Chapter 260 - Attainment Paths

"Ehh??" After only a few stunned moments, real cries of shocks gasped from the trio. 

Though they have a very limited cultivation experience, inscribing the essence of Heavenly Dao Laws into one's very blood itself seems too far-fetched.

After all, one must remember that Martial cultivators and even World Spirit Masters merely refines their blood, organs, bones, and flesh with the Essence of Heaven and Earth.

And even then, there's only so much any Martial cultivators bodies can take. 

Even across the numerous different races, beings alike mainly depend on evolving their dantain into an Inner World and then continually evolving it through the essence of Heaven and Earth and Heavenly Dao Laws.

As far their knowledge expands, it seems impossible to completely fuse the essence of Martial cultivation directly into the physical body. 

If that could really be accomplished, wouldn't Martial cultivation as a whole experience immense qualitative evolution that can transform the universe in its entirety?!

Towards the trio's unspoken question, Shi Wei faintly smiled, continuing to say, "But don't think too deeply about this. That human was truly one of his kind. Out of everyone, there has never been another case like him. Moreover, when our first Ancestor captured him, that human had a ruined foundation and a minuscule lifespan. But even so, his combat prowess was indeed terrifying. All of this isn't why that human was important, however."

"Our first Ancestor had actually managed to forcefully comprehend and create a rudimentary Dragon Union Art through that human's DNA. That human's Divine Source Law was actually the mysterious Swallowing Laws! And this art allowed for first Ancestor to absorb the various aspects of other species' blood essence to greatly enhance his own cultivation. First Ancestor only took the most potent parts of that Huaman's DNA to modify our Dragon bloodline, granting us access to a perfect humanoid form without any mistakes. By this, he was able to blend into society until he accumulated enough strength. Also by this, we Dragons are born into humanoid form but can later evolve into our complete Dragon forms without any issues."

As she explained, Kali's eyes suddenly flashed, "Ah, I get it, grandmother. Because the first Ancestor continued to refine and practice the Dragon Union Arts, he somehow managed to create a technique where he can sallow the essence of other cultivations with zero negative effects! And this is how the pool was formed, right?

"My, that's an excellent guess, little Kali." Shi Wei lightly chuckled. 

Suddenly, she stopped a few meters ahead of the trio, pointing straight in front of her. 

"And it is not far from the whole truth. Children, just take a look in front of you." 

Doing as told, Cain, Kali, and Amber snapped their attention over and instantly felt a rush of shock and excitement.

"So gorgeous!" The trio simultaneously blurted out, their bodies slightly quivering. 

Just a few dozens of feet in front of them was a pool that can only be described as otherworldly.

Its size stretched out for a few hundred feet and had a standard circular structure. But within the pool was a gorgeous mixture of a rainbow color essence. Multi colors lights continually flickered out the pool, lightning up parts of the area like fireworks.

The pool waves were almost, if not entirely, mesmerizing to gaze upon as if it was performing a cosmic dance. 

Cain, Kali, and Amber nearly felt instinctively drawn to just rush up and dive deep into the pool.

However, the trio could just barely contain themselves as Cain said, "So this is the Celestial Pool? It sure does live up to its name. Even now, I'm almost drawn to just jump right in it."

"Yes, it is quite mystical." Shi Wei lightly chuckled. "Our Dragon Celestial Pool, one of, if not the greatest secret of our Imperial Family. Only descendants who have peak Holy King Talent and or Primal Sovereign talent can enter here."

"Peak Holy King? Primal Sovereign?" Both Cain and Kali perked, their gazes snapping to Shi Wei, their eyes flashing with an indescribable light. 

Ever since their Dragon Altar test, the siblings had studied the realms above Divine Ruler.

And the more they learned, the more monstrous they realized their results really were. 

All Holy Kings Martial cultivators are widely respected, treated with the reverence that is impossible to look down upon.

Even the main leaders of the Heavenly Great World put considerable importance on Holy King cultivators. 

One of the main facets is that Holy King's prowess is an immense step up from any Divine Ruler.

It was comparable to a dog facing elephant; the difference is utterly crushing! 

Just one Holy King could truly wipe away weaker Divine Ruler Holy Lands by themselves.

But with all this prowess, rarely would Holy King go out of their way to distract themselves with such minor affairs. 

All those who reached Holy King are astute, wildly ambitious, intelligent, and have heaven-defying talent.

Their cultivation reached an unfathomable point where it is of the utmost importance of managing and evolving their Inner World and expanding and evolving their Spiritual Seas. 

It could be said at that height of Martial cultivation, one is taking the first step in a truly new world filled with even more countless mysteries. 

And as for Primal Sovereigns Masters, they are still unfathomable existences in Cain and Kali's mind.

The books they read could only just explain that Primal Sovereigns could even make a big name for themselves in Heavenly Great Worlds. Although, their difficulty in cultivation became thousands of times harder.

Still, no matter the difficulties, Cain and Kali couldn't suppress the shiver of excitements of perhaps one day reaching such unfathomable cultivation. 

As he stewed on this prospect, Cain suddenly asked, "Reaching Holy King and Primal Sovereign, just how long will it take? And can we even go past it?" 

In response, Shi Wei tossed Cain a deep look filled with mysterious undertones.

She smiled, not responding for a few moments until she said, "Let's just say, when reaching the Holy King realm, this is only a new beginning towards an immeasurable journey. And as for going past it…that answer could only lie within yourself."

"In myself huh…" Cain quietly muttered, his eyes flashing in understanding. 

Without it needing to be told, he connected the last part of her answer towards the so-called Martial nature.

Because one's Soul beliefs and Martial nature are fundamental to any cultivator's journey, naturally, it would still be a massive factor when wanting to break the shackles of the Primal Sovereign realm.

But such high levels were thoughts for the far, far future. 

Kali had already shoved it to the back of her mind as she curiously glanced over to the pondering Amber.

Intrigued raised within her, Kali asked, "Grandmother, if this is only reserved for peak 10th and 11th step talents, how come she is here? Is it because of the Soul Dragon Mark?"

"Mn. You know, little Cain, yours and her Soul Dragon Mark are at a far higher height than most Huang Dragons could ever possibly achieve. Your Soul, the very essence of your being, accepts and has already partially assimilated with each other. It's gradually nearing the level of the First Ancestor. And he had spent the remaining years of his lifespan perfecting the Dragon Union Arts and the Soul Dragon Mark, leading to him to have only one lover." Shi Wei explained. 

"Oh? From our history, I thought we Dragons always had multiple partners? At least, on the male side. That is why we grew so quickly, right?" Cain curled his brows, asking. 

Amber and Kali were also a bit intrigued for entirely different reasons.

"Indeed. But, that is for the later generations after First Ancestor rise. You see, children, First Ancestor had only changed his ways when the situation became too precarious for him, forcing him to use different means to accelerate our imperial family rise. Because originally, the Dragon Union Art solely focused on the Laws of Swallowing. Through First Ancestor great intellect, he could in a sense, Sallow others Martial cultivation for either his own cultivation or other useful situations. It truly was an ingenious method. However, the external pressure of numerous Holy Lands was too great, forcing him to abandon this path entirely. At least, on the surface, he did."

Shi Wei suddenly stepped towards the side, gesturing to the Dragon Celestial Pool. 

"In here is First Ancestor's greatest work. This pool has the perfect balance of essence from previous peak geniuses' talents in the Spirit Emperor Era. A unique yet troubling time in history where countless heaven-defying geniuses, some still surpassing the standards of today, rapidly rose up. But in the end, nearly all of them were killed off in brutal means."

"The Spirit Emperor Era? There's more Era than just one?" Amber suddenly perked up. "I've only read about that the Golden Expansion Era is the oldest known dated record of time. And even then, the information is incredibly scarce. Just how did the Ancestor survive for multiple Eras?"

Shi Wei only kept her faint smile, saying, "Ancestor has his ways, but that is not important now. For now, focus entirely on this pool. As I said, here is the perfect balance of cultivation, being massively helpful for anyone below the Divine Ruler realm. It is tens of thousands of years of accumulation of pure Qi energy, Spirit energy, and Law essence. These energies and essence all contain the profound wisdom, perception, and comprehension from those Spirit Emperor Era geniuses. You three simply need to assimilate your cultivation state deep into the pool and harmonize with its nature. You needn't worry about gaining a sloppy foundation or stagnant foundation; the pool will only enhance all of your abilities on all fronts."

Not needing to be told twice, Cain, Kali, and Amber nodded, slowly walking over to the Dragon Celestial Pool. 

But right before they got close, Cain asked one last question,  "Grandmother, one more thing through the effects of this pool, would it be possible to directly enhance our controls over Heaven and Earth Essence and Source Laws? With all those geniuses' previous comprehensions, I was thinking it should be the case."

"Ah, indeed, you are on the right track. The foundation of why anyone of us can gain denser and powerful energies is because of the Heaven and Earth Path, Source Law Path, and Spiritual Path. Each path corresponds to the comprehension of essence energies, comprehension of Heavenly Dao Laws, and comprehension of Origin Spiritual Laws. The higher your attainment levels are on each path, the more energies you can convert into far more powerfully dense properties. If you can improve these foundational paths, you will never have to worry about stagnant cultivation, and your prowess will grow to unprecedented proportions. And of course, don't think for a second that this will come easily. Even I can only just barely achieve Advanced level Small success in the Heaven and Earth path."

As Shi Wei patiently explained, Kali was already just a foot from the pool. 

She didn't even turn back as she said, "So I'm assuming that in each major boundaries we go through in either the Martial or Spiritual road, that is just our attainment levels over that level of energy. And each Minor boundary is us raising our attainment so we can grasp full control over that level of energy, bringing out its full power. Such as, I right now am at Early Stage Innate Lord. And my attainment level of Innate Qi is at an ordinary stage. But because I have some achievements with the Heaven and Earth Path, I can convert dense Qi energies, greatly increasing my prowess! And these foundational paths outline essence as a whole, which is why we can directly improve our combat prowess through this, right?"

A broader blossoming smile graced Shi Wei's lips over Kali's sharp mind. She nodded, saying, "Indeed. It is a vital aspect that, truthfully, any being could work up to. Now go. I will come back when it is time for the Nightmare realm." 

Cain, Kali, and Amber nodded. Then, without any more words, the trio divided straight into the Dragon Celestial Pool. 

Within seconds of diving down, Cain experienced essence washing all over him.

It was like diving into simply pure power; the sensations were amazing! Nearly addicting to the point where someone weak will can easily lose their mind and completely drown in it.