his totems, had something to do with space as well, he didn't understand its concepts even though he could use it.
"In other words, my third regal soul is the basis for learning the seventh strike. Back then, I lacked the appropriate soul level and affinity with the void." Understanding that seemed to clear the path.