Chapter 149 (1/2)
Grandpa Vremya exhaled and lowered his hands. Originally, they were resting on his temples, his eyes closed, his back hunched. With a series of cracking sounds, Grandpa Vremya sat up, straightening his spine which hadn’t moved for over two years. His eyes opened, and he glanced around. Despite the passage of time, the room wasn’t dusty thanks to the presence of a certain someone.
“Oh?” Azalea glanced at Grandpa Vremya. She was sitting on a beanbag cushion in the corner of the room with a book in her hands. On the cover, there were advanced mathematical symbols displayed on a chalkboard-like background. “You’re awake?”
Grandpa Vremya nodded. “I’ve passed the tribulation of the mind,” he said and climbed to his feet. He stared at his hand and swept it from side to side. Thanks to his enhanced mind, he could see the passage of his hand through the air. He could calculate where each and every air particle had relocated and where they would go because of his movement. It was as if everything had been stripped of their identities, reduced to numbers that fluctuated up and down within Grandpa Vremya’s vision.
“Just like that?” Azalea asked. “Why does it feel like you’re advancing way too quickly through the false-immortal realm?”
“When done correctly, cultivation should be slower at the start,” Grandpa Vremya said. “It’s like constructing a pyramid. The first foundational layer takes the most amount of time to place down. When you look at the very last piece of the pyramid placed at the top, the amount of time it takes is simply based on how tall your structure is. If everything has been planned properly, ascending the base should be easy, and the last piece will only take a brief moment when compared to the whole thing.”
Azalea furrowed her brow. “If that’s the case, why did it take you a longer amount of time to form your golden core from foundation establishment compared to entering foundation establishment as a qi condenser?”
“Those are both foundational phases,” Grandpa Vremya said. “They both belong to the same layer.”
“Right,” Azalea said, somewhat doubtful of Grandpa Vremya’s assertion. If it was easier to cultivate the stronger one got, then there’d be false immortals everywhere. Perhaps Grandpa Vremya was right, and if one knew the proper way to cultivate, then it was easier at the last steps. However, if that were the case, then it seemed like no one really understood the proper way to cultivate except for Grandpa Vremya. Azalea shook her head. Thinking about things like that was pointless. “What’s next? Passing the tribulation of the spirit?”
“Naturally,” Grandpa Vremya said and stroked his beard. He leaned back, and a phoegon appeared from underneath the bed. It ran up to Grandpa Vremya and propped itself up like a backrest, supporting Grandpa Vremya from behind. Grandpa Vremya took it all in stride, taking a seat and resting all his weight on the creature. “There’s only one way to trigger the tribulation of the spirit. One needs a destiny fruit.”
“Destiny fruit?”
Grandpa Vremya nodded. “It’s called the Snow Fire Lightning Fruit here,” he said. “But a destiny fruit is the cumulation of many eons of spiritual energy. Only when enough spiritual energy has been created and cycled through the dimension will there be a destiny fruit. If someone who has passed their tribulation of the body and mind consumes it, they’ll trigger the tribulation of the spirit, giving them a chance to become a true powerhouse.”
Azalea raised an eyebrow. “Am I in charge of finding this fruit’s location?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Grandpa Vremya said. “Everyone who’s capable of ascending will hear the fruit’s calling. It’s broadcasting its location loud and clear to me right now.” He hummed to himself as he climbed to his feet. “There shouldn’t be too many people capable of hearing its call. The two false immortals from the coalition and the empire should be waiting there. Other than that, I don’t think anyone else will show up.”