Chapter 792 Ten Years of Recuperation
“What?”
Kael held out his hand. The violet-gold beetle flew over and spat the fleshy grub into his palm.
“This... is a Parasitic Gu? Arno was right. Even Eternal Realm cultivators have been parasitized!”
A chill ran through Kael.
The swollen grub writhed in his palm, emitting a series of piercing hisses. Somehow, Kael could sense both arrogance and venomous hatred radiating from the insignificant creature.
“Die.”
He clenched his fist and crushed the grub into pulp.
Kael shook the remains from his hand, then turned toward the enormous dragon corpse in the distance.
With Valerius dead, his body had become a feast for the Goldsteel Beetles.
Kael closed his eyes and focused on recovering a small portion of his Spiritual Sense. In his current condition, even a wandering Starbeast could swallow him whole.
Time passed slowly.
The Goldsteel Beetles devoured the golden dragon’s corpse layer by layer until only its toughest scales remained, floating through space.
The beetles were surprisingly selective eaters. Unless Kael forced them, they had little interest in anything excessively hard or devoid of energy.
Kael beckoned, drawing every remaining dragon scale into his spatial ring. He then issued another command through his Spiritual Sense.
A deafening buzz filled the void as tens of millions of Beetles streamed into his Beast Pouches.
Blood erupted from Kael’s mouth.
I can’t keep going. I need to find somewhere to recuperate for at least a decade.
After killing Valerius, Kael flew for several more hours before finally descending onto a barren planet less than three thousand miles across.
Another surge of blood spilled from his lips.
“Damn it. These injuries are worse than I thought.”
Instead of taking the violently potent Immortal Spirit Liquid, Kael brought out a much gentler Heaven-Mending Pill.
Its energy couldn’t compare to that of Immortal Spirit Liquid, but its medicinal properties were mild and stable. The tradeoff was that Kael would need much longer to recover.
“Whatever. I need to rest first.”
Kael vanished from the barren planet and entered his Inner Cosmos.
Nearly one trillion humans were crammed into the small world. Some meditated where they sat, while others slept beneath the open sky. They occupied nearly every available stretch of land.
After several spatial shifts, Kael arrived before Arthur Stone.
“Father, you’re injured.”
“Yes.”
Kael nodded as he surveyed the immense human population.
Several people nearby were arguing over some trivial dispute, and the confrontation was on the verge of escalating into a full-blown fight.
“My fellow humans, I have no choice but to temporarily seal everyone’s cultivation.”
The moment Kael finished speaking, the cultivation of every human within his Inner Cosmos was sealed.
In his current condition, he couldn’t risk allowing anyone inside to fight without restraint. If they damaged his Inner Cosmos while he was so severely wounded, Kael himself could die.
To completely suppress the cultivators living within an Inner Cosmos, its owner’s cultivation and Origin Power needed to be at least twice their combined strength. Otherwise, the inhabitants could no longer be kept under control.
“Arthur, I’m going to recuperate in the nearby valley. Maintain order here until I recover.”
Kael lifted the seal on Arthur alone, allowing him to retain his Origin Power.
“Yes, Father.”
Arthur bowed.
Kael’s body gradually faded. A short while later, he reappeared inside a valley at the edge of his Inner Cosmos.
After a moment’s consideration, he placed several layers of Restrictions around the valley. Only then did he enter, sit cross-legged, and begin tending to his injuries.
Kael had just killed an Eternal Realm powerhouse. Moreover, merely fighting an opponent at the Eternal Realm had earned him an enormous number of Galactic Points.
[Galactic Points: 126,952.32]
Kael drew a deep breath and began distributing the points across his status panel.
[Human King: 760.639]
[Galactic Great Circle: 40%]
[Stage Twenty of the Fiendgod Transformation: 100,000,000/200,000,000]
[Grand Celestial Manifestation: 1/100]
[Sacred Skin—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Tendon—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Muscle—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Organ—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Bone—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Supreme Divine Craftsmanship: 4,500/5,000]
[Divine Alchemy Dao: 50%]
[Tier 10 Sanguine Edge: 4,520/5,000]
[Basic Inner Cosmos: 295/500]
[Myriad Spirit Eye Tier 1: 15/100]
[Sound Spirit Root: 3%]
Kael invested the largest share of his Galactic Points into his cultivation realm.
He devoted another portion to his Inner Cosmos, expanding it until it measured 295 miles along each axis.
The small remainder went into the Sound Spirit Root he had only recently acquired.
Kael took out his jade bottle once more and swallowed a single drop of Immortal Spirit Liquid.
Why only one?
His body was already severely damaged. Consuming too much Immortal Spirit Liquid at once would place an even greater burden on his meridians.
During the first few months of his recovery, Kael divided his daily supply into smaller doses, never consuming more than a single drop at a time. Once his meridians stabilized, he resumed consuming at least eight drops every day to keep the Devouring Beast under control.
He had prepared dozens of jade bottles before entering seclusion. By the end of the decade, only three bottles remained.
Time passed, and tranquility gradually returned to the Inner Cosmos.
...
At the center of the galaxy hung an enormous law-born singularity more than three thousand miles across.
It resembled a black hole, but its gravitational field had been distorted and amplified by the Heavenly Laws of the Blood Jade Galaxy. Its behavior could not be explained by ordinary celestial principles.
The singularity’s influence extended throughout the surrounding star region, subtly affecting celestial bodies more than a hundred thousand light-years away.
A barren planet drifted within five thousand miles of it.
Without warning, the entire planet was dragged into the black hole. A deep, prolonged groan echoed through space as the enormous world was crushed apart.
...
Kael slowly opened his eyes.
Ten years had passed during his meditation.
The next time he fought an Eternal Realm cultivator, he would have to be far more cautious.
“Father, have your injuries healed?”
Arthur’s voice came from beyond the valley.
“They have.”
Kael nodded and opened his status panel once more.
A self-sustaining ecosystem had already developed within his Inner Cosmos. As a result, the world had continued expanding throughout the past decade, though its growth was far slower than when Kael invested Galactic Points directly.
[Human King: 769.639]
[Galactic Great Circle: 40%]
[Stage Twenty of the Fiendgod Transformation: 100,000,000/200,000,000]
[Grand Celestial Manifestation: 1/100]
[Sacred Skin—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Tendon—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Muscle—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Organ—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Sacred Bone—Fortification: 10,000/20,000]
[Supreme Divine Craftsmanship: 4,500/5,000]
[Divine Alchemy Dao: 50%]
[Tier 10 Sanguine Edge: 4,520/5,000]
[Basic Inner Cosmos: 299/500]
[Myriad Spirit Eye Tier 1: 15/100]
[Sound Spirit Root: 3%]
His Inner Cosmos had expanded by only a few miles, but the value beside Human King had risen considerably.
It seemed that after Kael reached the Galactic Great Circle, some intangible quality within humanity itself had begun to improve. From now on, perhaps one in every thousand humans would be born with a Spirit Root.
“Father, what do you intend to do now?” Arthur asked.
“I want to settle everyone on a suitable planet, then travel to the Machine Race alone and discuss how we should deal with the Insect Race. But I’m worried Sunlance Academy will track you down and enslave you again.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Arthur said. “Cultivating inside your Inner Cosmos is considerably faster than cultivating in the outside world.”
“All right. I’ll find a planet suitable for cultivation first. In the meantime, ask everyone inside the Inner Cosmos what they want. Those willing to remain here may stay. Anyone who wishes to leave will be settled on that planet.”